Trump's Pick; Ishmael's Puzzle; Cryptograms; Tattoos; Truth; Freedom of the Press; Living Simply; Learning; Religion; Love

Hot!  Again.  Summer.

Mr. Trump has made his pick.  I have no comment right now, but I will have as I learn more about the Conservative Indiana Governor.

Puzzle Stuff

Ishmael sez:

My brother, Joe, is  a puzzle expert.  One of his efforts was put on Facebook by him this week.  Without his permission, but I don't think that he would mind.. here is the puzzle, if I can remember it correctly:  No, that would not be fair... I will go out to Facebook and copy it accurately.  It is a gem.

"A barber had cut hair in town for 70 years before finally retiring.  His thousands of clients decided to plant a tree on the town square in his honor.  What kind of tree?"

.... this was hard, so Joe gave us another clue:  "You SAY you want me to PUT on a CLUE?  Okay!"

I know, I know... it is very hard, so, I will give you the answer...

EUCALYPTUS

Now, come on.. you puzzlers out there.. isn't that the best one yet?  I think so.

Cryptograms, anyone?

When I want to take a break from crossword puzzles and cryptics, I like to break the easy Cryptograms that fill cheap newsstand magazines.  Some are a little tough and require knowledge of word frequencies and word order.  Many contain famous quotations, and I thought that I might write out a few pertinent (impertinent) ones to distract us a little from the insanity in the world at the moment.

01.  Humorist Wodehouse said:  "I attribute my whole success in life to a rigid observance of the fundamental rule... Never have yourself tattooed with any woman's name, not even her initials."

I'm sure that Mr. Wodehouse had me in mind when he wrote this.  Yes, when I was in the service, I found myself I a tattoo parlor with my fellow airmen who wanted to damage Government property by covering their bodies with the forms of naked ladies and such.  I was not drunk enough to do that.. instead, I did, indeed, mark my left shoulder with my girl friend's initials.  And... luckily we later got married.

Unfortunately, my wife passed away 16 years ago and I found another woman to assuage my grief.... but guess what?  She has the same initials as my late wife.  I did not need to alter my tattoo in any way.

02. Henrik Ibsen said:  "It is a lie that truth always belongs to the majority!  What kind of truths do the majority rally around?  Truths so old that they are positively decrepit with age."

Let's relate this to the current Presidential campaign. 

03.  Barbra Streisand said:  "I think freedom  of the press ought to be about uncovering abuses and exposing tyrants, not about whether or not I'm walking down the beach in a junky sweater."

04.  Henry David Thoreau said: "I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely."

05.  Douglas Adams said:  "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

06.  S. Parkes Cadman said:  "Personally, I would not give a fig for any man's religion whose horse, cat , and dog do not feel its benefits.  Life in any form is our perpetual responsibility."

07.  Marlene Dietrich said:"How do you know love is gone?  If you said that you would be there at seven and you get there by nine, and he or she has not called the police yet .... it's gone."

See.. you can find wisdom even in a cheaply purchased magazine.

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