Sunday Stealing

1. Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?

A. I think The Dance of Anger, by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D., was a life-changing book. It gave me permission to be angry about things that had happened to me.

2. Do you prefer to read fiction or nonfiction?

A. I read both and really don't have a preference.

3. If you could be a character in any novel you've read, who would you be?

A. I would be Anne Shirley in the Anne of Green Gables series of books by L.M. Montgomery.

4. Has reading a book ever made you cry? Which one and why?

A. The first book I remember reading that made me cry was Bambi, by Felix Salten. This was not the Disney version, this was the actual book, and I was seven years old when I read it. When Bambi's mother died, I cried and cried.

5. How many books do you read a year?

A. At the moment, I am up to 69 books this year and the majority of those are audiobooks. I used to read at least 100 books a year but as my eyesight has grown worse, I don't read as much because my eyes tire easily. 

6. Name a book you had to read but hated. Why did you hate it?

A. I honestly don't recall ever hating a book. Some of the books I had to read for advanced English classes were difficult - Dostoyevsky comes to mind - but I didn't hate them.

7. If someone wrote a book about your life, what would it be called?

A. Oh, I don't know. The Weird Path Taken, perhaps. I took a path most people don't take - I turned my back on the corporate world and set about doing my own thing.

8. Have you ever written (or started to write) a book?

A. I have started writing books, but I've never managed to finish one.

9. If you could pick a book you've read to make into a movie, what would it be?

A. Just looking at the books I've read this year, I think I would go with The Last Bookshop in London, by Madeline Martineau.

10. What was your favorite book as a child?

A. My favorite book as a child was Miss Osborne the Mop, by Wilson Gage.

11. What are you reading right now?

A. I am in between books at the moment. I just finished The Courage to be Disliked, by Ichiro Kashimi, which I do not recommend. I haven't decided on my next read as I've been busy with holiday stuff.

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Sunday Stealing

1. What was the last song you listened to?

A. The song I have running through my head at the moment is, "I Want to Be in Love," by Melissa Etheridge. I'm not sure it's the last one I heard, but that's my ear worm for the morning.

2. What is your favorite thing about the place you live?

A. I like my house because my husband and I built it ourselves. It's cozy.

3. What is your earliest childhood memory?

A. When I very young, maybe about 4 or so, my brother, who is 3 years younger than I, climbed up on the kitchen cabinet and managed to get a hold of an entire bottle of aspirin, which he proceeded to eat. I found him and ran to my mother to tell her, and they took him to the hospital to get something to make him throw them up.

4. If you could be any animal, what would you be?

A. I would be a deer. They are inquisitive animals.

5. Who do you trust the most in your life?

A. I trust my husband more than anyone. After all this time, I should.

6. How many languages can you say "hello" in?

A. Three, I think.

7. What is your favorite kind of weather?

A. I like for it to be about 72 degrees, sunny, with a tiny gentle breeze tickling my nose.

8. How did you discover that Santa wasn't real and how old were you?

A. I learned that very early on. I had lost a tooth early, when I was 5, by falling on my grandmother's stoop. The tooth fairy came and brought a 50-cent piece. When I was helping my mother dust one day shortly after that, I discovered a bowl full of 50-cent pieces and quickly deduced that my parents were the tooth fairy, and from there made the leap to Santa Claus. My mother confirmed my suspicions but asked me not to tell my brother.

9. What is the best feeling in the world?

A. Knowing that you are loved is one of the best feelings in the world.

10. What is your favorite color?

A. Blue is my favorite color.

11. Is there a language you would love to learn?

A. I would like to relearn Spanish. I had it in high school, but I have forgotten most of it.

12. How do you feel about reality TV?

A. I don't think reality TV has helped the country much. I watch some of it, but I think it contributes to the dumbing down of the USA.

13. Did you ever skip school when you were a kid?

A. I did skip school when I was in high school. I used to slip out early and miss band class. I was warned if I missed another I would be reprimanded, didn't listen, and received an in-school suspension for it. I don't know if they still do that. Probably not.

