Sunday Stealing

The What's What Meme

What is on your bed right now? A book, a magazine, and an afghan that I haven't needed yet

What’s your favorite word or phrase? Deuteronomy. It's fun to say.

What is the best ice cream flavor? 

Did you wake up smiling this morning?
 I'm sorry but I don't remember

Is there something in your life you used to have, and now miss? Seeing my best friend day in/day out

What major company would you like to work for? Nothing comes to mind.

What time do you wake up on a typical morning? Between 6 and 7 AM

What holiday makes you sad? Easter. It was such a big deal when I was a kid, mostly because of my uncle. He put such care and imagination into hiding our baskets! But here we are: I'm an adult and he's gone now.

Where does a good night’s sleep rank on your priorities? Meh

One song that makes you cry? "At Seventeen," by Janis Ian. My teen years were not good. Below you'll find the sad, sad lyrics.

JANIS IAN lyrics - At Seventeen 

How old was your mom when she had you? 22

When is the last time you went to the beach? July. I went to Pere Marquette Beach in Michigan. I was visiting my niece and her boyfriend.

What is the most random object around you? A snowglobe depicting the corner of Hollywood and Vine.

 What is your favorite sushi? Sorry, but I don't like sushi.

What food do you find disgusting? Tomatoes. Their consistency (or lack thereof) gives me the willies.

If you could have any type of dog in the world, what would it be? A friendly one

What was the last meal that you made for yourself? Define "made." Yesterday I microwaved a quiche. If that doesn't count, well then Thursday I made myself a steak.

Is the hard drive on your computer full or getting close to being full? Nope

Are there any songs that you prefer the acoustic version over the regular version? I like the acoustic remake of "Layla." I've never been a fan of long guitar solos.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Potential New Boyfriend

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here. 
 
1) In this song, Dolly Parton locks eyes with a definite maybe. What's the first thing that attracts you to a potential new boyfriend or girlfriend? If you're currently in a relationship, what first attracted you to your partner? Hair. Hair is very important to me because I am a very shallow woman.
 
2) When Dolly was still a very young girl, she met Johnny Cash, who told her to follow her instincts and pursue a music career. Obviously this worked out very well for her. What's the best advice you ever received? "Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do." A very wise coworker told me this. In the corporate world, executives have been known to say things they don't necessarily mean to further their agendas, so it's better not to trust the words but monitor the deeds.


3) Dolly enjoys telling interviewers how she met her husband at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat in Nashville. Do you have a load of dirty clothes, or some other household chore, waiting for you after you finish this week's Saturday 9? I love my new futon, but cat hair does find its way into the nooks and crannies and to vacuum it properly I must open it and ... well ... I don't feel like it. But I really should do that today!


 
4) Dolly's Imagination Library is a charity devoted to children's literacy. What book did you

enjoy as a kid? Or, if you're a parent, what book did you enjoy sharing with your own children? I loved, loved, LOVED this book about Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. The storytelling is highly relate-able and the illustrations are gorgeous. If you have a young book lover on your gift list, I couldn't recommend this more highly. (Of course, I'm an unabashed Abe-o-phile and believe the world would be an inherently better place if all kids grew up reading about Lincoln.)


5) Dolly's theme park, Dollywood, is a very popular vacation destination. When you have time off, would you rather travel or have friends/relatives visit you? I prefer traveling and staying in hotels. I'm visiting my cousin Rose later this month and staying with her and, I must confess, I'm dreading some aspects of it. I like my quiet, alone time. (I know I'm being ridiculous. She loves me and is looking forward to doing anything I want to do.)

6) Dolly is godmother to Miley Cyrus. If you could advise Miley, what would you say? Little girls look up to you, you dipshit. Don't brag/joke about how much pot and tobacco you smoke. What is this, 1960? We know how UNcool smoking is for our lungs and our skin. (I'm looking at you, too, Rihanna.)

