Sunday Stealing: The Alice Through the Looking Glass Meme
1. If your life was a book, what would be its title?
A. A Quiet Whisper
2. Who is/was the weirdest person in your life?
A. I suspect that is my own little self, but then we all have a little weird in us. I truly cannot think of anyone who is any weirder than I.
3. What is a special thing that someone once did for you?
A. My husband threw me a surprise party on my 50th birthday. He invited everyone in my cell phone list, which included a lot of people I would never have thought to invite (business associates and such) - and many of them came. Since it was in the middle of the day on a June Saturday, it was surprising (and humbling) that so many folks showed up.
4. If you could erase someone off the planet, who would it be?
A. Well, I suspect the answer to that one will be the same for many SS players, someone with orange hair. I'm trying to think of someone else but the only other person who comes to mind is Jerry Falwell, and he's already dead.
5. What’s a big goal that you have?
A. Right now it is to declutter my house while working on my health so that I will feel better. That includes weight loss, exercise, yada yada.
6. If you could time travel and meet yourself at 16, what would you tell yourself?
A. Go find an acupuncturist right away, and do not let doctors operate on you until it is life or death.
7. If it were the last day of your life, how would you spend it?
A. With my husband, holding his hand and telling him he will be fine without me.
8. If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?
A. I would like to meet Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and other books. I am currently reading her book Big Magic, which is about overcoming your fear to live the creative live you were born to live.
9. What is one thing that you would never do that others you know have done?
A. I would not do hard drugs.
10. What is one romance depicted in film that you’d love to experience?
A. I would like to be with my husband in a nice little café in Paris.
11. Describe yourself in just one sentence.
A. She trudges through darkness, her inner light quivering from its struggles for release, as she haunts the naked woodland realms of the mind.
12. Who is the most beautiful person on earth?
A. It is in the eye of the beholder.
13. What was the best experience in your life?
A. My marriage. All 33 years of it.
14. If you could rule the world, what would you change?
A. The entire world would have governments that were social democracies. From Wikipedia (which I know is not the best source but I'm too lazy to look up something else, and besides, this definition works): "Social democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a capitalist economy, and a policy regime involving collective bargaining arrangements, a commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution, regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state provisions. Social democracy thus aims to create the conditions for capitalism to lead to greater democratic, egalitarian and solidaristic outcomes; and is often associated with the set of socioeconomic policies that became prominent in Northern and Western Europe—particularly the Nordic model in the Nordic countries—during the latter half of the 20th century."
We had a mild version of this until Reagan screwed it up, back when we had more regulations and government entities like the FDA actually did its job and worked for people, not corporations, and money wasn't god.
15. Where were you when you heard the news of 9/11?
A. I was working part-time for a lawyer, and he came in and told us a plane had hit the WTC. We had a small TV and turned it on. We were watching live when the second plane hit, and continued watching as the buildings collapsed. After we learned the Pentagon had also been hit, the lawyer closed the office and we all went home. I think most everything shut down. I sat alone watching the buildings collapse over and over in replays when they had no new information, and by the time my husband came home, I was a wreck from having seen it too many times. Since he is a firefighter, I knew that many of the lives lost that day would be first responders (343 firefighters died). My husband did not learn about the events until late in the afternoon; he and his father were putting in a septic tank somewhere on a back road and their cell phones weren't working. Someone driving by stopped and told them that the U.S. was under attack, and they quit working then and he came home. He has never seen the news footage that I saw; he refused to watch it, for the most part.
__________
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. This is my 145th time to play Sunday Stealing.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Saturday 9: Boombastic
Saturday 9: Mr. Boombastic (1995)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song is a rather shameless come-on by an accomplished ladies' man. Do you enjoy flirting?
A. No. I do not care to be either the flirter or the flirtee.
2) Shaggy sings that he's like a turtle coming out of his shell. Do you think turtles, snakes and lizards make good pets? Or would you prefer a companion animal that has fur or feathers?
