google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, December 4, 2014 Jeffrey Wechsler

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Dec 4, 2014

Thursday, December 4, 2014 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Female Vocalists

Usually when I am doing a puzzle that I will blog, I try to see where the theme is going as I solve. This one totally eluded me until I came to the reveal at 37-Across. "Feature shared by the women vocalists concealed in 17-, 29-, 45- and 59-Across" : ONE NAME. I loved this puzzle - a tribute to 4 extremely talented and brilliant females. And best of all, it gives me an excuse to link more than one YouTube video!

17-Across. Oft-pickled fish : ATLANTIC HERRING. CHER's successful career has spanned nearly fifty years, and she is still going strong. Even after 21 studio albums, she still came up with something new to top the charts, with "Believe."

29-Across. Educational stage : GRADE LEVEL. ADELE is the baby of the bunch, with her breakthrough album released only in 2008. I've been a big fan ever since she caught my attention with "Rolling In the Deep."

45-Across. Keep out : DENY ACCESS.  ENYA started her career in 1980. She gained worldwide recognition with her "Watermark" album in 1988 containing the hit "Orinoco Flow."

59-Across. Comes to terms : NEGOTIATES A DEAL. I can't believe that SADE has been around since the 80's.  Her "Smooth Operator" debuted in 1983.

Update: There is a bonus one-named singer hiding in the theme entries. ONE NAME hides NENA, who famously sang "99 Luftballons." [With a big tip of the hat to Jerome for spotting that one!]

Across

1. Barge, for one : SCOW.

5. Go up to one's ankles : WADE. And 30-Down. Wade's opponent : ROE. Well, I guess if I were a fish egg, I wouldn't want anyone tromping all over me, either.  ;-)

(Of course, some anon. will correct me and say the clue/answer refers to the famous 1973 Supreme Court case involving the right to abortion. I like my version better.)

9. Saw to a seat : LED IN. Thank goodness, it wasn't "ushed"...

14. Launder : WASH.

15. Obi-Wan portrayer : ALEC.

16. Maine college town : ORONO.

20. Kit for Mr. Fixit : TOOL SET. Anyone else want TOOL "box," before checking perps??

21. Bygone : OLD.

22. London facilities : LOO.

23. Otologist's concern : EAR.

24. Cartoon still : CEL.  This collectible CEL of 25-Across. Studious-looking dwarf : DOC. goes for $2,125.

26. Strikes out : FANS. I believe this is a baseball term, implying the "fanning" motion of the batter as he attempts to hit, but misses, the pitch charged as the third strike.

33. Part of a Latin trio : AMO. He is, of course, the lead singer. Amas plays bass and Amat is on drums. ;-)

34. Subatomic particle : MUON.

35. Colleague of Sonia and Clarence : ELENA. Supreme Court justices Sotomayor, Thomas and Kagan.

36. Musical dir. : RIT.artando. Gradually decrease the tempo to let morons like me keep up with the beat.

40. P & L column : YTDYear TDate.

41. Not from around here : ALIEN.

43. Word in a dramatic warning : IDES. "Beware..."

44. Shout for the picador : OLÉ.

48. Bargains : BUYS. And they are often 50-Across. Bargain bin abbr. : IRR.egular.

49. Blvd. cousin : AVE.nue.

51. Big __ : SUR.

53. "So that's your game!" : OHO. This and 55-Across were my two writeovers. I had "Aha!" at first.

54. Had a little lamb : ATE.

55. "Just walk away" : LET IT BE. I wanted to LET IT go...

62. Razz : TAUNT.

63. Ordering aid : MENU. Eyeglasses help, also.

64. Sea birds : ERNS.

65. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright : ODETS.

66. Cad's comeuppance : SLAP.

67. Fries, say : SIDE.



Down

1. Rescue acronym : SWATSpecial Weapons And Tactics.

2. Roman statesman : CATO.

3. Capital once called Christiania : OSLO.

4. They have very big calves : WHALES. I laughed out loud when this one filled in.

5. Super Soaker, e.g. : WATERGUN. It was originally called the "Power Drencher."


6. Ended a flight : ALIT.

7. Cal. page : DEC.ember.  Where did this year go???

8. Bounced off the walls : ECHOED. Oh, sounds.  I was thinking of a kid on a sugar high.

9. "Downton Abbey" title : LORD.

