tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-321991652024-03-18T19:38:49.113-04:00Blue Country MagicCountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.comBlogger5609125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-45257202121552485322024-03-18T15:46:00.000-04:002024-03-18T15:46:33.059-04:00Where Are the Eagles?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2Y0abONtbKtkPd8E_yrUmHaqdXQZgQ4JWsJKy8X7taxi-e_cu7648PFm1-qX51OCho3Gvs2Jy_lfWSUVYbkd3u21VvJUqxdafqfJ8MIg4yGZREhaRe4FF0AkPyKft0C0CRxHdEDTtTdmCowNA3pjH6e0U4_KkujZuEHbBCwMrxZzXcVW-44D/s1024/Eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2Y0abONtbKtkPd8E_yrUmHaqdXQZgQ4JWsJKy8X7taxi-e_cu7648PFm1-qX51OCho3Gvs2Jy_lfWSUVYbkd3u21VvJUqxdafqfJ8MIg4yGZREhaRe4FF0AkPyKft0C0CRxHdEDTtTdmCowNA3pjH6e0U4_KkujZuEHbBCwMrxZzXcVW-44D/s320/Eagle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, one of the biggest plot contrivances that some folks get confused about is the introduction of the Eagles.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We'll use the movies as examples here, because I don't have the books right in front of me. But in the movie, first we see an Eagle when Gandalf, trapped high in the sky in Saruman's white tower, sends a moth to call for one. A lone Eagle soars by and Gandalf takes a leap from a great height and lands on the Eagle's back to fly safely away from his captor.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Eagles do not appear again until the end, when in the third film, as the Men of the West are fighting off orcs and Sauron seems to be winning, Pippin stops amidst the fighting and cries, "The Eagles! The Eagles are coming!"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the Eagles come and fight off the dark riders, and later, when Frodo (well, actually Gollum) has destroyed the One Ring and ended Sauron for good, the Eagles carry Gandalf to the top of Mt. Doom to rescue Frodo and Sam from the volcanic mountain.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The big question many folks ask is, why didn't the Eagles carry Frodo to Mt. Doom in the first place, instead of having him wander all over Middle Earth to try to take the One Ring to Mt. Doom?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's a good question, and it is a bit of a plot hole. There are many answers, but answer I like best is that the Eagles are another race, sentient beings like humans, and have agency. They therefore cannot be subjugated into doing the will of others. Although it does seem like performing a task that would stop evil would be a good thing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many of the non-human characters in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> have agency: the Ents, who are tree shepherds, orcs, who are used and abused, goblins, who are wild things, for the most part, and wizards, who look like men but are not men. And we must not forget the elves, who also look human but are not, or the dwarves, who look human too, only shorter, as well as the hobbits, who look like humans but are shorter still.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">In many interviews I've read about Tolkien, who wrote <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> books, he claims that the books are not about war. However, the author served in World War I and his sons in World War II.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> is about war.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lately, I've been watching the eagles in California as they attempt to hatch a trio of eggs. The time for viability for the eggs has long passed, but the eagles continue to try to hatch eggs that aren't going to hatch. It has been an interesting couple of months watching these birds as they built their nest and laid the eggs. Now it's sad to look in on them, sitting diligently on eggs that, at least according to scientists, are simply rotting and not hatching. It reminds me of all the time I spent trying to have a child even though it was a fruitless exercise.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I have had eagles on my mind.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, another question keeps running through my mind, and getting all confused with <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, the eagles on the nest, and this country. The question is this: where are the Eagles? Not the eagles on the nest. Not the Eagles of Tolkien's world, not exactly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think Tolkien was using the Eagles as a metaphor for the U.S., who was late entering both World Wars. We entered World War I three years after it started, and World War II began in 1939 and we didn't enter it until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. How many lives were lost, how much devastation was rendered, because the United States didn't step up when we should have?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Eagles were late and came in near the end. They were, however, crucial to winning the wars, World War I, World War II - and the war in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So that question keeps crossing my mind these days: where are the Eagles? Not the Eagles of <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, but the Eagles who are true patriots, the ones who will see through the conspiracy theories and the crackpot craziness and stand up and set the United States back upon a better path. Because technically, the US is now at war with itself. We are close to taking that old Constitution and ripping it to shreds, no matter who wins, although one side is more distasteful to me than the other.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Right now, I see no Eagles, not on the right, and not on the left. I caught a glimpse of a lone Eagle in Liz Cheney, which is something I never thought I 'd ever say, but if we have an Eagle guiding us, at the moment that's who it is (and I'm not sure of that). If she is like the lone Eagle swooping in to save Gandalf, where and when will the other Eagles come from? Who will rise up to make this nation over and bring back our better angels? It won't be the Republicans, who are bent on turning back the clock, taking away rights, and creating an American version of Hungary. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Democrats are no angels. I'm not sure they are Eagles, either, having turned away from the philosophies of Franklin Roosevelt as they have in the last 40 or so years. Roosevelt had his flaws, as all men do, but he did seem to have the welfare of this nation, and of the world, on his heart when he made decisions. (Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, not Roosevelt. We don't know what Roosevelt would have done with those bombs, although he didn't stop their construction.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">We aren't in a novel at the moment. This is real life. But we have lots of fighting going on all over the world, and we have lots of in-fighting going on in this nation. We have climate change creating monumental catastrophes. However, we have no wise wizards at our sides, no guidance that comes from anything beyond the beaks</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> of those who crave great power, even if that power is only to be the loudest mouth in a thread on a Facebook page. Given the wealthy crows who own the social media companies, what else should we expect?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, I ask again, where are the Eagles? Where are those who would stand up against the powerful, and be the beacons that we need to lead us to a stronger, brighter, fairer and better world?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-37803504351233063262024-03-17T00:30:00.002-04:002024-03-17T10:22:23.037-04:00Sunday Stealing<div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKQ1WstZuELoMOM8GQ154ebokA6-1YiwOtVtC7X1_ZYv33jaBigsXH9aaskaJLQhJb0ven4XmRsRl6zeYCUVJ3-icLcyJ2ssFQo-YwLXWw9SLXYlvfmwONqgv0KjSXNare2L6h6BUf8JiEkmG3qJHNtsgEuX1dRT8t1aeCgyBU_7fT4H-kWSh/s698/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="698" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKQ1WstZuELoMOM8GQ154ebokA6-1YiwOtVtC7X1_ZYv33jaBigsXH9aaskaJLQhJb0ven4XmRsRl6zeYCUVJ3-icLcyJ2ssFQo-YwLXWw9SLXYlvfmwONqgv0KjSXNare2L6h6BUf8JiEkmG3qJHNtsgEuX1dRT8t1aeCgyBU_7fT4H-kWSh/s320/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. <u>What ONE thing would you change about your life? How would your life be different?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I would be healthier. I would eat better, exercise, and have a less sedentary lifestyle. Maybe I would run marathons. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. <u>What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Why was it hard for you? What did you learn?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Keeping my mouth shut is the hardest thing. I should always keep my mouth shut. I have learned it is the best way to get through life without problems.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. <u>Write about the most glorious moment in your life so far.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Glorious moments are for a different sort of person than I.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. <u>Write about a moment you felt brave</u>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. When I stood up to a bully.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. <u>What made you happy today?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. My husband took me to lunch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. <u>What did you dislike most about growing up?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Chores. I had a lot of chores.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. <u>Write about five activities you love the most and why you love them.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Reading books, because they take you to other worlds, playing guitar, because music takes you to another space, writing, because it allows you to put on paper whatever you're thinking, hugs because they make me feel loved, and dancing (when no one is watching) because it makes me feel free.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. <u>Do you have an embarrassing moment that still makes you cringe?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Yes. But that doesn't mean I have to write about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. <u>What has been your best trip so far?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Probably my trip to Spain and France when I was 16, simply because it was out of the country. In the U.S., I enjoyed our trips to Williamsburg, VA a lot.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">10. <u>What traits (physical or personal) do people notice when they meet you for the first time?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I haven't any idea. I'm not especially pretty but I'm also not butt ugly. I've been told I have expressive eyes and nice skin.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">11. <u>Is social media a blessing or a curse?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. It's what we make it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">12. <u>What is your greatest hope for your future? What steps can you take to make it happen?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I would just like to take it day by day for now, thank you very much.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">13. <u>What did you struggle most with today?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. That not speaking up thing I wrote about earlier.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">14. <u>Name the biggest priority in your life right now.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. My husband is always my top priority.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">15. <u>What are 5 things you wish others knew about you?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. (1) I need a lot of hugs. (2) I am very lonely. (3) I miss being a student. (4) I hate the way my body looks. (5) I do not ever stop thinking.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">__________</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><p><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I encourage you to visit other participants in </span></strong><a href="http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/" style="color: #2187bb; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sunday Stealing</strong></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong> posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.</strong></span></span></p></div></span></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-50204028229661373652024-03-16T00:30:00.001-04:002024-03-16T00:30:00.134-04:00Saturday 9: Charlie Mops<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPDCGWgKhhJYS6sgexxAmzx77WIN-h4CgflXlPgwK7Y8sOJU2b2lnUySPo4lslM3EUJQKU1td9UXtx5vjuyryqXlQatZwbGtIYRePAwK52XGtBcy39RF_hTOUCaYtx65Eqdav_uUozpOHJxFQLIlvdqJjmxdHfz8S1lZsj6iFZK7LS_7lYVKUK" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPDCGWgKhhJYS6sgexxAmzx77WIN-h4CgflXlPgwK7Y8sOJU2b2lnUySPo4lslM3EUJQKU1td9UXtx5vjuyryqXlQatZwbGtIYRePAwK52XGtBcy39RF_hTOUCaYtx65Eqdav_uUozpOHJxFQLIlvdqJjmxdHfz8S1lZsj6iFZK7LS_7lYVKUK" width="275" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/03/charlie-mops.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Saturday 9: Charlie Mops (2007)</span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Not familiar with this week's song? Hear it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRBOFT1sL4I" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. <u>This week's song is about a legend, Charlie Mops, the man who invented beer. Tell us about something you enjoy so much you could sing about it with the same enthusiasm the Salt Sea Pirates sing of beer.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">O! I enjoy the place I live, the beautiful Blue Ridge, there's not much I can say about the mountains that would be bad! Here and there you find a bridge, a flower, and a tree, there really isn't much in the mountains to make me sad!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. <u>The lyrics tell us beer goes well with breakfast, dinner and snacks. Think about what you dined on yesterday. What beverages did you have with your breakfast, your dinner, and your between-meal snack?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Just water. That be all I drink, matey.