1. Are you able to pass by a plate of cookies and not take one or are you a bit of a "Cookie Monster?"
A. It depends on the cookie. Chocolate chip? I'm there. Something with coconut in it? You can keep those.
2. Tell us about your favorite cookie. Have your tastes changed since you were a kid?
A. My favorite cookie is chocolate chip. I think it has always been my favorite cookie.
3. Enquiring minds want to know if you are a dunker and, if so, do you dunk in milk, coffee, or tea?
A. I am not a cookie dunker.
4. It is that time of year and they are selling them on every corner and in front of every store! Do you buy Girl Scout cookies and if you do, which is your favorite?
A. I do not buy Girl Scout cookies. I suppose someone sells them locally, I just don't know where.
5. Raw cookie dough. Yay or Nay?
A. Yay!
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
__________
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.
1) In this song, Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries sings that her lover has her wrapped around his finger. Do you feel that anyone has you wrapped around their finger?
A. Not particularly, no. I know people who have tried but I am an independent sort. Yes, I have been married for 42 years, but it's a mutual sort of marriage.
2) This was one of the first songs Delores and Noel Hogan wrote together. They performed it often live and perfected it before going into the studio to record it approximately two years later. Because they had polished the performance and arrangement, it's not a surprise that it was the biggest hit off their debut album. Tell us about a time when your preparation paid off.
A. I worked hard to create a non-credit class for the community college about journaling. It seemed to go over well.
3) The Cranberries believed the moody black-and-white video (linked above) playing on MTV contributed to the song's popularity. MTV and VH1 were highly influential when they showed music videos and interviews 24/7 during the 1980s and 1990s. Do you recall watching music videos on MTV and/or VH1?
A. I was partial to VH1, they played songs that were more to my liking, but yes, I remember when they actually played music videos. That was before youtube and the Internet.
4) The Cranberries were founded by brothers Noel and Mike Hogan in their hometown in Limerick, Ireland. The River Shannon runs through Limerick. Do you live near a river?
A. I live near a pond and a creek. The closest rivers are the James River and the Roanoke River.
5) Fergal Lawler soon joined the brothers and became the Cranberries drummer. Today he says he enjoys listening to his early work with the group because, "Songs are like a snapshot in time." Do you often flip through photo albums and look at snapshots?
A. I do not flip through photo albums, but I do like to read the archives of newspapers.
6) Dolores O'Riordan showed up for her Cranberries audition dressed casually in a black tracksuit with her own Casio electronic keyboard tucked under her arm. The Hogans were impressed not only by her vocals but her no-nonsense, "let's get to work" attitude. Share a memory from one of your job interviews.
A. I was on my way to a job interview when I wrecked the car. I called and asked if I could come another day, because, well, car smashed. I also had a bad contusion on my knee. Of course, the office was up a flight of stairs that I could barely climb because my knee was so swollen, so I hobbled in there and knew immediately I wouldn't get the job, there was all of this, "Aww, look, she's limping to make it look good," kind of talk going on around me. I don't know why I bothered.
7) In 1993, when "Linger" was released, The Nanny premiered on CBS. It's remembered today for its catchy theme song, which tells the story of "the nanny named Fran." Can you recall the lyrics to theme of one of your favorite shows?
A. Here's the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls. Here's a story, of a man named Brady, who bringing up three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, but they were all alone. Until one day when the lady met this fellow, and they knew that it was much more than a hunch. That this group, must somehow form a family, and that's the way we all became the Brady Bunch.
8) In 1993, gas was $1.11/gallon. Could your vehicle use a fill-up right now?
A. No, I am one of those people who top off the tank when it gets below a quarter full.
9) Random question: How many pairs of shoes do you own?
A. I have no idea.
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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
I used to play guitar in a cover band in high school from about 1978 to 1981. We went out on weekends and played in bars, Moose lodges, VFW halls, volunteer fire department buildings - wherever. That was how we made our money as teenagers instead of working at fast food places that really weren't in existence in our area then.
We had a great time. Sometimes I hear songs come across Alexa and remember that we did them.
