Sunny day... Today we celebrate a TV show that has been an institution for decades. It dispenses the message of learning, good manners and tolerance.
My favorite song from the show is Kermit's It's Not Easy Being Green, of which Ray Charles said
“The words say 'It’s not easy being green,' but the song is about knowing who you are. And in it you hear Jim’s (Henson) message most clearly. He believed that people are good and that they want to do their best and that no matter how or why we might be different from anybody else, we should learn to love who we are and be proud of it.”
Rubber Ducky was a close second. 😙
Our own blogmistress C.C. steps up to the plate today and hits a home run with her lovely construction. In keeping with today's National Day, I must comment how C.C. has taught me so much about crosswords and has done it in such a pleasant and patient way. I would have been proud to have her as a colleague in my teaching profession. Further, she has inspired many of us to reach beyond our grasp and construct with her guidance and I know I am very grateful for that. Many of my friends now think I'm smart because my name is listed as a co-author on an LA Times puzzle.
C.C. has mastered her craft to such a degree that she can entertain us no matter the day or level of difficulty. My attempt at research shows this is her third Saturday LA Times submission, both of which were blogged by Splynter.
Let's see what else C.C. has to teach us today "where the air is sweet":
Across:
1. Cheese manufacturing by-product: WHEY - A lesser man would say, "this is a nice WHEY to start" but I won't!
5. 2017 events for SNAP and Blue Apron: IPOS - Initial Public OfferingS
9. Dolt: CLOD.
13. Green feature: HOLE - If you get a HOLE-in-one on this African-shaped green in South Africa, you win a million dollars.
14. Soup bar staple: MINESTRONE.
17. Dwarf planet named for a Greek goddess: ERIS - About the same size as Pluto but with an even more eccentric orbit
18. Annual awards for which many adolescents vote: TEEN CHOICE - This year's winners
19. "Do I dare to eat a peach?" poet: T.S. ELIOT - From The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock
21. Ready to go out: DRESSED.
22. Underground rodent: SEWER RAT - 'nuff said
24. Grafton's "__ for Alibi": A IS - What better series to feature on Sesame Street Day?
25. Oceanus, for one: TITAN - We saw the statue of this Greek/Roman TITAN of the sea at the Trevi Fountain
6. Only work Michelangelo ever signed: PIETA which is found at St. Peter's only a short distance from the Trevi Fountain
26. Shot in a tiny cup: ESPRESSO - Don Fanucci's demitasse of ESPRESSO has the same caffeine as a big cup of regular coffee Caffeine content in ESPRESSO compared to Regular Coffee
31. Top: CREST.
32. Bar at the garage: AXLE.
33. "Rich Man, Poor Man" novelist: SHAW - Irwin
34. Owns: HAS.
35. Bliss: ECSTASY - for both parent and offspring
38. Cold draft, perhaps: ALE- Mentioned last week on National Beer Day
39. "This other __, demi-paradise": Shak.: EDEN - The lovely passage from Richard II that ends in "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
41. Obsessed mariner: AHAB - Many, including Gregory Peck himself, thought he was miscast as the lunatic AHAB in the 1956 movie of Moby Dick
50. Stops presenting evidence: RESTS - In this wonderful role, I'm sure Peck's Atticus Finch felt confident after his defense RESTED
42. Like sea lions: EARED - Pinnipeds compared
46. Data breach causes: HACKS - Is any data really safe?
47. Welcome sight?: MAT.
48. Small two-seater: SMART CAR - There's even room for one perp
51. Herald: USHER IN.
55. Soften: ASSUAGE crossing and 43. Set in motion: ACTUATE were my last fills
56. Rash-causing shrubs: POISON OAKS.
58. Quite some time: AGES.
59. Source of potential matches: DATING POOL - I haven't dipped my toe into that POOL for well over 50 years
60. Out house?: TENT - C.C. clever cluing! Here's an outhouse TENT for when you are living in another TENT serving as an "out" house.
61. Vein valuables: ORES.
62. "If all __ fails ... ": ELSE - read the directions
63. Body shop figs.: ESTS - Their ESTIMATES are usually pretty good
Down:
1. Sharpens: WHETS - In my first teen job at a local nursery, we carried WHET stones for the knives we used
2. Shrewd bargain: HORSE TRADE - Often concluded in halls of Congress
3. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Award was renamed for him: ELIE WIESEL - He had armed guards with him when he spoke at our high school
4. "We should!": YES LET'S
5. "Tough decision!": I'M TORN - How can I tell my coffee group I am on the fence?
8. Dispatch: SEND.
9. Mass symbols: CROSSES - Here's one suspended at the front of our St. Pat's Church
10. Hi's wife, in comics: LOIS - Some Hi and Lois cwd fill. Oh, Hi and Lois is a pun!
11. Some time ago: ONCE.
12. House document: DEED - The DEED to the famous South Fork Ranch featured in Dallas15. Tough spots: SCRAPES.
16. "__ Eyes Were Watching God": Hurston novel: THEIR - Zora Neale Hurston's tale of Janie Crawford "ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny."
20. Fit to be tied: IRATE - Some politicians from four days ago
23. Some online banners: TEXT ADS - Ads for MAN BAGS started appearing on this page after it had appeared in a puzzle here recently
27. Big piece: SLAB - Of course it can be a big piece of a pastry but it is also what we called a big piece of concrete
28. Divers' protection: SHARK CAGES - For $99 on Oahu's north shore, you can get this experience below which could include a visit from 49. Powerful sharks: MAKOS.
29. Pitcher?: SALES AGENT - We got a cheap Branson Vacation Package but we had to listen to a SALES AGENT pitch time-shares
30. Outstanding: OWED - It's not how much the car costs or how much the salesman says he is giving you for your car, it is what is OWED when you're all done
31. "Believe" singer: CHER.
32. Court immortal: ASHE - His statue now stands on Monument Ave. in his hometown of Richmond, VA. Debate continues about tearing down the other statues on that street that celebrate Confederate heroes
36. Certain director's concern: CASTING - Their infamous CASTING couches have been much in the news
37. Quite some time: YEARS.
40. Waterloo: NEMESIS - This is the man-made "Lion's Hill" near Waterloo, Belgium on the battlefield where Napoleon met his, uh, Waterloo. For a fee you can climb its 225 steps for a panoramic view
45. Alphabetically first Baseball Hall of Famer: AARON - The last on this alphabetical list was a SS who was elected in 1999 and has a last name beginning with "Y". *Answer is at the bottom of this write-up and I'll bet C.C. and Boomer know who it is.
46. Major headache: HASSLE.
51. Bun, e.g.: UPDO.
52. Skyrocket: SOAR - The Blue Angels know how
53. "Women and Love" author: HITE - Ouch!
54. "You wish": NOPE.
57. Yahoo! sister company: AOL.
With apologies to Sue Grafton, B IS also FOR Birthday today. So let me share a picture of my wife's twin Joyce, their mother Martha and my wife Joann on this day, the sisters' 72nd birthday.
Don't be a grouch, give us your comments:
*Robin Yount is the last name alphabetically at Cooperstown.