7) Dolly has earned a reputation for being very warm and friendly to the public. Have you ever had a celebrity encounter? To this day, Bruce Springsteen is the only man to dip me back and kiss me. Yes, it was awesome. (I've blogged about this before, and if you want to read it, click here.)

8) As you can see by the photo, this song was originally released on vinyl. Do you still have any old-school LPs or 45s? Yes. I never play them, but I cannot part with them.
 
9) Sam simply cannot stand Dish TV's Hopper commercial, where hysterical grown men hide under the bed and up in a tree house because they're afraid of ... something. What commercial just bugs the beejeesus out of you? There's an Aflac commercial during which the duck is preparing to tape a commercial and he keeps saying "Aflac" in different ways. The kid who prompts him says he's afraid he's going to get fired. The commercial bugs me because I don't get it. I don't mean I don't think it's funny, I mean I don't understand what it means.

 

Me and my Nano

I've written 7000 words for my November novel, More Real than Anything. According to conventional Nanowrimo wisdom, my wordcount should be double that if I'm to finish my 50,000 word book by November 30.

I write to deadline. It's what I do. Therefore this bothers me, even though there is no downside to not finishing my Nanowrimo attempt. Plus, I like my heroine, Dorothy. She's the editor of a very popular 1960s-1970s era teeny bopper rag. She truly cares about her young readers and the message she sends their way on the pages of the fictional Teen Datebook. And she just fell into this success when her first career as a model fizzled. As you can see, Dorothy is very real to me and I have many plans for her. I just have to get down to it and write it!

Nanowrimo isn't the only thing I haven't had time for. I also didn't work out one single day this week! I feel mega-pudgy right now. (Thank God I don't have a scale!)

The upside to all of this is that I have been very busy at work. The days just fly by, and I feel more secure in my position at the agency. That's a relief.

November Challenge

Day 7 -- Five Pet Peeves

1) Smokers who assume the "No smoking within 5 ft of this entrance" signs apply to everyone but them.

2) Space hogs who think their backpacks deserve a separate seat on the el and their water bottles get space on the lockerroom bench.

3) "I'm just not a cat person" and "I don't like yappy little dogs" and other forms of critter-ism. Animals don't choose how they're born, any more than you did.

4) Comments about absolutely predictable and completely un-unusual weather. It's November in Chicago. YES, it gets dark early and YES, it's cold. Just like it was last year and in 1963 and 1813. Either shut up or move to Florida.

5) Cashiers who don't say "thank you" when our transaction is complete. The worst offenders are commonly found at the post office.

WWW. WEDNESDAY

To play along, just answer the following three questions ...

• What are you currently reading? The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. It's about the relationships between each of our modern Presidents and his predecessors.

I didn't expect to enjoy reading about the Presidents before my time, like Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower, but I am. It's an easy read, and surprisingly relevant. If these men of both parties can get it together to help one another, why can't the rest of Washington? This book reinforces why it would be inadvisable to have a "my way or the highway" Tea Partier in the Oval Office. A President has to facilitate government's function, not shut it down.

• What did you recently finish reading? Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin. A compulsively readable book about dysfunctional friendship, misplaced values and a deeply flawed hero. I grew up on Carson's Tonight Show and Johnny remains the gold standard (though I prefer to watch The Daily Show and TCR, which are very different shows). It is sobering to learn how little happiness automatically comes with talent, luck, brains and money. The author was there for 18 years and he seems honest if not always objective (I admire the way Bushkin admitted his own missteps, and how easily he was seduced by the money and perks), so I believed this tale. And it leaves me sad that Johnny died alone. No service. And, since he was cremated, there isn't even a gravesite. He's just *POOF* gone.

That's part of why I'm surprised this book is near the top of the NYTimes Best Seller list. I wasn't sure anyone still remembered Johnny and the jokes he told in the monolog about "Bombastic Bushkin." I guess I was wrong.


