google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday May 13, 2010 Gareth Bain

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May 13, 2010

Thursday May 13, 2010 Gareth Bain

Theme: Let's Anagram! - The first words of all theme answers are all anagrams of "Cats".

17A. Demonstrates sincere intentions: ACTS IN GOOD FAITH. Plural act. (Update from Argyle: Acts is third persona verb. Not a plural noun.)

28A. Wonderful thing, in old slang: CAT'S PAJAMAS. Bee's knees. Possessive cat. I would not have liked the answer if it were just a plural cat. It'd be the same scheme as the plural act.

46A. Jazzy vocal style: SCAT SINGING

57A. Stereotypical movie epic feature: CAST OF THOUSANDS. What's your favorite epic movie? I liked "300". Muscular Spartan soldiers.

Gareth also weaved three "capitals" in his clues:

10A. Capital south of Quito: LIMA. Peru's capital. Quito is the capital of Ecuador.

25A. Capital replaced by Abuja: LAGOS. Nigeria's old capital. Gareth lives in South Africa. He probably thinks it's incomprehensible that I had never heard of Abuja or MAURITANIA (31D. Senegal neighbor). North of Senegal.

64A. Capital of Oman: RIAL. Currency "capital". The capital city is Muscat.

Surprised OSLO (56D. Nobel Institute site) is not clued as "Norway's capital". Probably too much.

Nice to see TAI (20A. __ chi) and JET LI (48. Martial artist co-star of "The Forbidden Kingdom") in one grid. Jet Li is a big part of my childhood memory. A real mainland Chinese cultural icon, unlike the Hongkong born Jackie Chan or US born Bruce Lee. Cantonese and Koreans often spell Li as Lee, as in Ang Lee.

By the way, Rich Norris apologized for the ANG clue error yesterday. He said the error was "discovered a couple of days ago and corrections were issued to all newspapers and web site." Obviously Cruciverb still had the wrong clue when some of us downloaded.

Across:

1. Be in a funk: MOPE

5. 1979 sci-fi blockbuster: ALIEN. And ETS (43D. They're out of this world).

14. Filthy deposit: CRUD. Couldn't jam in MONEY.

15. Gentle prod: NUDGE

16. "Trinity" novelist: URIS (Leon)

21. At no time, to Bernhard: NIE. German for "never". Bernhard means "strong, brave bear". Is it a typical German name? I only know golfer Bernhard Langer.

22. Like much junkyard metal: RUSTY

31. Humanities degs.: MAS.

34. Prefix with musicology: ETHNO. Ethnomusicology. Defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts", according to Wikipidia. New to me. Makes sense, with ethno's "race"/"culture" prefix meaning.

35. Work with notes: OPUS. Musical notes.

36. Sea dog: SALT. Both slang for sailor.

37. Cosby often wore one on his show: SWEATER. Bill Cosby. I was stumped.

39. Egg-cooking aid: SPATULA. Was picturing the coddled egg porcelain cup.

41. Waterproof cover: TARP

42. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE

44. Comic Cheech: MARIN. Cheech and Chong (Tommy). We also have Arnold STANG (33D. Old-time comic Arnold), whose name simply escaped me.

48. Long __: JOHNS

49. Cause of reduced visibility: MIST

50. Draws back: SHIES

53. "In Treatment" network: HBO. Easy guess.

54. Bustle: ADO

62. Either of a Monopoly pair: Abbr.: UTIL. Got the answer via crossed.

63. Informed: AWARE

65. Ricky portrayer: DESI (Arnaz). "I Love Lucy".

66. Lose one's mind: GO MAD

67. Put on the canvas: KAYO. KO (knockout) spelled out.

Down:

1. Aspiring MD's hurdle: MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)

2. Black-and-white swimmer: ORCA

3. "Shake!": PUT IT THERE. I don't get the clue.

4. Paper heads, briefly: EDS (Editors)

5. Eight-time LPGA Player of the Year Sorenstam: ANNIKA. Loved Annika. Lorena Ochoa too. Sad to see Ochoa retire so early.

