This is my last entry in this year-long Storyworth project. It’s number 52 and even though I could write more, I think 52 entries is a good number. I wrote my first one back on December 22, 2020 and now it’s December 29, 2021 and since I was late a few times, this seems like a great place to finish up. Continue reading “How was the Storyworth project for you?”
I’m having a hard time starting my answer to this one. Yes, there are a couple of obvious responses, which I’ll get to in a minute, but part of my issue is do I include song lyrics or not? I mean, sure, they qualify as poems, but do I count them amongst my favorites? Do they hold up when you remove them from their accompanying music (no semantic arguments about songs like “Tom’s Diner” because the music is inherent in the presentation)? Continue reading “Do you have a favorite poem? What is it? “
When I started thinking about this topic, I was having a hard time coming up with a tradition that felt like a tradition. I was focused more on the idea of holidays or things like that, things you do as a family. Except, having been around a while, the idea of “family” has been in flux for a good portion of my life. I left my folks’ house (after a few false starts) for Los Angeles when I was 20 and didn’t return to the same city as them for another 16 years. In between, I had a live-in girlfriend and a wife, and I don’t really remember many traditions there. Continue reading “What are some of your family traditions?”
Did I have any serious accidents as a child? Oh boy, did I!
Let’s see…it all started on a Thursday (was it a Thursday? I don’t know. I think it was and since Thursdays are a thing with me, I’ll hold to that truth) when I was 9 years old. We were living on Monticello, having moved back to Vegas for the second and final time. This is before we bought the house on Fenway, much nearer to Diskin Elementary, my school. Continue reading “Did you have any serious accidents as a child? “
My question this week is “If you could thank anyone, who and why?” Before I delve deep into whatever metaphorical or metaphysical answer I might come up with, I need to start by saying I’d thank my parents because I forgot at my Bar Mitzvah, which was 41 years ago, and they still haven’t let it go.
So thanks mom and dad, on this day that I become a man. Continue reading “If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why? “
As with most of these “remember when” questions, what fascinated me as a child is a complicated query. Over the course of my childhood, which, for argument’s sake, let’s say extends from earliest memories (about age 4) up through getting my driver’s license on my sixteenth birthday, I’ve been fascinated by numerous things. Continue reading “What fascinated you as a child? “
Again, when dealing with “as a child” questions, I have to wonder what age range child encompasses? Are we talking about toddler to middle school or up through high school graduation? Also, we should probably define what kind of behavior qualifies as “well” or “bad” considering there’s a range there which is not insignificant. Either way, I don’t think I was a badly-behaved child. I mean, I wasn’t as bad as some, not that I didn’t get into my fair share of trouble. Continue reading “Were you well-behaved or badly-behaved as a child?”
Thanksgiving has always been an interesting time for me. Most of my adult life has been spent living in a different city than my immediate (birth) family and since Thanksgiving is a family holiday, it was always one of the days I would try and make it home. This worked out well in my personal life, too, as most of my partners were either in Vegas or not from America where Thanksgiving didn’t matter. As well, since I was raised Jewish and none of my partners were, this meant Christmas wasn’t an issue, either. Continue reading “Do you have any funny or embarrassing Thanksgiving memories?”
I had a friend once, guy named Steve, who said to me, when we were discussing women and past relationships, that he’d “marry them all in retrospect…but only in retrospect.”
I’m still not quite sure what he meant. Continue reading “How did you decide to get married?”
The real question is what haven’t I changed my mind about? I mean when I was much younger my tastes were…questionable. Okay, that’s not exactly fair. I was still a kid, but even so, things that I ate and how I ate them are still comedy fodder for family gatherings.
But okay, let’s take a look at some things I once held very strong opinions about but over time, I have revised those opinions into others. Doesn’t mean I was right or wrong on either side of the equation here, but as the question asks, I have certainly changed my mind. Continue reading “What have you changed your mind about over the years?”
You can tell we’re getting near the end of this particular project, week 42 of 52, since the questions are getting a bit more esoteric. When the question comes through, it’s getting more regular that I need to change it out for a variety of reasons and then, looking through their possible questions, we’re starting to see lots of repeats and variations on a theme.
I’m not sure how many more “what’s your favorite X” I’ve got in me. Continue reading “Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever encountered one?”
Are you good at crafts? It’s kind of a loaded question since there are a number of different crafts out there in the world and it could be referring to any of them. At the same time, it’s not so much a hard question since I would easily and readily answer with a resounding “no, I’m not,” without giving it much thought. Continue reading “Are you good at crafts? What’s something you’ve made and are proud of?”
A few weeks back, my friend Ian Rowland made an interesting post on social media: He posted some 24 pictures of people, from famous to friends, real to imaginary, who had inspired and influenced him to be the person he is today. This got me thinking about my own list of people who would be the ingredients of today’s Jaq. Continue reading “Who made you into you? Who are the people who shaped you? “
The great thing about a question like this is that it presupposes so many things. I mean the easiest answer could be I decided to change jobs when I was fired. But there’s always more to the story than that, isn’t there? Also, which jobs are we talking about? We’re no longer in the age of being a “company man” where you live and die within a singular corporate structure. We’re a long way from Tennessee Ernie Ford’s stylized hero. Continue reading “How did you decide when to change jobs? “
There’s this weird thing about senses – even though we get most of our information through our eyes, scent and sound are much better for memory recall. And so, this week’s question, about a song that brings back an interesting memory from youth, is a strange hybrid for me. I mean, sure, I’ll answer the question (as well as I usually do with these) but at the same time, I probably won’t answer it very well, because my memories, the ones I will share, are conscious memories. If I were to be completely honest here, I’d just listen to a bunch of music I remember hearing from youth and then let the visceral memories wash over me and report back what I feel. Continue reading “Tell me about a song that brings back an interesting memory from your youth”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 