Unreliable Narrator

I recently had a long conversation with someone whom I consider to be an "unreliable narrator." She's never quite truthful but never lying, either, and she twists and turns in the wind like a blown sheet that was ripped from a clothesline and trapped in a tree.

I never know what to believe when we talk.

Mostly, I listen. I answer her questions honestly but sometimes they are strange questions. Sometimes I simply laugh at (with?) her. 

Having an unreliable narrator in a book means that the story, if told from that person's point of view, is never quite what it seems. The narrator may be the killer, but is flat-out lying. Notable books with unreliable narrators include Gone Girl, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Wuthering Heights. Note that these are classics.

Personally, I do not like unreliable narrators, especially if the only reason they are unreliable is just because. Things need to ultimately make sense in the end, and frequently with unreliable narrators, they do not. At least, not to me.

So what does one do with a friend who is an unreliable narrator? Listen. Joke. Take everything said with a grain of salt - and watch what one says in return, because there's a little bit of a trust issue there, when one is dealing with an unreliable narrator.

An unreliable narrator as a book character is not trustworthy. The narrator is biased, makes mistakes, and lies. This can be from ignorance of self-interest, but still, the book is off balance because of this unreliable narrator. The reader has to work out the truth and try to understand why the unreliable narrator tells the story in a circular (at best) manner. Some people find pleasure in this process as they read.

I do not.

It's different if the narrator is a child, or if it's from a misperception or misunderstanding, and things eventually work themselves out. But being intentionally mislead by the narrator is not something I enjoy.

Having an unreliable narrator as a friend is a different thing for me. I don't dislike this person at all, I like her very much.

Trust is another matter altogether, though.

Thursday Thirteen

Many people keep a journal. However, there are many different types of journals.

1. Every day journal. This is the one most people think about when they think of keeping a journal, where you list your daily activities and thoughts.

2. Food journal. This would be a list of things you eat or want to eat or think about eating.

3. Dream journal. Notations about your dreams.

4. Gratitude journal. Things to be grateful for, like having eyes or being able to write.

5. Bible journal. This would be a journal about reflections after you've read the Bible (or some other religious book) and what the words you've read mean to you.

6. Book journal. This could be a list of books you want to read or books you've read, along with your impressions of the book and anything you may have learned from it.

7. Travel journal. This would be a journal about places you go.

8. Event journal. Journaling about a particular event, such as a pregnancy, a move, adopting a dog, etc.

9. Morning journal. Often called morning pages, these are stream-of-conscious journals written first thing the morning as a way to clear the mind.

10. To-do journals. This would be a list of things you want or need to do.

11. One Line A Day journal. It's just what it says it is. Write one line a day about what happened or what you're thinking.

12. Weather journal. Keep up with the clouds and the rainfall in a weather journal.

13. Garden journal. Make notes about the plants in your garden or yard, how well they grow, which plant needs fertilizing and so on.

You can journal about anything. What do you journal about?

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 711th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Cool Car Design

I saw this car and thought it was cool. I wish I had the courage to decorate my car.

Dune

Dune
By Frank Herbert
Copyright 1965
687 pages

I've been interested this year in going back and picking up classics that I overlooked or don't remember. This is one of them. Of course, when I was in high school, Dune was not yet a classic.

It has reached SF cult status, much like Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. This is the first of six books in The Dune Chronicles. Whether or not I read the others remains to be seen; sometimes sequels disappoint.

At any rate, I understand why this is SF classic and a must-read even for fantasy readers. Basically a coming-of-age story, the book has multiple layers and much depth. One could pull commentary out of this book and adapt it to climate change, for example. It's a great study on religion. It even sheds light on today's terrifying issue of cult of personality.

Most of my fiction books go to the library as donations, but this one will stay on my shelf. It feels like a book I may reread from time to time.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. Describe your phone lock screen.

A. I'm not sure what that is. If it's the screen with the time on it, it's bluish greenish and looks like maybe a wave or splash of water.
 
2. How often do you journal?

A. I write in my blog almost daily. I used to keep other journals but I haven't done that in a while. Usually once a year I start one but then I get happy and abandon it.
 
3. What’s your favorite thing to teach others?

A. How to write a decent sentence. No. I used to write in the newspaper to teach people about the local government and how it functioned. Apparently no one read the articles, because the people who are attending the Board of Supervisors meetings now are idiots who have no clue as to what the Board can and cannot do.
 