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. <u>"Charlie Mops" was chosen because it's an Irish drinking song and Sunday is St. Patrick's Day. Do you expect to raise a glass in honor of the day?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. No.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. <u>Beer is not the only beverage often dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. In 1970, McDonald's introduced the Shamrock Shake, a milkshake made with a minty green syrup. If we were to go out for shakes right now, what flavor would you order?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Chocolate, although I am allergic to milk and haven't had a shake in 40 years or so.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. <u>Legend has it that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns, who can be mischievous pranksters. Is there anyone you would like to avoid today?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. There are always people I would like to avoid. That is what makes home so attractive. They aren't here.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. <u>For all our talk of green, it was not the original color of St. Patrick's Day. Through most of the 18th century, blue was worn across England and Ireland to honor St. Patrick. The Irish switched to green to express their independence from the English. Which color do you wear more often: blue or green?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Blue.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. <u>Today St. Patrick's Day is observed all over the world. In Tokyo, it's not a single day but a weekend celebration. When you think of Japan, what's the first thing that comes to mind?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Honestly, it would be my college professor who translates poetry and has spent time in Japan; I've seen her photos from there and it's been like taking a trip with her, sort of. So, when I think of Japan (and China), I also think of Jeanne, who used to be my professor but is now my friend.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. <u>One of the biggest parades each year in Buenos Aires is for St. Patrick's Day. Have you ever participated in a parade?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Yes. I was in the high school band, and we marched in lots of parades. I hated them. Then when I became a news reporter, I had to take pictures of them. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. <u>Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA, crowns a Miss St. Patrick's Day. Tell us about an event you recall from your college days.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I was an adult student who lived off campus, so I didn't really participate in much of the after-school events. I went to numerous poetry readings, though. Once, I begged my husband to come with me, I don't remember who was reading but at the time it was important to me - but he bought a load of cattle at 3 p.m. that day, and I went on to the reading by myself, but he came from the stockyard to be with me - in boots covered with mud and he smelled like cow. I was so glad to see him that I didn't mind. Well, I didn't mind too much. I'm not sure what everyone else thought, though. Those poetry readings were awfully hoity-toity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;">_______________</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;">I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in </span><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong>Saturday 9</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;"> and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.</span> </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-14229879489574549992024-03-14T00:30:00.005-04:002024-03-14T00:30:00.260-04:00Thursday Thirteen<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCgCYdvTuowi5TBsLtmcc_D2hBOBZ1oxGYX5rxaopgsr71Yss6uafoXwSxp-4rziT5EF_MldFzo4FV2kw0sMOvpNdjT_j9FfHrhu7PgmBQ_q0TjaRU5g89ap0jJuwDRLxDQqhjCZNdUxU5DUT7LIhwcYFluoaeE9UuALGdKC7M1yDppcC1x6b/s1024/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCgCYdvTuowi5TBsLtmcc_D2hBOBZ1oxGYX5rxaopgsr71Yss6uafoXwSxp-4rziT5EF_MldFzo4FV2kw0sMOvpNdjT_j9FfHrhu7PgmBQ_q0TjaRU5g89ap0jJuwDRLxDQqhjCZNdUxU5DUT7LIhwcYFluoaeE9UuALGdKC7M1yDppcC1x6b/w200-h200/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Things my parents said . . .</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. Because I said so.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">2. If you swallow your gum, it will stay in your stomach for 7 years.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">3. If you swallow a watermelon seed, it will grow in your stomach.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">4. Keep making that face and it will freeze like that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">6. I have eyes in the back of my head.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">7. You can't swim for 30 minutes after eating.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">8. If you sit too close to the TV, you'll go blind.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">9. I'm just going to the store for one thing. (Comes back 3 hours later.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">10. Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">11. Wipe that smile off your face or I'll wipe it off for you.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">12. Do as I say, not as I do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">13. I hope your kids turn out just like you, so you'll know what it feels like.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Did your parents say things like this?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><div><br /></div><div><strong style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;">Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list</strong><a href="https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong> here</strong></span></a><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><b>while,</b></span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> and this is my 851st</b><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.</b></div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-68216225933594018122024-03-11T13:58:00.003-04:002024-03-13T18:16:31.603-04:00Movies, TV, & Books<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Last night we watched part of the Oscar Awards, mostly because we couldn't find anything else we wanted to watch.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The only movie I have seen of all the movies mentioned was <i><a href="https://bluecountrymagic.blogspot.com/2023/08/i-did-not-go-fishing.html" target="_blank">Barbie</a></i>. I don't go to the theater often and some of these movies simply haven't made it to HBO/MAX yet.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Most of them I'd barely heard of. I am not a connoisseur of pop culture, apparently.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As for the Oscar Awards show, I neither liked it nor disliked it. It was just something to watch.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Movies</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgRnF9bcKL66bySruR9xJtmULYdaoiwyTZ3Ize3K8Y2xnSQa6psnMiuSuUKja_OSHQIFBD0QDrYps-4HC9iON77QKC6oOuv5ARIDLx-RFc40qbv0HStgXeiUVIGN6UEQJHnmuyRVMD5Zq_fhrGkDFHsQFU0CfQ01VjX3kci_pSjHmLeSvQTHC/s384/Aquaman_and_the_Lost_Kingdom_poster.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifgRnF9bcKL66bySruR9xJtmULYdaoiwyTZ3Ize3K8Y2xnSQa6psnMiuSuUKja_OSHQIFBD0QDrYps-4HC9iON77QKC6oOuv5ARIDLx-RFc40qbv0HStgXeiUVIGN6UEQJHnmuyRVMD5Zq_fhrGkDFHsQFU0CfQ01VjX3kci_pSjHmLeSvQTHC/s320/Aquaman_and_the_Lost_Kingdom_poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>Now, on to the most recent movie I have watched: <i>Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom</i>, starring Jason Momoa.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Apparently, this movie was in theaters in December. We watched it when it came on HBO last weekend.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is not a great movie. It's not even a good movie. When I spend more time trying to see what references to other movies and books I can find in a picture than actually watching the picture itself, then it's definitely not holding my interest.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This movie had references to <i>Star Wars</i>, H.G. Wells books, Batman and Robin, <i>48 Hours</i>, <i>Castaway</i>, <i>Thor</i>, <i>Harry Potter</i>, and loads of other DC Comic lore. I am sure I missed other references, too.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Frankly, I'm about comic-book charactered out with movies, and hope that Hollywood moves on to better films, preferably not remakes of old ones as that seems to be the pattern of the moment. I would like to see something original occasionally.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I'm not going into the <i>Aquaman</i> plot; anyone can find a rehash of it on Wikipedia and all I wanted to note was I saw it, Momoa was fun to look at, and it was definitely a "B" rated flick.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">TV</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NV5hjQVjUZYNE0CWXfWjcj-NDAFcUMdoz4vW39axreRjKt9amUBeheZS8ybdey4yh0P1a55WAtx6SPZe4pqiw2etjgWTWBahVoFoZ7VSPbOWyiDVTCNXPNUHT3cGeks5h-drCQaud22PWnoNCcgyNKKvwpY1XhgpTxwsUE22i_z6WbD7N9Bv/s370/Night%20Country.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NV5hjQVjUZYNE0CWXfWjcj-NDAFcUMdoz4vW39axreRjKt9amUBeheZS8ybdey4yh0P1a55WAtx6SPZe4pqiw2etjgWTWBahVoFoZ7VSPbOWyiDVTCNXPNUHT3cGeks5h-drCQaud22PWnoNCcgyNKKvwpY1XhgpTxwsUE22i_z6WbD7N9Bv/s320/Night%20Country.png" width="216" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">This brings me to the most recent binge of TV. I watched all six episodes of HBO's </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">True Detectives: Night Country</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">, staring Jody Foster. Mostly I watched it because I have always liked Jody Foster.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This show was weird and creepy. My husband said it gave me nightmares, although if it did, I don't remember them. But it was a different sort of show and I'm not sure I would have watched it had it not been for Foster.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Foster's character was a true hard-assed bitch named Liz Danvers. (The name made me think of Super Girl, whose last name was Danvers when she wasn't saving the world, so I wish they'd used another name, unless the inference was intentional.) Danvers was trying to solve two murders along with another police officer, Evangaline Navarro, played by Kali Reis.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Actually, it was more than two murders, as the initial murder was of six different men, all found naked out in the frozen Alaska tundra, their faces contorted in fear and their bodies molded together with ice. The officers called it a "corpsicle," which should tell you a lot about the humor of this show. It was very dark humor. Somehow this murder tied in with an older unsolved murder case. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Most everything that seemed supernatural in the show could be explained, but it was one seriously delusional piece of work. Masterfully done, well-acted, and a bit crazy. I am glad I watched it, but like <i>Game of Thrones</i>, it's not something I intend to ever watch again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Books</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I've mentioned recently that I finished Heather Cox Richardson's book, <i>Democracy Awakening</i>. It's a very important book for these times and one that I encourage everyone, regardless of political persuasion, to read. The historical aspect that leads us to today is incredible and I guarantee that there are things in this book that one did not learn in the public schools, and maybe not even in college.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Another book I recently finished that was quite eye-opening was <i>Educated</i>, by Tara Westover. This memoir of a young woman who was "homeschooled" and a member of the Mormon faith is incredibly eye-opening and concerning. The story opens with an admonishment that the book is not meant to deny or endorse any religion, but it doesn't make religion of any kind look good. I think it reflects the evangelical religiosity that has taken hold of some folks and made them a bit crazy, regardless of brand of faith. I have never been one to live my life on emotion and have tried to be rational in my thought processes, although being human I am sure I've failed. But people who are living only on faith and belief are people I cannot understand. They do not step back and self-examine themselves or their actions and cannot or do not see reality in a way that I understand.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It is difficult to be the person who is different in any family; I imagine it must be nearly impossible in an evangelical one. Westover's memoir showed how difficult it was, and how hard it can be to overcome backwards thinking. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's definitely a book to read (or listen to, as I did), and think about.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-57726443637526430752024-03-10T00:30:00.001-05:002024-03-10T00:30:00.134-05:00Sunday Stealing<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDG9Zhr2qRl0zFufCAw1x3RnAxPjMEHN4oEasTBs5-e2lPSRBckZL4-vJ1YzmvwJUqiBAazlI5rfl79Uu_ynEUYLW3l5QQYQFhSB2LuuHsg0PM8KP5jJZvdrTSa0WX8JmnIsxfUqmvvLlm5zZkb-3Bu2ZCW_eSbTkFGf-YumNK76jowMdH9vY4/s698/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="698" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDG9Zhr2qRl0zFufCAw1x3RnAxPjMEHN4oEasTBs5-e2lPSRBckZL4-vJ1YzmvwJUqiBAazlI5rfl79Uu_ynEUYLW3l5QQYQFhSB2LuuHsg0PM8KP5jJZvdrTSa0WX8JmnIsxfUqmvvLlm5zZkb-3Bu2ZCW_eSbTkFGf-YumNK76jowMdH9vY4/s320/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">1) <u>What is your favorite thing about winter?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. When it is over. It is my least favorite season.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">2) <u>What is your favorite winter sport?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. I don't really have one, but I have been watching Virginia Tech's women's basketball games recently. I don't know if basketball is considered a winter sport. If it's not, then I'll go with ice skating (watching it on TV, not doing it in person).