• What do you think you’ll read next? I don't know. It should be Five Days at Memorial about the Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans and how they coped during the crisis of Katrina. But months ago I began The Last Word by Lisa Lutz and got distracted ... maybe I want to return to her wacky creation, The Spellman Family.

To see how others responded, click here.

November Challenge

Day 6 -- My views on mainstream music

I don't hear it much. Of Billboard's top 10, I've only heard two ("Roar" and "Wrecking Ball"), and those I'm familiar with from TV.

This revelation leaves me wistful. I remember being a girl of 7 and 8 and absolutely NEEDING to know which song was #1. Carrying my little transistor into the bathroom with me so I could get the news while taking my before-bed bath, or wrapping aluminum foil around the antenna while trying to get a signal in the family's little summer cabin in Wisconsin. Now I simply don't care.

I guess mainstream music is supposed to belong to the young.

November Challenge

Day 5 -- Five things I want to say to an ex 

1) I often wonder how you feel about today's Tea Party Movement
2) I learned that you got a pilot's license and hope you are being careful
3) How is your son?
4) I hope you are happy
5) You were the love of my life

Teaser Tuesday

Here's how to play this meme.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin. Page 228.

After signing the final divorce decree, Johnny turned to her and said, "What I'll miss most is being able to talk to you." As far as I know, he never spoke to Joanna again.

November Challenge

Day 4 -- Bullet point my day 

•  Wake up.

•  Feed cats, check email and fart around on the internet.

•  Shower and sing with the oldies (interestingly, I was singing along with a song/artist I really loathe, "Modern Love" by David Bowie; I just always sing with my shower radio). I'm loving my new shower head, installed Friday by Cute Handyman.

•   Watched my favorite morning show, Morning Joe and saw extensive of coverage of Double Down (aka Game Change 2). I don't think I'll read this one. My TBR is already very, very deep and besides, 2012 just wasn't as interesting as 2008.

•  Decided which jeans and blouse to wear. (Dark jeans, lt blue t and print cardigan)

Oh hell, I can't do this anymore! It was a Monday. Let's just leave it at that!

Dona Nobis Pacem

One voice. One subject. One day. BlogBlast for Peace.

November Challenge

Day 3 -- A book I love

This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's death, and the bookstores are filled with tomes commemorating his life and times. And yet you won't find my favorite: JFK: Reckless Youth, because it's out of print. Devoted to young Jack's early life, it was supposed to be volume one, with volume two covering the last 16 years -- from Congress to Dallas. But the Kennedy family was so outraged that they withdrew their support and the second book never happened.

And that's a shame, because it's not only the best I've read about John Kennedy, it's one of the best books I've read, period. Hamilton is a Brit by birth and his outsider's take on the US adds dimension and texture to stories I thought I already knew. If you can find it, pick it up. The story itself is compelling -- taking the future President from birth to Congress, a span of about 30 years. And the spin is masterful -- how a man who looked to have the world beat with his looks, wealth and charm was really struggling with physical and emotional pain every step of the way.

Remember, no matter how good someone's life looks on the outside, you have no idea how it feels to live it. That's the life lesson I learned from this extraordinary book.

Sunday Stealing

Time Keeps On Slippin'
 
1) Do you think Daylight Saving Time is still necessary? I have no opinion on this. And, when you consider how opinionated I am, this is noteworthy.

2) How long does it take you to adjust to the time change? I'll be good with it by Monday.

3) What's the hardest part of the time change? I don't think there's anything hard about it. I struggle sometimes when I travel, especially to California. But this single hour business isn't much.

4) How many clocks are in your house? Three: one in the kitchen, two alarm clocks in the bedroom.

5) Are you generally early, late, or on time? Late.

6) If an invitation to an event listed the time as 8-11pm, what time would you arrive? 8:15. I don't want to be first to arrive.

7) Do you wear a watch? Always.

