5,000 Question Meme, Part 6

121. Have you ever lost someone without having the chance to say goodbye?
How much time do you have?  Starting in 1971 with my sister, then Gilbert in 1986, my kids in 1996 and 1999 and Peggy (not dead, but dead to me) in 2011.  Those were just the "biggies."  One thing about getting older is that the older you get the more "opportunities" there are for losses without getting the chance to say goodbye.

122. How do you feel about women in politics?
Why shouldnt they be?  We are everywhere else, and just as qualified as men...and given how men have screwed things up, perhaps better!

123. Would you rather have an indoor Jacuzzi or an outdoor pool?
Not really up for either, actually. 

124. What things are you interested in that you study or read about regularly?
Gay rights, animal rights, stuff about elephants, Catholic church scandals, and interesting tidbits about places we have either visited or expect to visit...as well as anything interesting that comes along.

125. Would you consider yourself to be intelligent?
In some areas.  In other areas (math, for example), I am borderline! 

126. Would you consider yourself to be wise?
Yoda I ain't, but I know a thing or two.

127. Have you ever given or received a lap dance?
I can't think of anything I'd like to give or receive less.

128. Have you ever spoken to a homeless person?
Sure.  Frequently on the street...and I used to volunteer in a homeless shelter.

129. Would you ever creep into the subway tunnels to go exploring?
No.  Shudder!

130. If you could add 70 years to your life but only by making some random person die 70 years sooner would you?
Why in the world would I  want to add 70 years to my life???  Who wants to live to 140?

131. Can you identify any of the following lyrics?

A: Nothing to kill or die for...
B: Late comings with the late comin' stretcher...
C: I could make a film and make you my star...

Nope.  None of them.

132. Are you worried about North Korea?
I am worried when any nut job starts to make threats about nuking countries they don't like.

133. Would you rather be a world political leader or a talk-show host?
Talk show host.  I couldn't handle the pressure of being a political leader.   I probably couldn't handle the pressure of being a talk show host either, but at least I couldn't kill anybody if I did it wrong!

134. Have you ever given someone a love letter that you wrote?
Sure.  As a letter writer, I have written my share over the years to several people.  It's what I have done all my life, beginning in grammar school, I think.

135. Have you ever sent someone a surprise though the mail?
Again, sure.  Presently, I try to find fun things to mail to Brianna, though I rarely hear what her reaction was.

136. Are you looking forward to any dates right now? Vacation perhaps?
Bri's first dance recital, Bri's pre-school graduation, our trip to Ukraine, my mother's move to the Senior Living complex.

137. Of all animated movies, which is the best one you've ever seen?
Technically the best is probably Snow White, of the classic Disney animation, but my favorite will always be Bambi.

138. What are the best bands or songs to listen to while driving?
Anything by Lawsuit (and how many Sunday Stealing regulars have a clue what band that is?)  Though, when driving these days, I prefer an audio book.

139. What do you think is the most amazing thing that anyone has ever accomplished?
The guy who figured out that if you take something as vile as a ripe olive off a tree and plunge it into something as vile as lye you end up with something delicious enough that people want to serve with their Thanksgiving turkey.

140. What could someone do to impress you?
I am always impressed by people who go out of their way to help others.  Our friend Nancianne, in her 70s, shaving her head to help kids with cancer, for example.   People like Ashley, who do so much to help dogs find good homes.  All the incredible people who sponsor children through Compassion or any other organization. The question originally was gender-specific, but I think it's the same for either gender, as far as I'm concerned.

5000 Questions, Part 3

I think this brings me up to date with SundayStealing.  I'll now wait until they post the next part.

51. Make up a definition for the following silly words...
Fruitgoogle:  Fruitloops updated for the Internet age
Ambytime: Like Miller Time, but with sleep meds
Asscactus: Anybody who has ever had hemorrhoids understands this!

52. What was the last thing you made with your own hands?
Asiago Cheese Bread.  Yummm.

53. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Probably my storybook dolls, though I was only allowed to look at them, because they were decoration for our bedroom.

54. How many TV’s are in your house?
I'm embarrassed to say five, though two don't work

55. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
Pick up the mail and go back inside.

56. How do you feel when you see a rainbow?
Like bursting into song.

57. Have you ever dreamt a dream that came true?
No.  I don't dream often and they are rarely reality-based

58. Have you ever been to a psychic/tarot reader?
Not been to one, though my friend DanaRae did a tarot reading for me that was eerily accurate.

59. What is your idea of paradise?
Seeing all of my dead family and friends again.

60. Do you believe in god and if so what is he/she/it like?
I'm not sure what I believe.  I believe in something/one larger than ourselves, but I don't envision the old man sitting on a throne.

