Two Memes

I'm playing hooky from The Alphabet Backwards again this week. Up (down?) to the letter E but I'm just having a hard time focusing on anything much today. Tomorrow the tree people come - finally - and chop down the remaining half of the 60 foot pine that was struck by lightning. They take it down by climbing up it and cutting the top off a bit at a time. The thought of this very angst-producing for someone like me. I will be glad when all this is over. It has been a long glitch-filled process getting this far. Barring weather delays or some new problem, it should come down tomorrow. I'll be sad but relieved. I hate to see it go, but I also hate worrying every time the wind blows that it will fall on the neighbors' house. So anyway, a couple of people have memed me (is that a word?) and I thought I'd go with that today.

Meme #1

Roan, from Rubbish by Roan has tagged me for a book Meme.

Here are the rules.
1.) Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2.) Open the book to page 123.
3.) Find the fifth sentence.
4.) Post the next three sentences.
5.) Tag five people.

The first book I tried was AMISH GRACE, but page 123 was a chapter page and had only 2 words on it, so.... the next handy book was HUMAN OPTIONS by Norman Cousins.

The three sentences are as follows:

She taught us that the human spirit is life giving, dimensionless, omnipresent. She taught us that the smallest fractions can open out into a great whole. I have never known a more gracious, noble or lovable human being.

Ok... I'm a really bad person to tag for memes for two reasons. I really hate rules. So, I just have to share the whole paragraph. I grant you that if you are going to take three sentences out of context and post them, these aren't bad, still, the context out of which they came enriches them, so.... I thought this would have more meaning if I also shared the whole paragraph and not just the sentences. Human Options is a wonderful book full of wonderful quotes, thoughts and interviews with famous people. Here's the whole paragraph of which the meme sentences were the ending.

Few memories are more vivid in my mind than walking into Helen Keller's study in total darkness and, suddenly, having Miss Thomson snap on the lights. Helen Keller had been sitting in the blackness for several hours, reading in Braille and working on her correspondence. Only the vibrations in the floor set off by our approach signaled to her our presence. She rose and walked towars us, extending her arms. It was the first time I had met her, and she reached for my head. Very delicately, very slowly, her fingers explored my face and I felt that my innermost being was being examined. The fingers ran lightly over my forehead, eye, planes of my face, mouth, chin, and neck. There was nothing intrusive about the experience; she made it feel as thought it was as natural and unexceptional as a handshake. When we went to her table for dinner, she stopped when she smelled the freshly lit candles, and exclaimed how much she loved to have candles at dinner time. Miss Thomson sat next to her and translated by working her fingers in the palm of Helen Keller's hand in the language they had worked out so beautifully together. We talked about world affairs and music and mutual friends. After dinner she asked me to play the piano and she listened by placing her fingers on the side of the instrument. Her face was open, expectant, luminous. She was one of the finest teachers the human race has produced. She taught us that the human spirit is life giving, dimensionless, omnipresent. She taught us that the smallest fractions can open out into a great whole. I have never known a more gracious, noble or lovable human being.

I also really hate tagging people, so tag yourself if you want to do this.

MEME #2

The second meme came from Storyteller at Small Reflections. It goes as follows:

The rules:
All you have to do is Google your first name with the word needs behind it and post the first 10 results. Don't forget to tag people (if you are the tagging sort)!

As always, you are free to tag yourself if you wish to. I won't do it to you. I don't know if I've done this entirely legally. I had to kind of extrapolate the answers for a few of them. It was silly enough and I was trying to avoid something last night that I did it three times - once for Raven and two more times for two of her alter egos - Katherine and Aunt Kathie. Katherine needs a lot of serious help apparently. OK... enough intro... here are the results.

1. Raven needs "feathers for all her magickal needs."
2. Raven needs "a lot of time for simple everyday decisions." (boy did they have my number)
3. Raven needs "a bass player."
4. Raven needs "a god quest revamp."
5. Raven needs "a miracle."
6. Raven needs "to go."
7. Raven needs "our help."
8. Raven needs "Nickelbolt's new muse."
9. Raven needs "shadow artifact - Titan Quest forums."
10. Raven needs " Determination of the need."


Raven's alter ego Katherine, on the other hand needs the following:

1. Katherine needs "tourism focus."
2. Katherine needs "her morning coffee."
3. Katherine needs "more dresses."
4. Katherine needs "another coat."
5. Katherine needs "to fall off the face of the earth."
6. Katherine needs "prayer."
7. Katherine needs "your vote."
8. Katherine needs "to get over herself."
9. Katherine needs "to take instablogs."
10. Katherine needs "another coat video at The Insider."


1. Aunt Kathie needs "to come for a visit."
2. Aunt Kathie needs " to let the love flow and it will take care of the rest."
3. Aunt Kathie needs "a vegan's case for Ron Paul... and/or a good alternative to abortion being adoption."
4. Aunt Kathie needs "a handshake."
5. Aunt Kathie needs "the book I should write."
6. Aunt Kathie needs "Amythyst Dragonfly's Place of Eternal Rants."
7. Aunt Kathie needs "Aunt Jane (who can apparently make it all better).
8. Aunt Kathie needs "to teach Paris hard times hard lesson."
9. Aunt Kathie needs "to succeed."
10. Aunt Kathie needs "to be with the Lord."


Happy Monday.... Wish me luck tomorrow.... more important pray for the guy climbing a 60 foot broken tree to cut it down.