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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 05:18PM

What are you doing?

This is a true story. (Right now the Squids on this board are like, No it’s not, but it is. Shut up, Squids.)

So, back in the day, my mom used to volunteer for all sorts of church stuff because she liked volunteering. What she didn’t like was following through.

That’s why she had me!

So, she volunteered to spend Saturdays going to The Youth Study Center with our church group. As Hervey will attest, The Youth Study Center was actually juvenile hall. No one was studying, but they were languishing, some because their parents simply would not pick them up. They were young boys, so young, and I suppose not eligible for foster care, so their they stayed.

Okay. Let it be known that I am not opposed to visiting these kids. But when *I* was a kid, I was strongly opposed to missing cartoons and the old movies that followed in the afternoon. Plus I was the only kid there that wasn’t locked up, although I was there against my will. I just happened to know when I’d be leaving, and there was a lot of comfort in that knowledge.

So.

It’s been established that adults volunteered for this church thing, and I was the only kid who was voluntold. Furthermore, visiting these kids had nothing to do with listening to them or having any meaningful personal interaction.

We preached.

Alright.

Fast forward a decade when I was in Bootcamp. People went to church because it was something different to do. You heard about the outside world. No one yelled at you. Sometimes there was a TV.

I can’t speak to the veracity of the paragraph immediately above because I never went despite people telling me about all the good stuff that happened there. Pfft. I’d rather go on a crazy long ass run with a Company Commander I absolutely hated than do the church thing, TV or not. I hate running, and there are no cartoons on Sunday.

The kids at The Youth Study Center probably went to these dry ass services, which were actually an exercise for the adults to practice public speaking for that preacher job they imagined they might get if they just learned to channel their internal preacher altar call, for a change of scenery, a different, albeit boring, yackety yackety. We didn’t show cartoons which would be a better way to spend a Saturday morning, but maybe they weren’t allowed to watch them. I never had a chance to ask.

Well

My mother volunteered to compile the lesson plans into a binder for Pastor Approval, because even god didn’t know what these hapless motivational gurus might say. The compilation of said nutter butter entailed editing dubious interpretations of dense mumbo jumbo often scrawled by a non-dominant hand on the back of repurposed junk mail envelopes one usually puts on the fridge to remind you to buy milk. (Okay. That’s a lie. It was usually loose leaf paper.)

So

The mom took one look at this pile of crazy and told me to edit it. I was like, I’m a kid. I’m 11 years old I already do your taxes and balance your checkbook and write checks for bills that you later sign until you tell me to sign them because it’s easier for me to forge your name than for you to sign your damn checks and I didn’t volunteer to edit this pile of pictographs and I’d rather be watching cartoons.

I edited the lesson plans and wanted to cry they were so so bad. If we had a typewriter I probably would have been told to peck and check these things despite my mother’s type touching skills that enabled her to type 60 words per minute and that is true.

She took them to work and typed them and relieved the job’s supply cabinet of some three ring binders and a hole punch and a label maker and dividers and hole reinforcers that you had to lick and tasted like cancer.

She had a big purse.

So

Today I’m going to read Euripides because that’s a thing I think I’m supposed to do and work on my Cormac McCarthy syntax and attitude and make carrot cake that I’ll eat warm before I can frost it because that’s how I roll and feed the sourdough starter and maybe clean something and most definitely watch the ducks do duck things and watch cartoons.

I haven’t proofread this. Maybe later.

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Posted by: dagny ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 05:34PM

So. What cartoons did you find so compelling growing up? I had 2 or three I could hardly wait to watch too.

I almost feel sorry for your mom. You must have been quite a handful in a Sheldon Cooper kind of way.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 07:37PM

Oh!

After school I watched Spiderman, Speed Racer (I was very distressed by the Racer-X secret because Speed Racer would be happier if he knew), and Marine Boy. I had a crush on him.

