Losing More Trees

Thursday we lost more trees. The last of the blue spruce (dying of fungus) was removed along with some dead or dying bull pines.

I don't know what this machine is called. Some kind of excavator hoe or something.

This blue spruce was the last to catch the fungus that killed the others, and it was not as dead-looking as they were. However, the fungus weakens the trees at the roots, making them susceptible to blowing over.

I had thought we might keep this one a little longer but my husband decided it could fall into the garage roof.

The other trees were farther from the house, but all of these changes have certainly changed my line of sight. In some instances I don't mind the new view, but I do dislike the changes that leave me looking at my neighbor's homes.

We will plant something back in the spring.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. You can breathe underwater or be able to fly. Which one would you choose and why?

A. I used to think I'd want to fly, but after seeing Jason Mamoa in Aquaman, maybe being underwater wouldn't be so bad. Hubba Hubba!

2. What's your go to order at a café?

A. A chicken salad sandwich and water.

3. Where do you feel the safest?

A. In my house.

4. What is the one book or book series you could reread without getting bored for the rest of time?

A. The Lord of the Rings

5. You will receive ten million dollars, but you need to spend one million dollars in 24 hours to receive the other nine million tax free (and you can’t tell anyone what you’re doing). What do you spend it on?

A. 200 acres of farmland @ $50,000 an acre. That's $1 million gone right there.

6. What was your favorite vacation to date?

A. I'm still waiting on that to happen.

7. Is there any scent that reminds you of a specific memory? What is the scent and what does it remind you of?

A. Chocolate chip cookies always makes me think of my grandmother.

8. What is your favorite TV series? Do you have just one or more?

A. Right now I like Supergirl. I also like some of the occasional series on HBO. I'm watching His Dark Materials; it is quite good.

9. They say that in life you need to try everything. Are there things you will never try?

A. Yes. Some things are blatantly idiotic so there is no need to try them.

10. If I ask you to close your eyes and remember a picture of you, what do you see ?

A. A girl in blue jeans with long hair and glasses, in the 7th grade.

11. What was your childhood bedroom like?

A. I had a white bed set with a canopy for a while. And a bean bag. And beads hanging in the doorway, along with an "I Am Me" poster. That's actually my teenager bedroom, I suppose.

12. Are you a GoodWill, or any second hand store customer?

A. No. Generally those stores smell very musty and the dust makes me sick.

13. How do you feel about the death penalty?

A. I do not believe in the death penalty. However, I also don't believe in giving someone a life sentence to sit in a cell. I think prisoners should work.

14.  If you could live in any fictional world, where would it be?

A. At this point, I believe I need to go to Rivendell in Middle Earth and stay there a very long time.

15. Do you believe in ghosts/spirits & have you had any experiences with them?

A. There are things we don't know, and yes, I have had experiences with them. That is why I know we don't know.

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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: Enough is Enough

Saturday 9: No More Tears (Enough is Enough)

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

1) This lyrics use weather as metaphor for romance. Here at Saturday 9, we're more literal. How do the skies look where you are this morning?

A. As I write this, it is mostly cloudy with a few breaks of blue sky. The air is dry and it's a bit chilly.

2) According to Merriam-Webster, "enough is enough" is what you say when you want something to stop because you "can no longer accept or deal with it." When did you recently say -- out loud or to yourself -- "enough is enough."

A. Mostly I say this to myself, and it would mostly concern my husband and whatever he happens to be into. Lately he's been trying to fulfill a 35-year-long honey-do list, and while it's good he's getting some of these things done, he's overdoing it with the catch-up phase.

3) Grammy winner Luther Vandross began his career as a background singer and performed on "No More Tears." Tell us about one of your early jobs.

A. I worked as a "parts manager" for a tool and machine shop when I was out of high school. I sold parts for things like Coats tire changers and welders. There were four other women there and everyone else was male. It was dirty and not my thing, and I lasted there about 18 months.

4) Both Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand made slight changes to their first names. Summer was christened "LaDonna," while Streisand's parents spelled her name the more conventional "Barbara." When she was in high school, meme mistress Samantha Winters went from "Sammy" to "Sam." Did you ever make a similar change to your first name?

