Fun with technology

Saturday night, when I was on the phone with my oldest friend, Kathy texted me. She was on her way home from a little weekend getaway with her grandkids and wanted to check in to see how I was doing, job-wise.

I immediately texted her back. Or rather, my phone texted her back.

•  Can't talk, text me.
•  Driving, call you right back.
•  What's up?

Three messages within three minutes. And I was nowhere near my phone.

This completely freaked Kathy out. For I don't drive. I don't even have a driver's license. She worried that it was code that I was in some kind of trouble. Sunday morning, she asked me to text her back, something that only I would know, so she would know it was me texting and that I was OK.

I responded that Reynaldo and I were arguing about his breakfast. That satisfied her.

It was sweet of her to be freaked out. It's nice to know someone is looking out for me.

And it's funny that I used "Reynaldo" as my safe word, since it turns out he was the culprit. I recharge my phone on the kitchen counter, and I just now saw him walk across the screen. Those were auto messages I sent Kathy, and I think they were courtesy of cat paws.

From now on, I leave the phone face down when I charge it!

Sunday Stealing

COTTAGE BY THE SEA 

01  What is the worst nickname that anyone has ever called you? When we were in junior high, my older sister liked to call me "Butchy" because it reminded both us of that she was the pretty, feminine one. I will always wonder why my parents allowed her to do this.

I love 'em all!

02  Have you got a favorite flower? Carnations. They are lasting and come in so many colors!

03  Do you add a sauce, ketchup or other artificial flavorings to your food? Yes. Always. Like my nephew, I put ketchup on my ketchup.

04  Describe yourself using only words that begin with the letter 'T.'  Talkative and tender.

05  What is/was your lover's pet name for you? Moonbeam. He only used it on cards, never in conversation. I don't know why.

06  What is your least favorite color? I look terrible in yellow.

07  Who did you vote for in the last election, and did they win? JB Pritzker was at the head of the 2018 ticket here in IL, I voted for him, and he's now our governor. I think he's doing a good job.

08  What is/was your grandfathers’ names? Al and Roy.

09  What is the best present you ever received? Blaze! I just mentioned him in yesterday's Saturday 9. I told Santa how desperately I wanted him, and will always remember the glorious moment when I spotted him under the tree.

  
10  What is 17 1/2% of 97 + 42 x (6 / 2) – 137 ? No one told me there would be math.

11  What would be the best possible way you could live? Peacefully

12  Given the choice of absolutely anything, what would be your dream job?  Pet sitter

 
13  What position do you sleep in at night? On my right side.

14  What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you? Too many to choose only one. That's why I love Lucy so much. She's my spirit animal!

via GIPHY

15  Who is your favorite fictional character?  Lucy Ricardo.

16  What food do you hate most in the world? Raw tomatoes.

17  When was the last time you were ill? Earlier this year, I had bronchitis.

18  If you were transformed into a wild creature, what would it be? Okapi. They're rare and gentle. They communicate with each other by making this charming little "chuff" noise.

19  What was your favorite toy as a child, and whatever happened to it? My stuffed Lassie was my favorite. She's in my bedroom closet right now.

20  What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen? Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. It still makes my heart sing.

The magic moment my guys became WORLD CHAMPIONS!

And so we begin again

Saturday afternoon, I had my first session with a new therapist. It felt good.

I made the appointment to talk about Henry. Our relationship causes me pain and it shouldn't, because I intellectually understand everything we were told when he was still in the hospital back in October 2018: we can look for him to often be depressed, irrational, paranoid and hostile. And he frequently has been. I'd like to add manipulative, too. I know it's the brain injury. I know he can't help it. I know he often doesn't even remember much of what he's done. And yet it still hurts.

We also had to discuss my impending joblessness. It will have an impact on my insurance and ability to pay for sessions, after all. She said she thought I was handling it well. And I suppose I am, when I'm talking about it. It's when I wake up first thing in the morning, alone and swirling in my own thoughts, that I'm scared.

