Theme: Cooperstown - Four players enshrined at the baseball Hall of Fame who also share a last name with a U.S. President.
17A. Favorite Hall of Famer of the 39th U.S. president? : GARY CARTER. Jimmy Carter and catcher.
24A. Favorite Hall of Famer of the 7th U.S. president? : REGGIE JACKSON. Andrew Jackson and Mr. October.
44A. Favorite Hall of Famer of the 17th and 36th U.S. presidents? : WALTER JOHNSON. Andrew Johnson and Lyndon B. Johnson, and pitcher.
55A. Favorite Hall of Famer of the 38th U.S. president? : WHITEY FORD. Gerald Ford and pitcher.
Argyle here. This would be a lock...if I actually remembered our presidents by their number. C.C. nailed this, easy for our senior members and crunchy for our junior members. What a Monday should be; visually pleasing grid.
Across:
1. Tubers rich in beta carotene : YAMS
5. Wasn't indecisive : OPTED
10. Bouillabaisse, e.g. : STEW. (fish and vegetables)
14. Taken by mouth, as medication : ORAL
15. Mrs. Gorbachev : RAISA
16. Dancer-turned-spy Mata : HARI
19. Tablet with a "mini" version : iPAD
20. Tummy muscles : ABs
21. Egyptian cross with a top loop : ANKH
22. Black belt activity : KARATE
27. Opposite of vain : MODEST
28. "How awful!" : "UGH!"
29. Greets with a hand gesture : WAVES
30. Hook's sidekick : SMEE. Our favorite pirates.
31. ChapStick target : LIP. Bet they've had a good year.
34. Forewarning : OMEN
35. Visits the mall : SHOPS
37. Computer support person : TECH
38. "__ and Peace" : WAR
39. Spring melt : THAW
40. Acted without speaking : MIMED
41. British rule in India : RAJ
42. "The Bachelorette" contestant, e.g. : SUITOR
49. Catching some z's : ASLEEP
50. Shed skin : MOLT
51. Tackle a slope : SKI
54. Celebrity : STAR
58. Fill-in worker : TEMP
59. Greek i's : IOTAs
60. Revered one : IDOL
61. Historic times : ERAs
62. Midterms and finals : TESTs
63. Tour de France, e.g. : RACE. Daytona 500 this Sunday.
Down:
1. Discipline using mats : YOGA
2. Many an Egyptian : ARAB
3. Red Planet explorer : MARS ROVER. First pictures sent back; the ones you weren't allowed to see.
4. Shifty : SLY
5. Borneo primates : ORANGS
6. "Sit!" : "PARK IT!"
7. 10% church donation : TITHE
8. Opposite of WNW : ESE
9. Period before the Renaissance : DARK AGES
10. Avoid, as duty : SHIRK
11. Spanish finger food : TAPAS
12. Verse writer's Muse : ERATO
13. Add a lane to, as a highway : WIDEN
18. Animal houses : CAGES. Quite a selection; needed the perps to decide with one.
23. Back woe : ACHE
25. Paradise lost : EDEN
26. Leap : JUMP
27. Mother, to baby : MAMA
29. Bowl over : WOW
30. Female pig : SOW
31. Bubbly citrus drink : LEMON SODA. CSO? I think not. (coincidental shout out)
32. Cake decorator : ICER
33. Scholar's deg. : PHD
35. Tina Fey attribute : SHARP WIT
36. Journey to Mecca : HAJJ
37. Longtime Yugoslav president : TITO
39. Shade provider : TREE
40. Hazy : MISTY. CSO.
42. Tried to hit in paintball : SHOT AT
43. Except if : UNLESS
44. What haste makes : WASTE
45. Fall bloomer : ASTER
46. Andean alpaca kin : LLAMA
47. U. of Maryland team : TERPS. Short for terrapins.
48. Leaves out : OMITS
52. Fast food tycoon Ray : KROC
53. Vegging out : IDLE
56. Weed killer : HOE
57. 39-Down with cones : FIR
Argyle
Said Washington to Lincoln, "I cannot tell a lie."
ReplyDeleteSaid Lincoln to Washington, "Honest Abe am I."