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">3) <u>What is the best winter treat?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Hot chocolate.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">4) <u>What is the earliest time in the year it ever snowed where you live?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. October 10, 1979. We had a thunder snow.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">5) <u>What is the best way to stay warm in the winter?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Use a lot of sweaters and throws.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">6) <u>What are your favorite things that are paper?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Books, newspapers, and magazines.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">7) <u>What are your favorite things that are cotton?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Clothes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">8) <u>What are your favorite things that are leather?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Belts.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">9) <u>What are your favorite things that are floral?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Artificial flowers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">10) <u>What are your favorite things that are wood?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Guitars.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">11) <u>If you think your house is haunted, what should you do?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Either learn to live with it or move.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">12) <u>When should you investigate a strange noise in your basement?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. When you hear it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">13) <u>How do you know if an abandoned building is safe to visit?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. If it has a "condemned" sign on the outside of it, it is not safe. If there are signs of people being there recently, it's probably not safe. Otherwise, have at it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">14) <u>How do you decide whether to solve a problem as a team, or split up and go it alone?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. It depends on the problem and the other person. I have a tendency to go it alone for most things, though.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">15) <u>Where do you store your knives and where would you look if one was missing?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. I store my knives in a wooden block that came with the knife set. If one was missing, I'd look in the dishwasher or in the silverware drawer. And if it wasn't there, I'd ask my husband what he did with it.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">__________</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><p><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I encourage you to visit other participants in </span></strong><a href="http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/" style="color: #2187bb; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sunday Stealing</strong></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong> posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.</strong></span></span></p></div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-72210508383540193962024-03-09T00:30:00.002-05:002024-03-09T00:30:00.129-05:00Saturday 9: Hold Me Now<div><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/03/hold-me-now.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/03/hold-me-now.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q9HES8IKdzMqcLL1Drj3KzApI_8fhXbPTbtXzLZPH10ByDN46GrkIHy4FUE-XtaHZhgk41g_GsyfSXI8hscM3szLDAl6g8i1OeiE9K9757sRL5CPwueZjwB6sYCGLVpVO2twQAbdiSP9uqbiu06gbbJSLzF_ymu9AIDqF5C5NOclaj4swC79/s1024/Saturday%2091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q9HES8IKdzMqcLL1Drj3KzApI_8fhXbPTbtXzLZPH10ByDN46GrkIHy4FUE-XtaHZhgk41g_GsyfSXI8hscM3szLDAl6g8i1OeiE9K9757sRL5CPwueZjwB6sYCGLVpVO2twQAbdiSP9uqbiu06gbbJSLzF_ymu9AIDqF5C5NOclaj4swC79/s320/Saturday%2091.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Saturday 9: Hold Me Now (1983)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvzVTRK1nOY" target="_blank"> here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">1) <u>This week's song begins with a young man gazing at a picture of himself and his girlfriend in happier times. Are there any photographs in the room you're in right now?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. There's a photo I took of a bee in a flower, and a picture I downloaded of Melissa Etheridge playing her guitar.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">2) <u>His girl tells him he's a dreamer. Do you consider yourself more a dreamer or realist?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. Definitely a realistic dreamer.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">3) <u>"Hold Me Now" was a big hit for the British pop band, The Thompson Twins. They got their start in the late 1970s in the English city of Sheffield, so named because the River Sheaf runs through it. Do you know how your town got its name?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. My closest town, Fincastle, was named for Lord Fincastle, the son of Lord Dunmore, Virginia's Lieutenant Governor in 1772, when the town was established.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">4) <u>Today lead singer Tom Bailey performs solo and is an outspoken advocate for veganism. Vegans abstain from consuming animal products, particularly in their diets. Are you a vegan, or have you ever tried to stick to a vegan diet?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. No and no. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">5) <u>Tom's former bandmate Joe Leeway has left show business altogether and concentrates on a career in hypnotherapy. This therapy is commonly used to treat insomnia, smoking cessation and obesity. Is hypnotherapy something you have tried, or would consider?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. I have tried hypnotherapy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">6) <u>In 1983, when this song was popular, Motorola introduced the first cell phone. Today cell phones are an essential part of our everyday lives. Do you still have a landline?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. Yes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">7) <u>Also in 1983, American West airlines took off, flying between Las Vegas and Phoenix. Where did you travel to on your most recent flight?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. I haven't been on an airplane since 1993. We went to Disney in Florida and back.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">8) <u>In 1983, Princess Diana was the world's top cover girl. Are there any magazines in the room you're in? If yes, who or what is on the cover?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. The only magazine in here at the moment is the one I wrote for the county's 250th anniversary, and it has a picture of the county courthouse on the front.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">9) <u>Random question: Is anyone on your bad side this morning?</u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">A. No one I know personally.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;">_______________</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;">I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in </span><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong>Saturday 9</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;"> and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.</span> </div><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;" /></p></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-89242230556454444152024-03-07T00:30:00.004-05:002024-03-07T00:30:00.137-05:00Thursday Thirteen #850<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgsrbPmrjavRawm5Sfkt5pM0xF7OCn2lw258-jM6gxVooOmQdhlIhKfMTi551J64lFVXzGtc6ZsLZFxW8oopMm-GFXlRQ-ZBkHv63oIJ6i5o1G-Yu2bYIyKOZ5lgaLz276uFQJe0DHhz88ohJLzFYZo1z8-vR3l5EQxwb_gtBxdAPp2nKNCJ0/s1024/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgsrbPmrjavRawm5Sfkt5pM0xF7OCn2lw258-jM6gxVooOmQdhlIhKfMTi551J64lFVXzGtc6ZsLZFxW8oopMm-GFXlRQ-ZBkHv63oIJ6i5o1G-Yu2bYIyKOZ5lgaLz276uFQJe0DHhz88ohJLzFYZo1z8-vR3l5EQxwb_gtBxdAPp2nKNCJ0/s320/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />1. I have been doing a Thursday Thirteen for 16 years and 4 months. To my knowledge, I have not missed a week. That's 850 weeks of thinking about the number 13 on Thursdays. I've been late on some days, but I haven't missed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. It took me almost two months to read <i>Democracy Awakening</i>, by Heather Cox Richardson. I do not remember when it last took me so long to finish a book. I would read parts of it, and then mull over the chapter for days, reflecting on it. I have put the book in my "never discard" section. I will reread it again. There are few books that I read over, but this one deserves a second or third look. It wraps the events of today into the events of the past, and in a strange way makes what is happening now make sense, in a warped and dismaying sort of way. It means, I suppose, that eventually someone like the former guy was inevitable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. People are complaining about prices of basically everything. They complain about having to pay taxes. They complain about immigrants and blame everyone but themselves for the mess we're in. I blame myself, although I have no idea what I might have done differently.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. I am, after all, a product of my environment. And what would we have expected to become of a country founded by profiteers seeking to make more money from the goods of this land? It is what its makers set out to make it - a capitalist paradise, where the wicked and mean move to the top, and the rest sink to the bottom. Most of us are the rest, sunk at the bottom. A sort of sour milk, perhaps, with inedible gunk floating on top.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. "I will not be a foot soldier in a war I do not understand." I heard some version of this today in a book I am listening to. I began to wonder if those of us who vote are only foot soldiers. And do we understand the war? I think not. I think most of us, myself including, have no idea what is really going on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. There have always been strange things at work in my life. Strange people who lead me around, strange men who wanted more than I cared to give, strange women who belittled and did not befriend. I have seen clouds part when I shouted at the sky. I do not have any power, and am powerless, yet sometimes I can part the clouds. Imagine that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. Someone gave me a guitar a while back, then asked for it back in what I thought was a loan. I expected to receive it back. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the person had given the guitar to someone else. I did not think it was his to give. He apparently thought otherwise. Some people do not give freely, if ever. They only make loans. And the repayments are generally unexpected and the interest rate incredibly high.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. I think that applies to the current Republican nominee for the office of president. He does not give freely, if at all. He takes. And takes. He is the Great Pretender. I do not pretend to understand him or his cult. I have yet to find someone who can explain it to me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. I have a mental illness. It is called depression. The doctors label it dysthymia, but it is not always mild, nor do I always function well. Sometimes, it weighs me down so much that I all I see is the silhouette of gravel, I am so low to the ground.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">10. We are going to play with Runes now. Runes are small stones with pictures on them. I have a set called "Stones from the Muse." Once, when life was giving me a very difficult time, I drew the Chaos rock 5 times in a row. Let's see what we draw in the next three.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">11. *Amulet - Honor. It is time to stand and trust my instincts. Do not let anyone quash my internal, intuitive voice. Make my own art. This is interesting, as I only last night had a discussion, well, more like a bitter espousing of emotion, about how I feel unsupported in my writing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">12. *Tadpole - Transformation. (It looks like a sperm, just saying.) By recognizing change in my art, I will transform myself. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">13. *Egg - Potential. The life of an artist is the tension between what is and what could be. Am I ready to take my art to a fuller, deeper place of creation?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Interestingly, I don't recall ever drawing those three runes before. Ever.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><div><br /></div><div><strong style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;">Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list</strong><a href="https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong> here</strong></span></a><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><b>while,</b></span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> and this is my 850th</b><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.</b></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-91119057542568947452024-03-06T13:45:00.003-05:002024-03-06T13:45:36.053-05:00They Last Forever<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju8mp3vDRjUr4UWcDxLQv_JjNrwG4wEVh7EX97imB4XgiTAIEAvfLotjdvCsDJnl2gCaDgLRcdoE4nXBVD055mmhTo6JZsQcwi-0fEFU-Vhixnu_bIInbRX1IZPLYs5YvJkTw_y3zeg4QJ5ZhA-7vp7SIwldwWjer8MAVs-M531__ntSIrMDrM/s600/DSCN0580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju8mp3vDRjUr4UWcDxLQv_JjNrwG4wEVh7EX97imB4XgiTAIEAvfLotjdvCsDJnl2gCaDgLRcdoE4nXBVD055mmhTo6JZsQcwi-0fEFU-Vhixnu_bIInbRX1IZPLYs5YvJkTw_y3zeg4QJ5ZhA-7vp7SIwldwWjer8MAVs-M531__ntSIrMDrM/s16000/DSCN0580.JPG" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">These daffodils came from an old homestead. I dug them up about 35 years ago from the spot where someone's house once stood, and who knows how long ago they were there. The house had been gone for at least 100 years, the neighbors said.