google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, July 25 2012, Christopher Marston

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Jul 25, 2012

Wednesday, July 25 2012, Christopher Marston


theme: 


let's break it down.

1a. Hop atop : MOUNT

6a. Shake a leg : RUSH

10a. Second helping, e.g. : MORE

42a. With 48-Across, locale of this puzzle's top line, where you'll find the starts of 17-, 30-, 43- and 57-Across : SOUTH

48a. See 42-Across : DAKOTA

love how mount rush more runs across the top of the puzzle - had to be tricky to create the fill underneath. the remaining theme answers contain the first names of the presidents depicted in the national memorial:

17a. Furry carnival prizes : TEDDY BEARS. theodore roosevelt, 26th president of the united states. roosevelt became president after william mckinley was assassinated (and won his second term in a landslide). the wilderness warrior by david brinkley is a great read.

30a. Firearm also called a "Chicago typewriter" : TOMMY GUN. thomas jefferson, third president of the united states. one of the founding fathers, and the principal author of the declaration of independence.

43a. "Hair" song containing Gettysburg Address phrases : ABIE BABY. song from the musical hair, which references 'massa lincoln, emancipator of the slaves.' abraham lincoln, 16th president, assassinated in april 1865.

57a. 1966 Lynn Redgrave title role : GEORGY GIRL. george washington, one of the founding fathers and the first president of the united states.

(left to right in the actual memorial are washington, jefferson, roosevelt and lincoln.)

melissa here. wow, what a clever, and theme-rich puzzle! having some intermittent trouble with my hot-spot again … forgive the brevity of the post, i'll do my best.

across:

14. Indy 500 family name : UNSER

15. Waters by Buffalo : ERIE

16. PayPal parent company : E-BAY

19. Calamitous : DIRE

20. Old Russian noble : TSAR

21. Hand-y communication syst.? : ASL. cute.

22. Like most pretzels : SALTED

24. Grimm villain : OGRE

26. Barely sufficient : MERE

27. Polynesian New Zealanders : MAORIS. needed perps.

34. Clio nominees : AD MEN. the clios are awards honoring creative advertising in package design, print, radio and television.

35. Sharp-toothed eel : MORAY

36. Bi- minus one : UNI. bi (for two) as in bicycle, un (for one) as in unicycle.

37. __ rock: Gary Glitter's genre : GLAM. glam rock singer/musician, has led a troubled life.

38. Made a meal of : FED ON

39. Self-righteous type : PRIG. funny word, don't hear it much.

40. Diarist Anaïs : NIN. french-cuban author.

41. Poe's middle name : ALLAN. edgar allan poe.

45. English county known for sheep : DORSET

46. Actress Lollobrigida : GINA

47. In __: stuck : A RUT

51. Capote nickname : TRU. truman capote. the book mockingbird: a portrait of harper lee is another good read, and sheds some light on the relationship between lee and capote. it is said that capote was the inspiration for the character of dill, in lee's to kill a mockingbird.

52. Beehive, e.g. : UPDO. anyone who's helped a daughter get ready for prom knows how important (and expensive) the updo is.

56. Jai __ : ALAI

60. Storage containers : BINS

61. The Charles's pet : ASTA. nick and nora from the thin man movies.

62. Palliated : EASED

63. Fruit protrusion : STEM

64. Good finish? : NESS. goodness.

65. Cabbage concoctions : SLAWS

down:

1. Common canine : MUTT

2. Till stack : ONES. till, meaning drawer or compartment for money.

3. Butcher shop letters : USDA. united states department of agriculture.

4. "Air Music" composer : NED ROREM. american composer and author.

5. Severely test, as one's patience : TRY

6. Ebbets Field star : REESE. i smell c.c. here. ebbets field was a baseball park in brooklyn. harold peter "pee wee" reese was a major league all star, shortstop for brooklyn and los angeles dodgers.

