A Tribute to abra a collection of her comments

[Eureka]

"It's not that age brings childhood back again, age merely shows what children we remain." — German proverb

abra
June 14, 2016, 9:31 am
I'm tracking my son's flight back from Orlando. I came back to this page and the puzzle was still sitting there. I'm the new owner of the SLOW record.

LLapp
March 3, 2020, 10:20 pm
So did he land okay?

abra
June 4, 2021, 10:24 pm
LLapp, Yes, it was the whole family. Probably several times since then until 2020.

abra
June 3, 2022, 9:09 pm
This month they will go again for the first time since the pandemic. I'll have to fly them there and back on my laptop.

LLapp
November 21, 2024, 4:40 am
I love that abra tracked her son and his family's flights on her laptop. I do the same thing with my kids when they fly. Once my son was flying home to DC from a conference in Boston on the same night that my daughter and her partner were flying from NYC to Milan for vacation. They were both in the air on the same night, and it was Friday the 13th and there was a full moon.

[LLapp]

"The grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." — Allan K. Chalmers

universalmom
April 25, 2016, 1:24 pm
Kids provide all of those things!

maradnu
August 15, 2016, 4:12 pm
someONE to love

Persephone59
August 31, 2017, 1:02 am
If you love gardening, that can provide all three of those things.

LLapp
May 5, 2019, 9:49 pm
I want to say cryptograms can provide all those things, but that would be pathetic.

abra
July 8, 2019, 2:53 am
Gonna go with Umom on this one. I have a great kid, wonderful grandkids and my hubby. Love my sisters and their families. And I have cryptos to do, and I hope I'll do better on the next one.

[Synonymous]

Rule Number 1:
There are two rules in life: 1. Never give out all the information.

***abra on 2016-03-30 09:24:02
I only eat carrots, if they're cut the right way. Three or four inch cross cut pieces for stew, cut length wise with pot roast, julienned for soup, grated for salad, never, ever diced in anything. There are no exceptions to the rules. Well there's one exception, if I'm a guest, eating someone else's cooking. In that case, I will try to discreetly mash them with my fork.

[LLapp]

"Changes are not only possible and predictable, but to deny them is to be an accomplice to one's own unnecessary vegetation." — Gail Sheehy

SippyGurl
June 9, 2014, 2:06 am
like beets?

Allen
December 18, 2014, 7:20 am
Let's hear it for necessary vegetation!

Persephone59
January 28, 2018, 2:00 pm
I like vegetation, but not beets.

darkyr
October 17, 2018, 9:00 am
Necessary vegetation, it sounds wonderful but who would be my accomplice? Me? Sounds like too much effort.

abra
February 7, 2020, 1:31 am
No beets, lima beans or carrots please.

badbob
December 4, 2021, 4:46 am
I agree with George HW Bush. I don't like broccoli

abra
July 9, 2022, 2:59 am
I never tasted broccoli, brussel sprouts or avocados until I was married. I like all three. I will never develop a taste for beets, lima beans, or peas. I'm not sure why I said that about carrots. They're okay as long as they're properly cut. You may have seen my rules for cutting carrots.* If you haven't just try to do the best that you can.

---------------------
* Abra's rules for cutting carrots are in Post 37 in this same Forum thread.

[Eureka]

(Our dear abra will certainly be remembered with great affection by many of us for as long as we live.)

"Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort." — Sydney Smith

skoogie2
October 21, 2013, 3:01 am
Now that's a sad thought...I don't think anyone is obscure or unimportant because they didn't make a "first effort". Sydney! judgy judgerson!

abra
November 17, 2015, 3:07 pm
Oh, skoogie, I agree. It's a heartbreaking quote. Hopefully, everyone has someone, who will keep them from being obscure.

Mobo
December 10, 2015, 10:39 am
Let's face it most of us will die obscure in the eyes of the world.

abra
August 26, 2016, 6:36 pm
I will not be obscure while my grandsons live, after that, yes.

abra
December 17, 2016, 7:43 am
^I meant that in the eyes of the world, I'm an obscure nothingness, but there will be a few with whom I will be remembered with clarity.

[Toeprint]

"Human beings have always employed an enormous variety of clever devices for running away from themselves, and the modern world is particularly rich in such stratagems."
— John W. Gardner

abra
August 5, 2015, 12:09 pm
I'm dead on average.

abra
January 4, 2016, 10:30 am
Ha, this time, I'm one second above average.

abra
January 19, 2016, 3:40 pm
This time I'm 2 seconds above average. If I get this quote enough times, I'll be setting the new slow record.

LLapp
June 29, 2016, 1:55 pm
abra, you are running away from yourself in slow motion.

DonnaIrene
February 16, 2019, 5:06 am
But as more people solve the quote, the average must change, right? So your new time could beat the prior average but not the current one.

abra
August 21, 2019, 2:02 am
DonnaIrene, judging by the comments I don't think it used to change much at all. Actually, I don't think that it did. Since all the recent changes I think it's probably keeping up with the average times. I don't know what it was before but I'm back to one second less than average. )

abra
September 19, 2020, 2:15 am
LOL, I'm back. I don't remember the quote and I am one second above the current average.

[Eureka]

(I wonder if that present ever showed up.)

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." — Alan Alexander Milne

abra
January 9, 2018, 6:37 pm
I lost one of my husband's Christmas presents. I don't think that I even wrapped it. I've looked all over for it. It will be an exciting surprise when it shows up.

abra
July 12, 2019, 8:56 pm
Christmas 2017. Now I no longer even know what the present was or if it ever showed up.

