(no subject)

Dear Attorney:

I am aware of the meaning of ASAP.

Be advised, however, that "as soon as possible" may not necessarily mean "when you want it."

It's the only version of the Bible Satan hasn't messed with!

Friday's New York Times Crossword took me far longer than usual. Most of that time was dedicated to problems surrounding one clue:

36 Down: Fourth Commandment subject (seven letters)

Now, I don't know what you learned in your Sunday school, but throughout my thirteen years of year-round Catholic schooling, I learned that the Fourth Commandment is "Honor thy mother and father." So I was mightily surprised when, to solve the puzzle, I had to scrap what I knew to be true (and what the Catechism had backed me up on) and replace my answer, PARENTS, with SABBATH.

This type of thing happens every so often. I got a grid screwed up because the answer to "Book before Esth." turned out to be NEH instead of JUD. (Nehemiah precedes Esther in the Protestant canon, but in the Roman Catholic canon, Judith precedes it.)

But book differences are a minor thing. It's incredibly aggravating to have to fill in something one knows is incorrect to finish a puzzle. This is a major change, and a Catholic solving this puzzle is made to feel marginalized. If something like that is going to be significantly different for a significant percentage of the population, should there be a note of it?

Jack Chick may believe that the King James Bible is the only version that Satan hasn't messed with, but I refuse to believe that the majority of people concur.

ThuNYTX: 13. FriNYTX: 38. SatNYTX: 20:30. SatLATX: 16:22. SunNYTX: 36. I'm still not certain all of my answers are correct, I'll need to check tomorrow. SunLATX: 18:15.