4. How do you like to spend Sundays?

A. Alive.
 
5. What would you describe as your kryptonite?

A. Books and this computer.
 
6. A TV show or movie you thought was really bad.

A. Anything with Adam Sandler in it is a bad movie.
 
7. Do you know your mail carrier?

A. Yes. His name is Ralph.
 
8. Which regional foods are your favorite?

A. Chicken. I don't know. I'm not sure we have regional food anymore. Everything is trucked in from everywhere else.
 
9. What was your life like 20 years ago?

A. I was writing for the newspaper, so I was constantly running around the county chasing after stories, interviewing people, hobnobbing with the elected officials, sitting in on court cases occasionally, doing loads of writing, and generally working what seemed to be 24/7.
 
10. List some crafting hobbies that you’d like to learn or improve.

A. I would like to learn to make jewelry. My husband bought me a kit several years ago, and it is sitting in the closet, so I must not want to do it that much.

11. What is your favorite type of YouTube videos?

A. I like music videos.
 
12. Describe your surroundings.

A. It's a room with almond-colored walls. There is a corner desk covered with papers of all kinds. Several bookcases line the walls - the one on the corner desk has an out-of-date world globe atop of it. The books range from science fiction to fantasy to books on writing to local history to magic, the Bible, and Qu'ran. Two guitars sit off to the side; several cameras take up space in a bookcase. Two printers sit side by side. Three clocks tick-tock on the wall. Two windows let in sunlight and offer a bucolic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Pictures include Gandolf the White from Lord of the Rings, Melissa Etheridge, a Van Gogh replica, and signed photos of Bonnie Raitt and Charlie Sheen. What does this tell you about me?

13. You're making a Time Capsule to be opened in 50 years.  What 3 things would you put in it?

A. A copy of the U.S. Constitution, a USB drive filled with books and other information, as much as it would hold, and a guitar string.

14. Something you learned recently that resonated with you.

A. I was watching Forrest Gump and was reminded that stupid is as stupid does. Lately I see a lot of stupid happening all around me, which is a good reason to stay home.

15. Songs that get stuck in your head often…

A. Most of them that I know at some point or another. Recently I've been stuck on Calling All Angels by Train.

 _______________

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: Ain't That a Kick in the Head

Saturday 9: Ain't That a Kick in the Head (1960)

Unfamiliar with this song? Hear it here.

1) Dean Martin asks the musical question, "How lucky can one guy be?" Tell us about a time when you got a lucky break.

A. In April 2014, I was driving a 2003 Camry. I was also dealing with health issues. The car doors decided they would lock and not open. I told my husband about it but it wasn't until I became trapped in the car, with him outside of it, during an important doctor's visit, that he decided this was something that needed to be dealt with immediately. Obviously it had become a matter of life and death if I couldn't get out of the car (or in it, for that matter). We went to the dealership in Christiansburg to look at used vehicles. We hadn't anticipated a new car purchase then. As we drove a used Camry around the lot, we puttered through the new cars. They had a new Camry on the lot that cost less than the used one we were testing out - and it had more features (like heated seats!). We bought the new one, and I still have it. It has less than 50,000 miles on it so I'm not doing a lot of driving.

2) This song was introduced in the original Ocean's 11 movie. Have you seen it, or the remake and its sequels?

A. I've seen parts of the sequels and the remake. I have never sat down to watch the movies.

3) All the Ocean's movies are about heists. Why do you suppose audiences enjoy watching caper films?

A. Everybody likes to think they can get away with something. There seems to be a subtle joy in flaunting the law, however minor the offense.
 
4) Dean was born in Steubenville, OH. Though he seldom returned to his hometown, he kept Steubenville in his thoughts, regularly donating toys to area children hospitalized over the holidays. Who received the last gift you gave?

A. My brother. It was his birthday.
 
5) Dean was extremely claustrophobic and avoided elevators whenever possible -- and even when it wasn't. He was late for the first night of an engagement, even though he was staying at the hotel where he was performing, because he insisted on taking the stairs from his luxury suite to the showroom (18 flights). The hotel put him in a smaller, less prestigious room on a lower floor so he could more easily arrive on time for his own shows. Have you ever been stuck in an elevator?

A. I have never been stuck in an elevator, but I also do not like them. I once got off an elevator at the hospital, leaned against the wall, slid down it, and passed out on the floor. I wasn't a patient, I was visiting someone else. The nursing staff brought me to with ammonia and made me sit at their desk for a while, since I declined to go to the emergency room.