A. I would prefer a dog, if I weren't allergic to dog hair.
3) He also sings that if you don't feel like driving, you should hand him the keys. Are you comfortable letting others drive your car?
A. Depends on the person.
4) He tries to woo the girl with the promise of a bubble bath. Do you enjoy relaxing in the tub? Or do you view baths and showers as simply part of your hygiene routine, like brushing your teeth?
A. I shower daily. It's part of my hygiene routine.
5) Born Orville Burrell, Shaggy took his stage name from his shaggy hair. Using your hair as inspiration, what would your stage name be?
A. Soft white and Brown. Sort of like Captain and Tennille.
6) Sam admits she hadn't thought about this 20+ year old song in years, until she heard it on a Chase Bank commercial. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, checkwriting dropped more than 50% between 2000 and 2010. Who received the last check you wrote?
A. My hairdresser.
7) Which would you prefer to receive in a birthday card: a $25 check or a $20 Target gift card?
A. The check.
8) Sam's mother refuses to pay bills online. All the news stories about data breaches scare her. Have you ever been hacked? If so, did it take long to get the situation resolved?
A. I have not been hacked, but I have had my credit card number stolen. It was scary, but the bank worked with me, as did the police.
9) In 1995, when this song was popular, Michael Jordan "unretired" and returned to the Chicago Bulls. Tell us about a decision you made that you wish you could undo.
A. I worked for an attorney from 1983-1985. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed there a lot longer - like until he retired in 2002. It would have been better for us financially and probably less stressful for me. The only thing I don't know is if I would have gone on to college and obtained my degrees if I had kept the job, since I left to go back to college. And I wouldn't have wanted to have missed out on that. Maybe I could have found a way to do both at some point.
_____________
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. And this my 145th time to play!
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) This song is a rather shameless come-on by an accomplished ladies' man. Do you enjoy flirting?
A. No. I do not care to be either the flirter or the flirtee.
2) Shaggy sings that he's like a turtle coming out of his shell. Do you think turtles, snakes and lizards make good pets? Or would you prefer a companion animal that has fur or feathers?
A. I would prefer a dog, if I weren't allergic to dog hair.
3) He also sings that if you don't feel like driving, you should hand him the keys. Are you comfortable letting others drive your car?
A. Depends on the person.
4) He tries to woo the girl with the promise of a bubble bath. Do you enjoy relaxing in the tub? Or do you view baths and showers as simply part of your hygiene routine, like brushing your teeth?
A. I shower daily. It's part of my hygiene routine.
5) Born Orville Burrell, Shaggy took his stage name from his shaggy hair. Using your hair as inspiration, what would your stage name be?
A. Soft white and Brown. Sort of like Captain and Tennille.
6) Sam admits she hadn't thought about this 20+ year old song in years, until she heard it on a Chase Bank commercial. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, checkwriting dropped more than 50% between 2000 and 2010. Who received the last check you wrote?
A. My hairdresser.
7) Which would you prefer to receive in a birthday card: a $25 check or a $20 Target gift card?
A. The check.
8) Sam's mother refuses to pay bills online. All the news stories about data breaches scare her. Have you ever been hacked? If so, did it take long to get the situation resolved?
A. I have not been hacked, but I have had my credit card number stolen. It was scary, but the bank worked with me, as did the police.
9) In 1995, when this song was popular, Michael Jordan "unretired" and returned to the Chicago Bulls. Tell us about a decision you made that you wish you could undo.
A. I worked for an attorney from 1983-1985. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed there a lot longer - like until he retired in 2002. It would have been better for us financially and probably less stressful for me. The only thing I don't know is if I would have gone on to college and obtained my degrees if I had kept the job, since I left to go back to college. And I wouldn't have wanted to have missed out on that. Maybe I could have found a way to do both at some point.
_____________
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. And this my 145th time to play!
