A Tribute to abra a collection of her comments

[Eureka]

"A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting." — Abraham Maslow


abra
November 30, 2021, 1:08 am
Andy Warhol must have misunderstood.

[LLapp]

The "EEEK" thread, starring Abra and many others....

"Women are afraid of mice and of murder, and of very little in between." — Mignon McLaughlin

abra
June 21, 2014, 8:42 am
Actually, quite a few things in between.

wvwoman
December 25, 2014, 5:27 am
oh, come on, don't ruin the "women are strong" quote!!

LLapp
January 2, 2015, 3:01 pm
Eeeeeeeek!

montyb
March 15, 2015, 3:36 pm
Alphabetically, there is relatively little between mice and murder.

opallady
May 4, 2015, 11:06 am
I'm not afraid of mice, although I'd rather they stay out of my house.

LLapp
October 19, 2015, 5:04 pm
First time I ever saw a mouse in my home: I was blithely chatting on the phone with a friend when a tiny gray fur thing with big ears scurried across the dining room floor and under a closet door, I let out an "EEEK" and suddenly noticed I was standing on a chair. My friend on the phone said calmly, "Mouse?"

Roxanne
December 7, 2015, 11:32 am
Murdering mice, though -- lemme at 'em!!!

Hob
June 7, 2016, 10:00 am
Why mice? Now, rats...

marnita
July 29, 2016, 12:02 pm
I have nothing against mice. Cockroaches, on the other hand . . . .

MamaB
January 12, 2017, 7:37 am
I have 3 dogs and 4 cats. I'm not afraid of mice - except for the ones that are past their due dates.

kb83
May 17, 2017, 4:14 am
mosquitoes, mold, morgues, millionaires, ...

abra
September 13, 2017, 6:54 pm
Why is it that we say "eek" when we see a mouse? It seems like we save it just for mice, and apparently, we use it universally. Like it comes rippling up without thinking about it.

lertsek
March 26, 2018, 4:09 pm
Good point abra. Maybe cartoons drilled it into us.

KSSprague
September 4, 2018, 3:33 pm
I'm one of those that say eeek and jump up on the furniture. They just really creep me out.

LLapp
November 27, 2018, 10:22 pm
Abra - I know, right?! That first time, I didn't even realize I had jumped on the furniture. After my friend said "Mouse?" I said "How did you know?" She said, "Because that was a classic mouse eek! Are you standing on a chair?" Only then did I look down and see the chair under my feet. So yeah, this response must come from deep within the Olive Oyl unconscious mind.

Eureka
July 6, 2019, 11:27 am
I was babysitting at an old farmhouse, sitting in the kitchen quietly doing my homework, when a very large rat crawled out from under a cupboard door. I let out more than an "eek" but also found myself standing on my chair. The family came home to me holding a large roasting pan lid in my hand, staring at the spot where the rat had disappeared. Thank goodness it did not reappear because I am sure things would not have gone well for me.

blueladyblue
August 28, 2019, 3:21 pm
Love these rodent comments. First time I saw a mouse was when my dad was chasing after one in the living room with a broom. This particular little critter was a very sprite, very feisty little guy. My sisters and I were laughing our heads off, but it really got good when the mouse ran under our dad's trouser and up his leg. To this day I am not afraid of mice, and actually I think they're kinda cute.

abra
May 21, 2020, 2:49 am
I saw my mom take off her shoe and nail a mouse at ten feet on two different occasions many years apart. Never heard her say ''EEEK'' though.

Elephino
February 25, 2021, 10:15 pm
I'm going to start a podcast called "My Favorite Mice"

bigdave
March 17, 2021, 7:12 pm
For my wife, it's spiders. Definitely spiders.

abra
December 22, 2021, 1:33 am
Oh, spiders too, bigdave. They just don't make me say EEK!!. If they're large enough or close enough, they might make me scream.

[Eureka]

"No matter how far you have gone on a wrong road, turn back. "
— Proverb

abra
April 8, 2017, 6:11 pm
I should have done this once when we lived in CA. I walked to a supermarket with my 3 year old son. I decided to take a short cut home. It was like 120 degrees with no shade. I knew I had made a mistake, but I was heading in the right direction, so I kept going. Of course I had to pick him up and carry him, and we walked, and walked. Finally a lady offered us a ride, and I who had been told all my life not to do so took a ride with a stranger. When we got home, he asked for water. I gave him a glass and the kid who hadn't wet himself since he was 1 1/2 drank and peed on the kitchen floor. I drank and burst into tears. By all means, turn back.

[Deanna48]

Classic abra:

"Thank Heaven, the sun has gone in, and I don't have to go out and enjoy it. "
— Logan Pearsall Smith

abra
August 4, 2016, 7:48 am
There are bugs out there.

