google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday July 6, 2009 David W. Cromer

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Jul 6, 2009

Monday July 6, 2009 David W. Cromer

Theme: How Long?

20A: Wrinkle-resistant after washing: PERMANENT PRESS

34A: Fabled fountain's word: ETERNAL YOUTH

41A: You can still use it when postage rates increase: FOREVER STAMP

55A: "Semper fidelis, " in English: ALWAYS FAITHFUL

And PERPETUAL, INCESSANT, INFINITE, what else?

Argyle here.

Boy, would I have to eat worms if I missed the Marine Corps motto. FOREVER STAMP is a very refreshing entry. Probably a debut in any major newspaper puzzle.

My dial-up is messed up to day, so I'm running late. I had to go out and "borrow" a paper to get the puzzle. I better go put it back.

Across:

1A: Maple syrup fluids: SAPS.

5A: Musher's vehicle: SLED.

9A: Did some chinwagging: JAWED.

14A: Elm or oak: TREE. On another day they might be streets.

15A: Breaker on the shore: WAVE.

16A: Central Florida city: OCALA.

17A: Israeli carrier: ELAL. Literally "skyward".

18D: Light bulb, in a comic strip: IDEA. IDEE in French.

23A: Having disembarked: ON LAND

24A: Sweetie: HON. Favorite names used waitresses everywhere.

29A: Reversed: UNDID.

25A: Super __: Sega Genesis competitor: NES. Nintendo Entertainment System. And 52D: CNN competitor: MS NBC.

26A: "Dark Angel" star Jessica: ALBA. One for the boys.

39A: German article: EIN. A or one.

46A: Rare blood classification: TYPE AB

51A: "Overhead" engine part: CAM.

53A: Ghost-eating video icon: PAC-MAN

61A: Depilatory brand: NAIR. Another answer is NEET. Depilatory is so close to lapidary.

66A: Not quite foggy: MISTY. For you West coast morning people.

68A: Cong. meeting: SESS. I thought of Vietcong, at first.

Down:

1D: Squash: STEP ON

2D: "What's my line?" panelist Francis: ARLENE. She is on the left.

4D: Alabama civil rights city: SELMA.

5D: Con job: SWINDLE. Bunko. Joe Friday would occasionally work Bunko on Dragnet.

7D: Like 2, 4 6, etc.: EVEN. Not an odd clue.

8D: "Murder by __": Neil Simon comedy: DEATH.

9D: Long trip: JOURNEY.

11D: Bankrolls: WADS.

12D: New Haven collegians: ELIS. Yale gets so much play in crossword.

27D: Uncle Remus's __ Rabbit: BR'ER

28D: Liqueur flavoring: ANISE. Licorice-flavored.

33D: Sports org. with six Canadian teams: NHL. National Hockey League. Only 1 Canadian team in MLB - the Toronto Blue Jays.

36D: Back, on a ship: AFT.

38D: Dada artist Jean: ARP.

42D: Motel sign: VACANCY.

44D: Yearned: ASPIRED.

48D: Positive "How are you?" response: I'M FINE. One for the girls.

49D: Makes watertight: CAULK.

55D: Play opener: ACT I.

57D: Habeas corpus, eg.g.: WRIT. Habeas corpus is probably the most important WRITS of all kinds. It's a WRIT " through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person."

59D: Verdi classic: AIDA. It has become a gimme for me; how 'bout you?

60D: Tycoon Walton with a club: SAM. SAM's Club,

Answer grid.

Argyle

55 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - a very, very easy puzzle today; just south of 4 minutes. No muss, no fuss, not much to even comment on.

All the theme answers resonated with me: I wear very little 'permanent press' stuff as I actually love ironing; I bought a ton of the 'forever stamps' for the businesses when they first came out, and 'Semper Fidelis' is the Marine's motto, and something we take very seriously. Oh, and I have 'type AB' positive.

Argyle, I was hoping you'd have a picture of Jessica Alba for us; thanks.

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ClearAyes - what's in the plans for today?

Today is National Fried Chicken Day. Has anyone tried Kentucky Grilled Chicken? I found it lacking in flavor.