6) He and Frank Sinatra were great friends, but they had their differences. For example, Frank loved to party and Dean hated it. One of Sinatra's favorite stories was about how Dean got bored with a party in his own home and went up to his bedroom to watch TV. When the guests didn't take his hint and leave, Dean made an anonymous noise complaint to the police, who came over and broke up the party. When it comes to parties, are you more like Frank or Dean?

A. Dean. I'm not big on parties. Or places with many people.

7) Dean Martin had a secret passion for comic books. He loved them, but was too embarrassed to buy them himself. What's your guilty pleasure?

A. It used to be eating chocolate but I no longer eat chocolate. Eating potato chips, maybe.

8) In 1960, when this song was released, Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. Their relationship began when he was commissioned to take her official portrait. Who took the most recent picture of you?

A. I showed up in a photo someone took on May 22 at my nephew's engagement party. I don't know who took the picture.

9) Random question (Not really so random, considering Dean Martin's reputation): Do you have a hangover remedy to recommend?

A. I don't drink, but I've heard that if you take aspirin before you go drinking it helps with the hanger. Frankly, if you drink so much you get a hangover, you deserve it.

______________

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

 

Around these parts, we've always called these things rock lilies, but they're actually yucca plants, also known as Adam's Needles.  These are about 34 years old or older, as we dug them up from my parents' farm where they were growing alongside the road for no apparent reason.

My friend who grew up in the Shenandoah Valley called the century plants, which I'd never heard.

Each region names things a little differently sometime. As we become a homogenized planet, I glory in localisms like this one. It helps keep things unique.

Thursday Thirteen #710

This is a list of things to think about before committing to a relationship, especially marriage or living together.

1. Money. How does each person handle finances? Are you both thrifty? Both in debt?

2. Children. Does each person want children?

3. Health. Does one or the other person have health issues? Does the healthy person understand the person who is not the healthiest?

4. Physical attractiveness. Does this matter to either person? If one person puts on 30 pounds, will there be problems?

5. Sexual appetite. Some need it, some don't. Is there compatibility there?

6. Travel. Does one person want to travel while the other doesn't?

7. Chores. In this day and age, household chores should be split, particularly if both parties work in jobs outside the home (or have inside offices with 8-hour jobs). 

8. Politics. Does each party have strong opinions about particular facets of the political arena? Are differences insurmountable? Can there be agreement not to discuss differences?

9. Boundaries. Each person should have personal space and boundaries. Along with this, at what point would one person or the other walk out? If one person slaps the other, is that the end game? (Abuse should never be tolerated by anyone, but it should not be met with violence. Just leave.)

10. Pets. Maybe one person likes cats and the other likes dogs. How does that work?

11. Religion. Does each person have a faith that is similar? Are both agnostics? Can any deep-seated beliefs be acknowledged and handled by both persons?

12. Mental Health. Does each person have a grip on reality? Does one drink too much, or use drugs? Are there are other mental health concerns, such as depression? 

13. Where to live. Is location important to one person and not the other? Does one like the beach and the other the mountains?

None of these problems are insurmountable, but healthy adults should enter relationships knowing if any of these issues may prove troublesome. 

Do you have any tips for relationships?

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 710th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Bear Returns

 

They Say It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday!

I've circled the sun 58 times! Whoo wee! I am old.

Being old is not so bad. It's not great, but I know a lot more now than I once did. I don't think I'll ever get to travel like I'd once hoped to, but that's ok. I'm a homebody anyway.

I share my birthday with Joan Rivers, Barbara Bush, Nancy Sinatra, and a bunch of very young famous people whom I do not know.

This is the 159th day of the year. Or maybe the 160th in a leap year.

In 1949 on June 8, George Orwell's book, 1984, was published.

Being born on June 8 means I am a Gemini. And boy does that fit! You ever know if I will be smiling or swinging a punch.

"Gemini is known for their quick thinking and their expressive nature. Geminis are individuals animated by an intense curiosity that takes them to new and unchartered horizons. Gemini personality traits include being sympathetic, sociable, intelligent and adaptable in every type of situation."

