Los Angeles Times - 24.02.2020

E6 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2020 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

ACROSS

1 On a peg, as a golf ball

5 Panda Express kitchen

items

9 Aerospace giant __ &

Whitney

14 Pre-deal payment

15 Rapper/actor with a

cool name?

16 Talk show host in the

National Women’s Hall

of Fame

17 Keyboard chamber

work

19 Pending state

20 Go off-script

21 Indian royal

23 Very long time

24 Shih Tzu or Chihuahua

28 Wet just a bit

31 Airer of old films

32 Kindle download

33 Norse royal name

36 Was shown on TV

40 Authorize someone to

represent you at the

shareholder meeting

44 Tea biscuit

45 Sank, with “down”

46 Fellows

47 Pontiac muscle car

49 Financed like many

fleet cars

52 Personal unrest

57 __ Paulo

58 Bruins star Phil, to fans

59 Eye surgery acronym

63 Singer Ronstadt

65 Command to bypass

a recap of prior

episodes ... and what

the puzzle circles do

68 Make sure not to see

69 “Electric” fish

70 Product preview

71 Like a bad breakup

72 Deuce topper

73 Smoochy love letter

letters

DOWN

1 Cantina snack

2 Oklahoma city

3 And others: Abbr.

4 Jeans

5 Quipster

6 Text digitization meth.

7 Knightley of “Love,

Actually”

8 Brown ermine

9 Frigid zone ice

formation

10 N.Y. tech school

11 Carrying a weapon

12 It’s forbidden

13 Skimpy swimsuit

18 Column that aptly

includes the letters BIO

22 Stick (out)

25 Sign gas

26 Relative via marriage

27 Mideast bigwig

28 Magazines with Alfred

E. Neuman

29 Intl. oil group

30 __ facto

34 Had lunch

35 Snake’s poison

37 Capital of Italia

38 They aren’t together

anymore

39 Unit of force

41 “Picnic” dramatist

42 Prepare (for)

43 __ extra cost

48 Tense NBA periods

50 Taylor of “Mystic Pizza”

51 Largest living antelopes

52 Muslim religion

53 Hardly worldly

54 They’re forbidden

55 Unexpected win

56 “Today” weather anchor

60 Crock-Pot dinner

61 Hogwarts librarian __

Pince

62 Screwball

64 Prefix with card or

count

66 Land in l’eau

67 Future therapist’s maj.

ANSWER TO

PREVIOUS PUZZLE

2/24/20

2/24/20

CROSSWORD

By Matt McKinley © 2020 Tribune Content Agency

Edited By Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

SUDOKU

BLISS By Harry Bliss

KENKEN

Every box will contain a number; numbers depend on the size of the grid. For a 6x6

puzzle, use Nos. 1-6. Do not repeat a number in any row or column. The numbers in each

heavily outlined set of squares must combine to produce the target number found in the

top left corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated. A number can be

repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

FAMILY CIRCUS By Bil Keane DENNIS THE MENACE By Hank Ketcham

ARGYLE SWEATER By Scott Hilburn MARMADUKE By Brad & Paul Anderson

SPEED BUMP By Dave Coverly

COMICS

Aries(March 21-April 19):
You express yourself with-
out worrying whether others
approve of or agrees with
you. Continue in this man-
ner the entire day and you’ll
have a handful of new fans.
Taurus (April 20-May
20): You have many poten-
tial futures, and whichever
you choose, destiny will have
a hand in it, too. Just pick
one and enjoy your choice.
Gemini(May 21-June 21):
You love a good challenge.
Turn things into a game and
invite people to play. If you
happen to benefit from their
efforts, it’s a double win.
Cancer(June 22-July 22):
Saying yes when you want to
say no doesn’t have to cause
resentment. Chalk it up to
experience and heart.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22):
You’ve been wronged. Hold-
ing onto this won’t diminish
the other person’s life in any
way. But it will wreak havoc

on your own. Let it go.

Virgo(Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Structure is proof of a higher

thought process. What you

need is a plan — better yet, a

system you can follow that

works every time.

Libra(Sept. 23-Oct. 23):

Steer conversations toward

things of true interest and

add a dash more honesty

than is comfortable.

Scorpio(Oct. 24-Nov. 21):

You are right to suspect any-

one working too hard for

your approval or trust. You

have nothing to hide and

only good intentions.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-

Dec. 21): Jellyfish don’t have

brains; their neural net-

works have kept them going

for 500 million years. You’ll

execute much brilliance to-

day without thinking.

Capricorn(Dec. 22-Jan.

19): Maybe you believe you

must succeed — that’s moti-

vating. Keep an open mind

on what success looks like; it

has a habit of changing cos-

tumes for the second act.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.

18): Things change moment

to moment. You can keep

your commitments without

being trapped by them.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March

20): This is how it’s always

been — strife out there, com-

plications in here, varying

degrees of turmoil in the

middle. Acknowledging that

this is normal will help you

make good decisions calmly.

Today’s birthday(Feb.

24): Gaining skills will be an

adventure and a source of

pride. You’ll adopt new ways

of running your life, some

based on technology, others

on a fresh understanding of

your talents and priorities.

You’ll be supported by a fun

group, lifted by excellence,

and, in turn, you’ll inspire

others. Cancer and Sagittar-

ius adore you. Your lucky

numbers are: 9, 40, 3, 33, 27.