Which is why, Saturday night, I reached out across the miles to my oldest friend. I told her that when the new shrink asked about my relationships, I mentioned that my oldest friend and I are Beatle bonded and have been buds since 1964, when we were six and seven. The doc literally sighed and touched her heart. Anyway, talking to my oldest friend also helped. I have to remember to reach out when I get weird.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Bye, Bye Blackbird (1957)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Julie London complains about all the "hard luck stories" people are handing her. Did you more recently listen to someone else's problems, or share your own? My friend Kathleen shared her concern about the impact the coronavirus is having on her 401(k). I'm sure it's having the same effect on mine, but I haven't checked like she has.

2) She promises to arrive "late tonight." What time do you think is too late to drop in on someone? 9:00 PM. I got that from my mom. 9:00 PM was the magic hour. Polite people don't call other polite people after 9:00, nor do they drop in after 9:00, either. (Though to be honest, I don't like being dropped in on at all.)

3) Julie's nickname was "The Liberty Girl" because she was Liberty Records' first successful artist. The second was singer-songwriter David Seville, who had a couple novelty hits as "The Chipmunks." There were three singing chipmunks. Without looking it up, can you name them? Simon, Theodore and ALVIN!

4) Julie's love of music was shared by her mother. When Julie was a little girl, mother and daughter would listen to Billie Holiday records together. What recordings did you enjoy when you were very young? My Other Grandpa (my mom's parents were divorced) lived alone in a two-room suite in this lady's house. He kept a record player and some records for me to enjoy when I visited. I remember this one, specifically. "You know the feeling that you get each time your birthday comes? That's the feeling that you get when Cubby plays the drums. Hey, Cubby Boy! Play, Cubby Boy! Play those drums!"



5) She began modeling when she 17. Julie was working as an elevator operator when a talent agent saw her and decided she would photograph well. With the advent of push-button elevators, elevator operator is a job that doesn't exist anymore. Can you think of another job that was once common but now is rare (or non-existent)? Milkman.

6) Julie recorded more than 30 albums and was named "most popular female vocalist" by Billboard magazine in 1956. If you could see any entertainer -- male or female -- in concert, who would you choose? Honest, the first one to pop into my head is Ringo. I've seen Sir Paul so many times, and Ringo is 80 this year, so I think I'd like to see him and his All Starr Band while I still can.

7) She appeared in Westerns on both TV and in the movies. Have you ever dreamed of being a cowboy/cowgirl? Oh, yes! Blaze and I were going to tear up the Wild West.

8) For six seasons, Julie played Dixie McCall R.N. on the show Emergency! The series was about Los Angeles paramedics and firefighters. Do you often hear sirens in your neighborhood? This is relative. My friend John, who lives just off Rush Street, can't get over how quiet my neighborhood is. Whereas Nancy, who was once a neighbor but has moved about 10 miles to the west, complains about how noisy it is.

9) Random question: You're pulled over for speeding. Do you think you'd have an easier time talking your way out of it if the officer was a man ... or a woman? I don't drive, but I suspect I'd be screwed either way. I have a wee problem with authority.

Achingly proud of him

My nephew worked hard for Elizabeth Warren. Though managing a full class load, he still spent his weekends driving three hours from his dorm to Iowa, canvassing, and then driving three hours back. He slogged through snow. He crashed over night in the homes of other volunteers he didn't even know. One night he even slept under a White Sox blanket!

For a while, she was at the top of the polls. Then the Iowa Caucus actually happened and her vote total was disappointing. Her momentum had vanished. She didn't even carry her own state on Super Tuesday, and dropped out.

My nephew is desolate. Of course. He's a true believer.

In a way, that makes me even more proud of him. He not only gave his time and gas money, he risked his heart.

He hasn't yet committed to Bernie. I know that's where he leans ideologically, but he seems to feel a little too bruised right now to do anything more than vote in the Illinois primary.

But he'll be back in the arena. I know he will.

My nephew is our future. We're lucky to have committed young people like him.