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I've moved the flowers once since I first planted them. They come up every year. The time they stay in bloom depends on the weather, but they always bloom. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">They're a little speck of sunshine on the edge of the tree line at my house.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I love them.</span></p><p><br /></p>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-18203391263429359122024-03-05T16:34:00.002-05:002024-03-05T16:34:10.431-05:00Deer in the Yard<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYM3UTY0jkwBqYfbOx-RhAfhYZuKInabJZntx7wHSGqN_OG28T9mhy3PtHpP4t-P6uE9NqSUx8YXkNCMJHgAtMu2JwXRFAKDqj9FVECU1P0jAwXzYO0lATZEW-c7qVSrXqHVl7bo4gvttj1bwIZ3v7JCRUyeha2KY6rVlWdqgDLJ_yK55M0xM/s600/DSCN0570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYM3UTY0jkwBqYfbOx-RhAfhYZuKInabJZntx7wHSGqN_OG28T9mhy3PtHpP4t-P6uE9NqSUx8YXkNCMJHgAtMu2JwXRFAKDqj9FVECU1P0jAwXzYO0lATZEW-c7qVSrXqHVl7bo4gvttj1bwIZ3v7JCRUyeha2KY6rVlWdqgDLJ_yK55M0xM/s16000/DSCN0570.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRXAUubSN5DN0nEb_7yUKk4yeSxuOozmZrw1x7imGuFAGojNPWQKBKguzzFwepRQs3e060d_YbdswyibZXC031f4Sic0s_i1eMHITt-d6HlccQv3srMxOdOVup8yZoVJDC_L8prVrxUpb2ciz9ZFVH-vqHZP9DjZ5R9GvoOvPDvWjuB3usZgG/s600/DSCN0573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRXAUubSN5DN0nEb_7yUKk4yeSxuOozmZrw1x7imGuFAGojNPWQKBKguzzFwepRQs3e060d_YbdswyibZXC031f4Sic0s_i1eMHITt-d6HlccQv3srMxOdOVup8yZoVJDC_L8prVrxUpb2ciz9ZFVH-vqHZP9DjZ5R9GvoOvPDvWjuB3usZgG/s16000/DSCN0573.JPG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtZqj1i6pWaBkxDoW2jA4YANMHPklHFdWUBIHK5uE2LzYJhiHR1e0wAhh7uzKHRoVnjiCxKncDns6BjTA1-9af2rNquogPgUpn_Jk098-imvWl1DZ76KLb7jZagkt1l61AGFAnHqAJ1VhaExNj0oZDS_TBfNLRTk061jxjGb1k00entgZl_H3/s600/DSCN0575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxtZqj1i6pWaBkxDoW2jA4YANMHPklHFdWUBIHK5uE2LzYJhiHR1e0wAhh7uzKHRoVnjiCxKncDns6BjTA1-9af2rNquogPgUpn_Jk098-imvWl1DZ76KLb7jZagkt1l61AGFAnHqAJ1VhaExNj0oZDS_TBfNLRTk061jxjGb1k00entgZl_H3/s16000/DSCN0575.JPG" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-76709798515060216012024-03-04T15:29:00.002-05:002024-03-04T15:29:30.812-05:00Watching the Eagles<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/2024/02/02/the-story-of-california-bald-eagle-couple-jackie-and-shadow/72458623007/" target="_blank"> media has picked up</a> on something I've been watching for a while now - a live feed trained on an eagle's nest in California.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can see the live feed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you're on Facebook, I suggest following their page, which is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FOBBV" target="_blank">here</a>. The volunteers who run this nonprofit do really great write-ups on what the eagle pair are doing while they are working to hatch a trio of eggs.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">They have named the eagles Jackie and Shadow. Jackie, the female, is the larger of the two. It is hard to tell them apart at first, but it gets easier the more one watches.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is amazing to watch these two birds interact with one another. When Jackie calls out for a little relief from sitting on the eggs, she lets out a little screech, and in just a moment Shadow is there. She gets up and Shadow rolls the eggs and settles in. Not every bird pair has both male and female set on the nest, but eagles do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I did not know this until I started with this feed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you want to learn a little more about nature and wildlife, this is a great place to start. Very interesting and entertaining.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-84953173243775344062024-03-04T11:02:00.002-05:002024-03-04T11:02:24.887-05:00At the X Roads<div style="text-align: left;">Something's gotta change.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's gotta be me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I've no f#cking idea how to go about it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-89219016858910852442024-03-03T00:30:00.002-05:002024-03-03T00:30:00.353-05:00Sunday Stealing<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYpNfS2EtaH-aqO9gyjo0p958LBxVoLbVBBsE9bSnWVDJmHih3cU5sp8DJnFhdgv-CY3C4ex_XR1VYUWELh5RB64ZepqB08BrXxZoCOzgN1ubwEYHxYcBGwosEZnyyNGDxneQBNVY5x5Zs281e5wlcUd0iVFMNTo3F5J1BaJx9F1d8B8iBt1N/s698/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="698" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbYpNfS2EtaH-aqO9gyjo0p958LBxVoLbVBBsE9bSnWVDJmHih3cU5sp8DJnFhdgv-CY3C4ex_XR1VYUWELh5RB64ZepqB08BrXxZoCOzgN1ubwEYHxYcBGwosEZnyyNGDxneQBNVY5x5Zs281e5wlcUd0iVFMNTo3F5J1BaJx9F1d8B8iBt1N/s320/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. <u>What (if anything) are you doing to celebrate St Patrick's Day?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I am not doing anything to celebrate that day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. <u>What is your least favorite color (to wear, to craft with or to decorate with)?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Orange.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. <u>At a yellow light - do you speed up or slow down?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Slow down, usually. Depends on where I am going, where I am, what I can see around the light, the amount of traffic, etc.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. <u>How many pairs of scissors are in your craft room?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. One.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. <u>What are the first three items you have 'saved for later' on Amazon?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. A toy excavator (great nephew's birthday coming up), Mandela drink coasters, and a book called <i>The Nature of Witches</i> by Rachel Griffin.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. <u>Did you plant any springs bulbs in your garden and if so, have any of them come up yet?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I have daffodils blooming. But they've been planted for about 30 years.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. <u>What book, if any, are you reading right now?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. <i>Democracy Awakens</i>, by Heather Cox Richardson (this has taken me a long time to read, as there is a lot there to digest), and I am listening to <i>Must Love Flowers</i>, by Debbie Macomber.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. <u>Do you prefer ball point pens, gel pens, or thin tip markers to write with?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I write exclusively with a gel pen, a Pilot G-2 05. It's a fine point pen. My husband hates them but they are my favorite.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. <u>What is your favorite crafting item - the craft item thing you use the most or can't live without? (Exclude basic items like scissors and glue).</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I don't do much crafting, so I can live without any of it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">10. <u>What are the first 3 items on your grocery list and what is your favorite grocery store?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. The first 3 items on the list this morning were Nature Valley Cashew Bars, peanut butter, and coffee. My favorite grocery store at the moment is Food Lion.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">11. <u>What unfinished craft projects are you working on (or not:) at the moment?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I have a piece of crochet by my chair that has been there for a couple of years now. It was going to be a scarf, but I've lost count of the stitches. I think I'm going to have to pull it out and start over. Or not. I'd need to get the dust off of it first.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">12. <u>What was the last item you pinned on Pinterest? Or hearted on Instagram.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I don't do either one of those.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">13. <u>What is the biggest tourist attraction where you live?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. The Mill Mountain Star.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">14. <u>What color is your favorite sweater?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Blue.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">15. <u>How does your family react when you get a big pile of mail?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. My husband doesn't say anything about it, usually.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">__________</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><p><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I encourage you to visit other participants in </span></strong><a href="http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/" style="color: #2187bb; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sunday Stealing</strong></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong> posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.</strong></span></span></p></div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-91222618172331966502024-03-02T00:30:00.002-05:002024-03-02T00:30:00.137-05:00Saturday 9: Blame<div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/02/blame-it-on-bossa-nova.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/02/blame-it-on-bossa-nova.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPlBoRXbnswEGpON5Ak8GPqfMQNwi9XWwW9no5wpj1Slz37Ot2hqQIXBdFvrMCEY3-G3c-0hn4GpXf8W_FZ_b2JXQTuIHIZkJVqJKWkkPRxr0zddEAP1RmWR48YBeSEZNmIfAOi0pY-px4vVklRzRKcJB_qm-msAew05nI0wxqft49A08ct89/s1024/Saturday%2091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPlBoRXbnswEGpON5Ak8GPqfMQNwi9XWwW9no5wpj1Slz37Ot2hqQIXBdFvrMCEY3-G3c-0hn4GpXf8W_FZ_b2JXQTuIHIZkJVqJKWkkPRxr0zddEAP1RmWR48YBeSEZNmIfAOi0pY-px4vVklRzRKcJB_qm-msAew05nI0wxqft49A08ct89/s320/Saturday%2091.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Saturday 9: Blame It on the Bossa Nova (1963)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XpWOBEZLEs" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">1) <u>This week's song tells the story of a girl who found love at a dance. Share a happy memory from a party, prom, or dance you attended.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. My husband threw me a surprise 50th birthday party. He got a hold of my phone and called everyone in it, I think. There were people I never would have expected to come there. It was humbling to see folks cared enough to take a few hours out of a Saturday to see me and eat pizza.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">2) <u>This record was a big hit for Eydie Gorme, which surprised her. When she first heard the song, she disliked it and had to be convinced to record it. Tell us about a pleasant surprise you had recently.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. We had a calf born that is almost white. I need to get out and take a photo of it, when it stops raining.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">3) <u>"Blame It on the Bossa Nova" is about love at first sight on the dance floor. Eydie's husband Steve Lawrence maintained he fell in love with her the first time he heard her sing. Have you ever felt a sudden, powerful attraction to someone? If yes, did you act on it?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. Yes, and yes.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">4) <u>While this was a solo success for Eydie, she was also known for recording and performing with Steve Lawrence. He was just 22 and she was 29 when they married. Eydie admitted she was self-conscious about the difference in their ages. Do you think age matters in a romantic relationship?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. No.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">5) <u>Eydie was fluent in Spanish, which enabled her to pay for her classes at City College by working as an interpreter. Tell us about one of your early jobs.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. I was a legal secretary for a lawyer. At the time, everything was typed on an IBM Selectric II, and it had to be perfect. No errors. No sloppiness. I wonder what happened to that work ethic. I still have it but I don't see it in others.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">6) <u>In 1963, when this song was popular, The Rambler was Motor Trend's car of the year. It was a 9-passenger station wagon, perfect for families. What do you remember about your childhood family car?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. I remember that we had a green station wagon that my brother wrecked. We also had a blue Dodge Charger. My parents went through a lot of cars.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">7) <u>Also in 1963, President Kennedy made a state trip to Ireland. Have you visited the land of your ancestors?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. No. I kind of live in the land of my ancestors. They settled here before the American Revolution.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">8) <u>The pilot for Gilligan's Island was filmed in 1963. Were you a fan of the show?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. In reruns. I was too young to watch the original.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">9) <u>Random question: Crunchy, smooth or organic peanut butter?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A. Smooth Peter Pan peanut butter.<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;">_______________</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;">I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in </span><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong>Saturday 9</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;"> and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.</span> </div><p><br /></p>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-11479654004832698002024-03-01T16:49:00.002-05:002024-03-01T16:49:19.471-05:00My Voice Is Back<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">At some point around the first of this week, the last of the rasp that I'd been living with as an excuse for a larynx for well over a month went away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Poof. Like magic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Except it was a long time going, and my voice became a little stronger every day as the cold or virus or whatever it was finally began to clear my system.