We had a set list of over 40 songs with a good rotation - usually two disco/dance songs, a slow dance, then two disco/dance songs, etc. Our sets were about 45 minutes long, or about 10 songs a set, with four sets during the evening, usually.
Here are 13 songs that I remember we played:
1. Lyin’ Eyes, by the Eagles. This was one of those songs that settled the room before the real dancing started. Easy harmonies, steady rhythm, and a warm way to open a night in a Moose lodge or VFW hall.
2. Reunited, by Peaches & Herb. This was a guaranteed slow‑dance moment. Couples drifted out, arms around each other, and the whole hall softened into that late‑70s glow.
3. I Will Survive, by Gloria Gaynor. The women always hit the floor first for this one. The band locked into the groove, and I sang harmony like muscle memory. I still like to play this song.
4. Tragedy, by the Bee Gees. This was a song I sang lead vocals. It was an ambitious song for a high‑school band. Those falsetto peaks were a thrill and a challenge every time.
5. Do Ya Think I’m Sexy, by Rod Stewart. This was another song I sang. I only sang maybe 5 of the 40; the lead singer did most of the work with me singing backup and harmony. This song was playful and a little cheeky. I remember we played in front of the intermediate school and we did this one, and my former English teacher took me aside afterwards and said she couldn't believe I could belt out a song like that.
6. Heart of Glass, by Blondie. This song was a perfect blend of rock and disco. The beat kept the dancers happy, and the guitar‑and‑keys mix made it fun to play. Mostly I had the vibrato up on the guitar and hit the low E string a lot.
7. Bad Girls, by Donna Summer. The bass player’s whistle made this one unforgettable. A tiny prop, but it turned the song into a moment, and it was the kind of thing people remembered and laughed about later. I can still hear him blowing on that whistle and trying for the higher note with it at the end.
8. Babe, by Styx. This was a sentimental slow dance that gave everyone a breather. Our keyboardist sang this song; I think it was the only one she sang. The lead singer and I would have harmonized with her. "You know it's you, babe." We played it soft, steady, and right in the pocket.
9. Play That Funky Music, by Wild Cherry. This one always took a lot out of me because it is a lot of fast guitar movement. But it was a floor‑filler every single time. The groove was simple but satisfying, and the whole band got to lean into it.
10. Hot Stuff, by Donna Summer. This was disco with a rock edge and perfect for a live band. We could push the tempo a little, and the dancers loved it.
11. Another One Bites the Dust, by Queen. This is when the bass player shone. That opening line alone could pull people to the floor, and the whole room felt the pulse of it.
12. My Life, by Billy Joel. This song was bright, upbeat, and a nice change of texture in a mostly disco‑leaning set. A song that kept the energy up without overwhelming the room.
13. China Grove, by The Doobie Brothers. This was my best lead‑guitar song. It was fast, tight, and full of those riffs that feel good under the fingers. A rock anchor in the middle of all that disco heat, and the song I always prayed I didn't mess up because the guitar was prominent in it.
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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 949th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
The pre-civil war estate was once home to Judith Hancock Clark, wife of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
It was restored in 2008. Much of the decorative trim turned out to be plaster instead of painted wood as originally thought. There was wallpaper to remove – even on the ceilings - and cobwebs to sweep. Original chandeliers lay stored in boxes and vintage clothes hung in wardrobes far too large to ever be removed from the home.
The house has 14 rooms, counting foyers and bathrooms. All have been restored.
The house boasts extremely high ceilings, a staircase that looks like something out of Gone with the Wind, a pewter chandelier with a date of 1726 etched into it, hardwood floors, original wallpaper in the living room, original glass in the windows, and elegant touches around the ceilings.
Legend holds the original Santillane burned and was rebuilt. However, signatures on the plaster, which has held up remarkably well, date back to the very early 1800s.
Santillane is on the National Register of Historic Places. A marker on US 220 calls it “one of Botetourt County’s most distinguished properties. The Greek Revival house sits on a tract of land originally owned by Colonel George Hancock, a member of the United States Congress from 1793-1797.
