A Tribute to abra a collection of her comments

[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
Attached Files
image.png

[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.

[hrossa]

"The single best augury is to fight for one's country." — Homer

wobray
March 20, 2013, 3:17 am
I read "augury" and think of reading entrails. Makes this quote seem a little harsh.

abra
February 7, 2014, 1:54 pm
And I was thinking Homer Simpson, which made AUGURY almost impossible to come up with.

LurkerSmurf
April 4, 2014, 12:41 pm
LOL!! I've done that on a few quotes, abra.

[LLapp]

Reminder for Abra's family . . .

"Most time capsules, when they're unearthed, are really awful. There's nothing good in them." — Douglas Coupland

abra
August 28, 2020, 1:30 am
The people we bought this house from said that their grandkids buried a time capsule in the back yard and they might come back to dig it up. I wonder what's in it. When we redid our kitchen, we each left a note in a tin and stuck it in the wall.

[Eureka]

"Stop looking at the walls, look out the window." — Karl Pilkington

abra
August 22, 2015, 2:10 pm
It made me think of the eighth grade. My math teacher called me "Bird Watcher" for looking out the window.

abra
September 7, 2019, 3:06 am
Eighth grade math teacher also called me Dagger Eyes, I guess because I didn't like being called bird watcher.

[LLapp]

"Men never remember, but women never forget." — Unattributed

dovid1946
April 13, 2015, 5:05 am
She remembers EVERYTHING

LLapp
May 28, 2015, 5:28 pm
Brain cells, our secret weapon.

marnita
June 23, 2015, 1:48 pm
I just reminded my husband that our anniversary is the day after tomorrow. He was quite surprised.

abra
August 16, 2015, 3:33 pm
Why do husbands insist on telling a story, get all the details wrong, and then get upset, when the wife (okay, me) tries to tell it the right way. I'm learning though, I ask myself, "Does it really make a difference." If not, I squirm and keep my mouth shut.

LLapp
April 15, 2016, 6:47 pm
abra, that was adorable.

montyb
June 19, 2016, 4:33 am
Ah yes, the little gray cells are getting grayer every day.

larry149
August 24, 2016, 7:07 am
My wife says I forget things. I say she makes stuff up.

marnita
June 10, 2018, 10:52 am
Abra, it's especially annoying when it's a joke they are telling, and they mess it up and it's not at all funny.

NotTooOld
August 14, 2018, 7:13 am
I have sometimes regretted the 'wrong details' I've let me husband tell. I hate to correct him in front of others but there can be consequence that have to be dealt with later.

Capy
October 3, 2018, 12:49 am
If we made generalities about women as the women above have made about men - we would be labeled sexist and brought in front of a tribunal or something!

LLapp
November 30, 2018, 8:09 pm
Oh Capy, you even got the details wrong on that one. Sigh.

Eureka
February 28, 2019, 11:13 am
I wouldn't call them generalities, but real examples to back up the quote, Capy. You might be the exception to the rule, but I'd say most people would agree with this quote, male and female.

badbob
January 1, 2020, 11:39 am
I remember that one time when we were the casino and .....oh wait. that wasn't you never mind

Synonymous
December 15, 2020, 8:18 pm
Great comments. I forgot the quote already.

abra
January 8, 2022, 2:41 am
LOL, badbob.

[hrossa]

Me, too, Abra