Tag: Ask Roger Anything

Joy, America, food, Muppets

Not sure if it’s anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, some warped religiosity, the fear of the Red menace that makes anything “socialist” automatically suspect or what.

AmericasdebtMore from New York Erratic:

What was the greatest joy in the last year?

It had to be Thanksgiving. My wife and daughter and I spent it at my second cousin’s house, just outside NYC, with her and her family, her sister, my eldest niece and her husband, a couple of my mother’s first cousins (the hostess’s uncles), and more. The next day, my family did Manhattan with the niece, her husband, and her friends.

What do you think is really causing the deficit?

I just don’t know. It seemed that Bill Clinton had a real handle on reducing the deficit, but then, kablooey, it got all out of control. It’s totally mysterious.

Jaquandor chimes in:

I’m noticing more and more that other countries have good ideas as to how to deal with problems, be it health care (other countries do it better AND much cheaper), credit card security, mass transport, urban design…and yet, new ideas have SUCH a hard time gaining traction in this country. Why is that?

I blame de Tocqueville. He came over here from France early in our national development, gave us the big thumbs up, and we felt free to continue that manifest destiny westward expansion thing, because of American exceptionalism. (I jest, but only slightly.)

And there was a point where, because of this being a big melting pot of a country, that this was a destination for immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. And great things WERE done.

Except now, we are often exceptionally bad at education and health care compared with other industrialized countries, even though we spend more. It’s our way or the (miles, not kilometers) highway. This graphic covers it.

Not sure if it’s anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, some warped religiosity, the fear of the Red menace that makes anything “socialist” automatically suspect, the power of the American oligarchy, or what. Maybe it’s the belief, totally in the face of evidence of facts to the contrary, that “the good old days” is what we need to strive for. It is probably the same forces that reject climate change, believe people rode on dinosaurs, and think the opinions on FOX News are facts.

Raising a child now, what do you make of current children’s media (books, movies, teevee) versus what you know from your own upbringing or that of others?

Re: TV, there’s just a whole lot more of it, geared to different ages, whereas I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons, Captain Kangaroo, Romper Room, and the local cartoon show. Now, you have whole networks for kids. Disney has tons of sitcoms, most of which are not great, but it’s keeping writers working.

Books and movies are a whole lot more “grown-up.” Someone suggested that my 10-y.o. would be ready for Hunger Games or something along those lines; not a chance. Too violent, too intense. But she does read a lot; she’s MOSTLY over the fairy phase.

Interestingly, even movies she sees that have scary parts on first viewing she’ll watch again to inure herself.

Favorite cheese(s)?

Colby, Gouda, sharp cheddar, Monterrey jack, Gruyere. Sandwiches usually with provolone, Swiss, cheddar.

But the one I use the most often is cottage. CC with apples and mayo. CC with fruit cocktail or apple sauce. CC with eggs.

Seguing to SamuraiFrog, who has a food question as well:

What foods did you love as a kid that you don’t like now?

We had a lot of canned vegetables, including canned spinach. Had some in the last 12 months, and it was AWFUL, inedible. Used to eat white bread, Sunbeam by name; not something I’d want now.

What is your favorite non-music-related sound?

See, I don’t think there are many non-musical sounds. When Lydia was in the MRI for an hour, I’d hear songs that sounded like those particular dronings. Elevators, garbage pick-up trucks, vacuum cleaners, sirens all have pitches I try to pick out. That said, it would have to be running water, the more the better. It’s partly why I like waterfalls so much.

What smells do you find comforting?

Baking bread. Also, the perfume that certain women wear.

If you could paint a picture of one thing, what would it be?

If I could only paint! A night scene with lots of stars and a crescent moon.

And the most important question: Who is your favorite Muppet?

Did I mention that I just bought The Muppets Character Encyclopedia? I didn’t know so many characters had actual names! OK, Kermit sings my theme song, was originally voiced by Jim Henson, and is green, so he’s #1; you’ve written about Kermit yourself recently. Number #2 is Ernie, who sings a song about a duck – you HAVE seen my blog logo – and was originally voiced by Jim Henson. But #3 has to be Rowlf, who I used to watch on the Jimmy Dean Show, long before I knew the term Muppet.