A. I had a family nickname that I dropped in the second grade, at the insistence of my teacher. Some people still call me by that name but most honor my request to use my formal name.

5) Hair was higher maintenance in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Streisand and Summer are both sporting styles that would require chemical treatment, like a perm or relaxer. Today's looks are less rigidly styled and tend to be smoother or slightly messy. How often do you change your look?

A. Not very. I did the perm thing in the late 1980s and I have hopefully destroyed every photo of myself from that time period.

6) In 1979, it seems every kid was asking Santa for Star Wars toys. Some things don't change, since the Star Wars franchise remains popular with children and toymakers after more than 40 years. What book or toy did you love as a child that remains popular today?

A. Slinky. I always loved a Slinky. Although I don't know if they are still popular today. I certainly haven't seen a commercial for one.

7) Thinking of things that endure . . .  In 1979, the #1 show in the ratings was 60 Minutes. It's still on, every Sunday night, and in the summer of 2019 it came in at #4 in the Nielsen ratings. What's the most recent show you watched? Was it news, sports or entertainment?

A. Entertainment.

8) In 1979, the price for a dozen eggs averaged 85¢. Today, it's about twice that. Are you more likely to use eggs to prepare a main course (like an omelet or Eggs Benedict) or as part of a recipe (anything from a cake to a meatloaf)?

A. I usually scramble eggs for breakfast, or use them in recipes.

9) Random question: You’re alone in your car, driving through your neighborhood on a bright, sunny day. You get a flat tire. You have a spare and a jack in your trunk. Would you fix it yourself or call for help?

I would call for help (and by that I mean husband, brother, father, cousin, nephew) and then try to fix it myself. I know how to do it, I'm just not sure I would have the strength to make the jack work.

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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 Thirteen

Thirteen random thoughts from a book called Shift Your Thinking, by Dean Del Sesto.

1. Wisdom is saying enough to prove your point, not your existence.

2. Stress is a choice. (Really?)

3. The thirst for knowledge is a good thing until it starves life.

4. Trying to quit something before you have something else to replace it with is futile.

5. Matters left incomplete leave you and others feeling incomplete.

6. Do you have integrity, or selective virtue?

7. Encouragement has the unique ability to improve everything in a matter of seconds.

8. Move at the pace of appreciation.

9. Life gets really interesting when the acronyms are after you!

10. Let's not kid ourselves . . . the skeletons in our closets have a heartbeat . . . ours!

11. To be anxious is to wait longer.

12. Don't confuse being a visionary with the ability to bring forth a vision.

13. We fear what we're unwilling to manage.

What do you think? Are these true, false, or somewhere in between?

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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 631st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Promise of a Rainbow

Yesterday on the way home, after spending a rainy day in the city, the sky cleared and a rainbow appeared.

The rainbow and landscape was prettier a ways back down the road, but my husband, even after all these years, has yet to figure out that, "I want to take a picture of that," means, "Stop the car," until I actually say to him, "Stop the car!"  By then it is usually too late. (If I just say, "Stop the car," he panics and thinks something is wrong, so I cannot win this one.)

Oh well.

Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon at the Breast Care Center. I had a call back on a mammogram and this was the date they scheduled for the two-hour re-do and sonogram. Turns out I have cysts, so nothing to worry about, but it was not exactly how I wanted to spend my 36th wedding anniversary.

We went to lunch before the exam visit, so we did not go out to dinner.

Consider this a reminder to do your self-exam checks and your check-ups and all of that stuff that women (and men) need to do to stay healthy. You just never know what really is at the end of that rainbow.

36 Years

Today is my anniversary. We've been married for 36 years.

That's a very long time.

We have grown old together, though it doesn't seem like 36 years. That's a lot of time together and adventures with one another.

Here we are a couple of years ago. Actually I think almost 9 years ago, now. Sheesh.

Here we were 36 years ago. Yes, I would say we have aged. Oh my. (I have always liked his smile in this picture. He looks like the cat who ate the canary.)