14. What is your least favorite food?

A. I will not eat coconut.

15. Do you have a good luck charm?

A. I do not have a good luck charm.

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Sunday Stealing

1. When do you feel most authentically yourself?

A. I feel I am myself around my husband, my friends, and when I am writing. I am also myself when I am playing music.

2. What are you thankful for today?

A. Today I am thankful for my husband, who went out to run errands. On Monday, we are celebrating our anniversary.

3. Name a memory you hope you never forget.

A. I hope I never forget the day I married.

4. What are ways you connect with long distant friends?

A. I email them, send instant messages or texts to them, or write a real letter to them. I also occasionally call some of them.

5. How do you reconnect with yourself when you feel lost?

A. I usually go to sleep. After I wake up, I am more myself.

6. What would be your signature drink if you owned a café?

A. The Writer's Block would be an iced coffee, almost a slushie type of drink, with a big ice cube in it and a splash of Irish whisky.

7. What is something you’ve let go of as you've grown older?

A. I have let go of the idea that I have to always be doing something.

8. What are the things you're most likely to lie about?

A. I am most likely to tell white lies. "Does this look good on me?" "Well, of course!" Even if it doesn't. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

9. What’s something you wish you had more time to learn?

A. I wish I had more time to learn how to drive a spaceship away from this planet.

10. List social media trends that puzzle you.

A. All social media trends puzzle me.

11. List local phrases and terms you use often.

A. "Cut off the light," which means to turn off the light. "Fixin' to," which means getting ready to go do something. "Bless your heart," which means either that's sad or not, depending on word emphasis and/or context. And then there's "over yonder" which means, well, over there somewhere.

12. If you could only wear only three colors, what would they be?

A. Black, blue, and purple.

13. What are your favorite books, music, tv, movies, and media this month?

A. This month is only half over, but we have been enjoying West Wing, which we somehow missed the first go-round.

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Sunday Stealing

1. Name a hobby you've learned from a friend.

A. When I was in the 4th grade, my mother had taught me how to knit. But I did not keep it up and had forgotten how to do it. My friend T. brought me knitting needles and yarn and patiently showed me how to knit again, as well as crochet. I managed a couple of scarves but that's about it. I simply do not have the patience for it.

2. What are your physical activity preferences?

A. I like to walk.

3. List music you think is essential for everyone to hear.

A. Music that is essential for everyone to hear includes classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart),  Queen, Pink Floyd, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, and Taylor Swift.

4. Name something you have to relearn every time you do it.

A. I cannot remember how to pay the Medicare bill online for my husband when it arrives, so I have to relearn it every 3 months.

5. When do you start thinking about holiday season planning?

A. I generally start thinking about it in August. I don't want it all crammed onto one credit card bill.

6. List some quirks & preferences you have about writing letters.

A. The only preference I have for writing letters is that I need to do it on the computer because my handwriting is so bad.

7. If you had to limit your reading to only 3 genres, what would you pick?

A. I would pick fantasy, nonfiction, and mysteries.

8. When joining teams, would you rather lead or follow?

A. I'd rather not be on a team at all. Can I simply sit in the stands?

9. What’s your dream concert, and who would be performing?

A. My dream concert would be a completely private performance, with no one in the audience but me and a few members of family and some friends, with a lineup of Pat Benatar, Heart, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Pink, Linda Ronstadt, and Stevie Nicks. (I think I just created a personal feminine festival.)

10. What is the funniest, weirdest, silliest, animal/pet you’ve ever met?

A. I honestly have no answer for this question.

11. How has love changed for you over the years?

A. I think I am more mellow in some respect, but less tolerant and more judgmental in others.

12. Name a book, movie, or song that brings you a sense of peace.

A. I have no idea why this piano song makes me feel peaceful, but it does. I used to fall asleep to it before my husband retired.

 

13. List names you like but which wouldn’t suit you.

A. Buzz, Velvet, Ginger, April, Nicole.

14. What’s a part of yourself you're still working to understand?

A. I am working to understand my very quick temper. Sometimes it scares me, I become angry so quickly these days. My fuse used to not be so short.

