google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, June 10, 2024, Noelle Griskey

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Jun 10, 2024

Monday, June 10, 2024, Noelle Griskey

(Note from C.C.: I'm excited to tell you that NaomiZ has joined our blog. Welcome on board, Naomi!)


Theme: Swell!  Groovy!  Boss!  Chill! 

Today's dandy offering from Noelle Griskey is so far out, it's lit! 

As revealed at 60 Across, the STARTs of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across are synonyms for fabulous and trendy. 

17A. Low-slung jeans: HIP HUGGERS.  THEME CLUE #1.  HIP as in groovy.  I thought these pants were so cool in high school. 

26A. 1993 film about the Olympic bobsled team from Jamaica: COOL RUNNINGS.  THEME CLUE #2.  COOL as in groovy, but also as in icy. 

44A. Magazine with tips and techniques for anglers: FLY FISHERMAN.  THEME CLUE #3.  FLY as in groovy.  My father was a FLY FISHERMAN; he made lures from feathers and cast them with a hollow line to fool trout into thinking they were flies on the water.  In old age, he removed the barbs from his hooks to release the fish more easily.  In older age, he preferred to watch the fish rather than to hook them. 

60A. New beginning, and a feature of 17-, 26-, and 44-Across: FRESH START.  THEME CLUE #4. FRESH as in groovy, START as in the the first word of each answer to a theme clue. 

Across:

1. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.
The Taj Mahal

5. Hors d'oeuvres spread: PATE.

9. Type of ski lift: TBAR.

13. Greet the day: ARISE.

15. Clever thought: IDEA.

16. Cogito __ sum: ERGO.  "I think, therefore I am."  A clever thought from René Descartes. 

19. Semimonthly tide: NEAP.

20. Hit the gas: SPEED UP.

21. Term of endearment: PET NAME.

23. Mega Stuf cookie: OREO.  I talk myself out of these every trip to the supermarket. 

25. Helped out: AIDED.

32. "Just Mercy" actor __ Jackson Jr.: OSHEA.  Wikipedia says, "He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut, portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton."  DNK!

33. __ leches cake: TRES.  I believe blog etiquette requires me to say, "Yummers!" 

34. Quiet "Quiet!": SHH.

37. Landed on a perch: ALIT.  Often said of my avian friends. 

38. "The Road Not Taken" poet Robert: FROST.  "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood."  DH and I went leaf peeping on the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail in Vermont. 

40. Clever tactic: PLOY.

41. Brit's washroom: LOO.

42. Get ready, for short: PREP.  This is what I do when DH cooks. I also wash the boards and bowls as he goes along. 

43. Within the __ of possibility: REALM.

47. "I feel the same": ME TOO.

50. Some 30-Down employees: Abbr.: CPAS.

51. Like some sandals: OPEN TOE.


54. Up for discussion: AT ISSUE.

59. N, on a French map: NORD.  On our honeymoon, DH and I took the "Chunnel" train from London to Paris, arriving at the Gare du Nord.  I was surprised when a French woman offered to help us with directions at the station.  Everyone was so kind to us!  It was shortly after 9/11. 

62. Beige hue: ECRU.

63. Mattress specification: FIRM.

64. Dramatic ballroom dance: TANGO.


65. Quaker's "you": THEE.

66. Sail the seven __: SEAS.

67. Adolescent: TEEN.

Down:

1. Spa sounds: AAHS.

2. Subject of a basic golf lesson: GRIP.

3. Like a fragrant melon: RIPE.

4. Wimbledon winner Arthur: ASHE.

5. "Peanuts" character in a cloud of dirt: PIG PEN.


6. Suffix with lemon and Gator: ADE.

7. Maryland athlete, for short: TERP.  Wikipedia says, "The Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition."  Strangely, I was familiar with this team. 

8. Reduce, as anxiety: EASE.

9. Sport for 4-Down: TENNIS.

10. Sourdough or rye: BREAD.

11. Best competitive effort, informally: A GAME.

12. Cordoned (off): ROPED.

14. Pulitzer-winning novelist Welty: EUDORA.

18. Hindu spiritual mentor: GURU.


22. Identifies on social media: TAGS.

24. Pertinent to the discussion: ON TOPIC.

26. Mined fuel: COAL.

27. Norway home of the Munch Museum: OSLO.  Easy guess. 

28. Cleveland's state: OHIO.

29. Allow: LET.

30. Tax-collecting org.: IRS.

31. After expenses: NET.  After the IRS! 

34. Bang shut: SLAM.

35. "Hi, amiga!": HOLA.


