All hints are in the comments!

Saturday, January 8, 2022

8 Jan. 2022

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|Smiley face| _quirk, gecko, induct, sailor, striking.
Image(s) from the Internet.

The opening poem contains all the words (or variations of them) from today's Jumble.
Comments are welcomed! And couching them in Poetry is definitely NOT required.
Do not explicitly reveal any of the actual answer words until after closing time, but embedding them surreptitiously in comment sentences is encouraged.

21 comments:

Ol' Man Keith said...


A Striking But Uniform Surprise
The Geico Gecko donned a sailor suit
(after the hypnotist induced his trance),
following the suggestion, quirky & cute,
to give his impression of a lizard rain dance.

He obviously mistook the precipitation
for a more naval form of nautical hydration.
~ OMK

Misty said...

"Lucky Quirk"

Right from the gecko
I knew I'd never let go.
He was a sailor and I was a tailor
and we feared a union would be a failure.

But by a strange quirk
it all seemed to work.
We did each other instruct
how our families we'd induct.

We went biking and hiking
and the result was striking.
We never tarried
and now we are married.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A brilliant opening, Misty!
Playing fast & loose
like Dr Seuss,
bossing the words around!

Now that’s good & sound.
This is you feeding
us stuff worth reading.
~ OMK

Sandyanon said...

For some reason had a terrible time with fourth clue. Finally got it -- d'oh! -- and that made the solution pretty obvious. I certainly hope that the second meaning of the solution isn't true, but since that couple look pretty calm and mention how far away the lightning is, I guess it's not. Not on them, at least.

I'm preoccupied today with the 50M race my grandson is running on Catalina. They have an online tracking system that I'm not sure I've really figured out, but I think I kind of know about where he is. It only reports at the aid stations though, so not really constant info. Frustrating. Those runners certainly get a thorough view of the interior.

Ol' Man Keith said...

I wonder what the buffalo think as the runners stampede by…?

I see that the average time for a 50M ultramthn is 10 hours.
That’s as long as we have daylight this time of year. If he’s any slower, Mother N turns the lights out.
I am reading about how these long distances apparently expose them to a lot of respiratory ailments.
Not a minor problem in this third year of the *#@! Virus…
Good luck to him & all the runners who challenge themselves so strenuously.
~ OMK

Misty said...

Yes, a sailor suit is a pretty striking uniform for a Gecko, especially if he's an insurance agent for Geico. But I'm not sure why he needed a therapist who would get him to do a rain dance? I'll keep my fingers crossed that he had a good time and that all is well with him and his company.

Your incredibly kind words made my day this morning, Ol' Man Keith. Thank you so much, so glad you liked my verse. But, as always, yours is infinitely more imaginative! Bravo! Bravo!

Misty said...

Sandy, I hope your grandson has a great race and wins an award!

OwenKL said...

Sorry I didn't get the color cartoon up last night -- fell asleep too early. Anyway, if you look closely at the camera viewfinder, it matches one of the lightning bolts in the mountains. This cartoon is more striking than because a gradient is used for he sky. I don't recall that technique being used before in a Jumble.

Sandyanon said...

OMK, I think you were making a joke. Hope so, because the runners get so strung out along the trail that it's nothing like a stampede. Definitely different from a city marathon.

He seems to be something over halfway now, but I can't tell where for sure.

Sandyanon said...

Yes, Owen, the viewfinder looks like it shows the leftmost bolt. Interesting detail that I hadn't noticed before. Thanks.

Sandyanon said...

Just watched the Google tribute to Stephen Hawking. Beautiful and so timely.

Ol' Man Keith said...


Very interesting, Misty, that you should assume my Gecko was being treated by a therapist!
Speaking as a certified hypnotherapist myself (Yes, I qualified as part of my research into the mentality of acting, or "performance trance"), I find that most people think of hypnotists as cheesy entertainers who do nightclub or variety show acts.
And that is what I had in mind, that the Geico Gecko was being used in a joking way.

It reminds me of the first time I was hypnotized. I was a volunteer called up on stage by a hypnotist/entertainer. When I was in trance, he told me to sing "Happy Birthday" to myself whenever he would wave his pocket handkerchief.
Leter, after he had dismissed me back into the audience, he happened to wave that hanky. Obediently, I started to sing "Happy Birthday." Of course, I was the only person to do so--in the middle of the audience. People all around were laughing.
After I was done, my wife asked me why I was singing. Without a second thought, I told her, "Because it's my favorite song."

This was long before I would use hypnosis in my research, but it introduced me to one of the fascinating features of trance. That whatever bizarre behavior we may perform, we will immediately create a justification for it.
Now isn't that interesting? We feel we must Own our behavior--whatever it is--by attaching a motivation to it.
~ OMK

Misty said...

Owen, great to have you check in with us! Thank you! And thanks for pointing out the lightning bolts in the cartoon. Makes the cartoon even more interesting.
Love seeing your verses every day, but having you visit the Jumble is special.

Misty said...

OMK, what a fascinating story about your "Happy Birthday" trance experience!
Great that it's a delightful and not a worrisome memory!

I have to say I'm thankful that (as far as I know) no one has never messed with my consciousness. Especially at this age, it's tough enough keeping track of everything without having to worry if it's all real or imaginary.

Ol' Man Keith said...

And n o one will mess with your consciousness--at least not via hypnosis.
I always heard, and then discovered for myself, that nobody can be hypnotized against their will. In reality, most (not all, but I would say close to 85% of us) people enjoy being hypnotized, and that's why it works when it does.
And using just the example of actors, who are self-hypnotizing, trance is not employed to dull one's mental functions but to sharpen them.
It is a means of temporarily blocking random distractions from grabbing your attention. I like to say it "purifies" your thinking, allowing closer, tighter focus on whatever you choose, or that you engage a hypnotherapist to help you aim at.
~ OMK

Sandyanon said...

For anyone who might be interested (lol). My grandson Ryan finished the 50mile race in 10:11:42, 80th overall, quite good time. Started at 5am, finished at 3:11. Proud of him.

See, OMK, they start in the dark, so they can finish in daylight.

Wilbur Charles said...

Sandy, congrats to your son.

I had something in mind for yesterday's J but the hellacious CC kept me going. I managed to solve the J's and enjoyed the comments.

I might have something.

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Yep, I thought I remembered that word...

Thursday, 7/15/21
cough, gecko, expand, aviary; "reeking" havoc
-----------
[Lois continues]
Laurel advised me to get honest right from the get-go
At the same time "'Don't be in a big rush , take it slow'
Eventually you'll expand your
horizons but you'll need bravery"
"As long", I said, there's no religion. I don't carry a breviary"

[Laurel goes on]
"When you share your story at first it may be tough
Try to keep it short at first. If you go on too long, I'll cough".
All in all compared to my past life this will be a walk in the park
Between the alcohol and the drugs all I did with my life was wreak havoc
********

Took some liberties

WC

Sandyanon said...

Laurel seems like a real winner. Lois is very lucky to have her as a sponsor.
I can relate to Lois' feeling about religion.

(P.S. Wilbur - grandson.)

Misty said...

Wilbur, great to have you back with a Lois story about Laurel--her sponsor, I gather from Sandy. We'll look forward to your continuing her story and hope all goes well.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanks for joining us, Wilbur, and with some choice stanzas.
They—and you, good sir—are much appreciated.

Congratulations to your grandson, Sandy, for finishing in such honorable time! And what a lovely day it was to end near 3PM.
They start in the dark, and I’m sure quite a few end in the dark as well.
~ OMK