"Gemini women are very passionate about life but are very hesitant when it comes to love. Due to their intelligence and indecisiveness, Gemini women agonize about the important decisions in their life. If you're dating a Gemini woman, be patient with her; it may take her longer to commit to a serious relationship. However, Gemini women are very witty and outgoing; you'll always have fun spending time with a Gemini woman."

My brother and husband are also Geminis, as was my mother, my maternal grandmother, and my paternal grandfather. Lots of June birthdays in our family.

So far I've received about 100 Happy Birthday's on Facebook, a Wonder Woman mug from a friend, and a little patio table from my husband. And lots of texts, too.

It's nice to have a special day!

To Stuart's Draft

Saturday afternoon, we took a drive. We ended up in Stuart's Draft, which is about 1.25 hours away.

This is the furthest I have been from home since September 2019!

Our destination was The Cheese Shop, which is a specialty food store. It has been remodeled since I was last here. They sell a brand of apple butter that my husband likes. They have Amish spices and things like that.

The remodeled store did not seem to have as many items as the old store, but maybe more space simply made the groceries seem sparse.

Then we went down the road a ways to this:

I hadn't been in a book store in ages. What a wonderful smell! There were not many people in the store, either, so we shopped at our leisure and both of us came home with something to read.

Hurray for vaccinations! Hurray for science!

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. When is the last time you went out to a meal with someone special? Tell us about it.

A. Well, we've had this pandemic thing going on since March 2020. Prior to that, in November 2019, my husband had ankle surgery. So I guess the last time I had a really nice meal out was September 2019, when my husband and I were at Myrtle Beach on holiday.

2. Show us a picture of your favorite cuisine.

A. I don't have a favorite cuisine.

3. What is the funniest thing a man/woman has said to you lately?

A. The only person I see mostly is my husband, and while we laugh a lot, nothing specific comes to mind. So I'll tell you an old joke.

The woman went into a pet store looking for a companion. Her husband was always at work and he was a bit surly, so she thought an animal would help. As she browsed the aisles, she came across a strange looking creature. "What's that?" she asked. "That's a wooly bugger," the pet store owner said. "Watch." He pointed to a trash can. "Wooly bugger, trash can," he said. The wooly bugger raced out of its cage and tore the trash can to bits. "Wooly bugger, door," the man said. The wooly bugger raced over and tore the door to little strips of wood. "I'll take him!" said the woman. She took her new pet home and set him on the table, leaving the cage door open. Her husband came in from work and looked at the thing sitting where he should have his dinner. "What is that?" he demanded. "It's a wooly bugger," she replied. "Wooly bugger my ass!" said the man. And the wooly bugger leaped.

4. What makes a gentleman a gentleman in today’s dating world? Are there any left?

A. I don't date. I'm married. But I don't see much gentlemanly behavior in the men around me, except for an occasional exception here and there.

5. Is there anything you won’t tolerate when out to dinner with your significant other?

A. I prefer that he wait and chew his tobacco when we're in the car.

6. What type of ambiance do you enjoy in an eating establishment?

A. Quiet so I can hear and have a conversation without loud music or lots of noise.

7. Tell us about the worst public dining experience you ever had, whether it be a date or with your family.

A. I can't think of one. We're picky about where we eat and have been known to leave establishments that did not meet standards.

8. What is the lamest or rudest thing a man/woman has said to you lately?

A. Again, pandemic.

9. Are you a good tipper?

A. Yes.

10. Do you ask for doggie bags when you leave food on your plate at a restaurant?

A. It depends. Generally I do not.

11. What is your pet peeve about restaurants and dining out in general?

A. Open wide spaces that look like industrial zones, which makes them so loud you can't have a conversation.

12. Do you prefer to order yourself or do you ever let your significant other order for you?

A. I order for myself.

13. Describe your most intimate romantic dinner ever. (fantasy or real)

A. My husband proposed in the Coach & Four, a fancy dining spot in Roanoke. We were in a booth and he pulled the ring out of his boot, moved from his seat to stand beside me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said, "yes" and the entire room clapped and cheered, which embarrassed him but I thought it was sweet.

14. Do you enjoy piano bars?

A. I have never been in one so I couldn't say.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world for dinner, where would it be and who would you be with?

A. I suppose a nice evening out in Paris somewhere with my husband would be romantic.

 _______________

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.

Happy Birthday to My Brother

 Happy birthday to a great guy, loving dad, hard worker, and best brother ever! He's one of my heroes!