Big events? Building a house. Multiple surgeries for me. My mother's death, his father's passing. The birth of nephews and a niece. Promotions for him, college degrees for me. His hand getting caught in the hay baler tends to stand out as a an unforgettable moment. Vacations in Myrtle Beach (most of them), Pigeon Forge, the Poconos, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg.

The stuff of lives.

We've done all right.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1) What is your favorite TV show (currently)?

A. Supergirl. I know, I know. But it's a good show. Lots of morality in the storyline, and it touches on many contemporary issues and concerns.

2) Would you like to be a child again?

A. Hell no.

3) Has anyone ever told you that school times were the best period of his/her life? Would you say that to someone? Why?

A. Yes, people have told me school was a good time of life. I think more people find that true of college than the lower grades, though. I would not say that school was the best time of my life. I have enjoyed adulthood more than childhood. Childhood was hard.

4) How's the weather?

A. Overcast, cold, and gray.

5) Do you like camping?

A. Not particularly. I haven't been since I was a child.

6) Do you believe in paranormal phenomena?

A. I think there are things that go on in this world that we have not yet learned to comprehend or understand, yes.

7) If you would create a holiday, what would it be called and how would we celebrate it? When would this holiday be?

A. National Musical Day! And everywhere you went, people had to break out in song and dance. At the checkouts, in the office, etc. People would just sing and dance all day. For example, "Oh it's time now to write my blog! I must say, it looks like smog! Oh dear, I must say, that regulations should have been here to stay!" And then dance on top of the desk.

8) What word(s) do you dislike? Can you tell why?

A. Evil. I don't use this word and I don't like it. I think it is used incorrectly and should be reserved for only the most vile of actions, like hacking someone to pieces and eating them or something. Stealing isn't evil, for example. It's just wrong.

9) What color do you dislike? What do you associate with it?

A. I am not a fan of orange. It makes me look horrid, for one thing. I associate it with Halloween, but I like Halloween.

10) Do you believe in otherworldly creatures, eg. ghosts, etc.?

A. Isn't that the same as question #6? Same answer.

11) Pick two of your favourite fictional characters. Where are they from (what movie, book, etc?) and why are they your favorite?

A. Aragorn, from Lord of the Rings. He embodies good, strength, and virtue. Kinsey Milhone from Sue Grafton's Alphabet mysteries series. She embodies curiosity, inquisitiveness, and female power.

12) If you could change anything or add anything to your body would you? (this can be interpreted however, but, think, would you like to have fins or extra hands?)

A. I'd be thin and not fat and I'd make the sick parts healthy. I'm not interested in interchangeable body parts.

13) What are some family traditions you have/had growing up? Do you still continue them, if yes, why, if no, why not?

A. We always went to my grandmother's for the holidays. We stopped doing that after we became adults. My mother still went, but I had in-laws and such after I married.

14) What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any?

A. I don't think about tattoos very often, but to each his/her own. I do not have any.

15)  What is the most disgusting habit some people have?

A. Smoking. I think that is a horrible habit because it forces itself upon other people (who must inhale the smoke if they're nearby).

16)  If you could bring back one TV show that was cancelled, which would it be?

A. Cagney and Lacey.

17) What was the most unsettling film you have ever seen?

A. A Clockwork Orange is tied with Rosemary's Baby.

18) What book has impacted you the most?

A. The Chicago Manual of Style. (Wasn't expecting that one, were you?), Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande, and If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland.

19) You're on Death Row and get one final meal: What is that meal and why do you choose it?

A. Chocolate cake, brownies, chocolate covered cherries, chocolate pudding, and a cherry. Why not? I'm going to be dead soon anyway. My triglyceride levels won't matter anymore.

20) What is the first profession you remember wanting to become as a child?

A. I wanted to be a geologist or an archeologist at one time, I think before I knew that writing was a profession. I collected rocks for a while but lost interest after I socked a pile of them away in a hole near the creek and then could never find them again. Somewhere there is a pile of quartz rock, if the water didn't wash it away.

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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: Judy Garland

Saturday 9: Judy Garland

Today's meme is a list of Judy Garland songs that she sang at Carnegie Hall.

Song #1: "When You're Smiling." What made you smile this week?