A letter from Darius

As part of my commitment to my OneWord, I want to do MORE to help make the world a better place. So when my church asked for volunteers to be pen pals for prisoners, I raised my hand.

After all, we shouldn't judge a person's entire life by his worst moment, and we should treat the least among us as we would treat the Lord.

But then I was paired with Darius, who is serving a life sentence for double homicide. I admit I was apprehensive. But I made the commitment, so I wrote to him.

Today, I got his first letter in response. It was humbling. He said he wished he had words bigger than "thank you" to express how it felt to have me take time out to write to him.

In my initial letter, I asked him about his spiritual path. He answered that he was raised Baptist and while he's drifted some during this stay in prison, he still believes in Christ. He reads occasionally and likes to play chess. He hopes someday to be free, though at 49 he's already spent more than half his life in prison. He hinted that he'd like help with his legal fees, but I'm ignoring that. He worries that I may never write back, but even so, he's grateful that I took the time that one time "to reach out."

I wrote back to him immediately. I let him know that I'm 62 -- hopefully dispelling any romantic notions he may have -- and how tough it is to be surrounded by nothing but millennials. I mentioned that, while I write for a living, it's a refreshing change of pace to express myself with handwritten words to a specific individual. I outlined my own spiritual path, that like him I was raised in a traditional Protestant congregation but I found it lacking because it didn't give me much opportunity to live my faith. I promised him I'd write him once/month.

We'll see how it progresses. But right now, it feels good. With really very little effort, I'm brightening someone's day and helping him feel better connected to the world outside the prison walls.

A hamster on a wheel

Last Friday, I got a big project at 3:45 PM. It covered three of our client's lesser lines of business. I worked Friday night, all day Sunday, and late into Monday. I resented having the project dumped on me so late -- our new management team had the projects for weeks before including me -- but I was also enthusiastic. Since the project emphasized the lesser lines of business, I felt it offered me an opportunity to really make a difference. I could help the client turn a greater profit in 2020 in three areas where they'd been struggling.

The presentation was Tuesday. Rumor had it that the client was pleased.

This afternoon, my boss and I were farting around on a website devoted to gossip about our client. Mostly it was just snark, but I saw a rumor that piqued my interest. Something about a merger with a Minnesota-based company. I guessed who it was and googled them, keystroking my client's name with theirs. I got the news as it was breaking.

My client is selling two of those three lines of business. And I just so happened to learn about it as it was happening, before our new management team even heard it.

So we're not going to win the business that was pitched Tuesday because the client's not going to be selling those products anymore. So I worked under pressure Friday night, Sunday and Monday for nothing.


Making me a hamster on a wheel, racing around, going nowhere.

It gets better. The client contacts who were my biggest fans are likely being laid off tomorrow. Making them hamsters, too.

I can't imagine that I'll have a job much longer. I may not have an advertising career anymore.But right now, I don't give a fuck. I'm emotionally exhausted.

An object in motion stays in motion

Worked out at lunchtime Wednesday! Pretty much had the place to myself,* so I took the opportunity to do floor exercises for my back, the hip adductor/abductor machine (also for my back) and 20 minutes on the bike for my ticker. It felt so gooooood!

When I got home from work, I didn't even have the urge to nap. Instead I did some paper work -- inputting my 2/29 finances into Quicken. Then I took out the garbage and collected quarters from the washers/dryers.

That's the value of MORE. I don't have to everything, just a little more. And I'll find myself moving toward my goals.

*Coronavirus fears, I guess. I wipe down the equipment before and after I use it and am sure to cough into a tissue. Beyond that, I'm trying not to make myself crazy with worry.

Oh, Dear God, SHUT UP!

My friend Chuck just posted this on Facebook. Chuck is nice but full of shit.


"The Establishment" didn't boost Biden. The Black voters of South Carolina did. They showed that with their support, Biden could win big, and "The Establishment" responded.

Oh yeah, and Susan Rice endorsed Biden. Susan Rice is one of Barack Obama's closest surrogates. That's the nearest to a thumbs up from Barack Obama that anyone is going to get before the convention.

