Another Meme from Facebook

This is fun! Tell us about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!


The year was: 1986-87


1. Did you know your spouse then? No. He already was at UW-Platteville, where we met a year later.
2. Did you carpool? Yes, with Ananda Patterson. Ananda: remember going to that diner for breakfast in the mornings?
3. What kind of car did you have? I didn’t have a driver’s license because of my epilepsy, and my brother totaled the car I might have used.
4. It’s Friday night at the football game, where are you? BION, I was captain of the varsity football cheerleader squad. I wanted to play football, but the coach was a moron, and cheerleading was something of a consolation. I was the only cheerleader on the squad who knew that you don’t do the cheer “Sack that quarterback!” when our team was on offense, or “First and ten; do it again!” while on defense.
5. What kind of job did you have? Fast food and babysitting.
6. Were you a party animal? Not really.
7. Were you considered a jock? Definitely not, probably why the moron didn’t want me on the football team.
8. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir, but I never had any solos due to my hideous singing and the even worse choir director. Anybody from EHS remember Chuck Roast (slang name for the choir teacher who was fired at the end of my senior year)?
9. Were you a nerd? Definitely.
10. Did you get suspended or expelled? Nope
11. Can you sing the fight song? Yes, and (sigh) I even remember the choreography the cheerleaders had to do.
12. Where did you eat lunch? In the cafeteria, closed campus.
13. What was your full school’s name? Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart (EHS), but it was misspelled Scared in my freshman yearbook.
14. What was your school mascot? Crusader
15. If you could go back and do it again would you? Not for all the money Disney spent to buy Lucasfilm.
16. Are you planning on going to your next high school reunion? Nope. I said my goodbyes to the class of ’87 at the “Alumni Dance” after the commencement ceremony because I was so happy to get out of the hell that was Catholic high school. I must not be the only one because no one volunteered to put together a 25th reunion, and so far it looks like no one is working on the 30th for next year.
17. Are you still in contact with people from high school? A few on Facebook. Although I do try to get together with Betsy Laessig-Stary (and her daughter Samm Stary, who now is a senior at EHS) every now and then. I also need to go see Casey Day perform, but he keeps performing in Verona, which is a ways from my home in Sun Prairie.


Pog ma thoin!
-Lori


“Do you not see how necessary a world of pains and troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a soul?” – John Keats

Blessings

I could post about yet another nice Thanksgiving with the World’s Greatest Husband and critters, but I’ve done that in so many prior years. This morning, I want to talk about blessings that make the world a beautiful place, specifically, I want to mention stories I’ve read in the online news this morning.


Local youth group surprises servers with $1,300 holiday tip
In a nutshell: a youth church group in Janesville annually goes out to eat together the night before Thanksgiving. They collected over $1300 to tip the waitstaff, and when they presented the money to the two ladies, they discovered that one is getting married and the other is pregnant. The money was very well received.


How a haircut led to a new lease on life for Sun Prairie man
People can become very attached to their hairstylists because of the opportunity to talk during the haircut. One such conversation led a man to tell his beautician about his kidney dialysis. Remembering that they are the same blood type, the stylist offered one of her own. Once it was determined that she was a match, the surgery happened. Now in addition to haircuts, they also get together to play Yahtzee.


1998 bus fire leads burn nurse to career as burn surgeon
When a mentally ill man boarded a bus, poured gasoline on people, and set them on fire, the UW Hospital worked around the clock to save the lives of the burn victims. Two of the victims were a young engaged couple who almost didn’t make it because of the extensive burns. One nurse worked exceptionally hard to help them, and when they survived, they asked the nurse to be a bridesmaid in their wedding. Since then, the nurse decided she wanted to because a surgeon specializing in burn victims. Although it took her sixteen years, during which she also birthed two children, she has made that dream a reality.


Grandma’s last-minute guest showed up
An Arizona grandmother knew the best way to invite her grandchildren to Thanksgiving would be to text them. However, she accidentally texted a high school student who was a complete stranger. After they cleared up the issue, the youth asked if he still was invited to Thanksgiving. The woman said, “Of course you can. That’s what grandmas do...feed everyone!” The youth enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with the grandmother’s family before he attended a feast with his own.


Alliant Energy Center honors contracts after holiday expo cancels last minute
The Alliant Energy Center (AEC) is an exposition and convention space here in Madison that has hosted concerts, sporting events, the Dane County Junior Fair, and even Comicon. Recently the organizers of a holiday expo had to cancel the event due to bankruptcy, and they couldn’t refund the monies to the vendors who paid table fees. The AEC decided to honor the contracts and keep the expo on the books, which is planned for the weekend of December 10. If you’re in the Madison area, and you attend, I may see you there.


Pog ma thoin!
-Lori


“So shines a good deed in a weary world.” – Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory written by Roald Dahl

Meme

When I was on LiveJournal, I loved doing the Q&A memes. This one was on Facebook, and I completed it last night with the help of Brian Curley, the World’s Greatest Husband.


Instructions: WITHOUT prompting, ask your spouse or kids these questions and write EXACTLY what they say. The outcome can be hilarious.


•What is something I always say? “Don’t let it ruin your day.” [Actually, “When in doubt, smile.”]
•What makes me happy? Star Wars stuff [actually, he, Mekhi O’Brien, and our critters make me happy.]
•What makes me sad? November (when my parents died in 2007) [seeing him sad makes me sad]
•How tall am I? 5’5” [correct]
•What’s my favorite thing to do? Laugh [read]
•What do I do when you’re not around? Sleep [housework]
•If I become famous, what will it be for? Writing [correct]
•What makes you proud of me? You never give up on stuff.
What is my favorite food? Chocolate [correct]
•What is my favorite restaurant? Prairie Diner (a greasy spoon here in Sun Prairie) [correct]
•Where is my favorite place to visit? M&M World (favorite place in Las Vegas) [actually, I prefer to visit his parents]
• If I could go anywhere, where would it be? Ireland [correct]
•Do you think you could live without me? No (it’s been a tough year for Brian)
•How do I annoy you? Unending optimism.
•What is my favorite movie? Star Wars [While I prefer The Empire Strikes Back, my favorite movie probably is Real Genius or something by John Hughes]
•Who is my celebrity crush? Clay Matthews III [true, but Mark Hamill is higher on the list]
•You get a phone call that I am in trouble, who am I with? Betsy Laessig-Stary [correct]


Pog ma thoin!
-Lori


“I can’t stand you all equally.” – Betsy, on her kids