6. Downhill racer: LUGE

7. Words sealed with a kiss: I DO. Sweet clue.

8. Psyche part: EGO

9. Composer Rorem: NED. Nice to meet you, sir.

10. Island bashes: LUAUS

11. It regulates the size of the pupil: IRIS. I totally dig "it"/"they" clues.

12. Specialized glove: MITT. Baseball glove.

13. Washed-out: ASHY

18. Joint that's jumping: IN SPOT. Why "jumping"?

19. Bushy styles, for short: FROS

24. "I can do it with my eyes closed!": A SNAP

25. Yorkie's perch: LAP

26. Tickles pink: AMUSES

27. [Horrors!]: GASP. The square brackets suggest non-verbal behavior or gesture.

28. Jai alai basket: CESTA. See this picture. The jai alai ball is called "pelota". Learned from doing Xword.

29. Like Russia and Japan, for most of 1904-'05: AT WAR

30D. River crossed in Joshua: JORDAN. Jordan River. Easy guess. Who crossed the river? Jesus?

32. Last-ditch bet: ALL IN. Poker bet.

36. Harts: STAGS

38. A pop: EACH

40. Prenatal tests, for short: AMNIOS. Amniocentesis. New word to me also.

46. Passable: SO SO

47. Permeated: IMBUED

50. Gulf War missile: SCUD

51. Odium: HATE

52. Sister of Osiris: ISIS. Or wife of Osiris.

53. dance: HORA. The Jewish wedding dance. Wikipedia says "Hava Nagila" is a Hebrew folk song, meaning "let us rejoice".

55. Decisive '40s event: D-DAY

58. __ end: cloth remnant: FAG. New word to me.

59. Thematic number on 61-Down: TWO. And ARK (61. Early craft). Noah's Ark. Everything in pairs.

60. Scene stealer: HAM

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

62 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Happy Birthday, Jeannie~

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - this was an enjoyable Thursday puzzle; fresh clues, clever anagram theme that I didn't catch until the third answer, and a learning experience from the unknowns. Nice job, Gareth.

I still don't like 'ashy', even though we've seen it before. Remembered 'cesta' from our Jai Alai discussion before. C.C., it's common for people to consider a place as an 'in-spot' because it's really 'jumping', or alive with activity. And yes, I caught the 'capital' sub-theme too.

Unknowns for me included 'nie', 'ethnomusicology' and 'fag end'.

Today is Frog Jumping Day and Leprechaun Day. However, they pale in comparison to the real event of the day: Today is Jeannie's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Jeannie - I hope you're doing something exciting and fun today.

Dennis said...

Lol, Hahtool, you crack me up.

Lemonade714 said...

How fun, an anagram puzzle for Jerome and Al. This puzzle just flew by, and I usually have trouble with Mr. Bain. I am on a roll this week, all my motions have been granted, and now a single digit Thursday.

I filled everything, even though I really do not know much of it, MAURITANIA is just a blip on a map, like LAGOS.

Speaking of maps, one of my business partners just returned from Quito, (9000’?) he has been before but still finds the adjustment difficult. I am sure some of you will not be happy about the reference to Arnold STANG but his voice was unique, I will never forget it, nor his work doing voices for the cartoon TOP CAT .

Also, from my youth, one put out one's hand, and says, "Put it there, buddy" indicating the person should shake your hand. Also, seen in old movies.

Ans many more, Miss Lo-li-ta.
Ah well I am off to Orlando and Gainesville, see you all on the other side

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and all. Good Thursday. I found that I both learned a few things and knew things I didn't know I knew in today’s puzzle. NED ROMAN is new to me, also, CC.

Leon Uris is one of my favorite authors. He wrote lots of historical fiction and sagas. He is probably best known for Exodus, but also wrote about the Ireland.

I knew CESTA from watching Mad Men

Mad Men.

I liked seeing ETS and ALIEN in the same puzzle.

I wouldn’t exactly call a SPATULA an egg cooking aid. I like my eggs hard-boiled.

FAG End is clearly a British phrase. Since Gareth Bain is from South Africa, that would probably explain its insertion in this puzzle.

QOD: I was too heavy to be a jockey and too honest to be a producer, so I became a writer. ~ Leon Uris.

windhover said...

Happy Birthday, Jeannie. Hope all your joints are jumping today.
Dennis:
Great news about your friend yesterday. I hope his recovery is complete.

Not puzzle related (sorry), but a question for Al (if he's around today), and whoever else cares to respond. What is your opinion about the efficacy of acupuncture, and traditional Chinese medicine in general?

Dennis said...

Windhover, I have several friends, including a professional athlete, who absolutely swear by the wonders of acupuncture. I personally would rather stick a fork in my eye than have needles stuck in me, but it obviously works for some people.