So when people like Chuck -- who is a Warren supporter -- post stuff like this they are acting like Bernie Bros did in 2016. Remember how Sanders supporters insisted Hillary only became the candidate because of her "oligarchs" and all that fossil fuel funding -- thereby completely discounting the decades long relationship Bill Clinton had with the Black community? Remember that appalling display -- in prime time and on national TV -- when Sanders supporters literally fucking booed the African American speakers who supported Hillary at the convention? Yes, they booed the late Elijah Cummings, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Cory Booker, just because they supported HRC.

Remember how many Black voters responded by feeling that there's no place for them in the party and so they stayed home -- and Donald Trump was elected?

It hurts when your candidate loses. I know. I worked crazy hard for John Kerry in 2004. I still carry the scars.

But maybe, instead of lashing out and looking for conspiracies, left wing progressives ought to look at themselves. Maybe the problem is their messengers and not oligarchs or The Establishment. Their message isn't resonating with Blacks (and suburban voters of all colors). Sanders has had great success with Latino voters this time around. Similar efforts need to be made with Blacks.

And acting like Black voters don't even exist, like Chuck did in that Facebook post, will not help.

Let me rephrase: it will not help their cause or the country.  

It will help re-elect Donald Trump.

Tuesday 4

Food Glorious Food!

 

1. How often do you find yourself shopping for groceries? Weather permitting – I don’t drive so I'm walking to the store – I usually bring home as much as I can carry on Saturday, and pick up what I still need on Sunday.

2. Do you have a favorite night time snack? It changes. It used to be crackers (graham if I want something sweet, Ritz if I want something salty) but now it’s breakfast cereal.

3.  Do you buy in bulk and what kinds of tips do you have to save money on grocery shopping? I don’t have room for bulk. I do look for sales. 

4. Let's have a picnic in the park. What foods are we packing and will we cook anything there or is it all prepared ahead of time? Isn't it nice to think picnic on such a chilly day? I’ll bring the potato salad and chips. It’s just not a picnic without potato salad and chips. I’ll leave the grilling and beer to others. I know people who take grilling and beer very seriously.

Sunday Stealing

Bicycle Sidewalk

1. Do you think animals dream? I know they do. I've seen my cats twitch and wiggle and then wake up with a start.

2. Have you ever been to a fortune teller or psychic? Yes.

3. How important is it to have a low stress job? HA! This is not the day to ask me that! (See post below.)

4. Do you always lock your house? Yes. It's a reflex.

5. What do you do if you feel lonely? Pick up the phone and call somebody.

6. Have you ever driven a sports car? No.

7. Have you ever fallen down the stairs? Yes.

8. What do you think about the death penalty? It's an abomination. My friend, John, was on a death penalty-qualified jury that unanimously found a man guilty of double homicide. Having been raised Catholic, this was trying for John, but he felt that serving was his duty as an American.

Imagine how he felt when, in 2003, the man he helped convict was exonerated by DNA and set free. More than 15 years later, thoughts of that man's wrongful conviction and possible execution still make him sick.

If, as a society, we feel that the death penalty is necessary, then let judges mete it out. Juries can decide guilty or innocence, the judge can decide the penalty. Jurors who are just trying to their civic duty should not be saddled with this.

9. What do you think about animal testing? By and large, it's not necessary. This isn't an opinion. I used to work for a health/beauty manufacturer. I can't speak to the pharmaceutical industry, but I know that hair and skincare products can effectively be tested in a petri dish and not on an animals.

10. What are your neighbors like? On my left, the apartment is empty. On the right, they are happily married medical students. Even though she's not a "cat person," she likes my Reynaldo, and he adores her.

Reynaldo has won my neighbor's heart

11. Do you turn off the water when you brush your teeth? Yes

12, Are there any foods that you wouldn’t eat as a child that you now like? Spinach.

13. Is it important to always tell the truth? No

14. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Shark. Shark veracruz, to be exact. I don't remember how it tasted. I just recall being very proud of myself for being brave enough to eat shark.

