Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Sifting through Memory’s Muck to see what Floats
I’ve been memed by Cowtown Pattie on the 30th of September. Finally got this together after separating the truth from the “almost the truth” and the fiction from the phantasmagorical. Damn, she even made me dust off a calculator for one question!
10 Years Ago:
My dad had died. Compass had to be re-set.
5 Years Ago:
I was not hip-deep in college loans. FAFSA was just a bunch of letters mumbled together.
1 Year Ago:
Geez! That year was just....
Yesterday:
…Driving back home, the mundane was intruded upon by a series of plastic coolers strewn on the highway by some beach-departing fool. Zigging and zagging on a weekday! A change from cruise control.
5 Snacks I Enjoy:
Crusty French or Italian bread with butter thinly spread topped with a dripping layer of farm-bought honey.
Wheat Farina. The slow-cook kind.
Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies.
Grated McIntosh Apples with cinnamon and sugar.
Philadelphia Pretzel, with the little salt balls stuck to them.
5 Songs I Know All the Words To:
”Cotton Fields” (traditional) as performed by CCR (I include the “durn-durn-durn” of John Fogerty’s guitar-playing in my rendition. Even cats lift their heads when I “perform”)
“Thanks for the Memories”, (Robin & Rainger) as performed by Sarah Vaughn (she inserts her own lyrics in addition to the original ones) I don’t try to imitate the Sassy One’s voice a la David Sedaris’ imitation of Billie Holliday’s.
“This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody), Talking Heads
“Love & Happiness”, Al Green
“Dixie Chicken”, Little Feat, when Lowell George was still with us.
5 Things I’d Do with 100 Million Dollars:
(CP! Had to blow the dust off of my TI for this one.)
Well, $35M goes right off the top to the Feds, which they’ll probably go through completely in unsuccessfully prying T. DeLay out of Congress.
$15M to the ever-loving wife so that she can start up a Montessori School on her own terms and in her own vision.
$10M to carefully picked charities. Heifer International. Doctors without Borders. Amnesty Int’l. Habitat for Humanity. The Nature Conservancy.
$1M for kid’s college fund. Yeah, I know that seems like a lot, but this would allow them to REALLY stay in college for a few extra years.
$10M for land and a house near Baska, Krk. Extravagent, yes. But sheep and goats are expensive these days and I don't want to be mowing anything so they're well worth it.
$18M in combo of cd’s (the non-music kind) and mutual funds averaging a 10% earnings rate, allowing the fam to enjoy the rest of our lives in self-defined versions of productive work & pleasure.
$10M in a play-money pool. What the hell??! Open up a little kafica in the Land of the Croats so that I can be guaranteed a small table with 4 chairs under a red umbrella, right by the water. I get to make the cafe playlist, to the resulting consternation or pleasure of the customers.
The balance of the money? Remember that W.C. Fields movie where he inherits/wins a ton of money? Forgot the name, sorry. Anyway, the first thing he spends the money on is a fleet of automobiles. Non-descript black basic automobiles. He hires drivers for all of the cars, save one. He gets into that car and has all of the other cars get in line behind him. They drive around town. If he passes a driver who he thinks is driving atrociously, Fields immediately drives him off the road, crashing both his and the offending driver’s car. Fields then gets out of his car, whistles to the driver of the first car lined up behind him. The driver arrives, gets out of the car, and Fields gets in and repeats the same steps until he’s run out of the cars he’s bought. I may even smoke a cigar whilst driving around.
5 Places I’d Run Away To:
(Random order)
Montreal
NYC
(Island of ) Krk
Rejkjavik
St John’s (US Virgin Islands)
5 Things I’d Never Wear:
I’m with CP, thong underwear. (I mean I’m with CP to NOT wear thongs)
Rugs of the hair sort
Earplugs
Aviator sunglasses..because I’m not an aviator and I’d never be able to look like one
Barry Manilow/Billy Joel/Dan Fogelberg t-shirt
5 Favorite TV Shows:
Little Rascals
Law & Order (First 3 seasons)
Daily Show
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck ‘toons
Gilmore Girls (Yeah, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for intelligent women talking at light speed with multiple references to movies, books, and esoterica…although this season is not shaping up well with the clever banter!)