Thursday, September 08, 2016
Thursday Thirteen
Since today is the anniversary of the air date of the original Star Trek, here are some Trek quotes:
1. “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
2. “We have them just where they want us.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
3. “Change is the essential process of all existence.” – Spock, Star Trek
4. “In this galaxy there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us.” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek
5. “In the strict scientific sense we all feed on death…..even vegetarians.” – Spock, Star Trek
6. “Logic is the beginning of wisdom; not the end.” – Spock, Star Trek VI
7. “Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting, it may not be logical but it is often true.” – Spock, Star Trek
8. “The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe.” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek: The Voyage Home
9. “Second star to the right…and straight on ’til morning.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
10. “Jim (Captain Kirk), you don’t go around asking the Almighty for his I.D.!” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek V
11. “No, I’m from Iowa. I only work in outer space.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek IV
12. “Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That’s the only planet in the galaxy that can make that claim.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
13. "Live long and prosper." - Spock
And let's not forget: "He's dead, Jim." I think Bones said that every other episode.
_______________
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 464th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its 5-year mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
2. “We have them just where they want us.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
3. “Change is the essential process of all existence.” – Spock, Star Trek
4. “In this galaxy there’s a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us.” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek
5. “In the strict scientific sense we all feed on death…..even vegetarians.” – Spock, Star Trek
6. “Logic is the beginning of wisdom; not the end.” – Spock, Star Trek VI
7. “Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting, it may not be logical but it is often true.” – Spock, Star Trek
8. “The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe.” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek: The Voyage Home
9. “Second star to the right…and straight on ’til morning.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
10. “Jim (Captain Kirk), you don’t go around asking the Almighty for his I.D.!” – Dr ‘Bones’ McCoy, Star Trek V
11. “No, I’m from Iowa. I only work in outer space.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek IV
12. “Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That’s the only planet in the galaxy that can make that claim.” – Captain Kirk, Star Trek
13. "Live long and prosper." - Spock
And let's not forget: "He's dead, Jim." I think Bones said that every other episode.
_______________
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 464th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
Ten Years Ago
So what were you doing 10 years ago?
Curious, I wondered what I had been up to in September 2006.
Looking back at this blog and my journal, it appears I was a busy girl, working my way through my 40s (as I would have been 43 years old then).
My work at the newspaper was as close to full-time as a stringer's work could be - I was writing about 30 stories a month. I was covering all kinds of governmental meetings. I was frustrated because people weren't reading the paper and were uninformed about things going on.
"And then there are people who read NOTHING," I wrote. "This is a major dumbing-down of America, and we're all paying for it. We're paying for it with a "peak oil" crisis, with water issues, with overcrowding of neighborhoods, with sprawl, with loss of farmland, with pollution, with loss of timberland, with loss of life. Not knowing affects each and every one of us each and every day. We are all being killed by what we don't know."
Alas, none of this has changed. We are still struggling to find our footing with energy issues and water has become even more of a problem with the drought in California. This was before mass shootings became almost an everyday occurrence, so that is a change. Otherwise I would have listed them as something we needed to worry about and fret over, though perhaps I was referencing it in the "loss of life" line.
What else happened? I spent time in the emergency room being checked for chest pains and a possible heart attack. It wasn't a heart attack, and I determined myself that it was most likely an asthma attack, but it would be another five years before doctors would finally begin to treat me for asthma with anything other than a rescue inhaler. In the meantime, I tried to keep things under control myself by staying away from known allergens, just as I do today.
The years from 2004 to 2009 were probably among the best five years of my life, heart attack scares notwithstanding. I was writing for the local newspaper (The Fincastle Herald) and I absolutely loved the work. I did it well, and it was fun. I enjoyed the community, the people I was working for and with, and the individuals I had to deal with on a weekly if not daily basis. Even though I spent more than 10 years writing for a local paper in a neighboring county, I much preferred my work at The Herald because it was close to home and it involved me personally, because this is the county I live in. Plus I didn't have a 35 minute drive just to attend a 30 minute meeting.