7. Eurasian border river : URAL

8. Courteous address : SIR

9. Howard of "Head of the Class" : HESSEMAN. johnny fever.

10. Glee club grouping : MEDLEY

11. Departure notice? : OBIT

12. Not at all well-done : RARE

13. Ogled : EYED

18. Candy purchases : BARS

23. Ground force : ARMY

25. Card game cry : GIN. i love gin.

26. Numskull : MORON. i always thought it was numbskull.

27. Latin word on some diplomas : MAGNA. as in magna cum laude.

28. Surprise during filming : AD LIB

29. Arabian peninsula native : OMANI. oman is an arab state in southwest asia.

30. Now : TODAY

31. Yoga masters : GURUS

32. Join together : UNITE

33. Dark time : NIGHT

35. __ toast : MELBA

38. Father at Boys Town : FLANAGAN. father edward j. flanagan.

39. Vasco da Gama's homeland : PORTUGAL. portuguese explorer.

41. To some degree, but not much : A BIT

42. Trivial amount : SOU. "one of several coins formerly used in france, worth a small amount."

44. Prima donna quality : EGOISM

45. Medical remedy : DRUG

47. Rich tapestry : ARRAS. new to me. a town in france famous for tapestry.

48. Touch-up strokes : DABS

49. Finished parasailing : ALIT. got down, dismounted.

50. Citizen of film : KANE. citizen kane.

51. "Blue's Clues" watchers : TOTS. childrens show on nickelodeon. 

53. Tuscany city : PISA

54. Sketched : DREW

55. Ford contemporary : OLDS. clever.

58. Nationality suffix : ESE

59. Hoped-for proposal answer : YES

Answer grid.

melissa bee

61 comments:

Nick said...

Fraid I can't leave much of a comment without an answer grid, but I'll try.

This was a slow puzzle I technically finished, had I only figured out STEM without red-lettering. (I ignorantly had EGOIST and just left it.) I also spent quite awhile looking at "Ebbets Field player" REE_E and figuring the perp was AVL, as I don't know any actors named Reese.

I'm trying to think of a good pun for Mount Rushmore, but all I can think of is a bad dirty joke and a worse literal translation. Maybe I'll find one in Lincoln's nostril (or was it Tom?)

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Swell puzzle, Christopher; great expo, mb.

(By the way, mb, you mean UNI and not UN.)

No problems. Went fast. Loved the theme.

I suspect that only old farts like me know GEORGY GIRL w/o having to think at all.

Here is a great reference to solve the old chestnut that Bill G poster yesterday:
formula for the number of divisors of a positive integer

(The most elementary derivation possible.)

One of the seven house guests was rushed to the hospital due to the fact that the family did not bring his asthma inhaler. (Three of them have been here many times and know that I have cats.)

Still in tooth hell.

Cheers!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Normally, I'm not a fan of clues with cross-references that send me all over the place, but I have to admit that the theme today was brilliant and well worth the effort. The *AHA* moment when I suddenly noticed what was running across the top of the puzzle was priceless.

I struggled a bit with HESSEMAN (knew him from WKRP, had no idea he was in "Head of the Class" and didn't know how to spell his name). ABIEBABY didn't exactly spring to mind, either, but it was burried in the back of my brain somewhere and eventually appeared with the help of the perps.

Everything else was basically smooth sailing.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Melissa Bee and friends. This has been a week of unique puzzles, first with Marti's LIFT OFF and today with MOUNT RUSHMORE. With the exception of Teddy Roosevelt, however, it seems a bit irreverent to call Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, GEORGY, TOMMY and ABIE!

My favorite clue was Departure Notice = OBIT. There are lots of fun fresh clues for the final bio!

QOD: If no one ever took risk, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor. ~ Neil Simon

Lemonade714 said...

Wednesday already?

Well mb sorry about your computer difficulty, but we all have been there during write ups. This was a really cute debut puzzle for Mr. M. The whimsy of using the unlikely nicknames for the presidents, as well as the Mount Rushmore topper, make this really well done.

Before Marti gets here, I will pick one little nit; TEDDY BEARS were named for Teddy Roosevelt, so the clue is ...oh hell, I really could care less, I think it was great and we LAT devotess are having another wonderful week.

Middletown Bomber said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle with an excellent short and sweet writeup by melissa B. Not to difficult, but not easy by any means. Some of the clues I discounted the obvious answer as being to obvious only to figure out that that was the correct answer. Had I gone with my gut this could have been a speed run.