A. The Cella's chocolate covered cherries are on the shelves at the stores. Yay.

Song #2: "Almost Like Being in Love." We've all had many crushes, but love is rare. How many times have you fallen in love?

A. Just once for the go-get married kind of love. That said, I love a lot of people. My brother, my father, my mother-in-law and other in-laws, my niece and nephews, and a multitude of friends.

Song #3: "This Can't Be Love." This Rodgers and Hart song was introduced in the play, The Boys from Syracuse. Syracuse is the county seat of Onondaga County, NY. What county do you hail from?

A. Botetourt. Our county seat is Fincastle.

Song #4: "Do It Again." What's something you'd do again, if only you had the time or money? (A book you'd like to reread, a recipe or pattern you'd like to make again, a vacation destination you'd like to revisit, etc.)

A. I am watching His Dark Materials on HBO; I read the books about 15 years ago. I would like to reread them. I also would like a very long vacation to someplace I've never been. Maybe to Texas to spend time with my aunt or something, I don't know.

Song #5: "You Go to My Head." Judy forgets the lyrics, but gamely keeps going. Tell us about a recent moment when you chose to keep going, no matter what.

A. When the doctors told me my belly was full of scar tissue, and that it had invaded my abdominal muscles creating a constant pain loop of cramping, my options were to stay in bed all the time or try to work the scar tissue out. I chose the latter and have been in physical therapy off and on now for six years, trying to keep moving. Some days are harder than others. It's pretty much a choice every day as to whether I get up or not. I almost always get up, but it's still a choice.

Song #6: "Alone Together." Is anyone there with you as you answer these questions, or are you alone?

A. I'm alone in the room, but my husband and his helper are on the roof putting sealant on the chimney in hopes of keeping it from leaking while husband is home recuperating from his surgery that is scheduled for late next week (may the Force be with me).

Song #7: "Who Cares?" This song was written by brothers George and Ira Gershwin. They had a lesser known brother, stockbroker Arthur. Are you more creative and artistic, like George and Ira? Or more analytical and methodical, like Arthur?

A. I tend to be a combination, I think, although I lean toward creative. However, I can also analyze a situation and sum it up well. That is what made me a good reporter, lo those many years ago.

Song #8: "Puttin' on the Ritz." Judy sings that The Ritz is the place in New York "where fashion sits." If we wanted to see everyone "all gussied up" in your town, where would we go?

A. Hotel Roanoke, I suppose, when they were having some kind of event. This is not exactly a tuxedo kind of town. I know the upper crust have symphonies and things are the art museum and a few other places, but little ol' people like me don't attend those, generally.

Song #9: "How Long Has This Been Going On?" Judy sings about discovering how glorious romance can be. Have you made any new discoveries lately? It doesn't have to be as groundbreaking as Judy's. A new podcast or a faster route to work counts, too.

A. I have discovered that I really like the electric guitar better than the acoustic for a lot of songs and for practicing. For a long time I couldn't lift my electric guitar and then back in September I found a lightweight one and purchased it, and while it is still heavier than my small acoustic, I can manage it.

If you're wondering why there are no Garland hits here . . . these are her first numbers in the order that she performed them. She saved her better-known songs for the end of concert. Who am I to second guess Judy?
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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.

Big Girls Don't Cry

All I want to note here is that Hillary Clinton went through hours of testimony and BS for Benghazi and her email fiasco and who knows what else, and the lady from Ukraine testified this morning, even as #45 sent intimidating tweets during the hours she was in the chair, and neither one of them cried, or sobbed, or said anything remotely hysterical.

Feeling intimidated because the President of the United States tweets about you as you testify seems a perfectly logical feeling to me. And it was said with a little bit of exasperation and astonishment.

But not hysteria.

And then there was Bret Kavanaugh, who slobbered all over himself.

"They" say women are too hysterical to lead or rule. 
Actions speak louder than words, ladies and gentlemen. And it is not the women who dissolve into tears in the political arena.

Thursday Thirteen #630

1. Someone called me a perfectionist. Moi? Yes. I am one of those people. I try to get everything right. It's exhausting.

2. Funny thing, though. I've decided that there really is no right or wrong about many things. There are only a few absolutes. You shouldn't kill people, for one. I consider that an absolute. You should be nice. While I consider that an absolute, I strongly suspect most people disagree with that one.