Why I NEED you to Ask Roger Anything

YOU can Ask Roger Anything, one question or several.

 

I just don’t think you understand.

It’s actually fairly easy for me to write about holidays or people’s birthdays or movies I’ve seen or the like. What is NOT so easy is coming up with content for all those days in between. That’s where YOU come in.

If you have been around here long enough, you know the drill. YOU, in the spirit of faux democracy, can Ask Roger Anything, one question or several. (Arthur and Jaquandor KNOW I can ASK several when they post similar requests.) Then I will ANSWER said questions, more or less honestly, depending on the nature of the query.

Oftentimes, y’all will ask stuff that I might be perfectly willing to write about, but it had not occurred to me. Other times, you’ll ask something that might be more uncomfortable, so it’s fun to try to obfuscate while still holding on to the truth of the matter.

I will likely respond within the next 30 days, as I have always done in the past. Now if you manage to inundate me with SO many questions that I can’t respond in a month – it’s never happened before – then I’ll take longer. Bury me with questions. Think of it as your belated birthday present to me. (I LOVE presents.)

You want dating advice from me?!

Ended up in a relationships with women I met at a party, at college, and at church, but dating, as I think of it, not so much.

The_Dating_GameNew York Erratic, who was probably snowbound when she wrote this, asked:

Another question (another life question): what’s different about dating when you’re older than dating when you’re a teenager?

You’re asking ME? I have no idea.

Let’s review my “dating” history:

High school: Hung out with a group of folks, and somehow, I’m going out with one of them. We break up, but another young woman in the group pursues me, and we’re soon a couple. She breaks up with me, but I was too tired/depressed to pursue anyone else.

College: The second day, I met the Okie, who I would marry less than a year later. We went on one date, to see Rosemary’s Baby, and we were a couple. After we split, I realized that I had lost any ability to recognize when a woman might be interested, though sometimes it’d hit me AFTER the fact. I spent the better part of three years in a monastic lifestyle, especially 1977. As they used to write, from a romance perspective: Worst. Year. Ever.

Schenectady 1978: I started gaining confidence as I’d go out, albeit briefly, with a couple of people. Met a woman at a party in August, and we went out on one date and ended up a couple off and on for five years.

I probably did go out on a few dates after I was 30, but I was never particularly comfortable asking women out. I remember there was this particular woman my late friend Nancy Sharlet really wanted me to go out with. I dutifully called more than once, but it just never happened.

Ended up in relationships with women I met at a party, at college, and at church, but dating, as I think of it, not so much. We’d hang out a lot, as friends, and it evolved.

I am SO happy not to have to think about dating, now that I’m married for nearly 15 years. Now The Wife and I DO go out on dates, but the success or failure of the relationship is not tied to them.

But that’s not what you asked. How has it changed? Online stuff. Creating online dating profiles. And they may already know more about you than you want them to know. You have a hard time hiding stuff. Where is the mystery?

I was watching this show Parenthood (NBC, Thursday nights) last month. In one episode, one character (over 40) has her sister-in-law Google her date, or rather her plus-one, because it’s really not a date. Another character, a young man, a freshman in college, is really into having a relationship but is caught up with this young woman who just likes to “hook up,” as they say, at least until his high school sweetheart shows up.

So it’s the times that are a-changin’. Not sure it’s a function of age, but rather evolving values and technology.

Not in an upstate New York State of mind

I REALLY liked Madison, Wisconsin when I was there in 1988. Always appreciate the state’s progressive tradition.

LONG-time blogger Dustbury asks a question for this round of Ask Roger Anything:

If a purely arbitrary decision was handed down to the effect that you could no longer remain in upstate New York, where would you first consider going?


I’ve thought on this a lot, actually. It’s pretty much a process of elimination.

Not moving to anywhere there is no fresh water, so desert states such as Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico are definitely out. California – well, is the big earthquake still coming?

