The Stalkers

Medium: colored markers and colored pencil.

The entire time I was working on this picture, I kept hearing the song Africa, by Toto, which was popular in 1982 and reached the top of the charts in 1983, in my head. I hummed it for 10 days while I worked at coloring this picture, doing it in tiny increments as time allowed.

I always liked the song. Some of the lyrics resonated with me, as they must have done with millions since the song was so popular.

My favorite lines?

"I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, its waiting there for you."

and

"I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become."

The song is about love, and wanting, and needing to never be apart from the one that you love. "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you," the song says, noting that a hundred men could not separate the lovers.

Something could, though. The song does not say "Nothing will ever drag me away from you," but instead that it would "take a lot" for the lovers to part. So there are boundaries there. And boundaries are good. It is not healthy to be so caught up in the life of someone else that you lose your own.

But back to those lines that I have always found intriguing.

Stopping that old man along the way, searching for something. I do that all the time, only I do not stop old men. I call up old friends, and new - I like to seek out other's opinions, thoughts, and ideas on issues of concern. That is one of the allures of social media, so many opinions, thoughts, and ideas. There are too many, though - they over stimulate. That is why the singer only asks one person, the universal symbol of knowledge, the wise man. Jungian psychology calls the wise man an archetype, something found in the collective unconscious.

We all recognize it - we all know without knowing that there are always wiser, smarter people out there. Some of us are scared and angry about this these days, so we flaunt our ignorance instead of seeking more knowledge. We do not ask the wise old man, we look instead for someone of equal ignorance to lead us along a familiar path while we resist change and newness with every step. We know this person will not get us to the airport, but he is familiar and comfortable, and we don't want to hear forgotten melodies anymore.

The singer seeks things he does not know, but also things that once were known. He is looking at the past to recreate a present. The wise man tells him he already knows and has what he needs - it's inside of him. She's also waiting for him at the airport.

And then there's that other line: I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become.

This has all kinds of implications, doesn't it? Is the singer unhappy with who he is? He is looking for a cure for what he has become - is that a lovesick young man, needy and wanting? Has he stopped dreaming and become a drone in an office somewhere, letting the desire for capital gain overcome his desires and hopes? And why does it scare him? Is it not acceptable? Has he turned into someone he did not expect?

I have been seeking to cure what's deep inside for as long as I can remember. I was born with an ache, I think, some kind of deep soul-cut that runs deep and long. I've had many people tell me I am an "old soul," and I know that is meant as a compliment. It means I have learned from living, from the things I have experienced, the world I have seen. It means I take little for granted and am constantly seeking more wisdom, more wise words, more of whatever it is that makes us human and whole. It means I have empathy and I feel the pain of the world sometimes. It means I am wise beyond my years.

The years, though, have caught up with me and now I should be wise, should I not? I've an old gray head, after all. Lots of white hairs to indicate that I have lived.

Too bad that few people seek out the wisdom of the elders anymore. The knowledge of the older generation is more valuable than all of the colors of the land, but it's a coin easily dropped in the African desert sands.

Thursday Thirteen

1. Gas prices are inching back up, but then they always do in May - Memorial Day is a big travel day and the unofficial start to summer. The big oil companies can't miss out on their profits from travelers, now can they?

2. How I developed my cynicism about the world is not a mystery - I have lived. I don't see how any one can live in this world and not be a cynic, and disbelieve practically everything one hears. The disinformation in the "information age" is astounding.

3. I asked my doctor for a special prescription earlier in the week - one that will hopefully will have me writing if not here, then in my journal daily. I have plenty to say but not necessarily the will to say it anymore. Maybe a doctor's order will help.

4. Just because I asked a friend about him. Just because I spoke his name somewhere. Just because I saw him then went all to pieces, he think I still care. That's a country song from my childhood. Here's a version by Anne Murray which seems to be from a record player with a skip in it. I remember playing this song with my father about 35 years ago. Sometimes the words come back to, though I am not sure they are the right words or in the correct order. I grew up on country music but when I found The American Top 40, country music was no longer part of my listening experience.

5. Kisses are the most second wonderful thing in the world. Hugs are the first most wonderful thing, I think. If we kissed here like they do in Europe (friends on the cheek) and weren't so weird about our sexuality, maybe kisses would be first on my list. But we don't do touch well here in the U.S.A., and I think that is a very sad statement. I wish I could put my arms around the world.