3. Cold weather brings out the worst in me, I think. I'm not a fan.

4. I also am not a fan of super hot days. Virginia used to have two seasons that suited me: spring and fall. But those two seasons seems to be vanishing as we go from summer to winter and back to summer again in quick succession.

5. This has been a busy week. Lots of errands and running around. I need downtime. I'm an introvert. Books and pillows are my friends.

6. I skip over the politics a lot of Facebook. I'd much rather read the pages from NASA or Atlas Obscura. Something slightly educational.

7. I received a letter from my insurance company that one of my medications, Synthroid, which is used for thyroid issues, was now a "step" drug. That means I have to try the generic first. I did that back in May and it did not go well. I have asked my doctor to step in and see if that can count as my "step" so I can stay on the brand name. FYI, this drug used to cost me about $3.00. Now it costs me $56 and according to the label, my insurance saves me another $48. How can a drug this old cost so much to make? What caused this inflation of price? I have many friends on this drug and not a single one can take the generic. There is something wrong with the generic. 

8. Actually, there is something wrong with a lot of generics. Think about recent recalls. That's only a little bit of what is really going on. I have trouble sometimes with my medications when my pharmacy swaps one generic brand for another. Not even the generics work the same from company to company. My doctor believes me - she can see it in my bloodwork! But the pharmacists all say, "Oh, it's all the same." Like I'm imagining it or something. I have a good imagination, but come on.

9. Last night on Survivor, a show I watch and don't know why, there was a big issue about sexual harassment and inappropriate touch. I thought it quite informative, not only in the producer's reaction, (steps were taken to mitigate) but also in the reaction of women of various ages. Older women bristled and took umbrage and one tried to protect the younger women, who had complained to her about this one fellow. But after it became an issue, the younger women brushed it off, as if the inappropriate touch was nothing. Inappropriate touch is never nothing, but we as women are taught to ignore it or to pull it inside. Now that I am older, I don't take that kind of crap off of anyone. But we need to teach our daughters better about how to stand up for themselves, and how to say that big nasty word, NO.

10. No is one of the first words we learn, and it's pretty much the same in all languages, but it so very hard to say.

11. My husband shot his deer earlier in the week, during the muzzleloader season, so he will go into surgery for his ankle satisfied that he's put meat in the freezer. I don't know why that matters to him as I won't eat it, but there you go. A freezer full of deer meat.

12. I have not purchased the first Christmas present. I guess I need to get to it.

13. Maybe I could give people deer meat.

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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 630th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Pucker Up

Any guesses as to what this autumn fruit might be?

Money Obsessed? Maybe. Maybe Not.

The question today: If you had to be obsessed with money, sex, sports, religion, or food, which one would you choose?

Sigh. Ok, maybe picking questions out of a book isn't a good idea, but it's what I'm doing for the moment.

I don't watch sports or care much for sports, so that one is out immediately. Sex - hell, I'm too old to be obsessed with that. That leaves money, religion, or food.

Apparently I'm already obsessed with food, since I am overweight and have trouble dieting. So I think the choice there maybe is already made. I eat sometimes because my mouth is lonely. If that isn't obsession, I don't know what is.

But money - isn't every citizen of the United States obsessed with money? Isn't that the American way, to want more more more of the green stuff, so we can buy more more more of the useless stuff? Do we even know when "enough" money is "enough" money? That should differ for everyone, I guess - a person with six children will need more money than I will, or so I would think.

What would we be like as a people if we weren't obsessed with money? Would we be kinder? Would we be nicer? Would we score higher on the happiness charts?

We score pretty low on the happy country charts:

This comes from this report called World Happiness Report. There's some interesting reading in that document if you've an open mind. There are reasons why we score 19th and Finland is number 1.

So money is not my choice, but it is the choice of where I live and, I suspect, the choice of most of the people who live in the United States.

I already know I'm obsessed with food, apparently. That leaves religion, which I am not obsessed with. I do have an interest in spirituality and in learning about various religions, but I am not obsessed with any particular religion or even with learning about the religions. It's something I do sometimes when I'm in "seek" mode. I never know what will strike me as being a good thought at any particular time.