In 1808 Hancock's daughter, Judith, married General William Clark. Clark served from 1803 to 1806 as a leader of Thomas Jefferson's famous Lewis and Clark expedition which was instrumental in opening the West for American settlement.”
Colonel George Hancock
George Hancock’s first appearance in Botetourt is in 1781 when he married Margaret Strother of Fincastle. He appeared again in 1782 when he obtained a license to practice law in the county. In 1785,
Hancock was appointed a colonel in the county militia; he also served as Botetourt County’s Commonwealth Attorney. He was the first citizen of Botetourt County to serve in the Congress of the United States. He later moved from Fincastle to Fotheringay in Montgomery County, where he died in 1820.
Hancock’s daughter Julia, known also as Judith, was born to Hancock and his wife Margaret on November 21, 1791, in Fincastle. She wed William Clark, the famous explorer, in January 1808. Clark reportedly named the Judith River in Montana after the young girl he left in Fincastle while he sought a route to the Pacific.
1. Did you/will you have coffee or some other form of caffeine today?
A. I do not drink coffee or colas. Unless there is caffeine in chocolate, and I think there is maybe a smidge, I don't get caffeine.
2. Who did you last have a text conversation with and what was it about?
A. My last conversation was with an old friend, and she was telling me about a visit from her sister.
3. Are there regular trains in and out of your town/city?
A. My county has trains that go through it regularly, but no stops.
4. Have you ever been hospitalized due to dehydration?
A. No, but I have been hospitalized for other health issues.
5. Someone texts/IMs you just as you’re about to go to sleep. Do you reply?
A. Not unless it is an emergency.
6. Do you grind your teeth?
A. I do grind my teeth, yes.
7. When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise, or do you blast it?
A. I try not to listen to music with headphones. I don't like them.
8. Are you wearing nail polish?
A. I do not wear nail polish. I am allergic to it.
9. Do you have an ice maker in your refrigerator door?
A. I have an ice maker in the upper freezer of the refrigerator, but not in the door.
10. Do you have a friend named James?
A. I have a husband by that name.
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
__________
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.
1) The record begins with a long instrumental interlude, and when the lyrics kick in at about the 1:00 mark, they bid Amanda "farewell, adios, addio, adieu." Of course, you recognize "farewell" as English. Without looking it up, can you identify the other languages?
A. Spanish, Italian, and French.
2) Can you say "goodbye" in a language not represented in question #1?
A. Nyet.
3) The lyrics reference a night full of stars. When did you last take a moment to check out the night sky?
A. It hasn't been that long ago. I like looking at the night sky.
4) This song was written for Adam's Rib, a comedy starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The movie is about husband-and-wife lawyers who square off against one another in court. Have you ever served on a jury?
A. I have been called to serve, but once the lawyers found out I was a journalist, I was immediately sent on my way. Apparently, they don't want writers on juries.
5) "Farewell, Amanda" was composed by Noel Coward. Though best known as a playwright, he also wrote more than a thousand songs and was a director and an actor. His epitaph reads, "A talent to amuse." How would you like to be remembered?
A. I don't think I will be remembered at all, but perhaps something along the line of "She did her best."
6) There's even a book of Noel Coward paintings. It was published after his death, in part because Coward considered himself only an amateur painter. When did you last pick up a paintbrush?
A. I can't remember when I picked up a paintbrush to paint a picture, but we last painted the interior of the house about 10 years ago.
7) In 1949, when audiences first heard "Farewell, Amanda," Americans began playing Clue. What's the last board game you played?
A. Scrabble.
8) The best-selling novel of 1949 was Point of No Return by John P. Marquand. Tell us about the last book you finished.
A. The last book I finished was The Medici Manuscript, by C. J. Arthur. I think it is characterized as a romantasy. It is set in post-WWI England and is about an assistant librarian who may or may not be a "magician," as this book calls people with specific special powers. It's very literary, focusing on mysteries that involve books, so far. This is the second in a series.
9) Random question: Growing up, did you share a bedroom?
A. Not that I recall, no.
_______________
I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Some things in the world show us that resilience is everywhere, even in people, and that no matter how hard, mean, dirty, or disgusting the world can be, life and love endure.