15. Do computers really help us save time? Yes. But they also help us waste more time doing stupid things, too.

16. Do you have any tattoos? Nope

17. Do you pray every day? I talk to God every day, but I don't have set prayers I recite.

18. Are you in favor of cloning? No, but to be honest, I don't think about it much.

19. How do you feel about changing your nationality? How could I even do that? Isn't my ethnicity in my DNA? Or are you asking my citizenship? I can't see changing that. I love America, and want to stay here and fight for it.

20. Would you ever buy a used car? No, because I can't drive.

21. Should you spank a child when they do something wrong? As a rule, no. But there are exceptions. When my niece was a toddler in mid-tantrum, she slugged me. I took her by the wrist and hit her hand. I wanted to show her that no one likes being hit.

22. Has science made a negative impact on society? Well, we have discovered how to shoot people up with drugs and kill them. (See #8.) That's really not a feel good, is it?

23. Have you ever gone on a blind date? Yes.

24. Do you believe there is life after death? More than I believe in anything else.

 

Why I oughta ...

There's a big presentation on Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. If it goes well, we could regain some lost luster with my client. Or it could cause the client to give even more work to our competitor.

We've known about this for weeks. I thought I just wasn't going to be included in the presentation. That was OK. I don't know everything about everything, after all, and our new (as of January 2) and high-priced management team must know what they're doing.

Yeah, right.

I was briefed on the project at (wait for it) 3:45 on Friday. Management wants to see my efforts "first thing Monday morning."

Bastards!

There was a time -- in my long ago 30s -- that I would have been thrilled to be the go-to girl. The one they turn to when things aren't going well. The heroine who saves the day.

Now I just feel used.

Decades of agita and unnecessary drama leading to unrealistic deadlines have worn me down.

I'm going to do the best I can on Sunday. I'm going to email my efforts to my boss (also a victim of this) by dinnertime. Then I'm going to move on.

And dream of retirement.

"Why would I be mad?"

I got an email from Henry, telling me that he was upset about doing battle with the county over his health benefits. "I had an accident!" he wrote. "I didn't ask for this!" He said he looked forward to talking to this weekend.

I wrote back that I simply couldn't talk this weekend. Saturday I was celebrating my friend Nancy's birthday. Sunday I have to work. I opened and closed the email with, "Don't be mad."

He immediately wrote back that it was OK, that he understood. And then he closed with the real head scratcher: Why would I be mad?

Because two weeks ago, he tore a strip out of my hide when I didn't pick up his call during the Oscars, that's why!

Does he not remember how hurt he was, and how eager he was to lash out and hurt me? Maybe not.

Or is his moodswing on the rise, and his demons aren't as loud this week as they were two weeks ago? Perhaps.

The man is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. I have to keep reminding myself of that. And it means that I have to accept that, for us, every day can be Anything Can Happen Day.

I know He's a fan

Yesterday, the cloudless sky was my favorite color: Cubbie blue. 

This confirms my hypothesis that the Lord is a Cub fan.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: On the Radio (1979)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
 
1) The action begins when a letter falls out of the pocket of a brown overcoat. What color is your coat? Olive green, with brown trim.


2) The lyrics ask if it "kinda strikes you sad when you hear our song." We don't want to be sad this Saturday, so we're asking what song makes you happy. Just heard this on the radio and got all swoony. I love Smokey! His voice is so romantic.


 
3) Right before this song hit the charts, Donna Summer hit the cover of Newsweek. Are there any magazines in your home now? If yes, who is on the cover? Meghan and Harry. I read a lot about those two. I worry about Diana's youngest.

4) Donna wrote the lyrics to this song, while producer Giorgio Moroder wrote the tune. Moroder is known as "the father of disco." Is disco a genre you enjoy? Nope

5) This song got additional airplay throughout the 1980s because the game show The Price Is Right played it every time a contestant won a stereo. Today, the most popular audio equipment sold at Best Buy is a sound bar to improve the quality of TV audio. Have you added a sound bar or sound system to your TV? Nope. I still have a 19 year old Sylvania TV. It still works fine, and I don't want to add it to a landfill if there's no need. Though I can tell its time is coming. (Well done, good and faithful servant.)