Saturday I loved the Road Runner. Poor Wile E. Coyote and his cheap ACME holes. I never wanted him to be hurt or catch the road runner. I about lost my mind when I saw a real road runner. And later a real tumbleweed. I didn’t think they existed.

I also loved The Justice League, Aquaman, and I can’t remember the name of the cartoon, but a dog always allowed a kitten to sleep on the dog’s back. I also loved Isis, but I thought Shazam was dumb. Tom and Jerry was okay. Later I loved Voltron and I can’t remember when it was on, but the Wonder Twins were FANTASTIC.

Right now my favorite is Princess Mononoke.

You?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2022 07:39PM by Beth.

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Posted by: Lot's Wife ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 09:40PM

Mononoke???

Have you seen any of other Miyazaki movies?

Totoro?

Kiki's Delivery Service?

Spirited Away?

Castle in the Sky?

Gems, the lot of them.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 02:26AM

Just Mononoke. It’s my kid’s favorite movie.

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Posted by: oldpobot ( )
Date: October 11, 2022 04:05AM

I love Spirited Away - I should try to track down some others

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Posted by: Lot's Wife ( )
Date: October 11, 2022 04:39AM

Spirited Away is a great movie.

Mononoke, Howl, and Castle in the Sky are similarly a mixture of adventure and fantasy. I don't think they are as polished as Spirited Away but are very good.

Totoro is amazing in that it views a family tragedy and removal to the agricultural Japan of many decades ago (I'm told it's quite authentic) through the eyes of children who see the fantastic all around them. It may be my favorite Miyazaki film.

Kiki's Delivery Service is also splendid. It is set in Europe and follows the adventures of a girl who wants to become a witch.

If I had to rank them, I think Totoro is the best, followed by Kiki. Those are very different in some ways but I think every bit as good as Spirited Away.

The rest of my list is also excellent and already culled from the 20 or so Miyazaki directed. I'm sure you'd like them.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 07:40PM

And what are you doing today, dagny?

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Posted by: dagny ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 08:38PM

I liked Speed Racer, Popeye and Casper. I got tired of Tom and Jerry and Road Runner. They always did the same thing and never seemed to learn. My after school TV treat was Dennis the Menace. I am a menace to this day.

Even though they were before my time, it was a treat if they ever showed old Betty Boop or Little Lulu cartoons. I think my favorite was Felix the Cat. Looking at all the old cartoons now, I'm amazed how violent (among other things!) they often were.

Today I filled out my absentee ballot after double checking all the candidates to make sure they are not crazy. I picked a bunch of stuff from my garden. I'm drooling over the thought of warm carrot cake but a stale Ho Ho is probably the best I can find.

Carry on. Wave at the ducks for me.

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Posted by: Susan I/S ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 09:56PM

Hey, I like Ho Hos! But now they are TINY. I loved Scooby Doo, Mr. Peabody, Speed Racer, Johnny Quest, Wacky Racers/The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.

I did absolutely nothing yet today. I stayed up way late watching bloggers from Ukraine and russia and looking for info about the bridge that had a bit of an accident. (Happy Birthday!) I will do some dishes and laundry later I suppose. My body clock is still all messed up from having Hubs working from home. I am going to try to turn it back this winter but we will see how it goes. I have some orders I need to get placed in Ukraine for Christmas gifts before we run out of time. I have a box from the Royal Collection I need to unpack with some last things about Queen Elizabeth. And I really NEEDED that corgi from Buckingham. The new "royal dogs" are JRT and I am not a fan.

Right now I have to come up with something to order for dinner. Maybe Subway.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 02:20AM

Happy Birthday, indeed! I keep watching the video.

I loved those cartoons, too!

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Posted by: Lot's Wife ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 10:50PM

dagny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Today I filled out my absentee ballot after double
> checking all the candidates to make sure they are
> not crazy.

Wait.

Don't you live in Idaho?

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Posted by: dagny ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 11:08PM

LOL. Yeah. Non-crazy options are not plentiful, but some are the lesser of two evils.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 02:25AM

Ha! No carrot cake for me after all. I chilled with the ducks and my dog, looked around at all the stuff I had to so, came in, made a sandwich, and took a nap.