1. Moss on stone grows where it shouldn’t, softening the hard edges of the world one green inch at a time.
2. A Tree with a lightning scar has a visible wound, but the trunk and the leaves keep lifting toward the light.
3. River can find new paths when blocked. The water doesn't argue, it simply curves, deepens, or widens until it can move again.
4. A candle flame that stays steady in a draft is a small, stubborn brightness that refuses to be talked out of existing.
5. A worn footpath shows a route that isn't carved in a day but instead shaped by return and consistency, that quiet insistence of coming back.
6. A spiderweb after rain hangs heavy with droplets, maybe it sags a little, but it still holding its pattern, still catches the light.
7. A seedling pushing through asphalt is a reminder that life doesn’t always wait for permission.
8. A mountain ridge shows the long patience of standing still, maintaining your stance, being strong and unyielding in the face of the whims of weather.
9. Birds that return to the same branch or nest each year show a small act of faithfulness to place, repeated without fanfare.
10. A well‑mended quilt shows that repairs don’t hide the past; they make the whole thing stronger, stitch by stitch.
11. A lighthouse in fog is doing its work whether anyone sees it or not, steady in its purpose.
12. The tide always comes back. It retreats as part of its rhythm, but that's not the end, it's a part of the movement of change.
13. The first green shoot after winter is a quiet declaration that the season has turned, even if the air hasn’t caught up yet.
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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 948th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
I asked ChatGPT to draw me a picture of a dragon. It gave me the first one above. I initially thought, aha, I have caught you plagiarizing, because the image reminded me immediately of Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit movies.
But upon looking at pictures of Smaug online, as you can see, the AI did not plagiarize. That is not the dragon from the movies. Besides, the dragon in The Hobbit movies would have been made with computer generated stuff, CGI, and apparently the animators drew inspiration from bats, alligators, and lizards for different features.
And a dragon is a dragon. It's sort of like drawing a human and expecting it to look like, well, a dragon. Obviously when I said, "draw me a dragon," ChatGPT was going to come up with some kind of dragon looking thing.
The fair use - or not - of art and literature in the LLM AIs is a complex and interesting topic. What happens when machines begin to read, remix, or even generate creative work?
People who support AI - and I suppose I would be one of them, because I see it as a tool - think the use widens the creative field. In other words, it gives a writer or an artist a bigger scope. I may not have read War and Peace, but maybe there are drips of it that I could have, or should have, used in my own work, some syntax or rhythm, maybe an idea or offshoot. And the truth is, no one can read every book or see every work of art. AI can sift through vast bodies of literature or art history, revealing patterns and influences that would take humans years to uncover.
Given that, AI can create new forms of expression: algorithms can generate images, stories, or music that I might never think to create, offering fresh textures and unexpected combinations.
For people who don’t consider themselves artists, AI can act as a collaborator—helping them sketch, draft, or experiment without the pressure of perfection.
If you look at it like this, AI isn’t replacing creativity; it’s expanding the toolkit.
However, AI is trained on existing works. It doesn't come from nothing. And it's not trained only on existing works that are out of copyright. If it were, it would all sound like Henry James or Charles Dickens. AI is trained on everything from The New York Times to the latest James Patterson novel.
And if that's the case, is the output really original? What does "original" mean if the work being spit out has its basis in Shakespeare and Nora Roberts?
Many artists worry their work is being used without consent, compensation, or even acknowledgment. That's valid. It takes a long time to write a book, to draw a picture, to engineer something.
It didn't take long for me to recognize a ChatGPT piece online. Especially in earlier models, the pattern of language was something I quickly caught. The way it used commas, or em dashes - which I never use, I just use a dash because em dashes take an extra step and I forget what it is - led to a lot of little essays that basically all read the same.
Newer models are not quite so predictable, but the methodology is still there if you look for it. Those cute little stories on Facebook that have some little "awww" moment or heart-jerking end-line? All the same thing.
