This week’s Sunday Stealing is Surveys. But isn’t it Saturday? Why yes it is.
Before that, I want to do some light kvetching. There’s a walkway between our house and the neighbor’s. Two Wednesdays ago, there was a bunch of trash on the ground. I figured it might have blown over – it has been occasionally windy – and it would be picked up by Thursday night with the city garbage pickup on Friday morning.
But it was still there Friday afternoon when I took this picture. Fortunately, it was disposed of by Saturday morning, but now there are TWO shopping carts, one from Whole Foods, the nearest one of which is four miles away. Since there are at least four apartments in the building, I don’t know who to ask, and there’s enough turnover there that I don’t know anyone there presently.
I can’t talk to the absentee landlord because he is a piece of work. He scraped my wife’s vehicle with his rusty pickup truck last month, white paint from our car on his rust bucket. Moreover, there are two witnesses to this.
Where were we?
. How long was your last phone conversation?
About a half hour, with my baby sister.
2. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Not ever.
3. What do you have on your feet?
Slippers. It’s always slippers if I’m at home. Maybe socks if I’ve been out covered by slippers.
4. Do people ever mispronounce your name?
It’s a pretty easy name. Still I’ve been called Robert and, most often George; I think it’s the consonant thing. When I was waiting to read at the Ironweed marathon reading, I heard the announcer say, Next up:, Roger Breen” or something that wasn’t my name.
5. Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
My wife bought it from L.L. Bean, which was the Final JEOPARDY response in the game I lost; I was the only one to get it right, taking me from third to second place.
6. Does any part of your body hurt right now?
My feet. My knees, which are bone-on-bone. The left one is particularly exhausting.
7. Do you drink hard liquor?
Very seldom. But I have a LOT in my house for guests. But we don’t havce a lot of guests, mostly because we have a demented cat.
8. Have you ever read a book in one sitting?
Other than children’s books, perhaps many years ago.
Felines
9. Do you like cats? Why or why not?
As noted, our male cat is demented. The female cat is skittish but nice. I tend to be pleasant to the neighbor cats. There was a calico cat on the front porch this week and I talked nicely to it. Related: there was a dead mouse on the walkway to our sidewalk this Wednesday; I kicked it onto our lawn, intending to pick it up on Thursday night for trash night, but it was gone. Friday morning, there was that dead creatrure on our front porch and ANOTHER dead mouse on the back porch, presents, I believe, from the calico cat, who was in our backyard. Oh, cat, you SHOULDN’T have – really, you shouldn’t.
10. Do you like the ocean?
Sure. Looking out from the San Diego area is particularly lovely.
11. Ever think you might have seen a UFO?
Perhaps.
12. Do you type fast?
Not at all.
13. How long are you usually in the shower for?
Ten minutes, maximum.
14. Chinese food or Mexican food?
Yes. But I’ve had Mexican food recently, whereas it’s been possibly pre-COVID since I had Chinese food.
15. Do you read and believe your horoscope?
A friend of mine got me a very detailed horoscope probably four decades ago or more. It took into account my time of birth, the location, etc. It seemed pretty accurate It’s around here SOMEWHERE, but it certainly has not informed the way I lived my life
This week’s quiz from the League of Extraordinary Penpals is Sunday Stealing- Thanksgiving, which is coming up in the United States on Thor’s Day.
1. People I’d like to thank and why
Too many. But thanks to Jeff Sharlet, author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, whom I’ve known since he was six, for our breakfast on Saturday; KD, whom I’ve known since kindergarten, for our breakfast on Friday; and the Bible Guys, with whom I had breakfast on Thursday.
2. Something I rebelled against as a kid
Wearing ties. I was right; they’re legalized nooses.
3. What I need to accomplish before the end of the year
I have a reimbursement program for my medical expenses. I must submit them, and it is an extraordinarily tedious process, but I need the money, well over $1000.
4. Guilty pleasures right now
I don’t believe in them. Guilt is highly overrated. BTW, I’m presently listening to ABBA.
5. Local landmarks
Nipper. There are others, such as the skyline, but the dog is among the most iconic.
6. Cause or purpose I deeply believe in
I attended a panel discussion this week about book bans and challenges. Someone read a list of some of the most challenged books. As a retired librarian, I find the activity deeply unsettling, especially as these actions are often stirred up by a group not even in the communities.
No can do
7. Things I never learned to do
Type, drive, or enjoy beets.