Today's Words of Wisdom:

"It is too late! Ah, nothing is too late
Till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate...
Chaucer, at Woodstock with the nightingales,
At sixty wrote the Canterbury Tales;
Goethe at Weimar, toiling to the last,
Completed Faust when eighty years were past.
These are indeed exceptions, but they show
How far the gulf-stream of our youth may flow
Into the arctic regions of our lives.

--Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

And a couple Fun Facts:

- The first golf rule booklet was published in Scotland in 1754.

- More than half of all Americans travel more than a million miles in their lifetimes.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dennis,
Yeah, thought of you when I filled in the Marine motto and TYPE AB. Also NAIR. How is your hair? And Pompous, Arrogant & Condescending PAC-MAN Dennis, remember?

Argyle,
Nice & crisp write-up. I like how MSNBC (52D: CNN Competitor) mirrors CHRIS (54D: "Hardball" host Matthews). Only wish there is a tie-in for the clue, as CHRIS Matthews "Hardball" appears on MSNBC. The bottom of "I'M FINE" picture looks surreal.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Clear Ayes,
Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for being there for us every day. Thank you for the always clear & reasoned posts. We love you.

Buckeye,
???

Jazz,
Yeah, I think the corset-less girl is holding a white lily.

PJ,
I am impressed that you thought of Retief Goosen. I watched that Monday playoff, but forgot all about it. The clue actually does not specify golf or tennis, so yours is a very reasonable guess.

Dennis said...

Nair?? You lost me with that one. My hair seems to be ok - what do you know that I don't?

Ah, the old PAC rap - yes, I remember it well, but don't remember who said it. Probably just as well.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dennis,
OK, maybe I am the only one who knows what's on my mind: the clue "Depilatory" & then lapidary yesterday. You coined the PAC-MAN yourself, after someone accused you of being "Pompous & Arrogant".

JD,
Politics and religion discussions tend to spur fervent reactions from posters and seem to split us more than unite us. Personally I enjoy reading various views though.

Tarrajo,
Now I am hungry for some Cantonese style wonton soup. I can smell the drops of sesame oil.

Martin said...

Fairly easy, yes, but I had GOT OFF for ON LAND. Luckily I was able to get ON LAND from the perps. No googling today.

Martin

Hahtoolah said...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend and managed to stay relatively cool!

Today's puzzle seemed especially easy, even for a Monday

whereswebb said...

Agreed, very easy puzzle.

Hope everyone had a good fourth! I know I can't be the only one disappointed to be back at work this morning.

Anonymous said...

I am seeing a lot of new avatar's today.

Walk in the park today. While the theme was tight, I thought the clues were a little bland, but I think Monday's can sometimes be that way. Good thing too, as I don't have too much time to work my brain. Have lots to accomplish this week.

My son came out of wisdom teeth with flying colors. No swelling and minimal pain. The oral surgeon said they came out quite easily. I bet he doesn't cut me any slack on the bill though regardless.

Happy, Happy Birthday ClearAyes. Are you going to share a special birthday poem with us? I hope you have a lovely day doing whatever you most prefer.

Best of luck with that computer Argyle, and get that paper back. You sneaky devil.

I spent the weekend figuring out my new cellphone and all the great features. We got the new ones for a "chaperone" feature. I can track my wandering 17 year old where ever he is. It is amazing. However, as I am losing the blackberry capability, I had to figure out a new calendar system. Working with Google calendars, and it is an awesome tool. But it was time consuming to start.

Have a great Monday.

Anonymous said...

This was probably the simplest LAT puzzle I have yet to solve. It was actually quite bland if you ask me. Selma and Nes were given up by the perps and I don't even remember what the clues were for those.

The only bright spot was your link for the ladies Argyle.

Clearayes, Happy Birthday and enjoy it to the fullest!

kazie said...

Clear Ayes, A grand and glorious happy birthday to you!!

As already noted, and very easy puzzle today, several clues I didn't even have to look at, and hardly any pauses.

Thanks once more, Argyle!

Candi L. said...

FYI: the other people in the picture with Arlene Francis are Bennett Cerf and Dorothy Killgallen. I think the emcee is James Daley. I'm not old enough to know this stuff but it's in there anyway.

Linda said...

