Good morning.
Wednesday will be a day of showers and thunderstorms in the Whippet City, with a high of seventy-nine. New rainfall will amount to between three-quarters and one inch.
On this day in 1987, Pres. Reagan challenges Soviet ruler Gorbachev:
…in one of his most famous Cold War speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive Communist era in a divided Germany….
With the wall as a backdrop, President Reagan declared to a West Berlin crowd in 1987, “There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.” He then called upon his Soviet counterpart: “Secretary General Gorbachev, if you seek peace–if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe–if you seek liberalization: come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Reagan then went on to ask Gorbachev to undertake serious arms reduction talks with the United States.
Most listeners at the time viewed Reagan’s speech as a dramatic appeal to Gorbachev to renew negotiations on nuclear arms reductions. It was also a reminder that despite the Soviet leader’s public statements about a new relationship with the West, the U.S. wanted to see action taken to lessen Cold War tensions. Happily for Berliners, though, the speech also foreshadowed events to come: Two years later, on November 9, 1989, joyful East and West Germans did break down the infamous barrier between East and West Berlin. Germany was officially reunited on October 3, 1990.
On June 12th 1899, a devastating tornado in Wisconsin:
On this date the worst tornado disaster in Wisconsin history occured. The storm virtually leveled New Richmond on the day the Gollmar Brothers Circus came to town. At the time, New Richmond was a prosperous town of 2500 people and one of the most scenic places in Wisconsin. On the day of the storm, the streets were filled with residents and tourists waiting for the afternoon circus parade. Shortly after the circus ended, the tornado passed through the very center of town, completely leveling buildings. Over 300 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Massive amounts of flying debris resulted in multiple deaths in at least 26 different families. In all, the storm claimed 117 lives and caused 150 injuries. [Source: National Weather Service]
Puzzablity has a new weekly theme for June 10-14: “Paternity Test
There’s a bit of a generation gap this Father’s Day week. Each day’s clue is a series of words, each with one letter replaced by a dash. Fill in the missing letters one way to get the first (or only) name of a famous father, real or fictional, then fill them in another way to get the name of a child of his.”
Example:
ADO-E / HO-SEFLY / PA-PER / CHE-K / CHE-RY
Answer:
ADOBE HORSEFLY PAUPER CHECK CHEERY
ADORE HOUSEFLY PAMPER CHEEK CHERRY
Bruce & Rumer (Willis)
Here’s June 12th’s puzzle:
YO-EL / CONF-RM / SHRI-K / CLE-TS / SPI-L / ENCO-E