LA TIMES CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Has finished making payments on

5 NYC cultural institution redesigned by architect Yoshio Taniguchi

9 Made fun of 14 Dance for seniors 15 Dove calls 16 Main artery 17 Weight adjustment button on a deli scale 18 *Game timer that may implement the Fischer method 20 “Cleared for

takeoff!”

22 Acorn dropper 23 “Eureka!” 24 *Choose

selectively 27 Wound memento 28 E __ elephant 29 Bedframe board 31 With 41- and 45-Across, go Dutch, or what the answers to the starred clues do? 35 Sci-fi extras

37 Still in contention 40 Brother’s daughter 41 See 31-Across 42 The “N” of USNA 43 River mammal 44 Casual affirmative 45 See 31-Across 46 “No __, no fuss!” 48 Get up

50 Shed tears 52 *Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band with the hit “The Flame” 58 German pronoun 59 British lav 60 Certain Honshu

resident 61 *Silverado, for one 65 Actress Neuwirth 66 Oscar winner Firth 67 Back of the neck 68 Flake (on) 69 Colorado ski locale 70 Watery expanses 71 “__ it obvious?”

DOWN

1 Related to the eye 2 Ire 3 Like the deities

Odin and Freya 4 Makeup slip-up 5 Clan that feuded

with the Hatfields 6 “Look, fireworks!” 7 “The Simpsons”

tavern owner 8 Professional org. 9 Tire changer’s

need

10 Hotmail alternative 11 Like someone who takes the initiative

12 __ Sketch: art toy 13 Capital of Senegal 19 Fifth Avenue

retailer

21 Cheese gadgets 25 Devoutness 26 Right over the

plate, as a pitch 27 Egyptian soccer superstar Mohamed

30 Little needles in some medical tests

31 Hostess __ Balls 32 Fire place?

33 “You shouldn’t have to do it all alone”

34 Frost over 4/16/24 Monday’s Puzzle Solved 36 Retro tint for

photos

38 Rug cleaner, for

short

39 Large deer in the

Rockies 47 Glaswegian, e.g. 49 Bike wheel parts 50 Neopagan religion 51 Amazon smart

speakers 53 Prominent feature

of a mountain goat 54 Religious leader in many a Chaim Potok novel 55 Furniture stores

that sell meatballs 56 Log home

57 Got down to

propose 59 Country singer

Loretta 62 Compete

63 Abu Dhabi’s fed. 64 Audit firm pro

NORTH

♠ Q 7

J

K J 9 4

♣ AKQ852 WEST EAST

♠ K2 ♠ A J 10 9 8 4 3 A 9 7 2 4

10 8 5 632

♣ 10 6 4 3 ♣ 97 SOUTH

♠ 65

K Q 10 8 6 5 3 AQ7

♣ J

Opening lead — ♠ K

Dear Abby: I’m a professional, welleducated adult who moved back home because of concerns about my father’s health as well as having landed a much better job. As an extra perk, I’ve been able to save money to pay toward my student loans, as well as spoil my parents a bit as they grow older.

I recently gifted my parents (for the second time) their dream vacation. They loved it the first time and never imagined they’d be able to do it twice. Because my parents still have a minor child who cannot remain alone, I am choosing, as I did last time, to use my personal vacation time to babysit. My mother has been planning the details of her upcoming trip and has now asked me to take more time off work so they can have a road trip after their vacation.

Abby, I am already draining every bit of my time off for their weeklong vacation and will not be able to have a vacation myself until later in the year when I accrue more time. I know she’s requesting this to make the trip more fun for my father. Although I am a generous and patient person, this has left me feeling almost speechless, a bit unappreciated and frustrated. Am I overreacting? Should I find a way to extend their trip? Limited In Ohio

Dear Limited: The answer to both of your questions is NO. Your mother apparently doesn’t appreciate how generous you have been in providing these vacations for her and your father. If she wants to extend their holiday, she should make her own arrangements for your sibling to be supervised if she and your dad won’t be available to do it themselves. Shame on her for trying to foist that responsibility onto you.

Dear Abby: I lost my darling wife recently. Her death was a shock to everyone. She was placed on life support for a short period while the medical staff performed tests to determine the extent of her injuries. When it became apparent that she would spend the rest of her life in a vegetative state, no decisions had to be made by her family or by me.

My wife had an advance directive in place stating she did not want to remain living in this condition. I was extremely fortunate in that no one in her family wanted to contest the document. As hard as it was for me to discontinue life support, I knew it was what she wanted. She passed peacefully, quietly and quickly.

Abby, please encourage your readers to make the time and make the effort to have an advance directive drawn up, whatever their desires may be. It was my wife’s last gift to me, and I will be forever grateful for it.

Remembering Her in Arizona

Dear Remembering Her: Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your wife. I appreciate you taking the time to share this important information with my readers and me. Your letter serves as a reminder that all end-of-life documents should be reviewed regularly to be sure they reflect one’s current thinking.

Contact Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.