C.C., you should have an insight on the subject.

Dick said...

Good morning CC and All, I sort of took a butt kicking with today’s puzzle. I did manage to get all of the theme answers, but did not see the anagram connection until coming here. I did not know 25A Lagos, 31D Mauritania, 48D Jet LI and 34A ethno. Not knowing the above made for a difficult solve today. The perps helped solve most of the unknowns, but I still needed some outside help. I had a real brain fade on 64A Rial, at first, as my mind could not grasp capital as currency and I could not force Muscat in the spaces provided.

Happy Birthday Jeannie! Take the day off and go sailing or go buy another pair of new shoes.

Dennis that was good news about your friend. My friend had a full knee replacement at 2 PM in the afternoon and they had him out of bed and standing at 8 PM that same evening and discharged two days later. They sure don’t want you hanging around.

Hope you all have a great Thursday.

Tinbeni said...

Jeannie, Happy Birthday!
21 again? I'm not surprised.

Though this was a slog, I "got'er done" with only one write-over.
Had elates for AMUSES, easy fix.
This is something that amuses me sometimes.
After I finish, I look at the completed grid and wonder why this took more than half a cup of coffee. Oh, well.

Didn't catch the CATS anagram theme until I came here.

FAG end: cloth remnant?
Figured that was a Brit/S.African expression. Thanks Hahtool.

Liked Oman capital/RIAL. A friend of mine works in Muscat, so that was a gimmie.

Andrea said...

Not much time this morning, but I definitely want to wish Jeannie a VERY happy birthday! Hope all of your birthday wishes come true!

Al said...

How acupuncture works.

There is also a self-treatment called EFT (emotional freedom technique), which is essentially acu-"pressure", that is, tapping the spots with your fingers where acupuncture needles would be placed.

Unknown said...

Re: 3D - "Shake". Extend ones hand towards another and says, "Put it there."

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and All,

I had some problems with this one today. Mostly the names. I was disappointed in myself that Jet Li never popped into my brain. My favorite was Puts on the canvas.

Happy, Happy Birthday Jeannie!

The weather is still cool here and breezy. Still need to wear tights (what a picture eh?!!) riding the bike. Very bright and sunny today though.

A fellow biker is a chiropractor and does acupuncture also. I have heard from many of his patients of the positive effects. I would try it for my knees but our insurance won't pay for it. I'll just keep up with the bone cracking! That helps me out quite a bit.

Have a great day!

Dennis said...

Al, thanks for the EFT info. I'm all for non-invasive treatments (except for women, of course).

Spitzboov said...

Good morning C.C. and all. Agree with Dennis on the clueing. Moderate difficulty but doable without searches. The NW was last to fall. Four Holy Land/Israel related clues for JORDAN, ARK, HORA, and URIS (Exodus). African fills: MAURITANIA, LAGOS. RIAL was clever; I wanted Muscat, d'uh. Still can't spell ADEE. Didn't comprehend 'a pop' at first although I use it all the time. Didn't like ASHY either; prefer 'ashen'.

29d AT WAR - T. Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize from OSLO for brokering an end to the conflict. (All other Nobel awards ie. physics, are decided in Stockholm.)

Happy Birthday Jeannie! May you live a 100 years StoLat

ARBAON said...

Jeannie: And may you be as lovely, witty and able-bodied ( :) as you are now whilst living your 100 years!

DCannon said...

Kind of hard for me; had to use red letter help.

Happy BD, Jeannie!

CC: Joshua and the Children of Isreal crossed the Jordan River to get to the promised land. (But I'm sure Jesus crossed it, too. Probably more than once. He was baptized in the Jordan.)

Haven't been around here much, but I have been doing the puzzles.

Jeannie said...

I forgot to look at the constructor’s name today and once I realized it was an anagram theme I thought for sure it was our Jerome. Oh well, maybe he’ll grace us with another one soon. My favorite clues were “work with notes” – opus and thought “words sealed with a kiss” – I do was sweet. I did have to hit the G-spot for Lagos. I got some perp help with Uris, Isis, and fag (end). I got spatula right away as I like my eggs over easy. Can someone please explain “harts” – stag? I don’t get it.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Unfortunately I am stuck in the office buying Whoppers and Fries. It’s just as well as it’s pouring outside right now. I think I’ll be going out for dinner tonight though.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Aha! Thanks once again C.C. for taking care of the theme for me. Sometimes it just doesn't appear easily.