Saturday 9: You'll Never Know

Saturday 9: You'll Never Know (1943)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Haymes sings he must have reassured his girl "a million times or more." Does it frustrate you when you have to repeat yourself?

A. It depends on the situation. Reassurance is one thing; having to do it because the love of my life is deaf from working with loud machinery and won't go to the hearing doctor is another.

2) The lyrics were inspired by a poem written by a war bride to her soldier husband. Have you ever been in a long-distance romance?

A. No.

3) This was the biggest hit of Dick Haymes, a popular singer in the 1940s. He got his big break when he replaced Frank Sinatra, who left the Tommy Dorsey Band to go onto bigger and better things. Are you a Frank Sinatra fan?

A. I am not a fan. I don't turn the radio off when I hear him, but neither do I seek him out.

4) During the 1940s Dick Haymes toured with the Dorsey Band, made hit records, had his own radio show and appeared in nine movie musicals.  Yet by the early 1950s, he was broke. Part of it was that musical tastes changed, but more of it was that he enjoyed night life and high living too much. If you wanted to shave unnecessary expenses from your budget, where would you economize?

A. I'd get rid of the TV.

5) He blamed his money problems for his ongoing hypertension. How do you combat stress?

A. I overeat, play video games, and write about it.

6) Though he needed his voice to sing and suffered from high blood pressure, Haymes was a chain smoker. What bad habit would you like to quit?

A. Eating.

7) Though raised since early childhood in the US, Haymes was born in Buenas Aires to an Argentinian rancher and his Irish wife. This enabled Dick to claim Irish citizenship later in life. Have you ever lived abroad? If not, do you wish to?

A. I have never lived abroad. If I were younger, I would consider living elsewhere.

8) Dick Haymes never regained his popularity as a singer. After touring Europe for years, he returned to the United States in the late 1960s and tried his hand as a dramatic actor, playing small parts on popular cop shows like Adam 12, McMillan and Wife, and McCloud. If you had to support yourself as a performer, would you be more successful as a singer, a dancer, or an actor?

A. I'd have to play my guitar on the corner and sing. I've never been an actor and I dance like Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfield.

9) Random Question: We're at the booth of a gypsy fortune teller. Would you be more embarrassed if she loudly and correctly guessed your age, or your weight?

A. My weight. I don't care who knows how old I am. I'm 57 and next week is my birthday.

______________

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. 

Thursday Thirteen

1. I always have had a tendency to read in low light. Or just wander around the house without the lights on until it's totally dark. My husband says I am part vampire.

2. Vampires are imaginative creatures that humans made up because we have a short lifespan. Vampires live forever, always at the same age.

3. Becoming a vampire at 20 and then living forever helps with the immortality issue of, say, elves. Elves can be killed but live for thousands of years. But there is no discussion of whether they are a baby for a thousand years, and then a toddler for a thousand years, and so on and so forth. They have to age, and if they age, are they really immortal?

4. Immortality is also the reason why we have the Biblical heaven and hell. We cannot fathom not existing. Better to exist in a hellish space than to not exist at all.

5. Other images that deal with immortality include various gods and goddesses, dragons, and other fantasy species.

6. In reality, there are a few biological species thought to be immortal. According to Wikipedia, they are bacteria, a species of jellyfish that regenerates itself continuously, a hydra (a freshwater predatory animal), and bristlecone pines, which are known to be more than 5,000 years old. That's a long time to be alive. Imagine what those trees have seen.

7. The Bible explains that humans once lived much longer lives, then God became fed up with dealing with the same people for so long and said humans should only live 120 years  (Genesis 5:6). It shows that immortality and death were not something they dealt with well eons ago. Humans cannot comprehend nonexistence. I'm not sure we ever have, although I think some cultures do a better job of acknowledging we're going to die than others. The USA does a terrible job of it, we act like we're all going to live forever.

8. Personally, I don't want to live to be very old, like 117 or something. Life is hard enough regardless of the span; a long life may be a good life, but no one is exempt for heartache and pain.

9. I think living to 90 is probably plenty long, but we all go when we go.

10. Now if I could have become a vampire at age 33 or something, that would have been cool. By then I'd have been wise enough to know what I was doing, but still young enough in body to be able to get around and bite people in the neck at night.

11. Some people I would not have bitten, though. Sour pusses. Politicians. Drunkards. People like that I would leave alone. (I wonder if a vampire gets drunk if s/he bites a drunken person?)