And I love those cartoon, too! Felix scared me a little. clutch cargo have me nightmares and there was a PSA about not doing drugs that had one of those toy monkeys that played the cymbals and at the end they showed a real chimp baring his teeth and screaming! I don’t know who thinks of this stuff.

Oh, Aqua Teen Hunger Force is great.

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Posted by: summer ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 10:58AM

>> ...looked around at all the stuff I had to so, came in, made a sandwich, and took a nap.

My life in a nutshell. lol

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Posted by: dagny ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 11:17AM

Sigh. Mine too nowadays. Sometimes I nap just because I can. It's a luxury.

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Posted by: elderolddog ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 07:25PM

At age 8 we moved to Las Vegas...the northeast edge of Vegas. There was nothing between our front door and Sunrise mountain except desert. The old mormon fort was a half mile due West, on the other side of Cashman Field.

Saturdays and all summer long I would leave the house after breakfast and play somewhere in the desert all day,

TV was for when it was dark out.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 07:38PM

Were there rattlesnakes?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2022 11:40PM by Beth.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 07:38PM

And what are you doing today?

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Posted by: elderolddog ( )
Date: October 08, 2022 08:32PM

The 12 years I lived in Las Vegas I only met one rattlesnake, but she wasn’t in my ward.

Today I hiked about 18 miles in 6-1/2 hours and it wasn’t on the golf course.

Beth, since the last time you posted here I’ve dropped about 65 pounds and my waist has gone from 38” to 31”. Just by doing a lot of walking…a LOT of walking!

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Posted by: Lot's Wife ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 12:22AM

Wow. You'd better watch out for hungry turkey vultures.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 02:19AM

Good for you! How’s the air quality?

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Posted by: summer ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 01:42AM

You have a lot of life experience, Beth.

Today I went to an Octoberfest celebration in a small but interesting community. I had a bratwurst with sauerkraut and some beer, and it was delicious. There was a band and some crafters, and I dropped a bit of money. There were friendly dogs seeking pats and belly rubs. Everyone went home happy.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 02:18AM

That sounds great! What a wonderful day!

W/r/t life experience, it’s called having a crazy mom. And all the back talk and lip I wrote about lived only in my mind. I grumbled, but I got on with it.

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Posted by: Tahoe Girl ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 10:02AM

Hello lovey! Smooches to you. I don’t post often these days but always fun to see your entertaining, enlightening posts.

TG

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 03:39PM

I love you sooooooo much!

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Posted by: Dave the Atheist ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 04:07PM

The roots of my tiny trees get eaten by gophers. My whole life has devolved into a Chip and Dale cartoon.

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Posted by: Lot's Wife ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 04:08PM

"May I interest you in some ACME products?"

--A roadrunner somewhere in the American southwest

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 04:22PM

Ha! Hey, plant rings of daffodils around your trees. Gofers hate them.

Whenever I see a gopher hole, I get daff bulbs and a shovel out of the shed, dig up the hole a little, drop in a few bulbs, close the hole, repeat the next time I see a new hole. They were going after my strawberries, and I was, aw hell no, and now a ring of daffs come up around the plant. Daffs are planted all over the damn place in rows and circles especially around the young pears trees.

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Posted by: ookami ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 04:14PM

Welcome back, Beth!

I have a girlfriend staying the weekend at my place. The movie theater is showing "The Thing" (one of John Carpenter's best movies!) and we'll be going to see it later.

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Posted by: Beth ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 04:23PM

YASSSSSSSSSSS! Enjoy!

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Posted by: Lethbridge Reprobate ( )
Date: October 09, 2022 08:24PM

Drove 270 miles north to spend my Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with my kids. Today was 240 mile round trip to watch my grandson play hockey (away game) and tonight drinking beer with my family.

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Posted by: Hervey Willets ( )
Date: October 10, 2022 11:28PM


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