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May 2024 Prompts - Part 2
Jul. 1st, 2024 10:31 pm1 MAY: Beltane: What are your favorite spring flowers? I’m rather partial to irises.
2 MAY: International Harry Potter Day: What’s your favorite Harry Potter character? I’m not really a Harry Potter fan. I suppose I’d go with Hermione.
3 MAY: Paranormal Day: Do you believe in the paranormal or supernatural? Ever had any experience with it? I don’t believe in the paranormal.
4 MAY: Kentucky Derby: Have you ever ridden a horse? My grandfather used to take us on the pony rides at the Bronx Zoo. More significantly, we had horseback riding at one of the summer camps I went to.
5 MAY: International Roller Derby Day: Have you ever worn roller skates? I had the sort of roller skates you put on with a skate key when I was a kid. I was never really any good at skating, however.
6 MAY: Nurses Day: When’s the last time you took care of someone who was sick? Probably somewhere in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s when I had roommates who got drunk from time to time.
7 MAY: Cosmopolitan Day: What’s your favorite cocktail? Gin and tonic. I always want to like those froufrou cocktails with umbrellas in them, but I generally find them disappointing.
8 MAY: No Socks Day: How often do you not wear socks? Only if I’m wearing sandals.
9 MAY: Sleepover Day: Did you go to or host sleepovers as a child? Hmm, does it count if it was just sleeping over at my best friend’s house or her sleeping over at mine?
10 MAY: Clean Your Room Day: What’s the best part of cleaning a room? Being able to find things. But the best way of getting there is having someone else do the cleaning.
11 MAY: Train Day: Do you like traveling by train? I love traveling by train. I’ve taken trains on 6 continents. (There aren’t any on Antarctica.) Some of my favorite travel experiences have been parts of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the overnight train between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, and the Indian Pacific from Perth to Adelaide in Australia.
12 MAY: Limerick Day: Do you know any funny poems? Lots of them. Not a limerick, but here’s a silly bit of light verse I wrote 40 odd years ago, titled “If Dorothy Parker Had Loved an Engineer:”
Sing not to me of silicon chips -
the chocolate kind are sweeter
But sweeter still would be your lips
Put down that voltage meter!
A glass of wine, viscosity eight
Some bread, Young’s Modulus seven
But I cannot be quantified
Oh glory be to heaven.
13 MAY: Hummus Day: What’s the best way to eat hummus? I favor hummus with roasted red peppers. I eat it as a sandwich, on whole wheat bread, with sliced cucumbers on top.
14 MAY: Cannes Film Festival: What’s your favorite international film? That’s a really tough choice, but let’s go with Departures, a lovely Japanese film about a man who loses his job as a cellist in an orchestra and goes to work in a funeral parlor.
15 MAY: Chocolate Chip Day: What’s the best recipe you know of with chocolate chips? Good old Toll House Cookies suit me just fine.
16 MAY: BBQ Day: What’s the best kind of barbeque? Pulled chicken with a fairly spicy, vinegary barbecue sauce. For sides, I favor cole slaw and beans.
17 MAY: World Hypertension Day: What gets your blood pressure up? Dealing with household repairs.
18 MAY: International Museum Day: What’s your favorite museum? That’s really hard to choose. I guess I’ll go with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
19 MAY: Take your Parents to the Playground Day: When’s the last time you and your parents (or you and your children or both) were at a playground? I don’t have children, so I have to go with my parents. And that would probably be some excursion to either Oceanside Park or to Point Lookout when I was in elementary school.
20 MAY: World Bee Day: Have you ever been stung by a bee? No, and I prefer to keep it that way.
21 MAY: International Tea Day: What’s your favorite kind of tea and your favorite thing to eat with tea? It depends on my mood. In general, if we’re just talking tea that’s not part of a meal, I favor lapsang souchong. As for something to eat with tea, you can’t really go wrong with little sandwiches with something like smoked salmon. Or some sort of lemon pastries, which tend to go well with English breakfast tea.
22 MAY: Maritime Day: When’s the last time you were on a boat or ship? Hmm, probably it was December, when I took a cruise on the Aranui around the Marquesas.
23 MAY: Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day: How do you try to eat more vegetables? I’m most likely to eat more vegetables if I can get to the farmers’ market and get a more interesting supply of them.
24 MAY: Scavenger Hunt and Treasure Hunt Day: When’s the last time you did a scavenger hunt? What’s your favorite treasure hunt story? I’m sure I’ve done a few as part of National Puzzlers’ League conference events. But, aside from that, I don’t think I’ve done any in decades, unless you count an escape room here and there.
25 MAY: Learn to Swim Day: How old were you when you learned to swim? My mother taught me how to swim when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We also had swimming lessons at summer camps.
26 MAY: Paper Airplane Day: When’s the last time you folded a paper airplane? There’s usually a paper airplane competition at MIT reunions. Due to COVID, the last reunion I was at was in 2015, so it’s been a while.
27 MAY: Memorial Day: What in your life deserves a monument? Hmm, maybe my yarn stash, which I often claim contains yarn made from pretty much every possible animal, vegetable, and mineral.
28 MAY: Hamburger Day: What’s the best topping for a hamburger? I like to keep it simple, with a little ketchup (or barbecue sauce) and onions (either raw or sautéed).
29 MAY: Learn about Composting Day: Do you compost? I don’t really have anywhere I could have a compost heap.
30 MAY: Creativity Day: What nurtures your creativity? My knitting group (which I don’t make it to often enough) and my on-line crafting group are good for seeing what other people are doing and getting ideas.
31 MAY: Smile Day: Do you like your smile? Not really. There is a long story involving a front tooth which didn’t come in and incompetent orthodontia. Despite which, I do smile a lot.
