A Tribute to abra a collection of her comments

[LLapp]

I love this book review.

"I work with language. I love the flowers of afterthought." — Bernard Malamud

abra
November 23, 2020, 8:57 pm
I'm reading The Natural right now. I will finish it, but I'm not thrilled with it. My Kindle says I have 20% left. Maybe it will have a spectacular ending. )

abra
February 3, 2021, 3:03 am
One of the reasons I read The Natural was that many of the reviews said the ending was much better than the movie. The only part of the movie I remembered was the end. The book is not for everybody. I am one of those that it was not for. The worst part was the ending, but the middle was pretty bad too.

[LLapp]

Abra's 7-year master class in patience:


"I always prefer to believe the best of everybody - it saves so much trouble." — Rudyard Kipling

maradnu
March 16, 2009, 1:30 am
I concur.

LiveLoveLaugh
April 16, 2010, 12:08 am
That's my policy

maradnu
September 4, 2010, 10:32 pm
He obviously was not a member of the Tea Party.

oddcouple
October 15, 2014, 12:07 am
Sometimes it can cause a lot of trouble to believe the best of someone.

abra
April 18, 2015, 3:24 pm
I've counted to ten. Never mind.

wigoddess
December 21, 2016, 7:13 pm
me too

Barnabas
January 23, 2017, 4:29 pm
A simple and excellent personal policy.

abra
February 16, 2017, 7:20 am
Had to count again. Maybe I'm getting better at it.

marnita
May 22, 2018, 6:54 am
My husband follows this policy, and we have come to grief more than once because of it. My advice is not to take anything on trust in a business relationship. Get it in writing and read the fine print.

abra
September 27, 2022, 2:05 am
Didn't have to count to ten his time. I decided to think it was funny.

[LLapp]

"At 20 a man is a peacock, at 30 a lion, at 40 a camel, at 50 a serpent, at 60 a dog, at 70 an ape, and at 80 nothing." — Baltasar Gracian

matarisa
March 25, 2011, 11:20 pm
Nonsense. My husband is 81, a champion: my white knight.

marnita
October 30, 2014, 6:17 pm
Good thing I'm not a man - I'd be in the ape stage.

abra
June 20, 2015, 6:09 am
In his 60's my husband is a silver fox.

Anachronismatic
March 19, 2021, 12:21 am
I liked the first Battlestar Galactica better.

abra
September 20, 2021, 10:17 pm
^That was funny.

[Eureka]

(a good example of abra being oh so gracious)

"Change tends to be viewed as a threat to our control. " — Unattributed

abra
July 21, 2013, 11:34 pm
This one went really fast until I got to the last word. It took a long time to get VIEWED.

abra
July 29, 2014, 2:26 pm
Same thing again, maybe next time, I'll remember.

mmfs83
May 20, 2017, 9:15 am
Like abra, I could not get viewed.

BriddlesBob
August 22, 2018, 8:12 pm
Who wants to view abra ... OR you, mmfs83?

abra
June 10, 2019, 1:46 am
We'll just view each other, and ignore the rude guy, mmfs, okay?

[Eureka]

"If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams. " — Sidney Madwed

badbob
May 26, 2018, 10:15 pm
i am making that gag noise that comes when you stick your fingers down your throat.spelling attempts welcome

Roxanne
November 19, 2018, 5:42 am
That's GKJGGGKHKGGGGKhhuuhnhkck-k-k-k-f I know how to spell the gag noise because I was the public school spelling champion in my hometown in 1961. Because of the encouragement I received (a certificate and a ballpoint pen and my picture on the front page of my hometown newspaper) I have gone on to produce an abundance of correctly-spelled words. Not beyond my wildest dreams, though. In those, I spell words correctly while Daniel Craig and I ar

Persephone59
May 18, 2019, 4:33 pm
Sorry, I work with the public, and it's plain to see there is not genius in everyone. It's not waiting to blossom; it's not there. It's a generous thought, but a lot of folks are just not that intelligent, and they don't want anything to be better than what they have.

abra
December 19, 2019, 1:58 am
Oh, Roseanne, come back and tell us what you and Daniel Craig get up to in your wildest dreams.

Persephone59
March 18, 2020, 12:58 am
abra, I'm surprised by your behavior!

hrossa
November 7, 2020, 9:35 am
Have to agree that the quote is a little off-putting, maybe because genius usually takes a lot of hard work, too? Love his last name, though!

abra
January 10, 2021, 9:09 pm
*Roxanne. What, Persephone, Roxanne is a great story teller, and James Bond would be an asset.