By this time I had a better grip on things from my past, a good idea of what I wanted from my future (which included writing for the newspaper into my 70s, something that, I am afraid, derailed not long after I'd figured that out), and my health was, if not great, at least workable.
In 2009, though, the newspaper went bankrupt and I lost my work there (though the paper continued and continues to this day). I spent two years trying to freelance for various local publications and found that I didn't like writing for the medical magazine, nor did I like having to wait for months for my payment from other local publications.
I also went back to school and finished up my masters degree, which was the best thing I could have done. I graduated from Hollins once again in 2012, MA in hand, and decided to give teaching at the community college level a try.
That worked out ok until my gallbladder went kerplunk in June 2013, leaving me with chronic pain and exacerbating other health issues to the point where my doctor now writes me prescriptions that say, "Do not work. No stress."
Such an edict is stressful in and of itself. What are you supposed to do with your time when you can't lift or run the vacuum, and you're not a shopping queen? It has taken me some time to come up with a schedule I can deal with - and even now, all it takes is one change to throw me off and I am a long time figuring it out again.
No, I do better with the deadline of a newspaper, that weekly have-it-done-by-Monday order as opposed to this endless ocean of time that sweeps out wide and far, turning me into a dot in a vast sea of sharks.
My new goal is to work on my health - doctor's orders - and to try to make my house as wonderful as I can. I am not a decorator and I also lean toward piles of books and papers, which can make "wonderful" a little difficult, but I am giving it a go. Slowly, ever so slowly, a few things are going away from here, things I don't use, want or need.
Downsizing, as it were.
In another decade I will look back and see that this is where I was at the age of 53 - fighting a chronic health issue, seeing lots of doctors, and trying to make my house into a home because I have to spend a lot more time here now.
I hope when I am 63, I will have achieved something else wonderful, like my masters degree, too.
Who knows, maybe I will one day write that damn book.
Curious, I wondered what I had been up to in September 2006.
Looking back at this blog and my journal, it appears I was a busy girl, working my way through my 40s (as I would have been 43 years old then).
My work at the newspaper was as close to full-time as a stringer's work could be - I was writing about 30 stories a month. I was covering all kinds of governmental meetings. I was frustrated because people weren't reading the paper and were uninformed about things going on.
"And then there are people who read NOTHING," I wrote. "This is a major dumbing-down of America, and we're all paying for it. We're paying for it with a "peak oil" crisis, with water issues, with overcrowding of neighborhoods, with sprawl, with loss of farmland, with pollution, with loss of timberland, with loss of life. Not knowing affects each and every one of us each and every day. We are all being killed by what we don't know."
Alas, none of this has changed. We are still struggling to find our footing with energy issues and water has become even more of a problem with the drought in California. This was before mass shootings became almost an everyday occurrence, so that is a change. Otherwise I would have listed them as something we needed to worry about and fret over, though perhaps I was referencing it in the "loss of life" line.
What else happened? I spent time in the emergency room being checked for chest pains and a possible heart attack. It wasn't a heart attack, and I determined myself that it was most likely an asthma attack, but it would be another five years before doctors would finally begin to treat me for asthma with anything other than a rescue inhaler. In the meantime, I tried to keep things under control myself by staying away from known allergens, just as I do today.
The years from 2004 to 2009 were probably among the best five years of my life, heart attack scares notwithstanding. I was writing for the local newspaper (The Fincastle Herald) and I absolutely loved the work. I did it well, and it was fun. I enjoyed the community, the people I was working for and with, and the individuals I had to deal with on a weekly if not daily basis. Even though I spent more than 10 years writing for a local paper in a neighboring county, I much preferred my work at The Herald because it was close to home and it involved me personally, because this is the county I live in. Plus I didn't have a 35 minute drive just to attend a 30 minute meeting.
