What Did I Do Before Google?

For Father's Day this year, I went a-huntin' on Google for the perfect gift. What, you ask, do you get the man who has everything? Well, a jigsaw puzzle, natch. Not just any jigsaw puzzle, mind you, but one I had to do research to find. (Hence the Google consultation).

Ah...there it was. The perfect picture. The ONLY puzzle I found with what I wanted. Click, click, click, BUY.

So, it arrives, my dad opens it on his special day, and hands it directly to Annie (the master puzzler in the family). It's then we notice something odd about the damn thing. Not only does it contain 1000 pieces (eek)--they're...um...all the same shape. Well, not precisely (although that's what the box says) but close. Maybe four shapes in all in addition to the ones with a flat edge.

I figure this puzzle ain't never goin' together.

But Annie starts on it right away in June. The first time I visit, she's pretty much got the frame. The second time I visit, she's got a large chunk of the middle put together.

Then it gets really, really, hard.

Progress dwindles. But still, she perseveres. I'm SO PROUD of her for not giving up (especially since I would have flushed the whole project MONTHS AGO).

Then, yesterday...new blood!! The visiting step-bro, his wife, and my sis-in-law STORM the puzzle. I mean, they ROCK!!! This sucker may get finished before the next millennium after all!!

So, here now...for your viewing pleasure...I give you THE PUZZLE. (Click on it for a larger view, but in case you can't tell, it's a P-38 Fighter--the airplane my dad flew in WWII.)

You'll never guess who manufactured this torture device...uh-huh. JAPAN. (Fill in your own irony here.)