8. Seasonal traditions I’m always excited for
My wife has three days off from work in a row.
9. Something I’d like to be mentored on
Genealogy. I’m trying to find my great-grandmother’s birth certificate, Margaret (or Marguerite) Collins Williams (May 1865-August 8, 1931), and find her parents’ names. They are not on her death certificate.
10. Exotic animals I wish I could keep as pets
Goats. They could mow our lawn, and I’d lend them to the neighbors.
11. Something normal to me that might be odd to others
I always hear music, even when it’s not playing.
12. The last book I quit reading and why
Possibly Brothers In Arms by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton because I got busy. I may return to it because Morgan Freeman has executive produced a documentary about the 761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers that should be on the History Channel. The Kareem book is about that very entity.
13. Right now, I appreciate…
Good mass transit in Albany, NY. Thanks, CDTA. The Purple Line buses were free for the first two weeks, ending today.
Not ready for Christmas
14. When “the holiday season” starts for me
December 1 is when Kelly starts his Daily Dose of Christmas. It does NOT begin on November 1, even though the TV ads want me to think so.
15. Holiday foods and treats I love the most
I like fruit pies. Not so much pumpkin but apple or cherry.
16. “Terrible” movies that I actually like
Reefer Madness, which I haven’t seen since college. The Albany preview of Howard The Duck was sponsored by FantaCo, the comic book store where I worked.
17. Cooking all day for holiday dinner vs. ordering carry-out
We’ll probably have food prepared by others.
18. If I were trapped in a holiday movie, I’d pick…
Miracle on 34th Street. I’ve only seen it once, so I would tire of it less quickly.
19. Which holiday tradition I wish lasted all year long
A perhaps insincere attempt at civility.
20. Favorite books, music, TV, and movies this month
Music: whose birthday is this month? Randy Newman, Jimi Hendrix, Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, Berry Gordy (Motown compilations). TV: football, recorded, which I can watch in about 70 minutes
Welcome to this week’s Sunday Stealing. The moderator doesn’t remember where she stole this, so I dubbed it as alphabetical.
A – Ambition: To be useful. I suppose that’s why I became a librarian. But it shows up in other ways. We had the First Friday concert at our church, and I helped people find the second-floor bathrooms. Someone asked if I were the pastor; I laughed.
B – Birthday: March 7. When I was working, I would take off the day. If my birthday were on Saturday, I’d take off the Friday before. And I’d take off Monday if my birthday was on Sunday.
C – Computer: A Microsoft Surface laptop I bought from a former SBDC colleague after my previous one fell from a table and became essentially unusable.
D – Dream: I dream a lot. I thought after MLK was killed in 1968, the progress that had started with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act would have taken hold better. But after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Right Act about a decade ago, attempts to disenfranchise people have grown.
E – Exercise: Primarily walking to the grocery store. My left knee is often in pain – including as I write this – so it’s limited.
Manga
F – Favorite Food: Grapes are great, especially for hydration. I like eggs, and usually, I prefer them when someone else makes them. And chicken. The chicken and the egg. There are lots of things I’d eat if I weren’t concerned about cholesterol and my weight. Bacon every day. There’s a packet of Golden Oreos on my kitchen counter I’m bringing to a meeting this week, but I’ve had none (so far).
G – Garden: Whatever gardening takes place is done by my wife, and she’s busy with work of late.
H – Hobby: Probably genealogy, though I haven’t had sufficient time to pursue it this autumn.
I – Idol: If I have one, it’s former Chief Justice Earl Warren or folksinger Pete Seeger.
J – Job: Retired business librarian for the New York Small Business Development Center; I was there for 26 years and eight months (1992-2019). The next longest job was working at FantaCo, a comic book/publisher/mail order/convention entity, for eight years and six months (1980-1988).
K – Kids: One, who I’ve written about in this blog every month on the 26th since May 2005.
L – Location: There was a question on a recent episode of Celebrity JEOPARDY in the category Demonyms, which are words that refer to a native or a resident of a specific place. “It’s how you might refer to a resident of Tirana, a capital city near the Adriatic coast–or to a resident of NY’s state capital.” I’m in the latter category.
M – Military: I received a Conscientious Objector status in 1972, and no one born in my year was drafted in 1973.
N – Name or Nickname: ROG
O – Optimist or Pessimist: Yes.
