The 2018 Winter Meme Olympics

Hope you have been exercising your wits and training your typing fingers.  It's time to see if you are ready to compete in this exciting Olympic event.  As far as I know, we have several countries represented already.  Hopefully, we will have participants from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.  Only time will tell who is bringing home a gold, a silver, or a bronze medal.  I only hope you can sing your national anthem better than I can hit the notes in "The Star-Spangled Banner." 


Before you all start to worry, this event does not require a skin tight spandex outfit.  Just some sharing of special memories, a sense of humor, and time to get your thoughts down in a post.  If you are not a blogger, Ella says, "pretty please" choose a question and share your response in the comment section below. 

 

1.  If you could go back in time to when you were a child for only one day, what would you want to do?

There are so many things that come to mind.  The very first thing I would do is run.  I would run and run until I finally had to stop, and then I would catch my breath and run some more.  Cannonball off the high diving board.  Riding my bike down a steep hill.  Have a chocolate phosphate at a soda fountain.  Playing catch before a baseball game.  Play Olly, Olly, in Free by the street light.  A chess game with my dad.  Run some more!

  

2.  What is your favorite poem?  Why do you think it speaks to you?  If you do not have one, please tell about the lyrics to a special song.

Absolute favorite is "The Lady of Shallot" by Alfred Lord Tennyson.  There is a very special rhyme pattern in each stanza of this lengthy poem.  Sort of a fairy tale or legend.  It is the tragic story of a woman under a curse who is alone in a tower and weaving on a loom.  She falls in love with Lancelot who rides by on his way to Camelot.  The meter is especially lovely and makes this a beautiful Arthurian poem to read aloud.

 3.  Name something you wish someone would invent.

Don't know how many of you will remember the original Mr. Peabody, and his boy, Sherman.  That was a long time ago on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, but I loved their adventures in the "WABAC" machine.  I love history and I wish someone would bring that cartoon invention to life so I could go back in time.  There are so many historical figures I would like to meet and a chance to experience the history with my own senses. 

4.  Think of the phrase, "There oughta be a law..."  We have all said it over something we think is an injustice - silly or serious.  What is your idea of a law that ought to be? 

My law would regulate unscrupulous lawyers who go after people, encouraging them to sue with the promise of huge settlements.  The only ones who get rich are the despicable lawyers themselves.  The rest of us foot the bill for these outlandish suits in the form of higher insurance premiums and healthcare costs.  Makes my blood boil.



5.  What sort of amenities would there be in your dream kitchen or bathroom?  If you could remodel, what would you do?

We remodeled our kitchen back in 2004, and I still love it.  One feature that raised the eyebrows of our contractor was that I wanted one color wood on the top cabinets and another color on the lower ones.  I also chose chairs that do not match and a beer tap in the counter.  It is really quite a small kitchen; if I could remodel now, I would definitely build out to make a big, roomy space with an island.

6.  What do you love about winter?  What do you hate about winter?

This is a tough one for me.  I am truly a summer person.  However, I do love the quiet and beauty of a peaceful snowfall.  I love my fireplace, too.  And Christmas!  Just hate cold temperatures and having to drive on icy streets.

7.  Tell us one thing about your mother that you have truly tried to emulate in your life.  Tell us one other thing about your mother that you swore you would do differently. 


My mom was quite funny and silly.  Sometimes she was like a child that never grew up.  I loved that about her and think I tried to be like that for my boys.  They still talk about some of the goofy things we did together.  My mom wasn't a very good housekeeper, and it used to drive me crazy.  She also had no taste in decorating.  By the time I was 11 or 12 years old, I painted, decorated and cleaned my own room.  Think that is why I am sometimes too tidy.



8.  What was the most special gift you received this Christmas .... even if it is not something you can hold in your hand?  Please tell us why.

Sam and I went shopping for my gift together while we were away on a long weekend in early December.  He wrapped up the coat I chose in paper anyway and put it under the tree.  The coat was lovely but not a surprise.  The card that accompanied it was a very special one.

                                               "A coat - 
                                            To keep the most 
                                      beautiful girl in the world
                                                  warm
                                           Merry Christmas
                                               All my love,
                                                your Sam"

9.  Tell us about a regret you have from childhood.  It could be something you wish you hadn't done or something you wish you had.

Temper has always caused me regrets.  One day I was very angry at my mother, and I threw a can of Campbell's soup at her.  Luckily

my aim was off, and it hit the wall.  She didn't say a word, but tears came to her eyes immediately.  She closed herself in her bedroom and cried for a long time.  I was horrified at what I had done and sat outside her door sobbing until she eventually came out.  She did forgive me, and I hugged her until she finally smiled at me.



10.  If you were being sent off forever to a desert island and there was only one book you could read for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? (This is hard!  If needed, you could award an additional book as 1st runner up.)

From my college days, I still have my Riverside edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare.  It weighs about 8 pounds, but I doubt that I could ever get bored with the selections of the comedies, tragedies, or histories. 

Runner up would be my Annotated Sherlock Holmes.


11.  Name 3 qualities you look for in a friend.

I think the first thing would have to be honesty.  Also important is a sense of humor; I love a friend who can make me laugh.  Finally, I would say loyalty to all the people you count as friends is something I expect when I trust a friend with my love. 

12.  What is the oldest book you own?  Does it have a special story behind why you have kept it?

The oldest book on the many shelves in our house is actually from Sam's family.  It is the Holmes History of the United States published in 1880.  It is an old textbook bound in black leather with gold stamped lettering.  This book has been passed down in his family for many generations.





13.  Not that they would necessarily accept your advice, but what bits of guidance would you give to a young person in today's world.

Find a partner you love and treat them with care and respect.  A long term loving relationship is your biggest chance for happiness.  Get as much education as you can and never quit learning.  Put down the screens and live in real time before life passes you by. 

 

14.  What is your favorite comedy movie?  Tell us why you think it is so funny.

With no hesitation, it is an epic comedy film from the 60's named-

                        It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. 

 A large cast of the era's great comedians play a group of characters in a madcap pursuit of a suitcase full of stolen money.  It's really hard to pick a favorite, but I think Jonathan Winters is high on my list.  Our boys and I know much of it by heart and can issue quotes for any life situation.   Several years ago, the boys asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I told them I just wanted to make popcorn and watch that movie with them, just like when they were kids.  Gosh, we had fun.

15.  Are there calendar dates that always make you sad or reflective?  Name one and tell us why it affects you this way. 

As I roll through the calendar wheel of each year, I smile to remember so many happy days - birthdays and anniversaries and reunions with loved ones.  But the sad days still bring great emotion and tears.  Maybe even a trip to the cemetery.  Of all those sad days, September 11, 2001, is the hardest for me.  Some how, some way, I always pay tribute to the victims of that horrific day.  It was a defining moment in my life.  

                                     We must never forget.