Sunday Stealing Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Sunday Stealing Plays Favorites

Sondheim

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!

This week’s meme was stolen from Country Dew. A decade ago, she shared these “get to know you” questions she found on Facebook. Let’s use them to get to know you better.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE …? Sunday Stealing Plays Favorites

1. Flavor? Apparently, it’s strawberry. Strawberry ice cream and milkshakes, strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam, strawberry lemonade. Strawberries in my morning oatmeal. Let me take you down, ’cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields Forever. The Brothers Johnson’s version of Strawberry Letter #23.

2. Movie? Maybe Casablanca, which I saw in the late 1970s in an outdoor venue – a park? – in Rochester, NY, with a former housemate. But I haven’t seen it in total since.

Possibly West Side Story, which I saw when I was ten. Specifically Tonight (Quintet), which just blew me away. A countermelody? I didn’t know you could do that. And I’ve seen a variety of productions of the stage musical since. I own two books by composer Stephen Sondheim; read the “words that rhyme” section.

It may not even be my favorite musical (likely Fiddler On The Roof), but West Side Story has a deeper foundation.

3. Piece of jewelry? Not a real jewelry guy. My wedding ring.

Lots of water

4. Place to be? Niagara Falls, which, now that I think about it, I’ve been to with my family growing up, with my work friends, with my wife, and with my wife and daughter.

5. Boy’s name? Roger. I’ve probably written about my name a number of times.

6. Girl’s name? Isabella, which I mentioned here why it’s NOT our daughter’s name.

7. Candy? York Peppermint Patties or Mounds bar.

8. Sports team? I was much more invested in sports teams as a kid. I have a bias for the NYC baseball and football teams. But there’s only one NFL team that plays its games in New York State: the Buffalo Bills.

9. Color? Green, mentioned here.

10. Month? March. Yes, it’s my birth month and my daughter’s, but it also has St. Patrick’s Day, which is green (see question 9), not to mention my genealogical roots. And it’s spring. Sometimes, it’s Easter.

Sunday Stealing Asks, “Why Not Just Meme?”

BCHS

This week’s meme is inspired by Bragger, a blogger who enjoyed memes “so I don’t have to think” about a topic for her posts. She stole this one from Tense Teacher, sadly, who took her blog down.

When You Can’t Think of Anything to Blog About … “Why Not Just Meme?”

1) Describe your typical weekend, and tell us how this weekend has been different.

My typical weekend involves creating answers to this quiz, catching up on reading the newspapers, cleaning, attending church, and doing ZOOM with my two sisters. The thing is, there is ALWAYS “stuff” that pops up, whether it’s someone’s crisis, an unexpected phone call, or something that goes wrong and needs to get fixed in the house. I’d like to go to the movies, if it fits in the schedule.

2) What food hits your bliss spot?

The combo of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and peas. I was on a train with my wife, and I said, “THAT’S what I’d like to have.” Maybe today?

The timeshare

3) Where did you stay on your last vacation (hotel, Airbnb/Vrbo, friends/family)?

That would be this past Wednesday-Friday. The long boring story would be that my wife has been spending months and mucho dollars trying to convert my MIL’s timeshare package to my wife’s name. It FINALLY took place, so my wife and I decided to go to New York City with no particular plan in mind, if only to burn some points before September 30. My wife and daughter will do likewise in a few weeks.

4) If you had a personality eraser, what part of yours would you erase?

Easy peasy – melancholy.

5) Think of your friends. Tell us about the first one who popped into your head.

KD. We’re planning to go to our high school reunion in September. Understand that we went K-12 together, starting in Daniel Dickinson in Binghamton for K-9, before we graduated from Binghamton Central High School! They texted me to see if I could find another one of our K-12 pals. I had an email from 2023 that still worked, and that friend, along with one or two others, is also attending.

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Sunday Stealing Invites You to Be Bold

Niagara Falls

This week’s meme was stolen from blogging mom Blue Milk. Back in 2008, she stole it from an invitation-only meme. It was originally a very loooong meme, with more than 100 questions in all. Too much for me! So it’s been pared back to 35. If that still seems daunting, remember all you have to do is bold the ones you’ve done. If you’d like to elaborate, feel free.

Bold the Ones You’ve Done

But I’m not going to do that because the whole post is bold. Sunday Stealing Invites You to Be Bold. BTW, I loved that TV show.