HeartRx said...

Interesting puzzle today - I do believe this is Christopher Marston's debut? If so, I am very impressed that he crammed in so much them age. And he really fooled me with MOUNT - RUSH - MORE like a screaming banner across the top, but which I never saw until the unifier!

WBS, WHS, WLS !!! Great Job.

Mari said...

Easy puzzle - no complaints. I liked the clue for OBIT as well. I also really liked 21A: Hand-y Communication Syst.? ASL. Very clever!

Here's one for you conspiracy theory buffs. I saw an episode of this on Brad Meltzer's Decoded awhile back. Make of it what you will.

Husker Gary said...

When I looked up and saw I had already written MOUNT RUSH MORE and then saw the nicknames of the four presidents, I said, “Wow”, out loud. Brilliant Christopher!

Musings
-MB, sorry to hear about your, uh, hot spot, but nice effort as always.
-Gotta love this view of Rushmore
-I love cross references as a puzzle within a puzzle just like the anagrammed movie titles we just had
-Seeing TEDDY as part of first long fill, I thought we might going down a path with sleepwear
-The musical 1776 chronicles the moral and libidinous struggles TOMMY went through in writing our Declaration.
-EBAY is fine but I have never failed to find what I want on Amazon, no matter how esoteric.
-New to me but perpable not natickish – NIN (French/Cuban? Don’t hear that a lot.), DORESET, ROREM, ARRAS, ABIE BABY
-My siblings and I had to decide when to initiate only PALLIATIVE care for both our parents. After medical consultation, we decided against major surgery on mom who would have had little chance of surviving. Any of you?
-We gave granddaughter a stack of 50 ONES for a birthday and she was stunned
-As I’ve said before, REESE befriended Jackie Robinson when that was tough to do.
-I wonder what my OBIT will say when I am inurned?
-A colleague asked me for a favor and I asked her, “What’s the magic word?” and she replied, “NOW”. It became a standing joke with us.
-BOYS TOWN used to be five miles west of Omaha when I was growing up. Now the city limits are 5 miles west of BT.

Mari said...

Fermatprime @ 3:40 am: 3:40? Wow - what an early bird.

Sorry to hear about your tooth and family emergency. DH and I have 3 cats which I call my "Inlaw Antidotes". DH's entire family are allergic to cats and thus stay away. In fact, my BIL can't even sit next to us at a restaurant without having an allergic reaction.

desper-otto said...

Fun puzzle today with a very cute theme and just the right amount of crunch for a Wednesday. I DASHed before I RUSHed, but had no other overwrites today.

As Dean Martin sang, "When the eel bites your thigh
and you feel you might die
that's a MORAY."

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Congrats, Christopher, for a delightful theme and clever cluing and thanks to MB for her expo. Other than initially spelling Mr. Poe's middle name Allen, instead of Allan, all went smoothly.

Received all good news from my ophthalmologist yesterday which made my day. Then spent the evening at a birthday dinner for a niece: chicken parm, spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage, tossed salad and Italian bread. Ice cream cake for dessert which I passed on as I am not a sweets lover.

For those who missed yesterday's link by Argyle at 3:46, it is well worth watching, especially if you care about animals. I'm happy that several of you saw it and enjoyed it and I thank Argyle for posting it.

Happy Wednesday to all.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

What an interesting way to present a theme. Left 1a blank at first because there were several possibilities. Finally got MOUNT RUSHMORE when SOUTH DAKOTA fell and finalized the four 'starts'. eg. - Wasn't sure about ABIE. PORTUGAL and MAORIS were gimmes. Learned there are 2 a's in Poe's ALLAN. And learned how to spell HESSEMAN. Favorite fill was MUTT. No lookups or strikethroughs. Thanks Chris for a good hump day puzzle.

Anonymous said...

ETP here. Eighth Time Poster

26 minutes today. They are getting tougher.
Christopher, I liked this puzzle.
Melissa, thank you. I too, always thought it was numbskull


Had trouble in the West with 27A MAORIS and 42A ABIEBABY. But finally pulled in a mental image of a Gary Glitter video singing Dream Weaver, and remembered 37A GLAM. So now having 34A, 37A and 40A, 28D quickly became ADLIB, but I still could not get 27D Latin Word on diplomas. Then I finally saw that the clue was, "Latin word on SOME diplomas" Obviously not on mine. But that filled 27A and 42A.