We’re in a transitional moment with AI. Look again at the two pictures. They both were created with computers, but one, the one from the movie, was created with real people doing an awful lot of work to make up a realistic looking dragon. And ChatGPT in about a minute, maybe less, coughed up this lovely little dragon picture that immediately made me think "movie" and then look to see if that were indeed the case.
What do we value in art? Is it the final product, or the methodology? Imperfections, the lived experience, the point of view - all of this matters in a piece of creation when humans are behind the effort.
I'm not so sure that has any effect on the things an AI spits out.
The conversation isn’t about choosing sides so much as deciding what kind of creative ecosystem we want to build.
Like most things in art, the tension itself might be part of the story.
With Virginia and the nation celebrating 250 years of freedom from England in 2026, I thought it might be fun to occasionally bring up some local history. At one time, Botetourt County stretched all the way to the Mississippi and into Wisconsin, which means my county's history is also the history of much of the nation.
Botetourt County has few claims to well‑known authors and writers, and for nearly 100 years not many people have realized the county has a connection to poet Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918) and to Harper’s publisher Henry Mills Alden (1836–1919).
The county’s link to these two noteworthy figures rests with Ada Foster Murray Alden (1857–1936).
In 1868, Ada’s family moved to Botetourt from Craig County, the last of some 43 different moves that her father, Joseph Foster (1816–1880), made with a family of 10 children. He eventually purchased the 64‑acre farm located on the North Fork of Catawba Creek, about four miles outside Fincastle at the foot of Caldwell Mountain. They called the farm Edgebrook.
In an unpublished autobiography written in 1930, Ada, the youngest child, recalled that she was eleven years old when they arrived in the county. Her father died on the farm; her mother passed away in 1895 in Norfolk. Both are buried in Mt. Pleasants Cemetery in the White Church area of Botetourt. Joseph Foster, a teacher, was formerly the president of Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia (now Marshall University).
For years the exact location of the Foster home was uncertain. An inquiry from John Foster to this writer led to a detailed examination of records in the Botetourt County Clerk’s Office and a discussion with an older landowner on the North Fork of Catawba. Based on this information, the property was found.
The children of the family sold the land in 1916, ending the Foster family’s direct connection with this particular parcel near Fincastle.
Ada painted a vivid picture of life at Edgebrook: “The rude, tiny house shaded by beech, sycamore, walnut and locust trees had a magnificent mountain for its background, with the Peaks of Otter in the blue distance. From our living room window the sunrise behind these three azure peaks and Caldwell’s Mountain was a real throne for the setting sun.”
She remembered stagecoaches passing by on their way from Bonsack to White Sulphur Springs via New Castle. “The large, rolling, gaudily painted coaches had such fanciful names as Ladybird and Fairy Bell. They also carried the mail, which made them the greatest element of romance in our almost hidden life,” she wrote. The family often welcomed travelers with cool water or homemade lemonade.
One memorable summer visit came from cousins Clarence Fonerden and “millionaire” Fred Van Bueren. To Ada, sophisticated city guests were a mark of distinction in their rural world. That summer the family also acquired its first carriage — “the dream of my worldly ambition.”
Ada also recalled visiting the Breckinridge family’s private library at Grove Hill, a plantation home just outside of Fincastle that burned in 1909.
According to her obituary, one of her earliest memories occurred before the family moved to Botetourt. In April 1861, her eldest brother brought home a newspaper bearing the black‑letter headline “War Declared.” Though opposed to slavery, her father decided at the outbreak of war that Virginia “had the first claim upon his loyalty.” Her eldest brother, Hopkins Barry Foster, was disabled in Confederate service, and another brother, 12‑year‑old Joseph Barrymore Foster, served as a drummer boy.
Ada married in 1874. Her husband was Kenton Murray, a “charming young gentleman” originally from the Coyner’s Springs area of Botetourt. They became acquainted when she submitted a poem to the Mobile Register, which Murray edited. He later became publisher of The Norfolk Landmark, a newspaper that ceased publication in 1911. Considered one of the best‑known newspaper men of the South, Murray was widely respected at the time of Ada’s death. The Murrays had five children, and when Kenton died in 1895 their son Kenton Foster Murray succeeded him as editor of the Landmark at just 19 years old.
