In Praise of Gandalf

Daily writing prompt

What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

Every year at New Year’s, my husband and I have a Lord of the Rings movie marathon. Over two days, we watch the immensely long trilogy ensconced on our couch. It has happened at least three times, which, in my reckoning, makes it a ritual.

The movies have aged well. Gandalf is as droll as ever, the Ringwraiths just as menacing, and Aragorn is just as hot. The one obnoxious line in the movie — “Legolas, what do your elf-eyes see?” — is just as annoying. We look forward to seeing it every year.

There are other movies we watch yearly, such as the Patrick Stewart version of Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas in the holiday season. But the marathon of Lord of the Rings is the one I most enjoy.

Superstitious

Daily writing prompt

Are you superstitious?

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Am I superstitious? It depends on what you mean. I don’t believe in any years of bad luck if I break a mirror, nor do I panic with a hat on my bed. Umbrellas in the house? Awkward, but not bad luck. Meeting up with a black cat? No, I bend down and pet them.

I used to believe in curses. Not so much anymore, but once upon a time I believed that my neighbor Aunt Nonie (age 92) cursed me for hanging out with her how many times great nephew when I was 13 and he was 11. If I understood Italian, I’d be able to tell what she cursed me with. Probably never having a boyfriend, and for a while it looked like the curse was working.

I do, however, believe that omens are, well, ominous. A bad event first thing in the morning means an entire bad day. If I see a dead bird, I wonder what the day has in store for me. I once became convinced I got my first professor job in Oneonta NY because there was a nearby town named Laurens (my name is Lauren).

So for the most part, I’m not superstitious. Except for that pesky omen thing. It’s a little embarassing being a grown professor and believing in omens. But there it is.

Shopping Spree

Daily writing prompt

Where would you go on a shopping spree?

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Where would I go on a shopping spree? I assume someone else is footing the bill, right? Otherwise, I would not go on the shopping spree, because if I had the money I would already have gone.

I would like to get the most out of someone else’s money. And if this is a timed shopping spree, I want to get the most out of the time I have. I’m going to go to an Apple Store.

I would like a top-of-the-line MacBook Air, for example. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for. It would be a delightful addition to my iPad. I’d grab a new case for my iPad, and one of those fancy keyboard/stand things that Apple makes for iPads. A new iPhone? Yes, please! We need a new Apple TV, so that would be a wise choice. And accessories! I need accessories!

It’s fun to spend someone else’s money. In reality, though, I will do fine with the computer I have, and with my current electronics. But we do need a new Apple TV.

What’s in a Name

Daily writing prompt

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

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I’m going to depart from this prompt and cover both my first and middle names, because the origin of my first name is hilarious.

I was named Lauren after my Uncle Larry. My reprobrate Uncle Larry. My Uncle Larry who would start drinking at 8 AM. The one who collected rents with a gun strapped to his thigh. THAT Uncle Larry. I’m not sure what kind of message this sent to me; I turned out to be a good girl despite that unusual namesake.

Photo by Dan Cristian Pu0103dureu021b on Pexels.com

My middle name is Jean, named after my father John. That probably was a bit better of a namesake; my dad was everything Uncle Larry was not. Hard-working, responsible, for the most part calm.

Not a very exciting story, I know. But that’s the story.

The Last Thing I Learned

Daily writing prompt

What is the last thing you learned?

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I learn so much in a day. I read the news, informational websites, and cereal boxes. I almost compulsively seek out information. So much of what I learn, though, isn’t of great import.

How, what, where? – gears concept – 3D illustration

For example, this morning I found out that Gene Hackman, movie star, died with his wife and dog. I didn’t know Gene Hackman and I don’t watch many movies. The event was of great import to him and his family, but not to me.

Last night I learned someone had put a hand-held electric espresso machine on the market. For 150 dollars, I could own my very own gadget. Again, not of great import because although I love coffee, I drink little espresso.

Sometimes what I learn has a more immediately pressing character. Tuesday, I learned that the remote for the DVD player in my classroom was not working. This caused me to revise my lesson on the fly, and I gave a presentation on Flow that I had not prepared for. It didn’t go to the end of the class, but at least I presented something.

As humans, we are always learning. Without learning, we will die, because learning helps us make sense of the world surrounding us. But most of the time we learn, it’s something we hardly notice, because we do it so much.

Destiny is Tricky

Daily writing prompt

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

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I don’t believe in destiny. Or, rather, I believe in something destiny-adjacent. Not the deterministic concept of fate delivering us to our inevitable outcome, but a leading we could be taking.

Leading is a Quaker concept, the belief that God (or whatever divine presence you believe in) is leading us toward an action we need to make. These often point toward right action, or ways in which we can do God’s will. (Keep in mind that God’s will in this case is not the evangelical/supremacist vision, but defending people’s rights, feeding and clothing them, bringing the peaceable kingdom to earth. Pacifist and progressive.)

