My Pet Peeve

Daily writing prompt

Name your top three pet peeves.

I will not post three pet peeves, because I hate one peeve with a passion that burns away the other two. I loathe it with a legendary loathing that lingers. I hate it with … enough of that. Let me get to the point:

Hypocrisy. I cannot stand when people profess against something and then turn around and do it. It seems to be part and parcel of intolerance. Ministers who preach the word of a deity who commands us to give to the poor own private jets and palatial mansions. Politicians who denounce the LGBT+ community frequent gay dating apps. “Do as I say, not as I do” is the call of the hypocrite.

I realize, though, that all of us at times are hypocrites. I decry climate change and drive a car. I could justify that with all sorts of excuses, including “there’s no public transportation around here,” but I would be a hypocrite if I recognized others’ hypocricy but not my own. Humans are imperfect creatures who need to believe in our convictions even though we don’t always follow them. I will still loathe the most egregious instances of hypocricy, however.

Special Foods

Daily writing prompt

Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?

View all responses

Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

I taught a lesson in my classes that covered the question “what shapes our tastes and preferences?” The questions asked of my students were as follows:

What did you have for dinner last night?
What did your family typically have for dinner?
What were special holiday foods?
What was the most unusual food you’ve eaten?

The first and second questions covered items like availability and ease of use. Sometimes dinner reflected the cultural exchange of foods into our society (if they said, for example, pizza and spaghetti). The third question, though, hit upon the idea of food as cultural expression.

Holiday foods were typically traditional cultural foods — the typical Thanksgiving dinner for example. US Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing come from the near-legendary first Thanksgiving, but run through a British colonial filter. (The original Thanksgiving dinner featured venison and fish, not turkey. The turkey is the American bird version of the goose served at Christmas in Britain.)

Sometimes students’ special holiday foods included cultural celebrations. Often they weren’t aware until they learned not everyone eats ollebollen (fried round raisin dumplings) at New Year’s. Others were aware that their German or Swedish heritage meant special Christmas cookies.

That being said, what were my holiday foods? I think of my dad’s side of the family, who descended from people who hunted and trapped and fished as their livelihood. Holiday meals had to include foods that could have been procured by my ancestors. For example, my grandfather smoked trout and that would go on the Thanksgiving table. We would have duck or goose — storebought, but something my ancestors would possibly serve. My mother’s family would make the more traditional thanksgiving, but oil and vinegar coleslaw would be on the table. (I don’t know if this was because we had German ancestry or because mom made really good oil and vinegar coleslaw. I have her recipe because it was straight out of the Betty Crocker cookbook.)

This year I’m eating at a restaurant for Thanksgiving because there’s only two of us. This is what happens in the US as the oldest generations die; the grandparents become the nucleus with their children and grandchildren as satellites. We have no children or grandchildren, so my husband and I are a unit of two. This works fine for me.

If I didn’t need sleep …

Daily writing prompt

If you didn’t need sleep, what would you do with all the extra time?

View all responses

I can hardly imagine not needing sleep. Sleep feels like a blessed release from the mental demands of the day, and I enjoy going to sleep as if it were a chosen activity rather than a necessity. I have (because of my bipolar) had episodes where I couldn’t sleep, and it’s an aggravating feeling. For the sake of this exercise, however, I will imagine not needing sleep without consequences to my body or psyche.

The first thing I would do more of is read. Not the internet, but real books, because I would have time to get into them. I would find a comfortable spot to read and l would relax. My bed could be used for a place to relax because I would not be sleeping there.

I would look at the night sky more. All the interesting astronomical bits such as meteor showers and auroras happen late at night, when I am sleeping.

I would write. I wonder if inspiration would be easier at night when all was quiet?

I would meditate. As I would miss sleeping, it would be good to have that time when I can shut off my mind.

All of this is predicated on the belief that others would be asleep, and I would have the peace and quiet to pull off my plans. If nobody slept, this time wouldn’t be free. Bosses would expect more overtime and household chores would overtake us. Then I would certainly prefer sleeping.

CATS

Daily writing prompt

What are your favorite animals?

View all responses

I think it’s clear to anyone who has followed me for any time that my favorite animals are cats. (Dogs and goats are tied for second place).

Why cats? First, because of all of their moods. My cats are silly, aloof, affectionate, grumpy, sleepy, and content. They remind me a lot of me in their variety. And they have no trouble telling me what mood they’re in.

Second, because they’re amusing. Whether doing zoomies, jumping into the bathtub until it starts filling up with water, or defiantly standing on a high surface, cats’ antics leave me chuckling. Sometimes they’re not so amusing, such as when they climb up a Christmas tree (who am I kidding? If they’re climbing up someone else’s Christmas tree, it’s hilarious), but for the most part cats are funny.

Third, because they’re beautiful. Even my chunky cat Chloe possesses a beauty that makes me envious. They flow, they slink, they’re smooth and powerful. (Except for Chucky, who lumbers and plunks).

Having three cats in the house has been a cornucopia of experiences. I can’t imagine being without cats. If I were, my house would be that much less comforting.

Beach or Mountains? Nah.

Daily writing prompt

Beach or mountains? Which do you prefer? Why?