6. Last night I dreamed something about peanuts and bombs. I have no idea what the two have to do with one another, and I haven't eaten peanuts or peanut butter in ages . . . so clueless as to where that came from. However, I dream a lot, often waking myself and my husband with yells or cries. I don't have nightmares, I have night terrors, and sometimes they are pretty intense.

7. Magic in every day life is hard to find, but I like to look for it. I see it in a child's smile, or when a tired clerk responds to my wink of encouragement, or when some fellow takes my grocery cart from me so I don't have to haul it to the storage bin or the store. Every day magic is an important part of our lives, but we miss it most of the time.

8. Nothing on my desk needs to be there, but it is there anyway. Piles of papers, notebooks, tissues, an empty water glass - is this what I want to surround myself with every day? I must, or it would not be there. Thank goodness for walls, where one can place pictures of beauty.

9. Occident is a word that means countries of the west, esp. Europe and the Americas. Occidental is a person from those countries. I learned this word when I was quite young, and in trying to use it in a sentence, I informed my uncle he was an occident. He heard "accident" and bristled at the thought that he was not a planned child (he was four years older than I).

10. Partisanship seems to be tearing the country apart. Is there an answer? I wonder if these United States will remain united, or will we end up a divided country yet again? History repeats for those who refuse to learn, and we obviously have slow learners amongst our population. It makes me sad to see so much infighting and disagreeing amongst ourselves. I think ultimately we want the same thing; safety, good economy, the right to be left alone and live our lives as we want. So why does everyone keep getting into everybody else's business?

11. Quizzes on Facebook are frequently weird but I sometimes take them anyway. Why I find it comforting to be a Unicorn or a rainbow or the person who is thus and so, I do not know, but the quizzes are popular.

12. Rolling Stones is my husband's favorite musical band. He has most of their albums, I think. He saw them live in Charlottesville several years ago and I was so glad he was able to see them. They are in the news this week because they don't want a presidential candidate to play their songs. I wonder if he will ignore their request?

13. Sometimes I find I have nothing to write on Thursday 13, and grasp at straws. Today is one of those days. I chose a letter from the alphabet to start each number, beginning with "G" and ending with "S." So here we are now, at the end.


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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 446th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Amongst the Herd

What Bathroom Do I Use?

Every year, about 1/2 million women in the United States have a hysterectomy.

That means they have their lady parts removed, usually because of something like endometriosis, fibroids, cancer, or some other issue.

It is not a decision most women make lightly.

My hysterectomy occurred when I was 29 years old. That is young to have such a surgery. It was the only option left, in the end, and the only way I would live and not die of extreme pain and intense bleeding.

I was born female but now I have no lady parts. I don't have a male organ, either, but technically speaking, I am, well, a heterosexual androgynous sort of person who identifies as female. Or something like that. If you want to be detailed about it. I've always just thought of myself as a woman, and until the Republican parties in southern states started making all of these weird bathroom rules, I never gave it any thought.

But now I must ask - what bathroom do I use?

I look and sound female, and if anyone forced me to take off my pants they would assume I am female. But my reproductive value is nonexistent. So what does that make me? Besides, you know, useless in the eyes of some evangelicals who believe if you can't reproduce then you must have sinned big time. (And yes, I have been told that.)

It is hard enough in this country to have fertility problems, to have to endure physical trauma to your body, not to mention the emotional toil it takes to deal with the fact that you can't have children, without having a bunch of dumbasses start bringing up weird crap about who goes to what bathroom.

As if transgendered people or people like myself or other people who do whatever they do haven't been going to the bathroom for years and years without stupid laws.

And then they bring up the "pharmacists, doctors, therapists can say no" to whatever they disagree with, as if they know the whole story. I mean, I took birth control pills to control endometriosis so we could attempt to have children. They were part of my fertility process, a hope that by slowing down the growth of the endometriosis, we might have a chance to produce a child.

This stuff is nobody's business. If more people would mind their own business and keep their fantasies to themselves, and leave other people alone to live their lives as they need to, we wouldn't be having such stupid public conversations. I wouldn't be writing this admittedly stupid and sarcastic blog entry. I know where to go pee, and I know I'm a woman. I'm just not sure that the idiots in charge now would agree with me.

