Miscellany

I've got writer's block.  For the past several weeks, I've tried and tried and tried and tried to write "something"; it's so frustrating when I have these ideas swirling around in my head that sound really great to me, until I attempt to capture them in words.

So, because I want to try and get the creative juices flowing (and I'd rather do this than, say, any of the number of things on my "To Do" list), here is a bit of miscellany which I've jotted down about myself (prompted by randomly opening the book, "101 More Conversation Starters for Couples" by Gary Chapman to various pages).

Here goes!

Random Prompt #1:  Name the person you know who most personifies perseverance:

My (step) dad Daryl.  From modest beginnings, he eventually ended up graduating with honors from Purdue University; obtaining a bachelors, masters and PhD in Electrical Engineering before he was 30.  He co-raised a blended family of five children and  had a successful career in the defense sector and was at least partially (if not totally) responsible for inventing GPS. Although this may sound more like the answer to, "Who is one of the most successful people you know?", I attribute all his success to the fact he was persistent in reaching his goals, especially in light of the fact that circumstances were not always optimal in his early years, his first marriage, and later with various crises within our family.  

Random Prompt #2:  What is the hardest phone call you ever had to make:

I will change this to the  plural; "calls".  Calling people to tell them that my stepmother Margot had passed away.  Still reeling myself from her death, having to tell people (even though my calls were not unexpected) and waiting on the other end to experience and share their grief was almost more than I could bear.

Random Prompt #3:  One of life's great delights is surprising someone. Recall  participating in a wonderful surprise:

My dear friend Kathleen recently celebrated a major milestone birthday while on a cruise.  Prior to their departure, I enlisted her husband's help in obtaining their RSVP and stateroom number so that I could arrange for their stateroom to be decorated and a bottle of Champagne to be delivered.  I was so excited, I couldn't wait to hear how she reacted!

Random Prompt #4:  David was tormented by an ungodly King Saul.  Recall someone who had authority over you whom you found very difficult to respect:

My first boss at TRW.  Her name was Faye and she was by far the worst boss I ever had, hands down.  Many of us who had the misfortune to work for her referred to her as "The Crazed Psycho Bi$$h from Hell".  Believe, me, that's not much of an exaggeration! She was lazy, took credit for other people's work, insensitive, rude, and at times out and out cruel.  In hindsight, I believe she had some significant emotional problems and I suppose I can feel pity for her now but at the time, I could barely tolerate working for her.  In fact, I actually decided to go into a secretarial program for six months just so I could get away from her until I figured out what to do next.  

Random Prompt #5:  Name someone with whom you have lost contact over the years and wonder how that person is doing:

When I was in 6th grade, our family moved to Lexington Kentucky so that my (step)dad could realize a dream he'd had of teaching college (see the first prompt ;-) )  In short, all of us hated living there, including my dad, so we eventually moved back to California.  However, I made one really, really good friend that year, also named Amy.  She was tall and thin to my (then) short and squat (we were like Mutt and Jeff!) And, like Mutt and Jeff, once we met and became friends, we were always together.  We crammed a lot of relationship in that brief period of time. After I left, we continued to keep in touch via letters and phone calls.  She visited me in San Diego one summer and we picked right up where we'd left off.  Alas, we did eventually lose touch and I have absolutely no idea what ever became of her.  I'd love to find out!

Ok, can't put off the chores any longer, especially as I have pets clamoring to be fed their dinner!

Mrs. B