Sunday Stealing

FRIDAY FIVE

1. What ONE thing would you change about your life? How would your life be different? I'd like to win the Illinois State Lottery. It would mean I no longer have to worry about how long my retirement funds will last.

2.  What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Why was it hard for you? What did you learn? I ended an abusive relationship. It was hard because I had to choose between his wishes and my own welfare, and that felt selfish. I learned that I matter, too, and deserve to be happy.

3. Write about the most glorious moment in your life so far. I'm lucky in that there have been so many glorious moments, I can't select just one.

4. Write about a moment you felt brave. I interrupted a rape in progress. I didn't quite understand what I was seeing at first, which helped me be brave. But when I did, I didn't leave. I called 911 and stayed with the victim until the police arrived. Then I rode in the police car and helped identify the perpetrator, who had managed to get about a mile away on foot and was dumping his shirt into a dumpster behind a restaurant. I was prepared to testify against him in court, but the case fell through because the victim wouldn't cooperate with the authorities. Her assailant was obviously ganged up and she feared retribution. I suppose I should have, too. But I didn't and don't. I would have testified.

5. What made you happy today? Playing with my Connie Cat. She is so freaking cute!

6. What did you dislike most about growing up? Confusing and confounding family dynamics.

7. Write about five activities you love the most and why you love them. 1) Caring for my cats; 2) Caring for my friends; 3) Reading books; 4) Watching baseball; 5) Watching movies. They all bring me tremendous pleasure.

8. Do you have an embarrassing moment that still makes you cringe? Yes. Since it still bothers me, I'm not going to recount it.

9. What has been your best trip so far? My first spa trip to Hot Springs, back in the 1990s. It was the first solo vacation I ever took and I enjoyed it immensely. It not only helped me relax and clear my head, it taught me that doing things alone suits me just fine. If you've never taken off by yourself to do something you want to do, I suggest you give it a try.

The Arlington in Hot Springs

10. What traits (physical or personal) do people notice when they meet you for the first time? That I'm a pudgy little woman of about 50. Which pleases me, since I'm a pudgy little woman of 66.

11.  Is social media a blessing or a curse? Like all forms of media, it is both.

12. What is your greatest hope for your future? What steps can you take to make it happen? This morning -- Sunday! -- I heard that Donald Trump dismissed some migrants by saying they aren't people. Yet so-called Christians continue to rally around him. (They clearly got a different New Testament than I did.) Trump must be stopped and at the ballot box, not in the courts. I will use my voice, my money and time toward re-electing Joe Biden.

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13.  What did you struggle most with today? Nothing. I'm lucky that way. Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I'll call it the luck of the Irish.

14.  Name the biggest priority in your life right now. Doing right by those I love, living my values, being patient until April (and the start of baseball and my trip to the TCM Classic Film Festival)

15. What are 5 things you wish others knew about you. It's really all here in my blog. But to answer this specifically ... I think of something my friend Henry said of me once. He believed the lyrics of Tom Petty's "Free Falling" apply to me: I'm a good girl, I love(d) my mama, I love Jesus, America and Elvis.