Despite the Noise from the Boys

Uncle Max 
(portrait by my dad who
also made an impact)

It was the usual Friday night dinner filled with the usual Friday night banter – you know, joking, kidding, especially from my older, louder cousins. Unusually, I was sitting next to my Uncle Max that time. At some point when the others managed to take a simultaneous breath (probably when our grandmother brought out the fried chicken or whichever two pies she'd baked that day), Uncle Max cut through the barbs and proceeded to set forth a logic riddle. I believe it was this: 

A man lives on the 24th floor of an apartment building. On rainy days, after work, he rides the elevator to his floor. On sunny days, he rides it to the 10th floor and takes the stairs the rest of the way. Why?* 

It was the type of riddle that invites yes/no-only questions from the guesser, which might ultimately lead to an answer. Well, the questions -- and the banter -- came at full steam. When those died to a manageable roar, I asked mine first question. 

In that moment, my 11-year-old self felt like I was the only one my Uncle Max was listening to. I'm sure I didn't guess the answer. I wished I had but, I got an even bigger reward. I recognized that Uncle Max saw me, my thought process, my intelligence. When I was hungry for another riddle like that, he hoped to bring one next week. 

He never did, though. It’s not that he forgot, but without internet  and without lateral puzzle-type books, he couldn’t find one. Or, he might have run out of energy. Uncle Max took sick soon after that (or maybe he already was). 

They bought a house :)

But that moment developed into a two-fold legacy for me.
1. That spark of excitement - in both the riddle and our connection - certainly played into the fact that all my books have some sort of riddle/puzzle/mystery.
2. When hands shoot up during Q&A at author visits, I pause for a moment to seek out the quieter ones first. It’s their turn to be seen and heard.

Jody Feldman’s first grade teacher was definitely her most memorable, especially in so many confidence-boosting ways, but because these 15 minutes in her life still stand out, they are among the most pivotal. 

*P.S. The riddle’s answer is easy to find online, but if you want to hear it straight from Jody, feel free to contact her.