You do know the rest of the world laughs at us, right? The only thing that keeps them from actually laughing in our faces is the fact that we have the largest military machine ever and they don't want to piss off anybody who has the codes to the nuclear bombs.

What happens in my body is not your business. Where I go pee is not your business. Who I sleep with is not your business. Why do you think it is your business? I don't poke my nose into your business. Why must you stick yours in mine?

I think it is a lack of empathy, I really do. That means a person can understand and share the feelings of other people. Ultimately there is a certain and admittedly large group of people who cannot think of other people without judgment or any ability to feel or think about what the "others" might be thinking or feeling. I don't know where this comes from, if it is genetic or upbringing or religious indoctrination or what, but it is there. Maybe it's the result of the 1970s "me" generation, the bunch of us brought up on 7-Up who believe we're the only ones who matter and to hell with everybody else.

If you have empathy, generally speaking, you don't have "others" in your life. You have people who think differently, who seem to be thinking with their emotions and not their heads, or you have people of other races who see things in a different way, but they are still human beings to you and they still function like you do, peeing and putting on their pants one leg at a time. Sleeping and eating, drinking, trying to do the best they can with whatever their lot in life has turned out to be. And if you have empathy, you can see that lot, and see perhaps how a person ended up there, living in a box or living alone, or living with a house full of 19 children. You can see how they are doctors or plumbers or farmers or writers. Maybe you disagree with the decisions that got them to that place, but you can feel for them and understand that maybe they need some help, or maybe not, or maybe they are happy, or maybe not, and that all of them need to go potty somewhere or another and holding it in the shopping mall isn't always possible.

Much of the stuff in the media today - the war against women (yes, I believe there is one), the backlash against the same-sex marriage ruling by the Supreme Court, immigration - all of the issues that make headlines because they sell news, exists simply to divert our attention away from the really important matters. The really important matters are things like appointing another justice to the Supreme Court because we are one short. Or how companies do not pay taxes. Or the lack of jobs and the loss of the middle class. Banks that are too big to fail. Big money that pays for politicians. More people in prison than any other nation per capita. Cutting welfare and trying to end Social Security and undermining all of the social safety nets that a truly modern and progressive and yes, the very best country in the world, would have in place, not destroy.

We would be focusing on making unions strong again, bringing power back to the people and taking it from the hands of the few and giving it back to the arms of the many, but instead the media - big corporate power - plays to our emotions and gives us stories about who goes to what bathroom.

It's a farce. It's a ploy. It's a game created to divert our attention, to divide and conquer, to destroy the things that keep people hopeful and happy. A game played by people who don't have to worry about their next meal. They don't care if you have one, you know. They would just as soon take your pennies as give you a free lunch.

When will we wake up? It's a bad dream, the world we live in now. Wake up America. Because of the things that we've dismantled, we are no longer great. We're just a third world has-been of a nation now, with a growing population of poor. All of those hot-button issues aren't going to make us a great country again.

Where you pee doesn't make you a great country. Great statesmen who have empathy for their fellow human beings make great countries.

Find those leaders, men and women. Vote out the assholes in the Congress and Senate. Find the empathy, and you will find your country.

And then we'll all know where to go pee.

Moving a Tree Limb

The other night, a very large dead limb fell from one of our trees in the backyard. It landed standing up, like a tree itself, leaning against its former owner and another tree.

We could not leave it there for fear it would fall on someone's head.

So hubby brought up the backhoe.

Hubby on backhoe getting ready to attack tree limb.



He moved the backhoe bucket ever so gently, like a mother cat stroking her young.



He moved the bucket and pushes on the limb.



The limb caught on another tree, of course. So he lowered the bucket and lifted from the end of the branch.



Tada! The big branch is down on the ground, ready to be sawed up and placed on the wood pile.
 

Sunday Stealing: A to Z

From Sunday Stealing

A to Z Meme

A) What does the last text you sent say? And to whom?

A. I don't text. However, I do email to people who receive my emails as texts on their phones (you can do that for free, in case you didn't know). The last one of those I sent says, "Looks great to me" and it was to a friend.

B) What does the last text you received say? And from whom?

A. From same friend: "Trying to do a flattering caricature."

C) What time do you wake up most mornings?

A. 6:15 a.m.

D) Are you afraid of walking alone at night?

A. Depends on where I am.

E) What do you do to relax at the end of a stressful day?

A. Read, watch TV, or just go to bed.

F) Where did your last kiss take place and with whom?