8) Have you ever glanced at the time and had to glance again because you didn't pay attention the first time? Always.

9) Are most of your clocks digital or dial? Dial.

10) What does your alarm clock sound like? They both have very tinny and annoying twin bell alarms.

11) Do you use the snooze feature on your alarm clock? They don't have snooze features. Both are very old school. Here's Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory. It's the one that goes off first. The second one, similar in design, is the Beatles.

12) Does clock ticking drive you nuts? Nope.

November Challenge -- Catch Up Day

Day One -- Five Ways to Win My Heart

•  Have integrity
•  Have a sense of humor
•  Be smarter than I am
•  Take the world around you seriously
•  Have really good hair

Day Two -- Something I Feel Strongly About

Guns. You do not need an assault rifle. Are you active military? No? Then let me repeat, you do not need an assault rifle. This is not "an attack" on your Second Amendment right. This is common sense. To paraphrase Sarah Palin (who gets everything backwards anyway), do not reload, retreat. I am so fucking sick of the crazy and the criminal being able to squeeze off approx. 10 rounds/second. No way do I believe this is what our forefathers had in mind.

Look what I found!

Kwizgiver and Boss Nurse are doing this. And so shall I!

 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Twilight Zone

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

1) This is one of the first songs to see a bump in sales after its video was shown on MTV. Do you ever watch music videos? Nope. I haven't

watched videos with any regularity since they starred Huey Lewis. And yet "Blurred Lines" was so pervasive last summer that somehow I managed to see that one. I wasn't pleased. I want Growing Pains' Jason Seaver to call his real-life son into the kitchen and give him a stern talking-to.

2) Golden Earring is from the Netherlands. The average life expectancy there is 79 years old. Who is the oldest person you know? I have an uncle in California who must be 80.

 

3) The song's composer says the song and especially the video wereinspired by the 1980 book, The Bourne Identity. The espionage thriller was finally made into a movie with Matt Damon in 2002. Do you have a favorite secret agent/spy? I have two favorites: Napoleon Solo, the original Man from UNCLE, and his partner, Ilya Kurayakin. Guy Ritchie has made a theatrical version that will be released in 2014. I hope Henry Cavill does justice to the Robert Vaughn role. As originally written, Napoleon Solo was daring, almost insanely upbeat and wily, but not big and strong. Henry Cavill was the most recent Superman, so he's a rather physically imposing guy.

4) The song's title comes from The Twilight Zone TV show, which ran from 1959 to 1964. Are there any old shows that you enjoy watching in reruns? I recently discovered Remington Steele on ME-TV and really enjoy it.

5) "All guys cheat on their girlfriends, so yeah, I forgive him." Sam heard a young woman say that into her phone as they waited in line at the drugstore. While Sam is always surprised by how much personal information people share in the public, that's not what we're concentrating on this morning. Do you think that it's true? Do all guys cheat on their girlfriends? No. A lot do, but not all.

6) Whenever Sam goes to the grocery store she picks up Snausages  because her dog looks at her with sad eyes when she tries to reward him anything else. What product has your brand loyalty? As a pet owner, I take my paper towels very seriously, leaning toward Bounty or Viva. I find that spending extra for the quality is ultimately worth it.

7) Do you have a piggy bank or a coin jar? Pennies go into the piggy bank, quarters (for laundry) go into a mug.

8) Sam knows that she's always supposed to wear sunscreen, even on cloudy days, but she sometimes forgets. What do you know you should do, but sometimes don't? I should floss more regularly.

9) Retailers report that sales of Halloween costumes for grown-ups are strong. Since Halloween was earlier this week and there will be parties this weekend ... What's your costume for Halloween 2013?  If you aren't dressing up this year, tell us about one of your favorite outfits from a Halloween gone by. I didn't dress up this year at all, but my favorite costume of all time was Harpo Marx. Curly blonde wig, oversized man's coat and hat, and a big bicycle horn. It was fun. I wonder, though, if Harpo would be well recognized today. I just learned last night that my 21-year-old niece had no idea who Clark Gable was.

