You might know Will Shortz from his work at The New York Times editing the daily crossword puzzle or maybe from his work on NPR as the puzzlemaster on Weekend Edition. Where you probably don’t know him is from the table tennis community.
In his second, or maybe third life, Mr. Shortz is, in fact, an avid table tennis player, and even owns his own club in upstate New York. He and his friend and colleague Robert Roberts manage the Westchester Table Tennis Center, spending their time organizing and hosting tournaments and developing the local community.
They take their hobby on the road as well, from puzzle tournaments to club visits around the planet, and this year Will plans to play (and film) 365 straight days of table tennis. As part of that effort, he’s agreed to take Gadling on the road for a week of his journey as he and Robert travel across Alaska. They’ll be leaving this afternoon, the fifth of June for their weeklong trip, and during the effort they’ll provide daily Vines documenting their journey across the nation’s largest state.
Check back daily for a slice of Will and Robert’s trip across Alaska, or you can follow along at the link here.