A Survey

This survey was stolen from the Open Diarist Drawnwell

 

 

What’s one thing you have worked very hard to overcome?

 I was seriously handicapped by being both incredibly shy and having a moderate to severe stutter when I was in school. I was also much taller than the other girls of my age AND wore thick lens glasses.  Oh, and perhaps I should mention I broke one of my permanent front teeth when I was about 11 and it took a long time before anything was done about it. I mean years and I am not using hyperbole here. 

As soon as one of the nuns at school realized I was stuttering, she arranged for me to have elocution lessons. To my amazement, I did very well. As soon as it was pointed out to me that when I sang, I never stuttered, it was as if I had control of a switch in my mind. When I started experiencing the hesitations, I mentally hit the switch and the words came out as if I was singing. Looking back on it,  I realize now it was actually breath control.  I certainly didn’t sing the words but they came out on a breath as though I was singing…

The shyness was more difficult. The big improvement  came for me when my second son was born and I realized he had my temperament including the shyness. {And, actually, the stutter too! He was much younger and took speech therapy and learned to control his little hesitations}. I was determined he would not go through what I went through so I made a concerted effort to help him to make a friend. And, of course, it is true that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. So, I learned to smile, look people in the  eye, listen to what they were saying and talk to them.

 

 Name at least one in each category: A book, a movie and a musical group/musician you secretly, negatively judge others for not liking and/or not knowing about.

 I read Lord of the Rings long long before it became popular and before it became a movie. Movies, well, I have never been a fan of movies so I can’t say anything here. And if you don’t know Leonard Cohen’s songs…

BOOK: The first science fiction book I ever read, the one that opened my eyes to the worlds out there was Arthur C. Clark’s Childhood’s End. I can remember I was desperate to find someone to whom I could I could talk about all these new ideas…

MOVIE: I watch movies occasionally but they actually don’t mean too much to me so no favorites here.

GROUP/MUSICIAN: Leonard Cohen. Are you surprised?

 

What made you believe or not believe in God?

I was brought up to believe in God. I was actually brought up mostly by nuns who ruled us with guilt. I have spent a lot of time overcoming this bad beginning. These days I basically can’t believe in an all-knowing all-loving God  who allows wars and poverty and children who go to bed hungry and crying.

Describe the most beautiful sight you’ve ever seen.

 There are too many. I can’t pick out just one.

Besides yourself, who do you love the most, and why do you love them?

 My sons. I not only love them but I also find then very interesting people. I am still even at my advanced age finding out new things about them.

Who are your pets? Include pictures, if applicable. If you don’t have pets, what pets would you have if you had to have them?

 I have always preferred cats over dogs. I don’t have a cat at the moment but I can get my cat fix from my younger son’s two cats, his "knuckleheads!" 

What separates you from people who have shittier lives than yours?

 I am a natural optimist. In spite of myself I eventually see a brighter side, a way up…

What are the ingredients in your perfect salad?

 nuts, balsamic vinegar. some kind of fruit and all the usual things. Oh, and onions. Don’t forget the onions! And feta cheese…

What do you think happens to you after you die?

 I think that this is all I have. When I die, the thing that makes me what I am ends too. Of course, if I am wrong, I will be thrilled…