Saturday, August 8, 2020, Peter A. Collins

Themeless Saturday by Peter A. Collins

Today's constructor has 113 NYT puzzles published and many in other venues. He has been a math teacher in the Ann Arbor, Michigan school system since 1980 and  is now the department head at Huron Public High School in that city.

Peter was kind enough to offer these thoughts about himself and this puzzle:

Hi Gary,

I moved this over to my non-public school email.  Someday I might retire and when that happens, the other address will go up in a puff of smoke.

Thanks for reaching out.  I'd be happy to share my thoughts on my 8/8 LA Times puzzle, and a bit about myself.    

As you may or may not know, I submitted answers to an interview on the Crossword Corner site back in 2011.  Here's the link:

https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/interview-with-peter-collins.html

I'm still a high school math teacher in Ann Arbor, about to start my 41st year (albeit virtually).  I also still teach at the University of Michigan in the summer.  I'm still married with four daughters, but now we have two grandsons as well.  We're fortunate that everyone is still local, so we get to see the family a lot.

The seeds of this themeless puzzle were the two grid-spanning Across entries -- MOVING THE NEEDLE  and GOING OFF THE GRID.  From there it was just a matter of trying to keep the fill lively and the crosswordese to a minimum.  Looking back on it, I like most of the longer entries -- GOT MARRIED, MILLER LITE, MR ROGERS, MINIMART, I DIDN'T DO IT, LAID IT ON, SEVEN HILLS, and RON SANTO.  I think entries like ROKU can help keep a puzzle feeling a little more current -- for those who have no idea who RON SANTO was.

I always enjoy working with Rich and Patti, and I hope you found this puzzle a fun diversion in these strange times.

- Pete Collins.

Now let's see what this former Michigan Wolverine, now a Huron High River Rat,  has for us today:

Across:

1. Snatch, with "onto": GLOM - A few months ago many people tried to GLOM on to as much TP as they could

5. Low dams: WEIRS - A WEIR on the Russian River in Alaska used for a fish census

10. Party lineup: DIPS - Hopefully not the people you invited but sauces to enhance the flavor of your chips

14. Renaissance painter Guido: RENI and 2. "Blade Runner 2049" actor Jared: LETO - The E for R_NI crossing L_TO was my last fill

15. Terse denial: AM NOT - Ah, echoes of the playground 

16. Classic concert halls: ODEA - Plural for an ODEUM like this

17. Letters followed by a colon: ATTN.

18. Joined a union: GOT MARRIED - Fun cluing, Pete!

20. Making a noticeable difference: MOVING THE NEEDLE - like casting 36. 2019 Tom Hanks role: MR ROGERS.

22. Scrap: MELEE.

23. Hoot?: DAMN - As in Give a ___

24. Borgia who was the son of Pope Alexander VI: CESARE - Is said to be the inspiration for Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince

Machiavelli                          Borgia

27. Was effusive with flattery: LAID IT ON and 47. Full of smarm: OILY.- Nobody did it better than Eddie Haskell

31. Last Olds made: ALERO.

32. Harry's love: GINNY - Last Sunday we had his owl 

33. Translate, perhaps: DUB - I remember watching Who's The Boss DUBBED into Italian in Venice late one night

34. G.I. component: Abbr.: GOVT - Government Issue

35. 39-Across numbers: CENTS and 39. It's often on a tag: PRICE.

36. Homer Simpson's mom: MONA - Either you knew this or you're like me

37. "... __ the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE - If Wyatt Earp had lived in 17th century England, "Receiveth out of town ERE sundown, you poisonous bunch-backed toad!"

38. "Treasure Island" pirate Billy: BONES - "A habitual drunkard, Billy BONES terrorizes the customers of the Benbow with his swearing, singing and general bullying"

40. Hall of Fame third baseman who spent 14 seasons with the Cubs: RON SANTO - His rookie card can fetch over $100 or perhaps you could 42. Trade: BARTER like C.C. and Boomer would

43. Sting, say: HURT.

44. En __: on a streak, in slang: FUEGO - Dan Patrick's catch phrase

46. Not staying connected, in a way: GOING OFF THE GRID.

52. Bud competitor: MILLER LITE.

53. Frankfurt article: EINE - How 'bout six minutes of EINE Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music)

54. For-care connector: ALL I

55. Trucking allowances: TARES - (5) below 

56. Big name in streaming players: ROKU - Here ya go!

57. Skin malady: CYST.

58. Hägar's hound: SNERT.

59. Indirect contributor to Achilles' vulnerable spot: STYX - Achilles' mother Thetis dipped her son in the river STYX to protect him but...