61. Do you believe in Hell?
Of course -- often here on earth!

62. What one thing have you done that most people haven't?
Ridden a camel in the rain in Australia.

63. What is the kindest thing you have ever done?
Baked cakes for the "retirement" of Lamplighters contralto, June Wilkins.   Still my very favorite moment ever -- and she didn't have a clue who made the cakes.

64. Have you gone to WTIT's facebook page and hit "like" yet? If not, why not? (No pressure.)
I had no idea what this was, so did go to the Facebook page and see that it is nothing I would be interested in.

65. What holiday should exist but doesn't?
Adopt a Shelter Pet Day.

66. What holiday shouldn't exist but does?
Children's Day

67. What's the best joke you ever heard?
There was an Indian Chief, and he had three squaws, and kept them in three teepees. When he would come home late from hunting, he would not know which teepee contained which squaw, being dark and all. He went
hunting one day, and killed a hippopotamus, a bear, and a buffalo. He put the a hide from each animal into a different teepee, so that when he came home late, he could feel inside the teepee and he would know
which squaw was inside.
Well after about a year, all three squaws had children. The squaw on the bear had a baby boy, the squaw on the buffalo hide had a baby girl. But the squaw on the hippopotamus had a girl and a boy. So what is
the moral of the story?
***********************
The squaw on the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the other two hides.

68. Where is the most fun place you have EVER been?
Ever?  Wow...that's a toughie.  NOT Disneyland. Maybe Universal Studios. Maybe Lagoon Lake in Western Australia.

69. Is your hair natural or dyed?
My natural color is a lovely auburn, but I work hard to die it salt and pepper so I look older than I really am.

70. Do you have any deep dark secrets or are you pretty much up front?
Sure...isn't it more fun to be a person of mystery?  That's what Cousins Day was all about!

71. What is under your bed right now?
Since I don't sleep in a bed, nothing.

72. If you were in the Land of Oz would you want to live there or go home?
Depends.  Is this before or after both Wicked Witches were killed?

73. If you drive do you frequently speed?
Not any more.  I've never had a speeding ticket, though I was given a warning twice.  Nowadays, I am that little old lady creeping along below the speed limit in the right lane, the kind of driver my father hated.

74. What is the world's best song to dance to?
I don't have a clue

75. What song was on the last time you danced with someone?
I think the last time I danced was at Tom's wedding in 2003.  I don't have a clue what the music was.

5000 Question Meme, Part 2

Since I will be at my mother's tonight, I'm doing Part 2 of that biiiig meme to post before I leave.  Here goes:

26. Who has done something today to show they care about you?
Walt let me sleep when I took a nap.

27. Do you have a lot to learn?
Don't we all?

28. If you could learn how to do three things just by wishing and not by working what would they be?
*Speak fluent French and fluent Porgutuese
*Master PhotoShop
*Play the piano (if we had one any more)

29. Which do you remember the longest: what other people say, what other people do or how other people make you feel?
It's a toss-up between what they do and how they make me feel.

30. What are the key ingredients to having a good relationship?
A sense of humor, common interests, the ability to trust

31. What 3 things do you want to do before you die?
I've pretty much done everything I would like to do before I die, but that cruise to Alaska still hangs there, as does the train trip across the Canadian Rockies.

32. What three things would you want to die to avoid doing?
Good lord.  I don't want to avoid doing anything that badly!

33. Is there a cause you believe in more than any other cause?
It's a toss up between quality for all gay people and assistance for children around the world who are living in poverty.

34. What does each decade make you think of:
40s and 50s - grammar school
60s - First independence, job, UC Berkeley
70s - Marriage and parenthood
80s - The Lamplighters and Gilbert
90s - First (and only) "career"
00s - Friendship with Peggy
10s - International travel

35. Which decade do you feel the most special connection to and why?
Each was special in its own way.

36. What is your favorite oldie/classic rock song?
The very first one that popped into my head was "Lollipop"

37. What country do you live in and who is the leader of that country?
USA and who is "leader" at the moment is up for grabs.  Supposed to be Obama,but the way congress is going, who knows?
     If you could say any sentence to the current leader of your country what would it be?
     For God's sake, be the leader we elected you to be!

38. What's your favorite TV channel to watch in the middle of the night?
Hallmark.  I have seen every Golden Girls episode ever made and am working my way through Frasier.

39. What Disney heroine are you the most like and why?
Dory, from Finding Nemo.  A helper, but not a star

40. Have you ever been a girl scout/boy scout?
Yes.  I was as Girl Scout for many years

41. If you were traveling to another continent would you rather fly or take a boat?
Definitely fly

42. Why is the sky blue during the day and black at night?
'Cause God turns off the light so you can't see the color.

43. What does your name mean?
Beaver Lake

44. Would you rather explore the deeps of the ocean or outer space?
Neither, thank you.

45. Word association
What is the first word that comes to mind when you see the word:
  Air: Breathe
  Meat: Lamb
  Different: Separate
  Pink: Pepto Bismol
  Deserve: Earn
  White: Wedding
  Elvis: Presley
  Magic: Bullet
  Heart: Broken
  Clash: War
  Pulp: Orange juice

46. If you could meet any person in the world who is dead who would you want it to be?
I would like to visit Albert Payson Terhune at Sunnybank during the Lad a Dog years.