Last fill was the crossing R in 51A Capote's nickname and 47D Rich tapestry. Why does Carole King's Tapestry come to mind every time I read the word ?

For 51A, TRU - Also the name of another excellent restaurant in Streeterville, "Near North", which is just north of The Loop, in Chicago. Bring your purse / wallet loaded. $$$$

All in all, very fun today.

kazie said...

What a great hump day puzz! At first I was afraid I wouldn't make it, since it took a bit to get a foothold, which happened first in the NE. Then as I picked my way through the rest, getting one here and there, I found the unifier. Since I already had TEDDYBEARS and MORE by then, it was no stretch to guess the rest of the theme and fill the unifier in. The rest was easy after that despite unknowns REESE, GLAM, NED ROREM and the spelling of HESSEMAN.

Husker,
If you want it to be right, write your own OBIT, and update it whenever there's something great to add to it.
Looking at the rear Rushmore view, I bet they'd get a stiff neck posing like that!

Argyle said...

Here is a little something for our constructors out there:

"Unwanted pre-installed software and advertisements on new computers are derogatorily called "craplets" (a portmanteau of crap and applet) and crapware."

Husker Gary said...

Kazie, I already know my OBIT – “He did the best he could with what he had where he was!” Put the NASA meatball on my headstone and I am good to go (Joann has pretty much already negged that idea but I still love her!)

I immediately thought of you when I saw MAORI and do the same with anything dealing with OZ or N.Z or TASMANIA or ROO or… All that is on my bucket list if I could take the flight.

BTW, I just got my teacher certificate renewed to 2017 and that will make 50 years in education when that (or I) expire(s).

Anony-Mouse said...

First of all (before I forget - ) Desper-Otto , @ 8.33, Reg:Dean Martin ... You are Funny !!! ( I'll have to note THAT down ...)

Thank you Chris Marston, for a VERY cute puzzle - got 'some' of theme, but missed the top line - Mount Rush More ! I was so busy, and nervous solving a Wedn, that I missed the sight of the trees, in the forest. If the presidential slang names sound somewhat irreverent, it's OK, if ( most of us ) have truly loved and appreciated them ....


Thanks MelissaB for adding to and heightening my enjoyment, and the pictures and everything. Really, Really loved that puzzle ... What a charming construction !!!
Also thanks for the whale video yesterday, Argyle and Irish Miss ... the 'square' riddle, Bill G., and 'general proof theory' thereof, courtesy of Fermatprime.



ALT QOD:- ( excuse me, somewhat political- ) Rick Perry said he endorsed Mitt Romney because 'out of the one candidate left, he's the best.' ~ Conan O'Brien.

Take care, you all.

PK said...

Really fun week here in puzzleland! Great puzzle which I thought I could not do the first pass through. Liked the way MOUNT RUSH MORE was ATop the puzzle--just like the faces on the mountain.

I was struggling along until I got to 42A. I had MOUNT RUSH and BEARS and got so excited when the light dawned. Went speeding through after that. I've been to the mountain twice. Not my favorite place, but let me get atop today. A bit shocked at TOMMY but got in the spirit of the thing and got the others too.

"Till" threw me because I wanted to till the land.

MAORIS was a gimmee since my daughter was a Rotary Scholar in New Zealand.

Anais Nin I always remember. A relative sent me her "Alexandra Trilogy". I read one book and half of the second and burned them because I didn't want the nasty things in my house. I'm not usually a prude...

HeartRx said...

Argyle @ 9:38, and where there is a craplet, a decrapifier program is bound to be invented...

Argyle said...

Crapulets ... what the Montagues call Juliet's family.

Anony-MouseI said...

I feel that I should write this, in the interests of 'fair play'. I have read 2 biographies on Harper Lee (who I initially thought, was a man - ), 'Scout' and one other one.

