39 posts tagged “qotd”

What did you do for fun when you were a kid? How is it different from what you see kids doing now?
Submitted by jaklumen.

Good Question!

The big difference was play time was unscheduled. And of course no computers etc.  The radio was IT. I played with the neighbor kids, with my dogs, spent a lot of time in the stream in the woods in my father's waders looking for creatures.  We kids used to lie on flat rocks and drop strings with bread attached (I forgot how) into the water and try to catch crawfish. Not too successful :))  I also spent a huge amount of time reading, drawing, playing old 78's with my fingernail (yes, it works...the cactus needle was missing).  One friend and I used to mix up potions from the remains of bottles in the trash (good college prep, yes?)  Lying on the grass looking up at the sky and clouds was good.  And actually I spent considerable amount of time as a younger child, jumping off rocks and waving my arms trying to fly.  Never worked :((        And then, there was Kick the Can on a Summer Evening with all age neighbor kids involved.

    Like most families then we only had one car. Mostly my Dad used it to go to work.  We lived in the country (now suburb) and  I used my bicycle for both transportation and fun a lot.  Just an old blue and white Roadmaster.

   I feel badly for overscheduled kids today....and organized sports, especially these traveling teams, have just eliminated free time to spend with siblings and parents.  Family dinners were taken for granted when I was a kid.  It wasn't necessary for there to be a magazine article recommending the practice.  It must be very hard for parents to go against all this activity.  But eating in the car all the time on the way to somewhere is really tough. My children were more scheduled that I was as a youngster.  But they still had a lot of free time; most dinners were at home.

   Everything changes.  I keep relearning that every day it seems.

What was your first car?

A new Chevy Nova.  It was a big deal because it had air conditioning and it was our first Second Car.  Before that we had one car and it just became impossible to work and also to drive my husband back and forth to work.  I had just started working in real estate in 1977 and I insisted on AC.  It was white and had a blue interior.  Isn't it funny how some of us get so attached to our cars we would just drive them forever? 

What's the biggest leap of faith you've ever had to take?

Going with my husband and young children to live on a kibbutz in Israel, perhaps to stay.  We were there for a year and a half and then returned to the US.

What's the best thing about today?

The sun is out and it is not snowing (10 inches the other day) or raining!  New Englanders are pathetic I always say :))

List three things you'd buy with your last $20. One practical, one frivolous and one of your choosing.

1. Let's see.  Hmmm.  Well, some really fine dark chocolates or chocolate bars and Verona coffee beans from Starbucks.  (Can you tell it's Winter?) (Frivolous)

2. Fill my gas tank as far as $20 would take me (Practical).  No, I would not buy lottery tickets; don't feel lucky that way.

3. (One of my choosing) would be to give the $20 to Operation Troop Support in Danvers, MA.

What's your morning beverage of choice?  Coffee, tea, juice?  Homemade or store-bought?

Strong drip coffee, Verona from Starbucks; we make it at home.  This is my favorite mug.  It is from Mosse Pottery in Ireland. 

My favorite coffee cup (Irish)

2 comments

Did you or will you vote in the primaries? Do you feel as though the outcome in your state matters?

Yes, I will vote in the primaries.  I think my state has medium power in the large group voting on Super Tuesday. 

What's on your to-do list for today?

By the time I found this question, some of the list was already done!  Main item on my list today was to host a show here on our closed circuit TV station at our retirement community.  I have done this show often and it is a fun challenge.  Then I come home and watch the replay as I have no clue what is happening when I am actually doing the show, odd as that may sound.  Three young professionals run the station and train/teach us residents what to do. Residents do camera work, sound, taping, stage management, editing, and hosting/interviewing.  It is a lot of fun to learn these skills. 

How do you keep calm? 
Submitted by L33tchica.  

I try to return to memories of past yoga classes.  Sit up straight, feet on the floor, eyes closed, hands open and facing up, breathe slowly and fully.  Try to focus full attention on the act of breathing.  Note: do not do when driving!  When driving, keep eyes opened and alert but do ujaya breathing  Breathe in slowly and then when you breathe out make a sound in your throat.  It really does help me.  Of course, when you get home, a glass of wine helps too (grin).

What are 10 things you've done that other people probably haven't? 
Submitted by Janette.   

1. Milked cows on a kibbutz in Israel

2. Worked for a veterinarian all three summers in high school

3. Worked for newspapers as a reporter.

4. Got my first IPod at age 70.

5. Dropped onto a horse's back from a tree

6. Made a cake that a man from Bulgaria swore was the same cake the peasants brought in payment to his Dr. father. 

7. Hosted a TV show.

8. Lived with a man going blind. Now he is, and I still do.

9. Danced the Swedish Hambo.

10. Working in real estate for 30 years.

11. This was a fun question.