Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: the fairy tale meme

Snow White: Do you consider yourself pretty? Name the part of your body you think is the most beautiful! I have never been pretty but I have bright green eyes.

Cinderella: What is your shoe size? 6.5

Sleeping Beauty: How many hours do you sleep each night? Again, 6.5.

Little Red Riding Hood: What is your favorite food?  Beef

The Frog Prince: What do you find disgusting? Puke. Meaning grown up human vomit. I'm OK with everything that emanates from furry critters and baby people, but full-on puke does make me queasy.

Jack and the Beanstalk: What plants are in your room? I have a gorgeous philodendron in my office. No plants at home, though.

Puss in Boots: Do you have a pet? Do you want one? I have three cats. That's plenty for now, thank you. :)

 Rumpelstiltskin: What is the meaning of your url?  It was available.

The Little Mermaid: Can you sing? No

Pinocchio: What is your greatest wish? Safety and security

Peter Pan: What is your (mental) age?  About 30. Eternally.

The Star Money: What is your most prized possession?   A ceramic cable car. It belonged to my favorite grandfather. It was on his dresser and he used it to hold his cufflinks, tie clasps and licorice throat lozenges. Every time I look at it, I can almost smell the licorice.



Blog Every Day in May -- Day 18

Day 18, Saturday: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt.

FREE. That's how I felt as a child whenever I was on the swings.

I recently said "goodbye" to my childhood home and as I went from room to room, I remembered anew how unhappy I'd been there and knew I wouldn't miss it. But the yard! That was another story. I loved the yard, with the inflatable pool and trees to lay under and snow and leaves to play in and, best of all, the swingset. I could sail through air for hours at a time. Since our yard connected me to the home of my oldest friend, she often joined me. We'd swing and sing Beatle songs.

The swings in our yard were my favorite swings, but not my only ones. There was the rope swing with the wooden seat at my Grandpa's house. He built it for my Aunt Joanne when she was a little girl and I really enjoyed knowing exactly where it came from. My Grandpa loved being in his tool shop, and I liked thinking about him drilling the holes and knotting the rope. Also, it gave me an escape from the grownup discussions that grew so boring in the kitchen.

There was also the swingset at the playground. The swings there had heavy black rubber seats, perfect for laying on your tummy and swinging headfirst into the air.

The only one I wasn't crazy for was the one at school. For some reason, swings were a major "chick thing," and there was always a line of girls waiting for a turn. I wasn't interested in having my swing time monitored. That was fine for the monkey bars or the slide. But the swing! Knowing when your urge to fly is satisfied is unique to each individual and should never be regimented.






Oh, Honey!

The asswipe referred to on this blog as Archie Bunker has 587 Facebook friends and 381 Twitter followers. Only one is sponsoring his dog in the Strut Your Mutt fundraiser. That would be my oldest friend. To the tune of $25.

Her FICO score is in the basement. She is paying for her son's college and will soon be looking at a bill for approx. $16,000 for her daughter's tuition to cosmetology school. At 56, she has no retirement savings to speak of.

She also has no friends out there in California. That's why she did this. She wants Archie, the Match.com fix-up that didn't work out, to call her. I bet he no longer has her number.

But I have his. The Gal worries so much.




Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Greased Lightnin'


1) Greased Lightnin' was the name of a car. Have you ever given your car a name? Sorry. I don't have a car.

2) Could your vehicle use a trip to the car wash this weekend? Well, the local PACE buses could certainly benefit from a little spring cleaning.
 

3) This song is from the soundtrack of the movie Grease, the biggest money-making movie musical of all time. Have you ever seen it? About a million times.

 
4) John Travolta's astrological sign is Aquarius. What's yours? I'm on the cusp between Scorpio and Sagittarius. 

  5)  In addition to being John Travolta's birthplace, Englewood, New Jersey, played a significant role in telecommunications history. In 1951, Englewood's mayor made the first-ever direct dial long-distance call in the United States. Now it's your turn. Tell us something about your birthplace. I'm going to define "birthplace" literally and tell you about the hospital I arrived in. While it was just a plain, old run-of-the-mill community hospital when my mom checked in, about 10 years after my birth it was converted to a mental health facility for those citizens who have either been found unfit to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity. My family has always enjoyed teasing me about being born in "the funny farm."
 

6) Travolta is an excellent dancer. How are you on the dance floor? I suck.


7) Grease is an upbeat musical about the students of Rydell High. Another Travolta movie is Carrie, which features the worst prom night imaginable. Grease or Carrie -- which is closer to your high school experience? Definitely Carrie. I hated high school.
 
8) What was your best subject in high school? What was your worst? English and American history were the best. Algebra and chemistry were the worst.

  9) Sam made good use of the bus ride to school, using that time to complete her homework. What do you remember about getting to or from school? We rode to school in a car pool. I hated it most of all when it was my parents' turn. My dad smoked constantly and drove this big boat of a Cadillac. Stuck in back seat, trying to breathe, we were like canaries in a coal mine.