Truman Capote and Harper E. Lee were co-workers in a NY newspaper, and Lee was the reporter initially sent to investigate the Kansas murders, ( ala 'In cold blood' - ). She spent 3 weeks at the scene of the crime, wrote all the initial investigations, did all the legwork, made all the notes, on index cards, no less, and wrote about the atmosphere in the town etc. She just gave her entire portfolio to Truman .... just like that. Truman did the subsequent sequel, and befriended the perps ( under false pretenses - ) and wrote the book. Harper Lee had already recd. the Pulitzer for 'To Kill a mockingbird', and she was entitled to be named at least a co-author in the book, 'In cold blood'... and could have shared a second Pulitzer ... but Truman never even mentioned her name in the book ! He never gave her any credit, in public or in private. He was the ultimate egotistical opportunist. Harper Lee went back to Alabama, and never wrote another book. So, now you know, the rest of the story.

Among other women, who I feel bad for is Rosalind Franklin, whose x-ray scatter pics, were illegally, purloined by Crick and Watson, for the discovery of the 'double helix of the DNA', and Lisa Meitner, who was the first discoverer of 'nuclear fission', who not only financed her own education, but also financed her own job, but never got the Nobel .... because she was a woman .... and jewish ?

Sorry for the rant.

Lemonade714 said...

I think Washingtom and Lincoln need to have boots on and not shoes, and no long pants for Georgy.

With all this talk of conspiracy theories, and the outing of Truman Capote, not as gay but as a selfish opportunist, and Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes breaking up, I thought I would share this OPINION handed down in the 9th Circuit. I like the law and reading new cases, so if the you are curious about Scientology, have a read.

Yellowrocks said...

Fabulous puzzle. I liked the whimsical nicknames, as well.

Irish Miss and Argyle, thanks for the wonderful whale link yesterday.

Mari. I have read about the govt. illegally seizing the Black Hills from the Indians, similar to many other seizures and broken promises. Wikipedia has an interesting article about Gutzon Borglom, the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore, mentioning his ties to the KKK. I think these events are both history, rather than conspiracy theories.

I have seen NIN and ROREM in many puzzles, and sometimes ARRAS.

Anonymouse, thanks for the story about Harper Lee. So unfair.

Tinbeni said...

Wonderful Wednesday offering: Thank you Christopher Marston.

Nick @3:17am
I also started with egoisT for the Prima donna quality. But the STEM perp got me EGOISM.
(Is that "really" a quality?)

NED ROREM was my learning moment. All perps. (I love the perps!)

For 34-A, Clio nominees, AD-MEN, I really wanted to put in MY MOM.
(She won 2 during her advertising career).

Cheers to y'all at Sunset.

CrossEyedDave said...

i had 3 personal naticks,

the "M" in Glam/NedRorem
the "S" in ASL/Reese
& the "O" in sou/dorset

but i managed to suss/WAG my way through all of them! Feeling proud of myself, i read the write up, & then noticed i had written "Min" for "NIN" at 40A??? ( i knew it was Magna,,, why on earth would i write magma? ) Oh Bother!

ASL, Handy? (American Sign Language) oohhh! now i feel like a numbskull.

It appears body paint has reached new heights! (do not click on it if you are not DF.)

Bill G. said...

That was a fun way to start Wednesday. Thanks Chrisotpher and Melissa.

I was awakened this morning at 3:18 with the house shaking and the windows rattling. It was a 3.8 earthquake centered about five miles north of here. When it didn't get any worse and then subsided, I went back to sleep.

We've been to Mount Rushmore. Then there's North by Northwest.

I'm not sure where the confusion was in the locker puzzle yesterday. As some of you did, all that's needed is to make an organized and careful list. All of the lockers get their position changed an even number of times (open, closed; or open, closed, opened, closed; or OCOCOCOC, etc.) except perfect square numbers like nine (OCO) or 36 (OCOCOCOCO). So all of the lockers end up closed except the square numbers.

Anonymous said...

CrossEyedDave - on that Mounds of Rushmore picture, .... I am curious, are the girls, like identical twins ? You think ?

Mari said...

Argyle @ 10:13 am: I love it!

Lemonade714 @ 10:43 am: I don't believe every conspiracy I read, but the celebrity news has stirred up my curiousity about Scientology. I'm going to give your case a read.

Argyle said...

