4 Questions, 1 Page

Picking up the pace a little bit, we are going to check out page 95...

IF you could cancel forever a single thing you have to do every day other than your job, what would it be?

Since my current job is homemaker (yeah that's right) that takes nearly all of household stuff out of the running, I feel as though I'm left with stuff I do out of love and affection for my wife and child and things I do for myself.  That said, there is only one thing that comes to mind: Brushing and Flossing My Teeth.  If I could cancel this (and still maintain teeth and gum health) I would.  I rarely have make the time (I know it only takes 3-5 minutes) to do it in the morning before getting everyone out the door and then I have to do it when I return.  I eat breakfast and my mouth is minty fresh.  Epic!

IF you had to go tonight to be tattooed, where on your body would you have it done and what image would you select?

I have had this conversation with many people and my answer has never changed.  My tattoo wouldn't take up most of my back.  It would be of the sandy beaches, ocean with waves breaking, and the sun setting on the horizon.  A few birds in the air.  Some ocean cliffs on the side.

IF you could realize a dream that you have had while asleep, what dream would you pick?

Okay, I rarely wake up close to my dream state and when I do, I never write them down.  I can only remember a couple of my dreams but there is one that was recurring and enjoyable. No, not the zombie dream from when I was 12 and they cornered me and a friend at the Monticello Post Office. It was when I was 8-10 years old but would totally enjoy it just as much if it were to happen with me in my 30s.  It starts with me and my cousin Nathan playing together outside at my grandpa and grandma's farm in Monticello.  We run around, chasing each other with sticks.  Nathan decides to run into the old milk house to escape.  I follow him but the milk house is different than it has ever been before on the inside.  It is a long corridor that I would say is approximately 100 yards.  The hall had a weird glow to it and on the other end a door.  We ran down the hall, opened the door, walked through and we were in the milk barn in McGregor, IA at his house (70 miles).  How awesome was this.  We used it a couple of times to make sure it worked.

Then we thought, "If there is a magical transport in this door, we need to check other ones at Grandpa's.  We go back and look in his pump house.  It is really more of a room than a house, but its where the pump brings the water into the house.  Anyway, we open the door and inside is this huge, red, glowing egg.  We are a little freaked out at first.  Then Nathan decides he wants to see what is inside and takes a hammer to it and knocks a chip off.  The chip turns into an egg itself and then hatches.  Out comes a flying dragon.  We some how are able to split the egg in two and we both have our own dragon. From there, the dreams went in different directions but this is how they began.

Dream Works or dream stealers?

What adventures we had.  We were able to play together any time we wanted either by hopping on our dragon or going through the magic tunnel.  It was awesome. I'd have fun with my cousin again.

IF you could choose only one color and one image for your country's new flag, what would it be?

Well, I'd have to go with blue and one white star.  For a reason, I'd offer Charles Thompson's, Secretary of the Continental Congress, explanation of the meaning of the Great Seal.  "Blue...signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.  The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial."

Lost time for "IF"

IF you could firebomb any store or business, which would you do it to?

Now, I suppose I should assume that along with this question is the presumption that "and get away with it."  OR is the question just assuming that the people reading and answering it are not morally deficient when it comes to firebombing.  Because, I am fully capable to firebomb a store or business at this moment, I just choose not to.  I also can't believe that I would pick a business based on the Quaker principle of bearing witness - the idea that seeing wrong-doing with our own eyes creates a moral responsibility to inform others and take action.  Certainly this isn't the type of action meant to be taken.

And is it just one business?  Why couldn't it be along the lines of financial institutions via Tyler Durden?

In the end, I cannot say I would firebomb any store even if a. no one was hurt and b. I'd get away with it.

Waxings of a 3 year old

Philosophical conversation with my daughter: "What happens if my head grew on my head?" 
Me: "Would that be a plus like having a hollow crest for a Parasauralophus?" 
E: "I could grab things." 
Me: "Would your hand get cold in winter?"
E: "No.  Put on a hat."
Me: "What about your head?"
E: "No.  Put on a hat."
-I grab a stocking hat that Brooke knit me with my left hand while placing my right hand on top of my head.  It covers my hand but not much of my head.
Me: "Does that work?"
E: *laughing "Daddy, if we had hands on our head, there would be a glove spot on our hats to cover it (meaning hand and head)."
-What I hear: "dad, we'd have that figured out.  Duh!"

Me: "Oh.  Yeah, there probably would be."
E: "Now what if our hands were connected to our legs and feet connected to our arms.  It would be hard to juggle."