10. Drop the ball : ERR.

11. 1964 Ronettes hit : DO I LOVE YOU. Sorry, Ronettes: Cher, Enya, Adele and Sade have already upstaged you!

12. How an embarrassing question may be asked : INNOCENTLY.

13. "Mission aborted" : NO GO.

18. Org. chronicled in "The Puzzle Palace" : NSANational Security Agency.

19. Glamour rival : ELLE.

24. More crafty : CANNIER.

25. Sci-fi author Lester __ Rey : DEL.

26. Capacitance unit : FARAD.

27. Well in the lead : A MILE AHEAD. How is your favorite team doing this year?

28. Passé : NOT IN VOGUESo last year!

31. Jeans choice : LEES.

32. Stows, as cargo : LADES.

34. "__ Lisa" : MONA.

38. Much of 19- and 48-Down : ADS.

39. Really drops the ball : MESSES UP.

42. Potato spot : EYE. Because "couch" was too long.

46. Credit card issuer : CITI. VISA? Amex? Nope...

47. Beats badly : CREAMS.

48. Magazine with many white dresses : BRIDES.

52. Actress Hagen : UTA.

53. Aware of : ON TO. "OHO, I'm ON TO your tricks!"

54. Court figures: Abbr. : ATTs.

55. Horne on stage : LENA. Horne. Too bad, Lena: you'd be up at the top of the page if you had just one name.

56. Garr on screen : TERI. Sorry Teri, you too. And you don't sing, either. But I do admire your work for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

57. Wedding choice : BAND. 58-Down. "What __ could it be?" : ELSE. Well, it could have been "gown" or "ring" or "food" or...

60. Prov. where the CN Tower is located : ONT. There are two CN towers in Canada, but Alta. was too long.

61. Bus. card number : TEL.ephone. Call me, maybe. (Fun lip sync performance from an unexpected group.)

TaTa!
Marti


60 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

Thursday with marti, JW and lots of music.

I agree that calves was well clued and enjoyed all of the long down fill like WATER GUN,DO I LOVE YOU, INNOCENTLY, A MILE AHEAD, NOT IN VOGUE and MESSES UP.

Now is wedding band referring to the ring or the music? I guess we can ask 48D.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Fun puzzle today, although I didn't bother looking for the singers in the theme answers.

54A reminded me of a poem I learned as a child:

Mary had a little lamb,
A little pork, a little jam,
A little soda topped with fizz,
And boy, how sick our Mary is!

Jerome said...

Though she's not as well known as the other four, there is a fifth one named singer in the theme entries. In fact, she's in ONE NAME. Who is she and what is the title of her hit song?

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Great puzzle, Jeffrey. Swell expo, Marti. My thanks to you both!

Went rapidly for a Thursday, with no problems.

Still very sick. That's why I'm still up.

Tried to work Wash. Post puzzle. Was IMPOSSIBLE.

Rain has stopped, it seems. Wonder if we have had a sufficient amount to curb the drought.

Cheers!

Bill V. said...

Went from Toolbox to Toolkit until realizing correct answer was Toolset

JCJ said...

Great puzzle but I have never heard of FANS but it was the only word that worked. Well, everything I know about baseball comes from crosswords.

Lemonade714 said...

JG, the rapper EVE?

LISTEN¿

Lemonade714 said...

No this JEROME
It must be in oNE NAme

NENA and 99 Luftballoons

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. I just loved, loved, loved today's puzzle! I had all the theme answers filled in, however, before I got the unifier, so had to go back to find the names. Marti, we share a similar taste in music. I just love ADELE.

I tried Usher for Saw to a Seat.

I tried EWE for Had A Little Lamb. Who knew Mary was so sick, a la Barry G!

I liked finding the EAR and EYE in this puzzle.

Jeffrey nailed it will all the ADS in fashion magazines.

QOD: The old cathedrals are good, but the great blue dome that hangs over everything is better. ~ Thomas Carlyle (Dec. 4, 1795 ~ Feb. 5, 1881)

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Yes, I wanted BOX, but I waited for the perps, and I wanted GO and didn't wait. I've never heard anyone (other than the Beatles) say "Let It Be." No major problems, though.

If it's NOT IN VOGUE, perhaps it's in ELLE or BRIDES.

TTP said...



Good morning all.

Yesterday was easy. Today was a little tougher.

