Sunday Stealing

Massive Alphabet Meme, part one
 
The Letter A 
  Are you agnostic? No

What is your age?  55

What annoys you?  Good goobies, the list is long just now!


The Letter B
  Do you like bacon? Yes

When is your birthday?  November 22

Who is your best friend?  A former coworker who moved to Boulder


The Letter C 

  What is your favorite candy?  Mary Janes.

Who is your crush?  Mark Harmon

When was the last time you cried? Watching the movie Lincoln. I'm an unabashed Abe-o-phile.


The Letter D
  Do you daydream?  Yes

What is your favorite kind of dog?  Shelter rescues

What day of the week is it?  What? Don't you know?



The Letter E
  How do you like your eggs?  Over easy

Have you ever been in the emergency room?  Sure

What’s the easiest thing to ever do?  Fall. Gravity does all the work.



The Letter F
  Have you ever flown in a plane?  Yes.

Do you use fly swatters?  No.

Have you ever used a foghorn?  No.


The Letter G
  Do you chew gum?  Not often.

Ever tried gazpacho? Yes. I hate it.

Are you a giver or taker? Probably a bit of both. Aren't we all?



The Letter H
  How are you?  Fine, thanks.

What’s your height?  Almost 5'2

What color is your hair? Light brown/dirty blonde 


The Letter I
  What is your favorite ice-cream?  Mint chocolate chip

Have you ever ice-skated?  Yes, badly

Do you play an instrument?  No


The Letter J 
  What is your favorite jelly bean?  Just not licorice

Do you wear jewelry?  Yes.

Have you heard a really hilarious joke?  My favorite clean joke: A grandmother is planning a trip to the beach with her baby grandson. She buys him a hat to protect his little face and a shovel and pail for play in the sand. She picks up the beloved toddler and they have a wonderful time. And then a tragedy occurs: a tidal wave sweeps him away into the depths of the ocean.

 

Grandma immediately bows to her knees in the sand and prays to God for the return of her grandson.  "Please, Lord! I have always been a good person and a loving Grandmother. Please return my grandson to me."

 

Just as she finishes her prayer, a huge wave crashes back on the beach, returning the baby, his shovel and his pail in hand, to his Grandmother's side.

 

She looks at her grandson, then looks back at the sky and yells, "He had a hat!" 

 

The Letter K 
  Whom do you want to kill? No one

Do you want kids?  No

Where did you go to kindergarten?  The same grade school attended by my uncle, both of my sisters and my niece and nephew


The Letter L
  Are you laid-back?  Right now, at this very moment

Do you lie?  "No, your ass doesn't look big in those jeans."

Do you love anyone?  Yes


The Letter M
  What is your favorite movie?  The Way We Were
  Do you still watch Disney movies? Sure

Do you like mangoes? Not by themselves. But mixed in drinks, they are yummy. For example, my friends in the Keys introduced me to Mango Mimosas.

It makes me sad

It's been well over a month since I made my first foray into the local resale shop, and they have just now got my stuff on the floor. (Lesson learned: Get my autumn/winter clothes over there early in the season!) Anyway, the handbag that we found in my mother's closet -- tags still attached -- is now visible through their store window. My sister and I suspect it may have been the last birthday present she ever bought me, but she died before she could give it to me.

I have way too much stuff, and my finances are precarious, so I know trying to sell it over there is the wise and smart thing to do.

But seeing it on the shelf leaves me feeling forlorn. Must remember not to walk that way en route to the el.

Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: So Much to Say

1) The lyrics refer to a baby's "one year of crying." When was the last time you cried ... felt weepy ... or at least teared up? This is going to make me sound like such a geek, but that's OK because I am a geek: The ending of the movie Lincoln. As he leaves for Ford's Theater, the President tells his household staff, "I have to go, but I wish could stay." Then the final scene is a flashback to his second inaugural speech from several months earlier, "With malice toward none, with charity toward all ..." What a beautiful soul that man had! 

It makes me sad to realize that some modern-day people get just as angry today when a President speaks out and begins a dialog on moral issues of our time. (Yes, it still confuses me that somehow participating in an open conversation about race makes our first African-American President guilty of "race baiting." Obama said nothing from that podium that my white-collar black and brown male friends haven't said to me privately. George W. Bush didn't receive a lot of kudos recently for trying to discuss immigration reform, either.) What's wrong with shining a light on these topics and discussing them? That is, after all, part of the President's job.

2) Let's lighten it up a little. When was the last time you laughed really hard? Last weekend with my niece. She now lives in a college town/vacation community and I told her I wanted to send postcards from her bucolic new neighborhood. As I was spinning the rack, she grabbed three and said, "Send these. It's a great shot of my campus. It's where I spend every weekday." When we stopped at a coffee shop for me to message the cards, I noticed that the three she chose weren't her campus at all, but the municipal building down the street. When I figured it out, I handed her one of the cards and asked, "Where is it you spend every weekday?" Once our eyes locked we couldn't stop giggling.

3) Do you have "so much to say" that hasn't been said yet? Tell us if you owe someone a phone call, note, email or text. My aunt, my cousin and a good friend have all recently sent missives and I owe them all responses. Just now I realize that all my return messages are going to Florida -- Clearwater, Tampa and Key West.

4) Earlier this summer, Dave took a bike ride before a show and his tire blew out. He didn't have a cell phone with him and was afraid of missing that night's performance. Fortunately two fans -- driving to see Dave Matthews Band in concert -- recognized him by the side of the road and gave him a ride to the show. Share a recent act of kindness you either did, or received. This past week, a homeless man on the el platform asked me for $4 so he could get a sandwich. I told him I couldn't/wouldn't take my wallet out, right there in public, and that I can't afford to give $4 to everyone who asks. I did give him all the change in pocket, which wasn't much, and then I listened to him. He told me it was scary to sleep in the park and that his stomach hurt after days of not eating. I told him that Wednesdays my church sponsors a walk-in ministry with free lunch, but it was only Tuesday. I know he would have preferred the $4, but I do think it helped him to have someone make eye contact with him and listen. I know it helped me to hear him, too. These people are our neighbors, after all. We lose a bit of our humanity when we pretend they're invisible or that it couldn't happen to us.

5) Before he hit it big, Dave Matthews was a bartender. What job did you have right before the one you have now? I was a writer, just like I am now, just at a different agency.

6) The Dave Matthews Band recorded an album live at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in the mountains near Denver. Is there a trip to the mountains in your future? Chicagoland is flat as flat can be. I don't see a mountain visit in my future any time soon.

7) Do you suffer from hay fever or allergies? Yes, I have a few allergies.
 
8) What's in your pocket right now? A balled-up tissue and a receipt from CVS.

9) American Express promotes "Small Business Saturday," and encourages us to shop at local, independent retailers. Is there a shop, boutique or restaurant in your town that you're particularly fond of? Delia's Kitchen. There's always been a restaurant in this spot, for as long as I can remember, but this is the best one. Delicious breakfasts!