36. Church choir song: HYMN.

38. Cook in a wok: FRY.

39. NFL official: REF.

40. Part of mph: PER.

42. Parcel of land: PLOT.

43. Fight against: RESIST.

44. Dish with melted cheese or chocolate: FONDUE.

45. Muscle cramps, e.g.: SPASMS.

46. Owns, biblically: HATH.

47. Impressionist painter Claude: MONET.  Here are DH and I in Claude MONET's garden.

48. Noteworthy time period: EPOCH.

49. Pied-à-__: secondary residence: TERRE.  One residence is trouble enough for me, but I wouldn't really mind a pied-à-terre in Paris. 

52. Trade-__: concessions: OFFS.

53. Cleveland's lake: ERIE.

55. Sports page datum, for short: STAT.

56. Of sound mind: SANE.

57. Encourage: URGE.

58. School near Windsor Castle: ETON.

61. Noteworthy time period: ERA.

Here's the grid:




















I am thrilled to contribute my first blog entry anywhere to the best little Corner on the internet. 

NaomiZ

48 comments:

Subgenius said...

Friends, I have to tell you something. When I tried to access the L.A. Times crossword site on my phone this morning, I was unable to. It kept “kicking me out” and taking me to the App Store to buy a new IPhone. If this is going to keep happening, I may have to give up the Crossword Corner because I will (obviously) be unable to access the puzzle to solve it. That would not be a good thing but it wouldn’t ruin my life. I would miss you guys, though, so I hope this gets resolved soon. Thanks for listening !
Sincerely,
“Subgenius”

Splynter said...

Hi there~!

Woo-hoo~! Naomi has her first blog write-up published~! Way to go - now, how was the wedding~?

The puzzle was the fastest I have ever done online - under 5mins, and a cute theme~!

Splynter

desper-otto said...

Good morning! (And welcome, NaomiZ!)

Like Splynter, d-o zipped right through this one in under 5 -- about as fast as he can write. After HIP HUGGERS I was expecting a double-consonant theme. Nope, just a quinky-dink. Have you ever seen sandals that weren't OPEN TOE? Thanx, Noelle (is this a debut?) and NaomiZ (I'm sure this is a debut...and a good one. Congrats.)

SubGenius, try clearing the cache on your browser.

tperki said...

I can understand hip and cool, but fly? New one on me.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased ditto for ME TOO.

The wonderful Eurythmics sang Sweet Dreams, in which they declare "I travel the world and the seven SEAS, Everybody's looking for something."

Scottie Scheffler didn't have his A GAME last weekend, but he was good enough to win Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament, along with the $4 million first place prize. He's only the second person to win the Memorial, the Masters, and the PGA tournaments in the same year. The other guy, Tiger Woods, was known to win without his A GAME too.

I would have known EUDORA had it been clued as "early email client app."

SubG, I hope you get your e-problems resolved. I like your contributions a lot.

D-O, I wear closed TOE sandals from Kohl's. They have saved my little piggies many times.

Thanks to Noelle for the fun, easy Monday puzzle. And thanks to NaomiZ for the fine debut blogging. Thanks for volunteering. Great pick, CC.

YooperPhil said...

Far out puzzle Noelle, thanks for easing us into the CW week! FIR in 6:36 with only a few unknowns, some fill was all perps.

NaomiZ ~ always enjoy your comments, now get to enjoy your blogs as well! Nice recruit C.C. 😊

Anonymous said...

Took 3:17 for me to get hip to this one.

Like Splynter, this may be a new PR/personal record for me despite looking for an interpreter at the French intersection ("nord" crossing "terre"). I also didn't know Eudora.

SubG, say it ain't so.

YooperPhil, congrats on a fine time today, and thank you for your info yesterday about the Michipcoten taking on water near Isle Royale National Park.

Anonymous said...

PS. I forgot to thank and welcome NaomiZ to the blog. So, thank you and welcome aboard, Naomiz.