The CLIOS: World's Best Commercials @ 8:00pm EDT on NBC.

desper-otto said...

CED, your twin peaks photo reminded me of an incident from years ago. My SIL (then just my brother's girlfriend) was wearing her sorority sweatshirt with the greek letters emblazoned over the left breast. My father casually asked what she was going to name the other one. (Of course, this was the same man who'd announce at a restaurant, "Reservation? Hell, I'm not even an Indian!" Made you want to disappear.)

Misty said...

What a debut, Christopher Marston! You are on your way to being a star constructor! Having said that, I have to confess although I got the whole puzzle without any problems, I never got the theme until Melissa's photo. Only then did I read the top line and it all fell into place. I kept thinking this was going to be some sort of toy store theme. But I never mind being fooled if the puzzle was both fair and brilliant.

Lots to laugh about in puzzle and blog today. Loved the clue for OBIT, although I first had EXIT. Desper-otto made me crack up, as did Argyle. And Fermatprime, sorry about your tooth, but watch who you're calling old! I remember GEORGY GIRL too!

Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

Lucina said...

Hello, puzzle people. Thanks to Melissa and Christopher.

A brilliant puzzle today with the names of the presidents as TOTS! I sashayed across and down all the way with only a few pauses, ATE ON before FED ON. Might have been MORE but for that technique, across then down, and many parts of a word just emerge.

Howard HESSEMAN and GEORGY GIRL came immediately to mind.

The theme brought back fond memories of our sister trip to MOUNT RUSHMORE last summer. This year a wedding in October shall find us in Minnesota for a week.

I agree about numb skull but numskull is offered as a variant.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

desper-otto said...

Argyle, I love your "crappy" comments today -- especially Crapulets. That's priceless.

Lucina said...

Irish Miss@8:39
That video was passed around last year, both on the news and through e-mails. It is definitely worth watching many times over. Thank you for citing it and thanks Argyle for posting it.

Seldom Seen said...

Argyle: Here's another new word for our constructors: Manpon

Six letter, lots of common letters? Perfect. Breakfast test? Maybe not.

Mark S said...

Perfect Wednesday puzzle, challenging but not frustrating.

Thank you crosseyeddave. 4 excellent points.

Question on cluing. Since not all Arabian peninsula natives are from Oman, shouldn't the clue included a ", perhaps?" or something similar?

Anonymous said...

I thought best puzzle of the week. A bit easier for a wednesday since I thought yesterday and mondays puzzles stank!

Anonymous said...

Allan is a first name.

Allen is a family name.


McBeal

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A super puzzle today. The top three clues were all filled in and I didn't even see the significance until I came to the unifier.

Blue's Clues' was new to me so tots didn't come readily. I also had a learning moment with Arras. Thanks MB for your explanation. It didn't make much sense before I read your blog.

I attended a fantastic live Maori presentation at our local theater, so that clue was a gimme. If you've ever attended a Luau in Hawaii, often the entertainment will include Maori dances.

We're off to the mountains tomorrow for a camp in with our kids.

Have a great day everyone.

Husker Gary said...

Musings

-C.E.D., thanks for keeping us abreast of all that is new in the art world.
-Native people of the Black Hills are getting even in their casinos
-PK, you read an entire book and half of another of a trilogy before you were so repulsed you burned them? Well, you either gave them a very fair trial or kept thinking they would get better or …
-AM, great story about Harper Lee. More info on Lee/Capote
-I doubt if South Dakota has ever had such an obvious role in a major motion picture as North by Northwest
-I too knew GEORGY girl immediately.
-I am going to repeat my question of whether anyone else here on the blog has made a decision about cutting back to Palliative care for a loved one.

Lemonade714 said...

D-O, your twin peaks comment took the thought right out of my mind. I am sure the twins are identical and that 4 is the right number of points. I also am, according to my children, that same embarrassing father as yours. I just love to watch them squirm and blush.

Let me know what you think of the case mari. For all you Mentalist fans maybe you can Visualize what it says.

2poodles said...

I'm still the novice. I breezed through Monday and Tuesday with only a couple of Googles and felt pretty proud of myself. Today's was super fun and I technically solved it, but with a LOT of Googling! Lemonade714, thanks for the link to that opinion. Very interesting reading!