Hey all:

CA; Check your E-mail

We still are puzzleless (in my opinion...which you can take with a $1 and maybe get a cupa plain coffee...)

CC: Say the word and I`ll consider "politics and religion" off limits...I want to be a unifier, NEVER a divider.

Off to toast my buns :)

Dennis said...

Candi L., you're right about the first two, but it's John Daly.
I always get that show and its panel confused with Gary Moore's I've Got a Secret.

Argyle said...

A nice counter-point to today's theme.

Candi L. said...

Thanks, Dennis. To be fair, I did say, I THINK. Was only going on memory. I could have looked it up, but didn't.

Lemonade714 said...

I agree this was a dramatically easy puzzle, even for a Monday. I did want to wish a belated happy birthday to Linda (I always celebrate for 30 days, just to be fair) and a timely one to Clear Ayes. You ladies are interesting and I look forward to reading you for many more years.

I grew up watching WHAT’S MY LINE, which was pretty boring, but the host, JOHN CHARLES DALY , was the epitome of New England gentleman, with the right touch of DF. He also was, like George Foreman, a self absorbed man who named all of his sons JOHN.

Enjoy July.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes. 67 years old, how did that happen?

I haven't finished up the puzzle yet, but I wanted to give you all a link to WM, aka Kathleen's amazing art show on Friday night.

Beautiful paintings from a beautiful lady Just click on the thumbnails to get a bigger view...Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone. I can't believe I am finished and got it all correct. It seems even easier that the Commuter Xword that the Naples News also publishes. I do that one when the LAT is too frightening.

Great job, Argyle. Can't believe you stole someone's paper. Did you really, or was that your little joke.

Dennis, the only reason I wondered if your statements about you and your wife's winnings were absolutely true is that my late first husband played poker and won his spending money in college and enough for us to buy our first second car ($86). He always said upon returning from Vegas that he came out about even. I had me doubts then.

Belated Happy Birthday, Linda.

Jazzbumpa said...

Quite the enduring puzzle today.

Not much to quibble about,though I certainly would have clued T66A differently.

Cheers!

Clear Ayes said...

Back for a short time. The puzzle went quickly, just as a Monday puzzle should. I'm starting to appreciate construction more and more. Thanks to both C.C. and Jerome for their insights on that. I really liked the theme answers. I also liked the seven letter down fills, SWINDLE, JOURNEY, VACANCY and ASPIRED. They weren't difficult to solve, but were different than the unsual run-of-the-mill answers.

I also liked our AB blood type having a place of honor today.

I'm off to have a birthday breakfast with some girl friends. GAH has some kind of surprise for this afternoon, so I'll just have to wait for that.

Fun and interesting blogging, Argyle...it always is!

Anonymous said...

And a Happy Belated birthday to Linda. I just couldn't post yesterday. Was feeling a little of the doldrums.

ClearAyes, thanks for the awesome pics of WM's work. I had no idea. It is spectacular. Must have been fun going to see it.

I am feeling so computer savvy today. I started an iGoogle account, put my calendar on it, and tied it into my blog page. Then I added a link to the blog. I am just in techno heaven today. It is so awesome to have everything I go to frequently on one page. Hope I don't lose the connection though.

WM said...

First of all...CA...HBDTY, HBDTY, HBD lovely Clear Ayes, HBDTY...and Maaaannny More :o)(check your email)

Good Monday morning to everyone, terrifc job Argyle, and I LOL at the newspaper bit...did you sneak it back without them knowing? Neither Cruciverb nor LAT website had the Monday puzzle...I checked up until midnight, so gave up and worked it this morning. Easy peasy...also thanks for the eye candy this am...although I am past the boys and like men with some experience in their faces. Still...he was cute!

Just started at the NW corner and kept on working and figured that Dennis would be in the 3-4 min range. I never stopped and finished in just over 10 min or so, much to my great surprise.

Liked the theme and thought it was a clever puzzle for Monday but can't really say I had a particularly favorite clue. Sat and Sunday's puzzles almost defeated me but maybe because I was so bleary-eyed.

Thank you to all of you and it was great fun seeing Chickie and JD. I sent CA the photos my friend took because I can't seem to get the linking think worked out yet. I hope you enjoy...we had about 50 people!