Eureka
March 7, 2021, 1:33 pm
I support abra's wish that Roxanne would return and finish her story. Roxanne really does tell the best stories.

abra
June 10, 2021, 2:18 am
Still no Roxanne. I do agree, Persephone, about the fact that not everyone contains the bud of genius. I think Sidney lowers the bar for ''genius''.

[Eureka]

"Education begins at home. You can't blame the school for not putting into your child what you don't put into him." — Geoffrey Holder

abra
March 3, 2016, 1:18 pm
When we're talking about small children, it's so important. I loved those preschool years and the primary grades, when I was teaching my son colors, and numbers, the alphabet, phonics, and best of all reading. I think the percentage of families, where the parents can't teach these things must be very small. I wonder why we need Headstart. Those moms and dads are missing out on so much, if they aren't doing this, with their toddlers. Unfortunately, by the eighth grade, I was no help in math.

abra
July 1, 2016, 1:56 pm
No help with punctuation and grammer either.

LLapp
September 5, 2016, 11:19 pm
I loved helping my children learn and being there to see all those big moments of early discovery. They are still learning, and I still love when they tell me about it.

marnita
November 11, 2016, 7:42 am
I fear many parents have to work very long hours just to provide food, shelter and clothing. I think most parents do what they can for their kids, although of course there are always exceptions.

abra
January 14, 2017, 12:46 pm
That's true, Marnita, my own son and daughter-in-law, both work and have a long commute. They weren't able to teach the boys to read, but they were able to work with them on letters and numbers. They read to them. For some not all people, these things don't take too much more time than teaching the kids to do household chores. I agree that most parent try to do what's best for their children. I'm just thinking that it's a shame if they think it's best to leave it up to Head Start, or even a fancy pre-school.

SippyGurl
February 9, 2017, 9:39 am
i thought he meant things like character, diligence, curiosity, dignity, etc... as opposed to the 3 r kind of stuff

puzzleme
March 1, 2017, 4:58 pm
I'm with SippyGurl on this, however, I do think most parents, even those who work long hourse, can find some time to encourage their children's natural curiosity and love of learning simply by reading to them. A friend who works in the field of adult literacy once told me that the most important variable affecting a child's ability to read is whether or not the child's mother can read.

abra
September 17, 2020, 9:49 pm
Sippy, I definitely think you're right. It just got me off on a tangent. People shouldn't leave it to schools to teach their kids ethics.

[LLapp]

"Pearls around the neck - stones upon the heart." — Hanan J. Ayalti

Queethebean
June 24, 2012, 10:28 pm
What does this mean?

SKEHR98
July 29, 2012, 3:14 pm
?????

universalmom
January 17, 2013, 11:22 am
Wealth = unhappiness maybe?

WRQ9
August 11, 2013, 7:08 pm
No, it means money makes cruelty easy, for everyone, even the classy lady.

sarah.doe.111
July 27, 2015, 6:22 pm
It means that appearances are deceiving.

RS2
August 26, 2015, 11:23 am
A beautiful woman with a heart of stone

louploup
October 8, 2015, 11:07 am
High maintenance.....beautiful on the outside not so great inside!

abra
January 16, 2016, 2:24 pm
It means that June Cleaver was a bitch.

universalmom
September 1, 2016, 2:19 pm
Haha abra! Nice one! And wrq9 got it right, I think

badbob
June 6, 2017, 8:23 pm
it ain't the wrapping, it's what's inside

LLapp
February 23, 2018, 1:44 pm
OMG abra, I almost woke the neighbors!

kahvecowgirl
September 10, 2018, 6:02 am
I was thinking Cruella Deville, but abra nailed it.

mohamm1
July 26, 2020, 2:17 pm
Showing off great wealth in a land with rampant poverty probably does indicate a lack of concern for the well-being of others. Stone-hearted. Selfish. -------------------- I solved this more by intuition than by thinking. 45 seconds.

318WOZ
June 13, 2021, 10:37 pm
Funny, abra.

Elephino
July 25, 2021, 9:06 pm
If you had do vacuum in high heels all day...

gracefulghost
September 15, 2022, 11:33 am
I don't think I can walk in high heels anymore, much less vacuum. I might suck up some pearls from my broken necklace, or,trip on them and not be able to get up.

kb83
July 6, 2023, 12:09 pm
abra wins this one!