What a delightful mind I was privy to today.  I love her.

Page 53

Randomly turned to this page to answer a few questions...not sure if I'll roll this into one post yet or not.  We'll see.



If you had to inhabit the body of someone you know personally while keeping your own mind, whose body would you take?

  This question can be taken two ways.  First, I'd only inhabit the body for a short period of time or second, I'd inhabit the body for the remainder of that body's life.
I don't think I'd pick a body other than my own.  It would be too "Like Father Like Son" weird.  Now, it can be a somewhat cool experience like "The Face Off" or "Vice Versa, but I'd be looking more for the experience of "Being John Malcovich.  Nothing long term for me, only short period of time.

  Then, who do I personally know?  The easiest place to look? Facebook.  But I know many more people than found there but, it's not a bad place to start.  But then I remember sitting down recently at a bar in Winona, MN with a few people.  They remind me of some wonderful adventures our friend Steven Devereaux gets himself into.  So, I know many of you don't know Steve, but I'd pick him.

If...taken from actual gathering.

So this past weekend I enjoyed spending time with a couple of close friends.  As luck would have it, I just so happened to be carrying my copy of If... with me (actually, I intended to do some blogging but just like taking college work home with me to do, I didn't do anything I aspired to do after everyone else went to bed).  We took a few turns and discovered a thing or two about each other we didn't know.  At the very least, it was fun.

On my 3 hour drive home today with a sleeping child, I had time to think about a many of things.  One thing that popped into my head was the answer to one of the questions posed just the night before.

If you could physically strike one person from your past (that you didn't), who would you hit, and where?

I had chosen an old friend of mine.  He was someone that I thought had changed for the worse.  I had just typed a list of grievances of the things in which I saw that he wronged either myself or someone I knew.   I have since removed this list.  I now realize that I erred more egregiously than he did.  In the beginning I celebrated some of his behavior.  As it continued, instead of calling out his shit, I allowed it to persist.  That is a bad friend.

As I decided that I would choose another to physically strike, I was left with two people in my mind.  First was my freshman year tormentor in high school, a senior.  I chose the other, my 19 year old self.  I'd probably punch myself in the gut (as opposed to my face), it would hurt my hand less.

Why?  I enjoyed my time very much as I "came of age."  TOO much.  Along with that punch I'd offer some wisdom to get my act together.  Yes, yes...I know the whole "If you were to change yourself you wouldn't have the life you do now..." bit.  That doesn't change the fact that I would have tried to prevent myself from being a screw-up for better part of 5 years.  Like I said last time, I wish I would have traveled more.  I wish I would have worked on becoming what I wanted to become when I was younger.  I also like to think a good punch to the stomach with some sage advice could have gone a long way.

Oh, one more thing.  If any of you reading these posts wants to answer the question I pose for myself, by all means, I'd love to see what you have to say.

If...part 3

4.  If you could physically transport yourself to any place in the world at this moment, where would you go?

This question brings to mind an idea that my daughter has developed as a way for us getting places.  After riding along with me on trips to our bank, Evalyn has decided that she wants to build a pneumatic tube system between our house in Decorah and her grandparents' house in both Winona, MN and Monticello, IA as well as her best friends house in Iowa City, IA.  She thinks she should be able to transport herself as quickly as possible to the three places and people she loves the most.  I think that is a wonderful idea.

But would I do the same?  See someone I love?  Probably not.  I've always wanted to travel and see the many wonders and cultures this world has to offer.  For many different reasons, I always put the idea of travel off.  I always thought, "I'll do it when I'm older."  So, I'm sitting here early in the morning and am reminded that I love to watch the sunrise.  Although it wouldn't be the same time anywhere in the world, I would love to be on a rooftop before dawn listening to muezzins issuing the call to prayer.   It would be in a city founded in the 7th Century B.C.E.  A city that has seen its fair share of rulers and ruling religions.  A bastion of architecture sits within its limits from Roman aqueducts and obelisks, through Byzantine churches and domes, to Ottoman mosques.  Surrounded by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Golden Horn and divided by the Bosphorus, I would visit, Istanbul, Turkey.

I remember my first interest with Istanbul very vividly. My grandmother Loretta always found it important to have National Geographic for her grandchildren.  Having a subscription given to you as an 8 year old seemed to lead to very little bemusement other than the pictures.  As I became older, my fascination was held by more than just images.  Don't get me wrong, the spectacular photographs of places and buildings I couldn't even imagine drew me in, but the words held me.  The article was about The Grand Bazaar.  Glorious shots of covered streets filled with shops and people, I wanted to be there too.  My interest has only grown as my historical understandings of the city grew just as I have.  Although my first inclination at this moment would be to make sure I'm there for the sunrise, I would stay much, much longer. 