15. Name something you love about yourself today.

A. I love that I took the time out of my day to listen to a young woman's fears about the incoming administration.

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Sunday Stealing

1. Name some local events, parades or festivals – either in your hometown or state.

A. We have several local festivals, one in Fincastle in September and one in Buchanan in the first weekend in October. We have Christmas parades in both towns, too. Buchanan has a carnival and a July 4 parade. We also have a farmers' market during the growing season, and there are music events in Daleville over the summer.

2. Life update – what’s happened recently, moving house, family wedding, vacation, new pet, visited with a friend, and so on.

A. I go to the grocery store, come home, and put the groceries away. No one has moved, we've had no weddings, no one has died, no new pets, I haven't seen any friends except at the aforementioned grocery store. I am trying to lay low and keep my mouth shut and am not being successful at that.

3. Do you have any family traditions this month?

A. No.

4. The holidays are about two months away. Do you begin shopping or creating now or wait until December?

A. I began Christmas shopping in August.

5. What is your favorite November memory?

A. My mother once made a pumpkin pie that did not set up properly. We called it "pumpkin pudding." It was good all the same, although I think she was unhappy about it.

6. Now that the weather is getting cooler do you prefer staying indoors or going outdoors? What do you do?

A. I am indoors most of the year because of my allergies to everything outside. In the spring, it's the pollen. In the fall, it's the mold. In the winter, it's the cold that makes my asthma act up. 

7. Describe your favorite local restaurant.

A. I don't have a favorite local restaurant, although the Daleville Tap House serves a very good salad. They grow their own greens in a hydroponic garden, so they are always fresh.

8. Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving?

A. I do not know what this means.

9. If you could take any class, what would you select?

A. I would return to my English literature classes.

10. To celebrate November would you rather enjoy pumpkin pie or sweet potato?

A. I am not a fan of either one.

11. How do you handle setbacks and failures?

A. Not very well.

12. If everything in your house had to be one color, which color would you choose?

A. Most everything in my house is one color, some variation of earth tones. The walls are off white or almond. I'll go with that one.

13. Who or what would you haunt if you were a ghost?

A. If I were a ghost, I would like to haunt the White House. But I think the laws of being a ghost imply that ghosts haunt things they are familiar with, like homes or pieces of furniture, so I am not sure that is possible.

14. Have you ever worn clothing with the labels still attached?

A. Not intentionally.

15. What's something weird that you recommend everyone try at least once?

A. Apologizing and/or asking for forgiveness. Apparently, that's an old-fashioned notion, to say, "I'm sorry" and mean it. Manners are now weird.

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Sunday Stealing

1. What’s your guilty pleasure?

A. I'm not sure I have one. Something chocolate, I suppose.

2. Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

A. I like breakfast foods. I could eat breakfast for all three meals.

3. What do you do when you want to chill out after a long day?

A. Watch TV with my husband.

4. How would you spend your ideal weekend?

A. I would be away from home, someone would fix all the meals, and I'd read, listen to music, take a stroll with my husband, maybe visit a museum.

5. Do you listen to podcasts, or mostly just music? What’s your favorite podcast?

A. I mostly listen to music. I do not have a favorite podcast at the moment, although I listen to "Fresh Air" from NPR probably more than I do anything.

6. Do you prefer to go to the movies or watch movies at home?

A. It depends on the movie. Most movies I prefer to watch at home; occasionally there is an outlier that I want to see on the big screen.

7. What was your favorite TV show growing up?

A. I was into The Rookies, Emergency, and Charlie's Angels.

8. What’s your favorite TV show now?

A. I don't really have one at the moment. 

9. How would you spend your birthday if money was no object? 

A. I would take a private jet to Ireland and spend the day there, and fly home.

10. What’s your favorite season? What do you love most about it?

A. I am partial to spring. It's a new time, new little calves, new flowers on the trees. And it's such a relief to the dreary winters we have in Virginia.

11. Do you prefer camping or going to the beach?

A. You do know you can camp at the beach, right? When I was a child that was how we went. I prefer a motel wherever I am that is not home.