A. My husband, today, in the living room.

G) Do/did you get into trouble a lot at school?

A. I am sure I was in more trouble than my folks thought.

H) Do you enjoy your job? If unemployed, are you content being so?

A. I am not working at the moment and no, I am not overly happy about it.

I) Do you often pick up on double entendres and innuendos?

A. How do you define "often"?

J) Have you ever been offered drugs but declined?

A. Yes.

K) Have you ever met someone who has completely altered your way of thinking?

A. Yes.

L) Have you ever been offered drugs and accepted?

A. Yes.

M) Tell us something weird that turns you on.

A. No clue how to answer this one. I'm pretty much a prude.

N) When did someone last admit romantic or sexual feelings for you? Was the feeling mutual?

A. That would be my husband of 33 years and yes, it is mutual.

O) What is something you have given a lot of thought to lately?

A. Whether the sofa would be on the left side or the right side of the room, and whether it would it smell.

P) When did you last swallow your beliefs to avoid an argument or confrontation?

A. I refrain from speaking on many occasions.

Q) Do you usually initiate hugs?

A. Yes. I ask for them if I want one and know the person well enough to feel comfortable making said request.

R) Are you a very affectionate person?

A. I am a bit reserved but if you are someone I know and love, then I am very affectionate towards you.

S) Can you roll your own cigarettes?

A. I don't smoke so I am not sure why this would be a skill I would need.

T) What are you looking forward to?

A. My husband is going away with his mother soon to visit her relatives. While I will miss him, I will not miss the dirt he brings in with him every evening. I am looking forward to a clean house for a few days.

U) Do you have any tattoos. Do you want any/more?

A. No and no.

V) Are you mentally strong?

A. I don't think so but I have friends who tell me I am the strongest person they know. So I suppose that is a matter of perception.

W) Are you physically strong?

A. No. I think we all agree on that.

X) Do you think you’re a good person?

A. I do my best to be.

Y) Name one thing you wish you could change about your life right now.

A. I would be healthier and not in pain.

Z) What do you usually eat for breakfast?

A. It varies from oatmeal to egg to nothing at all.

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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.

Saturday 9: Best Day

Saturday 9: Best Day of My Life (2013)

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

(New song for me!)



Clouds from 2009

1) This song begins by mentioning clouds. Do you see clouds in the sky this fine Saturday?

A. There are a few clouds dotting the sky as I answer this question. Mostly, though, it is sunny and the sky a wonderful robin's egg blue.



2) Lead singer Zac Barnett sings that, "Everything is looking up." What are you looking forward to today?

A. Saturday, after nearly a year since our original purchase and a bunch of BS, our new sofa and loveseat is supposed to be delivered. I so hope these don't fall apart or smell terribly or are the wrong color or something. I will be glad to stop sitting in lawn chairs.

3) 2016 is not yet half over, but what's been your best day so far this year?

My man is so sweet.

A. That's rather difficult to answer, but I will go with sometime around February 5, when my husband gave me an early Valentines present that consisted of jewelry AND chocolate. What more could a girl want?

4) The members of the group, American Authors, met in college. When is the last time you heard from a school chum? Do you know them from grammar school, high school or college?

A. Thanks to Facebook, a number of my school friends are around. I suppose the last one I talked to was one I went all the way through grammar school and high school with; he is also my husband's first cousin. I went to school with my husband, too. And my brother. If you want to count "not family," then I last heard from a college classmate who was looking for information about freelancing.

5) One of the all-time best-selling American authors is romance writer Danielle Steele. She's been writing for more than 40 years and has sold more than 800 million books. Have you read any of her work?

A. I have and I confess I do not understand her popularity. Her writing is terribly uneven and stereotypical. Nora Roberts does a better job of story telling, in my opinion.

6) Have you ever dreamed of being an author?

A. Yes. I tossed my one completed novel in the trash about three years. It was terrible and deserved its fate.

7) Do you have an e-reader?

A. I have a Nook, a Kindle Paperwhite, and a Kindle Fire.

8) American Authors rang in 2016 in Chicago, giving an outdoor concert on New Year's Eve on a stage not far from Lake Michigan. There are 5 Great Lakes in all, including Lake Michigan. Without looking it up, name the other 4.

My guitars.

A. Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings in the rooms of her ice water mansions. Michigan stings like a young man's dreams; the islands and bays are for sportsmen. And farther below, Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Eerie can send her. And the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the gales of November remembered. (Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and no, I didn't look it up, I just know the song. I play it on the guitar. Not sure I have the words right but it answered the question.)




9) Random question: You see photos on Facebook of a dinner party hosted by a friend. You recognize most of the attendees, yet you weren't invited. How do you feel? Left out and angry? Do you wonder what you may have done to offend your friend? Or do you just forget about it and move on?

A. Rationally, I would not be offended or hurt or anything else. I don't throw parties and most of my friends have dogs or cats and know I am not able to visit their homes without a trip to the emergency room for an asthma attack. So they would not ask me, anyway, and I would appreciate their acknowledgement of my health issue. Would I like to have a more active social life? Yes. Will I ever? No. It is what it is, but that does make me a little sad.

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

Thursday 13 #445

Stuff to do in the morning before lunch.

1. Meditate. We've all heard how this is supposed to help you, making your blood flow better and your brain less cluttered. So breathe in and out a few times and find your inner calm. What's it gonna hurt?

2. Be grateful. A gratitude journal is a good way to start the day - maybe read over yesterday's entries (or last year's) and remember that all is not lost.

3. Set your schedule. Some people call this a "daily intention" - focus on the things you most want to accomplish during the day. A daily to-do list will suffice if you can't make it feel spiritual. List three things - that's all. Don't overload it.

4. Allow yourself free time. Maybe you need to take a chill pill around 3 p.m. because that's when your energy wears out. Or you need to meditate again. Reasons don't matter, but schedule in a little free time so that, if nothing else, you can stare out the window without guilt.

5. Drink lots of water. Some people advocate drinking a full glass of water as soon as you wake up. Drinking water before you eat is supposed to make you feel full and eat less, too.

6. Stretch. Maybe you just reach down and touch your toes once or twice, or lift a leg or something, but let your body move a bit. (I think a good dance in the morning would be terrific, if I could dance.)

7. Listen to music. Music can help set your mood, especially if it's upbeat and something you like. If, like me, you play an instrument, maybe you should pick that thing up and make a little noise of your own.

8. Smile. Okay, so maybe you're alone in the house. Who is there to see? You, silly! You're there. Go smile at yourself in the mirror. Show some teeth.

9. Pick up/clean up/ make the bed. Nothing says, "I'm up and doing stuff" like making your space a bit neater. There's always something that needs a dusting.

10. Do the thing you don't want to do. Get a start on the hardest task, whether that is balancing the checkbook or clearing out the refrigerator. Chances are you'll finish it up and not stop, but even if you only clean one shelf, that's still one shelf done. With practice, this might even help with that procrastination problem (though I apparently have not yet practiced enough).

11. Take a shower/ wipe off your face/ use a little water. Showers are wonderful. They wake you in the morning and help you sleep at night. If you take a night-time shower, then be sure to wash your face in the morning. The water will refresh you. Maybe spritz your hair with a bit of water to freshen it up, too. And don't forget the deodorant.

12. Brush your teeth. You'd be amazed at how many adults don't brush twice a day. It is an easy task to ignore, especially if you are at home and not going out, but it should be on your list.

13. Eat something. I'm not sure breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but by lunch for sure you should have something in your stomach.
 
There. Now our days are all organized and half over.

You're welcome! (Ha!)

(If only I would follow this advice!)


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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 445th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

The Gobbler

Making Mourning Mountainous

When I was 10 years old, a local monument called the Mill Mountain Star (now the Roanoke Star), a neon construction perched high on a mountain top above Roanoke City, turned red at night when someone died in a traffic fatality.

I am not sure how long this lasted. The star was built in 1949 as an advertising gimmick for local merchants, who built this large neon tubing that is billed as the world's largest man-made star in hopes of drawing in holiday shoppers. The star can be seen for 60 miles and sits 1,045 feet above the city.

For me, the star has always been there. I remember driving home nights with my mother and looking to see what color it was. I would be sad if it were red and remind my mother to drive safely. That, I think, was the real message of the change of color - a reminder that poor driving skills (including drunk driving), kills.

The city stopped that practice in 1976 (I would have been 13) and turned the star red, white, and blue for the nation's bicentennial. It has stayed that way for the most part, except for September 12, 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, when it changed to red, and then it changed to all white in April 2007 after 33 people died in a shooting at Virginia Tech, which is nearby. The white color was to symbolize hope.