Me, from 7:22 a.m.

inanehiker said...

This was the most crosswordese in a puzzle I've seen in a long time - thus everyone's speedy solves. The speedy solver probably got it in the under 4 minute range!

Thanks to Naomi Z for debuting on the blog - I echo YP

KS said...

FIR. I had no problem whizzing through this Monday presentation. A few unknowns but the perps took care of them.
I saw the theme as I went down puzzle, but when I got to the reveal I scratched my head. I still don't see fresh as anything like hip, cool, or fly.
Oh well. The puzzle was enjoyable so there's that.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a perfect Monday offering, especially for newbies. The theme was cute and the reveal was self-explanatory, the grid was clean and the fill was strong with no junk. I've heard Fly being used to describe something cool or popular, so that was recognizable as part of the theme which, for me, was hidden until the reveal.

Thanks, Noelle, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Naomi, for an impressive debut. You handled your duties like an old pro and I look forward to hearing from you often. That was a lovely photo of you and DH. Thanks, also, for being there for CC.

Subgenius @ 3:35 ~ I hope you solve your access problem. Have you tried the Washington Post site?

DO @ 5:36 ~ I, too, questioned closed toe sandals but, as Jinx pointed out, they are available.

Have a great day.

RosE said...

Good Morning Thanks to Noelle for this Monday-level puzzle. In fact, there were some clues I missed seeing because the perps filled. No complaints here!

Congratulations, NaomiZ, I enjoyed reading your review and look forward to seeing more.

CSO to Lucina, HOLA!

ESP: OSHEA. EUDORA was a good guess after EUD filled with the perps.

PIGPEN is one of my favorite characters along with Snoopy and Woodstock in the Peanuts comics.

Looking at that picture of the TANGO dancer, it’s a wonder she didn’t have broken ankles in those stilettos on cobblestones!!! I’m hoping it was just posed, and not for the dance.

Lee said...

Fine little puzzle today. Zipped through for a FIR.

I, too, am not certain about FLY being a synonym for FRESH, COOL and HIP. Clues were simple and direct. Didn't know Mr Jackson but perps filled him in. The TANGO is my wife's favorite dance ever since she saw the movie "True Lies".

SPEEDUP is what most drivers do at a yellow light. If they aren't careful they are going to get a FRESHSTART with a new car.

Everybody is looking for something free. But there is no free lunch.

Partake.

Bob Lee said...

A groovy puzzle. Great start to the week.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Congrats Naomi on your Corner debut. Great expo - you took to it well.

D-O: Noelle had a puzzle on 1/23/23 (yeah, ILIU) so not quite a debut but a nifty grid nevertheless.

Thanks both Noelle & Naomi for kicking off the week.

WOs: THou -> THEE
ESPs: OSHEA | EUDORA
Fav: PET NAME [TMBG]

Tperki - I'll let The Offspring explain FLY.

Jinx - Hand up. I used EUDORA back in the day.

RosE - (CEO) Bro loved Linus the best 'cuz the both held on to their blankets far after Kindergarten :-)

Y'all have a great day!
Cheers, -T

Yellowrocks said...

I loved the theme for this easy 1-2-3 puzzle. Congrats, Naomi for your fine debut blog.
This afternoon I am hosting my floor's monthly social at the Oaks. I am also producing our square dance club's biggest gala of the year tonight. Our dancers dress as movie stars and vie for Oscars. Too busy to chat.
TTYL.

Tehachapi Ken said...

This will be quick, because Monday morning is my duplicate bridge time, and I have to get ready for that. Two things:

First, I see impressive jobs by Noelle in constructing a fun and smooth puzzle, and by NaomiZ in making an impressive and professional debut joining the Blog.
Congratulations!

Second, as a choir member in churches and choral societies for many decades, I need to comment on 36D. Simply put, the music that church choirs bring are anthems. If we sing, say, portions of Handel's "Messiah" or Mendelssohn's "Elijah", say, those are sections of oratorios.

A quick reminder is that the choir basically sings anthems, and the congregation (led by the choir) sings hymns.