6) Moroder has won two Academy Awards for Best Song. The first was for "Flashdance ... What a Feeling" from Flashdance and the second was for "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun. Do you  have a favorite movie soundtrack? 

The track list is here

7) He grew up in Ortsei, Italy. Located in Northern Italy, the Ortsei

economy is fueled by tourists who ski in winter, hike in summer and shop for woodcarvings all year around. Do out-of-towners find their way to your hometown more often in summer or winter? More in summer, but they're in Chicago all year around. Just this week, I was at CVS in line behind a trio of Asian tourists who were so happy to find rubbing alcohol scented with wintergreen. The stuff we take for granted! That's why I love eavesdropping on tourists.


8) Kourtney Kardashian was born in 1979, the year this record was a hit. Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been on since 2007. Have you ever seen it? Yes. One night, when I was battling a particularly vicious migraine, I stumbled upon an overnight Kardashian marathon. I gotta give it to those girls, they came through for me when it felt like my head was in a vice. They were just interesting enough to distract me from the pain, but not interesting enough to keep me watching when the meds kicked in and sleep blissfully beckoned.

I know Kourtney is the one with the straight hair on the right.

9) Random question -- When getting dressed in the morning, what's the second item of clothing you put on? Bra.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW.WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt us to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here.    

1. What are you currently reading? The Other Windsor Girl by George Blalock. Everyone seems to think that "Megxit" -- The Sussex's departure for a new life in Canada -- was instigated by Meghan. I'm not so sure. I've been reading about Prince Harry since (literally) before he was born and he's always seemed to struggle with his role as "spare" while Brother William gets to be heir. I wonder if stepping away from royal duties wasn't Harry's idea, and he found a willing partner in Meghan.

It was with Harry in mind that I reached for this historical novel about Princess Margaret. Like Harry, she grew up stuck a few steps behind her sibling, the future queen. Like Harry, she had looks and charisma, but lost out because of birth order. And like Harry, she struggled.

Set in the late 1940s, when Margaret was in her late teens, this book is told from the point-of-view of one of her ladies in waiting. Our narrator is a title-rich but cash-poor aristocrat with a secret life (she writes racy romance novels under a pseudonym) and this appeals to Margaret's naughty side. Both women have been unlucky in love, another bond. Margaret is bored, rebellious and imperious -- isolated because of her power but injudicious in wielding it. So far, it's a good read. 

2. What did you recently finish reading? No Judgments by Meg Cabot. Sabrina suffered a bad break up and wants to start a new life. So she changes her name (call her "Bree"), her hair (from blonde to pink), her job (she's waiting tables) and addresses (she's now in a tiny apartment in the Keys). Everything is going well, until a hurricane sets its sights on South Florida. Like many conchs, she decides not to evacuate but instead ride it out.

This book is chick-lit through and through, with a handsome man and lots of adorable pets to occupy our heroine during the storm. I thought, if I took it on those terms, I'd enjoy it. I was wrong.

There's too much unnecessary detail about our heroine. In addition to the bad breakup that's the catalyst for her move from New York to the Florida Keys, there are some complicated family dynamics that are introduced and derail the story. I see that No Judgments is the first in a series. I don't know why Ms. Cabot couldn't have explored Bree and her parents in a later book.

3.  What will you read next? I've got a couple baseball biographies here -- one about Gehrig, the other about Ruth. I don't know which one I'll choose to take me into spring training.

Have I cracked the code?

I've been at my wit's end when it comes to my dear friend, Henry. How can we continue to be close if lashes out at me all the time? How do I communicate with someone whose traumatic brain injury has left him by turns frightened, paranoid and aggressive?

I experimented this week with making this about me, not him. By talking to him about my problems, I reasoned, I was taking the focus off his. At least this week, it worked!