"FAG end" for a remnant? OK. I've heard the term "fagged out" meaning exhausted and I guess FAG end means pretty much the exhausted end of a bolt of fabric. We do learn something almost everyday. I still doubt that I will be using the term the next time I go into our local fabric store.

Thanks for the NED Rorem link, Hahtool. He is probably one of the most famous people I have never heard of.

Lemonade, I loved seeing Arnold STANG again. I met him once when I was about 10 years old. As I recall, he was very shy and didn't say much. But then, neither did I.

Al, interesting information on EFT. Can't hurt and might help. Melissa bee, do you know anything about this technique?

Happy Birthday and then some to Jeannie!

Al said...

Jeannie, here are several HART pics. I had to specify "+stag" in the search or I got an entirely different set of pictures, probably NSFW.

HBTY, btw.

WM said...

Happy Birthday Jeannie...hope you can celebrate this weekend. :o)

Dennis said...

Jeannie, a hart is a mature red stag deer. One of those crossword words.

lois said...

Good morning CC, et al., Interesting puzzle with an interesting theme...thank you CC. Geography got me but the perps pretty much bailed me out.

This Cats theme made me think of the personality analysis based on whether you prefer cats or dogs. Basically cat people tend to be independent, a few close friends, warm and loving. Dog people are spontaneous, prefer big social circles, the outside, and are prone to dominance and co-dependence and drooling.
Now if you really believe this, I've got some ocean front property in Okla to sell ya.

Haven't seen 'stags' in a while... in a puzzle anyway. They're always popping their little white tails up around these parts. Horns seem to be on the small side these days. Surely global warming can't be to blame. Maybe a lack of stimulation.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Jeannie! I hope your day is absolutely spectacularly fantabulous! I will begin toasting to you as soon as they unlock my door and I can escape. I wish you many many more.

Enjoy your Jeannie's Birthday! Yippee!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi Gang -

Jeannie, HBD!

The LW's family sings Sto Lat, (sort of) but nobody knows anything past the first 9 words.

Speaking of living 100 years - in local news, we just lost the last Ziegfeld Follies girl, at 106.

Rather tough puzzle today. Usually I'm on GB's wave length, but did not click this time. Made it through eventually. Couldn't figure out "paper heads" even after perps filled it in. Got fixated on these images and couldn't recover.

Also got hung up on boiled eggs, so SPATULA was slow to flip.

Was not AWARE of NED Rorem. Though it's now late in the morning, here is a nice rendition of one of his songs.

Long JOHNS surprised me, since I've put mine away for the summer. Opposite season down in S.A. though.

Stormy here today. Should clear up by tomorrow. Crystal Bowersox is singing the Anthem at the Hen's game in T-town. But I'll be busy playing Mussorgsky.

Cheers!
JzB - I DO shove air through a variable length tapered metal tube, aka the pitch approximator.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Got some today, missed many. As usual for a Thursday. Let alone the days to come until blessed Monday when they are easy enough for my poor brain.

The anagrams were clever; of course I didn't get it until I came here.

Happy birthday, Jeannie. Hope dinner out tonight is memorable. I also like the idea of new shoes. I have way too many, but I wear only leather flip flops here in Florida.
Most comfortable.

Cheers

Jerome said...

I don't know if you can be healed through ACUPUNCTURE, but there is something very, very fishy about the TUNA CUP CURE!

This is real crud- A chef ACTS IN GOOD FAITH but in a crummy Bangkok diner you'll find folks
CASTING THAI FOOD!

Lucina said...

Good day, C.C. and puzzlers.

Happy, happy birthday, Jeannie!

I thought this was "the cat's pajamas" which is any xwd that requires no searches and very few abbreviations; though did not catch the anagram until the blog explanation.

Ned Rorem and ethnomusicality were unknowns, but revealed themselves nicely.

Great clues: early craft, ark
paper heads: eds (editors)
work with notes: opus

Mauritania came easily because fourth graders study Africa and projects on the countries abounded.

As a long time seamstress, have never heard "fag" used that way.

I also caught the "capitals" theme; interestingly, my grandmother used the term "rial" and "riales" for quarters all her life. Her Spanish was a throwback to the 17th century. Since the Moors occupied Spain for 800 years the language persisted and the soldiers brought it to the New World. Many isolated villages in New Mexico used that 17thC Spanish since they had no outside influences for at least three more centuries.