I’d like to be out of direct range of hurricanes, which eliminates Florida, not that I wouldn’t have passed on it for other reasons; and the parts of the states on the Gulf coast and southern part of the Atlantic are unlikely.

Not Texas, because Texas is Texas.

I’m wary of being in tornado alley, which seems to encompass much of the center of the country from Oklahoma to Ohio.

Places I had considered before I’m now rethinking; I worry about Washington and Oregon after the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan, maybe not enough to eliminate them, but it’s a factor. I wouldn’t pass on all the states along with the flood-prone Mississippi River, but any place that’s flooded in the last 15 years, I can imagine flooding again.

I hear the Deep South is more enlightened than it used to be; not sure I’d want to move there.

I REALLY liked Madison, Wisconsin when I was there in 1988. Always appreciate the state’s progressive tradition. Don’t love the current governor, though.

Do I want somewhere warmer? Certainly NOT colder, which eliminates Minnesota and Maine.

Ultimately, it would be either in a small college town or a larger college town with decent mass transit in New England, but probably not Connecticut, which often feels like suburbia. Rhode Island is a possibility. I’m fond of Northampton, Massachusetts.

My pick, all things being equal, is southern Vermont. After all, Vermont was part of New York, before it was broken off to become the 14th state. Both New York and Vermont have a maple syrup tradition. And, in spite of damage from some recent hurricanes, both tend to be out of hurricane alley.

Houses and dogs and books…

In all likelihood, you will pour every dime into the purchase, so that inevitable first repair of something you did not expect, you probably can’t afford.

Let me answer the rest of the questions from New York Erratic:

What would you say is the most difficult part of buying your first house? Is there something that you wish people would have told you?

I didn’t own my first house until I was 46 when I moved into the house my bride had purchased seven years earlier.

“Everyone” said that you’re “supposed” to own a house. I was never that interested in doing so.

My parents didn’t own a home until I went away to college. So I had no models in this area. While having to move every few years could be a pain, it was less of an encumbrance than a house.

In 2000, we bought our current home AND we were landlords; I HATED that. It was enough to take care of the living abode, but going over to mow the lawn and shovel the snow off the roof – it had a flat roof – was a royal pain. We sold it in 2004, shortly after The Daughter was born.

So to the question:
1) You DON’T have to buy a house.
2) If you do, it would be helpful to be handy with tools, which I am decidedly not.
3) In all likelihood, you will pour every dime into the purchase, so that inevitable first repair of something you did not expect, you probably can’t afford.
4) This will almost inevitably lead to buyers’ remorse. “How did I not notice that the dryer has a capacity of four shirts?” (This is true in our case, BTW.)
5) If you DO buy a house, you may spend lots of money on stuff that nobody can see. I was visiting my cousin Anne at Thanksgiving, and she told of the thousands of dollars spent to avoid flooding in the basement, expenditures no visitor or future purchaser will ever see. Some of our similar improvements involved spending thousands of dollars having a hole dug in the front yard to dislodge a tree root from the plumbing, lest we have sewage in the basement.

A LOT of investment in a house is all but invisible, and that can be REALLY discouraging. If I had it to do over again, I doubt I’d buy a house at all.

The single advantage is that people seem to think you are a “grownup” when you own a home.

Have you ever owned a dog?

Yeah, I was around 10, maybe (give or take two years). We had an Alaskan husky called Lucky Stubbs; I have no idea who named him, but it wasn’t I.

Anyway, he would nip me. I would say BITE but it didn’t draw blood or anything, so nip. But then he nipped one of the daughters of our minister. THEN my father gave him to a farmer where he’d have more room to roam than our tiny city back yard.

PS: after that, I was rather wary of dogs for years.

What’s your favorite spice?

Scary Spice.

OK, I jest. Cinnamon.

Old used books or brand new never read books?

Usually new, unless they are vintage. Books are like cars in that when they’re about 20 years old, they’re just old, but at some point they become VINTAGE. I have a hymnal from 1849, and another book from that period called Verdant Green, and THOSE are, as the kids used, are COOL.