Hope everyone had a great 4th, we celebrated with family and a marvelous fireworks show 2 blks away! It's lovely and cooler today...whew!

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC, Argyle and All,

Not much else to add, definitely a breeze which wasn't bad after an exhausting weekend. Huge crowds in town for the festival, parade and fireworks. All went quite well.

Happy belated Linda and Happy Birthday to ClearAyes. Wishing you the best!

WM, nice work!

Thanks for the blog Argyle, you crafty critter!

Hope everyone has a great day.

Clear Ayes said...

This isn't a birthday poem, but it does make a person think about the importance of living each day to the fullest. The Indian poet and playwright, Kālidāsa lived in the 4th or 5th century AD. According to Wikipedia, "His place in Sanskrit literature is akin to that of Shakespeare in English."

Look To This Day

Look to this day:
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

....Now I'm going out to have a well-lived today!

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone! Back in town after chasing the train -- it was a fun weekend.

@clearayes Best wishes for your birthday. Hope you have an enjoyable one.

@buckeye Come out, come out, wherever you are!

I need to catch up on the last couple of day's puzzles and blogs.

Have a great Monday!!

Elissa said...

Happy Birthday CA.

Haven't been doing the puzzle for the past few days because I have been with my husband's family celebrating his parents' 60th wedding anniversary with a lovely party attended by friends and 5 children, 4 in-law children, 12 grandchildren (plus 3 spouses) and 6 great grandchildren. First time all children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have every been together at one time. Today we are having a baby shower for the coming birth of their upcoming 7th great grandchild. Doesn't take much to come up with a crowd in this family. I'll need to go home to get some rest. Good thing the puzzle was easy.

Chickie said...

Hello All--Thank you Argyle for your post today. But, paper snitching? Our paper disappeared along with our neighbors' on the same day each week for several months. Couldn't figure out if it was a jogger or a dog. Now I know. It was a crossword hound!

ClearEyes: Many Happy Returns. I hope you have your cake and eat it too.

Also, thank you for the link to WM's pictures. This way everyone on the blog can enjoy the art show, not just those of us who were able to attend. It was awesome.

Not much to comment on the puzzle today. It was easy, and I had it done as fast as I could read and write in the answers.

Happy Monday to everyone.

carol said...

Hi C.C., Argyle and everyone!

Clear ayes, a very, very happy birthday!!
I hope you get all and everything you want today, GAH included!

Not much to say about the puzzle as it was so easy. I thought 63A (room at the top/attic) was clever.

Quite 4th - didn't go anywhere...too hot, too crowded! Glad it is cooler today.

WM, enjoyed seeing you and all your pictures...what a fun time! Wish I could have been there too. Nice you could meet fellow bloggers :)

JD said...

Good morning all,

Happy happy birthday CA! Can't wait to hear about your surprise.

I did the c/w in record time for me( probably 10 min.), not one pause;laughed at "tiny colonists". I was so pleased I remembered things from past puzzles, like elis.

Must run..Truman is unloading his toys out the cat door.

eddyB said...

Good morning, The mist and fog are back to the coast by now. Blue skys.

CC: Glad you are Mrs.CC. Mrs.C will always be Richie's mom.

Our paper disappears also. If I complain, it still winds up on the sidewalk in front of the house.

Couldn' decide what to eat on the
the 4th. So I had another piece of Germ. Choc. Cake. The fireworks stopped about 1AM.

Nothing to say about the puzzle that already hasn't been said. I solved it as fast as I could read and write.

Need to make a quick trip to COSTCO.

JD said...

CA, lovely poem!

Argyle, as always, a great job. Thanks!

Reliving History:

1885- 1st inoculation (of a human) for rabies given by Louis Pasteur.

1912- 5th Olympic games opened in Stockholm.

1928- 1st all-talking motion picture shown in NY-Lights of NY

1957- Althea Gibson was 1st black tennis player to win Wimbledon

1958- Alaska became 49th state

Al said...

If you haven't seen Murder by Death, by all means go out and rent it or if you have high speed internet, watch it on youtube.