Mathis writes her column

for Creators Syndicate Inc.

The horoscope should be

read for entertainment.

HOROSCOPE

By Holiday Mathis

A team led by Josef Blass

(npc) won the Soloway

Knockout Teams, the ACBL

Fall NABC’s major event. In

the final BLASS (Brink,

Drijver, Kalita, Nowosadzki,

Pszczola) came from behind

to beat Nick NICKELL, 123

to 102.

In today’s deal, Meck-

stroth-Rodwell bid the

North-South cards to a poor

3NT, an atypical perform-

ance for them. North went

down one.

In the replay, Brink-Dri-

jver reached five diamonds.

West led the jack of spades,

dummy won and East sig-

naled with the eight. South

forced out the ace of trumps,

and East returned the queen

of spades to dummy’s ace.

South then took the A-K

of clubs, ruffed a club and

drew trumps. He led the nine

of spades to East’s 10 — and

dummy’s five was high! Mak-

ing five.

East regretted spending

his eight of spades, but

South could always guess

his way home. He could run

his trumps, forcing East to

come down to a high spade

and K-9 of hearts. Then a

spade would end-play him.

Question: You hold: ♠A

K5 2 ♥A Q 10 5 2 ♦ 5 ♣A K 3.

You open one heart, and

your partner bids one spade.

What do you say?

Answer: Slam chances

depend on whether partner

has useful cards such as the

king of hearts and the ace of

diamonds (but not the king)

plus decent spades. Jump to

three clubs and support the

spades next, painting a pic-

ture of your shape and

strength. An option is a four-

club “splinter” bid; I might

prefer that call with a weaker

hand.

North dealer

N-S vulnerable

NORTH

♠A K 5 2

♥A Q 10 5 2

♦ 5

♣A K 3

WEST EAST

♠J 4 ♠Q 10 8 3

♥J 7 ♥K 9 8 6

♦6 3 2 ♦A 9 7

♣Q 10 8 7 6 4 ♣J 5

SOUTH

♠9 7 6

♥4 3

♦K Q J 10 8 4

♣9 2

NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST

1 ♥ Pass 1 NT Pass

2 ♣ Pass 3♦ Pass

5 ♦ All Pass

Opening lead — ♠J

Tribune Media Services

BRIDGE

By Frank Stewart

Dear Amy:I am a woman

in my mid-50s. I had a brief,

miserable marriage in my

30s (no kids) and have been

happily single ever since.

“Jack” is 60, was married

for his entire adult life, and

has two grown kids. He

thought his marriage was

happy, but his wife just left

one day. (I knew them both

before.) After their divorce,

Jack and I started dating.

Jack is loving and consid-

erate. We have a wonderful

life with fulfilling jobs, a

great circle of friends and

shared hobbies. We talk

through differences like ra-

tional people. We’ve bought

a house. I could not imagine

a better relationship!

Still, my self-esteem has

taken some hits. Jack did

not choose to end his mar-

riage, and being aware that

he would prefer to be with

his ex makes me feel like I’m

the consolation prize. Jack

has never said anything

about it, but I’m aware of it.

Also, for some reason

that he is unwilling to dis-

cuss, Jack does not want to

be intimate. We had a few en-

counters early in our rela-

tionship solely because he

wanted to please me. When-

ever I bring up the subject,

he just says he’s more inter-

ested in companionship.

Is a lack of sexual inti-

macy common in relation-

ships between older people?

I’m OK with never having

sex, as long as it’s not a sign

of something bigger missing

in our relationship.

Confusedly Celibate

Dear Celibate: You say

that you and “Jack” talk

through your differences like

rational human beings.

I don’t relish poking holes

in your happiness, but Jack

lets you assume he’d prefer

his ex. He frames his mar-

riage as having ended out of

the blue. He won’t have sex

and won’t discuss it.

Has it occurred to you

that this behavior might

have contributed to his

wife’s choice to leave?

Libido does drop for

some as they age, but it

hasn’t dropped for you and I

do not think it is the norm for

older people to be celibate.

There’s nothing wrong with

choosing celibacy, but you

didn’t choose it — he did.

True intimacy entails be-

ing courageous enough to let

yourself be loved through

your weakest or more chal-

lenging moments. It starts

with talking, listening and

responding honestly.

If your relationship was

in the right place, your self-

esteem would not take such

hits. You have the right to

ask questions and engage in

honest conversations. If he

can’t (or won’t) engage in

this way, then you’ll have a

tough choice to make.

Dear Amy:I’ve been in a

bridge club for over 10 years

(12 members). We get to-

gether about once a month.

Before the last couple of

years, the host provided din-

ner and drinks. It was great!

You had a night off and en-

joyed someone else’s hospi-

tality and cooking.

In the last few years, this

has become more of a

“potluck.” The problem is,

the same few people seem to

be bringing the pots! I often

bring an enticing, creative

dish, only to have someone

else bring a bottle of

sparkling water or nothing.

Is there a way to even the

workload, without pointing

fingers and hurting feelings?

A Bridge Too Far

Dear Bridge:The way to

work this out is to talk about

it as a group. You can say,

“Our bridge dinner was

great while it lasted, but do

we want to transition away

from the dinner and into

something else?” Bringing

snacks, desserts or just

sharing beverages might be

the collective choice.

Send questions to Amy

Dickinson by email to ask

[email protected].

ASK AMY

She wants sex, he doesn’t