| || might, irony, splash, madder, paid handsomely.
Image from the Internet.
The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed!
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.
13 comments:
FLN - Wilbur, yes, Waiting for Lefty, by Clifford Odets, preceded Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot by a couple of decades. Some academics have made much of the possible influence of the earlier play on the latter.
As a student I learned of them in reverse order. Our high school staff stage technician slipped me a copy of Godot before it was widely known. It was a funny and suspenseful read.
Nowadays everybody knows the spoiler, that Mr. Godot never shows up. But imagine my shock on a first reading, when I kept expecting him! The message that he isn't coming is delivered by a young boy, the same boy who comes every day. The despair of the two tramps waiting for the child's master is palpable.
In my sophomore year in college I came to know the Odets play when I played one of his depression-era union cab drivers who are waiting to hear from Lefty, one of their members dealing with the owners.
The play has a truly activist climax, when Lefty doesn't show having run afoul of the bosses' thugs, and all the union brothers--and the original Broadway audiences--rise to their feet shouting "Strike! Strike!"
The contrast between the activism of the first play and the apathy of the second is seen as a major indicator of the changing times and visions of the halves of the century.
Apologies for running on. But what's a retired & quarantined professor to do?
~ OMK
OK. On to today's Jumble:
The FBI quantifies kidnappings according to the amount of money demanded by the offenders.
As of 2017 any sum of a million dollars or more is considered a "high grade ransom fee." Victims' families are advised not to pay.
Even for a Julia Roberts.
~ OMK
Julia didn't factor into the solution but Bilbo again will become a factor in the solution to the dwarves' dilemma when they reach the mountain.
So the company left Laketown and the irritable Master
Who grew madder by the day. "Move faster",
He told the workmen loading ponies and stores on the boat.
"Repaid handsomely, hah, I'll be lucky to get a thank you note".
Bilbo might as well have been asleep sitting astern
Pondering all that had past. "Just what did I learn?".
The splash of the oars the only sound to be heard.
"The irony is , this Desolation of Smaug is just what I feared.
WC
Run on , Mon ami. I read the wiki versions of both. Does Godot still sell? Not to speak of Lefty. Speaking of irony, unions were still strong while Odets was being vilified by McCarthy. I did get a kick out of all the interpretations of Godot.
And apparently, Beckett and Joyce were soul brothers and I was hoping to get Misty's professional opinion on that.
I did the J last night. The four went quickly but the riddle-solution took some time. In fact, I swapped out to the xword and when I came back I grok'ed the first word, extracted the rest of the letters in a random order and the hand of fate paid me a rewarding visit.
WC
Misty, FLN, I'm friends of Owen on Facebook. He posted that he's returned to his other love Art. He posted some nice pictures.
WC
Had a whole long comment and just accidentally threw it away!!
Maybe I'll be motivated to return later. 😢😢😢
Wilbur, I don't hear of many revivals of Lefty, but Odets' Golden Boy, The Big Knife, & Country Girl are still done. The film versions show up on TCM.
Godot is constantly in production somewhere in the world. Comedians and comic actors love to show their chops with it.
So, Owen may have left us to fend for ourselves. Now we can know how Didi and Gogo feel...
Absurdly yours,
~ OMK
I put this in as a reply whilst others were posting. Reposting:
Misty, FLN, I'm friends of Owen on Facebook. He posted that he's returned to his other love Art. He posted some nice pictures.
WC
I got the impression that he's going to return
My goodness, lots of neat things requiring comments--may not get to them all until later.
But first the Jumble cartoon. Love seeing it in those bright colors, with all the different outfits and hairdos, and those lights. That second long solution word really daunted me for a minute, but I knew that Gere was not pretty, but pretty HANDSOME--just how does that fit into that long circle word. Had to laugh when I got the solution.
So on to your poem, Wilbur, and I must say, you should be PAID HANDSOMELY for your delightful Bilbo story and rhymes. So, to answer your Beckett/Joyce question--I don't know if you'd call them 'soul mates' but they were certainly close friends who visited often in Paris. Apparently, neither was much of a talker, so during their visits they often sat quietly until one made a comment, and then later, the other responded or made a comment. Joyce's daughter had a little crush on Beckett, but he tactfully did not reciprocate.
Loved your 'Waiting for Godot' story, Ol'Man Keith.
Have a delightful day, everybody. Just wish our Smaug would clear up a little.
Misty, would love to see a staging of Godot with the main actors made up as Joyce and Beckett.
Which would be which? A tough call, eh? Vladimir (Didi) is the more cerebral.
~ OMK
I'll leave the Joyce and Beckett casting of 'Godot' to you, O'Man Keith--you have the theatrical experience (thank goodness).
Wilbur, I wish Owen could "Friend" me on Facebook, but if not, could you persuade him to post his art here on the Jumble page? I'd love to see it.
I just discovered I do have access to Owen's posts on Facebook, and it's wonderful to be able to see his abstract paintings which are really quite striking. I almost wanted my response to tell him to come back to Jumble, but I stopped because I realized it's a decision he should make on his own and without pressure. And in the meantime it's just great that he's well and enjoying his new journey into visual art!
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