It began with an email. He invited me to watch a video of him singing a solo at church last Sunday. I told him it made me happy to see him go from nervous to confident and happy as the music moved him. (This was a diplomatic answer, as the video was clumsy and for some reason the microphone didn't really pick up his voice.) He thanked me with an over-the-top message about how much he loves me. So I get it. I know he's sorry we haven't been getting along and he understands he hurt me.

But now what?

I sent Henry an email about my prospective prison pen pal, Darius. I told Henry the truth -- that I'm feeling more than a little ambivalent about corresponding with a man found guilty of murder. I asked Henry for his thoughts.

Voila! He called me Monday night and told me I'm good and strong and he's sure my heart will lead me to the right thing. It was a very sweet message.

I'm glad I wasn't home Monday night to mess it up. Our give-and-take can't get overheated if there's no real time give-and-take.

And I think my asking him for advice not only distracted him from his own problems, it helped even the power differential between us, at least for a moment.

Tuesday 4

Odds and Ends Tuesday 4 # 8

1.  You're having a lovely dinner party for friends and family.  What will you serve for appetizers, main course and dessert? I'm never having a "lovely dinner party." I'm simply not that girl. But last time I had people over for dinner, I served green salad, two different types of pizza (plain cheese or sausage), and yellow cake with vanilla frosting.

 2. Snow storm!  You've got house guests and you're all stuck inside for the night. What do you prepare for dinner.  Will you watch a movie? Which? The menu would be soup (one that sticks to your ribs, like beef barley or New England clam chowder) and salad. Rather than a movie, I think I'd take this opportunity to play Monopoly or Scrabble.

3. We are going into New York City for the weekend. Where do you want to go? I'd take my own personal Jackie tour. My all-time idol spent most of her adult life in New York, and I'd love to visit her haunts.
•  1040 Fifth Avenue (her home for decades)
•  The Russian Tea Room (her favorite lunch spot)
•  Grand Central Station (which she saved from the wrecking ball)
•  The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park (where she jogged)
•  A Broadway show and a late dinner at P. J. Clarke's (her regular night out)

Read about her Grand Central Station preservation efforts here

4. You are going to night school.  They offer courses in writing short stories, painting,  piano  or guitar lessons, simple home repairs, baking, and gardening. Which do you pick (or make up one of your own) and why? Short story writing. I write for a living, but I deliver on assignments and it's never fiction. It would be fun to use different muscles.

Sunday Stealing

Getting to Know You

1. What is your favorite color? Cubbie blue.

2. If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel anywhere, where would you go? Hollywood! The TCM Film Festival is coming up and this year, I can't afford to go. But I want to. Desperately.

3. Were you closer to your mother or to your father? My mom.

4. What is your favorite meal (savory and dessert)? Friday I had the best burger -- with bacon, cheese and a fried egg. It was freaking HEAVEN! So I want that again. Fries. Cole slaw. Coke or a beer. And a Dove Bar for dessert.

5. Can you wink with each eye?  (How about curl your tongue)? Yes to all.

6. Beach or forest? Forest.

7. City or farm? City!

8. Would you rather be blind from birth or turn blind as a teenager? No, thank you. OK, I'll be a good sport and answer the question: blind from birth.

9. Would you rather always be overdressed or underdressed? Need more definition here. Do you mean overdressed as in too elegant for the situation? Or overdressed as in a down coat on an 80º day?

10. If you could pass alone one of your attributes to your children, which would it be? My conscience.

11. What are you most insecure about? My financial future.

12. What are you afraid people see when they look at you? Nothing. The older I get, the more invisible I feel.

13. What is the saddest you’ve ever felt? After John Kerry lost to George W. Bush. I put everything I had into that campaign and it literally broke my heart. John Kerry is smart and decent and dedicated. He deserved better, and our country deserved him.

14. Would you rather have your own private island, or your own private jet? Island. I will name it Galtopia.

15. How do you think you will die? I have a strong feeling that it will be fast. I don't know if it'll be a fatal stroke or heart attack or a cataclysmic accident. I don't dwell on it much.