And so in US history
We honor their veracity --
Say politicians ever since, "The truth? We'd rather die!"
The President throws out the ball to start the baseball season.
And if you wonder why that is, I'll give to you the reason.
Republicans won't compromise,
The GOP, the Dems say, lies.
If he never heard the words, "Play Ball!" he'd join the Foreign Legion!
[I had LEMON-LIME before LEMON SODA, and SOUP before STEW, otherwise a typically easy Monday puzzle.
Mars photo is a Kroc!]
ReplyDeleteHow neat to tie both baseball HOFers and presidents together. Today's Washington Post also has a presidential theme. 10 presidents, with 8 different presidents between the two. I liked CC's better ! Thanks CC !
I failed it though. The K at ANKH and PARK IT. Makes sense now. D'OH !
Thanks Argyle. I agree. Great year for the chap stick business. And for purveyors of road salt.
Another 4 to 6 inches today. Whee !
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteVery smooth puzzle from our fearless leader today. I only knew one of the theme answers (REGGIE JACKSON), but was able to guess the rest based on the theme and the the perps.
Had ACTED instead of OPTED and SOUP instead of STEW, but that was about it for bumps in the road. Well, that and the fact that I've never heard of LEMON SODA before...
good puzzle for a Monday 2nd day in a row that mensa has not been updated so I had to navigate the latimes arkadium platform. which is unbearably slow and unpredictable on my computer. As it skips over filled in letters and I tend to type in complete answers even if I have already filled in a particular block. So my times go out the window due to correcting errors due to the platform.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw C.C.'s name I knew this would be fun, and it was.
Caught the them early on. Very good. Clever. I only remembered REGGIE JACKSON and WHITEY FORD.
ERATO is an old favorite.
Knew ANKH, but the spelling stopped me for a perp.
There aba couple ways of spelling HAJJ, but this one was fine for me.
RAJ is a good one. I have enjoyed reading of the British RAJ. Some good stuff, some not so good. The British were powerful for centuries.
Ray KROC really started the fast food revolution. Very successful.
Just left Tolrdo, OH.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(polycrates ithopek)
The Merriam-Webster site uses the same platform as Mensa.
ReplyDeleteLINK
It is so awesome that C.C. sees these themes that once revealed seem so simple and tight.
ReplyDeleteLEMON SODA was a pleasant surprise and it is amazing that a Monday puzzle has so little crosswordtra.
Happy President' s Day
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C. for a great start to the week ~ what a fun puzzle. We have Presidents' Day and the start date of baseball Spring Training rolled into one!
All flowed smoothly with just a slight hesitation at 44A - I had the last name JOHNSON filling in, but was thinking Randy - a bit premature!
I liked 6D - Sit! / PARK IT ~ I can remember saying that to some of my fourth-graders. :-)
Nice shout-outs or CSO or otherwise to MISTY and LEMON and references to Lucina and Marti with SKI and YOGA.
Thanks for your write-up, Argyle. I chuckled at your Chapstick comment and MARS ROVER picture.
Enjoy the day!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI recognized two of the four theme players, but couldn't identify the team, position, or active years for any of 'em. Didn't matter; the perps were solid. Great Mars photos, C.C. and Owen.
I'm headed to some SHOPS today. I've got a handful of coupons for Best Buy and Harbor Freight. Several expire today, all of 'em this week. They're bargains -- stuff you don't need at a price you can't resist.
I remember McDonalds from my early college days -- two burgers, fries, a shake and change back from your buck. Another bargain.
Oops -- I guess Argyle gets the credit for the Mars photo. Great Scott! Sorry.
ReplyDeleteCC, Very clever theme. This was fun to solve.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried Limonata (Italian lemon soda.)? Pricey.
Sometimes we used to say "Park it," or "Park you carcass," for sit down.
Hand up for soup before STEW.
More snow tomorrow. Here we are all worried about the weight of the snow and ice on our roofs. Some are up there shoveling. Maybe we will get a little of that spring melt (THAW) starting Wednesday. I hope it doesn't bring serious flooding.
I can't stand The Bachelor and The Bachelorette shows. What a phony dating situation with a meat market atmosphere.