 

If...Questions for the Game of Life, Part 2

Many of the questions require little thought.  Many of them demand much.  I plan on forging through the book and letting you explore my own thoughts with me.  I will promise to you (my few readers) to be as honest and truthful as I am able.  We continue...

2.  If you could spend one whole night alone with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?

3.  If you could spend one whole night alone with anyone in history, who would you choose?

So for starters, both of these questions can only be answered after you decide what you will be doing during that whole night: Cooking (Antoine Careme, Julia Child, or Ming Tsai), Conversation (Socrates, Catherine de Rambouillet, Gertrude Stein, or Bill Moyers), Religion/Theology (Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, or Dalai Lama) or Carnal Delights (Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Cleopatra, or Kate Winslet).  These are but a few topics and few people that could take shape throughout an evening.  There is also politics, the sciences, history, war, comedy, sports, literature, and music.

The Millionairess

As I write this, my mind continues to come up with new ideas, new people to talk to and learn from.  If I choose Careme, can I even understand what he has to say about the French cooking he is developing?  I do not speak French.  If I select Sophia Loren, do I get the 1960 The Millionairess or the 1995 Grumpier Old Men Loren?  Would she even partake in such an adventure? 

Would I make a choice only to be rejected?  Why does it have to be someone famous?  Couldn't my evening be equally fulfilling spending it with a friend or a family member?  This last question gets to the point of what I am feeling right now.  So...

2.  If I could spend one evening with anyone in the world who is currently alive, it would be Jeff Shehan, a.k.a. Junior.  Of all the friends that I have had throughout my life, this is the one I miss the most.  Something happened between us that caused us to drift apart.  I admit I failed on my part more than once with reactionary sentiments and blinded loyalty.  He was one of my best friends and one of the best people to have been a part of my life.  The evening would be spent with quick apologies on my part and wanting to know what he's been up to.  Reminiscing would obviously take place, but I would hope that any conversations we had would end up with us continuing on into the future.  I have allowed many relationships throughout my life to languish and cease and this one I regret.

3.  Anyone in history?  This question really begs you to pick someone of historical note.  Do I meet a "hero" only to be disappointed?  I think I would choose a polymath.  Imhotep, Archimedes, Al-Jazari, Leonardo da Vinci, any of the Ninja Turtles, Albert Schweitzer, or Rowan Williams would all be great choices.  However, I would have to choose someone that also is connected to my love of American history and politics and select Benjamin Franklin.  I would enjoy an evening playing chess (losing most likely) and conversation.  One evening would not be enough to discuss (or listen to in my case) the insight on so many topics in which he is well versed.

If...(Questions for the Game of Life)

We all know this book.  It was found its way into homes across the country being used at dinner parties, family gatherings, and intimate settings.  First published in 1995, it produced two additional volumes (500 new questions and for the Game of Love) as well as seven spinoffs.  I remember my own experiences with the book and having fun with my friends and finding things out about my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) that were enjoyable and insightful.

Many of the questions require little thought.  Many of them demand much.  I plan on forging through the book and letting you explore my own thoughts with me.  I will promise to you (my few readers) to be as honest and truthful as I am able.  We begin now.

"If is the ultimate book about fantasy.  Each of its questions is meant to spark and tantalize the imagination...We imagine in order to learn, to understand, to strive, to attempt, to predict, to avoid, to correct, to describe, to solve.

Of course, implicit in every question is "why?"...[and] we share the ability to travel together the unpredictable journey of the imagination, which leads us through the wonderful game of life."

1.  If you were granted one wish, what would it be?

One wish huh.  Talk about taking a snapshot of the moment.  I know this is certainly a wish that has changed over time from being a young kid wishing for $1.00 so I could stop by the convenience store on the way home from Sacred Heart School so I could play video games, to an age of wishing I had the courage to go up to the girl I liked.  It would seem to me that one of the most malleable answers would be to this question.  Do I wish for myself?  Do I wish for others?  Who benefits and is it at the expense of anyone else?

It may seem cliche' making a wish for my child/ren but that is what I would do.  I would wish that no matter what, my children be truly happy in their life.  Why?  Well, there are many reasons why but I think it is best summed up with the idea that if they are happy, every thing else must be going well for them.  Nothing else would make me happier.