My friend Trailer Park Barbie, that paragon of all that is redneck and wonderful, tagged me for this six things meme. I’m in a moody mood, so it’s not the greatest.
Here are the rules: 1) Link back to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post by posting links to their blog sites. 5) Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their site. 6) And let your tagger know when your entry is up.
1: My childhood was rough, and I used to bide my time dreaming of my eighteenth birthday and the day I could get out on my own. My early adulthood was spent learning how to undo the damage and live happily. At forty-seven, I think I’m finally figuring it out.
Whenever I’d hear people talk about their “inner child,” as I considered mine I always thought– Yuck. I hate that kid. She was truly such an awkward mess, always disheveled and often badly-behaved. In my mind, I kind of thought of her as a little ragamuffin, like the one pictured here, and I hated thinking about her. As time has passed though, I’ve learned to appreciate her and the tremendous strength she had. I made it through, I’m here, and I’m happy.
2: The greatest gift I’ve ever been given were my children. Really, they were just loaned to me, as all children are loaned to their parents, but the years I spent raising them were some of the most beautiful of my life. My admiration for them is unending.
3: The human experience moves me deeply. I see fascinating stories in almost everyone, and I often wonder about what lies beneath the surface when meeting people, hearing conversations or witnessing events. I have been accused of empathizing too much, being overly loyal to those who don’t deserve it, and finding something positive in almost everyone. I can be gullible, and I often overlook the bad and concentrate on the good. I wouldn’t change this, although it has been detrimental at times.
I love humor and kindness and the way people band together during tragedies. I admire people who overcome hardships. I adore people who are themselves. I have a built-in bullshit detector, and I love people who are genuine– warts and all. I tried to teach my children to scratch beneath the surface when determining a person’s character– sometimes the people with the sweetest smiles bite the hardest, and the ones with gruff exteriors possess the greatest hearts.
4: I love art, literature, diversity, the beauty of nature, and music really does soothe my savage breast. These things have helped get me through life. Ironically, I have a hard time integrating them into creating a peaceful, warm environment for myself, and I’m only just beginning to learn how to nurture myself. I don’t think I’m very good at it, but I’m getting there.
5: Some dislikes: ♦ bigotry ♦ small-mindedness ♦ hatred ♦ substandard advertising campaigns ♦ greed ♦ shallowness ♦ snobbitivity ♦ high fructose corn syrup ♦ the fact that I’m aging ungracefully ♦ those who take advantage of others ♦ misplaced apostrophes ♦ the fact that wealth is distributed so unequally in the world that a very small number of people could feed the hungry, house and clothe the poor and help provide health care to those in need and still have plenty left over for themselves ♦ the Thomas Kinkade Empire ♦ child abuse ♦ spousal abuse ♦ abuse of power ♦ Old Spice aftershave ♦ Wendy’s french fries ♦ gossips ♦ meanness ♦ a hell of a lot of folk music ♦ people getting into other people’s bidness, and determining how they should live their lives.
6: I love ethnic restaurants, and have yet to meet one that didn’t have something on the menu that I liked. My very, very favorite is sushi. I love the way it’s prepared, the gentle ritual of eating it and the variety. It seems to do nice things for my brain too. Unfortunately, Tom gets a little queasy watching me eat fish eggs and eel, so I’m on a quest to find a Dayton sushi buddy.
I’m not tagging anyone for this, but I would LOVE it if you shared six things. If you do, please let me know, so I can go snooping around into your private life.
P.S. Please me note here that yes, I realize I’m HORRIBLE at meme’s! I agonize over what I’m going to write, and when I visit other people’s blogs, and the memes that they’ve shared, I’m just completely humbled and embarrassed by my own. But what’m I supposed to do? It’s a sacred commitment to the tagger, and I must honor my sacred commitments. So, to everyone who reads my memes, I apologize from the bottom of my blogging heart.
Honey I am right there with you on the Tomas Kinkade Empire-What A SCAM!!!!!
And corn syrup, I am hoping that the ethanol thing makes all of the corporations go back to good old sugar. Coke made with sugar is so much better than the corn syrup, although I don’t indulge much because of the FMS.
Email me if you want to send you a copy of that Jeffery Thompson CD.
@ Heather: Have you read some of the stuff written about Kinkade? Instead of “Painter of Light” he should be known as “Screwer Over of People,” or maybe, “Master of Pee.” Ugh!
Corn syrup and hydrogenated oils are so bad for you. I don’t know if I’ve even tasted Coke made with sugar, but I tend to stay away from soft drinks.
I sent you my address, and thank you so much!
You are great
Hope we can talk today 
I’m glad we got to talk, Kaylee. I wish you the best on your surgery– we’ll talk when you’re back up and around!