12. Which phone app do you think you use the most?

A. I use the Libby app on my phone the most.

13. Would you rather cook, order delivery, or go out to eat?

A. I would rather order delivery or go out to eat.

14. How do you drink your coffee?

A. I do not drink coffee.

15. If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose?

A. Just a dog would be great. I miss having a dog.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

1. What’s the best birthday party you’ve ever had?

A. My husband threw me a surprise birthday party the year I turned 50. He rented out a room at the local pizza joint and went into my phone and just invited everyone he could reach in my contacts. It made for an interesting mix of people. Good thing everyone liked pizza.

2. Where is your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

A. My favorite place is home. My favorite place to visit is unknown. 

3. How do you like to spend your free time? 

A. I like to play music, play video games, spend time with my husband, not necessarily in that order.

4. What’s one of your favorite bands?

A. The Eagles. I'm listening to them right now.

5. What is the cutest animal you’ve ever seen in person?

A. Baby calves are cute.

6. How would you describe your style?

A. It's just me style. I don't really have a style, although I suppose some people would say I dress rather conservatively.

7. If your wardrobe could only be one color, what would it be? 

A. Blue.

8. What was the first concert you ever went to?

A. I am not sure, but it may have been Loretta Lynn or somebody like that. The first one I went to that I wasn't supposed to go to was The Commodores.

9. What is the best book you’ve ever read?

A. I don't know. I like Annie of Avalon. I like Nancy Drew. I like Lord of the Rings. I like self-help books. Do I have to have a "best"? No, I don't have to have a best and so I don't have one.

10. What’s your favorite movie of all time?

A. Everyone knows it The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But I also like Under the Tuscan Sun, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Replacements, and others.

11. What’s the stupidest movie or TV show you’ve ever seen?

A. It was some Adam Sandler flick.

12. If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

A. A salad. That's not exactly a food but you can put a lot of stuff in a salad.

13. What are your biggest pet peeves?

A. Some of these repeated questions are heading in that direction today. I must be in a mood as I answer this. But not putting the grocery cart back ranks up there.

14. Are you more into brains or looks?

A. Brains.

15. Do you celebrate any holidays? What’s your favorite?

A. I celebrate a lot of holidays. I am partial to Halloween just because but it's not something I actually do much about.

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Sunday Stealing

1. What do you hope your last words will be?

A. "I love you."

2. What do you spend the most time thinking about?

A. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should be doing - and then not doing it.

3. What is something you can never seem to finish?

A. I do not finish novels or long short stories that I start to write.

4. What mistake do you keep making again and again?

A. I open my mouth.

5. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?

A. I received a strong work ethic from my parents.

6. What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?

A. The best thing about growing older is (hopefully) having a little more wisdom. The worst thing about growing older is the decay of the physical body (and I include the mind in that).

7. What do you wish your brain was better at doing?

A. I wish I could remember faces better. I run into people I am supposed to know at the store, and I seldom remember who they are until days or weeks later. Sometimes I never remember who they are. This is frustrating.

8. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?

A. Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

9. What have you created that you are most proud of?

A. I am proud of the magazine I made for my county's 250th anniversary. I am also proud of this blog, because I have done it for such a long time.

10. What were some of the turning points in your life?

A. Turning points in my life include my marriage, my college graduation, and several health issues.

11. What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?

A. I have no problem admitting to any of the songs or artists I like.

12. What small impact from a stranger made a big impact on you?

A. 

13. As you get older, what are you becoming more and more afraid of?

A. I am becoming more afraid of losing my health, and I have become more afraid that some of the benefits I expected to have, like Medicare and Social Security, are at risk.

14. What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?

A. I had teachers who told me I could write, and that supported me. 

15. What could you do with $2 million to impact the most amount of people?

A. I would donate the $2 million to some charity, perhaps Feeding America, after much examination, to ensure that it would be the best place to put the funds to help the most people.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

1. What gets you fired up?

A. I can get "fired up" over many things, but nothing sends me off more than an injustice against someone I care about.

2. What makes a good life?

A. Having someone to love, shelter, food, and enough, whatever that means to each individual.

3. What risks are worth taking?

A. Risk worth taking would include saving someone else's life or doing something that logically you feel would move you toward a much-desired goal. 