[LLapp]

"Children can write poetry and then, unless they're poets, they stop when they reach puberty."* — Dennis Potter

abra
October 25, 2021, 2:09 am
I think I agree. I no little about poetry, but this sounds right to me. My daughter-in-law is a wonderful poet. I understand about half of what she writes, but when I find something she writes that I think is wonderful and share it on FB, everyone agrees.

abra
July 16, 2022, 2:45 am
OMgosh * know not no.



*Actually, that last "they" is missing from the quote when you solve it. Someday that typo will be fixed in the puzzles as well as in this forum.

[Deanna48]

"What's so remarkable about Love at first sight? It's when people have been looking at each other for years that it becomes remarkable. "
— Unattributed


abra
May 20, 2018, 6:17 pm
We may have done this. I met my husband when I was a sophomore in HS. Over the years, i set him up with several of my friends, and he set me up with a couple of his. One day when we were all ''grown up''. We began to date each other seriously. This week, will be our 50th wedding anniversary.

[nanrich]

"The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech."
— Clifton Fadiman

Eureka
November 13, 2018, 1:26 pm
I had objective instead of adjective. Banana is hard to get with o's.
Altoid701
February 2, 2019, 8:43 am
Two quotes in a row about parts of speech. Hmm...
montyb
February 20, 2019, 9:18 am
You know, this makes sense in the light of the preponderance of adjectives Trump uses.
pickleball
March 28, 2020, 10:20 am
should of learn that in school, but makes it easier to remember
LLapp
April 7, 2020, 2:09 am
Argh. Should have, not should of. I'm sorry, really. I should just go to bed.
hrossa
August 10, 2020, 9:18 pm
Smooth yellow slippy fruity spotted...no, on't like spotted. Let it get that first spot and it's no longer perfectly appetizing..
abra
April 19, 2021, 8:32 pm
Oh, look bunnies.
abra
October 13, 2021, 9:59 pm
I think there's times when most of us folks speak colloquially. Not worth makin' summin feel bad about.

[Synonymous]

"The older I grow, the less important the comma becomes. Let the reader catch his own breath."
— Elizabeth Clarkson Zwart

Queethebean
April 30, 2012, 7:40 pm
No! Long live the comma!
wvwoman
October 8, 2012, 3:42 am
oh goodness.
Hash
January 24, 2013, 7:37 pm
Oh, goodness.
kb83
April 22, 2014, 5:35 am
Does she need the comma after "grow"?
fishbum
April 23, 2014, 11:47 am
Yes, unless she wants to "grow the less important...".
wvwoman
August 28, 2014, 8:10 pm
this quote just cracks me up, so i had to look her up this time! Des Moines, Iowa, August 20, 1904 - July 1, 1983 In December 1931, Zwart began writing "The Front Row" for the Des Moines Tribune. The column was popular among its readers for its humorous and insightful observations of the everyday lives of Iowans. Zwart continued to write this column for fifty years. Later, the column also appeared in the Sunday Des Moines Register. From 1935 to 1949, Zwart was book editor for the Sunday Register. During the 1960s, she also wrote a monthly column for Better Homes and Gardens which offered cooking tips.
LLapp
May 2, 2015, 8:55 pm
I love this quote.
montyb
May 31, 2015, 2:18 am
What, is, wrong, with, commas,?
LLapp
July 11, 2015, 7:24 pm
I still love this quote.
LLapp
March 29, 2016, 9:11 am
That's it. I'm painting this one on the wall.
maradnu
July 3, 2016, 3:13 pm
Some commas add meaning. Others are just pauses. I think she was referring to the latter.
darkyr
January 10, 2017, 2:57 am
Breathe, montyb, breathe, that's it, nobody is trying, however it seems, to take away, for however long, your commas. Keep a few in your pocket, just in case.
JLA
January 11, 2017, 6:43 am
There's a good book, called Eats, Shoots and Leaves; about the importance of punctuation.
letfreedomring
February 11, 2017, 5:08 am
I thought it was about Pandas.
Lurker
July 17, 2017, 8:13 am
I've noticed lately that print, including the newspaper, omits the last comma in a series. Is this a new grammatical trend or an editorial decision?
marnita
August 29, 2017, 9:01 am
Whatever would abra do if someone took away her commas?
phthelen
September 7, 2017, 10:09 am
Letfreedomring is very funny.
Barnabas
September 8, 2017, 1:28 pm
There should be a comma after breath, followed by dammit!
maradnu
January 29, 2018, 2:09 pm
A comma is the difference between "Let's eat Grandma" and "Let's eat, Grandma."
LLapp
March 8, 2018, 4:41 pm
Lurker, the Associated Press Style Manual (standard for newspapers and popular online content) dropped the optional series comma years ago. Their rule is now that the series comma is used only when its absence would leave the reader confused by vague meaning. Meanwhile, the Chicago Manual of Style (standard for book-publishing) and all the academic publishing style guides continue to require the series comma in all cases. This is the so-called Oxford Comma over which so much blood has been shed. For the gory details, see this report: (link)
momn8r
July 15, 2018, 11:40 am
Well, first you drop the comma. Then the semicolon gets all uppity too and declares independence from sentence structure. Periods are out next and it's nothing but grammatical anarchy!
marnita
September 15, 2018, 11:07 am
I love your example, maradnu!
montyb
February 25, 2019, 7:55 pm
Great impersonation of William Shatner, Darkyr!
abra
October 6, 2019, 8:51 pm
This really is a cute quote, although I disagre. Maybe I just need to catch my breath more often. I have cut down on my reckless and superfluous use of the comma. Due to criticism, no matter how well deserved ). Now I'm pretty sure I leave out some that are correct, but you know, whatever.
letfreedomring
November 11, 2019, 6:27 pm
Since there will be (are?) entire generations of people who don't write or spell full words, punctuation as we know it will become extinct. The best part is that they'll never be able to read all of these great comments.
Elephino
February 21, 2020, 11:55 pm
comma comma comma comma comma chameleon! (link)
TPITTMAN44
June 27, 2021, 6:57 am
what,a, punctual, statement!.
abra
October 16, 2022, 1:44 am
Long live the comma.