Prince (the musician) died last week. Cities turned monuments purple. I do not think our star turned purple. At least, I hope not. I liked Prince as well as most people, more, actually, than my husband, at least, but not enough to feel great grief at his passing. I'm sorry he died and I think 57 is young - that's my husband's age. But I did not cry over him. On TV last night, a young woman said she had cried for two days because Prince had died. And she had never even met him.

This trend of raising up people to be exalted in death while others go unnoticed has disturbed me for some time. When I wrote for the newspaper, I hated those end-of-year stories that I was sometimes asked to write wherein I reported on the "people of note" who passed away during the year. Everyone who died was important to somebody, or at least, one hopes so. Inevitably there would follow the bitter letter from a mother or brother whose family member was not on the list. "I guess my son/daughter/mother/brother wasn't important enough to be remembered," they would write.

Roadside memorials spring up overnight when people are killed in car wrecks, visible reminders that someone died in this curve or on this straight-a-way.

Mass outpourings of grief over people we have never known indicate to me that we have something wrong with our mourning process as a society. I am not immune - I have cried when famous people died. Heck, I have cried when fictional characters in books or movies died. But only for a moment. Only when I hear the news, maybe, depending on my frame of mind.

But I do not mourn these people the way I mourn the loss of a relative or close friend. People I love receive my respect and my grief when they pass on, as they should.

I do not believe that when celebrities die, monuments should turn a color. Yes, perhaps, they are "national treasures" of a sort, but Meryl Haggard, Prince, and a member of some team in the NFL do not deserve week-long mentions on cable TV.

People die every day. Good people. Young people who have not lived their lives yet. Old people who lived solid, decent lives and contributed greatly to our society, whose roles go unnoticed.

Did we turn monuments a color when all of those children were killed at Sandy Hook? Eleven people have been shot in the last several days, in episodes that made the news - will we turn the Brooklyn Bridge a mournful color to honor those lives? And what about the ones not reported, the multiple deaths every hour? How can we put one life above another? Isn't there something wrong with that?

My mother taught me we all put our pants on the same way; we all go the bathroom, we are all equal when standing naked in front of a mirror (regardless of how beautiful). Of course honors should go to those who deserve them, but I do not put celebrities in that league. Presidents, prime ministers, Ghandi, and Mandela, perhaps. Even then, we are honoring the role of office as much, if not more, than the person.

Hollywood stars and other artists? They are not the same.

My uncle passed away yesterday. He will have small service and perhaps no mention at all in the newspaper because he was 80 years old and he and his wife lived on Social Security. He lived in California, a world away from me, and I did not know him well. However, he served in the Armed Forces, he raised children, and for the last 20 years he has cared for his mother, who at 96 is still alive and has outlived all of her children but my father. My father and brother, my aunt and my cousins will attend his funeral, if there is a funeral at all. I'm not even sure there will be a grave marker, though I hope so.

No one will turn a monument purple or green or any color in his name, just as if I died today, no one would turn a monument any color for me.

We idolize too much and too many. I am not Biblical as a rule, but I do believe there are cautions against idols in that sacred tome, and for good reason. When we begin to set others above us, for whatever reason, we create problems. We create inequality, all by ourselves, without any help from the government or any other institution. Religions, alas, have fed into this need for idols by setting up their own versions of "higher callers," those who preach on TV or create universities and Moral Majority groups in hopes of making the U.S. a theocracy instead of the republic she is. The very group that should be speaking against idolatry has turned it into a profitable business.

It is okay to love an author or a musician, and to feel sad when that person passes on. It is fine to remember him, to play the music or read the book, or watch the movie or the great NFL play. But I think that should be done on a personal, not national, level. If you want to get together with friends and play Purple Rain for hours on end, have at it.

We should remember, though, that these people are humans. They simply chose a different and more visible path. Their deaths should remind us that we are all mortal. It doesn't mean we should mourn like it's 1999, and when the clock rolls over to 2000, we're all going to die.

Sunday Stealing: Ask Yo

From Sunday Stealing

Ask Questions, Yo Meme

(Does anybody know what that meme title means?)

1. Are you a very open or private person?

A. I'm introverted but if you ask me a question, most likely I give an honest answer. I am not, however, the most private person I know, which means in some respects, I must be open.