That darn cat
P – Pets: Two cats. One is demented. Midnight freaked out when he went to the vet nine years ago. The new vet was convinced that if we slipped him a sedative the night before and the morning of a visit, she could control him. Nope. She determined, “Your cat is crazy.” We knew this.
Q – Quote: From the comic book Saga of the Swamp Thing #22: “We left you the BEST part. We left you the HUMANITY. Try not to LOSE it.” (Alan Moore)
S – School: Daniel S. Dickinson, Binghamton, NY, K-9. Binghamton Central High School, 10-12. SUNY New Paltz, B.A. in political science (1977). SUNY Albany: dropped out of a master’s in Public Administration program and went to work at the aforementioned comic book store (1980). Then SUNY Albany, Master’s in Library Science (1992).
Somewhere else
T – Travel: I’ve visited 32 US states, most recently Nevada. I’ve only been to Canada, Mexico, Barbados, and, this year, France.
U – Unfulfilled ambition: To visit the remaining 18 states and go at least to Ireland.
V – Vacation spot: Lake Placid, NY, which I went to for at least two work conferences
W – Wardrobe: Casual if at all possible.
X – X-tra facts about me: I can’t really write or clean house unless I’m listening to music. Presently on the CD player: the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a greatest hits collection. The song Manic Depression ALMOST led me to yesterday’s Wordle, which was MANIA.
Y – Years online: For work, it was probably 1994. I had AOL back when you needed those shiny discs to access email.
The Sunday Stealingfor today is LEP Autumn. LEP is the League of Extraordinary PenPals.
1. Do you decorate for Autumn?
There’s a pumpkin on our porch right now. The leaves aren’t swept, so that’s sort of decorative. One of our former next-door neighbors used to have banners for many occasions – Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s Day, etc. I thought at the time that it was rather corny, but in retrospect, I liked it.
2. How often do you clean out your closets?
I don’t have a closet. When we bought the house, there was a closet in one of the spare bedrooms, but that space was converted into our daughter’s bedroom. (She subsequently moved to the other bedroom, which was larger.) So there’s an armoire in our bedroom for my shirts, etc. I hated it at first, but now I merely dislike it. And I’ve NEVER cleaned it out except when I pull a shirt out, and I decide (or more likely, my wife decides) it’s too worn.
3. When was the last time you planned a surprise for someone?
I used to do so regularly, but I can’t recall a recent time.
4. Are there foods you really don’t like?
Anchovies. Sardines. Most canned vegetables (spinach, beets…) Cucumbers. Watermelon. Any candy that has the faux flavor of watermelon or bananas, though I do like real bananas.
6. Items you’re most likely to buy at a convenience store
Cough drops or Vitamin C drops, diet Pepsi.
7. Do you believe in the paranormal?
I don’t either believe it or not believe it. That’s a solid maybe, but I spend almost no time thinking about it.
Have you got good religion?
8. How would you describe your spirituality?
The idea of religion is quite appealing. But it’s too often ruined by its supposed believers. Some evangelicals called Jesus “liberal” and “weak, forgetting that Jesus hung out with pretty scuzzy people who heeded the call to follow Him. Others have mistaken Jesus for an ATM. No wonder Mahatma Gandhi famously noted: “I like your Christ, but not your Christianity.” As a Christian, it alternately depresses and enrages me that some of my nominal fellow followers make it difficult/impossible for others to embrace the faith.
And I won’t even get into talking about the heretics of other faiths because it’s not my area of expertise.
9. Do you make plans far in advance?
I HATE doing things at the last minute. But FAR in advance? Aside from our trip to France, which had many moving parts, I avoid planning so far in advance that I can’t envision the end goal.
10. Do you like being scared for fun?
No. Not at all. I don’t see scary movies. Haunted houses are not for me.
11. What has been difficult for you lately?
Time management. Some of that is directly related to my wife’s job as one of the two employees of an afterschool tutoring program. One of the two became sick with COVID, so I spent about 15 hours helping her with simple tasks (sharpening pencils, taking out garbage, etc.) It was fine, but the things I had previously had on my docket got crunched.
12. Have you ever written or read fanfiction?
No; and a smattering.
Barren walls
13. What type of wall art do you have in your home?
This is a bit of a sore point. We have quite a bit of art we COULD put on our walls. My wife said she wanted to wait until the walls got painted before decorating. So they were painted over a decade ago, and still, no art on the walls. Now, you might say, “Why don’t you put them up yourself?” Mostly, I lack the artistic eye to ascertain what piece should go with another and at what height. Maybe I can get my daughter to help me at Christmas.