2 MAY: International Harry Potter Day: What’s your favorite Harry Potter character? I’m not really a Harry Potter fan. I suppose I’d go with Hermione.
3 MAY: Paranormal Day: Do you believe in the paranormal or supernatural? Ever had any experience with it? I don’t believe in the paranormal.
4 MAY: Kentucky Derby: Have you ever ridden a horse? My grandfather used to take us on the pony rides at the Bronx Zoo. More significantly, we had horseback riding at one of the summer camps I went to.
5 MAY: International Roller Derby Day: Have you ever worn roller skates? I had the sort of roller skates you put on with a skate key when I was a kid. I was never really any good at skating, however.
6 MAY: Nurses Day: When’s the last time you took care of someone who was sick? Probably somewhere in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s when I had roommates who got drunk from time to time.
7 MAY: Cosmopolitan Day: What’s your favorite cocktail? Gin and tonic. I always want to like those froufrou cocktails with umbrellas in them, but I generally find them disappointing.
8 MAY: No Socks Day: How often do you not wear socks? Only if I’m wearing sandals.
9 MAY: Sleepover Day: Did you go to or host sleepovers as a child? Hmm, does it count if it was just sleeping over at my best friend’s house or her sleeping over at mine?
10 MAY: Clean Your Room Day: What’s the best part of cleaning a room? Being able to find things. But the best way of getting there is having someone else do the cleaning.
11 MAY: Train Day: Do you like traveling by train? I love traveling by train. I’ve taken trains on 6 continents. (There aren’t any on Antarctica.) Some of my favorite travel experiences have been parts of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the overnight train between Victoria Falls and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, and the Indian Pacific from Perth to Adelaide in Australia.
12 MAY: Limerick Day: Do you know any funny poems? Lots of them. Not a limerick, but here’s a silly bit of light verse I wrote 40 odd years ago, titled “If Dorothy Parker Had Loved an Engineer:”
Sing not to me of silicon chips -
the chocolate kind are sweeter
But sweeter still would be your lips
Put down that voltage meter!
A glass of wine, viscosity eight
Some bread, Young’s Modulus seven
But I cannot be quantified
Oh glory be to heaven.
13 MAY: Hummus Day: What’s the best way to eat hummus? I favor hummus with roasted red peppers. I eat it as a sandwich, on whole wheat bread, with sliced cucumbers on top.
14 MAY: Cannes Film Festival: What’s your favorite international film? That’s a really tough choice, but let’s go with Departures, a lovely Japanese film about a man who loses his job as a cellist in an orchestra and goes to work in a funeral parlor.
15 MAY: Chocolate Chip Day: What’s the best recipe you know of with chocolate chips? Good old Toll House Cookies suit me just fine.
16 MAY: BBQ Day: What’s the best kind of barbeque? Pulled chicken with a fairly spicy, vinegary barbecue sauce. For sides, I favor cole slaw and beans.
17 MAY: World Hypertension Day: What gets your blood pressure up? Dealing with household repairs.
18 MAY: International Museum Day: What’s your favorite museum? That’s really hard to choose. I guess I’ll go with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.
19 MAY: Take your Parents to the Playground Day: When’s the last time you and your parents (or you and your children or both) were at a playground? I don’t have children, so I have to go with my parents. And that would probably be some excursion to either Oceanside Park or to Point Lookout when I was in elementary school.
20 MAY: World Bee Day: Have you ever been stung by a bee? No, and I prefer to keep it that way.
21 MAY: International Tea Day: What’s your favorite kind of tea and your favorite thing to eat with tea? It depends on my mood. In general, if we’re just talking tea that’s not part of a meal, I favor lapsang souchong. As for something to eat with tea, you can’t really go wrong with little sandwiches with something like smoked salmon. Or some sort of lemon pastries, which tend to go well with English breakfast tea.
22 MAY: Maritime Day: When’s the last time you were on a boat or ship? Hmm, probably it was December, when I took a cruise on the Aranui around the Marquesas.
23 MAY: Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day: How do you try to eat more vegetables? I’m most likely to eat more vegetables if I can get to the farmers’ market and get a more interesting supply of them.
24 MAY: Scavenger Hunt and Treasure Hunt Day: When’s the last time you did a scavenger hunt? What’s your favorite treasure hunt story? I’m sure I’ve done a few as part of National Puzzlers’ League conference events. But, aside from that, I don’t think I’ve done any in decades, unless you count an escape room here and there.
25 MAY: Learn to Swim Day: How old were you when you learned to swim? My mother taught me how to swim when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We also had swimming lessons at summer camps.
26 MAY: Paper Airplane Day: When’s the last time you folded a paper airplane? There’s usually a paper airplane competition at MIT reunions. Due to COVID, the last reunion I was at was in 2015, so it’s been a while.
27 MAY: Memorial Day: What in your life deserves a monument? Hmm, maybe my yarn stash, which I often claim contains yarn made from pretty much every possible animal, vegetable, and mineral.
28 MAY: Hamburger Day: What’s the best topping for a hamburger? I like to keep it simple, with a little ketchup (or barbecue sauce) and onions (either raw or sautéed).
29 MAY: Learn about Composting Day: Do you compost? I don’t really have anywhere I could have a compost heap.
30 MAY: Creativity Day: What nurtures your creativity? My knitting group (which I don’t make it to often enough) and my on-line crafting group are good for seeing what other people are doing and getting ideas.
31 MAY: Smile Day: Do you like your smile? Not really. There is a long story involving a front tooth which didn’t come in and incompetent orthodontia. Despite which, I do smile a lot.
