This poem is called “Spring” and is by Linda Pastan. It’s from today’s Writer’s Almanac.
Just as we lose hope
she ambles in,
a late guest
dragging her hem
of wildflowers,
her torn
veil of mist,
of light rain,
blowing
her dandelion
breath
in our ears;
and we forgive her,
turning from
chilly winter
ways,
we throw off
our faithful
sweaters
and open
our arms.
Food fight! Gird yourself for a tomato in your ear. What? Speak up. I can’t hear you — there’s a tomato in my ear.
Those of us who do the NYT puzzle each day got embroiled in one today, courtesy of constructor Joe Rodini. At 38A: “Cafeteria shout.” FOOD FIGHT!
Each theme answer was made up of a food plus a fight word, viz., FRUIT PUNCH, CORNBELT, LAMB CHOP, and my favorite, BANANA SLUG. The clue for LAMB CHOP was “Bone-in cut whose name became an endearment.” Remember Shari Lewis and her hand-puppet Lamb Chop? Oh, Lord, where has my youth gone?
The clue for BANANA SLUG did not reference the UC Santa Cruz mascots, instead going with “Bright yellow creature that moves about 6.5 inches per minute.”
I hope you saw Pulp Fiction. If you did, you may recall Travolta and Samuel L. sort of accidentally get blood and gore all over themselves and show up at Tarantino’s suburban home. He gives them gym-type clothes to change into. Hold on, — here they are. Thanks Phil. So there’s your banana slug shirt.
The doorbell rings insistently in this guy’s house. When he answers it, there’s no one there, but he notices a little slug in front of the door. He bends over and flicks it away, across the porch. Ten hours later the bell rings again. He opens it and the slug is there again. And it says “What the f*ck was that all about!!”
In sharing that dreadful joke with the Commentariat, I noted: There is no explanation within the joke as to how the slug managed to ring the doorbell. It’s just one of those joke mysteries. And Commenter Pablo noted: “I remember the choice of BANANASLUG as a mascot because the male has an inordinately large body part, but that may be an urban legend.” He suggested that may be how the slug reached the bell. Hmmmmm.
At 34A, “Blanket draping a mountain at dawn,” was MIST. Commenter Raymond noted: When Table Mountain (in Cape Town) is covered with white mist (actually cloud) it’s called the “tablecloth.”
At 40D, “African animal with horns” was GNU. Egs noted: Dyslexic second amendment enthusiasts are GNU rights advocates.
Right next to GNU came GNASH (“Grind, as one’s teeth”). That was gnice.
Which reminds me, we watched the Gnats drop their sixth straight game to Los Bravos in Atlanta last night. Except for a James Wood dinger, the offense was moribund and they headed into the ninth down 3-1. With one out, Ruiz and Garcia singled. We have a life!! Bell’s squibbler back to the mound was mishandled twice but a strong throw still nailed him at first. To his credit, Bell ran hard all the way.
So there were two down and runners on second and third. Nunez pinch-ran for Garcia, in a move that had consequences later — everything can matter in baseball. Crews grounded to short, which should have been the third out to end the game, but SS Nick Allen threw the ball away!! Both runners scored. After playing dead all night, the Gnats had suddenly tied it up. We moved on to the bottom of the ninth knotted at 3.
Leadoff batter Eli White drilled a shot to the secondbaseman. It was Nunez who pinch-ran for Garcia, and he couldn’t handle it, so the leadoff man was on. Could Garcia have snared it? We’ll never know. Next, the same Nick Allen who made the errant throw just a short while before, laid down a bunt moving White to second. The bunt was hit pretty hard right back to the mound. Could pitcher Rutledge have caught White at second? Again, we’ll never know. Clearly, he felt he had to get the out. The Gnats then played the odds and brought in lefty Chapin to face Verdugo. But a single up the middle brought the speedy White home with the winning run. Tough loss.
The PWHL (Pro Women’s Hockey League) playoffs are in full swing. Our NY Sirens (who play in Jersey) did not make the playoffs. Next year for sure ladies! But Ottawa and Montreal are locked in a tight 1-1 duel, and Minny’s on top of Toronto 2-1, in their best-of-five series.
Here’s Ottawan Mannon McMahon. Don’t let the pretty smile fool you. She’ll rip your throat open as calmly as she’d pour a cup of tea. Mannon is 23 years old and is from Maple Grove, Minnesota. She played college hockey at U. of Minnesota Duluth, where she set the school record with 173 consecutive games played. She has two brothers, Mason and Aiden, who are afraid of her.
Our Sirens had a decent year, all things considered. For example, their goals for/against record was 71/80, identical to that of Ottawa which finished in third place. Our Owl Chatter sports consultant, the beautiful Sarah Fillier, led the team in goals scored (13) and assists (16), and her 29 total points tied for the league lead with Boston’s Hilary Knight. Way to go, Babe!
Brace yourselves, fellas — here’s Sarah in her sexy hockey uniform. Hey, take it easy on us, girl! We’re only human.
In other sports news, Major League Baseball has removed the late Pete Rose from its “permanently ineligible list,” raising, among other issues, the question of what the hell “permanently” means. The dead superstar is now eligible for election to Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Other deceased ballplayers, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were also granted eligibility. Commissioner Manfred stated that “permanent ineligibility” in general terminates at death from now on.
Here’s Petey, in a quiet moment. Thinking about stuff.
See you tomorrow Chatterheads! Thanks for popping by.
The Wellington Files 