On acupuncture: my daughter used it effectively for migraine headaches. She had weekly sessions but finally stopped because of the cost, all out of pocket. Since her child's birth, she has not had any migraines.

About Bill Cosby's sweaters: they were always quite colorful and unusual, weren't they?

I hope you are all having a super duper Thursday, especially Jeannie!

dodo said...

Happy Birthday, Jeannie, and Good Day to all of you.

Lucina, I could almost duplicate your post; all just about what I've been thinking. However, my daughter's migraines did not go away after chilbirth; she still has them, poor thing. I'll suggest acupuncture to her, but she's always been terrified of needles.

I felt the same way about the puzzle: How nice to have a Thursday one that went together to nicely. I even had heard of Ned Rorem, although I thought he had something to do with country music. I guess the name sounds like a country one to me.

Never heard of 'fag ends'. 'Mill ends' yes, but most often just remnants.

Didn't get the theme until C.C. revealed it.

Favorite clue: Put on the canvas/kayo. I was thinking oils, but not for long.

I'm glad most of the bad problems friends have been experiencing have had favorable outcomes. MJ, I'm still pulling for your young man. He seems to have a lot going for him with the exception of this last unpleasant situation, but I'm confident modern medicine will take care of him.

'summer is acumen in...' here in the Central Valley. Enjoy, all.

Gunghy said...

Dust for mist, Annita for Annika, seal for salt. I've got no excuse for Annita, but seals are referred to as sea dogs and we've had 50 to 80 car pile-ups in dust storms near Fresno. Of course we get them in the Tule fog as well, but fog didn't fit.

Tried KO'ed first. Didn't we have a recent discussion about KAYO?

Happy b-day, Jeannie. May your sails fill as soon as the storm ends.

Hart is more common in British parlance, I believe. You find it in stories where the prince and company ride out for a day's hunting.

Lois, at the risk of starting a fire storm, Global Climate Change is not likely to be a cause of small horns; unless your area is in a prolonged drought?? Otherwise, if you are in one of the areas that is warming, there should be extra vegetation growing. It's more likely to be caused by over population brought on by lack of predation. The last time I was in the Bay Area, I counted 80 deer on one hillside. But there's no hunting allowed and any lion sighted is trapped and removed.

Dennis, my B-I-L had 2 vertebrae in his neck fused yesterday. He just called me from the car on his way home. I hope your friend is doing as well.

Off to donate blood. Regards to all

Bill G. said...

Happy birthday Jeannie!

L714 said: "I am sure some of you will not be happy about the reference to Arnold STANG."

I'm wondering why? I remember him from seeing him on my parents' B/W TV console, maybe on the Milton Berle show. He made me laugh and that's all I know about him.

Speaking of that TV, it was in a nice hardwood cabinet and had a funny screen that was straight on the top and bottom and rounded on both sides. I'll bet my father had to work a much longer time to earn the money to buy that TV than I did for the HD TV that I got in the last year or so. Before we got that TV in about 1953, I used to go to a friend's house to watch the test pattern before Howdy Doody came on. Then my father and I would walk across the street to my aunt's house to watch Frontier Theater and Captain Video on their TV with a little round screen.

Dennis said...

Regarding 'in spot', Gareth has informed us as to why it's clued 'Joint that's jumping' - "it's an oblique reference to Fats Waller's tune "The joint is jumping"; interesting to see if some of the over 75's spot that!"

Bill G. said...

Bill Cosby's sweaters did look great but they often had a lot of material up around the neck. I thought I would be too warm and uncomfortable wearing them in my classroom.

Since Jai Alai was in the puzzle, I read that you are not allowed to played Jai Alai left-handed, probably for safety reasons. Polo too. Also, you're not allowed to salute left-handed. Anything else?

Spitzboov said...

Bill G. Saluting left-handed? Ok in the Navy if your right hand is encumbered. We've got to stop putting out bum skinny.

eddyB said...

Hi.

Did the puzzle last night during the Flyers game. Thought it was pretty easy.

Not quite 75 but a have a 4 CD box set of Fats Waller tunes. Phrase
probably used alot during Jive Age.

After sticking myself with needles
three or four times/day, acupunture would be no problem.
Wonder if injecting between the toes really works.

eddyB 17
would work

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Am I the only one who learned that Mauritania has exactly the same letter count as Madagascar?

