Survivor--with Luxury

Here’s an interesting survey.

You have to spend a year in quarantine -- alone -- "they" will provide the following items for you: Food, Water, Toiletries and a Bible. Plus you have the Basics of Couch, Table/Chair, Bed/Bedding & Electricity for: Lights, Heat, Air, Cooking, Cleaning, Listening to Music and Watching Videos ONLY.

You have to pack your survival bag. You can bring...

2 CDs
3 Books
3 videos
1 project
1 article of luxury
1 item of comfort

And can request a year's supply of your favorite "junk" food. (That would have to be ice cream.)

OK--so what do I bring. A year without a computer??? Oh my...already I’m going into withdrawal. But let’s get practical here.

2 CDs...

Well, obviously it would be a Steve Schalchlin CD and a John Denver CD. Those are constants in the car and I probably have listened to them over and over again for a year anyway, so why should my period of quarantine be any different. The trick would be choosing which of their CDs to bring, but probably one of the "Best of John Denver" CDs, since those are longer than others.

3 Books would be a bit trickier. At least "they" (whoever "they" are) would be providing me a Bible, which is a nice long book and will fill in the times when I am bored with the three books I’ve brought. I wouldn’t want to bring a real page-turner because I’d finish it too quickly.

Stephen Peithman, a friend of ours, once published the annotated collected works of Edgar Allen Poe and I think that would definitely be one of the chosen books. "The Ladies of the Club" would also be a good book. It's been recommended to me many times. It's a very, very thick book. I’ve started it several times and never made it through to the end, though my mother loves it and has read it several times, so that seems to be a good recommendation (and during a year, I’m sure I could finally get it finished!). I think the last book would be Steinbeck’s "A Life in Letters," the collection of a lifetime of letters by John Steinbeck, which is a fascinating book. I could easily read that more than once.

As for Videos (or DVDs)...Well, "A Star is Born" would have to be there. Just because it’s a nice comforting movie to have with me. I think the other two would be "An Affair to Remember" and "Dave." Just because they’re all "comfortable" movies that I enjoy watching more than once.

As for a project, I'd hope that I could have a computer, even if I can't have internet access. I have an endless number of digital photos that need to be organized, arranged, made into projects, etc., videos to put together, and music to organize. I could easily take a year doing all the stuff that I keep putting off doing on the computer. Plus watching all those new PhotoShop tutorials I haven't seen yet, of course.

As for an article of luxury, the computer for my project would also be my article of luxury. Writing is both "work" and "luxury" for me and I'd probably go crazy if I couldn't write. If I can't have a computer, I'll take a typewriter. If I can't have an electric typewriter, I'll take a manual. If I can't have any typewriter at all, I'll have an endless supply of really good quality paper and lots and lots of pens.

(If I can't have writing implements, I'll bring a puppy. LOL.)

Speaking of which, I've been playing my version of "Are you Smarter than your Dog." We have four dogs, two big and two small. The big dogs get more food. The little dogs get less food. The bowls go in the same spot--Sheila's by the back door, Lizzie's by the water cooler, Scooby's by the dishwasher, and Gizmo's in front of the stove. Only Lizzie won't start eating until she sees that everyone else is fed and while she's following me around to give Sheila her food, Gizmo starts eating from the bowl I put out for Lizzie. Then Lizzie ends up getting a little bowl of food and Giz finishes the big bowl.

It only took me a week to figure out that I should put the little bowl in front of the water cooler. That worked great. Now Gizmo eats from the right bowl, and I have to figure out where to put the other two. Some nights I guess right, and Lizzie gets the right bowl; some nights I guess wrong and Scooby eats too much.

Oh it's exciting here in Chez Sykes. Just one big laugh riot a day.