ADD YOUR COMMENTS:

[Synonymous]

She was such a kind person:

"Many books require no thought from those who read them, and for a very simple reason - they made no such demand upon those who wrote them."
— Charles Caleb Colton

jason jiujitsu
December 19, 2015, 5:21 am
books, fools same difference
CCCookie
May 6, 2016, 1:31 am
Probably true -- but different situations create different wants and needs where books are concerned, and if one's career requires a lot of intellectual and emotional investment by one (the helping professions, for instance), pleasure reading may exist for the purpose of distraction from the real world and an assurance that, by the end of the book, the good guys will have won and the bad guys will have been either converted or vanquished. For that reason I've enjoyed reading a lot of scifi and fantasy over the years, and even some classic (Georgette Heyer type) romance novels. Absolutely NO contact with reality. LOL
abra
June 12, 2018, 6:39 pm
FOOLS.
abra
September 8, 2018, 1:43 pm
* OMgosh, I was saying that I tried FOOLS. When I look at it now, I'm afraid it looks like I was name calling.
LLapp
November 12, 2022, 5:49 am
But let's face it, we are fools.



ADD YOUR COMMENTS:

[LLapp]

"I love to play hide and seek with my kid, but some days my goal is to find a hiding place where he can't find me until after high school." — Unattributed

LLapp
April 22, 2015, 7:22 am
I can see why that speaker would want to be called Unattributed. You never know which kids may grow up to do cryptograms.

abra
March 3, 2016, 6:48 pm
I have only one son, he is not a cryptogrammer. My grandsons do like to watch and yell out a word when they see one.

[nanrich]

"Want to know the best thing about being a professor? Colored chalk."
— Donald Sadoway

abra
August 14, 2022, 2:41 am
I think white boards in markers (colored) would be much better. I don't like to think about black (green) boards, chalk and the horrible sounds they made.
__________

"Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available."
— Jim Beggs

abra
August 25, 2018, 11:59 am
I will forgive Jim for being smarmy, because his name is a complete sentence and I love that.
__________


"Outcomes rarely turn on grand gestures or the art of the deal, but on whether you've sent someone a thank-you note."
— Bernie Brillstein

abra
October 8, 2015, 1:52 pm
We just got Thank You e-mails from our grandsons, thanking us for some money we gave them, and telling us how they spent it. It turns out that we're awesome ) I personally don't mind that they didn't write them out and mail them. I used to make my son do that, as my mom made us do. I'm happy with my e-mails. It's good to be awesome.

[nanrich]

"There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt."
— Unattributed

pootie49
April 27, 2011, 12:50 am
yes me too.

abra
November 10, 2011, 5:30 pm
I'd be in pain if they did.

[nanrich]

"Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open."
— Harper Lee

abra
September 23, 2013, 4:11 pm
If she only had one novel to write, I'm glad she wrote the one she did. It's one of my read over and overs.

[hrossa]

"True love is quiescent, except in the nascent moments of true humility." — Bryant H. McGill

abra
September 5, 2018, 2:19 pm
Born with a silver Thesaurus in his mouth.

jimbo42
November 1, 2018, 10:15 am
this quote should end up solved in very few seconds by a well known solver

CryptoB
February 1, 2019, 11:18 am
Love it, abra

LLapp
March 25, 2019, 12:08 am
Silver Thesaurus - hahaha, I want one!

skeeter
March 30, 2019, 8:29 pm
One of your best, abra.

puffybob
December 18, 2019, 4:39 am
I think McGill stole this from WRQ9

...

skeeter
April 28, 2022, 3:11 am
And still funny, abra.

[Quizzical]

Sorry to see abra go ahead of us. I always looked forward to her down to earth comments. I realize now she lived not too far from me. Wouldn't it be great if we could all get together. Some day maybe.