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The first thing I did when my voice was back was pick up my guitar and sing a song. Songs are good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The issue at the bank over my name magically went away after my husband dropped off copies of our Real ID and complained to someone there. We signed the papers we needed to sign and took care of business and everything's lovely. But still. WTH was that all about?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Like most of the nation's population who live in a house, our house rose in value. There's been a housing shortage for a good while now, since about 2018, I suppose. The county did it's every four-year reassessment and the average increase in real estate value was about 40%. Some properties went way up, like over 100%. They were probably undervalued to begin with.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">To see the whining on the Facebook, and then to hear the whining at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, you would think that these people had all been lined up against a wall to be shot. In the first place, the county supervisors have net set the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. Until they do that, and I guarantee it will not be the same rate as it now, there is no way to know what anyone will be paying in taxes. Do I expect mine to be more? Yes. Am I complaining about it? No. It makes my bottom line look better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So many people seem to think they should not pay taxes at all. They think they are some gift to humanity and the ground upon which they trod is sacred and blessed, or some such BS. I think it is a privilege to be alive, and paying taxes is what I do for that honor. Do I like everything my taxes support? No. Do I agree with everything the government does? No. But these people are mean. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They demean the supervisors when they speak to them. They are ill-mannered, noisy, confrontational, and bullish. I never saw much of this kind of demeanor at meetings until after 2016. And then it grew progressively worse and after the George Floyd riots, it really hit its stride. Some of the people talk to the supervisors like they are not even human. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I wouldn't talk to a dog the way some of these people talk to the supervisors. What is wrong with them? Who taught these people manners? And these aren't all folks I grew up with - no. The vast majority moved in here in the 1990s and think that gives them some right to overstep societal boundaries. My family was here during the American Revolution. They haven't a thing on me. But you don't see me acting like some know-it-all buffoon at a Board meeting.</span></p><p><br /></p>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-91886617631752617342024-02-29T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-29T00:30:00.141-05:00Thursday Thirteen<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Here are some memes I've collected in recent years.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fwzBl12WE-I7eZ-poozjuqTOeNlBgc-Ky99XafFLLblFN1aKnpG9Hi7Gw29IzEgfpfvlXtZrf_Uo-zOpMFG7V4LBQC3exa9g75js2txGCLurubo6CB5WLqYjElxRZ7tPQ7vTyRAp1TvNoA79m4_i1wRh9uuiSQ24HoCu1ZlxrISZAH1SU1B_/s960/Anne%20Lamott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="960" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5fwzBl12WE-I7eZ-poozjuqTOeNlBgc-Ky99XafFLLblFN1aKnpG9Hi7Gw29IzEgfpfvlXtZrf_Uo-zOpMFG7V4LBQC3exa9g75js2txGCLurubo6CB5WLqYjElxRZ7tPQ7vTyRAp1TvNoA79m4_i1wRh9uuiSQ24HoCu1ZlxrISZAH1SU1B_/s320/Anne%20Lamott.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDM96VvM_TxnEXIPBYy4qESCCrLxBWxfLLCgvhH0EeeEOcbQ4Dz_UMdYz3x8u88F1hwGtso1lI0Ay5j8Mk-xhlZJsc8WS4xntg6mc4obkJzpHUl4ho7f9YHEK37DwDh4dkmLT7xiDB0g3nmeIdNNjtAw2Aq5wIaBKTwLqXt1DzZlidA3NNAgx/s960/Banned%20Books1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="786" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDM96VvM_TxnEXIPBYy4qESCCrLxBWxfLLCgvhH0EeeEOcbQ4Dz_UMdYz3x8u88F1hwGtso1lI0Ay5j8Mk-xhlZJsc8WS4xntg6mc4obkJzpHUl4ho7f9YHEK37DwDh4dkmLT7xiDB0g3nmeIdNNjtAw2Aq5wIaBKTwLqXt1DzZlidA3NNAgx/s320/Banned%20Books1.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoi7JQ9sthbxPw_wC-wNA4RtZcd-Ml0rpACZK-TnB4hB-27_bz8wEP8XdOG8tHtnZj8p4AYMBLf1fHIVyQm75ZKiMfMNIKSNPb7iMd-r5Bkb_Va10mn7pRF85c3wOb_JdXAf-mXhz8d5G39Zz32FVajD0mZsleLsRbZSjTHEpfegDeAbXsX5am/s613/BannedBooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoi7JQ9sthbxPw_wC-wNA4RtZcd-Ml0rpACZK-TnB4hB-27_bz8wEP8XdOG8tHtnZj8p4AYMBLf1fHIVyQm75ZKiMfMNIKSNPb7iMd-r5Bkb_Va10mn7pRF85c3wOb_JdXAf-mXhz8d5G39Zz32FVajD0mZsleLsRbZSjTHEpfegDeAbXsX5am/s320/BannedBooks.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKxru9F4cevQBxuxet9WpjNj691l76jmIMe1EI49LcGB4wLyV8Bi-QIWkPwV8rg0smw-LnpN_Mtfekd4_IxLmYY63854I_QGNYQguJOC3i9seOl-w_8ehsV_2_cKO1e7aeIlCDJQh1Ysa3zN4YZqOvi9YGo_J5XkNNPWYfh8nhIDEJNp3x4TK/s1440/contradiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1440" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMKxru9F4cevQBxuxet9WpjNj691l76jmIMe1EI49LcGB4wLyV8Bi-QIWkPwV8rg0smw-LnpN_Mtfekd4_IxLmYY63854I_QGNYQguJOC3i9seOl-w_8ehsV_2_cKO1e7aeIlCDJQh1Ysa3zN4YZqOvi9YGo_J5XkNNPWYfh8nhIDEJNp3x4TK/s320/contradiction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-gXv2ebkzeTtO-tCUY4RI3yFx4dDKCrYY2KmN4XfQdxQP6zd9634jQE72UOihTyR-i7bMZmhTz9xf-Fh1-Btn7mWIPFflu9LtP3Ymys1tp5h_5KQcK1TVpKTd_GPr1q_kfpLleQETmpVW6d1rrkQjHjpH-gfw40QCGTb5XF_7UrAqiCutKrX/s900/does%20not%20make%20sense.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-gXv2ebkzeTtO-tCUY4RI3yFx4dDKCrYY2KmN4XfQdxQP6zd9634jQE72UOihTyR-i7bMZmhTz9xf-Fh1-Btn7mWIPFflu9LtP3Ymys1tp5h_5KQcK1TVpKTd_GPr1q_kfpLleQETmpVW6d1rrkQjHjpH-gfw40QCGTb5XF_7UrAqiCutKrX/s320/does%20not%20make%20sense.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-uc-t9HDjYobKNOE54aEgt1Uq1bAWWwu8UaBS7jW5WINPGtAR5lEajYzuh0eVK3WCb7eZjNTr0sORDU-vqdZJl6XSDP14sdhb1qDLuCzFObgI2Y5dbamjcQUtJs3LFv5Is0CBeeX3rMJIqfvzq16vhh8Z1Zgp6DFtPjFcLbuVJre4xUt8WkN/s510/GunsMoreRights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-uc-t9HDjYobKNOE54aEgt1Uq1bAWWwu8UaBS7jW5WINPGtAR5lEajYzuh0eVK3WCb7eZjNTr0sORDU-vqdZJl6XSDP14sdhb1qDLuCzFObgI2Y5dbamjcQUtJs3LFv5Is0CBeeX3rMJIqfvzq16vhh8Z1Zgp6DFtPjFcLbuVJre4xUt8WkN/s320/GunsMoreRights.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sC5jROzBJHMzPvBHvO01obeUKIiYjQVCjiTkLWl0gkMq0SQsuhDdu0GQwwCOmUG6FnptLchySEr5trZaUR5J1JmZG0vf2rW0UQUcihAuVscVxyuSbf1g8LHny8pnnw3DAGb9BjcZOND9R5QfBRMR1MCXa4QcSVSa2XPDvbcwBO7-jikIzA2-/s1290/how%20sad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="1290" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sC5jROzBJHMzPvBHvO01obeUKIiYjQVCjiTkLWl0gkMq0SQsuhDdu0GQwwCOmUG6FnptLchySEr5trZaUR5J1JmZG0vf2rW0UQUcihAuVscVxyuSbf1g8LHny8pnnw3DAGb9BjcZOND9R5QfBRMR1MCXa4QcSVSa2XPDvbcwBO7-jikIzA2-/s320/how%20sad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsODU39L5CV3U7Dhy-TlI6udQ9IzqQtWJSrZTcy2z-vKsoFFYbdRJLCdQ33hTO_ouoxuLAmgNqwTY3Xx88Vrl8GVP5HMy15AX7qJuveEnen8RDd0n7YyCse-7tpQOgo0yxHZYtCWKF4HWSzPEh-FcnmstJi9dBrBgrxJoMOjslpk0CfNqXZLim/s720/I%20Got%20This.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="720" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsODU39L5CV3U7Dhy-TlI6udQ9IzqQtWJSrZTcy2z-vKsoFFYbdRJLCdQ33hTO_ouoxuLAmgNqwTY3Xx88Vrl8GVP5HMy15AX7qJuveEnen8RDd0n7YyCse-7tpQOgo0yxHZYtCWKF4HWSzPEh-FcnmstJi9dBrBgrxJoMOjslpk0CfNqXZLim/s320/I%20Got%20This.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1ccDafrzuTvwfyhd0lOTELOsPZjkrwj6SyaGQZkpy8i07_WPRupgOvybsCYAPbcmcmbDdITbg0lzJ5Q6IJlM3TN_WzgQ6DAz653c7_r_smlEb794JoEKhLMaoKdKlx8kg6Vs5L0zE_J_omIqmmHVhlen3rYA4dc2StyLNeZwfLbm4GHXhyZ7/s493/Not%20Quietly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="381" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1ccDafrzuTvwfyhd0lOTELOsPZjkrwj6SyaGQZkpy8i07_WPRupgOvybsCYAPbcmcmbDdITbg0lzJ5Q6IJlM3TN_WzgQ6DAz653c7_r_smlEb794JoEKhLMaoKdKlx8kg6Vs5L0zE_J_omIqmmHVhlen3rYA4dc2StyLNeZwfLbm4GHXhyZ7/s320/Not%20Quietly.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU4w1nUWEnTMkc0UNw3K2a9mPGRSkTIvRfjS3sM7-tnu1zGW1MHXz36d0DUO22PASTZ9-PmEv_CUQhvmsE8CfIf1AK7Wons_8HbpfSIwAG2J3CurdWPQilp60CSQDKz7zgKrhEkCv9XiU4ZmRpKfDT0GPKQhwVi2MpPv1XMwpl0qgyZjlivZE/s630/RBG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="630" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOU4w1nUWEnTMkc0UNw3K2a9mPGRSkTIvRfjS3sM7-tnu1zGW1MHXz36d0DUO22PASTZ9-PmEv_CUQhvmsE8CfIf1AK7Wons_8HbpfSIwAG2J3CurdWPQilp60CSQDKz7zgKrhEkCv9XiU4ZmRpKfDT0GPKQhwVi2MpPv1XMwpl0qgyZjlivZE/s320/RBG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHn-yPB0Z8lPgnUeApQ2nwsxlGYOtiR_73HFcj8mWcBVBgJiT6TVoXG_y3PVmK1_BvMdxqL_OBKlmGJZsD3x8Ml2wiNpRJSMPjBVloDvbIAL7eZyT-Em8z4HD0ZsCzcsSiaV4F7xRRbGNhInEbEyhV-bbVPSxdaLx1DiysW7t1A_9WNsFl-iCu/s798/Romney.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="798" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHn-yPB0Z8lPgnUeApQ2nwsxlGYOtiR_73HFcj8mWcBVBgJiT6TVoXG_y3PVmK1_BvMdxqL_OBKlmGJZsD3x8Ml2wiNpRJSMPjBVloDvbIAL7eZyT-Em8z4HD0ZsCzcsSiaV4F7xRRbGNhInEbEyhV-bbVPSxdaLx1DiysW7t1A_9WNsFl-iCu/s320/Romney.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwOMNf6F48cBM5m3Hmd6VeGGhz7aTSkf2V0rsj-Z9AlacPO1cQb_pov1ojPH6r23tgX3mecsJ3hwYUIZ1ZM3juNHpJbIZdkw66F_BAAQdq1Hr34wTBiZuK06TnCeGYMkDExeybKsi621TzQfgIg3JKDceDAetUUxSWrE2c1iGIck7BlU4lyLQ/s658/Voting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwOMNf6F48cBM5m3Hmd6VeGGhz7aTSkf2V0rsj-Z9AlacPO1cQb_pov1ojPH6r23tgX3mecsJ3hwYUIZ1ZM3juNHpJbIZdkw66F_BAAQdq1Hr34wTBiZuK06TnCeGYMkDExeybKsi621TzQfgIg3JKDceDAetUUxSWrE2c1iGIck7BlU4lyLQ/s320/Voting.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK9U-_jsnZZfOja0fcWT0x_7uRw9B-6YIeG8umVBu22micCUaMSj3v6D3zpVEEeXLZ6G_5uumm_ZNuA_1bccD8G8qLxHtKTPsshDuO5FQj3qVNbMX11uGf7dKyARxXxBTa8VASnMyXlmuHekiLUEhTwLeIbqu1y-yfA_GDlbKXgxbfmlK1dYC/s960/how%20to%20be%20pro%20life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK9U-_jsnZZfOja0fcWT0x_7uRw9B-6YIeG8umVBu22micCUaMSj3v6D3zpVEEeXLZ6G_5uumm_ZNuA_1bccD8G8qLxHtKTPsshDuO5FQj3qVNbMX11uGf7dKyARxXxBTa8VASnMyXlmuHekiLUEhTwLeIbqu1y-yfA_GDlbKXgxbfmlK1dYC/s320/how%20to%20be%20pro%20life.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><div><br /></div><div><strong style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;">Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list</strong><a href="https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong> here</strong></span></a><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><b>while,</b></span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> and this is my 849th</b><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.</b></div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-46774423817496098882024-02-27T10:17:00.002-05:002024-02-27T10:17:42.153-05:00What's My Name?<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUfmxhGxMwLZmJ69j_wP3mFpnW3J-P_eTncpx4Dah12qqv4zMFGUiZ9i29vd2_6Dp9skF9mZ0QJ3K_ZhP35S31PauXedD_ZGJa_WfLKQagozKqDsnj5SE5DLYbNyzX_kLov6lMtTPUkyfv8NHyj4k8AtfDq0pVb0lN2INgKboDZygur7grKNP/s1024/puzzled%20woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUfmxhGxMwLZmJ69j_wP3mFpnW3J-P_eTncpx4Dah12qqv4zMFGUiZ9i29vd2_6Dp9skF9mZ0QJ3K_ZhP35S31PauXedD_ZGJa_WfLKQagozKqDsnj5SE5DLYbNyzX_kLov6lMtTPUkyfv8NHyj4k8AtfDq0pVb0lN2INgKboDZygur7grKNP/s320/puzzled%20woman.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Right before the pandemic hit in March 2020, my husband and I went to the DMV and obtained our REAL IDs from the Commonwealth of Virginia.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This identification is recognized by the state and federal governments.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I married, I chose to drop my maiden name. I changed my Social Security card. I changed my driver's license. Some places would not make the change no matter how often I complained about it, like hospitals and oddly enough the women's college I attended. So even though officially, as far as I was concerned, I was First Name, Middle Name, Married Name, the Maiden Name has followed me around.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I went in to get my Real ID, I had to take along identifying documents that my husband didn't need. I had to take my birth certificate, my marriage license, and some kind of bill that had my name on it. The latter was difficult because when we married 40 years ago, the utilities were put in my husband's name. That is how it was done back them. I mean, we were only 9 years out from women being able to have a credit card when I married. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Most of the documents I had in my possession were not the documents the state needed for my Real ID, but they had them on file. I had to pay for the copies so they could then use them to get my driver's license. It seemed a little obscene, because they could pull it up and look at it right there, but I later needed the documents for some of my husband's retirement paperwork, so it all worked out in the end.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Still, I consider the ID requirements to be gender biased and discriminatory against women. Taking your husband's name is what people do. I know some people hyphenate or sometimes they keep their maiden name, but the majority of women who marry a man take the man's name. They've been doing this for hundreds of years. The marriage license is on file with the state; they pulled it up and looked at it. It was right there. Yet it cost me considerably more to get the Real ID than it cost my husband because I had to get hard copies of those documents.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A Real ID is supposed to be the most valid ID you can have next to a passport. I don't have a passport, but I do have Real ID. The state recognizes my name as First Name, Middle Name, Married Name. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">So, imagine my surprise when last week an officer at a banking institution informed me that she would need a document with ALL of my names on it - first name, middle name, maiden name, married name. How many women do you know who have documents with all of that on it? Not many women have all of that on their driver's license, I bet.