Rex’s friend Rafa covered for him today, and he wrote these nice thoughts:

“I usually guest blog about late-week puzzles, so writing about a Monday puzzle is a bit new to me. Monday puzzles have a special place in my heart, as they were my gateway drug into the world of crosswords. (The crossworld, as they say…)

As such, I feel very strongly that Mondays need to be ultra smooth! Every Monday puzzle could be someone’s first puzzle ever, and if they see things like ARETE or SSTS or ASTA or OSES, etc., etc., they might think puzzles aren’t for them. But puzzles are for everyone! So the Monday puzzle has a huge responsibility to be fun and accessible and smooth.”

I liked the thought of imagining each puzzle’s being someone’s first. It reminded me of the following, which I posted: “That’s a nice notion — to think of every Monday as someone’s first puzzle. Joe DiMaggio said something like he played every game as if there were some kid in the stands who never saw him play before.”

It prompted this nice response from whatsername: “Loved your baseball story, a very apropos analogy to the concept of a first-time crossword solver and a good theory to apply to most any job. When Covid was raging I went to a Walgreens drive-thru for a swab test. The employee at the window reeled off the instructions so rapidly that I had to ask her to repeat some of it. I could see she was a bit annoyed so when I thanked her, I explained that while it may have been the umpteenth time she spoke those words, it was my first time ever hearing them.”

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We had a very distinguished guest in the grid today — Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR! Welcome Sonny! Take a load off — I think I have some chips or something around here. I can’t believe we’re coming up on your 14th anniversary with The Supremes next week. Jeez Louise! Here are those chips. The bag’s been open a while — hope they’re okay — how about a beer? You’re a Bronx girl, right? You gotta like beer! Ever knock a few down with Kavanaugh? Ha!

Back when she was in law school at Yale, Sotomayor had an interesting “run-in.” The DC law firm of Shaw, Pittman, et al suggested during a recruiting dinner that she was only at Yale via affirmative action. She refused to be interviewed by them further and filed a complaint with a faculty–student tribunal, which ruled in her favor. Her action triggered a campus-wide debate, and news of the firm’s subsequent apology made The Washington Post.

Hailing from the Bronx, it’s no surprise that she’s a Yankee fan.

My favorite clue/answer today was at 5D: “Comically packed circus vehicle,” CLOWN CAR. The caption for this photo read: “Twenty-nine clowns test positive for Covid after riding in same tiny car.” D’oh!

Let’s close with the other Supremes tonight. I never appreciated how painful this song is. See you tomorrow!