A Nostalgic Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday again and I hope you remembered that means it's time for a little bit of hodge and a little bit of podge.  So read on my friends.

1.  Do you think the world became a more dangerous place on Sept 11, 2001 or did we just become more aware of the danger?  How has your own life changed as a result of that day?


Life has alway been fraught with peril.  I think we just became more aware of it, before that day we felt fairly secure here in the U.S. because an attack on our home soil seemed so unrealistic, because we are separated from most of the rest of the world by two oceans.  Unless we went to war with Canada or Mexico it was unlikely that we would ever see an invasion on our soil the likes of which the European, Asian or African continents have seen.  September 11th changed all that.  As a result we have seen an erosion of our personal freedoms, especially when traveling either here in the U.S. and/or abroad, so too has the U.S. been viewed with seemingly more hatred and vitriolic slander and derision than I think ever before.  Historically there has been a rise and fall of all great civilizations and sometimes I think that with the current state of affairs, we are on the downward side of that slope.  Scary thing to think about.  I wonder what the future will bring for my children and their children.  Will I live to see that day?

2.  Do you think your parents were too strict when you were growing up?  How about in hindsight?


No, I was and still am a rule follower (mostly).  I am also an introvert and was a very introspective child and sometimes I think I grew up in a fog of my own making. My siblings talk of things that happened and that I was a part of but I have little or no memory of the event.  Mostly what I remember are the one on one times with my parents or with one of my siblings.

In hindsight I would still say no.  I would be interested to know how a few of my siblings might answer this question.

3.  Share one random but candid fact about yourself.


See #2.  Read this article about being an introvert awhile back and found myself nodding in agreement through the whole thing.

4.  Would your nearest and dearest describe you as simple or far too complicated?


Yes.  Again, what would my siblings say?

5.  What is your favorite stadium or carnival food?


Not sure I have a favorite and you certainly couldn't call cotton candy food, but that was the one thing that my parents would treat us to when we went any place like that.  So I have fond memories of sticky colored spun sugar on a paper stick.

6.  Tornado, hurricane, earthquake . .  how many of these natural disasters have you experienced?


I live in a mountainous desert so tornados are rare and hurricanes are nonexistent but we are sitting along the wasatch fault line so I have felt my share of tremors and we did have a tornado come through the center of downtown in 1999.

7.  Labor day weekend is approaching so a work related question seems appropriate.  Growing up, did your parents assign regular chores?  Were you paid for doing those chores?  If you're a parent do you assign chores to your own children?  Why or why not?


Yes we had chores and no we weren't paid for doing them.  Our payment was room and board, not that our parents would have kicked us out.  We did get an allowance for a while, but it wasn't based on whether or not we did our chores and ended sooner than I would have liked.

At 4 and 1, I have not assigned specific chores to my kids yet but I do make them help clean up the messes they make.  They have been nicknamed "Mr. Twister" and "Dr. Destructo" for good reason.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.


Since we are reminiscing . . .

This is a picture of one of my brothers, me and my only sister the summer before she started kindergarten and my earliest memory is one of me standing on the couch with tears in my eyes watching through our big picture window as my mom walked my sister out to get on the bus to go to school.  I didn't want her to go and wondered why I couldn't go with her and I remember my younger brother trying to console me and my pushing him away in disgust.  When my mother got back into the house she found him on the floor in a puddle of tears and me sobbing into the couch cushion.  Why is it that first memories are often traumatic ones?

Anyhoo . . .

I hope you all remember to leave me a comment and then head on over to Joyce's place for little more hodge and a lot more podge.