times of decision

We are in the process of selecting songs for our wedding and reception. It's made me think of a fun quiz.

If you had to pick one of the following songs for your ceremony, which one would you choose?

1. Theme song from Beverly Hillbillies
2. Theme song from Bewitched
3. Theme song from the Flintstones
4. Theme song from Home Improvement
5. Theme song from Scooby Dooby Doo

If you had to serve one of the following drinks at your reception, which one would you choose?

1. YooHoo
2. Pacific Cooler Capri Sun
3. Tomato Soup (from a ladle)
4. Sam's Choice Strawberry Lime-Aide
5. Jolt

If you had to have one of the following officiate your wedding, who would you choose?

1. Wierd Al
2. Joey Tribbiani
3. Mimi (off the Drew Carey Show)
4. Foghorn Leghorn
5. Strom Thurmand

If you had to have one person head up catering, who would you choose?

1. Orville Redenbacher
2. Colonel Sanders
3. Ben & Jerry
4. Mr. Eggo
5. Mr. Planters

If you had to go one of these places for a week-long honeymoon, which would you choose?

1. Potomac cruise (on paddleboats)
2. Slippin' Sally's Motor Lodge
3. Greater Toledo Stamp Museum
4. Ocean Spray Cranberry Farm
5. Delaware

shel silverstein is so funny

Put another log on the fire.

Cook me up some bacon and some beans.

And go out to the car and change the tire.

Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans.

Come on, baby.

You can fill my pipe, and then go fetch my slippers.

And boil me up another pot of tea.

Then put another log on the fire, babe

And come and tell me why you're leaving me.

Now don't I let you wash the car on Sunday?

Don't I warn you when you're gettin fat?

Ain't I a-gonna take you fishin' with me someday?

Well, a man can't love a woman more than that.

Ain't I always nice to your kid sister?

Don't I take her driving every night?

So, sit here at my feet

'cos I like you when you're sweet,

And you know it ain't feminine to fight.

So, put another log on the fire.

Cook me up some bacon and some beans.

Go out to the car and lift it up and change the tire.

Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans.

Come on, baby,

You can fill my pipe,

And then go fetch my slippers.

And boil me up another pot of tea.

Then put another log on the fire, babe,

And come and tell me why you're leaving me.

un viaggio al cinematografo

I have a fondness for foreign films. There's something about watching a movie and needing to pay attention to every line, every word, to be able to have any clue what's going on. It's an entertaining challenge. I showed a foreign film to college students last year, and it struck me how quickly some of them lost interest. It was a good movie, but you miss one line .... you have no hope of recovering it. It's like to have to participate in the movie to experience it. It's a big market too, apparently. Blockbuster has entire sections devoted to foreign films, and there are websites that list the 100 greatest (http://www.foreignfilms.com/).

Here are some notable movies I've watched in other tongues:

Life is Beautiful (Italian)

Man on the Train (French)

Secret Ballot (Farsi)

Autumn Spring (Czech)

Passion of the Christ (Aramaic)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Chinese)


What was a movie that you watched where if you missed one minute, you were pretty much lost for the rest of the movie?

saved by a fume

I tried to remember, but I don't think I've ever run out of gas in my car. We've had some close calls along the way (all those long trips home in South Dakota with no gas stations for 80 miles), but I always managed to make it to a pump before the last few drops of fuel found their way into my engine.

Well last night was a very close call. I've been busy and traveling all over the past few days, and I just didn't have a convenient time to stop at a station and fill up. My gas light was on for a while yesterday, and I kept thinking, "Man, I have to go somewhere and get gas or I'm going to be stranded." I was on the move though, so I didn't have time to stop until after 10pm last night. I pulled into the station, inserted my card, chose the 87-octane stuff and started filling up.

Now I have a 14 gallon tank. Until last night, I had never seen it fill up to more than 13.7 gallons.

Last night, when I was finished, the counter read: 13.966 gallons.

I was literally saved by a fume. Whew.

who says halloween has to be scary?

Halloween has come and gone. Last night I had the joy of hosting my third murder mystery dinner party, and we successfully managed to turn another nice, respectable individual into a slimy, lying criminal. He did a good job. I've already got an idea for writing a Christmas murder mystery which takes place at the North Pole. Was it an elf? Mrs. Claus? Morris, the disgruntled polar bear? Ha, I can't wait.

And this past Saturday, my church hosted an event for thousands of people called Octoberfest. We had tons of free food and music and games for kids, and there was a competition with automobiles called Trunk or Treat. Basically, you dressed up your vehicle in Halloweenish garb, and families would come walking past and interact with your display and ask for some candy. Then they would go vote for their favorite. It was fun. If your vehicle received the most votes, you won an iPod.

I managed to secure decorating rights on an old school bus from Gallaudet University, and we easily had the most unique display. Ours was interactive. Kids would line up outside the front door, and we would open the door and take them inside in groups of 3-5. The whole inside was totally blacked out, and we had covered the windows and crevices with black drapes so you couldn't see anything. Then we had fluorescent lanyards hanging off the ceiling in shades of green, purple, and blue, and we had streamers and Thanksgiving-colored garlands strung out across the bus from left to right. In each seat was a bowl or a treasure chest with some mysterious substance inside (crushed oreo cookies, gummi worms, eyeball ping pong balls, etc.), and there were random objects and stuffed animals scattered on the floor. We told them while still outside that their job was to "find the chicken," which in truth was actually Foghorn Leghorn, the rooster off of Looney Toons. While they were given 25 seconds to search, we sprayed them with silly string and threw candy at their clothes. When the time ran out, we kicked them out the back door and brought in another crew.

I was reminded at different moments this weekend why some people are rightfully cautious about engaging in certain Halloween activities, but I'm happy that there was a part of this holiday that I could still celebrate. There were innocent and fun opportunities to enjoy the company and silliness of other individuals, and despite the potential for some to delve into excesses and weirdness, there still was enough in this annual tradition to make me think it was worth it.

I don't like it when people mark a wholesale ban on something because one aspect of it could potentially be bad. I know people who dread the onset of the Christmas season each year because they think about all the individuals who give themselves to materialism and greed, and it kills their ability to enjoy what is good and right. That just strikes me as wrong. Yes, there are components of Christmas that I wish were different, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop celebrating it with a joyful heart and thank God for the thousands of things He has blessed me with.

So all that to say, you may not like Halloween and wish I wouldn't celebrate it. That's fine, but I hope in this season, whatever the season, you can find reason to be joyful and thankful and just as creative and silly as you would be any other time of the year. Life's too short to be a grump.