There were far too many musical direction or tempo clues ! Great music. I really like that song by Adele. And Smooth Operator by Sade. But far too many other clues with musical direction.

Marti, thank you.

BTW, I had the exact sentiment at 9A. And just becase it was the first thing that came to mind, I checked the perps. Thank goodness ! Oh yea, it would always be AHA before OHO for me, but in this puzzle...

In the end, it was one of the (too many) musical direction clues that got me. At 36A, I guessed RPT for 'repeat'. That made my team AMPLE AHEAD ?

Good grief.

TTP said...

Thinking that these musical direction type of clues would continue, I figured it might be helpful to do a little self study and found this:
Glossary of musical terminology

Double good grief.

Marti, and others, now I fully understand how you feel about all the sports related clues...

Time to quit procrastinating and get to work.

See all y'all later n'at !

thehondohurricane said...

Howdy,

Got it done, but it was not the "funnest" puzzle I ever worked on. Realized early on that it would be a one letter at a time solve and that's how it turned out.

Started with TOOL box before perps took over. the N in MUON was my last fill and it was a wag. MUON & CANNIER were both ?????? to me.

I entered O'Doul into 65A before realizing it was ODETS. Lefty O'Doul was a successful major league pitcher back in the day. Not sure, but I think he is a HOF'er.

HeartRx said...

Jerome @ 5:52, great catch!! Lemony beat me to it, but I have added it to the write-up.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

22A - The clue implies a plural answer. Is the term "loo" used as both singular and plural?

Yellowrocks said...


Here is another one name star, but not in the same league.
Clue: very excited
Answer: muCH AROused/CHARO
Cugat's cuchi cuchi girl much aroused her male fans with her sexy outfits and stage demeanor.

22A Where are the facilities? Where is the LOO? Okay by me.

More later. I'm off to my chores.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Good puzzle by Jeff and good write-up by Marti. Thank you.

Had to step a little gingerly, but only whiteout was at 64a: too quick to enter 'auks' and not mindful of the looming BRIDES answer. So ERNS went in and, voilå, it was done.
Chuckled at LOO, and had similar thoughts as Marti for the ECHOED clue.

Trying P & L here.

Have a good day.

Lemonade714 said...

I hope JW stops by to address the NENA question

Caladian said...

Thanks for recognizing the original CN Tower in Edmonton.
It is close to me as I have worked in as maintenance in the building for 8 years and I work for the current owner on other properties in Edmonton.
Of course my first thought was Alta but I didn't think that you down south would have known of Edmonton's.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Our paper's crossword clue font is so small clue 55 D looked like "Home on stage" not "Horne" our paper also refuses to print a theme. More of a challenge I guess.

Bluehen said...

Ditto what Fermatprime said about both this puzzle and the Washington Post's.

Unknown said...

Printing a theme takes the fun out of the puzzle:)

Unknown said...

It's like here asking where the "facilities" are. In other words the "bathroom" - singular.

Spitzboov said...

She waded in the water and she got her ankles wet,
She waded in the water and she got her ankles wet,
She waded in the water and she got her ankles wet,
But she didn't get her (clap, clap) wet (clap), yet (clap).

Glory Glory Hallelujah!
Glory Glory Hallelujah!
Glory Glory Hallelujah!
But she didn't get her (clap, clap) wet (clap), yet (clap).

Husker Gary said...

Jeffrey’s fun puzzle and Marti’s wonderful summation make for a great Thursday.

Musings
-CHER has had more work than a rusted out coke machine on American Restoration but her voice and QUIRKINESS make her still a player
-We couldn’t WADE because of jellyfish at Cocoa Beach one year
-A former colleague always said “Leave it be”
-Bye, bye CELS
-My YTD for subbing is A TIDY SUM (from Sunday)
-A.J. Burnett, Chuck Finley and Zach Greinke have all FANNED four batters in one inning more than once
-Your clothes being IRR. beats your being IRR.
-A few years ago a waitress ERRED by making a bad joke when we couldn’t read the MENU in their very dim light. Her tip was a nickel.
-Isn’t it hard in 2014 to imagine an anachronistic society where LORDS were a big deal?
-Name the movie with this famous SLAP

Tinbeni said...

Hey mon, this was a total joy to solve today ...
Only write-over was I had VISA (off the "I" in IRR) before CITI took over.

