Sunday Stealing

If your life was a book, what would be its title?

Funny the World, of course!

Who is/was the weirdest person in your life?

Wow.  Now there's a challenge, given the cast of weird characters in my life!  Of people who just pass through my life it would have to be the artist Bruce, who is a regular at the book store.  Always dressed in baggy, shaggy white clothes with a hat he makes for himself, usually out of paper plates.  Nice man, but definitely a weirdo.

As for people who are actually my friends there are lots of possibilities, like Cam and Evelyn, who are roller coaster enthusiasts and travel around the country riding roller coasters.  Or Steve Schalchlin, who sings choruses in public, which is mad enough.  Or maybe Debra LoGuercio DeAnglo, editor of the Winters Express, who is one of the craziest women I know.  But I think I'll choose Derrick Bang, former Entertainment Editor for the Davis Enterprise, the guy who hired me (and the best of the four or five editors I've had). In addition to that, he's a HUGE Peanuts fan, has written two books about Peanuts, helped with the construction of the Charles Schulz museum in Santa Rosa and his house is filled...and I do mean filled with Peanuts memorabilia, hundreds of stuffed Snoopys, statues, pictures, magnets, flags, books, statues.  If it's Peanuts, Derrick probably has it.  At Christmas time he has a floor to ceiling tree filled with Peanuts ornaments and his house routinely wins "best decorated," with its Peanuts theme (and other cartoon characters). He once staged a life-sized Monopoly game around half of what is now Central Park. 

 

What is a special thing that someone once did for you?

My son Ned just finished completely re-doing my office, painting it, decorating it, building shelves and a special craft desk.  He worked at it for weeks.  I love it and was truly touched that he wanted to do that.

If you could erase someone off the planet, who would it be?

Is there any doubt?

 
 

What’s a big goal that you have?

I don't have big goals any more.  I guess at the moment it's just helping my mother live the rest of her life comfortably and with dignity.

If you could time travel and meet yourself at 16, what would you tell yourself?

It wouldn't make any difference; I probably wouldn't listen to this old lady anyway.  But I'd remind myself to brush and floss!

If it were the last day of your life, how would you spend it?

Calling my family and friends to say goodbye.

If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?

I'm not big on meeting celebrities.  I'm too shy.  I would, however, like to be a fly on the wall in some of the writers' groups, especially for The Daily Show, or a social gathering of the NY critics who appear regularly on Theater Talk. It might be fun to meet Rachel Maddow, since she and friends of ours were on the same swim team a bazillion years ago an I find her endlessly fascinating.

What is one thing that you would never do that others you know have done?

Drugs.

What is one romance depicted in film that you’d love to experience?

I always love the final scene of Affair to Remember.  

 

Describe yourself in just one sentence.

Bev is a fat old lady who tries to do what she can to improve her little corner of the world.

Who is the most beautiful person on earth?

I'm not moved so much by physical beauty as inner beauty. I would nominate Dame Daphne Sheldrick, whose Sheldrick Foundation has saved so many orphan elephants.  If not "the" most beautiful person, definitely up there in the top 10.

 

What was the best experience in your life?

Only ONE best in 73 years?  Not possible.  But some of the top contenders;

• Childbirth, especially the first one, because it was so new.
• Walt's 50th birthday party
• Walking the Great Wall in China
• Lawsuit's Whole Earth Concerts
• SCT's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

If you could rule the world, what would you change?

Clean water, enough food, and toilet facilities for everyone.

Where were you when you heard the news of 9/11?

Sitting in the lobby of a hotel in London.  We had just arrived in England.  Someone came to the front desk and said she had heard that "something happened" at the World Trade Center.  When we got into our room, we checked CNN in time to see the second plane hitting.  We spent our first day in London glued to the television.  It was a surreal experience.  We heard all the news filtered through British minds and by day #3 all we heard was the Brits who were victims of the bombing.  I remember two talking heads, one of whom asked the other "what does this attack mean for America?" and the answer was "Well, they're going to find out how we live in the rest of the world." Of course we could not fly home and by the end of 2 weeks in England, we were in Orkney at the northern end of Scotland, where 9/11 didn't even make the front page, but was a small article on the back pages.

Thank you for playing this week on Sunday Stealing! Please leave a comment or link when you have posted. Stop back and visit other player’s posts. That is really what this is all about, making new friends! Have a great week. See you next Sunday!