@C.C. I had sent an email early yesterday to the help link on the LAT puzzle page about where to find the notepad, but I haven't gotten any response yet. I couldn't find it there either. You'd think they would include it there somehow since it's their puzzle...which makes me wonder, does Merle specifically write puzzles for Across Lite and not realize the LAT site couldn't do the notepad thing?

Jerome said...

Good job, Argyle! You don't have to bring my paper back. I've bought another one.

Very nice puzzle... lots of slick fill, as Clear Ayes noted. The letters J,W,V,K,B and F lend a little pizzazz. I did get a tad spooked where DEATH crosses PERMANENT and ETERNAL JOURNEY meet.

embien said...

6:25 today. But I had to struggle with the LA Times online app (which I hate) because cruciverb.com didn't have the Across Lite version of the puzzle up for some reason. Probably added a minute or so to my time because that app and my fingers don't get along very well.

My biggest snafu was going ASHORE instead of ON LAND, but that was quickly corrected.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I am doing one more techie thing today. I am trying to link in a photo. It was sent to me in an email, and made me think of Dennis and the crew. I hope it works. Interesting Car

IRISH JIM said...

Good afternoon CC Argyle and all.

Many happy returns to one of the classiest ladies on this blog.

WM, aka Kathleen those pictures are just wonderful.

Was a link ever posted for Wm's interview that I may have missed.

Jimmy, S. Carolina

3 of Four said...

Argyle - In response to your question "any more?" This doesn't meet the cluing/answer criteria, but a "forever" I've heard all my life is - When cows fly!

Vern said...

Happy Birthday Clear Eyes. Let's get all of the 60 and 70 (& perhaps some 80's)together and rid the world of that awful "elderly" word! One secret to long life is a sense of humor. Dr. William Fry, Jr., an expert on health & laughter, said that everyone needs at least 15 laughs a day, including 3 belly laughs, or they suffer from being "underlaughed." Norman Cousins, while fighting a painful ailment, found that 10 belly laughs gave him 2 hours of pain-free sleep. Let's laugh more and worry less! (P.S. A very, very easy Monday crossword)

JD said...

Irish Jim, I think the article will come out this Friday.

KQ-success! Great picture for the guys

Vern, Belly laughs are the best! As goofy as some of the old programs were, like I Love Lucy and Hollywood Squares, they were good for our health

Argyle said...

Have no fear, my paper has been paid for. Hell, at 3:30AM, the paper boy was still fast asleep. I had to go to the convenience store (where I get my paper anyway). I just delayed paying for it by a few hours. I had to pay for it; I had cut the puzzle out, trying to get my OCR to work on it. I've had good luck with the program recognizing words when they are printed on stock paper but on news print, not so good.

I just checked Cruciverb and it still wasn't working.

Lemonade714 said...

KQ,
That gives a whole new meaning to "look at those headlights." Those minis don't look so mini.

Anyway, thank you CA, for in the finest Hobbit tradition, you have provided all of us with the present of pictures from WM's big day. The work is wonderful, and being part of it, even from this distance was great, thank you both.

Also, CA the poem is perfect, thank you.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

WM,
Awesome pictures!

Linda,
Don't worry! I will point it out if any topic goes too far.

Al,
Yeah, I think the Notepad information is for Across Lite users. LAT format is supposed to look like Merle Reagle's own website, with the notes listed above the puzzle. Anyway, the original Los Angeles Times Sunday Calendar editor Sylvia Bursztyn will be back in mid-July. Merle's puzzles are there as replacements.

Jazzbumpa said...

Jerome -
You help me see puzzles in a different way. Thanx.
KQ -
I know people sometimes put bras on their cars, but this is the first one to actually need it.
C.A.-
Happy Birthday! Love the poem. Pretty clever them millenium-and-a-half-ago Sanskrti Speakers!
C.C. -
U'nder the circumstances, I think that is a Lily of the Valley.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Here is a poem published in Bulletin Board in the St. Paul Pioneer Press for your enjoyment.

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity

During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnuts
(Hollowed out
Fitted with straws
Crammed with tobacco
Stolen from butts
In family ashtrays)
When puffed in green lizard silence
While straddling thick branches
Far above and away
From the softening effects
Of civilization;

During that summer--
Which may never have been at all;
But which has become more real
Than the one that was--
Watermelons ruled.