Jazzbumpa said...

Haven't tried acupuncture, but I'll put in a plug for chiropractic.

I first went to the Chiro several years ago out of desperation. I had 3 or 4 headaches per week that would last from 8 to 24 hours. Don't know if they were migraines, but they sure cramped my style.

Turns out I had pretty substantial subluxations (misalignments) of the top two vertebrae. Over time, and lots of adjustments, they pretty much straightened out.

I do not lead a headache free existence, but the difference has been orders of magnitude in both frequency and severity.

Similar results for the LW.

My health insurance has never covered chiropractic. Every penny is out of my pocket, and I go twice a week. I have disc degeneration at the 6th cervical vertebra, and a complex of associated difficulties. Chiropractic is a big part of managing that situation.

Cheers!
JzB who occasionally resembles a pretzel

MR ED said...

I learned that the 'Hora' was a harvest dance.
A lot of unheard of stuff in this one but still enjoyable.
HAPPY B-DAY JEANNIE. I just know you'll enjoy your present.

Jerome said...

Wow, Dudley, if you had MADAGASCAR going down, I'd love to see what you entered for the words crossing it! :)

Dudley said...

Let's just say that few perps worked out...

carol said...

Hi everyone...it IS THURSDAY...and my puzzle solving abilities reflected that as I tried to do this daunting piece of work - Good job Gareth!!
I have put 3 new dents in my V-8 can and it's almost time to get a new one.

I have to admit I have never heard of 31D..didn't even come close to putting anything in there.

Had trouble with 10A LIMA and 25A LAGOS...guess I was not in a geographical mood today.

A very, very Happy Birthday Jeannie!! I hope you enjoy your evening, eat cake and other tasty things.

Bob said...

Not a big challenge today. 17 minutes. Everything fell into place pretty easily.

Crockett1947 said...

Jeannie, I tried to wish you a Happy Birthday earlier, but I don't think I succeeded. May your days be filled with friendship, love, and joy!!

Clear Ayes said...

Back from the monthly cribbage game and catching up on the comments.

I'm surprised that we didn't have any comments about 42A "Zip-ADEE-Doo-Dah" from that controversial movie (well, it was the last time we discussed it) "Song Of The South". I do have the DVD and I still haven't gotten around to watching it. I'll put that on my "do soon" list and get back to you.

Learning something new. I thought that the sister ship of the ill-fated RMS Luisitania was RMS MAURITANIA. Not so. The ship was RMS Mauretania which, according to Wikipedia, had nothing to do with MAURITANIA with an "I".

Jeannie said...

Thanks again to all of you wishing me a Happy Birthday after I posted. It means a lot to me.

Here is a moral delema. I have a co-worker that went through a divorce, makes about the same amount of money as me and gets about $600.00 a month child support for one "snotty child". Snotty child is putting it mildly as she was "Daddy's" little princess. I'll just leave it at that. Anyway, my friend has a gambling problem and has lost her house and gone about $75,000 in debt on credit cards. She is my age and has been reduced to selling most of her belongings and had to move back into her parents house. We do a lot of business with casinos and on Tuesday, being the center of the plate buyer had to go to a meeting at one. Meeting was done at 1:30pm and she never came back to the office. Next day was a plea to me to "loan" her $50.00 for gas. We got paid the previous Friday.

I told her I couldn't help her as I am having my outside of my house re-stained (about $3000).

Today I open the Birthday card from my parents and instead of the usual $40.00 check it was about 50X's that. Question, do I help my friend? My heart tells me to, but my head says "teach her a lesson".

BTW, my dinner plans are pushed off until Saturday night which accommodates our schedules better.

ACCOMMODATES is the word in 8th grade that put me in second place rather than first in a spelling bee. I will never mis-spell it again.

Hahtoolah said...

Jeannie: Giving your friend cash will make you an enabler. If she asks money for a specific purpose, ie, for "gas", and you want to help her, offer to go with her to the filling station and you will purchase a tank of gas for her. Otherwise, she likely will use the cash for more gaming. Unfortunately, we went through this with a family member several years ago.

carol said...

Jeannie, Hahtool is right, please do not enable your friend. I know you have a big heart, but if you really care about her, you will not give her money. She has to deal with her problem. Until she is willing to do that, keep your purse closed. Tough love, kiddo.