Have you ever …

1. Slept under the stars - Of course. Sometimes, I even liked it

2. Played in a band I think once, in junior high school, and I hated it because I was playing percussion and had to wait something like 74 measures to come in. It was anxiety-producing, and I think I was late.

3. Visited Hawaii  - No, but I was invited to go. There’s a story about that.

4. Visited Easter Island – No.

5. Watched a meteor shower – I believe so.

6. Seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace - I’ve never been to the UK

Walt’s World

7. Been to Disneyland or Disney World  - No. My wife and I thought that we “should” take the Daughter there, but she never seemed all that enthused. I don’t think she understood what a Big Deal it was.

8. Climbed a mountain  - Yes. As I noted recently, it was to my detriment.

9. Held a praying mantis – I believe so

10. Been to the Louvre – Well, TO the Louvre, but not IN the Louvre.

11. Had food poisoning - Yes, including quite possibly this year.

12. Eaten vegetables you grew yourself – As a kid, yes. It was never my joy.

 13. Slept overnight on a train  - I don’t believe so, though I’ve slept from NYC to Charlotte and arrived around 4:30 a.m.

14. Built a snow fort – Undoubtedly.

15. Held a lamb -Possibly at a county fair; uncertain.

16. Gone skinny dipping – At least twice, once in Broome County (the cops showed up) and once in Ulster County

17. Been on a cruise (day cruises and dinner cruises count) – At least twice, my wife and I took a Dutch Apple Cruise up and down the Hudson River. It’s rather cool. This reminds me that some performer was singing Sweet Caroline, which reminds me of Hank and John Green’s version of Sweet Caroline.

There was another time we were on the Hudson and went through one or more of the Erie Canal locks. And we went on the now-closed Albany Aqua Ducks, which naturally reminds me of Aqualung.

18. Seen Niagara Falls  - several times, most recently in 2011

Roots

19. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors – it depends on how far back one wants to go. My maternal grandmother’s house is where her mother grew up. I’ve been in Wilkes-Barre, PA, where some of my paternal grandmother’s people grew up. But I’ve not been to Ireland or Nigeria or places like that.

 20. Sung karaoke - Yes, at least once at a work conference.

21. Sat for a portrait – yes, but generally by a caricaturist

22. Walked on a beach by moonlight - Yes

23. Been transported in an ambulance - yes, when I was in a car accident when I was 19

24. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling  - Yes, when I was in Barbados in 1999 on our honeymoon, but I wasn’t very good at it

25. Kissed in the rain - Yes

26. Played in the mud  – of course

27. Gone to a drive-in theater – several times growing up. I specifically remember seeing The Dirty Dozen.

28. Changed your vehicle’s oil yourself – well, it wasn’t my vehicle, but I did do this. Once. With constant instruction.

29. Taken a martial arts class  - no

30. Visited the Vatican - never been to Italy

31. Volunteered at a soup kitchen or food pantry - yes, but it’s been several years

32. Sold Girl Scout cookies – for some reason, yes, for friends’ kids

33. Bought a used car – no, nor have I purchased a new car

34. Sat on a jury – no, but I was in the courtroom in 2007 and 2014

35. Ridden an elephant – No. Or maybe yes? At a circus when I was a kid?

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Sunday Stealing: The $80K Meme

Back in 2007, Sparky Duck at Philly Transplant played the $50,000 Meme. That was nearly 20 years ago. To make it more relevant to our day and age, it’s been updated and is now the …

The $80K Meme

Premise: A philanthropist awards you $80,000 with the stipulation that you must spend half on yourself and half for the benefit of others.

For our overseas players, here’s a currency calculator.

1. Of the $40,000 you must spend on yourself:

a. First you throw yourself a lavish birthday party. Tell us about it.

Other than providing transportation for my far-flung friends to attend, I have no real feel for this. The truth is that I’d probably send out a survey and ask them what THEY would like to do. A concert? A trip down the Hudson River? And knowing my friends, there would be no consensus at all.

b. Then you take off on a cruise. Where are you headed?

Three come to mind. A trip down the Mississippi River, getting out at the states I’ve never been to: Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Arkansas. Or a trip down the Danube River, since I’ve been to NONE of those countries. Possibly a trip around Ireland and the UK, visiting Liverpool, England (Beatles’ hometown, of course) and County Cork, Ireland, where I clearly have ancestors.

Give it away

2. Of the $40,000 you must spend for the benefit of others:

a. Who would be on your gift list? What would you buy them?

I’d pay off the parental home where my baby sister lives. If there was anything left, I’d probably give it out to random strangers.

b. Which charities would you support?

There are SO many. Internet Archive, a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more. The Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex. Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation. Red Cross volunteers and staff work to deliver vital services – from providing relief and support to those in crisis, to helping you be prepared to respond in emergencies.

And some local organizations, most notably the Underground Railroad Education Center, which researches and preserves the local and national history of the Underground Railroad movement, its international connections, and its legacy to today’s social justice issues, thereby empowering people of all ages to be agents of change toward an equitable and just society.

Money – Barrett Strong

Money, Money, Money -ABBA

The first one I thought of was Money Makes The World Go Round – Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey, from Cabaret

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Sunday Stealing — Now We Know Our ABC’s

Utah

Princess Ladybug tells us, “Don’t mind the crown. I’m really the jester around here.” She’s the one who turned to her ABCs to give us this meme.

The Alphabet Meme: Now We Know Our ABC’s

Answer these questions with anything from a single word to a paragraph or two. It’s up to you.

A is for Age. 73. I can remember it because it’s tied to my birthday 7 <arch.

B is for your Booze of choice. Kahlúa, though I don’t drink it often.

C is for Career. Librarian, which I probably should have figured out bearlier than I did.

D is for your Dog’s name. Stealing this paragraph from a 2023 Sunday Stealing, which is efficient, ironic, or both. In my life, I had only one dog. He was named Lucky Stubbs. I believe he was an Alaskan husky we had when I was a tween. He would nip at me, but my parents, specifically my father, seemed unconcerned. That is, until he bit one, or maybe both, of the minister’s daughters. THEN they got rid of him, ostensibly to a farm in the area.

E is for Everyday Essentials. Leaving the home, the mantra is keys, wallet, phone.

F is for your Favorite Food. Lasagna

Games people play

G is for your favorite Game. There are LOTS of games, and they’ve changed a lot depending on who’s available to play. If I have to play alone, Spades, Pinochle, and Backgammon are on my phone. But it’s been Hearts, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit… I can’t even keep track. Songs are both Games People Play, totally different pieces by Joe South and the Spinners.

H is for your Hometown. Binghamton, which I haven’t written about since Thursday.

I is for an Instrument you play. Kazoo. Or a comb with paper, which sounds like a kazoo.

J is for your favorite Jam or Jelly flavor. Strawberry, which, BTW, is also my favorite ice cream flavor. Song: Strawberry Letter #23 by the Brothers Johnson; I LOVE this song.

K is for Kids. One daughter, who I haven’t mentioned in this blog since last month.

L is for the Last show or movie you watched. It was CBS Saturday Morning from the previous week, not yesterday.

M is for your most prized possession. Perhaps it’s the series of books from Record Research compiled by the late Joel Whitburn about the pop charts. They bring me joy.

N is for the Name of your first crush. I’m not sure. Maybe Diane?

O is for what you observe from your window. The glare off the roof of our car.

P is for Phobias. Mild claustrophobia. I think I have had agoraphobia, and occasionally, it’s still lurking in certain situations.

All together now

Q is for your favorite Quote. From You Can Make It If You Try by Sly and the Family Stone. Push a little harderThink a little deeperDon’t let the plasticBring you down (Ask me tomorrow and I’ll give you a different answer.)

R is for Regret. I wish Frank Sinatra were right when he sang: “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention.” I have quite a few, but only one I feel like sharing.

S is for Sweets. Oatmeal raisin cookie

T is for the Time you wake up. Lately it’s been about 8:30 a.m., but it depends on schedules.

U is for Underwear. Yes. Oh, briefs, T-shirt.

V is for your favorite Vegetable. Spinach.

W is for your Worst habit. Overthinking.

X is for X-rays. Ah, the Utah story, which is certainly one of my regrets. The in my knee is ongoing.

Y is for your Yummiest recipe. Betty Crocker cookbook lasagna.

Z is for your Zodiac sign. Pisces. Somewhere in this house, I have an extensive reading on the locations of the moon and the planets that someone got for me. I found it fairly on point, considering I don’t put much stock in astrology.

I should go with the obvious. Jackson 5ive. I could sing the Jermaine parts in the day, but NEVER Michael’s.

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