The Art of the Deal

Good afternoon! I'm still recovering from last night's amazing performance by Andrea Bocelli and the NY Philharmonic. All the special guests (Bryn Terfel, Celine Dion, Tony Bennett and Ana María Martínez) were wonderful. It was a rainy, chilly night, but it didn't matter to the crowd of nearly 60,000. We heard all the opera standards, along with some Italian pop songs, and even a sentimental rendition of "Home on the Range!." The only thing that put a damper on our evening (besides the rain) were a couple of tourists who were hovering over our food. Also, we had to walk a looooong way (from 63rd St!) to get to the Great Lawn. 


Today's crossword (by Bruce Venzke) is called "Sales Rep's Steps." The theme consisted of three steps of completing a successful deal:


17A: Sales rep step #1 (HAS ONE'S WORD ON IT)
28A: Sales rep step #2 (SHAKES ON THE DEAL)
60A: Sales rep step #3 (GETS IT IN WRITING)


I hate selling. I can't sell my way out of a paper bag. I remember the annual Girl Scout cookie sale, where my mom forced my sister and I to go door to door and try to solicit sales. I managed to sell only about 15-20 boxes of cookies. That would be major chump change these days, with Girl Scouts having "pop-up" sites. Times have changed, and mommies don't want to send their kids out in the big, cruel world. Even I'm guilty of doing it. I used to bring in the sales brochure for Alex's school candy sale to work, and I would rack up about $200 in sales. I did the same for his Passover candy sale for Hebrew school.


The following video is called "The Art of the Deal" and it features a conversation between Donald Chump (oops, I meant Trump!) and Robert Kiyosaki. I'm amazed to hear how his kids actually like working for him. At lease Ivanka has a good head on her shoulders. I think Don Jr. (aka "Doofus") is used on "The Apprentice" as comic relief. Eric seems to take after Ivana in the looks department (Thank G-d). And I hear Tiffany (his child with Marla Maples) has been left out in the cold. I see 5-year-old Barron on "The Apprentice" next year.

And now on to the cryptoquote:


"Learn to dance otherwise the angels in heaven won't know what to do with you."--St. Augustine


St. Augustine (354-430) was the bishop of what is now Annaba, Algeria. There is so much information on him that I don't have room on this blog to record it all. Go to this link to read about his life and works.


TGIF!! It should be a fun-filled Saturday at the eye doctor tomorrow. On Sunday, Matthew and I are going to the Brooklyn Book Festival. Last year, it was very cold and rainy, so we vowed we wouldn't go this year if it was like that. They're predicting a beautiful day.


I hope to be back tomorrow with the Saturday Stumper.


Signing off,
The Puzzlechick