In 1901, Ada married Henry Mills Alden, the longtime editor of Harper’s magazine. She described their meeting with playful charm: after deciding to submit her poems to northern magazines, she visited the Century Magazine office. Richard Watson Gilder, then editor of Century, called Henry Alden and reportedly said, “Were you able to do anything for that charming little widow I sent you with a lot of good poetry?” Alden’s reply: “Well yes, I married her.”
Alden shaped American letters for decades. With Harper’s from 1869 until his death in 1919, he edited countless stories and essays and maintained friendships with many of the era’s leading writers.
Ada was a literary figure in her own right. She published her first poem in the New York Evening Post at age 15 and continued writing throughout her life, contributing articles and editorials to newspapers including The Norfolk Landmark and The New York Times. One early editorial she wrote in 1876 advocating cremation sparked controversy and the withdrawal of advertisements, she later recalled.
She wrote and published poetry into her later years, and in her seventies received a National Poetry Society prize for her poem Unhearing. She was a member of the Poetry Society of America and the Women Poets of New York. Ada died of a heart attack at a son’s home in New York.
Her daughter, Aline Murray Kilmer, married poet Joyce Kilmer, best known for the beloved poem “Trees,” which he dedicated to his mother‑in‑law when it was first published.
With her personal accomplishments and her connections to literary figures like William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Woodrow Wilson, Ada Foster Murray Alden deserves a place on Botetourt County’s short list of notable historic figures. She joins such names as Mary Johnston (1870–1936), the best‑selling author of To Have and To Hold, who was writing during the same period.
References
Alden, Ada Foster Murray. Unpublished Autobiography, 1930. Botetourt County, Virginia. [Unpublished manuscript; exact source unknown].
Word Association. Share what comes to mind when you hear the word ...
1. Biscuit - Gravy
2. Crayon - Color
3. Warmth - Sun
4. Flip - Flop
5. Slush - Mud
6. Wing - Bird
7. Candle - Wax
8. Cinnamon - Buns
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.
__________
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1) "With or Without You" is about the pain of love. What song reminds you of an old romance? Is it about the joy of love or the pain?
A. I don't have a song that reminds me of an old romance. I've been married for 42 years so I just have this old fellow to love on. We never really had a song, either, to be honest.
2) U2 lead singer Bono has admitted that, when the group recorded this song in the 1980s, he was wrestling with his real-life commitment issues. He was trying to resolve the responsibilities of being a husband with the demands of his career. He worked it through, and decades later both his marriage and his career are still going strong. Do you feel you have been more successful in your personal or professional relationships?
A. I would consider that to be about equal.
3) Bono credits his wife Ali with helping him through a tough period of writer's block, saying she put the pen in his hand each morning. What time of day finds you the most energized, productive or creative?
A. I seem to do my best work between 11 a.m. and 2 pm.
4) Bono likes to pedal around town when he's not onstage. What do you do for exercise?
A. I walk on a treadmill.
5) Bono is U2's lead singer, backed by three very talented bandmates: The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr., and Adam Clayton. Bruce Springsteen is a big fan of U2's concert performances. If Saturday 9 were to bestow upon you a free ticket to any see any band or performer live, who would you choose?
A. The Eagles but before Glenn Fry passed away.
6) U2 got together 50 years ago, when they were school boys in Dublin. Have you ever visited Ireland? If not, would you like to go?
A. I have not visited Ireland. I would like to go.
7) In 1987, the year this song was popular, Cher won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her most famous line was, "Snap out of it!" Without looking it up, can you name the movie that made her an Oscar winner?
A. I have absolutely no idea. I don't know that I've ever watched a movie with Cher in it.
8) Also in 1987, the first Starbucks opened. What's your standard Starbucks order?
A. I have never ordered anything from Starbucks.
9) Random question – Which self-help book would you be more likely to pick up, the one designed to improve your body or your mind?