A TOAST to ALL at SUNSET!
[Except the "One who knows him" from last Thursday who cannot recognize me from my performance as the Emcee at the Hedonism II Guest Talent Night held every Thursday ... when it is Toga Night ... and that was ME ... though probably from a performance 12 years ago.]
Cheers

Anonymous said...

I hesitated to link this for several reasons:

1. Its Gilbert Gottfried and his schtick is not widely appreciated.
2. The audio track in not synched with the video and is difficult to watch.
3. The "bit" I was searching for was only found in a longer routine.
4. I'm a lowly anon and probably should remain a lurker or go blue lest my contributions are frowned upon.

however,

Gilbert Gottfried is funny as hell even if some don't "get him". Skip to 3:20 in the video to get to the relevant part and then go to another tab so the in-sync doesn't bother you. Try to accept that sometimes even anons have something to contribute.

Link Video

Jeffrey Wechsler said...

As it turns out, the inclusion of NENA in ONE NAME is a spectacular example of pure serendipity. I did not see it myself (nor, I suppose, did Rich) and I certainly would have mentioned this bonus theme material in the clue if I had. Hats off to Jerome for his perceptiveness!

For me, this wonderful circumstance demonstrates why the world of puzzles and word games is such a delight. All sorts of marvels are lurking there. When I returned to puzzle-making a few years ago, one of my favorite theme entries (for a New York Times puzzle) simply hit me like a bolt from the blue. I was looking at the ice cream brand name HAAGEN-DAZS and suddenly realized that the name included AGENDA. My gosh! -- Haagen-Dazs has a HIDDEN AGENDA! Of course, I absolutely had to make a puzzle from that.


Jeffrey

Husker Gary said...

Two more pix in the Here’s Tin series in one of his favorite haunts!

HeartRx said...

Anon @ 10:07, I had never heard that bit from Gottfried. His yelling sometimes is irritating, but the schtick with the three name / two name / one name people was pretty funny.

Lucina said...

Greetings, super solvers! Marti, I recognize your perky style, thank you. Too bad you didn't link SADE. I prefer her to either ADELE or even CHER.

What a great puzzle from Jeffrey Wchsler who often CREAMS me on weekends.

No problem with TOOLSET as ALIT was already in place and ORONO has become so common it went in as well. LOOS tickled my curiosity, too, but I accepted it as a general term.

When seeing the reveal at 37A, I went back and found them. Fun!

While solving this I was on the phone with my friend who is an electronics expert and he gave me FARAD though I think it would eventually have emerged.

FANS, however, took all four perps. I've not heard of it in that context, no surprise.

Like Hahtoolah, I liked seeing EAR and EYE.

Time to go. Feel better, Ferm!

Have a peaceful Thursday, everyone!

Fading memor- said...

Husker Gary

Sidney Poitier in 'The Heat of the night' ?

Anonymous said...

Jerome, speaking of anagrams (we were, weren't we?), did you happen to catch the Wall Street Journal crossword from last Friday?

HGary, I think you'd have an appreciation for it, as well...

Lemonade714 said...

Cool pic of a visit to Cigar City Brewing; my son in Colorado arranged a project with Cigar City and the local brewery where he works.

The puzzle referred to by JW was the June 15, 2011 NYT. A very fun puzzle as well.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

This one was a real struggle, but I finally made it.

Lots of great fill and hard to spot names in the theme.

After a couple perps, ELENA looked right but I couldn't suss her colleagues. D'OH!

I should know FARAD, but it was slow to develop.

Guess I'm about a mile behind.

Cool regards!
JzB


Something could be published in ELLE or BRIDE, but NOT IN VOGUE.

Lucina said...

Marti:
I'm sorry, meant to say if you had linked SADE only, I would be happy.

I'm just not a FAN of noisy, disharmonious music.

desper-otto said...

Anon@10:49 -- speaking of anagrams, did you check out this morning's NYT?

Bill G. said...

Anon (10:07), I can appreciate your feelings about the way anons may be perceived. You and some others seem to have something worthwhile to contribute even if you haven't chosen to 'go blue' (though it's a painless thing to do). However, many anons hide behind their anonymity to post snarky, worthless posts. Hence, their bad rep.

Misty said...


Delightful Thursday puzzle--many thanks, Jeffrey. I did have one goof, though. Never heard of "Super Soaker" or MUON, and guessed M-ION for the subatomic particle, giving me WATER GIN. I figured this was some sort of drink, and wondered how Tinbeni liked it. But I did get all of the singers early on. Yellowrocks, I loved CHARO too, but I don't think she's a singer like the other ladies.