Lucina said...

Jeannie, being the kind hearted person you are, naturally you want to help your friend. But please listen to Hahtool and Carol. You shall not be doing her a favor. If anything, advise her to seek help.

Seen it before.

Clear Ayes said...

Jeannie, what a sad predicament. I agree with Hahtool and Carol. Don't give her cash. If you do go with her to fill up her car with gas, make sure that she understands it is ONE TIME ONLY. I looked it up...there are literally dozens of Gamblers Anonymous meeting places in Minnesota. You could give her the website address Another thing to remember is that you should never loan more than you can afford to give. To yourself, consider the fill-up as a gift. If she pays you back, wonderful, and if not you won't be losing sleep about it.

It sounds like the child is acting out for having a miserable home life with an addicted mother and an absent over-indulgent father.

MJ said...

Jeannie-Happy Birthday to you! Hope you've had a great day, even if your dinner plans are on hold. (BTW, my hand is up seconding all the great advice re: your current moral dilemma with a coworker.)

Lucina-Yes, Cosby's sweaters were very colorful and unique. He also often wore sweatshirts from various colleges and universities. I loved that show, especially the first few seasons when "the children" were young.

dodo-I think, perhaps, you are referring to KQ and her son's current medical challenge.

Gunghy-Thank you for being a willing blood donor.

Bill G.-In the mid-50's, my grandfather won a TV set in a raffle. It was housed in a lovely hardwood cabinet, and was my first experience with a TV. I have the cabinet in my home, sans the "innards". Thirty years ago it housed our stereo system. Now it's just for storage, but we still refer to it as "the stereo cabinet".

Cheers!

Gunghy said...

Jeannie,
Let's look at it from the other side. I never say, "I'm sorry" anymore, because no one that knew me a few years back believed it even after I started working to get my act together. When she starts saying' "I blew it" or "I did..." you might believe she's taken ownership of her problem. Until she does, it's 'not her fault' and you and everyone else are fair game because 'you are the reason she has to do what she does.'

I wouldn't even buy her the tank of gas. Until she hits her bottom, she will continue to justify what she does and continue to do it. Print out the material from the web site, or find their office and pick some up, and give it to her. (Just a website probably won't work.) Be as non-judgmental as possible, but tell her that you can't help her financially until she starts to help herself. Offer to drive her to a meeting, if she doesn't have the gas. Then walk away.

Harsh? It's estimated that only 15% of the people that enter AA make it one year. And that is after you eliminate the court ordered 'Don't Wanna-Bes' AA has the highest success rate of any addiction program out there.

We say we are a program of want, not need; because only those that really want it make it. It doesn't sound like your colleague wants it, yet. Hopefully, that time will come.

OKAY, enough preaching. But, one last thing. She will need friends that can help her, but keep one eye on her and one hand on your wallet as she grows more desperate.

Jeannie said...

I understand all that you people have to offer, and when her plea came I couldn't give her "lend" wasn't a term given. But now I just got this windfall that I could personally use and thought of her right away. I felt better spending the $50.00 for Jen's shoes the other day than doing this for her. I just decided, I just can't do it. That is a very hard decision as all you know I am a "softie" at heart.

Okay, I might buy a $25 gas card.

Jeannie, caves, party of one....

BTW, that gift from my parents came unexpectantly and my Mom said, Jeannie, in our heart we thought you might need it. In my Dad's heart he was thinking, "Jeannie" we're only making 1 percent and we might as well get a tax write-off next year. When I called them back to thank them, for the first time ever when I told my Dad I loved him, he answered back "same here".

That's the best birthday present (not the check) ever besides my 10-speed bike when I was 13.

Frenchie said...

Good Afternoon C.C., Argyle and Folk,

Fabulous puzzle, Mr. Bain! I really enjoyed it! The theme worked out nicely though it could have been a problem for me. I'm not overly imaginative with anagrams as such.

Jeannie,happy birthday! I hope this one is the best!

Relative to 'Jumping Frog Day!', an old Mark Twain favorite.THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVARAS COUNTY

I'm off to a college graduation, I don't know who the key note speaker is...surely not Obama who spoke at my daughter's last year...he recently joked about the immigration issue here...hmmm.

I'm out.

Bill G. said...