Bill G. said...

Gary, yes I did make a couple of decisions like that. My mother was 90 and with some fairly serious dementia. I talked to her doctor and she said it could be Alzheimer's. She could do some testing but...? We agree nothing would be gained so I told her to skip it. Later, my mother was declining seriously and the question was whether to install a feeding tube. Again, I could see nothing to be gained so, as I recall, we didn't. She died peacefully several days later. That was one of the most stressful periods of my life. There weren't any easy decisions or even any good decisions.

eddyB said...

Hello. Just lost my comments. So here we go again.
mb. Sorry about your HOT Spot. But had to chuckle. Took me back to the DF days.
HG. After the hospital scare a few weeks ago, I signed a DNR.

Stiches out. No more signals from outter space. Still under house arrest sans ankle bracelet.

Take caRE. EDDY

Anonymous said...

Allan and Allen can both be family names and given names.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Loved this puzzle today, the way the theme saturated it throughout.

It saddens me greatly that people can so totally screw over other people and not only get away with it but reap rewards from it. Watson and Crick were outright thieves, totally dishonest in their methods. It really fries my beans to learn of such behavior. I agree that Lisa Meitner got royally screwed too. And Harper Lee was basically destroyed.

I gotta agree with the 9th circuit opinion, though. Unfortunately the law ties our hands and allows travesties to be committed completely legally. Just because an act is legal sure doesn't mean it's moral or ethical.

Lucina said...

Lemon:
Thank you for posting that opinion. It is quite interesting especially for someone like me who knows nothing about Scientology.

Yellowrocks said...

HG, We also faced cutting back to palliative care for my mom who had Alzheimer’s and was declining fast. Among us 6 sibs, 5 said YES and one adamantly said NO. Fortunately mom passed away peacefully in her sleep before it came to that. It is a wrenching decision. Gary, you and your family are in my thoughts.

I am strongly for DNR for myself, like Eddy said.

PK said...

HG: I'm not sure what palliative care consists of. My mother had a feeding tube put in my father who was raving and angry without speech after a stroke. He kept clawing at it, so I know it caused pain. Happily, for Dad and all who cared for him, he lived only a few days. Very stressful!

When Mother had pneumonia, she kept saying "Help me!" Her doctor wanted to withhold antibiotics. I told my brothers we probably were not doing her any favor by giving her antibiotics, but at that time I did give the order for them. Her mental state deteriorated rapidly during the two years after that; We had two more deathbed scenes from which she recovered enough to feed herself but wasn't sure who anyone was except I was her "Mama".

Finally, she lapsed into a coma and seemed in pain so I requested morphine which they gave. After a week she died. I was the "caregiver" although she was in a nursing home. My brothers were not local and never knew the stress of it all. My one brother cruelly said he was afraid I would euthanize her. I certainly could not, but it would have been kinder.

My husband died suddenly. It was hard, but not nearly as hard as watching my mother die by inches.

I have a "living will". What I really want is a cyanide pill for myself.

PK said...

HG: As to the Anais Nin books, they were given to me by someone whom I loved and admired. She thought they were so wonderful, I kept reading hoping to find some redeeming features. They kept getting more depraved.

My daughter was about 11 and sometimes picked up my books and read bits of them. So to prevent that, those books went in the trash burner. I never really felt the same about my relative who sent them.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm, the movie To Kill A Mockingbird is a favorite of mine, but i never read the book, & know even less about Harper Lee. I see from your posts that i must learn about both, but i have the feeling i am not going to like it...

Well, before i get enlightened, i must try this "Decrapifier". If it works, you will hear rave reviews from me.

Seen @12:22
It took me a 2nd try to get thru the 1 minute commercial, but being a survivalist, i loved the firestarting tips using a Tampon. What intrigues me was the reference it can also in fishing, (i am thinking home made slip bobber). But you must, i repeat MUST provide a link on how a tampon can be used to trap a bear!!!

Seldom Seen said...

CED: This is all I've got! Maybe will cause his to stub his toe and fall down the mountain and break his neck. Remember YOU forced me to link this!

CrossEyedDave said...

