Answers, Issue 3

Here we go again. Hold on to your britches, folks.

Sara said...
What do you think is the biggest problem in the world, why, and how would you suggest correcting it?

Cut right to the heart of the matter, don't ya? No mincing words here. If I had to pick something to cover a multitude of sins, I would pick apathy. Wait. More than that. It is bigger than that. The problem, I think is that people *might* not at apathetic, but there is no teeth to their outrage. There is no accompanying action. Therefore, they might as well not care, because they act like they don't care. Don't worry. I fall into this category, too.

Think about it. Bad things happen and people just want to hide their head in the sand. I speak from experience. I want to hide my head in the sand, a lot. But I work somewhere where I get knowledge of bad things that happen, whether or not I want it. I try not to even think about the war or the broken status of our criminal justice system. I can't. It is too much, the feeling of powerlessness. To know that truly horrible things are happening and no matter how many times I write my congressional representatives or how many times I speak up, my point of view always gets dismissed as "NPR listenin', latte drinking, bleeding heart liberal" when all I want is people to be held responsible for their actions. People make every excuse in the world to protect them from making hard decisions. People also veil their eyes and do not wish to see truth, because the vision is painful.

So, I think I can group myself in with the non-actionists. What am I going to DO about the war on reproductive rights? What am I going to DO knowing that prosecutors refuse to even try sex offenders 95% of the time? What am I going to DO to make the world a cleaner, brighter, better place to live for my children? I guess that is an equally good question.

Emblita said...
If you could go anywhere in the world (cost being no object) where would you go- and what would you do while you were there?

Ha! I tell Honey all the time that I am going to France. This is what I say when the kids and the house and the mortgage and the debts and this life gets to be too heavy. I am going to France. What would I do when I got there? Get a job doing something that I could never do here. Something with dinner meetings and business trips and fabulous important people. I would shop at farmer's markets and have a cat. I would be confident and self possessed and have a cute flat with a black ironwork balcony with geraniums. I would paint.

But if I were just going on a trip somewhere and this is not my I-am-leaving-on-a-jetplane-never-coming-back-again fantasy, I think I might choose an Italian tour. Rome. Verona. Tuscany. Venice. I would eat at little holes in the wall and talk to old Italian grandmas who would teach me to make pasta and the best varieties of tomatoes. I would experience the culture. I would learn the language and eagerly view the produce.

nicole said...
Where would you go if your favorite babysitter showed up unexpectedly and shooed you out of the house for several hours?

Um, probably out to dinner and a movie with my Honey. Not very exciting, eh? But if Honey was not about, I would probably argue with her. As I am having a hard time with this fantasy because I don't have a favorite babysitter! Or any babysitter at all, really! Just my folks. And I would feel guilty about leaving the kids. And maybe ask if I could stay and clean the house or work in the yard.

God. I suck.

Michelle said...
What do you like best about summer?How do you keep mosquitoes at bay?Yep, it's a yin yang theme!

Summer. I like growing things, but that really works best in the spring. I like vacation, but we usually vacation in the fall to avoid high prices and crowds. I like the 4th of July fireworks. If I had to pick one thing, it would be that.

As for mosquitoes, they don't bother me. I am too tough and bitter. But they flock to Honey like he is made of sugar water. So he runs in the house to play the ever-be-damned GameCube.

Barbara said..
What is your favorite 1) book 2) movie 3) television show?

1. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
2. French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline
3. TV? Um, I don't usually participate in the watching of television for no other reason than I would rather be reading and it seems like waayyyyyy too much trouble to schedule something like watching a weekly program. But I like Scrubs. And Reba. Meh. I do wonder if I am missing out. I do wonder if at the end of my life I will say, "I wished I had watched more television." But I sincerely doubt it.