12. Witches do not have long life spans, although in some fantasies they are nearly immortal. Taking the innocence or blood of youths to stay alive is a trope in some fantasies.

13. The reason I'm thinking about this is because June is the month of birthdays in my family. We are all getting older. And older.

Not sure we're getting any wiser.

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 709th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Happy Birthday to My Fellow

Today is my husband's birthday! Happy birthday to my favorite guy!

Melissa Etheridge Live in Concert

Saturday was Melissa Etheridge's 60th birthday. She celebrated by having a concert at a hotel in LA. She had 200 people in a 1800-person venue, and sold tickets to the show for the rest of us to watch online.

So I watched. The concert also was a celebration of the release of her new single, One Way Out. The concert was called "One Way Out . . . of the Garage."

It was a spirited show. She was happy to be back in front of people and happy to have someone bring her guitars instead of having to do things on her own. I suspect being a rich rock and roller had spoiled her, as she had helpers doing all the things she did for over a year in her garage.

I enjoyed her early music and have listened to some of her later albums, but honestly after Breakdown I stopped listening so much. She released a compilation of hits and I thought she was probably done then, but she continues to make music.

I snipped this image while she played her concert.

Watching her off and on during the pandemic, while she played nearly everyday (for free for several months, then switching over to her Etheridgetv.com channel where there was a fee, so I didn't see much after that), I learned that she is quite the business person, too. She has another business, Etheridge Botanicals, which sells cannabis-related items. She also set up a foundation to study drug abuse after her son died of an overdose nearly a year ago.

All in all, it made for a late Saturday night for this not-yet-60-year-old, who finds a 10 p.m. bedtime more suited to her lifestyle these days.

It was good to see someone close to my age doing what she loved, and doing it well. There is hope for us older folks yet.

Her band consisted of 3 members. A drummer,
a bass player, and a keyboardist/guitar player.
Melissa Etheridge did most of the guitar work.

She changed guitars for nearly every song.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. When do you feel the world will stop?

A. For me, it will stop when I'm dead. I think humanity will destroy itself within the next 500 years or so. Mother Earth will continue until the sun goes out.

2. What is your personal motto?

A. Do no harm.

3. What is the greatest gift you ever received?

A. Other people's time. I treasure the time people choose to spend with me, because I know they could spend it elsewhere if they wanted.

4. Who is a leader who inspires you?

A. Leaders generally do not inspire me. Hillary Clinton was inspirational for sticking with it even when she was facing a lot of BS from the other side. She should get a medal simply for putting up with BS.

5. What irrationally annoys you more than anything else?

A. My husband. He a "who" and not a "what," but there you go.

6. What small thing can always bring you a bit of joy?

A. A hug.

7. What is your favorite thing to do on a lazy day?

A. Read a book.

8. How often do you take risks?

A. Not as often as I should.

9. Write about your happiest memory.

A. I don't know which memory is the happiest. I don't categorize memories like that. But here's a memory. I learned to read very young. I had an uncle who was in school, and he said I couldn't read, that I was memorizing the books read to me. I am not sure how old I was, but old enough to talk back and know when I was being patronized. I told him to find me a book I'd never read and I would read it to him. He brought home the Cat in the Hat from the school library (my family didn't read much Dr. Suess), and I immediately sat down and read it aloud to him. And he had to admit I could read. I was full of myself for (a) being able to read and (b) proving it to him. People have doubted me all of my life, I feel like I've had to read that Cat in the Hat book every step of the way just to prove I can.

10. How long do you think it will be before we see a female president?

A. A while.

11. Do you think it’s important to be part of a community?  Why? Why not?

A. Yes, it is important to be part of a community. As a citizen, one has a duty to give back to the world, even if it's only a little bit. No man is an island unto himself, we are all connected. We would do well to remember that.

12. What piece of modern technology are you most grateful to have?

A. My computer. I like it better than a cellphone because I can see it.

13. Do you feel anonymous on line?

A. To some degree. It depends on where I am.

14. What is something you’ve always wanted to try but have never gotten around to?

A. I always wanted to travel more, but with a husband who's wed to a farm, that proved more difficult than I ever imagined.

15. What would life be like without the internet?

A. Much better. We would have more community that isn't online; we'd have to meet face to face or over the phone. It's much harder to be mean and nasty in person, although I've noticed some people have completely lost their filters now and can be mean and nasty any ol' time they choose.

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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.