Love, Lincoln, and a Snow Day

Posted by Lisa Laree at Beer Lahai Roi

Writing on Tuesday to publish on Wednesday, but, well, that's ok...

A fuzz over an inch of snow brings the Rocket City to a standstill; hard for my friends in the winter-battered states north of us to comprehend, I know, but, well, we only have solar snow removal down here.  That means once that frozen stuff hits the road it may slush up but will refreeze and...oh, it gets very unpleasant to those who must go out.  I spoke to Number One Son, who had to be at work at 6 AM, and he said he slid around a bit but hit nothing worse than a curb.   

But ...we have enough to be pretty.

So it's a snow day.  I brought work home that I can do, as the data base is in the cloud and I can access it from the comfort of my very  messy house...and I will likely pull it out in a bit...but for now I took time to linger over a cup of actual brewed coffee and peruse the Old Reader feed list.

Of course, I came across Joyce's prompt post for the weekly Hodgepodge link up and I thought, hey, I can do that this week. So...click the link to join the party...


1.What makes love last?

I believe love doesn't just last...it either grows or dies.  And to grow it must be cultivated.

That requires a mutual decision.  We WILL work through the rough spots.  We WILL continue to respect each other.  We WILL NOT let disagreements or misunderstandings or disappointments in each other grow into irreconcilable differences. We WILL NOT be deceived into thinking of each other as an opponent. We are on the same side.


Of course, there's a lot more to that than just those statements, but lasting, growing love requires intentionality.  

 And, by the way, that does require one to be somewhat selective in choosing a mate.  If those things are not mutual...if your prospective spouse is not in agreement...well, be aware that there could be trouble ahead.

2. The Beatles made their US debut fifty years ago this week. Are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite Beatles tune?

A fan of the Beatles...wow, that's hard to define.  They were musically ground-breaking, so, yeah, from that standpoint I'd have to say I at least appreciate them.  But would I put them on the semi-divine pedestal that so many others created for them, following their opinions as definitions of how life was meant to be?  Um, probably not...

But they did make some great music, and I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite.  Although at this moment I feel a definite preference for  'Here Comes the Sun'... ;-)

BTW, I remember watching their debut on Ed Sullivan.  My parents had gone square dancing and my teen babysitter turned it on.  I just remember thinking those guys looked really silly swinging their heads around as they performed.  But, then, I was 4.

3. Valentine's Day-your thoughts? Do you celebrate in any way? Do anything special for the people you love? Expect anything special from the people who love you? 

I think Valentine's Day is greatly overblown.  As a day to be intentional about making the folks around you feel loved and appreciated...that's great.  As a day to buy someone an expensive present or overpriced flowers to prove your love for them...give me a break.  

But, My Sweet Babboo and I usually try to manage some sort of observance, even if it's just exchanging sappy cards.  Our celebration this year will likely be at home, with grilled steaks (weather permitting) and a decadent chocolate dessert.   We could go out, but I really don't like crowds and, with the 14th being on Friday, I would expect it to be worse than normal.  Plus, I wanted to include our kids, although the Flute Player appears to be the only one who doesn't have other plans this year.

4. Steak or burger...you have to choose. Now that that's settled, how do you like it? 


Steak.  Medium Rare.  Well soaked in Dale's sauce and cooked over a bed of coals.  Since  you asked.

5. The Hodgepodge lands on the birthdate (February 12th) of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is quoted as saying, 'Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test his character give him power.'  Do you agree? Why or why not?


Sounds like real truth to me.  One of the marks of a true statesman is to choose the good of the nation over his personal agenda...or, rather, to not have a personal agenda other than the good of the nation.  A person of character will use his power for the good of those who are under his authority.  Someone who has no character will use his power for the good of himself and his close friends.

And I'm hushing before I wander into politics or something.

6. Honest Abe's image is featured on the US penny (1 cent coin) so I'm wondering...what do you do with your pennies (or your country's equivalent)?  It's been suggested the US stop making the penny, and two bills have been introduced proposing just that, but neither were approved. What say you?


I like pennies.  They get saved and rolled and eventually carted back to the bank to convert into larger denominations.  Besides, we need pennies for sales tax...folks with credit/debit purchases would be fine, but for folks using cash, they'd have to round up/round down or some such thing and it would be a mess to track.

7.  Do you think pop culture deserves serious study?
  
 Are there things we can learn about human sociology/psychology/ development from studying pop culture?  Can it teach us anything about economics, the marketplace, politics?  Can we learn the answers to questions like - if the influence of pop culture is detrimental to the society as a whole, is there a way to counteract or reduce that influence?

If the answer to some or most of those questions is 'yes', then, by all means, someone should be looking very critically at pop culture to learn what it can teach us.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be Shirley Temple.  I wanted to sing and dance and be loved by everyone.  Failed on all three counts, but Shirley will forever be one of my heroes.  RIP, Shirley Temple Black, 4/23/1928 - 2/10/2014.