The premise of this week’s Sunday Stealing seems deceptively simple. Reveal yourself in 24 easy steps.
I am not bored. I’m never bored when I have any control of the agenda.
I hurt when I’m not heard.
I love looking at the section of my bookcase, seeing the array of colors and the variety of popular culture topics represented therein.
I hate that certain politicians can lie egregiously, and people believe them. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post dubbed one of these politicians Das GropenFührer, but I, of course, would NEVER sink that low.
I fear Christofascism.
I hope my daughter goes abroad more often than I did.
I regret? “Regrets, I’ve had a few. ” I have plenty, but many are buried in the recesses of my mind.
I cry over music. It doesn’t have to be sad. Indeed, it could be something that brings me joy.
I care that things seem fair. I think the Americans With Disabilities Act is a wonderful thing, for instance. So, when people obstruct sidewalks for their short-term benefit, it tends to tick me off. (The guy who parks his car to block the sidewalk on my block, making it difficult for blind or infirm people to get by, is extremely lucky I haven’t keyed his car… yet.)
No surprise
I always have music on when I write or clean. Currently, the Mamas and the Papas’ People Like Us album.
I long for more sleep.
I listen to opinions I tend to disagree with in the hope that I’ll better understand a different POV. It usually doesn’t work but I keep trying anyway.
I hide, sometimes in plain sight.
I write because I have to. There is so much information coming at me that I have to figure the world out. Writing slows down the tendency to make instant analyses.
I miss a whole lot of people: Gladys, Mike, indeed, a whole lot of folks from church, especially the choir. Richard, my FIL. Raoul, though it’s been a long time. My parents, of course. But the person I wish I could pick up the phone and call is Norman.
It’s the librarian in me.
I search for information all the time. When I was ten, it was the World Almanac and an encyclopedia.
I learn things that interest me fast, while other things bore me, such as our visits to our financial planner. It’s a MEGO experience.
I feel pain in my left knee. I need to go for physical therapy and hope it helps. Failing that, I’ll have to get a knee replacement. Ultimately, there will be two because they are both bone on bone.
I know a lot of weird stuff, such as all of the presidents by the year they took office, Bob Gibson’s ERA in 1968 (1.12), and the number of MLB career home runs hit by Willie Mays (660).
I want to be kinder to myself.
I worry about my daughter’s future. Global warming is a big reason, but not the only thing.
I wish I could fly. STILL, the most regular dream I have.
I have, generally speaking, a good capacity for listening.
I give blood. I’ve done so about 180 times because I think it’s important. I donated six times yearly for a long while, but it’s more difficult for an inexperienced phlebotomist to hit the vein correctly. When it’s done correctly, I can give it in six minutes or less.
I wait for my wife, though it’s less chronic than it used to be. Too often, she tries to squeeze in “one more thing,” which tends to make her later than SHE says some task will take.
I need to be understood. But don’t we all?
Switch
Then, after I completed the questions on Friday, they changed, so I’m answering these on the fly.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU…
1 – Handwrote a letter to a friend?
Don’t remember.
2 – Cried?
Yesterday
3 – Fell over?
A few years ago.
4 – Bought a present for someone?
Last month for my wife’s birthday.
5 – Had a pajama day?
6 – Watched a movie that you wouldn’t have gone to the cinema to see?
That is not how I operate. Except during COVID, or when I miss a film at the cinema, my default is going to the movies.
7 – Stayed up all night?
When my sister Leslie sang at Carnegie Hall.
8 – Bought something on eBay?
An Elvis Costello CD a few years ago
9 – Colored in a coloring book?
A few years ago.
10 – Told someone you love them?
Yesterday
11 – Kissed someone?
Yesterday
12 – Went to the doctors?
This week
13 – You traveled by train?
This month (Alexandria, VA to Albany/Rensselaer, NY)
14 – Screamed because you were scared?
Don’t remember
15 – Visited your hometown?
Yesterday
16 – Went on vacation?
This month
17 – Finished reading a book?
Last month
18 – Went to a church service?
Last week.
19 – Wore a hat?
Yesterday. I always wear a hat or cap.
20 – Turned off your mobile phone?
Yesterday, when I was losing power.