47. What if you could meet anyone who is alive?
Betty White.  We could have tea and talk about dogs.

48. Is there a movie that you love so much you could watch it everyday?
I'm finally tired of Affair to Remember, so let's say Dave.

49. You are going to be stuck alone in an elevator for a week. What do you bring to do?
iPad and power cord...good for games, Facebook, Twitter, TV, etc.

50. Have you ever saved someone's life or had your life saved?
I don't believe I have ever saved  saved a life.  A lifeguard once rescued me from a lake.

5000 Questions, Part 5

No, I'm not answering 5000 questions today, but the following is what I found on Sunday Stealing today:

Today we ripped off a blogger named Leo from the blog Leonine's Journal. He was tackling a meme that his blogging site, Live Journal, hosts. It has 5,000 questions. He did a hundred. So, we will take it from there. Link back to us at Sunday Stealing.
The 5000 Question Meme, Part One
The 5000 Question Meme, Part Two
The 5000 Question Meme, Part Three
The 5000 Question Meme, Part Four 

101. What does happiness/joy feel like physically? A tingle.  An inner glow.  That smile you can't quite wipe off your face.

102. List five things you love starting with the one you love the absolute most.
A - all of my family
B  - volunteering at Logos each week
C  - OK.  I'll admit it.  I love television
D  - curling up with a warm dog, a soft blanket, and a good book
E  - My computer(s)

103. How many movies have you gone to see this year? Two:  Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook

104. If you could have 3 wishes...but none of them could be for yourself, what would you wish for? #1 - that all of my sponsored children could have access to clean water and enough food to eat #2 - that Jeri could find a teaching job in California so she could return #3 - that somehow Bob will miraculously be able to come home again.

105. In what ways do you relax and de-stress when you are really tense? eat, TV, computer

106. How much money would it take to get you to sell your blog address? Not interested.  At least not until we finish the 5000 question meme.

107. Have you ever been hunting? Shoot Bambi?  Surely you jest.  I am not a hunter and have absolutely NO interest in hunting.

108. Have you attempted this 5000 question meme in the past? No.  Never heard of it until today.

109. What do you think of cloning? An interesting concept with potentially disastrous consequences.

110. Do you read or watch TV more often? I watch TV more often, but I often read while I'm watching TV.

111. With all this talk of terrorism going around are you willing to sacrifice rights and freedoms for increased safety? I think there is an awful lot of hype that is stirring up fear and panic and no, it would take a lot to sacrifice rights and freedoms.

112. What is the punishment you would come up with for Osama Bin Laden if you caught him alive? I can see this is a very old questionnaire.  If I found Osama Bin Laden alive, I would put him on display at Ripleys because it would prove reincarnation.

113. Have you ever named an individual part of your body? No.  That's juvenile.

114. Have you ever been on the radio or on TV? Radio, no.  TV a couple of times.

115. Have you ever won a lottery, or sweepstakes? I am not a winner.   Mostly because I don't play.  But I don't play because I have never been a winner.

116. Have you ever won a contest or competition? I won 5th place in an essay contest once.  It was a trip by ocean liner from San Francisco to Los Angeles (basically overnight).  But I have no pride in the win because my essay was pretty much dictated by a nun, who didn't let me write any of it myself.

117. Have you ever watched The Joy of Painting show with Bob Ross (check out this link if you don't know who he is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ross_(painter)? Yes.  He was amazing.  Sad that he is no longer with us.

118. Do you know what your grandparents and your great grand parents did for a living? My father's father worked in a garage his whole life (after he left vaudeville, where he was an Irish tenor).  My father's mother had been a dancer in the chorus line in Vaudeville and then a housewife the rest of her life (she may also have worked as a manicurist for awhile; I'm not sure).  My mother's father was a farmer and earlier in his life he had been a handiman and a plumber.  I can't remember what her mother did.   I don't know what most of my great grandparents did, but on my mother's side one of her grandfathers was a newspaper man, another was a hellfire and damnation preacher.

119. Is there anything really interesting in your family history? Too much to write here.  But to name a few, one aunt was married 13 times to 12 men (#5 and #7 were the same guy and in between he was married to her sister).  My godfather, also my great uncle, was a champion 6 day bicycle racer; another great uncle came one fight from being featherweight champion.  One uncle on my mother's side was a prisoner of war and had some interesting stories to tell about that experience.

120. Is there anyone you trust completely? I don't really want to think about trusting "completely."  I have been disappointed many times by people I thought I could "trust completely."  I probably could trust Walt completely, but you never know...