View all responses

Which do I prefer — beach or mountains? If I had to choose between those two, I’d say mountains. I loved the Catskills when I lived out in upstate New York, and I used to stay near the Adirondacks in a campground.

But I really prefer forests. I want the cabin in the middle of the woods where I can have a writing retreat. I want trees outside my window and the possibility of deer in my backyard. I want misty mornings and rain through the branches. I want the fire in the fireplace against the chill outside.

This might be why I like to go to Starved Rock State Park so much. We stay in a cabin; although it is not in the middle of the woods, trees surround the cabins. The park’s trails and sandstone bluffs are wooded. The park is one of my favorite places on earth.

I guess I’ll go to the mountains if the opportunity arises. At least it has trees.

Trust My Instincts? Usually.

Daily writing prompt

Do you trust your instincts?

View all responses

I usually trust my instincts. They have kept me out of bad situations for all my life. That gut feeling — literally in my gut — signals that trouble lies ahead, and I listen to it.

I don’t always trust my instincts toward something good. I find that, if I’m not careful, I use instincts as justification for something I personally want. Or I mistake impulse for instinct. So good instincts go through a reasoning process, which makes them not instinctual, I guess?

I think instincts exist as a survival mechanism, which means I need to refine my belief in the positive ones. I just have to figure out how to recognize instinct from impulse or justification.

October

Daily writing prompt

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why?

View all responses

In the American midwest, our summers are too hot and our winters are too cold. Our springs are rainy and last little time at all. But we have autumns, which have fiery trees and comfortable jacket weather. And the highlight of autumn (or fall, as often said in the US) is October.

Autumn colors peak in about the second week of October. The skies on a cloudless day are a clear blue, a backdrop to the orange-red maples and the rusty brown oaks. Time seems to stand still as one looks at the trees.

The tempermental rain in October pelts the ground with abandon, or mists the pavement. The fallen leaves turn sodden underfoot. They smell of endings, of which October is a glorious reminder.

First Impression

Daily writing prompt

What’s the first impression you want to give people?

View all responses

What first impression do I want to give people? At professional conferences, I want to give the impression of gravitas, like the learned person I am. Most times, though, I like to give the impression of a softer person who is enthusiastic about life.

This is the first impression I prefer, because this is who I am. I don’t enjoy pretending to be someone I’m not. I highly value authenticity (as a Quaker, it’s one of our values). I also want to disarm people of their natural hostility toward someone with a higher level of education and status.

The truth, though, is that I’m more complex than this first impression. I am not always enthusiastic about life. At times I can be sarcastic. I am often stubborn. Yet, I don’t bring these out as first impressions. I make a choice to be one particular me.

My First Computer

Daily writing prompt

Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).

View all responses

This question is altogether too easy for anyone who has bought a laptop or a smartphone in their lives. Other than a house or a car, these are likely to be the most major expenses, at least in the US.

I was relatively late to computer ownership, having gotten my first computer as I was finishing graduate school. As a grad student in the late 80s — early 90s, it was not assumed we would have our own computers. There were computer labs all over campus, and I availed myself of those when typing up my dissertation. Knowing that computer labs would not be part of my future as a professional, I bought my first computer, a Macintosh IIvx. In 1993 the computer cost me $2500, which is almost $5k in today’s dollars. I bought it with part of the proceeds from getting hit by a car, otherwise graduate student me would not have been able to afford it.

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31318

Technology has gotten more powerful and less expensive. I could buy a Mac Mini today for $500, and this little puck of a computer is much more powerful than the IIvx I bought in 1993. The only reason I haven’t bought it is because the form factor isn’t convenient, and I already have a powerful laptop that cost me $1300.

Even today, my computers are the most expensive purchases I make outside of a car or house, even though they have gone down in price. But their utility makes them worth the price.

Language Arts

Daily writing prompt

What was your favorite subject in school?

View all responses

It should be of no surprise that my favorite class in school was what we called ‘English’, or more properly, ‘language arts’. This was a catch-all phrase that included classes in grammar, literature, and writing. As a child, I loved writing and reading, and I even loved grammar, although that came naturally to me.

I have to admit I didn’t often pay attention in class during reading. In younger grades, we would take turns reading out loud. The class didn’t read fast enough for me, and I would read ahead. When it was my turn to read, the teacher would have to direct me back to whatever page we were reading. Most of my teachers didn’t yell at me for not paying attention because they knew I was reading ahead.

I discovered that I loved to write in third grade, when my teacher taught a unit on poetry. In third grade, then, I was writing poetry forms that were way over my head — simple rhymes were easy, but she had us writing haiku, limericks, and once even tried a diamante form. And I went along with it and wrote these to the best of my ability. A third grader’s diamante leaves a little to be desired. And the limerick:

A lion lived in a zoo
with a tiger, a bear, and a gnu.
“I can scare three or more,”
said the lion with a roar.
And the gnu said, “Shame shame on you!”

Don’t ask me how I remember a poem I wrote in third grade. I don’t remember the longer Groundhog Day poem that my teacher posted on the front door of the classroom, mercifully.

Language arts was the class I looked forward to every day. It’s not surprising given my love of words even today.