Chapter Two

 I am still trying to get a handle on how to populate "my blog" with things other than the prepublication of the commentary on Crossword Corner. So I am going to add some content here and see what you can see, and then we will see what we will see together.

My earliest memories of life in Putnam are not my memories but stories I was told and some pictures I have still in my possession. I will return to the journey my paternal grandfather made which led the family (Hyman, Herman; Leona, Lee; Morton, Unc; and my favorite, Ralph, Roy, Dad) to the small town in the northeast corner of Connecticut where my brothers and I were born. 

Roy and Irene were star-crossed lovers; he was older and Jewish and she was young a superstar for the local nuns who had taught her and let her teach younger kids once she was 11 years old. Her entire schooling until she finally went off to nursing school at 18 was in the Catholic schools run by the priests and the nuns. The nuns adored her and assumed she would one day join their ranks and become a brilliant teacher and Mother Superior. I have to do more digging to get those pictures out, but today we will begin as she was off to Nursing School.

As you can see, she made friends there and clearly looked the part of very serious nurse to be standing in front of the 1930s Pierce-Arrow. She was not allowed to start nursing school until she was 18 (September  20, 1940) so she need a job. Her mother who knew how smart her daughter was and who taken her family see Dr. Morton Chapnick since the early 30s mentioned to the Doctor the problem she had with Irene unable to go to nursing school for two years. The Doctor who had been Irene's doctor since she 10 or 11, suggested that he he could use her as a receptionist in his Main Street office. and yes you guessed it, that is how she met Dad. We will relish more details but this was not a happy event for the Chapnick pr LaBrec families. Both tried forbidding them to see each other. Didn't work. Both thought that once Irene went away to school, the romance would end. Didn't work. The war in Europe was raging and both Irene and Roy enlisted. Didn't work. Dad had flat feet and Dr. Chapnick interceded preventing Irene from enlisting as necessary personnel for the safety of the community. Thus began the odd role mother would have in the Chapnick family even before she was committed to Roy. 

They did not see each other for a year or so, but passion burns bright even in the dark times of war. They wanted to marry, but how to overcome the religious and age difference. Luckily, my father had an "error" on his license which made him younger, so the age difference could be ignored, but what about raising children? It was the end of 1944, and her brother Harold (Uncle Brec) was home on leave from serving in France and North Africa. He told her he had seen what the Nazis were doing to Jews, blacks, the Gypsies and he knew it did not matter if the people were religious or not, if they were thought to have any Jewish blood they had to be "exterminated." She told her, if you marry him and you really seem to love him, you must raise the children as Jews so they will learn their heritage and if they face oppression or bigotry, they will understand why and be proud of their heritage.

So the decision was made, and on the anniversary of my grandparents wedding, February 1, 1945,Roy and Irene went off to the Courthouse at the Windham County seat in Willimantic and in a foyer (described by mother as a coat closet) they were wed. Since they were both still living at home, they agreed not to tell the family until they could find an apartment and move in together. They each went to their parents' home and mother kept the secret for almost 45 minutes. The shit hit the fan and they moved into 30 Gilman Street. It was bumpy but 13 months later David was born, and so the story continues.

                                                                

JW

TITLE: Not OK, just O.

Jeffrey Wechsler is back! So is standard puzzle symmetry! I am so ... glad.  I am so ... sad.  , no ID required. All votes will be counted

Happy first Friday puzzle of June and the blend of the past and the future. A letter removal puzzle which is certainly a common Friday approach, but ramped up by the extensive wit and wisdom of our most published producer, JW. For anyone wondering if his work would be part of the new order, here is a hint that a fun nicely put together puzzle will always be part of the LAT world. I for one cannot imagine the LAT without JW. 

Before the theme we have some other fun words, LENDERS, LESOTHO, NO MERCY, PARASOL, SCRIMPS,  TREATED,  WATERED, POOH POOH  and  VARIABLE. We also have much new stuff, so let us get to solving.

The themers:

20A. Medic with an office at Fisherman's Wharf?: THE DOCK OF THE BAY (14). Ignore the crossed out K and the humor of the clue/fill shines through. It reminds me of the series ROYAL PAINS shot in Miami. 

25A. Leaders inclined to work as a group?: BLOCKHEADS.(9). A bloc is a combination of countries, parties, or groups sharing a common purpose according to the dictionary and they all require a leader. 

When I think of BLOCKHEADS I think of Gumby the 1956 clay animation star who had a primary sidekick  Pokey, a talking orange pony. He also had nemeses, the G and J Blockheads, a pair of antagonistic red humanoid figures with cube-shaped heads, one with the letter G on the block, the other with the letter J. 

45A. Captain Hook's incredulous assessment of his nemesis?: WHAT A CROCK (9). We all know the ending of the phrase with the implied K, but we will let you fill in that blank.  Another childhood favorite from the 50s (1953), Captain Hook's nemesis, tik tok (hmm where have I heard that phrase?) CROCODILE. 

50A. Puts comfy shoes through rigorous testing?: HOLDS A MOCK TRIAL (14). This is my favorite as the combined picture of someone trying out a MOCASSIN  and then having a practice open court trial hits my funny bone buttons. I can see call the toes to the stand to testify.

All in all a tight theme that delivers the joy we expect on Fridays. But what else doe this week bring?