5 Biggest Joys:
Caution!!! Sap’s a risin’!
The Wife.
The kids. Each is a unique joy, an occasional pain in the heart, and a daily indication that I (and The Wife) could make something so terrific.
Listening to that next new cd, having minimal pre-listening exposure and having gotten it based on a valued recommendation.
Running through all five senses when opening a new book. Smell of the pages as you turn. Crack of the binder when you open the book. Touch of the pages, especially when you forked over for the hardbound edition. Taking in the cover and back page photos, trying to tie them in with the words you’re reading. Taste? Well, I’ll leave that sense you your own imagination.
5 Favorite Toys:
CD-player in house.
CD-player in car.
Racks & Racks of books sticking their tongues out at me because they know I’d have to live to be 150 to read them all.
The OED.
Pocket Buck knife.
3 Fine Folks Who Can Now Consider Themselves Tagged:
My apologies and my congratulations.
Whisky Prajer
Delawhere (This’ll give him a topic to write about)
ChazzyG (Not as if you're not too busy...)
FCB over at Xenosphere also got tagged. Now this is an interesting read.
10 Years Ago:
My dad had died. Compass had to be re-set.
5 Years Ago:
I was not hip-deep in college loans. FAFSA was just a bunch of letters mumbled together.
1 Year Ago:
Geez! That year was just....
Yesterday:
…Driving back home, the mundane was intruded upon by a series of plastic coolers strewn on the highway by some beach-departing fool. Zigging and zagging on a weekday! A change from cruise control.
5 Snacks I Enjoy:
Crusty French or Italian bread with butter thinly spread topped with a dripping layer of farm-bought honey.
Wheat Farina. The slow-cook kind.
Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies.
Grated McIntosh Apples with cinnamon and sugar.
Philadelphia Pretzel, with the little salt balls stuck to them.
5 Songs I Know All the Words To:
”Cotton Fields” (traditional) as performed by CCR (I include the “durn-durn-durn” of John Fogerty’s guitar-playing in my rendition. Even cats lift their heads when I “perform”)
“Thanks for the Memories”, (Robin & Rainger) as performed by Sarah Vaughn (she inserts her own lyrics in addition to the original ones) I don’t try to imitate the Sassy One’s voice a la David Sedaris’ imitation of Billie Holliday’s.
“This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody), Talking Heads
“Love & Happiness”, Al Green
“Dixie Chicken”, Little Feat, when Lowell George was still with us.
5 Things I’d Do with 100 Million Dollars:
(CP! Had to blow the dust off of my TI for this one.)
Well, $35M goes right off the top to the Feds, which they’ll probably go through completely in unsuccessfully prying T. DeLay out of Congress.
$15M to the ever-loving wife so that she can start up a Montessori School on her own terms and in her own vision.
$10M to carefully picked charities. Heifer International. Doctors without Borders. Amnesty Int’l. Habitat for Humanity. The Nature Conservancy.
$1M for kid’s college fund. Yeah, I know that seems like a lot, but this would allow them to REALLY stay in college for a few extra years.
$10M for land and a house near Baska, Krk. Extravagent, yes. But sheep and goats are expensive these days and I don't want to be mowing anything so they're well worth it.
$18M in combo of cd’s (the non-music kind) and mutual funds averaging a 10% earnings rate, allowing the fam to enjoy the rest of our lives in self-defined versions of productive work & pleasure.
$10M in a play-money pool. What the hell??! Open up a little kafica in the Land of the Croats so that I can be guaranteed a small table with 4 chairs under a red umbrella, right by the water. I get to make the cafe playlist, to the resulting consternation or pleasure of the customers.