I never know the presidents by number, so all the theme answers were WAGS, especially since I only recognized the first name for REGGIE. The other HOF'ers were unheard of. I also had SOUP before STEW, TERPS was totally perped, and I'd forgotten KROC--it's a name, so of course I'd forgotten it! But in the end it was all done, so no complaints.
ReplyDeleteC.C.,
I knew it would be baseball as soon as I saw your name, but since they were all guessable, it worked out. Clever idea.
An elegy by Walt Whitman on Lincoln's assassination.
ReplyDeleteO Captain My Captain
O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
WBS about acted/opted , soup/stew and waiting for perps for Lemon Soda,( Schweppes Lemonade e.g) since we don't have much of that around here. O/W Monday breeze through, thanks CC and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a fun puzzle, C.C. Thank you for a fine review, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteEasy-peasy Monday-easy. My first true speed run, but over too soon.
I loved the theme, tieing in presidents and baseball HOFers, on Presidents’ Day. I only know 5 of the presidents by number, but with a couple of perps I got each one easily.
Hand up for SOUP before STEW. I also had MURKY before MISTY.
Favorite clue / answer: 25D Paradise lost: EDEN.
Follow-up to fermatprime’s comment late last night: Windows users can do a “find” also, using CTRL-F. I just learned that not long ago, and now I use it a lot. But I never noticed the find count until ferm pointed it out. Doh!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteNice wake-up surprise to see C.C. has been busy. Great theme for today melded with our National Pastime. No muss; no fuss today. The solve went well. Agree with Argyle on LEMON SODA.
Have a great day.
As others have said, what a wonderful way to start a week. A CC puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI only knew Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford, so had to perp the first names of the other players. I don’t know the numbers of the presidents, so that part of each clue wasn’t much help. I got the theme early, so only a couple letters gave the last names.
I am off on a 190 mile road trip to see my dentist this afternoon. I will drive into a headwind with gusts up to 65 mph! Ugh! My Subaru is a great vehicle, but it doesn’t like winds over 45 mph. I will slow down. That helps. BUT, that wind will be behind me all the way home. I should get great gas mileage. And it isn't snowing--so no blizzarding either.
The current winter storm slid in from Canada over ND, not MT, so it is nicely in the 30s and 40s here today.
Have a good day,
Montana
I am not a big Olympics fan, but I have been watching some of it. I was dismayed at the insensitive interview of Bode Miller last night, until he broke it off in tears.
ReplyDeleteI see the Twitterverse “blew up” over it, and MSN.com and NYT have stories about it today. Kudos to Bode Miller for his classy tweets in response.
Howdy everyone,
ReplyDeleteLate arrival today due to early morning appointment with the chiropractor. Now I'm ready to tackles tomorrows 2" to 5" of the white stuff. Will it ever end? I wish my only back woe was an ACHE.
Yes, even I picked up on the theme with GARY CARTER. Gary was taken from us much too early.
Hand up for Soup/STEW & Acted/OPTED. Also 62A for me, Exams/TESTS.
Can't ever recall seeing HAJJ before., only HAJ. But the crosses were solid, so as Crocodile Dundee would say, "No worries mate."
I did not find this the easiest Monday, but there weren't any major hold ups either just a few snags.
Happy presidents day.
Great theme and puzzle today, C.C. How nice you could get your favorite sports integrated with the presidents! Very clever.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, nice write-up. I bet most of you on the blog are hoping for the "spring melt" (THAW)
Happy President's Day!
I adored the puzzle and more theme answers would have ruined the flow, but I do mention Sam Grant, an old Negro League player inducted would mirror US Grant, ad Hack and Woodrow Wilson are a final pair.
ReplyDeleteI also thought of the all-time great Grover Cleveland Alexander named after the sitting president when he was born, and interestingly played by Ronald Reagan in the movie of his life. So happy president's day there!
I agree about Gary carter dying too young, but in a group there are always some.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to start the week: a CC puzzle+an Argyle expo+a HOF/President theme=fun, fun, fun. AND, nice shout-outs to Lemony and Misty.
Nice job, CC, it was a fun solve and kudos to Argyle for a great expo, as always.