14. Are you more likely to be private or overshare?
I’ve thought about this a lot. When you have a blog you’ve written for 18.5 years, people think they know all about the blogger. This is not true, but I rather enjoy the myth.
15. What have you recently learned to live without?
Reading a daily newspaper. It tends to collect, and then I’ll pour through a week’s or fortnight’s worth in one sitting. I can skip the stories I already know about, but there’s always something I learn.
This week’s Sunday Stealing is again via LEP, the League of Extraordinary PenPals.
1. October reading & writing goals and plans
Reading: any one of the dozen or so books I bought THIS YEAR before the end of 2023. Writing: limiting myself to one blog post per day.
2. Something I did that totally paid off
I was putting away money for retirement. To my surprise, I stayed at my last job long enough that my wife’s health insurance is paid until she hits 65 and my daughter’s until she turns 26.
3. I want to see this make a comeback
Civility in public discourse when talking/writing about politics. Not to my surprise, I noticed that one rightwing online outlet described djt lawyer Sidney Powell agreeing to a plea deal as stabbing djt in the back.
4. Generational traits I really value
It’s a cliche, but my daughter has helped me with some technology.
5. Changes I’d like to see in my daily environment
I wish some cars would not drive at 50 MPH/80 kph down my street. There’s an elementary school, the attendant school buses, parents, and kids.
6. Favorite soup dishes
I misread this as my favorite soap dish initially. I’m a New England clam chowder guy. As a kid, it was Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup.
7. Start with the best part, or save the best for last
I’m not sure this answers the question, but I tend to go to the farthest one first when I have a series of tasks involving travel to several stores.
8. The most chaotic part of my daily life
Waking up, feeding the cats before they caterwaul, feeding my wife and me.
What I’d eat
9. If I could only eat 10 things, I’d pick
Two of them are easy: sandwiches and pie. Sandwiches have an interesting Wikipedia page. “In the 21st century, there has been considerable debate over the precise definition of sandwich, and specifically whether a hot dog or open sandwich can be categorized as such… The USDA uses the definition ‘at least 35% cooked meat and no more than 50% bread’ for closed sandwiches, and ‘at least 50% cooked meat’ for open sandwiches.
“In Britain, the British Sandwich Association defines a sandwich as ‘any form of bread with a filling, generally assembled cold,’ a definition which includes wraps and bagels but excludes dishes assembled and served hot, such as burgers.'” My definition is quite liberal and would include tacos, tortillas, et al. Now, this is a sandwich.
Similarly, a ‘pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit…, nuts, sweetened vegetables… Savoury pies may be filled with meat…, eggs and cheese, … or a mixture of meat and vegetables.'” I will make the case that pizza is also a pie.
Early October was ridiculously warm, c 82F/28C for a high. Now, it’s closer to 61F/16C. (BTW, I love the 104/40, 82/28, 61/16 connection; this is how I track the comparison between Fahrenheit and Celsius on the fly. The changing leaves’ color seems muted, though they were better in western Massachusetts last weekend.
A: I have a congenital heart issue, and every six months, I get scanned. It’s no worse this month than last time, so I won’t have open-heart surgery this year. B: The church choir is singing in person. We’re singing a significant piece next month. C: I went on two trips this year. It’s the first year since 1995 that I’ve traveled, requiring airlines twice. D: Seeing our daughter last weekend was great. E. I live in a place with excellent local bus access. I was on a CDTA bus when a woman told me only two local buses were in Middletown, NY.
F: I haven’t had COVID or the flu this year. In the past month, I received vaccines for both. G: I have no credit card debt, and I have in the past. H: I have made some genealogical breakthroughs, two of which I’ll mention in November. I: It’s great having a library, movie theater, and grocery store in my neighborhood. (RIP, my local CVS.) J: I get to listen to music almost all day.
14. A perfect day indoors looks like…
I’d read the newspaper, do my Wordle, write a blog post, have my friends come over to play hearts, and watch a recorded episode of JEOPARDY. Except for watching TV, I’d listen to music.
15. Pumpkin spice…
Meh. I don’t HATE it, but I don’t get the appeal.
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This week’s Sunday Stealing is Surveys. But isn’t it Saturday? Why yes it is.
Welcome to this week’s 
The 
This week’s