The balance of the money? Remember that W.C. Fields movie where he inherits/wins a ton of money? Forgot the name, sorry. Anyway, the first thing he spends the money on is a fleet of automobiles. Non-descript black basic automobiles. He hires drivers for all of the cars, save one. He gets into that car and has all of the other cars get in line behind him. They drive around town. If he passes a driver who he thinks is driving atrociously, Fields immediately drives him off the road, crashing both his and the offending driver’s car. Fields then gets out of his car, whistles to the driver of the first car lined up behind him. The driver arrives, gets out of the car, and Fields gets in and repeats the same steps until he’s run out of the cars he’s bought. I may even smoke a cigar whilst driving around.
5 Places I’d Run Away To:
(Random order)
Montreal
NYC
(Island of ) Krk
Rejkjavik
St John’s (US Virgin Islands)
5 Things I’d Never Wear:
I’m with CP, thong underwear. (I mean I’m with CP to NOT wear thongs)
Rugs of the hair sort
Earplugs
Aviator sunglasses..because I’m not an aviator and I’d never be able to look like one
Barry Manilow/Billy Joel/Dan Fogelberg t-shirt
5 Favorite TV Shows:
Little Rascals
Law & Order (First 3 seasons)
Daily Show
Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck ‘toons
Gilmore Girls (Yeah, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for intelligent women talking at light speed with multiple references to movies, books, and esoterica…although this season is not shaping up well with the clever banter!)
5 Biggest Joys:
Caution!!! Sap’s a risin’!
The Wife.
The kids. Each is a unique joy, an occasional pain in the heart, and a daily indication that I (and The Wife) could make something so terrific.
Listening to that next new cd, having minimal pre-listening exposure and having gotten it based on a valued recommendation.
Running through all five senses when opening a new book. Smell of the pages as you turn. Crack of the binder when you open the book. Touch of the pages, especially when you forked over for the hardbound edition. Taking in the cover and back page photos, trying to tie them in with the words you’re reading. Taste? Well, I’ll leave that sense you your own imagination.
5 Favorite Toys:
CD-player in house.
CD-player in car.
Racks & Racks of books sticking their tongues out at me because they know I’d have to live to be 150 to read them all.
The OED.
Pocket Buck knife.
3 Fine Folks Who Can Now Consider Themselves Tagged:
My apologies and my congratulations.
Whisky Prajer
Delawhere (This’ll give him a topic to write about)
ChazzyG (Not as if you're not too busy...)
FCB over at Xenosphere also got tagged. Now this is an interesting read.
Comments:
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
I would wear a Dan Fodelberg tee shirt becasue such a garment would undoubtedly draw quite a lot of attention and be quite a conversation piece. I mean, who IS Dan Fodelberg?
# opined by 
: 3:10 PM, October 05, 2005
: 3:10 PM, October 05, 2005
WP, let the mists of Bowmore Darkest guide you through these tasks. How could i have turned down CP's request?
Stephenesque That's Mr. Dan Fogelberg to you. As there was a plethora of "New Dylans" cast upon us, so there was a myriad (am I using this correctly Bleak Mouse and Serachie?) of James Taylors raining down on us in the '70's and '80's. Dan Fogleberg is one such "new" James Taylor. He got "old" very quickly. Although I understand that teenage girls loved his hair and even duplicated his style.
Stephenesque That's Mr. Dan Fogelberg to you. As there was a plethora of "New Dylans" cast upon us, so there was a myriad (am I using this correctly Bleak Mouse and Serachie?) of James Taylors raining down on us in the '70's and '80's. Dan Fogleberg is one such "new" James Taylor. He got "old" very quickly. Although I understand that teenage girls loved his hair and even duplicated his style.
You had me pleased until you dumped on Poor Dan (who is suffering from most likely terminal prostate cancer).
I LOVE Dan Fogelberg, AND JT, AND CCR, AND Little Feat - Chicken Little - hadn't thought about that in ages...
Thanks for a very excellent response! Great Answers! (Except for the you-know-what!)
Post a Comment
I LOVE Dan Fogelberg, AND JT, AND CCR, AND Little Feat - Chicken Little - hadn't thought about that in ages...
Thanks for a very excellent response! Great Answers! (Except for the you-know-what!)
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
