In my youth I used to collect baseball cards and comic books. But after my father tossed out both of my collections while I was away at college, I stopped collecting anything.
Do you collect or hoard things so that you don’t run out of them? And if you do and later on find that you don’t need them after all, what do you do with them?
Not really. My rule of thumb for consumables is that once I open the last item of a particular product, I will buy or order at least one to replace it. Most of the time, though, I’ll order two or three at a time so I don’t have to replenish my supply of the item too frequently. Typically, I always use whatever it is I bought.
It’s time once again for E.M. Kingston’s The Sunday Ramble. Her prompt is based upon a certain topic about which she asks five questions. We are invited to ramble on about that topic however we wish. Today’s topic is “Weird and Silly.”
1. What are five things you could buy at a gas station to make the cashier look at you oddly?
I haven’t set foot in a gas station since buying my electric car six months ago. But I imagine if I pulled my electric vehicle into a gas station and said I wanted to fill it up with gas or buy a few cans of motor oil, that might give pause to the cashier. If I asked for some sushi or marijuana, that might raise some eyebrows, too. Or a diamond ring, maybe. How about a horse saddle?
2. If someone were to narrate your life, who would you choose to do it?
Edward Everett Horton, who narrated Fractured FairyTales, which was a segment on the Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.
3. Have you ever given an impromptu speech about something you know nothing about?
No, I have only given impromptu speeches about topics that I know at least a little bit about.
4. What will be the most laughable artifacts they find from our generation?
Pet Rocks.
5. Time stands still for everyone except you for an hour. How would you spend that time?
The idea behind Who Won the Week is to give you the opportunity to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.
If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.
Quite honestly, I am struggling to find a winner of the week this week. Maybe it’s my frame of mind because I’m reading, watching, and hearing nothing but bad news. So my Who Won the Week winner is no one and nothing. Instead, I’m going on a rant. Buckle up.
Vladimir Putin is reportedly one of the world’s richest leaders, though there is no firm evidence of his actual wealth nor where he has it stashed. He is the leader of, geographically speaking, the largest country on the planet. And he is one of the most powerful men on the globe. Yet he seems bound and determined to acquire more personal wealth, more landmass by starting a war by invading Ukraine, and to gain even more power than he already has.
Former President Donald Trump, has described Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy.” And then he insinuated that America’s leader’s are “dumb,” while praising Putin. And few Republicans have had the guts to criticize Trump for his praise of Putin.
For example, Republican Senator Tom Cotton repeatedly refused to condemn Donald Trump today. Cotton described Putin as a “ruthless dictator who wants to reassemble the greater Russian empire,” but when as George Stephanopoulos, host of the Sunday political news show, “This Week,” repeatedly asked Cotton if he would condemn Trump’s rhetoric about Putin and the invasion, Cotton refused to do so. Instead, his frivolous response was, “I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians, they can all speak for themselves.”
Meanwhile, Putin’s ill-conceived venture to smash the current democracy in Ukraine to smithereens continues almost unabated, except for the brave resistance of the Ukrainian citizens.
Do any of you have a selection for Who Won the Week this week?
Written for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (rich), Ragtag Daily Prompt (war), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (insinuate), The Daily Spur (host), E.M.’s Random Word prompt (frivolous), Your Daily Word Prompt (venture), and My Vivid Blog (smithereens). Photo credit: Emilio Morenatti—AP Images
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday Jim Adams has gone rather dark, asking us to focus on songs about Death, Destruction, Pestilence, or Famine. I was originally planning to go with Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young,” but I’ve done a lot of Billy Joel’s songs for SLS, so I thought I’d surprise everyone by choosing “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry. The song is clearly about death, but perhaps not at the scale Jim was thinking about with this week’s theme. It’s an unusual song choice for me because my wheelhouse is classic rock from the Sixties and Seventies, not country music in the 21st century.
“If I Die Young” was written by Kimberly Perry, and recorded by American country music trio, The Band Perry, which is comprised of siblings: lead vocalist and guitarist Kimberly Perry, bass guitarist Reid Perry, and drummer Neil Perry. The song, released in June 2010, was the second single from the group’s self-titled debut album. Still, this song got a lot of airplay on the pop music stations after, early 2011, the song was remixed by Matt Ward and Dean Gillard specifically for pop radio. I liked the song’s mellow sound and upbeat message…for a song about dying young.
“If I Die Young” became the group’s first top 10 single on the Country charts as well as their first top 20 on the Hot 100 chart. The song became their first number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart in December 2010.
The song is about the sadness of dying young. The singer describes how she never really got to experience love, and she wondered about how her loved ones would miss her and deal with the loss. She states that if she dies young, her family left behind should “save their tears” for a time when “they’re really gonna need them.”
In an interview with Billboard magazine, Kimberly said, “I was thinking about what my funeral would look like if it were mine to plan, and it grew into this idea. It was such a gorgeous moment of contentment that was hitting me so hard in the heart. I began to contemplate the idea that if it all ended at this moment, I’d done everything that I set out to do so far. I was very aware that I had so many other aspirations but for whatever reason if they didn’t happen, that I had done everything that I needed to do.”
Here are the lyrics to the song.
If I die young bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song Uh oh uh oh
Lord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother She’ll know I’m safe with you when She stands under my colours, oh and Life ain’t always what you think it oughta be, no Ain’t even grey, but she buries her baby The sharp knife of a short life, Well, I’ve had just enough time
If I die young bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song
The sharp knife of a short life, Well I’ve had just enough time
And I’ll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom I’m as green as the ring on my little cold finger I’ve never known the lovin’ of a man But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand There’s a boy here in town says he’ll love me forever Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life, Well I’ve had just enough time
So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls What I never did is done
A penny for my thoughts, oh no I’ll sell them for a dollar They’re worth so much more after I’m a goner And maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin’ Funny when you’re dead how people start listenin’
If I die young bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song Uh oh (uh oh)
The ballad of a dove Go with peace and love Gather up your tears, keep ’em in your pocket Save ’em for a time when your really gonna need ’em oh
The sharp knife of a short life, Well I’ve had just enough time So put on your best boys, and I’ll wear my pearls
It’s February 27, 2022. Welcome to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).
Today’s word is “insinuate.”
Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.
Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.
And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.
This, That, and the Other 