Down:

1. What "g" might mean: GRAM - Mass to this physics guy

3. Airing: ON TV.

4. Quick-stop shop: MINI MART.

5. Many a golfer's pre-swing move: WAGGLE - If you're a golfer, you probably know this movie and waggling actor (*if not, the answer is below)

6. Avoid being flat?: EMOTE.

7. At great risk: IN THE LINE OF FIRE - She was a good sport about getting caught IN THE LINE OF FIRE

8. 26-Down's city: ROME and 26. 8-Down feature: SEVEN HILLS - Here they are

9. Subs: STAND INS - Reese Witherspoon's

10. Musical start: DO RE MI.

11. Innocent response: I DIDN'T DO IT - The Alcatraz theme song

12. Take (off): PEEL.

13. "The Sweetest Taboo" singer: SADE - A very nice song by an artist whose name (shaw DAY) comes from her mother's home country of Nigeria 

19. Good to go: READY.

21. "Quo Vadis" role: NERO - A 1951 role for Peter Ustinov set in the Seven Hills of Rome

24. Blazer or Cav: CAGER and 30. Blazer or Cav: NBAER.A Portland or Cleveland pro basketball CAGER (basketball player). A twofer for Pete!

25. Ecuadoran province once famous for its gold: EL ORO - Now famous for exporting bananas

28. Word with red or army: ANTS.

29. Beverage unit: OUNCE.

32. Refined chap: GENT.

35. Twists: CONTORTS.

38. Canal craft: BARGE - A BARGE on cwd favorite Erie canal in 1919 ("Low bridge, everybody down!")

39. Document part: PAGE.

41. Bright, as a patio: SUNLIT.

42. Urgent request: BEHEST - Godfather - Senator to Willi Cici, "You kill people at the BEHEST of your superiors?"

45. Say: UTTER 

46. Ally Financial Inc., once: GMAC - Okay

48. Eggy dessert: FLAN.

49. Cut-up: RIOT.

50. Black: INKY - We had INK SACS Wednesday

51. First French prime: DEUX - DEUX est le premier nombre premier en français (Two is the first prime number in French)

Explanation of this Schrödinger puzzle below made by Pete. He said he started it when he saw  FRANK SINATRA and ELVIS PRESELY had the same number of letters and he worked for it over the years until it fell into place.

Comment at will or at Pete!

*That golfing waggler is Ted Knight as Judge Smails in Caddyshack 

Wednesday September 18, 2019, Peter A. Collins

Theme:  AT ANY RATE. Each theme answer is the name of a hit song, the first word of which can be used to rate quality.

18. #1 hit for Jerry Lee Lewis: GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Released in 1957, and also a 1989 film.

28. #1 hit for the Beach Boys: GOOD VIBRATIONS.

49. #1 hit for Johnny Rivers: POOR SIDE OF TOWN.

 

64. #1 hit for Jim Croce: BAD BAD LEROY BROWN.

Melissa here. I'm impressed with this GREAT theme - two grid-spanners and two near-grid spanners, and ALL hit songs. I wonder which was the seed - perhaps Peter A. Collins will pop in and enlighten us.

Across:

1. Starbucks orders, casually: JAVAS. Java is often used interchangeably with "coffee," although technically, it refers to arabica coffee beans of plants grown in Java, Indonesia that produce a usually full-bodied coffee of low to medium acidity. Now you know.

6. Carnival staples: RIDES. The first thing that popped into my head was cotton candy, so I was looking for some kind of food treat.

11. Chance: SHOT. Take one.

15. Perform better than: OUTDO.

16. Scandal-plagued energy company: ENRON.

17. Witness' promise: OATH. "To witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says."

21. Squealed on the bad guys: SANG.

22. Oscar winner Kazan: ELIA. Kazan won directing Oscars for 1947's Gentleman's Agreement and On the Waterfront, the 1954 film that starred Marlon Brando, and a controversial Special Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1999. There are lots of good movies about the Hollywood Blacklist.