2. Change one thing about the world what would it be?

A. I would make people write grammatically correct sentences that made sense.

3. Live in any country/city, where would you choose?

A. Hobbiton on Middle Earth.

4. What perfume do you wear?

A. None. Everything is unscented because of my allergies and asthma.

5. How are you feeling right now?

A. I have a headache and I am a little low. I also have hiccups, which just started as I was answering this question.

6. If money was no object, where would you move to?

A. I would build me a starship, fly to skies, live among the stars, baby, don't ask me why. Time to leave the ol' Earth and see where else I'm bound, the mysteries here are too lost to be found.

7. Who was the last person to make you cry?

A. I don't know. I don't really need a person to cry, sometimes I just cry.

8. What age do people usually mistake you for?

A. My 40s. At least they don't think I'm 85.

9. Is there a song which can bring you to tears instantly?

A. Yes. Vincent (Starry Starry Night).

10. Do you play video games?

A. I do. I like RPG games like Skyrim, hidden object games, solitaire card games - pretty much anything where I am not interacting with other people.

11. What do you think about before you go to bed?

A. I try to meditate and focus on my breathing.

12. Have you ever online dated?

A. No. I've been married for 33 years. The only "online dating" we did involved leaning against a wire fence talking to one another.

13. Do you get cranky when you’re hungry?

A. Yes.

14. What drink did you last consume?

A. I had a Boost. Before that I had water.

15. Have you ever tripped while walking up the stairs?

A. I trip walking on flat surfaces, so what do you think?

16. Is there something you’re happy about at the moment?

A. I'm very relieved that it rained, because the hayfields were starting to look bad and we were growing concerned. We have to have the hay to feed the cows.

17. Are you a shy person?

A. I'm introverted to the point where people think I am shy. Although I think in my case, some people think I am simply "stuck up," though nothing could be further from the truth.

18. Were you happy when you woke up today?

A. I wasn't unhappy.

19. Do you like rain?

A. Yes.

20. Can you go a day without music?

A. Yes. But I have been trying to do better about listening to it.

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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.

Saturday 9: Little Red Corvette

Saturday 9: Little Red Corvette

From the archives.
 
In memory of Prince (1958-2016)

The musician called Prince passed away this week at the age of 57. This year seems to be the year we lose a lot of artistic people.


1) The subject of this song is frankly sexual. Do you blush easily?

A. I'm a medium blusher. 

2) Prince was his real first name (Prince Rogers, to be exact). Growing up, his relatives called him "Skipper." Do you have any nicknames within your family?

A. Yes, but if I tell them I would have to go into deep hiding in outer space.

 

3) Prince said he was "obsessed" with Mozart and read whatever he can find about the composer. What's the last book you read?

A. I'm reading The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende and listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the car. I am not really obsessed with anything at the moment.

 

4) Between Prince and The Beach Boys, the Corvette is a much sung-about car. Tell us about your vehicle.

 

A. I drive a Toyota Camry. It is my second Camry, and it is white with a bunch of electronic stuff on it that I do not need and doubt I will ever use. I drove it for almost six months before I realized it had a built-in GPS. I liked the interior of the first Camry better, but then it had more room because it didn't have all the electronic junk.

 
5) In the 1980s, when Prince was popular, MTV could turn a song into a hit. In 2016, where do you hear new music?

 

A. Friends post things on Facebook, and I listen to the radio.

 

6) In 1982, when "Little Red Corvette" ruled the airwaves, Braniff Airways shocked the travel industry and threw passengers into chaos by declaring bankruptcy. When did you last fly? Did your trip go smoothly?

 

A. I have not flown since 1993. As best I recall, the trip was fine. (I don't get out much.)

 

7) 1982 is also the year Disney opened Epcot. Have you ever been to a Disney park?

A. Yes, in 1993, that was where we flew to. Disney.

8) 1982 is the year Cheers premiered. The sitcom was set in a bar where "everybody knows your name." Tell us about your favorite local bar or restaurant.

 

A. I don't have a favorite local bar. The restaurant we eat at the most is Shakers, a local chain that has good salads and a nice menu selection. They also play a lot of 1970s and 1980s music, which makes me happy to hear.

 

9) The 1980s were considered a highpoint in professional tennis, with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe dominating the sport. Do you play tennis?

A. No. I play the guitar, though.

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