Hodgepodge Wednesday

1. How has your hometown changed since you were a kid? What has changed most about the neighborhood you grew up in? I grew up on a farm in a rural township in NJ, about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean (as the crow flies, that is). The area is no longer rural nor are there any farms except for a few horse farms that breed thoroughbred horses (you know, the expensive ones!). So, it's all changed completely and the population is much larger than when I was a kid. The modest houses that lined the rural roads are gone too -- razed and replaced by McMansions. All house and almost no yard in some cases. The township still has only one high school, but it's gargantuan now -- if you look carefully, you can just about discern parts of the original building that is still at the core of the monstrosity.  Hope they have more than a 3-minute pass between classes! Oh, and the houses I grew up in? Gone, as is the farm. It's a strip mall, of course.

2. What song makes you laugh?  "I'm Still a Guy" by Brad Paisley

3. Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Read the books? Seen any/all of the movies? Will you be standing in line somewhere close to midnight later this week? For those of you playing along today who live outside the US or UK is Harry Potter a phenomenon in your part of the world?  I'm a big fan of the books, less so of the movies. I've read all the books more than once and seen all the movies more than once. I won't be standing in line at midnight to see the upcoming movie (although I did just that for the last two books, I must admit). We'll see the movie a day or two after it opens, I think- -- and I am looking forward to it, although I'm afraid I will be disappointed by how they depict the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort. The book did it so very, very well! I can't imagine the movie being as satisfying.  We'll see ...

4. If the truth hurts, will you tell a lie? Are we better off as a society in a world that allows no form of deception whatsoever? Hmmm .... this is tough, Joyce!  Okay, I'm not fond of falsehoods, and I think that lying to manipulate a situation for one's own benefit is truly despicable. But sometimes the situation actually can warrant a fib -- such as when someone who is senile needs to be reassured that everything is all right, and the only way to cure their agitation is to say what they need to hear. So, while I believe that truth is an overall must in life, especially life lived in the presence of God, there are shades of gray for me: sometimes it is kinder to the other person to occasionally omit information or to carefully dance around it.

5. What is your favorite 'sauteed in garlic and butter' food? Or garlic and olive oil if that makes you feel better.  Shrimp. Kale. Brussels Spouts. I can't decide! Pretty much anything sauteed in garlic and butter will be good, right???

6. Attending any reunions this summer/year? High school? family? Other? Do these events stir up excitement or dread? My 35th High School Reunion is taking place in early August and I am going. I'm really looking forward to this one because so many of us are now in touch via Facebook, and the excitement has been building among us since the reunion was announced. 

7. Lilac, hydrangea, peony...pick one.  Lilac! I love the look of the flower, and the scent is just extraordinary on a spring breeze!

8. Insert your own random thought here. Vacation is two weeks away -- I can't wait!!

Thanks, Joyce, for another round of questions! I'm glad I was able to participate this week!

- Catherine