23. Lemonlike fruit: CITRON.

24. Grocery chain with a red-and-white logo: IGA. Independent Grocers Alliance.

26. Like the Ninja Turtles: MUTANT.

33. Vornado product: FAN. Never heard of this brand - logo similar to above.

34. Landscaping tree: PIN OAK. See here.

35. Peter was the first one: POPE.

37. Application: USE.

38. Federal retirement org.: SSA. Social Security Administration.

39. Couple of million?: ELS. Two L's.

42. Farm food: HAY.

43. Justice __ Bader Ginsburg: RUTH. Appointed by President Clinton and took the OATH of office on August 10, 1993. Health update.

45. Get going: BESTIR. Not sure I've heard this word before - tricky,

48. Have bills: OWE.

53. "Let's get together": MEET ME.

54. Best-liked, briefly: FAV.

55. Kite carrier: BREEZE.

58. Italy's Villa d'__: ESTE. So pretty.

60. One of 12 on a die: EDGE. Another tricky one.

67. Brit's kitchen floor: LINO. British LINO is same as American LINOleum.

68. Abates: EASES.

69. Threw in: ADDED.

70. Dispatch, as a dragon: SLAY.

71. Oboist's supply: REEDS.

72. Hired thugs: GOONS.

Down

1. Easy runs: JOGS.

2. General feeling: AURA.

3. Dodge Viper engine: V-TEN.

4. Slowly, in music: ADAGIO.

5. Drunkard: SOT.

6. Genuine: REAL.

7. Undecided: IN LIMBO. Interesting. The word is of Teutonic origin, meaning “border” or “anything joined on.”

8. Advice giver on SiriusXM Radio: DR. LAURA. Had no idea she was still on the air.

9. Canon camera named for a dawn goddess: EOS. Hm. Well ... Eos was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, but the Canon EOS stands for Electro-Optical System.

10. Winter vehicle on treads: SNO CAT.

11. Convertible type: SOFT TOP.

12. Tiny margin of victory: HAIR. Haha.

13. Another, in España: OTRO.

14. "__ what?": THEN.

19. One of a pair of cartoon slackers: BEAVIS.

20. It's over in France: FINI.

25. National econ. stats: GDPS. Gross domestic products.

27. Grow fond of: TAKE TO.

28. Go from E to F?: GAS UP.

29. __ a customer: ONE TO.

30. "Soon": IN A BIT.

31. Emphatic word of refusal: NOHOW. Didn't realize this was one word.

32. What salmon do upstream: SPAWN.

33. Stole from a coat store?: FUR. Very clever. Shawl, wrap, stole, scarf - what's the difference?

36. __ contact: EYE.

40. River through Dublin: LIFFEY. Flows through Dublin.

41. Span. miss: SRTA. Señorita. 

44. Neighborhood pal, in slang: HOMEBOY.

46. Attorney general under Ronald Reagan: ED MEESE.

47. Blows one's stack: SEES RED.

50. Mohammad __ Pahlavi: last shah of Iran: REZA. Perped.

51. Farm contraption: SEEDER. Used to plant seeds for beans, cotton, rice, wheat, canola and many types of vegetables.

52. Engage in to excess: OVERDO.

55. OPEC units: BBLS. Barrels. One barrel equals 42 US gallons

One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html

One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html

One barrel equals 42 US gallons

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/barrel-bbl.html

56. Mass transit option: RAIL.

57. Barry Humphries alter ego Dame __: EDNA. Australian comedian.

59. Mix, as salad: TOSS.

61. Extinct bird: DODO.

62. __ Stacy: Spider-Man love interest: GWEN.

63. They might be loose or tight: ENDS.

65. Ka __: southernmost Big Island point: LAE. The area is also known for its strong ocean currents and winds and is the home of a wind farm.

66. Purse: BAG.

Thursday, June 20th 2019 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Seasonal Scrambles - each theme entry has a scramble of one of the seasons hidden in it, as the reveal explains:

59A. What happens tomorrow ... and a hint to this grid's circled letters: CHANGE OF SEASONS. We move from spring to summer on Friday.

17A. Brief CV: SHORT FORM RESUMÉ. Summer.

24A. Make music with one's mouth closed: HUM A TUNE. Autumn.

36A Dessert potables : PORT WINES. Winter.