By this time I had a better grip on things from my past, a good idea of what I wanted from my future (which included writing for the newspaper into my 70s, something that, I am afraid, derailed not long after I'd figured that out), and my health was, if not great, at least workable.
In 2009, though, the newspaper went bankrupt and I lost my work there (though the paper continued and continues to this day). I spent two years trying to freelance for various local publications and found that I didn't like writing for the medical magazine, nor did I like having to wait for months for my payment from other local publications.
I also went back to school and finished up my masters degree, which was the best thing I could have done. I graduated from Hollins once again in 2012, MA in hand, and decided to give teaching at the community college level a try.
That worked out ok until my gallbladder went kerplunk in June 2013, leaving me with chronic pain and exacerbating other health issues to the point where my doctor now writes me prescriptions that say, "Do not work. No stress."
Such an edict is stressful in and of itself. What are you supposed to do with your time when you can't lift or run the vacuum, and you're not a shopping queen? It has taken me some time to come up with a schedule I can deal with - and even now, all it takes is one change to throw me off and I am a long time figuring it out again.
No, I do better with the deadline of a newspaper, that weekly have-it-done-by-Monday order as opposed to this endless ocean of time that sweeps out wide and far, turning me into a dot in a vast sea of sharks.
My new goal is to work on my health - doctor's orders - and to try to make my house as wonderful as I can. I am not a decorator and I also lean toward piles of books and papers, which can make "wonderful" a little difficult, but I am giving it a go. Slowly, ever so slowly, a few things are going away from here, things I don't use, want or need.
Downsizing, as it were.
In another decade I will look back and see that this is where I was at the age of 53 - fighting a chronic health issue, seeing lots of doctors, and trying to make my house into a home because I have to spend a lot more time here now.
I hope when I am 63, I will have achieved something else wonderful, like my masters degree, too.
Who knows, maybe I will one day write that damn book.
Tuesday, September 06, 2016
Bear Video
This is a video of a couple of bears in a local cornfield. Watch one bear run off with an ear of corn while a smaller bear knocks over corn stalks to reach the goodies.
Monday, September 05, 2016
Sunday, September 04, 2016
Sunday Stealing: Mad Hatter
Sunday Stealing: The Mad Hatter's Meme
1. What’s the meaning or inspiration of your blog’s title?
A. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Country and life is Magical.
2. What do you consider your biggest strength?
A. I am logical. Usually.
3. What do you consider your biggest weakness?
A. My physical body.
4. Tell us why we should like your favorite band.
A. I don't really have an absolute favorite, but I will pick Heart today because they are really rather underrated as rock musicians and artists. Nancy Wilson is one heck of a guitar player and should rank among the top guitar players in the US - and probably first or close thereto among women. Watch her play the intro to Crazy on You and tell me otherwise. Ann Wilson has a set of pipes on her that should be the envy of every singer. And their songs have tempo, rhythm, and good verses. It is hard to top Magic Man, Barracuda, or Dog & the Butterfly, among their many other hits. They are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a reason.
5. Who is your favorite model of all-time? Why?
A. I don't have one. I am not into looks. I like people for their insides.
6. Does it bother you when people talk about their pets? Why or why not?
A. Generally, no. I understand that for most people their pets are part of their family. I cannot say the same for my cattle.
7. Tell us about your favorite holiday.
A. I like Halloween. I like the idea of a veil between the living and dead, the idea of wearing a mask, the thought of being someone else for a little while. Also, you don't have to celebrate it with family and have those crazy get-togethers, so Halloween is not wrought with emotion.