Across:

1. Sarah Spain's network: ESPN. There are not many 4 letter networks so this proper name should not have unsettled many, and it is a true CSO to Bill G and other Cornell graduates who stop by the Corner. Sarah at 6' tall played basketball, field hockey and was a pentathlete from Illinois before becoming a broadcaster. Clearly not the person about whom to use a cheap casting pun about broads. A very specific reference which does not sound like JW.

5. Percussion set: HI-HAT. There is so much more to these set-up than just cymbals.
LINK.

10. Cards: WITS. A Friday pairing of a very simple word, and an uncommon but real definition. Merriam-Webster (M-W) has it at number FIVE.

14. "Go on, git!": SHOO. All I can think of is Louboutin shoes for $25,000.00. Is this where the soul of America has gone?

15. Tickle: AMUSE. We have made it to definition 2b at M-W, which if you do not believe me you will need to look up.

16. __ were: AS IT. Dictionary.com says,  "A shortening of “as if it were so,” this idiom has been in use since Chaucer's time (he had it in his Nun's Priest's Tale, c. 1386)." It is so nice to work Chaucer in here so Joseph and Bill might keep reading.  

17. Textile machine: LOOM. Encyclopedia Britannica suggests these have been around for more than 7000 years! It also said they appeared independently in various parts of the world. We really need that way back machine. Mr. Peabody, a little help...

18. Nigerian seaport: LAGOS. Would it surprise you to learn Lagos (pronounced Lay-goss) had a population of 15.2 million people as of 2015 with both over-population and poverty and a rich cultural history and a plan for the future?

19. "Ciao": TATA. A strange blend of an accepted foreign word and a slang for goodbye made most popular by Tigger.

23. Expert: PRO. And we have an actual easy fill.

24. Extremely chill: SERENE. Serenity is one of the most published virtues now. The serenity prayer written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

31. Extremely cold: GELID. A Friday word derived from the  Latin gerundive GELIDUS brought into English in the 17th century.

32. Channel marker: BUOY. The definition is an anchored float serving as a navigation mark, to show reefs or other hazards, or for mooring. This is derived they say from Portuguese, which makes sense to help you find any Port in a storm. 

33. Picked up the tab: TREATED. If you come visit us in So. Fla. we will pick up the tab or feed you at our place.

35. BYU or NYU: SCH. If you know Brigham Young and New York Universities this is a gimme.

36. Sun screen: PARASOL. Since it is two words, it cannot be Coppertone. Thailand has a wonderful Umbrella Factory. 

37. Strive (for): VIE. Vy is this not vee?

40. African country in the Maloti Mountains: LESOTHO.  The Maloti Mountains are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the South African Free State. Skiing in Africa anyone?

41. Drains: SAPS. Think of one's energy or bank account.

42. Summits: ACMES. A word mostly associated with Wile E. Coyote, but we were just up in the mountains. 

47. Statue base: PLINTH. Back to wiki to learn this is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. It is the same thing as a pedestal.

49. Melber of MSNBC: ARI. There are so many Aris but this one is an attorney who has become the chief legal analyst for MSNBC, and hosts his own shows and podcasts.

56. Tropical spot: ISLE. A classic vague Friday clue.

57. Safari equine: ZEBRA. There are many Horse Safaris offered but equines are of the mammal family of Equidae (order Perissodactyla) that includes the modern horses, zebras, and asses, as well as more than 60 species known only from fossils. 

58. Most CFOs: MBAS. Chief Financial Officer  = Master of Business Adminstration. 

60. Some game: DEER. Back to hunting...

61. "Middlemarch" novelist: ELIOT.

62. Bend at a barre: PLIE. Ballet. 

63. Retired boomers: SSTS. Ha ha, sonic boomers not baby boomers.

64. Action: STEPS.

65. Blood bank fluids: SERA. 

Down:

1. Subj. for those wishing to be bilingual: ESL. English as a Second Language. 

2. Utterly beyond repair: SHOT.

3. Play down: POOH POOH. 

4. Motto for the ruthless: NO MERCY.

5. Meteorological effect caused by refraction: HALO.

6. Desktop with an AppleCare option: i-MAC.

7. Literary award with a spaceship logo: HUGO.

8. Starting on: AS OF.

9. Lab work: TESTS.

10. Thinned (down): WATERED.

11. Pulitzer-winning journalist Wilkerson: ISABEL.

12. Early ICBM: TITAN I.

13. Hung around: STAYED.

21. Play-__: DOH.

22. "Science of Logic" philosopher Georg: HEGEL.

25. Small ammo: BBS.

26. Director Jean-__ Godard: LUC.

27. LAX postings: ETAS.

28. Superhero once played by Stephen Amell on The CW: ARROW.

29. "__ Comes to Pemberley": P.D. James novel: DEATH.

30. Obama daughter: SASHA.

34. Friendly honk: TOOT.

36. Rats, gnats, and brats: PESTS.

37. Element in an algebraic equation: VARIABLE.

38. Wall St. event: IPO.

39. Key that exits full-screen mode: ESC.

40. Brand of packaged bagels: LENDERS.

41. Is extremely frugal: SCRIMPS.

42. Ladybug prey: APHIDS.

43. Shuts: CLOSES.

44. "The Gleaners" painter Jean-François: MILLET.

46. River that rises in the Bernese Alps: AAR.

48. Fuzzy states: HAZES.

51. Move to a warmer state?: MELT.

52. Drama honor: OBIE.

53. Cut short: CROP.

54. Ink: TATS.

55. Place to hibernate: LAIR.

59. "Wide Sargasso __": Jean Rhys novel: SEA.