For those of you who, like me, pretty much forgot everything you learned on American History, it may be news that a significant early turn in the Revolutionary War took place on Christmas night 1776, right here in Jersey. The 5,000 men with Washington still able to fight were demoralized from defeats and retreats. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” Tom Paine wrote in a pamphlet, urging the effort on. Congress had abandoned Philadelphia, fearing a British advance.
When Washington learned the British garrison at Trenton was weakly manned (by Hessians), he crossed back over the Delaware River in an icy storm with 2,400 men. They marched nine miles and overtook the garrison. The Colonials’ spirits were buoyed by the victory at Trenton and enlistments increased. Several weeks later, Washington defeated the Brits at Princeton, causing them to abandon their posts in Jersey. By March, Congress moved back into Philly. Historians credit the Battles at Trenton and Princeton with saving the Revolutionary cause.
(It’s unclear how the British were able to get into Princeton in the first place because their SAT’s were low.)
See those chunks of ice in that picture of Washington, above? Today’s puzzle started right off at 1 across with: “Floating ice chunk,” and I filled in floe, but it turned out to be BERG. I wasn’t the only one who did that, and here’s quite the explication by commenter Barbara S., whose husband, amazingly, is a glaciologist:
ME: What do you think? Which is a better answer for the clue: BERG or floe?
MY H: “Chunk” implies something smaller than a BERG which, famously, are colossal and mostly invisible. I’d tend to prefer floe. But another possibility, although it’s too long, is “bergy bit.”
ME: “Bergy bit”? What?? Did you just make that up?
MY H: No. It’s a term you see in the literature.
ME: Literature? What literature? A children’s book on the Arctic?
MY H: No, the scholarly literature.
ME: Do you mean to tell me that if I were to read a scientific paper on the northern oceans in the journal Nature, I’d encounter the term “bergy bit”?
MY H: Undoubtedly.
ME: Where on earth did that goofy term come from?
MY H: I’m not sure. Possibly scientists who are geeks and live in their heads too much. Or maybe from seamen in wooden sailing ships who were trying to navigate the north Atlantic through to the northwest passage. They needed to know by sight which ocean-based iceforms tended to be the most dangerous, and they may have made up these terms. Another one is “growler.”
ME: “Growler”? For an iceform? Are you sure you aren’t about to invoke the big bad wolf?
After this conversation I [Barbara S.] did some research, and found this on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website:
“To be classified as an iceberg, the height of the ice must be greater than 16 feet above sea level and the thickness must be 98-164 feet and the ice must cover an area of at least 5,382 square feet.
“There are smaller pieces of ice known as ‘bergy bits’ and ‘growlers.’ Bergy bits and growlers can originate from glaciers or shelf ice, and may also be the result of a large iceberg that has broken up. A bergy bit is a medium to large fragment of ice. Its height is generally greater than three feet but less than 16 feet above sea level and its area is normally about 1,076-3,229 square feet. Growlers are smaller fragments of ice and are roughly the size of a truck or grand piano. They extend less than three feet above the sea surface and occupy an area of about 215 square feet.”
Hard to segue from that to Ron ELY, clued at 45 down as “Ron of Tarzan fame.” He’s still living and is 84. During the filming of the Tarzan series that ran for three years on NBC from ’66 to ’68 (57 episodes), Ely did virtually all of his own stunts, breaking his shoulder twice and suffering two dozen major injuries, including lion bites. Among his many other TV roles, Ely played Dobie Gillis’s older brother in one episode, and was in an episode of L.A. Law.
Ely married his high school sweetheart in 1959, but they divorced in 1961. I guess drooling all over someone in Algebra and Trig for two years doesn’t always translate into a good marriage. Good to know.
He waited until 1984 to remarry. His wife this time was Miss Florida in 1981, Valerie Lundeen, and they had three kids: Kirsten, Kaitland, and Cameron. Here’s a family photo:
On October 15, 2019, Valerie was found stabbed to death in the family home; Ron was unharmed. Police were called to the scene and Ely identified their son Cameron as the assailant. He was located and confronted by the police. Although he obeyed their instructions at first, he lunged at them and shouted that he had a gun (he didn’t have a gun). He was then killed by 22 gunshots. The DA ruled it was justifiable homicide and no charges were brought against the officers. Ely filed a Federal wrongful death lawsuit against the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office. According to Ely, the shooting was uncalled for and the officers failed to give proper care to his wife and son. As far as I can tell, the matter has not been resolved.
Asked for comment, Ely, who should know, stated “It’s a jungle out there.”
Next time someone with a lisp tells you he has to take a PITH, don’t show him where the bathroom is –toss him an orange. The clue at 30 down was: “Bitter part of an orange.” I was today old when I learned that PITH is that white stuff that is part of the peel or rind. As it happens, the pith is rich in Vitamin C, fiber, and anti-oxidants. So someone who is “pith poor” has not eaten enough oranges. (Pleathe — don’t thtart me.) Here’s what your peeled oranges should look like:
Wow — it’s David Sedaris’s 66th birthday today! Without question, you should stop reading this ridiculous blog, and pick up any collection of his stories. Here are some quotes:
“If you’re looking for sympathy you’ll find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.”
“Real love amounts to withholding the truth, even when you’re offered the perfect opportunity to hurt someone’s feelings”
“If you stepped out of the shower and saw a leprechaun standing at the base of your toilet, would you scream, or would you innately understand that he meant you no harm?”
[IMHO — that third one? It doesn’t get any better than that.]
I’m happy to note I finished grading the tax exams. For a class of around 35 students, 4 failed and two got A+. Too many C’s. Oh, well. Another semester in the books.
Thanks for stopping by!
The Wellington Files 