Leadings can be life disrupting, although I have never had one that defines as that. Quakers have clearness committees so that they can tell whether a leading is divine or just a whim or mistaken desire. Clearness committees are not perfect — I had a clearness committee for my first marriage and it blew up in three years.

I sometimes think writing is a leading. Why else would I write for no monetary recompense and very few readers? I may be called to put on paper the adventures of an agricultural collective and its preternatural visitors, dealing with topics like pacifism and discrimination. I don’t know — it’s been years since I’ve been to meeting and I don’t have a meeting to seek clearness with it. It’s also not disruptive enough to my life — if I wanted to quit work for writing full-time, I would certainly ask for a clearness committee.

I don’t believe in destiny, the belief that we have no control over what happens to us and we’re dragged kicking and screaming into our future. But I believe in leadings.

200 Days in a Row

I have posted in my blog for 200 consecutive days. I have learned something from the process, mostly that if it weren’t for the post topic prompts in WordPress, I would never have written in my blog for 200 consecutive days. My mind doesn’t have that many topics to write about, especially in a busy semester.

I have also learned that the badge that I get daily: “You’re on a 200 day streak on Words Like Me!” is a far better motivator than I had guessed. Gamification is real. The tyranny of this little message drives me to post another day.

I don’t know how much longer I am going to write daily. I feel sometimes like I have nothing to say, or that people don’t care what I’m saying. Writing is a lot like that, though, sending words out into the world not knowing what impact, if any, they will have. On the other hand, 200 days is an awesome streak, and who wants to ruin that?

My Autobiography

Daily writing prompt

You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?

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It has never occurred to me to write an autobiography. I don’t have a hook, or a reason people would want to read it. I’m not famous or infamous. I don’t have an exceptionally inspiring or tragic story, although I have overcome a childhood of abuse and bullying, and live successfully with bipolar disorder. I am pretty ordinary.

What I do have is joy. My day is filled with small joys — talking to people, being silly with my husband, playing with my cats. Nothing to write a memoir about, but joy is my natural state and my story.

The first sentence of any novel, any memoir, any written document is important. It grabs the reader and pulls them in. So my first sentence would have to be about joy. Something like:

‘When reflecting on my life, what stands out are moments of joy, with a feel that settles on me like a silver mist.’

You’re Not My Family

Daily writing prompt

If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

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I want to ban a word from general usage — ‘family’.

Hear me out. I’m not talking about the word family defined as people who are related. I’m not even talking about found family, where we surround ourselves with people we love. Those are both legitimate uses.

I would like to see ‘family’ in the business sense eliminated. Businesses these days don’t have employees, they have family. Colleges have family. The word is used to denote closeness, kinship, a homey feeling about the institution or business, especially from the workforce side. It feels good working for a family who will be there for you.

Which works right until layoffs. Then people are thrown out of the family without any support. The metaphor breaks down. “Did we say family? We’re a business and hard decisions need to be made.” The business is only family when it works in their favor to increase morale. Layoffs in academia are particularly brutal, because those laid off often have to stay until the end of the school year, surrounded by people who are no longer family. I have seen layoffs, and they make a mockery of workplace as family.

I would eradicate the business use of the word ‘family’ for all those who have been thrown out of their workplace.

Redoing the Bathroom

Daily writing prompt

Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

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I don’t do do-it-yourself. Or rather, I do sometimes, but the project often becomes complicated due to human error. My error.

One of the DIY projects I had many years ago was to redo the bathroom in my house. Not even an ambitious project, just painting the room and installing a ceiling vent fan that worked.

First, the ceiling fan. I stood on the rails of the tub with my tools in pocket and the hardware, juggling a phone because my dad was coaching me on installation. My dad, an electrician, told me I didn’t need to throw the breaker and could do the installation as long as I was careful. I was looking for the live wire, and the plethora of wires I was faced with didn’t correspond to what my father told me — there were too many, and what does this black wire mean? My dad told me to test them by tapping them together, so I tapped the black ones together. A big *snap* resounded and a fireball drifted past my face. “That’s the live wire,” Dad said. “Good to know, Dad.”

Then came the part where I was to paint the room. I decided on a gold sponge paint, which would liven up the pale cream of the walls. Sponge painting was very popular at that time. So I painted the walls with the help of a chair to get to the high places. I had gotten to the point where I had to paint the ceiling right over the bathtub/shower. I had one foot on the tub and one on the chair, not realizing that when I put pressure on the chair, it would move. The chair indeed moved, and I ended up doing the splits and then falling off the chair. Nothing much hurt but my pride.

These days, I do not do home renovation projects. No need to wonder why.