NYC 4-D Puzzle and Sammy, Master of All He Surveys

George's father died two years ago this month. He was a good man, and nice, and whenever George and I went to visit his parents, his father and I would inevitably end up working a puzzle together. It was a gentle, charming way to bond with his family and I keep those memories close. It was sweet. After he passed away, and because I was a puzzle-buddy, George's mother gave me his father's New York cityscape puzzle to complete. It's 4-D because it also looks at New York through the lens of time. The base, a standard cardboard puzzle cutout, shows New York in the 1700s, huge expanses of farms in what's now midtown, the already-emerging alphabet city on the east side. The base is far and away the most difficult part of the puzzle, with a lot of incredibly similar-looking pieces and not a whole lot of distinctive features to work from. But eh, I got it done. I regret now that I don't have any pictures of that layer. Hindsight is 20/20.The second layer of the puzzle brings you into the modern NYC layout. It's made from thick foam with heavy paper overlay, and has pre-punched squares to accommodate various NYC landmark buildings. Buildings are color-coded to indicate the era in which they were constructed, so you can see the spread of vertical development over the course of 200 years. Plus, it's super-cool. And it's done.To you historians and nit-pickers who claim that this puzzleis not entirely accurate...I understand, I get your point. But it's also a puzzle, a toy meant to spark interest, not something meant to be sourced for a dissertation. Get over it.So. New York City in 4-D.Be real, people. The first thing you've got to see in New York is the Statue of Liberty, amirite?Then we go up around Battery Park and check out the gateway to the Financial District.Have a look straight down Broadway.Get an aerial view. (Uh...seems that a building got a little wibbly-wobbly....whoops!)And check out Manhattan from the other side.While I was doing this, Sammy--who is without question the boss of this house--jumped onto his loveseat to acquaint himself with all goings-on. Sorry to break it to you, New York, but Sammy is the master over all he surveys. He is an imperious task-master, but not tyrannical. There are worse gigs, so long as you keep him in a steady supply of thyroid boosting cat food pellets. You'll get used to it.  :)So there we have it! This was a lot of fun, and sweet and poignant for me to complete. And it's good to let the world know Sammy is bent on world domination, one puzzle-city at a time.