If you’re a crossword puzzle worker or have ever contested a Little Rock traffic ticket, then you’ve probably met or know the man I interviewed back in April 2018, Judge Vic Fleming and crossword puzzle-solver extraordinaire.
In college, young Vic was asked at the end of class to jot down what he thought an ideal legal career would look like. He wrote, “1/3 trial practice, 1/3 judge and 1/3 professor.” And he did exactly that.
For 15 years he was a trial lawyer. In 1996, he was elected district judge for the City of Little Rock (how this came to be, is a good story). In 2004, he became a Bowen adjunct teacher at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. And my personal favorite, he’s a published crossword puzzle maker.
Vic began working crossword puzzles at a young age. As a young man he laid down his crossword puzzle pencil to focus more time on his career. I know from experience, working crossword puzzles is akin to playing video games, you look up and the day is gone! For 25 years his love of puzzles lay dormant; until one day, he gave himself permission to resume his old habit. He didn’t just resume the solving of puzzles, he now wanted to create them. Today his crossword creations appear in the New York Times, Random House and many more. He is now PAID and commissioned to create 65 crossword puzzles a year. Fun trivia, Vic appeared in the 2006 documentary Wordplay, which also featured a song that he wrote and plays on the guitar.
