Working Stiffs

I'm anxiously hoping that the weather holds up for tonight's Andrea Bocelli concert in Central Park. It was raining about an hour ago, but I just heard the sun is shining now. We got a "laundry list" the other day of things you can bring and can't bring. Basically, you can breathe and that's about it. We're just going to pack a couple of sandwiches in a small backpack and buy drinks there.

The theme of today's crossword, by David W. Cromer, is a typical(?) day at work:

10 a.m. (gossiping): COFFEE BREAK. I eat breakfast at around 6:30. By 9:30, I'm hungry again, so I have my mid-morning 100-calorie snack. They have pretty good coffee in the office, so I can't complain. If I run into someone I know, I will stay and talk to them for a few minutes.

26A: Noon (networking): POWER LUNCH. I hate this term and prefer business lunch. In fact, I would prefer to have breakfast if trying to negotiate a deal. I'm more alert in the morning and I think the other party would be too.

46A: 3 p.m. (video gaming): ANGRY BIRDS. By 3:00 (unless I have a major project), my brain is fried and I'm done for the day. . . . At the bookstore, I saw a couple of plush Angry Birds. They're actually kind of cute. My tech-savvy son had to explain to me that it was an app for the iPhone and it's quite challenging. I guess you can call it the Mario Bros. of the 2010s.

58A: 4:30 p.m. (early day): HEAD FOR HOME. That's when I leave every day!!!

Nelson Mandela is the supplier of today's cryptoquote answer:

"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

As we all know, Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison. He was then President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. Can you believe he's 93??? He's been married three times; Winnie is the most well known of his spouses. He has six children and 20 grandchildren. Did you know that in South Africa prisoners were classified by race? Mandela said that as a black man, he received the fewest privileges. For example, he was allowed only one visitor and one letter every six months. Do you remember the song "Free Nelson Mandela" by the Specials? Here's the video:

I haven't finished the NYT puzzle yet, so I'm going to try and finish that up before I leave.

Till tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick