Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!
Impetua is the blogger who delivered us this mother lode of meme questions. They were originally stolen from someone named Mel, whose blog no longer exists. We took 50+ queries and made it 20 questions over two weeks. (Boy, are they ever random!)
Memememe — Part 2
11. You can build a dream house anywhere in the world. Where would it be located?
Given the vagaries of climate change, I’d say right where I am right now in Albany, NY. It’s not perfect, but it works for what I need to happen.
Photo booth
12. Have you ever taken a photo in a photo booth?
Yes. Quoting me:
“These pictures were undoubtedly taken at a Woolworth’s, not terribly far from Binghamton Central High School, which is now and has been Binghamton High School since 1982. This is Michele, Steve, and I doing what one does in a tiny room, the camera flashing every ten seconds or so. I probably never saw these since they popped out of the side of the booth over 45 years ago.
“In the era of the selfie, if you have never had a photo booth picture taken at a Woolworth’s or similar venue, I should explain this process. There’s a booth with a curtain, and you would get three or four photos for 25 or 50 cents. For years, they were always in black and white, though the latter years had color. It didn’t take long to process, although the three minutes waiting seemed like an eternity.
“And the pictures were unique. “There are no copies, no negatives. Photo booths use a direct positive process, imprinting the image directly to the paper — creating a one-of-a-kind artifact.”
Steve sent these to me about a decade ago. Undoubtedly, I took many other photo booth shots, including at a Friends and Foundation of the Albany Public Library gala only a few years ago, but I don’t know where the pics are.
13. What’s your favorite kind of mustard (dijon, spicy brown, bright yellow)?
In order: Dijon and spicy brown.
14. What did you do on New Year’s Eve?
To the best of my recollection, I stayed up until midnight, hugged whoever was up—probably my daughter, unlikely my wife—and then went to bed.
School daze
15. Did your parents ever share memories of their high school days?
I don’t remember specifically—certainly not my father, who, I gather, hated school at the time. My mom went to the same high school and, for that matter, elementary school that my sister Leslie and I attended. I’ve seen pictures of her in elementary school; one is here.
16. What’s the most famous thing to happen in your hometown?
Most folks will probably note that Rod Serling, the creator of the famous TV show The Twilight Zone, grew up in Binghamton, NY. There’s a new statue of him in Recreation Park in the city.
But, and I guess more infamous, was the 1913 Binghamton factory fire, which occurred on July 22, “on the premises of the Binghamton Clothing Company… It destroyed the Wall Street building in less than 20 minutes, killing 31 of the more than 100 people inside. Though not as deadly as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, it put even more pressure on New York officials to strengthen life safety codes, increase funding for more inspectors, and increase penalties for violations.“
From Atlas Obscura: “The monument is at the top of the hill on the south side of Spring Forest Cemetery. Enter through the Mygatt St. entrance and bear left through the valley and up the hill. The stones stand in a clearing and are easily visible from the path.”
It’s weird, then, that despite spending my first 18 years in Binghaton and having visited that cemetery several times, even this decade, I did not hear this story until 2025. Here’s a link to the documentary The Devil’s Fire by WSKG Public Television and filmmaker Brian Frey. The book Return to the Embers of Tragedy by David A. Bogart was published in August 2025.
The short answers
17. Did you ever have a MySpace page?
Probably, but I surely didn’t know what to DO with it.
18. Will you eat a cookie today?
If it’s oatmeal raisin, yes.
19. Who is the last person you spoke to – not texted with – on the phone?
My wife. She was coming home late, which is not unusual.
20. Do you play poker?
As a kid, I played penny ante, but not really. Still, I taught my daughter how to play while going on college excursions, as described here.