 

Accentuate the positive

Yesterday was a mixed bag. A gun-loving nut job went on a shooting rampage at LAX. As always, these acts of random violence weigh heavily. I was home, and able to watch the coverage live, because the handyman was here to repair the walls in the livingroom and shower. He was unable to fix the peeling paint above my through-the-wall ac because the wall was still wet from our Halloween rainshowers. He did a little investigation and found the root problem is cracked and broken sealant around the ac on the outside of the building. It's not a complicated fix or especially expensive fix, but it will be difficult because I'm on the top floor and my handyman just doesn't have the ladder or other equipment to reach up this high. In the meantime, I have about 3" of exposed wall over my air conditioner. I've covered it with a towel, so I guess it looks no worse than the peeling paint did. But I'm not happy.

Still, there's much on the bright side! He patched the holes in the walls and replaced the curtain rod -- repairing the considerable damage done by a certain skinny beige cat. I'm sitting here admiring my new drapes. I'm not in love with them yet, either, but with the new rod it will be easy to experiment with new window treatments. And what I'm gazing upon right now is better than what was there 24 hours ago. Much better.

Then, of course, there's my new shower! He repaired the hole left last month and installed a new shower head. It feels like Christmas morning to look up and see a shiny new shower head.

Best of all, it came in under budget. Plus, my handyman is very good looking and I enjoyed having him around all day. Really, with his blond hair and adorable cap, he looked like a smarter/less glamorous Brad Pitt.

Me and Dorothy

Dorothy Holley and I will be spending a lot of time together this month. For she is the heroine of my novel, More Real than Anything.

November is Nanowrimo, aka National Novel Writing Month. I have pledged to write a 50,000 word novel before November 30. Hundreds and thousands of us, all around the world, are taking part. No one will ever see my novel, and I may not finish it, but that's not the point.

I write for a living. I'm a wordsmith for pay. But sometimes I like to write on my own, for me. And that's how I ended up with Dorothy. Here's my official synopsis, where my girl Dorothy first sketchily came to life. Wish us luck!

Synopsis

Dorothy Holley, by far the prettiest girl in North Tonawanda, NY, believed the world was just waiting to be dazzled by her. Yet when she traveled less than 50 miles to Manhattan, Dorothy discovered that New York was full of girls who had been their hometown’s prettiest and, much to her disappointment, she didn’t instantly become a designer’s muse or even a cover girl. Instead she found herself just another brunette with a portfolio under her arm, more likely to demonstrate the new Hoover Slim Silhouette vacuum at a trade show than to model a Balenciaga gown.

In the summer of 1962, faced with a stack of bills, she took a temporary job in the mail room of a silly little magazine called Teen Datebook. She found herself reading letters from preteen girls who were consumed with longing, just as she had been in North Tonawanda. She was inspired because she knew how to turn their hankering into hope, and by 1967, Dorothy Holley had worked her way up to editor. She realized that within the masculine world of magazine publishing, she was a punchline, “The Citizen Kane of the Clearasil Set.” But she didn’t care. Unlike her male counterparts, she reliably made millions, and at a newsstand price of just 25¢.

-------------------

“Sometimes when I look at you, I feel I'm gazing at a distant star. It's dazzling, but the light is from tens of thousands of years ago. Maybe the star doesn't even exist any more. Yet sometimes that light seems more real to me than anything.”
Haruki Murakami

I'll be posting a new peace globe soon

You can, too!

Founder Mimi Lenox describes the BlogBlast for Peace as, "an annual online event that has spread to 185 countries across the globe for the cause of peace."

Mimi believes that it isn't enough for us to "unmake war, we have to remake peace." We bloggers are working toward this worthy goal by creating peace globes and posting them on our sites on November 4, 2013.