Thick imperial slices
Melting frigidly on sun-parched tongues
Dribbling from chins;
Leaving the best part,
The black bullet seeds,
To be spit out in rapid fire
Against the wall
Against the wind
Against each other;

And when the ammunition was spent,
There was always another bite:
It was a summer of limitless bites,
Of hungers quickly felt
And quickly forgotten
With the next careless gorging.

The bites are fewer now.
Each one is savored lingeringly,
Swallowed reluctantly.

But in a jar put up by Felicity,
The summer which maybe never was
Has been captured and preserved.
And when we unscrew the lid
And slice off a piece
And let it linger on our tongue:
Unicorns become possible again.

– John Tobias

Anonymous said...

Sallie,

After reading your nice poem, I had to show you this. It came in the same email as the car picture. The caption was as follows:

Clever ideas: Square Watermelons

A round watermelon can take up a lot of room in a refrigerator and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves.

Smart Japanese Farmers have forced their watermelons to grow into a
square shape by inserting the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.

Square Watermelons

What will they think of next.

IRISH JIM said...

JD, Thank you for info on interview.

KQ, square watermelons?. I think I have seen everything.
I wager they will not sell here.

Jimmy, S. Carolina

carol said...

Sallie, what a beautiful poem...my eyes are moist! I think one has to be a bit older to fully appreciate the sentiment.

Vern, you are so right, a good laugh is so nice! We, on this blog, (thanks C.C.) have had many of them thanks to all of the great people who contribute.
As some of the others have said, one does not dare to have any liquid in their mouths when reading posts :)

Jeannie said...

Jeannie days are coming to an end, sadly to say. Clearayes, as much as I would like to toast you tonight I cannot. WM, beautiful paintings...how are my daisies coming? I have so far harvested 18 zucchini's from my garden.

Tarrajo, I am sorry to hear you didn't roll eggrolls with LGJ but I understand it as the weather was too MN nice to keep the LG indoors.

Linda said...

CA: WM`s paintings are lovely...thanks for the link...hope your BD was as nice as mine...We reconnected with two couples from 20 years ago...had wonderful Mexican food and watched Inkheart when we got home...
Today...we enjoyed a friends pool and her lovely garden. Saturday we had a cookout with family and friends...I just might celebrate all month...how about you?
Thank everyone for your birthday wishes...

About laughing a lot...my Dad was hilarious...and my two boys are....one of my boys can talk just like Donald Duck and he cracks me up saying something solemn like DD.
We know too many jokes and puns and can`t wait to tell a new one...my husband just shakes his head....but none of us look our age...or so many people say...it`s the laughing!

treefrog said...

Easy puzzle, once I was able to print it!!
Hmm, they changed our puzzle because people complained. It took me several tries to finish it today. Go figure.

Had a great week with the granddaughter. Too many people here on the 4th. I did the Happy Dance yesterday when they left. Came in the house and the cats were doing their Happy Dance.

Amazing how well a child can behave until the parents show up!!

Worked in the yard today. Much cooler.

Just did a brief read through. Will try to get on track tomorrow.

Nice to catch up a bit.

Anonymous said...

Time to say goodnight everyone. KQ: Thanks for the square watermelons. And Carol, I'm glad you like the poem. It surely spoke to me, even tho I didn't do those things. For me it was a man with a tomato garden who would bring out the salt shaker when he saw me coming. We'd sit on his steps and talk philosophy (I was a spectacled, braided 9 year old when we first connected) for an hour or so most summer afternoons while we ate tomatoes off the vine. Have never had any so good since.

Jeannie said...

Linda sweetie...how in the heck did I miss you? You are top notch in my book. Happity Birthday and many more albeit a little late. Somehow I think you will forgive me. God Bless You. It's taken awhile but He's trying.

melissa bee said...

just wanted to pop in to toast our birthday girls .. linda and CA hope it was spectacular.

WM congratulations.. looks like it was a smashing success, i hated to miss it. i'm swamped with life at the moment, hope i get another opportunity.

Linda said...

Jeannie.... You made my day in so many ways...

Again, Thank you all for the kind Birthday Wishes...