Expecting more of the "white stuff" tomorrow but nothing major. Temps rising by the end of the week, then concerns about flooding. What a winter this has been. (And it's far from being over; beware the Ides of March!)
Has anyone heard from Tin? Hope all is well at Chez Incognito.
Have a great day.
You can the same LAT cw format at Tahoo games
ReplyDeleteOops! You can get the same Mensa LAT crossword format at Yahoo games
ReplyDeleteHappy Presidents' Day!
ReplyDeleteI love this puzzle and luckily I know presidents better than I know baseball players. So very clever, C.C. to combine your favorite sport with today's holiday. Did you memorize them for you citizenship test?
It was over too soon and so easy, she said MODESTly.
EDEN had a great clue! And I enjoyed the shoutouts at LEMON SODA, MISTY, SKI and YOGA.
I hope for your sakes that the big MELT arrives quickly. My sister returned today to the land of ICE and snow which is unusual for Charlotte.
SHOPS at the mall brings back fond memories of meeting C.C. and Boomer at the Mall of America.
Have a really great day, everyone!
This was an interesting and very timely dual purpose puzzle today, C.C. Well executed and fun to solve. Saw the options of opted and acted, so filled in Ted and waited for perps. Had ST in place before reading the 10A clue, so stew came easily. Had Raj, so filled in Haj and waited again. I think I've seen at least 4 alt spellings for Hadj.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know first names of the 2 lesser known players, but had enough help from perps there to make good guesses. All in all, a little tougher than a typical Monday, but no major problems. Well done!
Great puzzle cc. I was at Oakland coliseum in the late 60's sitting down the right field line when Reggie Jackson dove for a line drive. He didn't catch it but he knocked the ball down and the ball was stopped on the ground along side his body where the Ump couldn't see it. Reggie picked up the ball; put it in his glove and raised his glove indicating he caught it. The Ump dulled an out. That ruined me for a long time knowing a pro ball player would cheat.
ReplyDeleteI met Gary Carter at candle stick park in the late 80's because a friend grew up with him. He seemed like a great guy.
Fermatprime:
ReplyDeleteThank you for that tip last night. Unfortunately I don't quite understand what to do: hit CTRL/F? Then what?
One write over today. I was influenced by our morning paper which on their reminiscent page had a picture of Dow Finsterwald and Jerry Ford. When I saw GARY from the perps, I confidently put in PLAYER. When I looked at the clue I was able to do all the Presidents because I do know them by their numbers. That is one of four lists I use to pass the time when I can't sleep.
ReplyDeleteWhat could be better than a C.C. puzzle on a Monday morning? A shout-out to me and other pals on the Corner! Whoo-hoo! A million thanks, C.C.! Baseball is not my forte and I should have noticed that they all had President's names. (I did think of it when I got FORD but didn't follow through by checking the others). But I got the whole thing--no credit to me, but to terrific puzzle constructing. Again, many thanks, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteThis was especially welcome since we had a bit of a tough weekend after being stood up (once again) by our weekend care-giver. But we're okay and looking forward to a good week.
We wish all of you a good one too!
I should have thanked CC for a great puzzle & Argyle for his informative review.
ReplyDeleteI groaned at the Baseball referenced theme, (I know nothing about Baseball.) but it turned out to be pretty straightforward.
ReplyDeleteWBS, Very sneaky CC, I was sure 5A was "acted." But perping it with a pseudo abbreviated primate over the first name of the wife of a foreign politician seems to be a low blow for a Monday... Luckily I remembered Raisa & tithe from a CW about a year ago, & sit = carkit just didn't make sense.
I thought I had it all figured out correctly, but you got me with 36D. (It's Hadj, dang it! I have never seen it spelled hajj...) & British rule in India seems "rad" to me anyway...
Hey, it is Monday, couldn't you have clued 41A as ___ Koothrappali of TBBT?
A good Monday puzzle. Thanks, C.C. Good write-up, Argyle. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI only had one write-over today. I started to put in soup, but I thought this dish is more than just soup, so I put in STEW. Yeah! I don't know baseball players, but perps helped get them.