8. What was the last fabulous meal that you ate? Where were you?
A. I can't remember the last meal that I would call "fabulous." Sorry.
9. What’s your lucky number and why?
A. Eight. Just because.
10. What are five things you hate?
A. Lies, entertainment that tries to pass itself off as news, coconut, poverty, and poor health care.
11. What are five things you love?
A. My husband, my home, my friends, my family, and words.
12. Tell us a secret. You can because other than us, who’ll read this anyway?
A. I like to pop bubble wrap.
13. What is the favorite body feature of yourself?
A. My brain.
14. Is there a tattoo that you want? If you don’t have one, gun-to-your-head so you have to get one, what would it be?
A. A deer. A little tiny deer on my ankle.
15. What do you love about yourself?
A. Isn't this like question 13? But I will give a different answer. I love that I take time to listen to the people I love.
16. What do you hate about yourself?
A. I hate that I am not athletic.
17. Who is someone you miss?
A. I have a few friends who are not as close to me as we once were. I miss them. But people grow apart with time, and I realize that.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
1. What’s the meaning or inspiration of your blog’s title?
A. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Country and life is Magical.
2. What do you consider your biggest strength?
A. I am logical. Usually.
3. What do you consider your biggest weakness?
A. My physical body.
4. Tell us why we should like your favorite band.
A. I don't really have an absolute favorite, but I will pick Heart today because they are really rather underrated as rock musicians and artists. Nancy Wilson is one heck of a guitar player and should rank among the top guitar players in the US - and probably first or close thereto among women. Watch her play the intro to Crazy on You and tell me otherwise. Ann Wilson has a set of pipes on her that should be the envy of every singer. And their songs have tempo, rhythm, and good verses. It is hard to top Magic Man, Barracuda, or Dog & the Butterfly, among their many other hits. They are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a reason.
5. Who is your favorite model of all-time? Why?
A. I don't have one. I am not into looks. I like people for their insides.
6. Does it bother you when people talk about their pets? Why or why not?
A. Generally, no. I understand that for most people their pets are part of their family. I cannot say the same for my cattle.
7. Tell us about your favorite holiday.
A. I like Halloween. I like the idea of a veil between the living and dead, the idea of wearing a mask, the thought of being someone else for a little while. Also, you don't have to celebrate it with family and have those crazy get-togethers, so Halloween is not wrought with emotion.
8. What was the last fabulous meal that you ate? Where were you?
A. I can't remember the last meal that I would call "fabulous." Sorry.
9. What’s your lucky number and why?
A. Eight. Just because.
10. What are five things you hate?
A. Lies, entertainment that tries to pass itself off as news, coconut, poverty, and poor health care.
11. What are five things you love?
A. My husband, my home, my friends, my family, and words.
12. Tell us a secret. You can because other than us, who’ll read this anyway?
A. I like to pop bubble wrap.
13. What is the favorite body feature of yourself?
A. My brain.
14. Is there a tattoo that you want? If you don’t have one, gun-to-your-head so you have to get one, what would it be?
A. A deer. A little tiny deer on my ankle.
15. What do you love about yourself?
A. Isn't this like question 13? But I will give a different answer. I love that I take time to listen to the people I love.
16. What do you hate about yourself?
A. I hate that I am not athletic.
17. Who is someone you miss?
A. I have a few friends who are not as close to me as we once were. I miss them. But people grow apart with time, and I realize that.
__________
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, September 03, 2016
Saturday 9: Man's World
Saturday 9: It's a Man's Man's Man's World (1966)
Since Labor Day was introduced to celebrate the American worker, we are highlighting the hardest working man in show business: James Brown. Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Before he was able to support himself as a musician, James Brown shined shoes, boxed, picked peanuts and delivered groceries. He admitted he didn't enjoy any of those jobs. What was your least favorite job?
A. Chief toilet bowl cleaner of the household.
2) What job have you enjoyed the most?
A. Working as a news stringer for the local newspaper and writing freelance articles. I was able to meet many people, including folks like the current Democratic candidate for Vice President (once a former governor of Virginia), and regular ol' joes who also had stories to tell. I loved the excitement of it, the glory of finding out a truth, and being the first one to break a story. I did it well, too.