Honestly, I would rather not be obsessed with any of these choices. I'd rather be obsessed with music, with learning in general, with healthy eating (maybe that is still a food obsession, I don't know) and exercise, and with living the best life I possibly can. I try to do the latter but I strongly suspect that's a fallible goal.

Would I Rather Lose a Hand?

I have a new version of The Book of Questions, by Gregory Stock, Ph.D. These are questions that make you think, contemplate your morality, and give your brain a workout.

The first question asks if you would rather "lose the use of all motorized vehicles, all telecommunication devices and computers, or one of your hands?"

This seems easy to me. I would lose all that stuff before I'd lose a hand. Good grief. I rather like my body parts, or at least the use of them, and hands are especially important. I remember how my husband was lost when he put his arm in the hay baler and couldn't use his hand for a long time. He still doesn't have full use of it - he can't pick up fine, tiny things, like a needle or small nail or something.

The question does force me to contemplate dependence upon certain things. For one thing, we live in a society where I drive to the grocery store once or twice a week. Sometimes that's the only place I go, but still. I don't grow a huge garden and can beans or otherwise worry about keeping a huge stock of food on hand. I keep enough things in cans here to get us through a week to 10 days in the event of bad weather or some other issue, but not enough to last a winter. Without a vehicle, we'd starve as it is a long walk to Daleville. I couldn't walk it, I don't think, although I suppose if I had to I would, pulling a little wagon behind me. But it would take a full day or longer. We don't have a horse and I can't ride a cow. Well, I've never tried but I am pretty sure that would be a failing effort.

To my mind the loss of a vehicle would be the greater loss of the things mentioned. I lived without a cellphone for years, and I don't need a computer. I could get by without a telephone at all, if I had to, and a computer. But a car? When I live far from a grocery store, a vehicle becomes a necessity.

That said, I spend a lot of time at the computer. I work on it, using it to write and make a living. I also play video games on it, use social media to keep in touch with people, and otherwise avail myself of the things it offers. I use the phone to talk to my friends, keep in touch with my husband when he's at work, and to check on my mother-in-law and other folks occasionally. Life would be lonelier without a telephone, for sure. (I still talk on the phone and don't simply text on it. Imagine!)

I do not watch a lot of TV, but TV wasn't mentioned specifically here. Is it considered a telecommunication device? How about a radio? I enjoy listening to music. It helps the day go by more quickly sometimes.

But in any event, none of these things are more important to me than my hand. Nor would I ask anyone else to give up a body part so that I might have these things.

In all honesty, this is a bad question. Losing your hand really has nothing to do with the items in question, except you use your hand to type or hit the keys on the phone. It's an either-or question that at its heart is irrelevant, unless you stop to analyze it a bit.

Not a good start, but we'll see what else is in the book.

Saturday 9: Heart to Heart

Heart to Heart (1982)

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

1) With whom did you most recently have a "heart-to-heart" talk?

A. My doctor.

2) When this song was on the charts, audiences were tuning in to a TV show called Hart to Hart. Are you familiar with it?

A. No. We couldn't receive that channel.

3) In the music video, Kenny Loggins plays an illustrator. It’s said that the hardest thing to draw is a straight line, because all the joints in your hand have to work together in sync. Can you draw a straight line, without the aid of a ruler or a straight edge?

A. No. My art teacher told me the straight lines didn't matter.

4) This video also prominently features teddy bears. A 2018 article in the NY Post estimates that 4 in 10 adults has a plush toy of his/her own. Are you one of the 40%?

A. I have a kitty that sings "Soft Kitty" to me, so I guess I am.

5) Kenny Loggins performed in a tribute to Aretha Franklin at Carnegie Hall. Do you have a favorite Aretha Franklin song?

A. RESPECT.

6) Kenny cowrote this song with Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers. You can also hear Michael on the background vocals. Do you have a favorite Doobie Brothers song?