4. Who inspires you to be better?

A. I have a few friends who like to kick me in the butt occasionally.

5. What do you have doubts about?

A. Everything.

6. What fact are you resigned to?

A. That I have no control over most of my life.

7. What book impacted you the most?

A. Honestly, it was probably a book that I don't remember the name of, and it wasn't so much the book as when I read the book that it made its impact. It was given to me by a friend who was certain I was a heathen going to hell (she was right), and it was about a woman named Lucy who went through all kinds of trials and tribulations (like Job) but never lost her faith. I'm not sure exactly what the book did for me, I just know I never forgot it. I have never forgotten the friend who gave it to me, either, even though I have no idea where she is and haven't seen or spoken to her since 8th grade.

8. What irrational fear do you have?

A. I worry that a bear might eat me.

9. What is the hardest lesson you’ve learned?

A. I think most of the lessons I've learned have been hard ones. The hardest lesson may be that one that teaches you that you're all alone even in a crowd, and always will be.

10. What is something you’re self-conscious about?

A. I am self-conscious about my weight.

11. What are one or two of your favorite smells?

A. I like the smell of cookies baking and the smell of my husband's chest after he's had a shower.

12. Have you given to charities?

A. I have given to many charities. Most recently I donated to various things for the Hurricane Helene victims.

13. What is the best compliment you have received?

A. One of my old editors told me recently that I was "fearless when you went after a story." I can't imagine a better compliment for a news writer.

14. What chance encounter changed your life forever?

A. I ran into this guy at a football game, and then I married him.

15. What was the most memorable gift you’ve received?

A. My husband gave me a guitar for our 40th wedding anniversary. I'll go with that one.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

1. What do you want to be remembered for?

A. It's ok if no one remembers me. But I hope I have been a nice person. I would like to be remembered for being kind.

2. If you were put in solitary confinement for a year, what would you do to stay sane?

A. I'm not sure what all you are allowed to have in solitary confinement, but I would read books, write, and sing.

3. If you could have video of any one event in your life, what event would you choose?

A. There are things I remember that I'm not sure are real memories. I'd like to have videos of those so I'd know.

4. What are the top 3 things you want to accomplish before you die?  Have you accomplished them?

A. Write a book, obtain a Ph.D., and save the world. I haven't done any of those things.

5. If you were forced to live one 10-minute block of your life again and again, what 10 minutes of your life would you choose?

A. One where I am eating chocolate cake and then going to play on the computer, I guess. Weird question.

6. Have you ever saved someone’s life?

A. Yes. When the Internet first became a thing, I was on AOL and I met a person online with whom I became friends. She was depressed, and one night she was suicidal. I managed to contact the police where she lived in Missouri, and they broke in and saved her life.

 
7. What are you addicted to?

A. Apparently Extra Sugar Free Bubble Gum sticks, which is terrible because up until a couple of years ago I avoided all forms of sugar substitutes.

8. What keeps you up at night?

A. Pain.

9. What do you regret not doing?

A. No point in having regrets, I can't go back and fix it.

10. What gives your life meaning?

A. Trying to offer up happiness to the world.

11. What are you most insecure about?

A. Name something and I'm probably insecure about it.

12. What’s the most illegal thing you’ve done?

A. Um. Drove a car 90 mph? Smoked pot? (I wasn't driving and smoking.) It would have to be something like that.

13. What’s the most surprising self-realization you’ve had?

A. That I am not likeable person. I'm kind, and I'm nice, but I don't think I'm likeable. I used to think I was, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably not.

14. If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?

A. No war.

15. In what situation or place would you feel most out of place?

A. Anywhere there is a lot of people.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

1. What popular TV show do you refuse to watch?

A. I will not watch anything on FX or Fox. I do not watch shows like Law & Order, NCIS, etc. I don't watch hospital shows. I don't like horror, gore, misogyny, or lots of blood (which means I have no idea why I liked Game of Thrones, but I guess there are exceptions particularly for the fantasy genre). I do not watch the shows that feature preachers telling viewers they are going to hell.

2. What pets did you have while growing up?

A. We had dogs, and at one time we also had ducks, chickens, guineas, quail, and some other birds. We also had cattle. We never had cats. My father did not like cats, although he has a cat now. Go figure.