Moonbeam when you said:
“My childhood was rough, and I used to bide my time dreaming of my eighteenth birthday and the day I could get out on my own. My early adulthood was spent learning how to undo the damage and live happily. At forty-seven, I think I’m finally figuring it out.”
Wow, can I relate. Only I left at 15. But in the end, I look back and know it made me a very strong person. Some good came from the hell I lived. I’m glad I never thought life was a fairy tale and I was a princess. How devastating it would have been to go out in the real world and find out such a thing doesn’t exist.
What an insightful, thought-provoking meme.
Now I have to go look up who Tomas Kinkade is.
I hope you and Tom are well. Take care.
Wow– on your own at 15. You arestrong! I think you’re right– if life is a fairy tale, for some of us it’s more Big Bad Wolf than Cinderalla!
If you hurt your retinas while searching Thomas Kinkade’s stuff, I apologize. Tom and I are doing fine– I hope you and your hubby are too. I’m cheering for you both.
This is eerie. Are you sure you’re another person, and not me? I can do my six things, and I would have to say EXACTLY what you said. Only you said it so well, now I don’t have to.
1. What Moonbeam said, except I’m 62.
2. What Moonbeam said.
3. What Moonbeam said.
4. What Moonbeam said.
5. What Moonbeam said, except I’m fond of Old Spice and quite a lot of folk music (I’m thinking Odetta, Mississippi John Hurt, Pete Seeger, Malvina Reynolds, Leadbelly, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan before he was born again, Meg Christian before she was born again, Chris Williamson, etc.) and where do you put Tom Waits (who I LOVE)?
6. I can’t get the sauce right for Sushi. I get too much wasabi or not enough, and I don’t like having to put the whole thing in my mouth (I always end up gulping half of it down untasted), but it falls apart if I don’t. So not sushi for me, though it’s nice to look at. And I get migraines (in fact I have one now) if I eat sugar (but I didn’t eat sugar this time). Thai, most Caribbean, and lots of other “ethnic” foods have tons o’ sugar, so I associate them with pain. The fact is I’m not crazy about eating. So I guess that’s my sixth thing.
You’re so funny, Kendall. You could do this meme, and just write ditto marks all the way down the page!
Old Spice reminds me of a yucky person I used to know. As for the folk music, I love most of the people you’ve mentioned. The kind I’m talking about is the folk music where they sing about giving their love a withered mushroom, or the kind where the singer tries for this smug cleverness, and the audience cheers because they get it. It’s hard to explain. They play this stuff on the radio, and Tom really likes it. Last weekend, I said, “Honey, can we please change the station before I jump out of the truck?” It took him a few seconds before he made the decision, which worried me.
How are you and Tom doing moonbeam?
We’re right as rain, Miss Kaylee!
You are NOT horrible at memes. This was wonderful!
Sushi is my absolute favorite and I would drive all the way to Dayton from NY to share the experience with you. I cannot find a single sole around my neck of the woods that has a taste for it…except my good friend’s husband and I’d feel a bit awkward sharing it with him.
My Dad has worn Old Spice his entire life – it reminds me of my childhood, so I must confess, I like the scent.
I guess we have to face the fact that we’re sushi loners. I would LOVE it if you stopped by to share some!
I love reading about the memories people have in connection with scent. A whole lot.
My god, I love that you hate Tom Kinkade. And I also hear you on the rough childhood, and the ethnic food restaurants. Kudos for a job well done.
Thanks Ghetto Girl. I hope that you’re doing well.
By the way You are great at meemes
Thank you Kaylee! You are too- I loved your last one.
oops…soul…not sole (I can find lots of those, ha!)
Wow I didnt know that hating Thomas Kinkade was so popular!! I thought I was the only one!! His tacky crap makes me wanna barf…
that said, your six things make mine look positively superficial.
Apparently, his personality is even worse than his art! He’s been facing a lot of lawsuits lately.
I’ll have to go see your meme. I’m so behind on blog reading, and I miss reading your stuff!
But I love you’re memes! This one is so personal and enlightening!!!
And this: “sometimes the people with the sweetest smiles bite the hardest, and the ones with gruff exteriors possess the greatest hearts.”
—wow, so true and something I’ve come to learn over time in more than one instance…
And seriously, Wendy’s Fries are terrible and bland….ugh….
Awww…you’re too kind, Romi. Burger King’s fries are pretty sucky too. I guess that’s a good thing– who needs all those calories anyway?
For someone in “A moody mood” you did a helluva job on this meme!
Oh, and #3- Me, too! Long ago when my daughters were very young I would make up stories about the people we would see while eating at places like McDonald’s or the local pizza parlor. They would get caught up in it and we would concoct whole life scenarios for the people we saw! Ain’t life grand?