At Mom's visitation last week, the funeral director asked me to get my siblings to sign a paper giving our consent for Mom to be cremated. It was her wish and we agreed. I guess it was a "cover your ass" paper for the funeral home. One line on the paper said, "Cremation is irrevocable." I thought that was too funny.
We got an additional 8" of snow this weekend and by Thursday our temps should be in the 60's! I'm ready to get rid of all this white stuff.
Off to the chiropractor. I need it after last week. Have a great day!
Pat
Happy Monday everybody!
ReplyDeleteBaseball and Presidents, all we need now is apple pie and Chevrolet...!
Hands up for never bothering to remember the prexys by number, so I waited for the first down pass, then saw the connecting theme - nice...!
Favorite answer = Park It! Which is also what Mr. October did 563 times in his career....
Speaking of which, why didn't Rich change the clue for ERAS to a baseball reference - something that 44A and 55A would've been interested in...?
Enjoyed the not-so CSOs...!
Nice Mars pix guys...!
Observation : it seems like I get the numerical captchas a LOT more when I do the puzzle on the iPad (as opposed to the laptop)...?
Finally, it's a cool coincidence that I'm watching the Olympic SKI JUMP competition right now...!
Doc out....
Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today; thank you, C.C. Thank you, Argyle, for your writeup today and all the work you do to help maintain this blog. Thank you, OwenKL, for your verses.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of RAJ (short for Rajesh), I'm going to whine now and say how much it grates my ears to hear it pronounced "Razh" like the "j" in French. And ever since good ol' Bob Costas mispronounced Beijing as "Bei zhing" when they hosted the Olympic games, that city has been mispronounced by every (American) commentator I hear. It's Bei Jing, dammit, as in Jingle Bells. Not hard for a speaker of English to pronounce, for goo'ness sakes. I wonder what TV talking head will pronounce it "The British Razh" should that topic ever arise.
Best wishes to you all.
Nor have I seen the double "JJ" ending for HADJ before. L&L!
ReplyDeleteThanks for including RAISA. I was trying to remember her name just the other day. She struck me as a very attractive and surprisingly sophisticated Soviet-era spouse.
BTW, did anyone see the Jason Jones interview with her husband a few nights ago? I do enjoy how Jon Stewart's surrogates are so irreverent in their challenges of politicos and statesmen, but I think Mikhail got the better of the talented Mr. Jones in this one. We don't always realize how sharp a mind one must have - to hold one's own as a world leader. I don't think Jones could see the sly smile on the face of Gorbachev. (If you don't want to watch the whole [very funny] interview, go to 4:50.)
Hi Y'all! Fun and fast puzzle, C.C.! I got the theme early which helped. Too funny, Argyle, the Mars picture! WEES!
ReplyDeleteChapstick is what I use on the backs of my poor chapped hands when I'm sitting watching TV. It helps when nothing else does.
I haven't watched much Olympics after the first few days. All that snow makes me even colder and the horrific falls make my bones ache. I do watch the figure skating though. I like the ice dancing because they don't fall much. Being empathetic is a burden.
What a nice Monday treat! Didn't notice it was a presidential tribute until I got to Ford. Then I headed back north and filled in Carter. Neither Gary nor Walter ring a bell.Most everything came easily although I couldn't remember Raisa until I filled the A. Thanks for an enjoyable Monday morning, C.C. and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteBuckeye Bob, I TOTALLY agree with you. I could not believe that NBC's Kristin Cooper kept prodding at Bode's personal feelings.
Today was our 47th wedding anniversary but I subbed anyway, with Joann’s permission, and could not get past their filter as they called anything with blog in it a “game”. CC’s puzzle was just fine and coupled with spring training and 60F weather is starting to give me spring fever.
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the pleasant puzzle and elevating expo, CC and Argyle!
John: I do that too!
Lucina: After Control-F (assuming non-Mac) you should see a little box (upper right on Mac) in which you can type whatever it is that you want to find--in this case your name. You will immediately see the number of occurrences and arrows to scroll through.
Cheers!
Thank you, Ferm. That really works!
ReplyDeleteLate to the game today as it is Family Day here and we were celebrating together.
ReplyDeleteI knew C.C. would have a baseball theme and didn't know it was President's Day. But even this Canadian can get all those presidents with the perps!