3) James loved performing and in the mid-60s, played 335-350 dates/year. Do you have time off this weekend? Or will you be working?
A. I will be off, since I am no longer working.
4) With that grueling schedule, James spent a lot of time on the road. Do you enjoy traveling and staying in hotels? Or are you a homebody who prefers to sleep in your own bed?
A. I am now a homebody who prefers to sleep in her own bed.
5) While Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce, millions of Baby Boomers are still part of American labor. Do you think it's easy or hard for people of different generations to work together? Or don't you think age matters?
A. I think it is probably hard for older folks to work for younger folks, especially if the age difference is vast. For me, it would depend upon whether or not the young person still respected me for my age and experience, regardless of title.
6) 72% of employers report that they give their employees sick days. Tell us about a time when you called in sick, but weren't.
A. I have worked from my home office since 1993. I don't think this really applies.
7) According to the 2010 Census, 5.9 million Americans regularly work from home. Is working from home something you have/you would enjoy? Or do you benefit from interaction with coworkers?
A. I like working from home but the beauty of writing for the paper was it also made me leave my little nest and forced me to have interaction with other people. Being home alone working is fun but you do have to have contact with others. Plus, if you're self-employed, you have the burden of all of it - bookkeeping, sales, marketing, everything. It's not all it's cracked up to be.
8) 12% of workers report they prefer to report for work early -- before 7:00 AM -- so they can get more done. Are you a morning person?
A. Not any more.
9) The NFL season starts on September 8. How do you think your team will do this year?
A. I don't have a team. My husband roots for the Dallas Cowboys, so go Dallas.
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.
Since Labor Day was introduced to celebrate the American worker, we are highlighting the hardest working man in show business: James Brown. Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Before he was able to support himself as a musician, James Brown shined shoes, boxed, picked peanuts and delivered groceries. He admitted he didn't enjoy any of those jobs. What was your least favorite job?
A. Chief toilet bowl cleaner of the household.
2) What job have you enjoyed the most?
A. Working as a news stringer for the local newspaper and writing freelance articles. I was able to meet many people, including folks like the current Democratic candidate for Vice President (once a former governor of Virginia), and regular ol' joes who also had stories to tell. I loved the excitement of it, the glory of finding out a truth, and being the first one to break a story. I did it well, too.
3) James loved performing and in the mid-60s, played 335-350 dates/year. Do you have time off this weekend? Or will you be working?
A. I will be off, since I am no longer working.
4) With that grueling schedule, James spent a lot of time on the road. Do you enjoy traveling and staying in hotels? Or are you a homebody who prefers to sleep in your own bed?
A. I am now a homebody who prefers to sleep in her own bed.
5) While Millennials are the largest generation in the workforce, millions of Baby Boomers are still part of American labor. Do you think it's easy or hard for people of different generations to work together? Or don't you think age matters?
A. I think it is probably hard for older folks to work for younger folks, especially if the age difference is vast. For me, it would depend upon whether or not the young person still respected me for my age and experience, regardless of title.
6) 72% of employers report that they give their employees sick days. Tell us about a time when you called in sick, but weren't.
A. I have worked from my home office since 1993. I don't think this really applies.
7) According to the 2010 Census, 5.9 million Americans regularly work from home. Is working from home something you have/you would enjoy? Or do you benefit from interaction with coworkers?
A. I like working from home but the beauty of writing for the paper was it also made me leave my little nest and forced me to have interaction with other people. Being home alone working is fun but you do have to have contact with others. Plus, if you're self-employed, you have the burden of all of it - bookkeeping, sales, marketing, everything. It's not all it's cracked up to be.
8) 12% of workers report they prefer to report for work early -- before 7:00 AM -- so they can get more done. Are you a morning person?
A. Not any more.
9) The NFL season starts on September 8. How do you think your team will do this year?
A. I don't have a team. My husband roots for the Dallas Cowboys, so go Dallas.
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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.
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