3. What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you?

A. I met my husband, and I married him. He has been the best thing and the luckiest thing that ever happened to me.

4. What are some small things that make your day better?

A. A phone call from a friend or my brother, a present of Tic Tacs from my husband (this seldom happens), writing a good sentence, or playing my guitar.

5. What’s your favorite piece of clothing you own/owned?

A. I guess my "blue thing" which is just a fleece not-sweater cover that keeps me warm. I imagine it has a name but when it comes to fashion I tend to be rather clueless.

6. What’s the most annoying habit other people have?

A. Talking over me. Most people talk over me, like I never said anything or have anything to say.

7. What game or movie universe would you most like to live in?

A. Middle Earth, of course, for movie universe. I know there are Lord of the Rings games too but I think I would like to live in the world of Skyrim (in a world called Tamriel) for that. Although knowing my luck, I'd be eaten by a dragon before I could turn around to see what was coming and wouldn't live long enough to enjoy anything there.

8. What’s the most impressive thing you know how to do?

A. I don't think that anything I do is impressive, but I can make stories out of next to nothing sometimes. Some people might find that impressive.

9. What was the best book or series you’ve read?

A. I've read thousands of books. I do like the Annie of Avalon series by L.M. Montgomery. That's a series that I have read more than once. There are very few books I reread, but I do reread those books.

10. What state or country do you never want to go back to?

A. I have never been anywhere I would not visit again.

11. Where do you usually go when you have time off?

A. Home.

12. What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see?

A. There was no one around for nearly all of the articles I wrote. I was alone when I wrote them.

13. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?

A. Say "I love you" to someone, even if it's only a close friend and not a lover. People need to know they are loved.

14. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to it?

A. Taking an online class.

15. What is something most people consider a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without?

A. My camera, maybe. Or my guitar. I guess either of those could be luxuries to others.

__________

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Sunday Stealing

 

1. What takes up too much of your time?

A. Playing on the computer, reading articles and social media, and the laundry.

2. What do you wish you knew more about?

A. Astronomy. I would like to know the constellations better.

3. What’s the best way to start the day?

A. Get up, get a shower, get rolling.

4. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to?

A. I always wanted to solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.

5. What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?

A. Fantasy, although according to my reading list this year it's not.

6. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?

A. 2,728.5 miles to California and 4,015.1 miles to Paris, France.  Alexa told me the mileage.

7. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?

A. Paris was incredibly interesting with the museums and architecture and all. I would love to go back now that I am adult. I went when I was a teenager.

8. When was the last time you climbed a tree for fun?

A. I am too old to remember when I last climbed a tree. It would have been over 40 years ago.

9. What do you consider to be your best find?

A. My husband. If you mean an inanimate object, then my best find was my wedding dress, which was marked down from something like $2k to $300 because it had a tear in it. But the tear was right where I needed to have the gown taken in anyway, so that was a great deal. I no longer have my wedding gown because it burned up in a house fire.

10. What’s special about the place where you grew up?

A. I grew up on a farm and on a farm, one learns the circle of life. You also learn how to amuse yourself and look after your brother.

11. What age do you wish you could permanently be?

A. I don't think I would want to live forever or be a permanent age.

12. What fictional place would you most like to go?

A. Middle Earth.

13. Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?

A. One of the best vacations we've had was in Charleston, SC. I don't know that it was more relaxing than anywhere else, but we took our time and enjoyed ourselves.

14. What’s the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen?

A. I don't know the name of it, but in the Louvre in Paris there was a painting where the light detail was exquisite. It fascinated me and I could hardly tear myself from the picture to go on the with the tour. You could see the interior of a woman's hand as the light shown down upon her. I probably would never recognize the painting again, but I can still remember that detail of light upon that woman's hand.

15. Who has impressed you the most with what they have accomplished?

A. I went to college with Beth Macy, who is now a famous author who has written several nonfiction books, one of which was made into a miniseries called Dopesick with Michael Keaton. She has done very well. She stepped out of news writing long before I did and was able to channel her work into longer pieces, something I have not yet been able to do. She is just a little older than I am.

My father also impresses me with his business acumen. He has gone from a shoeshine boy to the owner of a country club and a major corporation.