52A. Some facial decor: LIP RINGS. Spring.

Cool theme, I like how the seasons follow each other rather than just appear randomly. My daughter has a LIP RING which I was rather startled by the first time I saw it, but it's grown on me. PORT WINE is my favorite go-to with the cheese plate after dinner. SHORT-FORM RESUMÉ I'm not so sure about, but I did like the overall challenge here. Solid crosses for a lot of proper names. I wonder if Peter suggested to Rich when to run this puzzle and changed the reveal clue accordingly.

Across:

1. Hogwarts professor played by Rickman: SNAPE

6. Monk style: BEBOP. Nice misdirection. I was trying to think of another word for "tonsure" when I saw the light. Thelonious Monk.

11. "It's __-win situation": A NO

14. Groovier part of a 45?: SIDE A. How many grooves are there on a standard 45? Two, one on each side.

15. Achille __: hijacked liner: LAURO

16. Baseball commentator Darling: RON. New to me. Crosses solved it for me.

20. Ristorante rice dish: RISOTTO. I can just hear Gordon Ramsay say "Two Wellingtons, one spaghetti and one perfect risotto".

21. Votin' no on: AGIN

22. The geographic center of the 48 states is in it: KANSAS. I need to look this up. I'd like to know exactly where. In the UK, it's somewhere in Leicestershire, I think, 70 miles from the sea. For a reasonably large country, 70 miles from getting wet is not a long way away.

27. Decide that one will: ELECT TO

29. Cargo unit: TON

30. Spanish article: LAS

31. __ deck: cruise ship feature: LIDO. There's a Lido pool in Paris on the Seine. I've swum in it. Not sure that was the best idea I've ever had.

32. System starter?: ECO

34. "Paper Moon" pair: O'NEALS. Ryan and daughter Tatum.

39. Quarterly Nielsen ratings periods: SWEEPS. The sweeps are getting less important. Nielsen survey a week's worth of watching broadcast TV every quarter to set the price of advertising for the next three months on any given show. The problem is - cable. Nielsen don't survey cable, so if you are watching ESPN or HBO you don't count. Have you been watching the World Cup? Fantastic soccer.

42. Wind up: END

43. Free of charge: COMP

47. Ranch nickname: TEX

48. French pronoun: TOI. The 

50. They may hold rosés: CARAFES. I hope you spotted the E-ecute in the clue. I missed it at first, and was off on the VASE trail, Then I looked again.

55. Katmandu native: NEPALI

56. Hard to watch: UGLY

57. Indentations: NOTCHES
. I
64. "Lord, is __?": IT I

65. Under-the-sink fitting: P-TRAP

66. Get ready to refinish: STRIP

67. Writer Rand: AYN. We've had Ayn Rand and Anne Rice today. Completely different writers, but I've enjoyed reading both of their work. I think "Interview with the Vampire" was one of the most stunning novels I've ever read.

68. Some globe users: SEERS

69. With great passion: HOTLY

Down:

1. Old conscription agcy.: S.S.S.

2. Bethesda-based medical org.: N.I.H. I had to look this one up after I solved the puzzle, I think this might be a tad obscure?

3. Gussied up: ADORNED

4. Sub need: PERISCOPE. Hard to steerwithout one. You tend to bump into things.

5. Preoccupies a lot: EATS AT

6. Moral flaw: BLOT

7. Terra firma: EARTH

8. Disappoint, in slang: BUM OUT

9. 1967 NHL Rookie of the Year: ORR. One of the most famous photo in sports is Bobby Orr scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal being tripped while celebrating the win. It is quite wonderful.

10. "The Tell-Tale Heart" writer: POE

11. Salad green: ARUGULA. Called "Rocket" in England, if you ever get a menu and wonder.

12. Insignificant: NOMINAL

13. Zen harmony: ONENESS. There's a spooky commercial running now about ginger beer and oneness, not sure if I like it.

18. Boy who may be adopted: FOSTER SON

19. Took a load off: SAT

22. Kenan's Nickelodeon pal: KEL. Completely clueless about this one.

23. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala __: ALI

25. Van Morrison hit with the line "A fantabulous night to make romance": MOONDANCE. Let's hear from Van the Man.

26. Writer Rice: ANNE

28. Thanksgiving mo. in Canada: OCT. I have a Canadian friend here in LA who hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner in October. It's great, we get to eat turkey twice in two months. I cook turkey at Easter too - it's not particularly traditional, but our family always had an Easter turkey.