Go Noelle and Naomi!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Bayou Tony - The only song I knew from Offspring was Come Out and Play. Kinda the same music with different lyrics, but now I like Pretty Fly better. BTW - I think the Tommie's in the background is the one I used to stop at on the way home after drinking too much beer at Dodgers games. It is just across the street from the Budweiser brewery in The Valley. Everything on the menu comes with chili, unless you tell them otherwise. Good to keep the hangover away if you have to work the next day.

Noelle G said...

Thank you Naomi and to all with kind words! This puzzle (my 2nd LA Times) took a few different shapes before getting accepted, so it's fun to see it finally come to fruition! Also, TERP is a shoutout to my husband who went to the University of Maryland:).

Cheers!

Monkey said...

True Monday level CW. I didn’t go so far as to try to detect the theme since I didn’t know FLY as a synonym of cool.

Congratulations to NaomiZ on her debut and great pic.

FLN

Picard: I do like that word “xénophilia” . Would that I were younger. I’m reading a book on travel called Airplane Mode: An Irreverent History of Travel by Shahnaz Habib where the author, a Moslem Indian, looks at travel through the eyes of a non-European and it’s amazing the things we, as European take for granted. I think you would like it.

RustyBrain said...

I'm not up on most movie titles, especially after 30 years has gone by, but nailed this one! My oldest was born during the 1988 Winter Olympics, and I watched the Jamaican team hurl down the chute while waiting for my son to come down his! An hour later I had a beautiful boy, then several years later had a movie to commemorate the day.

unclefred said...

I thought I managed to FIR in very good time, until I read the comments and see virtually everyone filled it faster! Oh well, I enjoyed the CW and only had one W/O thou:THEE. Very nice, clever CW thanx NG. Not too many obscure names, either, thanx for that, too. Wow, great first blog write-up, NaomiZ, thanx for your time and effort.

Lucina said...

HOLA!

What a clever and interesting puzzle! Thank you, Noelle. And thank you Naomi. Congratulations on the puzzle.

Since it's counting Monday I don't have much time only to say that not only are SOME sandals open toe, but by definition they all are, at least in my experience and I have a closet full of sandals, all open toe. Well, I can think of one pair that has closed toes.

Have a wonderful, pleasant day, everyone!

Tehachapi Ken said...

Noelle, I too graduated, sort of, from the University of Maryland. I was BORN there, at the U of M Medical Center many many decades ago, downtown Baltimore (Balmur).

Whenever the Terps have a big game, I fly the Maryland state flag out front, with its black and gold stripes, and red and white bottony cross. Since I'm in southern California, it confuses the heck out of people driving by.

Charlie Echo said...

A fine, breezy start to the week. A fast finish for me, not as quick as some, but to Echo Sub-Genius, I'm happy! Got the theme from the reveal, and enjoyed NaomiZs wrap-up. Welcome! My Uncle, a WWII submariner, wore closed toe leather sandals with a soft sole. Told me they were issued because regular shoes made too much noise.

Subgenius said...

I went to the Washington
Post site and didn’t have any problems. Wahoo! I’m back in business! Thank you Crossword family for your suggestions! And especially you, dear Irish Miss!

waseeley said...

Thank you Noelle for a Monday meander through crossword land.

And thank you NaomiZ for a wonderful debut as a Blogger! A new member on the team is much rarer than a new constructor. Good job!

A few favs:

44A FLY FISHERMAN. A touching tribute to your father.

7D TERP. Not strangely, I was familiar with that nickname (although I definitely couldn't TAG a single team member!). The TERPS are named for the State Turtle, the Maryland Terrapin.

35D HOLA. And a CSO to Lucina.

28D OHIO. We visit there at least once a year. East Liverpool, OHIO has a large ceramics museum dedicated to the founders of the town, who emigrated from Stoke-on Trent, England, the pottery center of the country and the birthplace of my Mom.

59A NORD. We've been to France several times and we think the that the French are unjustly thought of as aloof to Americans. We found however that the closer we were to the D-DAY beaches, the more appreciative the citizens were of the sacrifices made by our soldiers in WWII.

47D MONET. What a lovely couple!❤❤ That must have been a difficult picture to get, as the town is usually swarming with tourists. We have a friend, since departed, who was a photographer and told us he waited for an hour on one of the bridges for the background to clear enough to get a shot duplicating Monet's iconic waterlilies on film.