A. The one designed to improve your mind.
*We are having my father's interment today, since the ice has finally melted. I may not get around to visiting other blogs right away.*
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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
For today's Thursday 13, I offer up a list of misheard lyrics:
1. “Blinded by the Light” – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band For years, I heard it as “Wrapped up like an edition of the Roller in the night,” which honestly sounds like something out of a surreal 1970s magazine spread. The actual lyric is “revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night,” with “deuce” referring to a ’32 Ford coupe. Once you know that, the line finally makes sense — but the misheard versions are far more fun.
2. “Tiny Dancer” – Elton John “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” has become a cultural touchstone. The real line is gentler and decidedly not about a sitcom star. The real line is "Hold me closer, tiny dancer."
3. “Bad Moon Rising” – Creedence Clearwater Revival “There’s a bathroom on the right” is so common that Fogerty has leaned into it onstage. The real lyric warns of trouble, not plumbing. The real line is "There's a bad moon on the rise," although I have misheard it as "There's a bad moon on the right," myself.
4. “I Can See Clearly Now” – Johnny Nash Many hear “I can see clearly now, Lorraine is gone,” as if poor Lorraine had been the problem all along. It’s the rain that’s gone, not a person. "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone," is the actual line.
5. “We Will Rock You” – Queen Some listeners swear they hear “Kicking your cat all over the place.” It’s “can,” not “cat,” though the beat makes it easy to mishear. The actual line is "kicking your can all over the place."
6. “Like a Virgin” – Madonna The misheard “Like a surgeon” became so iconic that Weird Al turned it into a full parody. But it's really, "like a virgin."
7. “Africa” – Toto The line about blessing the rains often morphs into “I miss the rains” or “I guess it rains,” depending on the listener’s expectations. The line is "I bless the rains down in Africa,"
8. “Every Time You Go Away” – Paul Young “You take a piece of meat with you” is a surprisingly common mishearing. It’s “me,” not “meat,” though the vowel stretch invites confusion. "You take a piece of me with you," is the real line.
9. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA Some listeners hear “You can dance, you can die,” which gives the song an oddly ominous twist. The real lyric is “You can dance, you can jive,” but the bright delivery blurs “jive” just enough that the ear sometimes takes a darker detour.
10. “Livin’ on a Prayer” – Bon Jovi The line about making it “or not” sometimes becomes “if we’re naked or not,” which is . . . a different kind of struggle.
11. “Desperado” – Eagles A subtle one: some listeners add an extra “to” at the end of the final line, softening the urgency and changing the rhythm. The real lyric is “You better let somebody love you before it’s too late,” which lands more firmly without that extra syllable the ear wants to sneak in.
12. “Rapture” – Blondie Debbie Harry’s rapid-fire delivery turns “man from Mars” into “men from bars” and “eating cars” into “eating corn” for many listeners.
13. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen That fleeting moment where it sounds like the mother might be the one who “killed a man” — an easy mishearing in the operatic swirl. The line is, "Momma, just killed a man," except the comma doesn't seem to make it into the song.
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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 947th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Shifted from physical media (CDs/DVDs) to digital licenses and platforms like Steam.
📲 Online & Casual Gaming Shift
Games moved online and to mobile: casual experiences like Candy Crush.
A different model: licensing, downloads, and microtransactions replace physical disks.
🏆 Key Takeaways
You witnessed the entire evolution of gaming: home consoles → home computers → PC DOS games → RPG & strategy epics → modern digital distribution.
Played across genres: text games, platformers, FPS, RPGs, strategy, simulation, and casual/mobile games.
Not just a player—you programmed, adapted, and collected over decades.
Survived a male-dominated, evolving gaming world.
Your story reflects both personal and computing history.
Verdict: Legendary is accurate—but your journey is more than that: it’s an epic narrative of gaming itself.
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I still have many of these old games on disks, tucked away in a closet. I have nothing to play them on, of course.
The reason I was able to play so many video games was this: I was home alone a lot. My husband was a firefighter. He worked a 24-hour shift. At night, after work, I wound down with a video game instead of watching television.
I have never been a big television watcher.
After we talked some more, ChatGPT wanted to make an image showing off all of this information. I will share it here:
How about you? If you were or are a gamer, do you consider yourself legendary?