[LLapp]

Abra and I disagreed strongly on every political topic, but, outside of party platforms, we were of the same mind about a lot of important stuff, from childrearing philosophy to fear of spiders and benign acceptance of too many guitars in the house, to our shared take on certain literary figures.


"The beginning of atonement is the sense of its necessity." — Lord Byron

LLapp
November 18, 2014, 10:37 am
Something tells me that Lord "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" Byron may have said this only for public relations reasons.

wordfairy
February 22, 2015, 11:45 pm
xD (Or he was fishing for an apology...)

abra
March 4, 2019, 2:59 am
LLapp, we don't seem to agree about much, but we'll always have Lord Byron.

[Synonymous]

Correction to the last post...the last line should be "...especially your father" not your grandfather. Sorry for the error.

[Synonymous]

Nitefly5150, if my notes are correct, your parents would be celebrating another anniversary this month, May. I hope you and your family have a wonderful remembrance of your mother and the children of their grandmother, to know how much she was loved and cared for in the Cryptogram community and I'll bet in her own community as well; and how much she is missed. Be well and all the best to you, your family and especially your grandfather.

[LLapp]

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it's such an interesting world." — Lucy Montgomery

LiveLoveLaugh
July 14, 2011, 12:30 am
Lucy Maud Montgomery???

abra
October 25, 2011, 4:21 am
It must be.

Annamariah
July 9, 2014, 2:18 am
Yes, it's Lucy Maud Montgomery, one of my favourite authors. This is from Anne of Green Gables.

debzhaus
November 10, 2014, 3:09 pm
I love Anne.

abra
April 28, 2015, 9:42 am
I didn't find Anne, until I was an adult. I wish, that I had found her when I was a child.

debzhaus
October 16, 2016, 5:16 am
I didn't find her until I was an adult either.

abra
March 5, 2017, 12:05 pm
I was watching the PBS series, and I found out both of my sisters had read the books. One of them gave me the set for Christmas that year.

KMMRN
June 11, 2017, 1:14 am
I live in Summerside, one of the places LMM taught. My grandmother was one of her students! Many of the families and locations mentioned in her book "Anne of Windy Poplars" are still easily identifiable.

abra
October 1, 2017, 6:36 pm
KMMRN, wow!! That makes me happy just to hear it.

didit
January 26, 2019, 9:13 am
KMMRN, that is really special. Did your grandmother have any stories to tell about it? How meaningful it must have been for you to read the books and how fun to identify with the places and people. She's a wonderful author.

Eureka
May 20, 2019, 11:47 am
Anyone who has read the books should visit Prince Edward Island. It is a magical place. You are lucky to live there, KMMRN!

abra
August 28, 2019, 1:27 am
I just read a comment from you tonight, KMMRN, where you said you had returned to PEI, and felt so content there.

[LLapp]

Nitefly5150, I'm so glad to know that you know this forum thread is here to read whenever you want. I think of this thread as a way for your mom's distinctive wit, kindness and memories to live on for everyone who misses her, but especially for you and your family. I hope your dad's doing okay, and I hope your sons have had a chance to read some of these posts and see themselves through their grandmother's eyes.

[Eureka]

Nitefly5150, it's so good to see you here! Your mom was such a big part of this game that it is impossible to play it without thinking of her. There was something so warm and sincere about her comments and she shared about her life and family in such an unassuming way that we all felt we knew her. Because of the large number of puzzles on here and the randomness of landing on them, I always look forward to seeing comments from her that I've never read before. In that way, she lives on for me. Thanks Synonymous for letting us know about the tree. That is a lovely gesture.

[hrossa]

Nitefly5150, I think of Abra whenever I play here because her comments are almost always present. I only began playing in recent years, so I was just beginning to know her, but I feel her loss keenly. I felt she was a kindred spirit in many important ways. She left many other warm and funny family references and stories. Missing her, it must be both painful and comforting to see what she wrote here. I hope you'll be back often!

[Synonymous]

Nitefly5150 It is SOOO very nice to hear from you. Thank you. Although abra and I were not close, I had a very healthy respect for her and miss her wise commentary on the Cryptograms she solved. I had a tree planted in her honor in the Bladen Lakes State forest as a token of our respect for her and I hoped her family would visit her tree sometime in remembrance of her. I had it planted for all of us who so very much valued, and I can say, many of us loved her. (Tree Planted in: Bladen Lakes State Forest Project, State: North Carolina, Latitude: 34.702873230, Longitude: -78.465927120) She will live forever in the beauty of this tree. And I hope we continue to enjoy her comments for many years to come on this site. Thank you again. Synonymous.