Sunday Stealing

This is the "What's Your Story?" meme.

1. What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten in public?
Durian!!!  In Southeast Asia, it is known as The God of All Fruit, but people carrying durian are not permitted to ride public transportation because it smells so bad.   A group of us in Houston were able to get hold of a durian and, since we were all intrigued, we had a taste test...the pictures speak for themselves.

2. If you had to go on an adventure, with elves, dwarves, or hobbits, who would you take and why?
Oh hobbits.  Who doesn't like hobbits?

3. You are at a rural retreat lodge somewhere deep in Wisconsin or Canada. You are approached by a taxidermist who hands you a stuffed badger and asks you to put it in your lap. What do you do next?
Tell him "I don't need no stinking badgers."

4. If you were given biscotti, would you prefer it with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
Coffee.  Hot coffee.  I'm not a tea drinker and chocolate would lessen the sweet of the biscotti.

5. In your opinion, who is the funniest man or woman alive today
The writers of The Big Bang Theory or The Daily Show.

6. If you were given thirty seconds on television to say something, what would it be?
"They told me I had to speak for thirty seconds, but I don't have a clue what to say.  Is my time up yet?"

7. What is your idea of the most romantic date setting ever?
Those resorts on tropical islands where you are totally alone, sleep in open air rooms that jut out over the water, and have people at your beck and call, who leave you alone when you aren't beckoning or calling look like they might have promise.

8. If you could go on one date with a movie or television star, who would it be and why?
I hate questions like this because (a) I'm 70 years old and haven't dated in almost 50 years, (b) the public persona of a movie or TV star is never the real person, and (c) most of the current movie or TV stars are strangers to me.  They are usually young enough to be my granchildren.  However, I wouldn't mind spending an afternoon with Betty White talking dogs and her TV history. (Do you realize Betty White is the history of television?  She had the very first TV program ever broadcast -- a test to see if they could get the program to go the telvision sets throughout the building...and here she is still on TV today). 

Oh wait a minute.  I know who I'd want to go on a date with:   Eddie from Frasier.

9. What is the worst song you have ever heard?
Since it's only May, I'm not too upset about Feliz Navidad right now, but give me a few months.  For now, though, I'd have to go with Gangnam Style.

10. If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?
Maybe London.  I love London.  Or somewhere in the countryside in Ireland. Every time I go to Ireland I feel at home there.  Of course I'd have to learn to drive on the left if I moved to either of those countries.

11. Who - in your opinion - was the greatest person to ever live?
Greatest?  Ever?  That's a very daunting question.   There are all those religious leaders, but I don't want to start a holy war by picking just one.  There are politicians who have done great things, but anybody I could choose would be universally both adored and hated.  So, thinking outside the box, I'll say the greatest person to ever live would be the Greek philosopher Aegimus, who lived in the 5th century BC, and who is credited with making the very first cheesecakes.