[BLU3]

"the most important part of education is proper training in the nursery. " — plato

llapp
december 6, 2019, 3:54 am
i saw this lovely explanation in social media, of why you should read to babies: "the crazy thing about babies is that like, some people would think that reading a baby a book about farm animals is teaching them about farm animals, but really it’s teaching them about the concept of a book and how there’s new information on each page of a single object, but really, beyond that, it’s teaching them how language works, and beyond that it’s really actually teaching them about human interaction, and really really it’s them learning about existing in a three-dimensional space and how they can navigate that space, but actually, above all it is teaching them that mama loves them."

abra
august 19, 2020, 9:04 pm
the days when your baby is just big enough to sit in your lap and look at picture while you read, are so sweet. I loved your comment, llapp.

oh i got that one once!

[BLU3]

Oh, I'm so sorry,

Hello, fellow crypto's. Thank you for being here to honor Abra, the cryptograms player. It is hard to find the right words to capture who she was, but warmth, laughter, and kindness are the first things that come to mind.
I remember Abra most for always being able to lift my mood with her comments. They had this incredible ability to make everyone feel special. It showed exactly who they were—kind, generous, and compassionate.
Abra’s legacy isn't just in the big things they achieved, but in the small, consistent ways they made our lives better. Her dedication to cryptograms was unmatched, and that impact will be felt for generations.
While this loss deeply saddens us, I hope we can find comfort in the memories we shared. Abra, thank you for the love and laughter you brought to cryptograms. You will be missed, but never forgotten. Rest in peace.

[Synonymous]

Hi Blu3, I posted a personal message to you a few days ago about abra, but here is the message: "Hi Blu3, Your question about abra. She passed away in January 2023. She was a wonderful player for many years and we loved her dearly, for she was honest and not snarky. A genuine nice person that would tell it like it is and not intentionally try to insult or demean a player. We keep her alive on this site and in our hearts. Her avatar is attached." Cheers, Synonymous
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[318WOZ]

BLU3, yes, Abra died several years ago: RIP abra - Puzzle Baron.

[BLU3]

I forgot the quote

wvwoman
March 18, 2013, 5:05 am
nice.
puzzler86
April 1, 2014, 8:37 pm
74 seconds
JD_1947
November 20, 2014, 11:15 am
. . and he said 'follow the sun' . . 88 seconds
wshanley@sbcglobal
November 12, 2015, 3:28 am
Great quote.
abra
April 22, 2016, 2:42 pm
One day you'll find that I have gone But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun
Barnabas
June 17, 2016, 2:23 am
As he so often liked to point out, "My initials are GBS not GPS!"
abra
October 25, 2016, 3:21 pm
^Ha.
imsoeasy
January 15, 2021, 8:02 am
George's early job was as an attendant at the Philosophical Gas station where he was frequently asked directions.
Wordigo
January 16, 2022, 10:04 pm
If everyone followed the sun, we would all end up in California.
LLapp
August 8, 2023, 9:34 pm
Sounds like somebody blamed him for giving bad advice and George, as always, was blameless.


"The reason why all men honor love is because it looks up, and not down - aspires and not despairs."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

LLapp
May 28, 2016, 1:34 pm
This quote is a great example of what I have always liked about Emerson's teachings. He was so good at reconnecting people to a more meaningful, higher truth, without depending on theology as his rationale. He truly believed in the goodness, intelligence and creativity of humans, and was passionate about reminding people of their own humanity.
montyb
July 24, 2019, 10:28 pm
And a great guy with which to share lunchtime.
abra
June 9, 2020, 1:31 am
You probably shouldn't have lunch with him on those days when he goes to open his wife's coffin to have a peek. Oh< you mean read is book at lunch. That's a great idea. Carry on.
abra
May 10, 2022, 9:12 pm
*his
Wordigo
September 13, 2024, 4:50 pm
Looking up and loving is great but an occasional downward peek may be necessary to make sure everything is in good working order.
badbob
April 24, 2025, 10:52 am
you should look down if you walk in parks that have large flocks of Canada geese

[BLU3]

FINALLY!!!

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." — Woody Allen


Barnabas
July 21, 2011, 3:02 pm
Well said, Woody.
dovid1946
February 15, 2015, 11:48 am
another witticism authored by the alleged father and brother-in-law of Satchell Ronan Farrow.
Jalapenoman
April 28, 2015, 3:39 am
...like marrying your step-daughter?
darkyr
September 22, 2017, 6:30 am
Maybe I'll settle for 99 1/2 years.
maradnu
January 2, 2018, 3:22 pm
So what did George Burns give up?
vintage38
December 12, 2018, 3:35 am
36 seconds
abra
July 14, 2020, 6:48 pm
NOT his step-daughter. I know nothing about the relationship between Woody and his wife, but I do not that she was not his step-daughter.
Elephino
April 6, 2022, 1:36 am
OK, so apparently Soon Yi Previn is/was Woody Allen's adopted daughter which actually makes it weirder than her being a step-daughter: From law.cornell.edu - A stepchild is a child born to or legally adopted by your spouse before your marriage whom you have not legally adopted. If you legally adopt the child, your parent-child relationship is the same as if the child were biologically related to you.
Cys Bacon
May 1, 2023, 4:01 pm
So you looked up "stepchild" but didn't bother to look up Soon Yi Previn? If you had, you would have found that she was NOT Woody's adopted daughter. (Didn't you wonder how she got a last name like Previn?) Not saying the relationship isn't a bit strange, but it wasn't 'legally incestuous'.

[BLU3]

Did something happen to abra that we are making this? (I did 10 cryptograms without seeing a single abra quote)

[Eureka]

This one made me laugh on Valentine's Day.

"A good marriage is like a casserole. Only those responsible for it really know what goes in it. " — Unattributed

abra
February 16, 2015, 1:32 pm
There is no tuna fish, olives or celery in ours. I'll share that much.