A March Meme

Walt recently forwarded something to me about a child talking to his writer parent and asking why he was just sitting there at the computer looking out the window. Why he wasn't typing? The father answered "typists type; writers sit and stare into space."

With three deadlines staring me in the face, I've spent a lot of time sitting and staring into space this weekend. I have one project finished, thank goodness, and two more to go. So instead of adding a journal entry to the mix, I'm just going to post a meme today.

Who knows you best -- Friends from childhood or friends now?

Since I have no close friends from my childhood with whom I am in regular contact any more, obviously friends now.

Can men and women be friends without anything sexual going on?

You’re asking someone whose closest friends have often been gay men. Of course.

Do you believe you can have a relationship with God and not attend church regularly?

Yes. I haven’t been to church in years, but I feel I have a relationship with God – or something bigger than myself (and trust me, it’s hard to find something bigger than myself!)

Do you have a friend you never thought would be a friend? Who?

Yes. There is a woman I knew a long time ago and thought I didn’t like, but lately I’ve discovered that she is a delightful person. We don’t see each other often, but I always enjoy it when we do get together.

Think back to when you were in high school...would your friends imagine your life the way it is now back then?

I really don’t know. I doubt it. When I was in high school, I was going to be a nun.

What is your favorite thing to do?

Write.

Did you go to college? Where?

I went to UC Berkeley, but was so lost that I really only attended class for 1-1/2 semesters.

Are you currently employed in the field you went to college for? What is it?

I never had a career field in my brief college career, so no. All I ever wanted to be was a secretary and then a mother–and I did both.

How did you end up in the current City/State you now live in?

I was born in the state in which I now live. Walt's job was transferred here from Berkeley. We weren’t happy about it, but we had little choice. I’ve never lived out of California.

Where did you meet your spouse?

We don’t remember specifically. We think it was on a camping trip to Yosemite with a bunch of other kids from the UC Berkeley Newman Center, but we aren’t sure.

Biggest Fear?

Losing control.

Favorite Sport/Team?

Probably baseball (though I did get rather involved watching curling during the Olympics!). And The Giants, of course.

What Really Annoys You Most?

Right now? Congress. All of ‘em. Republicans AND Democrats. I also dislike people who like to hear themselves talk too much. Like Glen Beck and Chris Matthews, when he's hosting Hardball.

Favorite guilty pleasure?

Donuts

Who is your Hero? Why?

My mother is an amazing person who has not only outlived, but lived longer than anybody else in her family, back several generations. She lived without her family and worked to put herself through her senior year in high school. When I was a child, I never remember seeing her without make-up and her hair groomed. She started as a part-time typist for the Bank of America and retired as a Trust Officer. She belonged to the Business and Professional Women’s Club and used to give speeches from time to time. Still she was a great mother, a wonderful cook, we always had a spotless house and freshly ironed clothes. She protected us from my father and when she couldn’t put up with his BS any more, she left him and found a man who made her happy for the last 18 years of his life. In dealing with the death of my sister she taught me that you can survive the death of a child. She has lived as a widow with grace and dignity. She is still the consummate hostess, volunteers weekly at Hospice of Marin, lives her faith, plays a mean game of ...well, anything. I know that our time together is growing short. I can’t imagine not having her in my life.

Biggest Accomplishment?

The temptation would be to say raising our kids, but I don’t think I did a very good job of that all the time, and have a lot of guilt about a lot of things, though they turned out OK in spite of me. So I’ll go with something more mundane. The thing I am the most proud of is authoring the second Lamplighters history. I actually started and finished a book that was published and is available in the Library of Congress (and listed on Amazon.com, even though there aren't any copies left any more!). What's more, I’m very proud of how it turned out.

Biggest Disappointment?

I had hoped to be an active grandmother, close to all my grandchildren and spending lots of time with them. I love Bri a lot, but it is a disappointment that my only grandchild lives so far away that she will have to be older before she actually feels any sort of kinship with me. She recognizes me and calls me grandma, but that grandma feeling isn’t there yet for her.

Do you have a close family (your siblings)? Does that make you happy or sad?

I am sad that I never got to know my sister as an adult. We were never close as children and we were just maybe starting to be friends when she died in 1971. But I am very happy to be close to my mother and Cousins Day is my favorite day of the month!