To learn more, and maybe participate yourself, click here.  And be sure to google Dona Nobis Pacem on November 4 so you can check out all the inspiring and imaginative globes ... from all over the globe.

Here's my 2011 peace globe. I've done others, but this one is my favorite. Come back on 11/4 to see my next effort ...

 

an annual online event that has spread into 185 countries across the globe for the cause of peac - See more at: http://mimilenox.blogspot.com/#sthash.YjtrJ5XD.dpuf

an annual online event that has spread into 185 countries across the globe for the cause of peace. - See more at: http://mimilenox.blogspot.com/#sthash.YjtrJ5XD.dpuf

WWW.WEDNESDAY

To play along, just answer the following three questions ...

• What are you currently reading? The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy follows the interpersonal relationship between each of our modern Presidents and his predecessors. As I read about the fondness George HW Bush and Bill Clinton share, I wonder how current Washington got so ridiculously fractious.

The linked-to NY Times review says this reads like "the longest Time Magazine cover story ever written," and I suppose that's true. Gibbs and Duffy are Time reporters, not historians, and it shows in their writing. But that's no necessarily bad. Each chapter is neatly self contained, so I can pick it up, read awhile, put it down and then pick it up again without that disorienting moment of, "What was happening?"

• What did you recently finish reading? W Is for Wasted by Sue Grafton. As the series moves to the last letter, our girl Kinsey is growing up. Now 38, she's more concerned than ever with adult issues like family, commitment and finance. Naturally, there's a compelling mystery, too. Santa Theresa finds itself home to two dead bodies. There's a connection between the two dead men, and Kinsey finds it. As always, Grafton shows great respect for her craft, her creation and her audience. The book stands on its own, so no, you don't need to have read every "letter" since A Is for Alibi to enjoy it.

• What do you think you’ll read next? I don't know. Next on the TBR pile is Five Days at Memorial about the Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans and how they coped during the crisis of Katrina. But it sounds too intense and too sad for my current state of mind. So maybe Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin.

To see how others responded, click here.

My geek crushes

I admit that none of these gentleman will make People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive cover, but that's People's loss.

I've listed them in alphabetical order, because the one I love most at any given moment is determined solely by which I've seen most recently.

Douglas Brinkley. Author, professor of history at Rice University and a fellow at the James Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Jay Carney. White House press secretary, former Washington Bureau Chief for Time.

Harold Ford, Jr. Former TN congressman, current NBC news analyst.

George Stephanopolous. ABC host and analyst, member of the Council on Foreign Relations, former White House communications director.

Teaser Tuesday

Here's how to play this meme.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, page 265 ...

"I believe you should keep your troubles to yourself," Nixon would say. He could not have been more different than Johnson, the man who could not stand to be alone, or Kennedy with his large family and adoring disciples, or Ike with his many comrades.

Wow. This is intense.

About a decade ago, my aunt remarried. He was divorced, too. His first wife had two very young daughters from an earlier relationship -- their father was no longer in the picture -- that he adopted.  When that marriage ended, his ex-wife decided to move away and convinced him to give the girls up. She argued that he wasn't biologically related to them in any way, that starting a new life would be wrenching for the girls as it was and it would be easier for them if it was a clean break. He was reluctant to do this, but his ex-wife really pressed it. She married again and her latest husband adopted the girls.

He was never comfortable with what had happened. He cared about those girls. He heard from the older one a few times each year, but never from the younger one. She wanted nothing to do with him. She was wrestling with drugs and other demons.

It turns out the younger girl -- now age 25 -- was murdered earlier this month. She was buried on the 19th. The older girl just contacted him last night with the news. He never got a chance to say goodbye.

According to my aunt, her husband is reeling. In shock, as I can imagine.

Actually, no I can't imagine it.

PLEASE NOTE: I think I have accurately told the story of his legal relationship to the girls. I don't know that I'm 100% right, but today is not the day to press my aunt for details.

