Time to feed the chickens
Some years ago, I did an online interview with a site called The Book Club Network. I came across that tonight while looking for something to share here on my blog. When you’ve written 1,878 posts as I have, sometimes you’re sure you’ve already said everything worth saying. Twice!
I’ve said these answers before too, but I thought you might think the questions are fun. Maybe I’ll share the serious, writing related questions from the interview another time. But here are the fun questions TBCN said they just had to ask.
What was your favorite suspense show on T.V. when you were growing up? Why is it your favorite? If you didn’t watch TV what were your favorite books?
Did they have T.V. way back then? Actually I can remember when we got our first television. A black and white model. Color televisions mostly just looked sort of pink back when I was a kid. Our black and white screen was probably smaller than an average computer monitor these days, but we thought it was fantastic.
I’m trying to remember suspense shows. Not sure Perry Mason would qualify as suspense. There was the Twilight Zone. That gave me nightmares many a night. I still remember the show about this neck scarf that somehow came to life (don’t remember the details) and choked the women who wore it. I’m thinking that might be why I’ve never been a big fan of neck scarves. LOL.
Also, it could be shows like that are why I like books better than television. Hardy Boy mystery books were the reason I first picked up a pen. I wanted to solve a mystery the way they did and so I began writing my own mystery. Lots of words under the bridge since then, but that was the beginning.
If money wasn’t an issue and you could go and do anything you’ve dreamed of doing, what would you do?
What would I do? It’s hard to wrap my mind around the “if money wasn’t an issue.” Or maybe my dreams are more on the ordinary side where money really isn’t an issue. I’ve always, always wanted to write. And I’m doing that now. I wouldn’t mind being a little younger so I could look forward to more writing years, but money won’t turn back the clock. I love my family and my grandchildren. Money can’t buy blessings like that either.
Let’s see. Maybe I would build a dream home with a library to hold all the books I have stacked everywhere. I might fly to the Canadian Rockies and on to Alaska. I might spend a few weeks on one of those quiet islands off the east coast. I guess if money’s no object, I can just buy that island and invite the whole family to come enjoy a vacation time. But then, when would I do this writing I love to do?
Can you name two jobs that would surprise people?
Do you mean two jobs I’ve done? If so, then some readers might be surprised to know that I grew up on a farm and still live on a farm. A farm kid has lots of jobs including feeding the chickens and bottle feeding a lamb now and again. Actually chickens were my first writing pay. I won 100 baby chicks when I was in the sixth grade by writing an essay on why I wanted the chickens. That helped me see that hey, this writing could pay off. LOL.
That’s why I shared the picture of me feeding the chickens a long time ago. I had to have pictures for my 4-H project. Looks like I was pretty dressed up for chicken feeding.
After I married, my husband and I raised tobacco. While tobacco is not politically correct these days, that acre of tobacco helped us pay the bills on the farm. It was a cash crop for many small farmers and helped keep the family farm a part of the Kentucky scene for many years. Now very few people raise tobacco here in Kentucky, and I don’t miss working in it even a little bit. I also worked a while for the school board in my county. I had to rise and shine very early in the morning to arrange substitutes for teachers who were sick or out for whatever reasons. It was not a fun job, but it did allow me to have time for writing in the middle of the day. I was extremely happy to quit that job too.
If you have a weekend off and can do whatever you’d like, what would that be?
Read, read, read. That is, if the grandkids can’t come home to visit. Then it would be play, play, play! Of course, the grandkids are all grown up since I first answered this question. My three youngest are 15 and two of them will be 16 in less than a month. Most of the rest are off to college or soon will be. Then one granddaughter practices law. So I guess now on my weekend, it is more often read, read, read than play, play, play. But I did have fun playing with those grandkids. And when I stop to think about it, I just came in a while ago from going down in the field with one of granddaughters and three of her friends to pick some blackberries. So maybe this afternoon it was play, play, play.
What fun question would you like to answer?