Nice to see you check in, Jeffrey, and I loved your HIDDEN AGENDA story.

Fermatprime, so sorry you're not feeling well. I'll be sending healing thoughts your way.

Have a great day, everybody!

Yellowrocks said...

DO and JzB I had the same thought about Elle and Bride when I filled in NOT IN VOGUE.
Lucina, thanks for suggesting swatches yesterday. There are a few sites offering them. I will probably do that down the road. To cover the windows for the holidays I purchased an inexpensive set from Amazon last night, free shipping and no hassle returns if they are terrible.
ANONYMOUS @ 10:07,welcome, I always enjoy hearing interesting insights from non blue ANON's and there are many of them.
However, I joined this blog and no others, because I can't stand the snarky sniping on most blogs. Now we seem to get the same snarkiness several times a week, always singing the same tune. If only he could give his point of view just once and then LET IT BE. Enough already!

JD said...

Jeffrey,nice aha about Haagen-Dazs. Also, a fun-in-parts puzzle. DNF for me due to the crossing of musical dir./ capacitance unit. I must be at least a mile behind this group since no one seemed to flinch.

Hand up for ewe. Loved your rhyme Barry. Brings out a whole new side to you.LOL

Loved the one name theme and the 1st 3 came easily, but had a hard time negotiating a deal since I was looking for Madonna. BTW, I could listen to Enya all day.

Big Sur has had a least 3 inches of rain in this storm, so last night the highway was closed overnight due to its usual mud slides. It happens. Hoping for more rain and rainbows.

Hope you are better, CC. You too Ferm.

Jerome said...

You da man, Lemon!

Jeffrey. Well, NENA is easy to miss. It's not as though she's super popular in America. But she's still doing concerts and very popular among Euro-rockers. I only caught it because my favorite thing with puzzles is finding goofy, fun, overlooked strangeness in the grid. I assume almost all solvers fill in the last blanks and pack it in. For me, that's when the fun begins. It's sort of like how you found AGENDA. Who else but a constructor would ever care about what's lurking in words and phrases begging to be found.

HeartRx said...

Thanks for stopping by JW! I must have been writing when you posted, because I didn't see your comment until just now. Neat how the idea for the hidden agenda puzzle came to you.

It is interesting to see how themes develop, and even sometimes give us an Easter egg or two. Jerome, you're right about NENA being more popular in Europe, but she still has enough world-wide fame to be included in the group, don't you think? BTW, I thought of you while doing the NYT puzzle today.

Jerome said...

Marti- But... you and I co-wrote an anagram puzzle and they were YOUR anagrams ideas.

By the way, Lemonade, Adele is lurking around you.

Lemonade714 said...

Mon, adele!

Jerome you are mejor than ever!

The NYT Times calls them 'puns and anagrams', the London Times, just puzzles, but both teach one to look for runons as well as the puns and anagrams.

Argyle said...

We had NENA on Saturday.

Anonymous said...

Sade's real name is Helen Folasade Adu. Although she was born in Nigeria, Sade grew up and lives in the UK. She was the lead vocalist for the English group Sade, and adopted the name of the band. The band’s biggest hits were “Smooth Operator” (1984) and “The Sweetest Taboo” (1985).

Ol' Man Keith said...

All done!

Took a while, but even the lesser knowns (MUON, FARAD) were confirmable through perps.

CrossEyedDave said...

A very enjoyable puzzle! Last to fall was the SW when I finally (FINALLY...) changed AHA to OHO. (What a workout...)

& the witty Blog write up made me smile even more...

So, what can I possibly contribute to this masterpiece? (hmm, being CED, I can only go askew...)

I really wanted to hear the original 99 Luftballoons, but as Argyle pointed out, we had it Saturday. so unlike Argyle, I will stop wining...

(OK, really bad pun. Sorry...)

55A let it be, I was going to post this 2 days ago, but ABC world news beat me to it. but just in case any of you missed it, Let it go...

I don't remember Teri Garr in Startrek. Oh right, she quit...

Onward...!

Blogging Herrings?

CED Graduation...

Deny access? Don't remind me...

But I have been working on my negotiating skills...

Manac said...

Good evening gang.

Not too much trouble with today's offering.
Same minor missteps as most had.