33. Fall behind: OWE

35. Reaches after getting away, as a safe haven: ESCAPES TO

37. __-FREE: contact lens solution: OPTI. Thank you crosses, no clue.

38. Forbes rival: INC Well good luck to INC's circulation numbers. Never heard of you.

39. Lesser Antilles isl. country: ST. LUCIA. A beautiful spot in the Caribbean.

40. Ponderous: WEIGHTY
.
41. Clarify: EXPLAIN. I used to work with a guy who would say "Let me 'splain you". it got to be quite a joke.

44. Qualifying phrase: OF A SORT

45. "Hacksaw Ridge" director Gibson: MEL

46. Tire letters: PSI. I think my tires are 32/24 on the front and back,

49. Brush aside: IGNORE

51. Go over again: REHASH. Usually no point. Accept and move on.

53. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Why do I always want to fill in RJN?

54. As of yet: SO FAR

58. Cookbook amts.: TSPS. I messed up yesterday smoking chicken. The cookbook called for 1 tbsp on wood chips, I decided more is better, and used two. Bad idea. All you can taste is smoke.

60. Modern rte. finder: G.P.S. Not Google Maps? I use my Garmin GPS sailing, but on-the-road navigation is firmly in the hands of Google.

61. Tour de France time: ÉTÉ I love the TV coverage of the Tour de France. This year will be bittersweet as Paul Sherwen, one of the the co-commentators and one of the voices of the Tour passed away this year from heart failure at the young age of 62. I was shocked when I heard the news.

62. Zilch: NIL

63. Make like a mole: SPY

And the grid:

Steve

Thursday, February 21st 2019 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Drink Up - the four theme entries conceal a juice read from bottom to top - as Peter more succinctly puts it in the reveal:

25D. Supercharge, and a hint to what's literally hiding in the four longest Down answers: JUICE UP

3D. Grand Prix, for one: MOTOR RACE. Carrot. Interestingly, Formula One racing cars don't use superchargers, you'd think they would. They use electrically-assisted turbochargers. Here's the famous Monaco Grand Prix in 2018

5D. Edible elephant, say: ANIMAL CRACKER. Clam. I think the sheep is something of an outlier in the Animal Cracker "family".

19D. Skillet dish with ham and peppers: WESTERN OMELET. Lemon. And Food! Officially, it shouldn't have cheese in it, but who makes the rules?

36D. FAQ spots: HELP PAGES. Apple. FAQ is one of those words that used to be written as an abbreviation, now it's a thing of itself. Frequently Asked Questions was the origin.

Across:

1. '90s-'00s Olympic soccer notable: HAMM. The great Mia on the US Women's National Team.

5. Literary captain: AHAB. I bet Starbuck wished he'd thought of opening a coffee shop rather than risk life and limb on a whaling ship.

9. Leaks slowly: SEEPS

14. Burn soother: ALOE

15. Zippo: NADA. If the downtrend in smoking continues, Zippo will eventually sell zippo.

16. Computer text code: ASCII. The American Standard Code for Information Interchange, which is something of a mouthful.

17. They're not loyal: RATS

18. Unyielding: IRON WILLED

20. Golfing group: TWOSOME. There's a course near me that sends out fivesomes at the weekend. I hated playing there, it was grindingly slow.

22. Base for money: TEN. I was tempted by "tin" as the base for a coin. No, the decimal number system. When I was growing up in the UK, the currency system was crazy - one pound was made up of 20 shillings, and there were 12 pennies in a shilling. The smallest coin was a farthing, which was a quarter of a penny. Learning money mathematics was a slog. The UK converted to decimal in 1971, incredibly recently if you think about it.

23. Swallowed: ATE

24. "Harry Potter" reporter __ Skeeter: RITA. Compete guess, but this worked out for me.

25. Not much: JUST A TAD. Or a farthing!

27. Anthem contraction: O'ER

29. Blue, on the Danube: BLAU. Strauss' The Blue Danube used in the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ends a little abruptly here!

