Sunday Stealing

I spent most of today being a dog bed. All of us got plenty of sleep (see Video of the Day). When time came to write this entry I suddenly went blank, so I'm going to do another meme. This came from a web site called Sunday Stealing.

What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?
Oh, "Horton Hatches the Egg." How can you not like Horton, the good friend, loyal beyond means, who endures incredible hardship to help give birth to the child of his friend Mazie.

If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be?
I always felt kind of comfortable in the Cosby Show house, though I probably would have fit in better in Roseanne.

What's the longest you've gone without sleep?
I think about 48 hours, after Paul died. I was probably awake that long after David died too, but we were traveling from New York to San Francisco, so I don't remember whether I slept on the plane or not. I was too numb.

What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
Copacabana. The kids fell in love with it in 1981, when Eduardo, our first foreign student, was staying with us. He was from Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro and the kids drove him nuts singing it. Later, when Lawsuit was performing, Copacabana became one of their few cover songs.

Who's your favorite Muppet?
So many from which to choose! I love Kermit, but I relate more to Miss Piggy...yet how can you not love Fozzie Bear?

What's your favorite website?
That's My Answer. I've been answering questions there for a very long time and a nice little community feel has developed there. It's the first site I visit every morning.

Who's your favorite TV attorney?
A toss-up between the sleazy Dan Fielding (John Larrouquette) on Night Court and Alan Shore on Boston Legal. I loved Shore's political rampages.

What was your most recent trip of more than 50 miles?
Probably to my mother's (~80 miles one way) on Mother's Day.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?
We were checking into a hotel in London, when someone came to the front desk to ask if anybody had heard of something happening at the World Trade Center. When we got to our room, we turned on CNN and didn't leave the room for most of the rest of the day.

What's your favorite tree?
I love the weeping willow. I remember many happy hours sitting under a weeping willow when I spent summers with Peach. I always thought we should have planted one in our back yard after Paul and David died. I also love the Chinese pistachio tree, which turns a gorgeous red in the fall.

What's the most interesting biography you've read?
Oddly enough it was the biography of actor Paul Muni. I don't remember why now that it made such a big impact one me, but I read a borrowed copy in the 1980s and was so taken with it that I bought my own copy. Another fascinating show biz life was Yul Brynner.

What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
Chow mein instead of fried rice, Kung Pao chicken, won ton, garlic chicken, walnut shrimp, broccoli beef, etc., etc., etc.

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?
The only one which holds any appeal at all would be Montana.

Who's your favorite bear?
Oski, of course!

If you could travel anywhere in Africa, where would it be?
Anywhere that I could go on photo safari.

What did you have for lunch yesterday?
I stopped at Jack in the Box for a cheeseburger and curly fries.

Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Definitely the dictionary. Regular dictionary, rhyming dictionary. I sometimes use the on-line thesaurus, but more a book called "Words that Sell," which gives me great substitutions for words I use regularly in theater reviews.

Have you ever been stung by a bee?
Only once. We were in the car and my arm was out the window when a bee flew into it. Not sure who was the more surprised, him or me!

What's your favorite form of exercise?
Typing.

Have you ever taken dance lessons?
I took one class in social dancing in college (it counted as "exercise"). I desperately wanted to take ballet lessons when I was a kid, but my mother told me I was too fat.

What's your favorite newspaper?
Why, the Davis Enterprise, of course--they publish my stuff!

What's your favorite Broadway / West End musical?
So many from which to choose. I see about 80 shows a year. These are the ones I don't mind seeing more than once. Music Man, 1776, Les Miserables, Sunset Blvd., La Cage aux Folles, My Fair Lady, The Secret Garden

What's your least favorite commercial?
Any of the erectile dysfunction commercials, especially the two people in matching bathtubs looking over the edge of the cliff.

Do you prefer baths or showers?
I used to love baths, but when we moved here, we didn't have a bathtub in the master bath so I ended up learning to love showers.

What's your favorite breakfast food?
Eggs Benedict...or the kind of Eggs Benedict that comes with crab. A really good omelette (like Tom used to make) is also a favorite.

Who's your favarite game show host?
Of the old game shows, Gene Rayburn (of Match Game). Now it would be Alex Trebeck of Jeopardy.

If you could have a super power, what would it be?
I'd like to be able to move from place to place in a second--blink my eyes and I'm in Boston or Australia or Brasil.

Do you like guacamole?
Mmmm...love it. Marta makes great guacamole. (Mine's OK too)

Have you ever been in a food fight?
I think we had a food fight or two when the kids were growing up. Never on a scale that you see in the movies.

Name five songs to which you know all the lyrics.
Oh good lord--thousands. Just off the top of my head:

• Over the Rainbow
• For You
• Don't Fence Me In
• The Twelfth of Never
• For Good

What's your favorite infomercial?
I woke up in the middle of the night some time ago and saw this infomercial for some face cream being plugged by some aging movie star. In the audience of enthusiastic women who praised how great this cream was and what youthful skin it gave them was Paul's widow, who was then in her 20s. I laughed a lot about that.

I also love Jack LaLanne's infomercials just because he's such a character.

What's the longest you've ever waited in line?
Well it wasn't exactly "in line" but I did wait 2 days in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco to meet Judy Garland.

Have you ever taken a picture in one of those little booths?
Sure. Lots of times when I was a kid. The last time was when Peggy was visiting here in 2000.