Sunday Stealing

They Say It's Your Birthday

1. as you get older, are you jazzed about your birthday?  Still, and always.

2. do people usually remember your birthday? They freaking well better! If you're my friend, you know that fussing over me on birthday is mere "greens fees" for hanging out with me.

3. an ex-coworker used to begin 3 mos. before her birthday flat-out reminding us that it was coming up. it's amazing what no self-esteem does for you. anyway, do you know anyone who pre-announces their birthdays? That would be me. (Though I only give a 30-day warning.) I guess I'm the No Self Esteem Gal.

4. what was your best birthday? why? 2004 was good. I had worked very, very hard on John Kerry's Presidential campaign and weeks before my birthday that election did most decidedly not go as I'd hoped and prayed. And my beloved cat, Billy, had just died. I was so blue about life, and my friends really came through that year.

5. what was your worst birthday? why? When I turned 6. Lee Harvey Oswald effectively ruined the day for me. My mom cancelled my birthday party with classmates because the nation was in mourning, and when the adults came over (theoretically) to celebrate me,
all they did was yell at me to be quiet and sit in front of the set and stare. My mother cried nonstop for days. It was disappointing and confusing and scary and a lot to expect a first grader to comprehend. For years afterward, when I'd give my date of birth to the librarian for a new library card or the school nurse or my Girl Scout leader, the adult would invariably say, "November 22. Oh, I remember ..." and then look sad. Which would piss me off, because my birthday should be a happy time.

Good came of it, though. I'm always very sensitive to children when major, tragic events happen. I warn parents, "Your kids are watching you, and they take their cues from you." Trust me, it scarier to be little and not understand that darkness around you. And at that tender age I began reading about JFK and I have learned so much about politics, government, celebrity, human nature and courage from the hours I have spent with The Kennedys.

6. name your best birthday gift. My then boyfriend was on a business trip in New York and saw an official, framed Elvis gold record in the window of a Soho antique store. He knew I'd love it and bought it on the spot and had a terrible time getting it home on the plane. BTW, they're worth less than you'd think. Only about $300, because the RIAA and record companies give them out to anyone who anything to do with the record's success. (Mine had belonged to a New York disc jockey.) Still, it was perfect and thoughtful and I love, LOVE the thought of him going through security and then boarding the plane with it under his arm.

 7. name the best birthday gift you've gotten for someone else.  I give very good gift. I don't mean to be immodest, but I'm a naturally good gift giver. For example, this week, I'm giving a friend a t-shirt with the logo of the law offices of, "Stern, Lockhart and Gardner." She's obsessed with the TV show The Good Wife, so I know she'll love it and I bet it's something she didn't even know was out there. I can't wait to give it to her!

8. as i age, i value SLEEP as a priceless commodity. i didn't get any for my birthday, however. what do you want this year for your birthday? Just to be fussed over. I don't much care what form the fussing takes. (Why would I? After all, we've established I don't have any self esteem, as per Q3.)

MY BIRTHDAY IS 11/22. Please make a note of it!

Major Cause for Concern

Mr. R. lives across the hall and is on my mind this morning. He thought he was having a heart attack last night and was taken away by the local fire department. I offered to go to the hospital with his wife and sit with her, but she said no, "No use in both of us worrying." I wish I'd insisted. She looked so tiny and vulnerable as she got into her car.

His wife stopped by this morning with good news. It wasn't a heart attack -- "just afib," she said. It was scary, but he'll be fine. I'm so grateful. And she'll be so happy in a day or so when he comes home.

Mr. R. is such a nice man. Big, courtly, with a very deep voice. I suppose some might find him intimidating. I know Crazy Old Neighbor did. During our bizarre neighbor's reign of terror, he used to offer to accompany me when I did laundry, just so I'd feel safe. I always did feel safe -- I never thought Crazy Old Neighbor would hurt me -- but I loved Mr. R. for the chivalrous gesture.