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I argued with her that the Real ID should be enough. I also told her if she was going to make this difficult, then the reason we were talking would go away quickly enough as it was just something we used for convenience. I don't need to deal with this bank, although I have dealt with this bank for almost 40 years. I am even a stockholder in this bank, which makes this oddball requirement all the more egregious.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We are still trying to work this out. But now I don't know who I am, if my Real ID isn't good enough for a bank but is good enough for the state and the federal government. </span></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-74587740379098798442024-02-25T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-25T00:30:00.138-05:00Sunday Stealing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz8y9Y1Rsb7heWZcEzGSQvxIRBAd3nrlAigbZJQYIizcRAfDKLhHkhniKrwUBJwmqSHX790f5JQJbf8QFqN537V83xIjk4JBMdJ8EqmUVITT25IGCnCBF8cnwd7y0ETnAdfiXsG5TucPFzUe4wobZ8cQIgAjDLoOPxat-xQHxLpRL7NWnvdle/s698/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="698" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZz8y9Y1Rsb7heWZcEzGSQvxIRBAd3nrlAigbZJQYIizcRAfDKLhHkhniKrwUBJwmqSHX790f5JQJbf8QFqN537V83xIjk4JBMdJ8EqmUVITT25IGCnCBF8cnwd7y0ETnAdfiXsG5TucPFzUe4wobZ8cQIgAjDLoOPxat-xQHxLpRL7NWnvdle/s320/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. <u>Have you ever smoked cigarettes?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I tried them when I was in high school - most kids did in the 1970s - but they weren't something I enjoyed, and I never picked them up as a habit. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />2. <u>What do you think of hot dogs?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I eat the all-beef kind. I prefer what most people call a "streaker" dog - I don't put anything on mine but mustard and pickle relish. I can't eat chili, it's too hard on my stomach.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />3. <u>What do you prefer to drink in the morning?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Water. I drink a cup of hot water. If I'm feeling really wild, I might put a dollop of honey in it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />4. <u>What's your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. My wedding band. I also have a pair of dragon earrings that my friend gave me a long time ago that I like, but I don't wear them because they're a bit heavy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />5. <u>Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Water, water, and water. I used to drink tea and root beer, but I haven't since the end of 2020.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />6. <u>Do you like to travel?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I don't mind traveling. I am the kind of traveler who prefers to go to one place and stay in the same hotel for 4-5 days as opposed to driving all over and switching hotels every night.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />7. <u>What should you be doing right now?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Exactly what I am doing. I am waiting on the dryer to finish drying the bed linens so I can make the bed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />8. <u>Your phone rings. Who do you want it to be?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. The executor of the estate some long-lost (and now dead) relative that I didn't know existed who has left me a nice chunk of change. Or maybe the Publisher's Clearing House telling me I won. Do they even do that anymore?<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttT6h2CnNr9MR7EgQK_rC3fyCNBK8haegtR2Bgt1eubfVUkfwFwIUEgrszW-4_sm5llj6fSH099A_4AhNaQLIXslU0HR4bkHaKc8tYoYfQD0tsZHXwzg-Gd4-wGqijFzXxZItPqI2_5F_cs5T6KtgcnL6u-QdNHUGBafx5QiKyOhM6SSEQKHr/s1024/girl%20on%20pony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttT6h2CnNr9MR7EgQK_rC3fyCNBK8haegtR2Bgt1eubfVUkfwFwIUEgrszW-4_sm5llj6fSH099A_4AhNaQLIXslU0HR4bkHaKc8tYoYfQD0tsZHXwzg-Gd4-wGqijFzXxZItPqI2_5F_cs5T6KtgcnL6u-QdNHUGBafx5QiKyOhM6SSEQKHr/w200-h200/girl%20on%20pony.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>9. <u>Do you like to ride horses?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. No. We had horses when I was younger, and I found them scary. We had a pony and my father put me on it when I was 9, with only a piece of twin for a lead. The twine broke, the pony bolted with me hanging onto its mane and screaming. It turned hard and I fell off and at the least had the wind knocked out of me, but suspect I broke a rib given the pain I was in for a long time. My father insisted I get right back on the horse after he caught it, but that's a myth. I would never get back on another.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />10. <u>In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Listener.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />11. <u>What's in your pocket right now?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Lint.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />12. <u>Last thing that made you laugh?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />13. <u>How many TVs do you have in your house?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Two. We have one in the living room and one in the bedroom. The one in the bedroom is small, and we use it about three times a year, or if someone is sick in bed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />14. <u>Who's your loudest friend?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I don't think I want to answer that question. There is no point in embarrassing people.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />15. <u>Favorite sports team? (If you don't have one, just state that.)</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. We root for the University of Virginia in college sports here, because everyone else roots for Virginia Tech. We like to be different. However, I have been pulling for the Virginia Tech women's basketball team this year; they are awesome, and I've even watched a game on TV. I don't have a favorite team in any of the professional leagues.</span></div><div><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">__________</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><p><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I encourage you to visit other participants in </span></strong><a href="http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/" style="color: #2187bb; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sunday Stealing</strong></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong> posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.</strong></span></span></p></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-43406623420439492632024-02-24T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-24T00:30:00.244-05:00Saturday 9: Shambala<div style="text-align: left;"><div><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/02/shambala.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/02/shambala.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91yAFZn9g-XK8X47pSb99H0DH46jg_LpPYIEk6SjR-cUAnSJQTbZOq8U5rT1XGctymPej2UY28mu6Ofd00pH-FNUQZHLYeSmzUYcTqO39aoCgyx1lGURG1-spo7fVrVBZKZiP4VxYNV5If-fOp2yKhBKXxae4-YnVijlfJQEuQke6EvooUJhJ/s1024/Saturday%2091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91yAFZn9g-XK8X47pSb99H0DH46jg_LpPYIEk6SjR-cUAnSJQTbZOq8U5rT1XGctymPej2UY28mu6Ofd00pH-FNUQZHLYeSmzUYcTqO39aoCgyx1lGURG1-spo7fVrVBZKZiP4VxYNV5If-fOp2yKhBKXxae4-YnVijlfJQEuQke6EvooUJhJ/w200-h200/Saturday%2091.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Saturday 9: Shambala (1973)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlWrMpV1vy0" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1) <u>This week's song refers to the mythical kingdom of Shambala. Can you think of another song that mentions to faraway, mythical land?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. Well, there's Olivia Newton John's <i><a href="https://youtu.be/cLi8fTlDEag?si=abcUVqREFtGIMe4Y" target="_blank">Xanadu</a></i>, or there's "a land called Honalee" in <i>Puff the Magic Dragon</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2) <u>"Shambala" is performed by Three Dog Night. The name is derived from an Aboriginal Australian legend. In the outback, hunters would sleep with a dog beside them. If it was very cold, they would sleep between two dogs. If it was freezing -- you guessed it -- it was a three-dog night. Was it cold last night where you are?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. It was below freezing, but we seem to be heading for an early spring. Maybe the groundhog was right.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3) <u>The lead singer is the late Cory Wells. Early in his career he was a member of the house band at the famous Sunset Strip nightclub Whiskey-A-Go-Go. Cory was a bit of an anomaly at "The Whiskey" because of his sober lifestyle. When did you most recently enjoy an adult beverage?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I don't drink anything but water. Still. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4) <u>Bandmate Danny Hutton auditioned to be a member of <i>The Monkees</i> TV show. He didn't get the part. While he was a talented singer-songwriter, NBC was looking for musicians who could also act. Have you ever fantasized about a career as a performer?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I played in a band and was a performer in high school, but I am not keen on the spotlight. Maybe in some other universe.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5) <u>Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys was an early supporter of Three Dog Night's. What's your favorite Beach Boys song?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. <i>Good Vibrations</i> is the only one I can think of. I read recently that Brian Wilson is quite ill.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6) <u>In 1973, when this song was popular, one of the best-selling toys Curious George plush doll packaged with a Curious George book. Can you recall a favorite book from your childhood?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. <i>Miss Osborne the Mop</i>, by Wilson Gage, was one of my favorite books when I was 9 or 10. It was a Scholastic Book, I think. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7) <u><i>The Exorcist</i> was in theaters, terrifying audiences. It's still ranked among the scariest movies of all time. Have you seen it? Did it scare you?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I saw it at some point, but it was a long time ago. I always get that one confused with <i>Rosemary's Baby</i>. I think I saw them about the same time. Or around the same age.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8) <u>Roller skates were a big seller in 1973. While most rinks had skates available for rent, committed skaters had their own pair. Are you better on roller skates or ice skates?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I'm not very good on either one. I'm lucky I can stand up on a flat surface.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9) <u>Random question -- Here's $100. What will you spend it on?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">A. I would either donate it to the library or buy books.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;">_______________</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;">I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in </span><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong>Saturday 9</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;"> and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.</span> </div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-66913614478657764262024-02-22T08:08:00.000-05:002024-02-22T08:08:01.099-05:00Thursday Thirteen<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ55jh3npDC5H2IrvT-fermkYaRqB7GpmA4aMtbga6hpVyGozpDnWP_yloyJ9z0ndUHoP1glgUDyTNwnD_XtkJ-J3OZFgv8-eN8W2BtvKZnYMxGQXIAHY88whUaEc_UQ3yFeEVKs_Du3iOpSjqIMpdzokLCHb3yJH3uwKqOWmAUmsP6mWDmwB/s1024/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJ55jh3npDC5H2IrvT-fermkYaRqB7GpmA4aMtbga6hpVyGozpDnWP_yloyJ9z0ndUHoP1glgUDyTNwnD_XtkJ-J3OZFgv8-eN8W2BtvKZnYMxGQXIAHY88whUaEc_UQ3yFeEVKs_Du3iOpSjqIMpdzokLCHb3yJH3uwKqOWmAUmsP6mWDmwB/w200-h200/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. "Line on the mirror, lines on her face. She pretended not to notice; she was caught up in the race." Those lines from the Eagles song, <i>Life in the Fast Lane</i>, haunt me when I look in the mirror now. My face is starting to show my age. There are lines. I never snorted lines, though.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. My husband said the lines on his face remind him of this: "Every time that I look in the mirror, all these lines on my face getting clearer," which are the opening lines from <u>Dream On</u>, by Aerosmith.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. My voice is finally starting to come back, though it still sounds a little croaky. It has more volume now. My doctor diagnosed this as tracheal bronchitis, which is something I used to get a lot when I was a child. It means that my last sinus infection tied in with my asthma, I think.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. A younger person yesterday was asking me, "What happened?" She was talking about the rise of the former guy, which she rightly called a cult, and all of the fear exhibited by people who support him. I explained that it started under Reagan and coalesced after 9/11 (she would have been about 3 years old then), which is when I first felt the fear and anger radiating off of people in the grocery store. It would rise and ebb, but it never went completely away. Now people think rude and crude are acceptable behaviors, and manners belong only to the "woke" (whatever that is), and meanness is their creed. The cruelty is the point for them. I apologized to her for not leaving her a better world.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. She also fears the loss of her rights. Women's rights. I think it's a very real concern. It has been in my lifetime that women could have credit cards in their own names. Or inherit property in their own names without having to split it with their children, in this state, anyway. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/21/1232742485/alabama-supreme-court-frozen-embryos-ivf-in-vitro-fertilization" target="_blank">The recent ruling in Alabama about embryos being "humans"</a> chilled her. The loss of abortion rights was a blow to women who want autonomy over their own bodies. These are scary times, but all times are scary, and every generation seems to think they're the ones who are going to get live through the Second Coming. I've read old newspapers and books. Nothing much has changed for centuries.