Cheers,
Bill

Parsan said...

Fun and fast on this busy day, thank you Noelle! NaomiZ, I always enjoy your comments on the blog and now this debut.— Bravo!

Would —-OO be tattoo or igloo? No, ME TOO. Didn’t know O’SHEA but he filled right in. COAL is AT ISSUE in many political debates. “Hep” became the slang for a while when HIP became too popular, but then it faded back to HIP.

Yellowrocks@9:19 - Your square dance theme event sounds like fun. My Dad called square dances as a hobby for many years.

Jinx - Not all heroes are on the battlefield!👍👍👍

Happy day, all!y

Noelle G said...

Tehachapi Ken - Yeah, I can see that;) Being originally from the LA area, I'm sure I didn't know what the Maryland flag looked like until I moved to the DC metro area.

Parsan said...

Nosy pants auto-correct — What the—-? Allly? Happy day, all!

sumdaze said...

Thanks to Noelle for a quick Monday solve! Thanks, also, for stopping by the corner! I had a one-box FIW at NO?D X TE?RE. I opted for a vowel....

FAV: HOLA made me smile, having just returned from Spain where I called out HOLA to everyone I passed by on my bike. Likewise, I called out Bon Jour to everyone on the French side of the Pyrenees. The locals were friendly and returned my greetings. I agree: very helpful, not rude at all.

Congratulations to NaomiZ on your debut blog! I enjoy your comments so I was happy to read a full blog from you. Thanks, also, for filling in for me. Much appreciated!!
FAVs: the TANGO pic and the lovely pic of you and DH.

YRocks@9:10. Enjoy your gala tonight!

RustyBrain@10:17. That's a great story. Thanks for sharing!

Now back to that huge pile of very smelly laundry....

Picard said...

NaomiZ Congratulations! I just sent you a private message on Facebook.

Hand up, never heard anyone say FLY in that way. Everything else was a breeze to FIR.
AnonT Thanks for the FLY clip.

Here we were on the SKI LIFT descending toward Lake Tahoe. Listen to Merlie's comment about the "big lake".

Monkey Thank you for the kind words about my friend Miriam's Xenophilia.

She is now posting her travel notes here, mixed in with her other random thoughts.

Thanks for the book tip. It was interesting to read the negative reviews. It does sound like an unusual travel book.

oc4beach said...


Nice puzzle and great expo. Great start NaomiZ. WEES.

Fly doesn't sound right, but I hear it frequently from the kids in the neighborhood. I guess it's a Millennial thing.

I knew the Terps from living in Maryland in the DC Metro area for 35 years. Plus I got my Masters degree at the University of Maryland back in the days of their great basketball coach, Lefty Driesell.

DO: Not all sandals are open toed, as others pointed out, some are closed toe.

Have a great day everyone.


NaomiZ said...

Many thanks to Noelle for an enjoyable puzzle, and for stopping by the Corner. I think her very HIP, COOL, FLY and FRESH crossword put everyone in a good mood and gave me a cheerful entry into blogging! Thank your for all the kind comments. Many thanks to C.C. for the opportunity, and to Sumdaze for allowing me to step into her sandals, whether open-toed or closed.

Besides my leap into blogging, the weekend included a leap of another kind, with the wedding of our son to his beloved. If I said the wedding went off without a hitch, that would mean there was a problem! Instead, they *did* get hitched, and the dancing went on until midnight.

À bientôt, Cruciverbalists!

Prof M said...

Descartes wrote “Cogito, ERGO sum,” however, many neuroscientists now say he got it backwards. I.e, it should be “Sum, ERGO cogito.” (“I am, therefore i think.” I tend to agree.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR in about 7-1/2 minutes (online). Have I ever mentioned how poor of a typist I am? Have I ever mentioned how many times I have to x out a letter, or backspace, and then take more time than I should to solve online?

TMI: the 7:30 solve time also included a bathroom break; I forgot to pause the timer

Some thank you's:

Noelle gave us a very doable puzzle, and NaomiZ nailed her blogger debut with a perfect explanation as well as appropriate pics and vids. Welcome to you both!

