Saturday Stealing: The Jackals

Sunday Stealing: The Jackals Meme
 
Question 1: Who is your favorite musical artist?

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

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

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

Question 3: Who is your favorite blogger?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

__________

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

Saturday 9: Papa, Don't Preach

Saturday 9: Papa, Don't Preach (1986)
 
If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here.


1) Madonna has sold more than 200 million records worldwide. Do you have any of her songs on your iPod/mp3 player/phone?

A. No. But I like her music.

2) When she first arrived in New York in search of fame and fortune, Madonna supported herself by working at Dunkin' Donuts. What did you order last time you were at Dunkin' Donuts?

A. I don't eat at Dunkin' Donuts. I'm a Krispy Crème girl. I don't see how anybody can stand those cake-like donuts.

3) Madonna and her first husband, Sean Penn, ended their marriage on New Year's Eve, 1988. Sam's New Year's Eves are never that dramatic. What about you? Do you have any vivid New Year's Eve memories you'd like to share?

A. Maybe it was a New Year's Eve party the time my parents threw a bash when I was about 10. A mouse crept out and while other women were going "Eww eww eww" my mother whipped off her shoe, smashed the mouse, and then picked it up with a paper towel and tossed it in the trash outside. It might have been some other kind of party but it's a good story, so we'll go with New Year's.

4) Madonna admits she suffers from brontophobia, aka the fear of storms. Are you scared of thunder and lightening?

A. I rather enjoy it, actually. When I was a child, I would sit on the back stoop with my grandfather and we'd watch the storms come over the mountain, the lightning in the distance. We wouldn't get up until the raindrops began to fall. I will still go stand out on the porch in a storm if my husband isn't home (he will not let me do it if he is here).

5) Onstage during the 2015 Coachella fest, Madonna shocked the audience by planting a kiss square on the lips of much-younger rapper Drake. What's something that surprised you recently?

A. My brother sent me an Erector set for my birthday. That was a surprise.

6) More recently, Madonna was at the center of a controversy because Prince fans didn't like her tribute at the Billboard Music Awards. They made themselves heard on social media. Was your last Facebook post or Tweet positive or negative?

A. My last Facebook says this: "I have laryngitis and a man on the phone just called me "elderly." Isn't elderly like, 106?" I don't know if that is positive or negative. It just is.

7) One of the things Sam's papa preaches about is car maintenance. He reminds her to check her car's air filter regularly, because a dirty filter can reduce mileage. Share your own car maintenance tip with us.

A. Get a husband and let him take care of it.

8) When she was growing up, Sam's father was often away on business. He always remembered to bring back the complimentary shampoos, conditioners and lotions from the hotels where he stayed. When will you next stay in a hotel (or motel, bed-and-breakfast or Airbnb room)?

A. I have no plans to go anywhere at the moment.

9) To celebrate Father's Day, Sam is giving away her father's favorite candy: LifeSavers. Would you prefer a roll of Wild Cherry, Butter Rum, Winter Green or Peppermint?

A. I will be greedy and ask for the Wild Cherry and the Wintergreen.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Rock Lilies

Thursday Thirteen

Quotations from J. R. R. Tolkien

 

1. Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.

2. Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.

3. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
 
4. It's a job that's never started that takes the longest to finish.

5. Little by little, one travels far.

6. Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.
 
7. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

8. It's a dangerous business going out your front door.

9. All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.

10. Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

11. 'I wish life was not so short,' he thought. 'Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'

12. The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

13. It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 452nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Growing Up with Guns

As the nation wrings its hands over yet another mass shooting - 50 people dead in Orlando in what appears to be a homophobic rage - and the "thoughts and prayers" that do absolutely nothing are prostituted by the politicians, I sit and wonder about a solution to this obviously major problem.

Statistics and numbers can be jockeyed around and source matters, but a source I like, and believe to be close, states that in 2010, just over 31,000 U.S. citizens died because of guns.

That's the total population of my county, just about. In one year, everyone around me was wiped out. And this happens year in and year out. On average, there are 33 homicides a day in the U.S. There are 49 suicides committed each day in the U.S. That means that around 80 people a day die in the U.S. because either someone shot them, or they shot themselves. So every year, somewhere close to 30,000 people die.

Every year.

Back in May, we had a food recall of over 400 items because of the possibility that these products were tainted with listeria. If I remember correctly, eight people died or were sickened. Not even a dozen, and we did something.

I am in favor of more stringent gun control laws. I think the current questions on the gun purchase forms are jokes, and the background checks are, too. Apparently even if you have certain things on your police record, or if the FBI is watching you, you can still buy a gun.

Here close to me, a young man with a known history of psychiatric problems was able to buy a gun, legally, and he shot up Virginia Tech in 2007, which, up until this weekend, was the largest mass shooting in the USA in this century.

I don't see why we can't regulate guns like we do cars. I don't see where regulations violate the Second Amendment. I mean, it spells it out right there, "A well-regulated militia." It even uses the word regulated. That means to control or direct, by rules or laws.

Regulations already exist. I can't go out and buy a tank and drive it down Main Street. I can't own a bazooka or a machine gun.