Thanks Trisha!
Tom and I still do that. One of us will say to the other– “What’s his story?” and the fun begins! I love it that you did this with your kids.
Like me, you are your biggest critic. A job well done, savage breast and all.
I am soooo self critical. It’s a curse, I tell ya.
Awesome, as always. I so loved your list on your dislikes and how worthy all are to be on such a list. Does that make sense? LOL. substandard advertising – yech. I’m thinking the Snickers Bar campaign is just stupid.
SO much here.. I might have to do my own post on innerchildness. I have never gotten into sushi and I eat most anything. I DID enjoy the bounty of raw tuna in Costa Rica, the way it can melt in your mouth, but those rice rollup things I can leave.
Are we too late to save The Bead Den from exploring Kinkade!? I love that she doesn’t know who that is!
We should have tried to save BD, C. Now I feel terrible. Her innocence is probably destroyed.
I’d love to read a post on your inner childness (and I’m so happy that we share a love for made up words)!
California Roll…..mmmmmm
What?!!! Humbled and embarrassed?!!! No way, jose!
But umm .. I love Wendy’s fries. . that’s what you dip into the frosty!
I love your blog posts and your comments, Red, but of all the things you’ve written, this is the only one that made me gag!
Arggh! My comment went a’missing!
I think we should start a blogger’s (hope that’s not misplaced) sushi club…it is also my favorite. We should plan a sushi eatin’ blogger meetup.
What a great idea! We should! Either that or synchronize our individual trips to sushi restaurants. We could bring laptops and pretend we’re enjoying it together.
That sounds a little pathetic, doesn’t it?
I did this meme. It was a good one because you really got to see inside of a lot of the people who did. it. I love your honesty. I love people who can admit the good and the bad about themselves or how they feel. You are able to do that.
I had a fairly good childhood. I can’t complain about it. Sure it could have been better but it certainly wasn’t bad. I have lots of good childhood memories and one of them is the Old Spice my Dad used to use. So I too like the smell of it but no one ever seems to use it anymore. Every Christmas when I was a child I bought him Old Spice soap on a rope.
My children mean everything to me, even the one who lives in Buffalo and drives me crazy. I can’t imagine my life without them. I wish I had more of them.
I love sushi. Never thought I would eat it until my daughter and son-in-law ( who is 1/4 Japanese-his grandfather is full Japanese) introduced me to it. Now I eat eel and all that stuff too. My problem is I love all food from any country.
All your likes and dislikes (except for Old Spice) are very similar to mine.
I though you did a great job on this meme plus I always enjoy your writing style. You always get across your feelings so well that I feel I’ve actually met you.
I’ve got to find the time to read everyone’s memes. This was a very interesting one, because it was such a broad topic.
I’m envious of all the sushi in your life. And wow– so many people love Old Spice! Who knew?
Your comments are as wonderful as your posts. I miss reading your blog! Twenty more days, and I’ll be free to surf!
I connect with all of these. Interesting about rough childhoods..I finally embraced mine and not so sure I would change anything. It makes us all who we are.
I love the picture…I see a “spirited soul” already.
Mb…you are a loving light and funny as hell!
That’s a perfect combination in my book!
Thanks, (((Gypsy))). I don’t think I’d change mine either– I’m not big on regrets.
That picture is a depression-era photo that I found online. The way it looks is close to how I think of myself as a child.
I think about you often— hope you’re happy and painting away!
MB….I don’t know how I missed this post. I just have to tell you….my admiration for you steadily grows. You are an amazing person.
FYI….my inner child is a really mean little turd.
I miss you. Go to the pound, please?
Hi – I selected a random post and found this one – a gem!
False modesty and “savage breast” aside, it was great to learn more about you. And, you say it so well. ( Does “and” at the start of a sentence bother you? To me, It seems helpful for blog comments.)
I do hate the “tag” thing though – it happened on Live Spaces and, like you, I did respond at times, but never tagged anyone – it is just like perpetuating chain letters.
I’m glad you liked it, Pat! I’d forgotten what I’d written and had to reread.
The tagging thing can get old, but is sometimes a great way to learn more about people (there are a bunch of memes on this blog). If I knew you when I wrote this, I probably woulda tagged ya. Maybe you’ll still consider doing it….
I’m often fine with sentences that begin with “and.” And I don’t think I’m falsely modest (but self-deprecating, to be sure). And I do believe that quote about music’s charms!
I just came rushing back from another room when I belatedly realized I had said “false modesty”. I didn’t mean that at all. I meant they were great “memes” and you shouldn’t have said they weren’t!
And you keep reading my mind! My next post will be some memes – mainly for you.
Oh, hah! I wasn’t offended at all. I can’t wait to read your memes!