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. Speaking of women's rights, I'm having an issue with a banking institution that thinks they need more ID than the State of Virginia or the US government. And I've been a customer for years and years. They're about to lose my business. I have a Real ID. That should be enough. I've been angry about this for days.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. What do you do with your coins? Banks no longer take them in rolls. You have to drop them in some machine and then they take a percentage of the total. That doesn't seem right. A roll of 50 pennies is 50 cents. The bank should give me 50 cents for 50 cents, not 48 cents for 50 cents.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. I am supposed to be eating for heart health, digestive health, lung health, and nail and skin health, and for fat loss health. I cannot figure out how to do this. Or maybe I just don't want to.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. A new medication that I was given says on the directions not to take it within 4 hours of any other medicine. I am on medication that I take every 4 hours, so I haven't started the new medication because I can't figure out when I am supposed to take it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">10. When I was at college, I found the atmosphere invigorating, enlightening, and occasionally frightening. But the experience, which lasted 8 years because I was going part-time, was the best thing I ever did for myself. I met wonderful, strong, encouraging women who think like I do, and I made a few friends. I grew into myself. I was happy in classes; I love to learn. I missed out on the bonding because I was an older student and didn't live in the dorms, but I was still young enough to fit in. I remember one evening when we were taking a break during a 3-hour class and some of the young women were talking to me. One of them noticed my wedding ring. "Oh my God, you're married!" she cried, and they all wanted to know what it was like, being married. This was back before cell phones, when people really talked to one another.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">11. Another friend tells me she has determined that social media/the Internet is evil. She says it is harming young people, who can't tell the difference anymore between real life and life online, and in general adding to the fascist line of populist thinking that has brought such a twist into the political realm. I can't disagree. I liked the Internet better when it was monitored bulletin boards and email. I liked the closed nature of AOL when it first went live, because if you had a problem, you could report it. Now if someone chases after you or is inappropriate, there isn't much to be done about it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">12. I haven't chewed my nails in three years, but they still are thin and brittle. There are lines and ridges from where I damaged them by chewing on them. I will never have pretty nails. But they look better than they did.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">13. It's been two years since my husband gave up chewing tobacco. He eats a lot of sugar free candy instead, which probably isn't good for him, but I don't miss the chewing tobacco. That stuff smelled bad, and it made a mess everywhere he went. It trailed after him like the dust on Pig Pen in the Peanuts comics. No, I don't miss having to sweep up particles of tobacco around the trash can every morning.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><div><br /></div><div><strong style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;">Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list</strong><a href="https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong> here</strong></span></a><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><b>while,</b></span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> and this is my 848th</b><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.</b></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-4368478346993043522024-02-19T14:57:00.001-05:002024-02-20T06:25:46.095-05:00Going Backwards<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">When I was 5, my father had me and my brother in a vehicle when he stopped at a convenience store on Apperson Drive.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I don't recall what kind of car we had in 1968, but I want to say it was a Dodge Charger. At any rate, he left us both in the car while he went in to fetch whatever he was after.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In 1968 I suppose there were car seats, but we didn't use them. I don't think we used seat belts either, for that matter. Yes, I am of the generation that rode in the bed of the pickup truck, drank from water hoses, and lived to tell about it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">After my father hopped out of the car, my brother climbed into the driver's seat so he could pretend to be driving. I don't remember if the car was running, but I'm guessing my father left it in neutral and put on the parking brake. I think the parking brake was located where today most people would find a cup holder and a console.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Somehow my brother disengaged something, and the car started rolling backwards.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As in, out of a small parking lot and into a busy highway.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My brother seemed oblivious to what he'd done, but as soon as I realized the car was moving, I started to scream. That made him cry. I remember feeling terrified because while I didn't know how to stop the car, I knew we were in trouble and that if the car went into traffic, we would be hurt. I was screaming and crying and trying to get my brother out of the driver's seat while at the same time looking at the store where my father was. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">"Daddy, Daddy!" I screamed, all the while trying to tug my sobbing brother away from the steering wheel. Somehow, I managed to hit the car horn.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I don't know if he heard me, but I saw Dad look up and realize what was happening. He dropped whatever he had in his hands on the store counter and ran toward the car. I was still screaming when my father wrenched the door open and stuck his foot inside and on the brake. I was able to grab my brother then and pull him over to me in the front side passenger's seat.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It was a close call.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">My father yelled at me for not stopping the car (like a 5-year-old is going to be anything other than scared to death in this scenario) as he got in the driver's seat, pulled the car back up, put it in park, and went back in to pay for his stuff. I imagine it shook him up a little, we were so close to rolling out into the road.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I'm also pretty sure he told us not to tell our mother what happened. I don't remember if I ever did.</span></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Mostly I remember feeling so angry that he blamed me for something my brother did that the fear went away, to be replaced with a seething darkness. I couldn't tell him how unfair he was being - I did not have those kinds of words yet, or that kind of courage - nor could I take it out on anybody (except maybe my brother, but I was a good girl). Maybe I went home and beat up a Barbie doll. I don't recall. But this incident has always stood out in my mind as a fine example of unfairness tinged with total terror, and it comes back to me when I have the feeling that I'm going backwards in life instead of moving ahead.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I'm not really going backwards. Being sick for a month has set me back. I was doing more physically before I caught this respiratory thing, and now I'm going to have to work to build up my stamina again. I went to Food Lion today and it wiped me out. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">For some reason, though, my life does feel like I'm trapped in an uncontrolled vehicle slowing heading into traffic, with no idea how to hit the gas or the brake pedal because my legs aren't long enough.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-79366832026921333172024-02-18T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-18T00:30:00.135-05:00Sunday Stealing<div style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxRST2ZmRotiGVTfKSPl9ECwEAqUJGITmgSDrDbPkQJwjKb5lb1GWP95EFdBwFBLWdNpizEZ1FhPTveUoQz0xBdnCAbpI2oLz-7WunmIwNK5dH7195Mi2G9XoiTS-68hKZgMbRYdD3fasQCecYi-NcobOixLXJiooxIQVxqlbJTDwiaI1ZR-R/s698/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="698" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxRST2ZmRotiGVTfKSPl9ECwEAqUJGITmgSDrDbPkQJwjKb5lb1GWP95EFdBwFBLWdNpizEZ1FhPTveUoQz0xBdnCAbpI2oLz-7WunmIwNK5dH7195Mi2G9XoiTS-68hKZgMbRYdD3fasQCecYi-NcobOixLXJiooxIQVxqlbJTDwiaI1ZR-R/s320/Sunday%20Stealing1a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Name a song that . . .</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">1. <u>You enjoy, in another language.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. There isn't one.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">2. <u>Recently introduced you to a new singer.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. How about a show instead? We watch <i>The Voice</i> to see new singers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">3. Y<u>ou listen to in order to feel energized.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Anything from the 1970s, but especially disco. Yes, I like disco.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">4. <u>Is your favorite song from a musical.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. It's a tie between "Do Re Me" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">5. <u>Reminds you of an old love.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. I don't have an old love, I have the same old love from 40 years ago. But how about "How Deep Is Your Love?" by the Bee Gees.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">6. <u>Make you think of one of your children.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. I don't have children. I guess I could say "Old McDonald Had a Farm" for the cows.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">7. <u>Makes you smile when you hear it.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Band on the Run," by Paul McCartney & Wings</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">8. <u>You love but is quite unknown.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Shattered" by Linda Ronstadt.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">9. <u>That annoys you.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls," by TLC. I like the song but when I hear it, it becomes an earworm.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">10. <u>That your parents used to listen to.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. Anything by Merle Haggard. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">11. <u>From your early years of childhood.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast," by Wayne Newton.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">12. <u>That has a color in the title.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Blue Suede Shoes," by Elvis Presley</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">13. <u>That needs to be played loud.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Start Me Up," by the Rolling Stones</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">14. <u>That is perfect for a road trip.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Stairway to Heaven," by Led Zepplin or "Innagodavida" by Iron Butterfly, depending on what you're smoking on said road trip. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">15. <u>That reminds you of yourself.</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">A. "Hell Is for Children," by Pat Benetar.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">__________</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><p><strong style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I encourage you to visit other participants in </span></strong><a href="http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/" style="color: #2187bb; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Sunday Stealing</strong></span></span></a><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"><strong> posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.</strong></span></span></p></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-52559081030918025112024-02-17T00:30:00.001-05:002024-02-17T00:30:00.132-05:00Saturday 9: Paper Doll<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuQ9YpvH3FljlY7pDAOP7qnf8o8F8frN9rkNSjufvgVToHHsS6EG3u3H1Uwpuivq-lxOgaQR-FQPhDiDGco4fIG29fVItDNnQMGjO9cF-gzMximfCiji49qNA-iRrJ-PUNJx_NKZcd3L2EOpLh1OlCrLdkxvrrhlITjTprYyyZV8kUdB_ZY6H/s1024/Saturday%2091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuQ9YpvH3FljlY7pDAOP7qnf8o8F8frN9rkNSjufvgVToHHsS6EG3u3H1Uwpuivq-lxOgaQR-FQPhDiDGco4fIG29fVItDNnQMGjO9cF-gzMximfCiji49qNA-iRrJ-PUNJx_NKZcd3L2EOpLh1OlCrLdkxvrrhlITjTprYyyZV8kUdB_ZY6H/w200-h200/Saturday%2091.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/2024/02/paper-doll.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Saturday 9: Paper Doll (1943)</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaMeSrynug0" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">1) <u>The song is about a fellow who is exasperated by men flirting with his girl. Do you have a jealous streak?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. Not really, no. I don't think I've ever been jealous over a person, but I have envied the work of others (as in a good book that I wish I'd written).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2) <u>He's blue after a quarrel with Sue. Did you exchange harsh words with anyone recently?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. My husband and I occasionally snap at one another, but we don't fight.