Jul 8, 2007

My First Meme

Alda gave me the challenge:

1. Which person in your life has had the greatest impact on you and why?

Boy Howdy! That would be: the one who had his wallet stolen by the trolls, the one who bought me my first Icelandic saga, and the one who keeps the berserker in me from escaping.

He has influenced my taste in music, art and literature; my ability to be kind to others; my appreciation of the large and small things in life. He makes me laugh. We had our 26th wedding anniversary on July 4. He inherited the best qualities of each of his wonderful parents, and passed on all of his finest qualities to our three children. Thankfully he's not perfect--just almost. He's the Whole Steamboat.

2. What type of food do you always have in the fridge?

Fresh fruits and vegetables.

3. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would think more and talk less. (FAT chance.)

4. Name three of your greatest strengths.

Optimism, enthusiasm, willingness to make a fool of myself even more often than is necessary.

5. Which book do you wish you'd written, and why?

Choosing just one is torture. I'll cheat and choose two:

My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber. I have read this book more times than any other. It is the funniest book I've ever read, and has lots of universal truths. When I read this book hysteria overtakes me, and I cross the line from laughter to tears--or rather, they become one and the same. I wish I could always see myself with the same bemused eye that Thurber uses on himself.

The Fish Can Sing, by Halldór Laxness. This is the book that I began to re-read as soon as I completed it the first time. I love everything about this tender, eloquent book and its unforgettable characters.

What these two books have in common is that their characters always remain with me, and I always look forward to reading them yet another time.

I tag Shannon.

7 comments:

Sharon Spotbottom said...

Hi, Thanks for checking out Sharon!

Alda said...

Thanks, Rose! I really enjoyed reading your answers.

You sound like you have a wonderful marriage ... and your husband sounds like a treasure. Both are such a rarity!

Darien Fisher-Duke said...

I enjoy hearing about you and your husband too, Alda, and heartily wish you both a HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! It could be one; it could be eleven :-) In any case, it sounded like a lovely party!

Anonymous said...

1. Which person in your life has had the greatest impact on you and why?

My Father. He was an emotionally remote man, but I am Him in every other way. He was a man in (police) uniform and you know how a girl feels about that : )

2. What type of food do you always have in the fridge?

Beer, bacon, milk and other G. faves.

3. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would find it easier to talk to people.

4. Name three of your greatest strengths.

I am strong, stubborn, and smart. That is kind of a joke among us Buffalonians: "We are smart, we are strong, we are pale." The stubborness is inherited and has also been passed onto the kids.

5. Which book do you wish you'd written, and why?

"The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. The mood, the characters, the descriptions, the dialog, the ending. And it is such a short book!

Darien Fisher-Duke said...

Strong, stubborn, and smart: Karen, you must be from Podrac too. Thank you for playing :-) Speaking of Podrac, I just purchased this book: "A Bohemian Odyssey" by Craig Mracek. We want to start getting in the mood for the Czech Republic. Probably you can provide us with a more complete reading list, as well as a detailed travel itinerary? And speaking of travel, right now Peter is in...Amsterdam...aughh! Every mother's nightmare ;-)

Anonymous said...

The next time we go to the Czech Republic we are headed to the Beer and Chocolate Spa. I don't know how we missed it last time:

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/travel/30surfacing.html

Anonymous said...

whoops, this is the complete URL:
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/travel/
30surfacing.html