A. Well now, let me tell you. I can get down on China Grove. I can play rhythm and lead on that song. It is a great song to just let it rip and beat the crap out of the guitar. It's in the key of E with some funky key changes and one intriguing rhythm change, and the lead involves a full note pull-up on the second string in the 12th fret (I think that's right, it's been a while since I jammed out. Now excuse me while I go jam out.).

7) The third cowriter is David Foster. 1982 was a big year for Foster, since Chicago had a big hit with another of his compositions, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” Do you have a favorite Chicago song?

A. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? is tied with 25 or 6 to 4.

8) In 1982, when this song was popular, Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide killed 7 people in Chicago. In response, tamper-proof packaging was introduced. What’s the last thing you opened that required you break a seal?

A. An envelope with the mail in it. If that doesn't count, then a vitamin pill package.

9) Random question – You’re having a party. Which guest annoys you most: the one who arrives 20 minutes early, or the one who shows up 20 minutes late?

A. I don't have parties except at Christmas and this year I'm not doing that because my husband will be in a cast for an ankle fusion. But in general, I don't care. Life is too short to get annoyed at things like that. The person who shows up 20 minutes early will be asked to help set the table, and the one who shows up 20 minutes late will be given a seat and leftovers.

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Thursday Thirteen

Bookish Questions and Deep Thoughts


1. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, who is really the monster? The man who created life from dead body parts, or the thing created?

2. In the Ann of Green Gable series, by L. M. Montgomery, Ann Shirley is a curious child. Her curiosity causes her lots of trouble. Is curiosity a good thing?

3. In the Lord of the Rings, Frodo makes a decision to leave his home in order to protect it from great evil. He gives up everything to ensure that goodness survives. Would you leave your home to protect someone else? What would you give up to ensure the safety and security of humanity?

4. In the Harry Potter series, Hermione is a bookish character who actually knows the spells that Harry does not and often needs. However, her contribution is downplayed although her loyalty to Harry and protecting others is not. Is knowledge less than loyalty?

5. In the Stephanie Plum series of books, Stephanie is frequently kidnapped, shot, knocked unconscious, or otherwise hurt. She rebounds very quickly and doesn't suffer from PTSD. Do you think there are people who would not be bothered by such trials? Or is this portrayal of a resilient character unrealistic?

6. In the Stone Barrington series of books by Stuart Woods, the main character always gets his man in the mystery. He also always gets the woman - a different woman in nearly every book. The women are generally stereotypical characters and not rounded out. Do you think this is the way men see women, or is this a writer's shortcut?

7. In the Alphabet mysteries by Sue Grafton, Kinsey Milhone, her lead character, is a tough woman detective who doesn't delve into fashion, bake cakes, do needlework, or do other "womanly" things. Do you think it is necessary for a women to lose her "womanly" notions in order to function in a man's world?

8. In the book Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author takes herself completely away from her world in order to restore order to her soul. Have you ever taken a journey to find yourself? Do you think such a quest is necessary in order to grow as a person?

9. In her memoir, In Pieces, Sally Fields reveals that she was molested by her stepfather and that she has mental health problems stemming from an abusive childhood. Yet she went on to become a famous actress. Do you think that Fields' and her success is the norm for people who experience childhood trauma? Or is she an aberration?

10. In A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle, three children leave home to save an adult. Do you think children are capable of doing such actions in this day and age? Or is this pure fantasy?

11. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice finds a strange new world that does not resemble anything she knows as reality. In modern physics, the many worlds theory advocates that each decision we make creates a different universe, so that there are in fact thousands upon thousands of universes in existence. Do you believe there could be different universes? Could the rabbit hole simply be a writer's device that creates a portal into another universe? Or is Alice only dreaming?

12. In Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, the main character is a young girl of about 7 who raises herself alone in the marsh. Is this believable? Do you think a child that young could survive all alone without assistance? The same instance occurs in Island of the Blue Dolphins, but that book is set in the 1800s and the heroine is a little older. Which book seems more believable?

13. In The Hunger Games series by Susan Collins, Katniss must kill or be killed. Do you think her befriending others as a strategy to stay alive is feasible? Is this similar to the show Survivor, where people "make friends" and then stab one another in the back? What does this say about humanity, that we can be friendly to someone and then turn around and shoot them? Are we, really, human?


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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 628th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.