To drive a car, I have to produce a birth certificate, take a test, and have a license. I also have to have insurance or pay an uninsured motorists fee. I have to have the vehicle inspected annually.

I have no problem with having to take a test or a class in order to own a gun. When I was in middle school, gun safety was a featured class. We all took it. It was required. We learned how to safely handle a weapon, how they worked, and what they could do (kill and maim), and when to use them. At the end, we received a gun safety certificate.

I don't know when they stopped giving these courses in school, but I think, given our gun culture, that such classes should become available again. Teach kids to respect guns, not honor them.

My father had guns. I owned a gun when I was 10 years old, a little .22 caliber survival gun. It was black and it came apart so that its pieces could fit into the empty stock for easy carrying. I learned how to break the thing down and put it back together. I was a good shot, knocking cans and things off of fence posts. (Yes, I was too young to be handling a gun, but that is how things are done around here.)

I did not hunt or shoot at living things. I knew better. I feel spiritually sick when animals are killed in front of me. However, I live in the country and knowing how to properly use a gun, even if it is just a .22, is, if not a necessity, prudent.

Other people take great sport in shooting and killing, and do not feel the spiritual aspect of the death of an animal. My husband, brother, father, nephews, and others hunt. These are all men; I know there are women who hunt but I am not aware of any of my kin who do.

Personally, I'd rather shoot at things with my camera, so that is what I do.

My answer to the problem of gun violence is regulation. This doesn't mean you can't have a gun, unless you've some reason not to have one. If you're a spouse beater, you shouldn't have a gun. If someone takes out a restraining order against you, you shouldn't have a gun. If you're depressed and suicidal, you shouldn't have a gun. There are many reasons not to have a gun, reasons that good classes, professional oversight, and more honest background checks would ferret out. Or so one would hope.

I don't see regulations happening, so this post is nothing more than a musing, my thoughts on the matter. It is as useful as the "thoughts and prayers" of the proselytizing politicians. I think it is horrible that we will recall food for eight deaths and do nothing over 50. I don't run the world. I do vote, not that I am sure it matters, but there you go.

Death is sad. Loss is terrible. Orlando, like Virginia Tech, will be scarred for a long time. I think the nation, over all, is already scarred and battered. I also think that since 9-11, we've become a bunch of scared little children, fearful of our own shadow, and that is really why people want their guns.

Because in the deepest of any heart, fear strangles logic, and wins out every time.

(Comments are off.)

Sunday Stealing: Tulip

Sunday Stealing: My Friends Call Me Tulip


Can you stay inside all day without getting bored?

A. Oh yes. Between books, my guitar, my writing, and video games, I'd probably never leave the house if I didn't need to eat and go to the doctor. Occasionally I need hugs, too.

Tell us about a TV show that we should watch.

A. Game of Thrones. It represents a lot of what is wrong with society today, only in a semi-fantasy setting. There is some magic and three dragons, but it's not pure fantasy. It's a lot of war, plotting, and conniving. It is quite misogynistic, as well. Rather like chess, I suppose. And isn't that all life is, a big chess board, where we're all mostly pawns hoping we're not eaten alive by a rook?

When was the last time you were at your home computer all day? A. Today. (Saturday)

What websites other than your own do you visit daily?

A. Facebook, my local newspaper and TV stations, The Guardian, the Washington Post, and whatever else catches my eye.

Do you have a favorite day of the week? Why?

A. Most of my days run together anymore, thanks to health issues and my inability to work. My husband works an irregular shift so there are no set days when we are together. So I don't really have a favorite day.

Did you ever watch Saturday morning cartoons? What was your favorite?

A. I did, I did watch Saturday morning cartoons! I loved Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, and Underdog. I could name a half-dozen others but the question only asked for one and I couldn't even do that.

Were you a comic book fan?

A. I was. When I was about 10, my grandfather would let all of us grandkids take turns mowing the yard. He'd give us each a quarter and we'd walk the two blocks up to the Orange Market, where with that 25 cents we could buy a soda, a candy bar, and a comic book. Dang, I am old. I liked the Marvel Comics the best, generally the ones with female heroines like the Invisible Girl and the Black Widow. I read Wonder Woman some, but for some reason I never found the writing as compelling with D.C. Comics as I did with Marvel. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I bought Xena comic books. I wonder where they went?

Did you earn an allowance when you were a kid? How much? Was it tied to chores?

A. I don't recall earning an allowance per se, nor do I remember amounts. I do not believe it was tied to chores. We were expected to do chores for room and board. We lived on a farm so there were lots of chores, like feeding animals and hauling in firewood. I think I was just given money whenever.

What is the fanciest type of car you've ridden in?  What occasion?

A. I guess my father's Cadillac would qualify. There was no occasion, he was just showing me his new car.

What's your favorite sport to watch?

A. I watch women's tennis sometimes, but generally I don't watch sports. I will watch the Olympics and prefer ice skating to everything else.

Ever tried surfing? A. No.

Have you ever been to a live major team sporting game? A. No.

