Posted tagged ‘trivia night’

” Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands, and goes to work”

April 26, 2013

What a beautiful day it is with deep blue skies and warm sun. Today is spring in all its glory. When Gracie comes in from the yard, her fur is warm to the touch. She sleeps in the sun in the back of the yard on the tall grass. It is her morning perch on glorious days like today. Fern is asleep in the sun streaming through the front door and Maddie, also by the door, grabs the very small bit of sun Fern doesn’t use. Today is animal day as I need to shop at Agway for all of them: cat food, litter, dry and canned dog food, dog and cat treats and thistle and suet for the birds. I’ll need a small loan to pay for all of it. As for me, I’m thinking of that bacon, cheddar and avocado sandwich I had last week. That will be my treat.

Last night was trivia night, and we didn’t win. We weren’t even close. One of the questions was what year Dakota Fanning was born. A teammate said she’d never even heard of her. I gave a bit of background and said she was 19. We subtracted that from 2013 and guessed 1994. I was right. I have no idea why I knew that answer. That will always remain one of life’s mysteries. Another question asked for the last state admitted to the union before Alaska and Hawaii. I knew it was Arizona, and I even knew it was in 1912. Sometimes I get to the kitchen and forget why I’m there, but I don’t forget Dakota Fanning’s age. Life is strange sometimes.

Say it, don’t spray it is a put-down from my childhood. The other day it popped into my head from who knows which part of my memory drawers, but it got me thinking about all those put-down we used which have now disappeared. They were really innocent as were we, but they did the job. Ask too many questions and one of us would want to know if you were writing a book. To call someone a closet case back then had nothing to do with sexual identity. Don’t have a cow is a favorite of mine. It really makes no sense, but we all understood its meaning. Sometimes we’d call a kid a spaz. I think that’s what I still am. Odd ball is another. Hold your fist in front of someone’s face and offer him a knuckle sandwich. The threat was generally declined. Being accused of having cooties was about the worst. Once that started, it became a refrain, a schoolyard taunt.

This morning my sister said, “You owe me a coke,” because we both had said the same thing at the same time, and she was quicker in throwing out the coke line. That and spitting were the start of this whole musing.

When was the last time you called dibs?

See you later alligator!

“Grin like a dog and wander aimlessly.”

April 15, 2011

The day was perfectly lovely yesterday though still a bit cold. Today is the same. The breeze is slight but it keeps the temperature at 43° despite the sun. The cat and dog are jockeying for position in the sun on the rug by the front door. I’m thinking I should join the fray.

I did it. Yesterday I found my flight to Ghana and booked it. I leave on August 27th and return on September 11th. With the two back surgeries and the length of the flight, I went business class. I decided comfort was more important than money. On the way back, I go first class-that’s just the way the routing worked, but I’m not complaining. I figure I’ll load up my iPad with books and be all set. I’m already excited and it’s months away.

Last night was trivia night though trivia is hardly the word for the questions which had answers such as ziggurat and a bonus round of match columns of words and definitions which none of us had ever seen before but we managed to get all 10 right by looking at the prefixes and other hints. We don’t do well on music as most of it is current and we are all stuck in the classical or 60’s mode.  It is always a wonderful night out with dinner and good friends. Did I mention we won?

Next week is April vacation around here. When I taught, I’d always go to Europe that week. I’d choose one country, rent a car and drive all over. Several of the trips were with my parents and my sister joined us once. They were always great trips. My dad kept us laughing with some of his comments though that was never his intention. Portugal is still my favorite of our trips. We traveled to the north as far as we could go. From my window, I could see the lights of the Spanish border station. The roads were so narrow that in some villages a light gave us the go ahead to go through the town while the cars at the other end waited for their green light. We saw Roman ruins and iron age ruins. I had kid for Easter dinner. My favorite stop was Miranda do Douro with wisteria growing all over its walls, a beautiful old cathedral and an old section with dirt streets. My parents and I wandered through the small town and stayed at a wonderful posada right on the river. On some of the roads we had to pass wagons pulled by horses and a few by donkeys. It felt as if we had gone back in time.

The weekend is open ended-no plans except for my usual Sunday breakfast out. I do have to go and buy dog treats at Agway as Gracie would never forgive me if I had none, and we’re close to that now. I just started a book and I want to work on my Ghana slide show so I do have stuff to keep me busy. That’s seldom a problem. Did I mention an afternoon nap?