Hand up for SOUP before STEW and HADJ before HAJJ. I also had HUMBLE before MODEST.
Did anyone else note IDOL crossing IDLE?
We can't wait for SPRING MELT/THAW this year!
Thanks Ferm, it worked for me too.
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteLate to the party due to house readiness factors.
I had no idea there were Hall of Famers with presidential last names - and what a coincidence that the letter counts match up! C.C., you are amazing. How did you ever notice that? You must have potential crossword themes going through your mind at all times.
I want / need spring desperately. This winter has been a bee-otch by any standard, made worse by the straddling of life over two houses and the incompleteness of our temporary (steep) driveway. Marti, please select a good bottle or three and run on over!
HG:
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Joanne had a chance to celebrate anyway. I'm surprised a school was open today. Here they all close, even the colleges and universities.
I had dental surgery this afternoon and have to reduce my diet to soft, bland foods. For me, not eating spicy food is a severe punishment, but maybe I'll lose some pounds! That would not be a bad tradeoff.
I recorded and am watching "42", the story about Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. Have you seen it? I'm only about one-third of the way through but it is well-made, enjoyable and educational so far.
ReplyDeleteA short while back I was writing about how I have a hard time coming up with something thoughtful to say when friends are going through tough times. I mentioned an acquaintance whose wife is dying. I've met them a couple of times on trips through northern California. I used to correspond with him on a political forum but we don't agree about much and he would get pretty nasty sometimes. Well, I've tried to write a few thoughtful things about his wife and what he is going through. He has been gracious about responding to everyone's comments, everyone but me that is. So I guess I'll just make another stab at a kind remark when the inevitable finally occurs and just chalk it up to knowing you can't please everybody.
Good eve everyone...
ReplyDeleteWhile ASLEEP this morning in between the snooze button and gotta-go modes.... I was doing a puzzle and a clue made me think of my last name... and it was right! I looked down and it was a C.C. puzzle...
At least the second half of the dream was true - a Monday C.C.! What fun it was. Argyle - great writeup as always.
Only write-over was awe/WOW @29d - I think I was chugging too quickly through the puzzle...
C-Eh? I too noticed IDOL / IDLE crossings. Cute.
I'm back from Cairo and I'd return in a heart-beat. We had a great driver who used to be a tour guide. We went to the pyramids, Coptic Cairo, the bazzar (I got some wonderful bazalt (sp?) and alabaster chess pieces and an "Aladin" brass lamp and a silver neclace for DW, and, and, and...) the Citidel, and other cool places. Everyone there was friendly - at least from what I could tell (our driver translated for us) and the history permeated everything (as did the dessert dust). The best part - not a bad meal (and only one of American-ish fare). Oh, and we finished our project.
Cheers,
-T
Thinking about snow, and clotheslines mentioned yesterday, I ran across this poem:
ReplyDeleteA clothesline was a news forecast,
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep,
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link,
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by,
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets
And towels" hung upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths",
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth,
From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could,
So readily be known.
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "On vacation now",
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon,
If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home,
Is anybodies guess!
I really miss that way of life,
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best...
By what hung on the line.
Don
BillG: My sympathy to you in trying to be nice to someone who is determined not to accept it. Personality conflicts of this type are hard to swallow. As nice as you are, I'm betting the problem is his personality, not yours. I had a couple in-laws that the nicer I was to them, the nastier they got. Also grief brings out the worst in some people. There is an anger stage of grief both before and after the death. Some people get stuck there. Sometimes you just have to give up and walk away.
ReplyDeleteAnonT:
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you back safely and to know that you had a good time in that restless part of the world. And you ate the dust, I see!
BillG:
PK said it best. You gave it your best shot and that's what counts.
Don:
That's a nice poem. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLucina:
LOL - you caught my spelling mistake! I had to go back and re-read my post - sure enough I put the extra "S" that makes things better... dessert = yummy; desert = Dust-custing :-)*
Cheers, -T
*This goes to my theory of english spelling. To make things better add extra consonant - super/supper, desert/dessert, et.al... I know there are more, what can everyone else think of?