From a scale of 1 to 5 how athletic are you (1=nerd, 5=very athletic)?

A. 0, which is like, nerd minus 100 or something.

What's your favorite horror movie?

A. I don't watch horror anymore, but when I was young, there was a movie called SSSSS that used to scare me. We would stay up late when we spent the night at my grandparents so we could watch it on the late movie show.

What is your favorite cult classic movie? A. Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

About how many times do you go to the movies a month?  A. I go less than once a year.

Favorite movie, which one came to your head first? A. Lord of the Rings.

What if your life was like a movie? What type of movie would it be?

A. It would be like Forest Gump only I'd be Jenny, not Forest, and it would be set about 15 years later in time, so the music would be more 1970s and early 1980s.

Do you like long series movies, like "Lord of the Rings"?

A. It depends on the subject matter, but I love the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and I have seen every Star Wars, and every Harry Potter, so I guess the answer is "yes."

Saturday 9: I Dream of Jeannie

I Dream of Jeannie Theme (1965)

Because Harriet requested it. If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here. 

1) Jeannie was memorably discovered on the beach in an ornate bottle. Have you ever brought a souvenir home from the beach? (It doesn't have to be a genie. A shell or a stone will do.)

A. I have shells and a starfish around here somewhere. Postcards, too. I like to pick up postcards when we go on vacation. I have no idea why, it's not like I have them in a nice collection or anything.

2) Major Anthony Nelson, the man who released Jeannie from her bottle, was an astronaut. When you were a kid, did you dream of being an astronaut when you grew up?

A. I dreamed of flying through the Bermuda Triangle until I disappeared. I don't think that is "astronaut" but it is strange enough to qualify for . . . something.

3) Upon discovering Jeannie, Major Nelson's first wish was that she could speak/understand English so they could communicate. If you found a genie, what would your first wish be?

A. I'm assuming one cannot wish for endless wishes with this request. I think I would wish that all weapons of mass destruction be dismantled and destroyed, never to return to our planet.

4) Major Nelson's best friend was fellow astronaut Major Healey. Where did you meet your best friend?

A. Well, let's see. My longest friendship, aside from my husband, is with L., and I met her because we worked together. Another close friendship came from working together on historic preservation projects. And another just happened, because we took one look at each other and knew instantly we would be friends.

5) This theme song was written by Hugo Montenegro, who is better known for the music he wrote for a pair of Clint Eastwood movies (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars). Do you have a favorite Clint Eastwood movie?

A. Not really, no.

6) The last episode of the series was titled, "My Master, The Chili King." What ingredients make up your favorite chili recipe?

A. I don't eat chili because of my ulcers. Rather sad, really.

7) Jeannie was played by Barbara Eden, who was born in Tuscon, Arizona. Summer in Tuscon can get very hot, with the mercury often reaching 100º. What's your favorite season?

A. I like fall and spring. A lovely June day of about 72 degrees is perfect, as is a lovely late October day around the same temperature.

8) Anthony Nelson was played by Larry Hagman, who went on to play the villainous JR on the popular Dallas. Can you think of anything else Dallas is known for?

A. The Cowboys?

9) In the autumn of 1965, just weeks after I Dream of Jeannie premiered, St. Louis' famous Gateway Arch was completed. An estimated 4 million tourists visit the Arch every year. Do you have any summer vacation plans?

A. Not yet. If we go on vacation at all this year, it will be in the fall.

 _____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Boots, Gandalf, and Galadriel

Yesterday, I noticed a doe wandering around the house. From the way she was acting, I thought she either had a fawn close by, or was getting ready to have one.

I named her "Boots" because of her two front white legs.

Around 10 a.m., I glanced out my window to see Boots beneath the blue spruce, having a baby!

Unfortunately, because the tree limbs hang so low to the ground, I was not able to get good shots of the birth.

It turned out to be two babies!



One was a little darker in color and larger than the other.



They were about the size of large rabbits.

They moved out into the sunshine for a minute.

Mom stood up, and they went back to get their first milk.

Mom sure picked good covering, didn't she?

 

That was hard work, I'm sure, having just been born!

Then she moved them, as I knew she would. I went to the other window and grabbed this shot as they passed
our tiny little garden.

I was able to get a good shot of this one!

I waited just a moment - I don't walk that fast, anyway - and then slipped out the back door to see where they went.
I saw Boots with this baby, but the other was nowhere to be seen.



Then I spotted it peeking around this tree. It was a long way from it's mother. I started backing toward the door.



To my surprise, the little one went in the other direction.

I snapped shots as I backed away and went to go back inside.

The baby took a couple of hops, and ended up under another blue spruce.

And this is where it lay for hours.

I fretted over the little fawn most of the day, because I was afraid I'd interfered with some bonding process or something. I saw Boots come back about 11:30, but when I went out at 2 p.m. to see, the little fawn was still there. But sometime between 2 and 5, she came back and found it. I was quite relieved.

The little twins now sport the names Gandalf and Galadriel. In a few weeks I won't know which fawns running around here are them, actually, so I suppose every fawn this summer will be called those names.

It made for an interesting change of pace, at any rate.