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3) <u>"Paper Doll" was #1 for 12 weeks in 1943-44, sold 11 million copies and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. Had you heard it before today?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. I don't recall ever hearing this song before. But I wasn't even a twinkle in my father's eye in the 1940s. Or my grandfather's eye, for that matter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4) <u>As kids, the Mills Brothers worked on their harmonies in front of their father's Piqua, OH, barbershop, much to the delight of passersby. Do you often encounter street musicians in your neighborhood?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. I live in a rural area. We do not have street musicians here. However, there's a rooftop restaurant in Fincastle, and I once thought about taking an amp and my guitar and setting up and playing on the corner until someone paid me to go away.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">5) <u>The Mills Brothers were a long way from that street corner when, in 1936, they became the first African Americans to perform for the British Royal Family. It's about 4,000 miles from Piqua to London. What's the farthest you've ever been from home?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. France, which is 4,015 miles away, according to Alexa.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6) <u>In the early 1930s, the Mills Brothers not only performed songs on radio, they sang jingles for Standard Oil and Crisco. What commercial can you recall having seen (or heard) lately?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. The new Kia commercial that premiered during the Super Bowl. It was the only one I really felt tugged at the heart strings (the Budweiser commercial was a bust). I saw it last while we were watching Big Bang reruns. The commercial shows a young girl ice skating, and she's disappointed when she sees an empty chair beside her father. Then she goes to an outside homemade rink and skates for her disabled grandfather.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">7) <u>In 1943, when "Paper Doll" was popular, WWII was raging and the US Mint began producing steel pennies because copper was needed for ammunition. Do you have any pennies in your pocket or wallet right now?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. I have pennies in the tray in my car. Does that count? That's a cool factoid about the pennies; I didn't know that.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">8) <u>Also in 1943, a bottle of Coke was a nickel. When did you most recently have a soft drink? What was it?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. I haven't had a soft drink since October 2020, and it was a ginger ale.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9) <u>Random question: Have you learned more from your successes, or your failures?</u></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A. My successes gave me some confidence, which I have always lacked. Failures show me what I need to change, though, so I have learned from them as well. I think it's a toss-up.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;">_______________</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;">I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in </span><a href="http://samanthasaturday9.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong>Saturday 9</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman", times, freeserif, serif; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700;"> and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.</span> </div></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-48345104008690334152024-02-15T14:30:00.000-05:002024-02-15T14:30:56.245-05:00Thursday Thirteen<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnJjvl-t6is6KwZ6F2NLepOvMr3WvyBNqRIiQOzvZi4eHT9lA5BsI5_lnyeYDoQfisowJSCMavswj9fX8aXMnH_TCfbqol8TFwQ9IOokQgRQvhDE2qHJNBryMNcMiRUmkiczOncLIwcFj3gh7mjRisi0J7liRs37G8ecwPICA4HBVj0t1vX-j/s1024/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnJjvl-t6is6KwZ6F2NLepOvMr3WvyBNqRIiQOzvZi4eHT9lA5BsI5_lnyeYDoQfisowJSCMavswj9fX8aXMnH_TCfbqol8TFwQ9IOokQgRQvhDE2qHJNBryMNcMiRUmkiczOncLIwcFj3gh7mjRisi0J7liRs37G8ecwPICA4HBVj0t1vX-j/w200-h200/Thursday%20Thirteen.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br />1. It's another free-for-all Thirteen, and a late one at that. What if I'd gone 846 Thursday Thirteen in a row and then missed one!? My goodness.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">2. The chronic laryngitis/sinus issue from hell continues. It's been over a month now since I've been able to sing or carry on a conversation without sounding like Jeramiah the Bullfrog. I do try to be a good friend . . .</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">3. The other day I thought a cow was calving in front of the house, but when I looked again she was gone so I thought maybe I was wrong. A bit later, though, my husband looked out and the vultures were around the area where I'd seen the cow. He went out to check on things and sure enough, she'd had a calf and quickly moved it under the trees where the evil vultures couldn't get to it. They enjoyed the afterbirth, though.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">4. We received our tax assessments for real estate taxes in the mail this week, and my Facebook feed looks like a bunch of people who have no clue how things actually work are posting inane comments and baseless conspiracy theories. Oh, wait, that's exactly who is posting. People who have no clue how things actually work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">5. It isn't hard to understand how government works, but (a) you have to want to understand and (b) you have to be open to how it actually works. If someone has already decided the politicians are crooked, on the take, and out to do bad things, then they're never going to understand what is going on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">6. I'm looking around my office to see if there's something here that catches my eye so I can write about it. I have a book on a shelf called <i>The Writer's I-Ching</i>. I've never opened it and I'm not sure where it came from. But it reminds me that one time, a very long time ago, I wrote an article about a guy who lived in an abandoned church who had created a deck of new age cards, sort of like Tarot but not. He planned to sell them and become famous. I wonder what happened to him and his cards.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">7. The <i>I-Ching</i> book is squeezed in between a book that identifies trees and another that is my favorite book on writing, Phyllis Whitney's <i>Guide to Fiction Writing</i>. This book was published in 1982 and is no longer in print. I'd buy another copy if it was. I'd even buy a Kindle copy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">8. The other books on the shelf include a guide to local mammals, several different thesauruses, a couple of dictionaries, an out-of-date <i>AP Stylebook</i>, the <i>Chicago Manual of Style</i> (also out of date), and books about writing memoir.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">9. I need to dust.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">10. Earlier, I saw a deer eating alongside the cows. They don't usually socialize.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">11. Two of my three clocks in my office are not running. They need new batteries. Batteries are expensive now, and I only need one clock. So it's always 10:55 on one clock and 5:25 on another, now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">12. I wonder what time it is in Thailand. I ask Alexa, she says it is 2:25 a.m. there. It's 2:25 p.m. here. A 12-hour time difference. I learned something!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">13. The other things on my desk include Chloraseptic sore throat lozenges, Halls cough drops, and nasal spray. Which takes me back to the beginning, I suppose, in a roundabout way.</span></p><p><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">_____________</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 17.6px;"><div><br /></div><div><strong style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;">Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list</strong><a href="https://newthursday13.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #2187bb;"><strong> here</strong></span></a><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a </b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 19.36px;"><b>while,</b></span></span><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> and this is my 847th</b><b style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 19.36px;"> time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.</b></div></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32199165.post-5992329090385726492024-02-14T13:16:00.001-05:002024-02-14T13:16:18.018-05:00La Brea (The TV Show)<div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEUOxgxXoztiv5huEOLRCUGXIHkMLhmrO1G4eO8aLQUfzrB9REIIvVcfSci144ByETObAN7FsMnxr7fra_gUNb027xK2TihxyHd1yDkMkyKrxht9_tNZKbeFZM_V-D1srjj0mm_oqqt3ZeJuKK3m0pUGzQsJfL0kPf7pKyED92SoGDLY418G4y" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="2028" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhEUOxgxXoztiv5huEOLRCUGXIHkMLhmrO1G4eO8aLQUfzrB9REIIvVcfSci144ByETObAN7FsMnxr7fra_gUNb027xK2TihxyHd1yDkMkyKrxht9_tNZKbeFZM_V-D1srjj0mm_oqqt3ZeJuKK3m0pUGzQsJfL0kPf7pKyED92SoGDLY418G4y" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natalie Zea in <i>La Brea</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Last night was the final episode of <i>La Brea</i>, a science fiction family affair that ran for thirty episodes. The last six of those episodes just finished up.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>Spoilers ahead, if you care.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The show features the Harris family, and in the beginning centered on Eve Harris, played by Natalie Zea. She is a tough mom who drops herself into a big hole that opens up near the La Brea Tar Pits in California because it swallowed her son, Josh. She left behind her husband, Gavin, and daughter, Izzy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It was a big hole, so Eve finds her son and she and at least 30 other people set up a camp of sorts using automobiles and parts of buildings that the hole also swallowed up. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They have landed in 10,000 BC.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The early shows indicated some kind of weird time warp overlap, as one of the survivors found a cache of coins from the War Between the States. In later episodes, there were tribes of ancient people who looked more like modern-day Native Americans, and strange men who kidnapped people who fell from the sky to work in mines.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This was never fully explored, and frankly the show lost the entire plot of the time travel thing somewhere along the way. The audience was supposed to accept that there was weird time travel stuff going on even though in theory it shouldn't have worked that way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The show focused mostly on relationships that grew out of the survivors. Along the way, we learned about Eve's relationship with her husband and a lover, Levi, who was also her husband's closest friend.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I watched the show because I initially liked the premise, but as it progressed, I liked it less. I didn't mind the focus on emotions and character growth - that's necessary - but the plot around the time travel switched around from unbelievable to simply outlandish and back again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Initially the time holes were being made by Gavin's father, who was from the future where time travel was developed. He brought Gavin and his family down with him to this upside-down earth and built a dome where he could work on his time experiments. His wife, though, left to live in another time (1988 or something), taking Gavin with her, and she gave him away to a foster family so she could focus on stopping her husband.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Gavin and family eventually found their way to his mother's time, and Levi chose to stay there instead of going back to 10,000 BC to try to stop the father from making more time portals or holes. Then Levi turned back up in 10,000 BC, older now, having lost his wife and a child to something to do with the Army.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Then suddenly, in these last few episodes, we learn that Gavin has been secretly flying in time ships for over a year before the hole opened up and took his wife, and a rogue army/government/something woman was working to sell time travel to the highest bidder. This also had something to do with 1965, although that was never explained to my satisfaction.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">None of the last six episodes have Eve in them, as she'd been taken to a different time at the end of Season 2 and no one knew where she'd gone. So we only saw her in the final episode when there was a family reunion in 2021 (which was the present day) as she found her way back to them. Since she was the character I was most interested in, the last "season" didn't do much for me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Because I have read so much science fiction and have a vague and tortured understanding of time travel, the inconsistencies in the time anomalies in this show frustrated me. The whole Gavin-is-from-the-future and his-dad-invented-time-travel thing that zig-zagged into it being a secret government plot that he was involved in before the hole opened up was completely chaotic as far as plotting goes. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">While some of the effects were cool and the idea of falling into a hole to end up in another world is certainly not new, I liked the initial premise of this show. I liked the characters, mostly. I just wish it hadn't gone so far off the rails in its efforts to contort the plot to meet someone's agenda, or whatever it was.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/la-brea-boss-answers-series-finale-burning-questions/ar-BB1if4bY" target="_blank">Here's a director's response to questions</a> about the show. He seems happy with it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>CountryDewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03243893531509380824noreply@blogger.com1