Friday's Feast

Friday, May 26, 2006 - Feast Ninety-Five


Appetizer - How old were you when you got your first credit card?

I don't really remember having a card when I was in college, so I guess it was after. Probably when I got my first job after I graduated.


Soup - When was the last time you felt out of place?

Yesterday afternoon, at a meeting. Everyone in the room was talking about all these media and society people they know and I had no idea who any of them were.


Salad - Did you have a curfew when you were a teenager? If so, what time did you have to be home?

Not really a curfew, but I knew what time I needed to be home. I had no real reason to stay out all night. I had fun with my friends going out for pizza after the football games, but otherwise I came home. I really lived the idealized 50's high school experience in the early 1980's...


Main Course - Name a person from history with whom you feel you have something in common.

I don't feel I know enough about the people of history to know if I have much in common with any of them or not. See my post about historical accuracy for more of my feelings on the matter. I think most historical figures have a few traits attached to them (Lincoln: integrity, perseverence; Washington: honesty; Franklin: spunk, tenacity; Twain: wit, sarcasm) but we know very little overall about what kind of people they are. How did they treat their children? Their parents? Their peers? The strangers on the street? In some ages, their slaves and the "lesser" society members? Washington may have been the most honest man alive, and in his private moments kicked his kids and slapped Martha around. Yet many people would choose him as someone to admire and emulate solely on the legends of history. I'm not saying you shouldn't admire Washington - I do - I just think it's difficult to feel real commonality with people from the past, especially famous people, when all you have is the legend of their personalities to go on.


Dessert - When you read a newspaper, which section do you go for first?

When I was a kid, it was always the comics. Or, more correctly, the "funnies". That's what they were called, that's what they are called, and that's what they shall ever be called. Amen.

Today, if it's football season the sports page. Otherwise I usually skim the front pages of the top four sections (Main, Local, Business and Sports) then head to the sports. This time of year it's NBA and NHL tournaments (yawn!) high school baseball/softball/soccer finals (yawn!) and of course, NASCAR (extremely high-pitched and obnoxious yawn). Oh, and the MLB box scores which I'll occasionally peruse to see how badly my Fantasy players are doing (translation: badly). Sometimes there's a pro or college football story, but not all the time.

I enjoy the Editorial page because it's kind of like reading blogs. Except for the writing experience. And to see what's melting down Don Williams or Cal Thomas this week.

Most of the national and world news I see in the main section I've already read about the previous day on the web, so that's old stuff.

A lot of the Local section is spent with recipes and feel-good fashion articles, which I flip past. There's a way-too-short entertainment column above the TV listings, and then...of course. The funnies.