20A Toolset did bring up one of my worst fears,
that after I die, my wife will sell all of my tools
for what I told her they cost :(

Anonymous T said...

Hi all!

Well, this one was fun, but threw me for a while. GRADE = LEVEL, NEGOTIATE = DEAL, ATLANTIC = HERRING? DENY != ACCESS.

OHO, ONE NAMEd singers!

Thanks Jeffery for the fun and Marti (and others) for continuing it.

"LET IT BE xing BAND... Mmm, Who?" "No, not The Who, The Beatles."

Marti try & amp ; with no spaces on the front blog page to see if that gives you an &.

CED - NENA's German version was linked Sat.

NASA's launch was a NOGO this morning...

I like the varied interests here. Some of ya'll get all the actors, languages, & movies while I get FARAD & MUON. YTD, I think I've only lucked out 6 times total.

I'll leave you for now with Python's HERRING. I will return later to TAUNT you a second time.

Cheers, -T

HeartRx said...

Manac @ 5:42, that is funny!!.

TTP said...


Jeffrey,
You do understand my "too many music clues..." comments were tongue in cheek, don't you ? It was a fine puzzle. We tend to get a lot of "too many sports clues" comments. I was having a little fun.

Tinbeni, Welcome back. Did they have Pinch ?

Manac,
That's funny. Tools will be bequeathed to appropriate family and friends ! "Sweetie, I know it looks like a drill, but it's a hammer drill, and not a cheap one. And that's not just a circular saw, it's a worm drive saw." Etc, etc, etc.

HeartRx said...

Anon T, seems to have fixed the problem. Go figure...

TTP said...

Anon T,

"One night when his charge was pretty high, Micro Farad decided to seek out a cute little..." Well, you know the rest.

Avg Joe said...

That is hilarious Manac!

There's another side to that coin. For anyone that's ever worked for a small contractor with a Napolianic complex, the value of the tools, as stated (often, very often) is at least double the actual cost, not half. And the quality is at least four times as good! Sound familiar Manac?

I always played that issue straight with my bride. It didn't always go well, but I've never regretted it. And "most" of them paid for themselves......well maybe not the lathe.

Manac said...

Joe, All too familiar, as if I never priced
out a tool before.
Never did get into wood turning so a lathe was never on my radar, but then, does one really need an excuse to get a new tool ? ;~)

Anonymous T said...

Manac - I have some of Gramp's tools, great uncle Sam's, and will likely get some of pop's. You can't buy tools like these these days. With two girls not yet interested, what to do with the TOOLSET (hand up for Box too!)

Ave Joe - I've always wanted a lathe - how much? I assume it's a good BUY.

Marti - I'm glad I remembered that right and it worked. I'm sure others here did HTML in vi, emacs, or (LORD no!), notepad.

Let's see, what ELSE?

TTP - Ah, yes, little Ms. Milli Amp; her resistance, ohm, your electrons have such potential. :-)

Cheers, -T

Bill G. said...

AnonT, that reminds me of how much I enjoyed Monty Python. Fawlty Towers too. I would like to return to taunt you a second time but I can't do it that well.

A wood lathe or a metal lathe? I've never used a wood lathe though they looked like simple fun. I used a metal lathe in a shop class at Cornell. Very cool but demanding to learn to use well.

Tinbeni said...

Manic @5:42
When I was clearing out my best friend "Charlie's" stuff after he died 12/2/09 ... under his shoe rack was a Hard Rubber Mallet that had probably NOT been used in 8 years ...
Well, there was this Handy-Man (who has done a lot of work for my neighbors) doing a "Flower-Bed-With-Brick-Border" job three unit down the way.
Hey, at Villa Incognito ... as MY best friend Charlie taught me ... if god wanted a plant to be there ... it would already be there ...
Soooooooo... I gave it to him ... a TOOL that is never used is a waste of Man's intelligence (for having invented that TOOL !!! in the first place).

Husker @10:31
Thanks for posting those two pictures ... taken in the last 3 weeks (probably the only pictures I've had take in the last 7 years, unless ET took some last week).
I apologize that it took so long to send you a pic of me in that NEBRASKA long sleeve t-shirt.
The second one was me in my latest purchase last week ... the Bob Marley/Lion "T".

You Gary got my first "toast" at Sunset tonight.
IT ... WAS ... BEAUTIFUL !!!
Cheers!