31. Noir hero: 'TEC

32. Lose oomph: FLAG

34. Movie SFX: CGI

35. Purim heroine: ESTHER

39. Centers of attention: FOCI

40. What unfixed malfunctions usually do: RECUR

42. Flight-related prefix: AERO-

43. "Burnt" color: SIENNA. Could be "umber", except for here. Not enough letters!

45. Coastal bird: ERN

46. Sound of an angry exit: SLAM

47. LSU conference: SEC

48. Chicago-style pizza chain, informally: UNO'S. Uno Pizzeria and Grill. Creator of the Chicago-style deep dish pizza in 1943, causing arguments with New Yorkers ever since.

50. Education org.: P.T.A.

51. Started, as a conversation: STRUCK UP. You can strike up a conversation or a band.

55. Car dealer's abbr.: M.S.R.P.

57. Acct. that may be rolled over: I..R.A.

58. Half a numbers game: KEN. KenKen. I just tried it for the first time. Fun!

59. Seattle pro: SEAHAWK. NFL player.

62. Going back, in a way: TIME TRAVEL

65. Arch type: OGEE

66. Often harmful bacteria: E.COLI

67. Basmati, for one: RICE. Food! I love basmati, I get it in 10lb sacks from the local Indian market, way cheaper than the supermarket brands. I cooked some just last night to go with tandoori-style chicken and garlic lentils.

68. "What, will these hands __ be clean?": Lady Macbeth: NE'ER. Lady M. bemoaning the fact she can't seem to get Duncan's blood off her hands.

69. Thick: DENSE

70. "Futurama" creator Groening: MATT

71. "Baseball Tonight" channel: ESPN. ESPN started so that some people on the East Coast could watch Hartford Whalers hockey games via satellite. Look how far it's come.

Down:

1. Roxie __, "Chicago" role: HART

2. "There oughta be __": A LAW

4. Soccer superstar Lionel: MESSI. Subject of furious debates among fans - who is better, Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar?

6. Fabled also-ran: HARE

7. Hubbub: ADO

8. Xhosa's language group: BANTU

9. French holy women: SAINTES

10. Bilingual subj.: E.S.L.

11. Grand display: ÉCLAT

12. Mary-in-mourning sculpture: PIETÀ. Here's Michelangelo's original in St. Peter's in Rome:

13. Agreed (with): SIDED

21. Wagering shorthand: OTB. Off-Track Betting. There's at least one bookies on every English high street.

26. Take the role of: ACT AS

27. Does in: OFFS

28. Morlock victims: ELOI. The two races in H.G.Wells' novel "The Time Machine". Ties in nicely with 62A.

30. Memorable time: AGE

33. Infomercial brand: GINSU. Knives you can cut soup cans with. Quite why you'd want to subject your knives to that treatment I have no idea.

37. Q.E.D. word: ERAT

38. Type of tomato: ROMA. I chop a couple of 'em into my garlic lentils.

41. Spigoted server: URN. Time for tea.

44. Suit go-with: NECKTIE. Less and less nowadays. I have quite a collection of ties but rarely seem to wear one any more.

49. Fed. benefits agency: S.S.A.

51. Located: SITED

52. Jiffy: TRICE

53. Hispanic penguin in "Happy Feet": RAMON. I only know this from crosswords, but it's ingrained now.

54. Render harmless: UNARM. I prefer "disarm", but I think we've had this conversation before.

56. Lake Geneva river: RHONE. Second European river today. The Rhone valley is a beautiful part of France, and home to some great wineries.

59. Religious offshoot: SECT

60. Bawl: WEEP

61. "Ol' Man River" composer: KERN. "There's an old man called the Mississippi ..." 

63. Raised trains: ELS. I particularly associate the El with Chicago.

64. Through: VIA

Which brings us to ... the grid. See you all next time!

Steve

Notes from C.C.:
 

1) Dave 2 is finally back to his assisted living place today. Hopefully he'll be on the blog soon.

2) Last night I got an email from Malcolm, longtime friend of  Fermet Prime (Lorraine Foster). He told me Lorraine "fell in the night a couple of hours ago in her bathroom, it took her 3 hours before she was able to reach her phone and get the paramedics to come. She’s in a local hospital and is going to have an operation for her broken hip this evening at 9:30 (I’m writing his at 5:10 PM on Wednesday February 20, 2019)."

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I've asked Malcolm for an address to send Lorraine cards. Will let you know.