PHEW! Thanks Seen!

I read the edit of my post, but it was not until my DF mind read the published version that i realized i could be misconstrued. Slip Bobber is a legit fishing tool, & i suddenly realized all the DF ways a tampon could be used to trap bears! (Aw Gross!)

Lucina said...

My mother who had never been sick with more than a cold, suddenly contracted pneumonia at age 80 and after two weeks died peacefully. So fortunately we did not have to make any of those decisions although the loss of her was devastating as she was a vibrant woman.

My husband was another matter and even now it's too painful to discuss. I acted on the advice of his doctor whom I believe was being pressured by the insurance company.

These are enormously difficult decisions so I, too, have signed a DNR.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Christopher Marston, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Melissa B., for a very fine review.

I could not get the first line on first pass, but it came after a few of the downs.

The theme came slowly after I was able to get SOUTH DAKOTA. Very clever theme. I have been to Mt. Rushmore. It is majestic.

Did not know GLAM for 37A. Had three letters ad wagged the M.

My home lake was easy, ERIE.

I worked this in the car on the way to Springfield, IL. Blogging from the hotel.

Lemonade. Read the Scientology article. I think I will stick to my church. I did, however, agree with the ruling. All these folks had to do was simply walk away. They did not.

It is 104 in Springfield.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Pedant The Brit said...

@Avg Joe (Last night) - Yes, but is a coconut technically a fruit? Or are you referring to the lime? That's only mentioned as an ancillary to the main theme of the song, which I think is stretching a point.

@8TP - Gary Glitter didn't sing Dream Weaver - I think you'll find that was Gary Wright, who, I must admit, I've never heard of. Mr Glitter is a British rocker whose private life rather tarnished his reputation.

@PK - I can find no reference of an "Alexandra Trilogy" attributed to Anais Nin.

@CED - Nice pair of Rushmores! I didn't know Abe Lincoln had a pimple under his nose though!

Anony-Mouse said...

Regarding scientists who have not received recognition for their achievements or contributions ( like Jayce mentions ... ) , may I recommend a new book, 'Prize fight', The Race and the Rivalry to be the First in Science (sic, their capitals - ), by Morton A. Meyers MD. 22012, Palgrave/Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-33890-6 (hardback). The author is a distg. Prof. of Radiology at SUNY, Stonybrook.

Among other stories are:
1. Macleod and Banting got the Nobel for the Insulin discovery. The work was done by Banting and Charles Best( a high school dropout lab asst. ). The Nobel prize committee, eventually ackn. its error in judgement, 30 yrs later. (Frederick Banting had shared his prize money with Best .... )

2. The war between Frenchman Luc A. Montagnier and Robert Gallo, Director of Natl. Cancer Inst., Bethesda Md., for the discovery of the AIDS virus.

3. Jonas Salk, of the oral polio vaccine, got famous on the work done by his asst. Dr. Julius Youngner ( later, himself, Distg. prof. in the Univ. of Pittsburgh School of Medicine ... )

4. Selman Aaron Waksman, discver. of Streptomycin, was actually discovered by Dr. Albert Schatz, who did it as a part of his Ph.D. thesis.... who got no credit for it.

The list goes on and on and on.

Anonymous said...

A coconut is a fruit.
The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut.

Yellowrocks said...

CC , This week I read a mystery novel, Don't Cry Tai Lake, which was set in Shanghai. It was written by Shanghai born author, Qiu Xiaolong.

"Little secretary" seemed to be a code word for a young office worker who sleeps with the boss as part of the job. Do you know anything about this?

The novel pointed out the huge pollution problems China is experiencing in its push for maximum profits and industrial supremacy. It also played up the closed society the Chinese government still is.

Blue Iris said...

Really late to this party. I had so much fun and laughs reading all the comments. I almost forgot which crossword puzzle we were talking about and had to go back and look over Melissa Bee's write-up. Very educational links also. Thanks to all.

Gary on a more serious note. My sister felt guilty when my mom stopped eating. She said she felt like we were starving her to death. The hospice nurse and I convinced her that a lack of appetite was part of the dying process. I was glad that I had some experience as a nurse so that she didn't have to end up with a feeding tube.