The "HIP HUGGERS" entry brought back a recent memory ... if you recall my January 31 2024 puzzle with the reveal "ROOM FOR DESSERT", my original entry (for what ended up being "POT PIE OF GOLD") was "HIPPIE HUGGERS"

Monkey said...

Picard @12:53. I saw many negative reviews on Goodreads because readers were misled by the title. I find it superbly written and in line with present reevaluations of points of view.

Monkey said...

Yellowrocks. Have a great and successful gala tonight.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Remember the Moody Blues song In the Beginning? It starts:
I think, I think I am
Therefore I am, I think

Picard said...

Monkey Thanks for the endorsement of that book. I was reading the negative reviews on Amazon. They were rather personal, so may not diminish the value of the book. Here are two:
===
I really was hoping to get an interesting viewpoint on travel being an armchair traveler myself. The only vibe I got was from a bitter, self-absorbed woman who resents not being born an American, and keeps trying to impress the reader with her worldliness.
===
Being from India, I benefited from British Raj, if nothing else for establishing modern education system
The author, being a Muslim, could have talked a little how Muslim invaders destroyed our temples and forced conversions into Muslim religion. NOT a WORD
===

ProfM Thanks for your comment on Descartes' Cogito ERGO Sum. I grew up with a research biologist father, who firmly was in your camp. But I think this misses the point Descartes was making. We have no direct knowledge of our neurons or of anything in the world. We only know our own consciousness.

His point was that we can derive the fact of our existence from the fact that we are having a conscious experience. That doubting our existence proves our existence. Really quite clever.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Noelle (thanks for dropping by) and Naomi (congrats on your blog debut, great photo of you and DH, congrats to all on the wedding).
I FIRed in good time and saw the FRESH START theme.
One inkblot at 24D. I was filling some Downs first, and quickly entered ON point, but subsequent perps demanded ON TOPIC.
I had a pause at the last letter of the cross of EUDORA and OSHEA, but the A was obvious.

This Canadian learned AGRA long ago doing CWs - and more recently TERP.
I believe OSLO would be considered an EKTORP (and Scandinavian at that!).

I noted THEE and HATH.
Today’s A GAME included ALIT and ARISE.
We also had an O finale with OREO, ERGO, OSLO, OHIO, TANGO.
AAHS turned to Oos with LOO and ME TOO.

I immediately thought of Lucina with HOLA.

Wishing you all a great day.

CanadianEh! said...

Since EKTORP is not in the Comments Section Abbreviations, I’ll reprint this.

“EKTORP was defined by Emma Oxford in a comment to her April 17th, 2024 puzzle as "a clue whose answer you can get from context without actually knowing it."

Prof M said...

CE: Nice one, seeing OSLO as an EKTORP in that clue!

Lucina said...

Yellowrocks
Enjoy your gala tonight! I know you will and hope to hear highlights tomorrow.

NaomiZ
Congratulations on your sons' wedding.

Tehachapi Ken said...

Naomi (what a beautiful name, BTW), you had quite a weekend, what with your blog debut here on the Corner, plus the wedding of your son! Holy Descartes! I wish them the best.



Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle, which I solved this morning before DW and I met our son for lunch. Now, having read all your comments, I enjoyed them also. Congratulations to you and your family, NaomiZ.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Just back from an arduous day of shopping for, buying, filling out forms for and getting our stuff out of our old car and put into our new vehicle. I lost count of the forms! The place where I have bought cars for 50 years did not have what we wanted in their huge inventory and the salesman did not see anxious to help. So, we went to their sister store in Lincoln and found a beauty.
-Term of endearment was NOT BAE!! Yay!
-Thanks for a very nice effort, Naomi, that was complemented by the lovely picture.
-Slang seems to come up with a new word for a positive comment. I’m sure you’ve heard, “That is bad!” as being a compliment
-Glad you’re still onboard, SubG!

Picard said...

Tehachapi Ken Way cool that you are an honorary U Maryland TERP. I guess I am, too. We moved to Maryland so that my father could be a biology professor there. Amazingly, I can't find a single photo of the campus.

Maryland has the coolest flag anywhere.

Out at lunch today I saw this cute Maryland flag sticker.

The young woman had just pulled up to the laundromat next to where I was eating. She was happy that I saw this Marylander inside joke on her car. Maryland is for crabs!