Sunday, June 19, 2016

Saturday Stealing: The Jackals

Sunday Stealing: The Jackals Meme
 

Question 1: Who is your favorite musical artist?

A. I don't have a favorite. But if I must pick one, I will go with Melissa Etheridge.

Question 2: What is your favorite album by that artist?

A. It's a tie between Yes I Am and Your Little Secret. Have a listen: here's Nowhere to Go from YLS and here's Come to My Window from YIA. I love the videos to both, except for the strange non-music break in Come to My Window which was not ever seen on VH1 as far as I recall.

Question 3: Who is your favorite blogger?

A. I like to read the Thursday 13, Saturday 9, and Sunday Stealers' blogs. I have friends who blog, and I visit their blogs. I don't have a favorite. I don't play favorites with the real people I know (including those I don't really know except online). I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

Question 4: If you could meet anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and what is interesting about them?

A. Mary, Queen of Scots. I have long been interested in her life (and death by beheading) and her ascent to the throne, which began when she was six days old. I also have this imaginative theory that in a previous life I was a kitchen maid or something for her, based on the ramblings I gave when I was two years old. Those tales from the mouth of a babe gave my mother's the woolies to the point where she forbade me to talk about the dark castle and the graveyard in Scotland anymore.

Question 5: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A. Occasionally I wanted to be a geologist or an archeologist or, as I answered in a similar question recently, the person who discovered the secret of the Bermuda Triangle, but I always went back to writing. I have always wanted to be a writer, and so I was a writer. What I didn't do was be the writer I wanted to be. I have mostly written nonfiction as a news reporter, and I wanted to be a news reporter. However, I also wanted to write series books, like Nancy Drew (or maybe like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series in this day and age). Then I went to a highfalutin college where professors took a dim view of anything but "literature" and at some point I gave up the hack writer dream and knew I would never write the Great American Novel because I didn't really want to. Now the Internet has killed the writing profession, much like Video Killed the Radio Star, and I don't know what to do.  I still write but mostly it is this blog and in my journal. I am lost right now.

Question 6: What is the most interesting piece of trivia that you know?

A. Botetourt County, where I live, was named for Norborne Berkley, Baron de Botetourt, a popular Virginia Governor from 1768 to 1770. The county was formed in 1770, after Berkley died unexpectedly in office. At that time, Botetourt County stretched all the way to the Mississippi and into part of Wisconsin, taking in about what is now six states. My husband's cousin still farms an original King's Grant land, meaning the property was given to the family before the American Revolution.

Question 7: If you could live in any point of history when would it be and why?

A. The mid 1500s so I could meet Mary, Queen of Scots and be her kitchen maid, I guess.

Question 8: What do you think of the election in the U.S. so far?

A. I try not to think about it, but the Grand Old Party has shot itself in the foot with Mr. Trump, who if not a fascist is about as close to one as I expect to see in my lifetime. I am pulling for Hillary Clinton because in spite of the crap the media and the GOP have thrown at her over the last 20+ years, she's still standing. She has done a lot for women's rights, much of which has gone unnoticed, and she will, I think, keep the U.S. solvent while she is in office. The US debt has almost always done better under a Democrat than a Republican president, as has the economy. She is not perfect, but I think she is the best qualified candidate. We all would do things differently in hindsight and I am more prone to forgive than some people, apparently. Personally, my husband and I did well under President Bill Clinton, and we have recovered from President Bush's recession policies some under President Obama, not as much as I would like, but President Obama inherited a mess and has had a racist and biased Congress to thwart his initiatives. None of the candidates are left enough for me, except Sanders, but I found his personality too abrasive and his numbers didn't add up. However, if he wins the Democratic Party nomination, I will vote for him. If Trump wins, I expect this country to fall apart and my life will probably be shorter than I anticipate. My health and age will not let me live through a jack-boot police state and civil war.

Question 9: What is your favorite TV drama? What do you like about it?

A. Game of Thrones. I like the fact that it is set in a fantasy world with magic and dragons. The characters have a tendency to die and I am not a fan of the misogynistic overtones, but the intrigue is fascinating. It's like watching a tennis match. You're not sure who is going to end up with the final serve. Plus, frozen zombies.

Question 10: What is the most interesting job you've ever had?

A. Being a news reporter has given me many opportunities. During my time working, I went up in a hot air balloon, rode in a two-seater airplane, visited the site of an endangered bat, checked out a house for ghosts with some paranormal experts, watched a man die during a county supervisors' meeting, saw meetings get so heated that I had to look for a desk to crawl under, visited the scenes of fires, went into a burning building where firefighters were training, and interviewed governors, senators, and congressmen (state and federal levels), one of which ran briefly for the GOP presidential nomination in this election, and another who is being mentioned as a vice president candidate for Mrs. Clinton. I had my tires slashed because of a story I wrote and was nearly put in jail by an irate rural sheriff. I've seen how people really live, in homes falling down around them because they have no money for repairs, or in big McMansions with no furniture because they couldn't afford to buy a couch, or in places so fancy that I was glad I was a reporter and not expected to wear $30,000 necklaces to be in the vicinity. I can't think of a job that would have given me a greater view of the community in which I live and its diversity.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in
Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

5 comments:

  1. I have read and watched a little about Mary, Queen of Scotts. I like Elizabeth stories and The Tudors. My mom and Aunt always had books like that around.

    You are multi-faceted :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think your answer to #8 is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now that's the kind of stuff that made me want to be a reporter at one time. I was all about the adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your answer to #8 is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good answer for number eight.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for dropping by! I appreciate comments and love to hear from others. I appreciate your time and responses.