A three-speed bike was my third favorite present from Santa Claus too. My second favorite was a three-inch reflecting telescope (Skyscope). I had so much fun discovering the beauty of the heavens. My favorite of all was a ribbon tied to my stocking which wound around the house, going down to the basement and ending up outside tied to a used 1950 Ford. I couldn't believe my eyes!

Jeannie said...

BillG, you are taking me back to a favorite Christmas present. I was a senior in High School and had enough credits by mid-year and my counselor suggested that I go to work for "work credits". I ended up working for the local Ben Franklins in all of things their "Fag-ments parlour. My Dad insisted that I save 75% of my earnings. When I put 10% down on a down hill ski package he had a cow and made me recind my purchase. That Christmas, he wrapped up the boots, with a note that I could buy my skis. They were hidden in the woodshed outside; skis, binding and poles Yep, he sent me out there to get wood for the fire. I came back a happy gal as I found the missing links, until I got grounded a couple of weeks into skiing season. That's another story.

Jeannie said...

I have first all taken your advise and listened to your nice comments and taken them into consideraton. I have decided with my windfall to just purchase a $25 dollar gas card. That way she can use it only for that.

Jeannie, soft-hearted party of one.

I've got to lose this nice persona.

Anon's are going to talk.

Dot said...

Jeannie, It's a little late to wish you a Happy Birthday so I will
wish you a happy Birthday Week. Enjoy celebrating.

My nephew had emergency surgery las week to remove a stint bdcause he had developed an infection. The stint was put in a few months ago after a complicated gall bladder surgery. He expected to be in the hospital only overnight but they can't get the infection cleared up and now his liver is shutting down. They will put in another stint tomorrow & do some exploratory surgery to see if they can find the cause of his problems.

Dot

MJ said...

Dot-My best thoughts, wishes, and especially prayers are with your nephew. Thank you for sharing.

Annette said...

I never heard of Mauritania either, but the perps saved me. Dudley, I wish I'd been SMART enough to even think to try Madagascar! Despite that, I felt like I was on the right wavelength today with a lot of lucky guesses. I didn't see the theme at all though.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Jeannie! As far as the gas card, you asked for our advice, and listened patiently to all our opinions, but of course the decision is ultimately yours. Knowing your friend, your own finances, and having heard all we have to say, you have to do what FEELS right to you and your conscience in this situation.

Bill G.: I remember going to the neighbor's house as a little girl to watch "The Wizard of Oz" and seeing Dorothy walk out of the house and see everything in Technicolor for the first time!

Isn't the logo for Hartford Insurance the picture of a STAG?

Dennis: I didn't think of Fats Waller exactly, but "Joint that's jumping" did make me think of Jump and Jive, and swing dancing!

Dot: Your nephew will be in our thoughts. Let us know if they find anything tomorrow.

Bill G. said...

Dot, best wishes for your nephew and his family. For you too.

Joint that's jumping made perfect sense to me. I think we all bring our experiences to a crossword puzzle solution. If the constructor's experiences were reasonable close to mine, I do fine. If not, I slog.

My best friends, growing up, were a bit more affluent than my family. They got a TV set before we did. They also got color TV sets before we did. The early color sets were so smudgy that I didn't see the big deal. I preferred the cleaner black and white. Of course, the technology kept improving until the TV picture these days looks as if you're looking at a glossy photograph.

I was rooting for the Celtics because I thought the Lakers would match up better with them than the Cavs. After watching the Celtics tonight, I think they are a VERY good team. If the Lakers can get by the the Suns, Go Lakers!

kazie said...

Late arriving today. I really had no time to puzzle this a.m. and later after a meeting and a shopping sortie, well let's just say I came here for hints on what I'd missed. Mostly the names were my downfall (what else is new?) Those I knew I'd forgotten, but mostly they were unknown. I'd never heard of MCAT, or FAG, and the monopoly clue turned me off because I've only ever seen the English version and never thought of utilities, assuming it was going to be an unknown place name.

Jeannie,
A happy Birthday celebration on Saturday! The actual day isn't so important as long as you have a day to do your thing.
I hope you don't get stung repeatedly by the gambler friend. It's an addiction like anything else. Would you buy her booze if she was an alcoholic? Be careful!

Good night, all!

kazie said...

Oh, and Dot,
I hope your nephew has a happy outcome. That kind of surgery sounds scary.

Lucina said...

Dot, many positive thoughts going out to your nephew. I hope all the outcome is successful.

Good night, everyone!