Daily writing prompt

You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?

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Most likely car. It gives us flexibility, since we wouldn’t be in a terrible hurry. Of course, getting there by plane in a few hours, compared with a few days, has a certain appeal. Not only would we be traversing all manner of hill and dale and urban areas, needing places to stay, spending money on food and fuel and tolls to get out there, we’d have to do the same on the way back– unless we took a different route and really turned it into a lengthy sojourn.

We’ve occasionally talked about how nice it would be to take the train across Canada, maybe make our way to Alaska, but that’s a pipedream. A transcontinental excursion by car might probably maybe be more likely.

Daily writing prompt

Who is the most confident person you know?

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Confidence, I think, is often present in someone who’s curious and a bit fearless. I’m not sure I know or have known anyone who is always sure everything they do or try is going to come together the way they want it to. It’s more that they’re not afraid to try things, and not afraid of failure. When they set their mind to something, or when their curiosity is piqued, they go into action. They abide by a “Why not?” mantra, and little is off-limits to them.

So… three people come to mind– a sister-in-law’s husband, and an uncle of mine on my mother’s side, along with his wife– my aunt, rest her soul.

Daily writing prompt

What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

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Sometimes I mope, even at my age, which is admittedly sad. Most times I’m able to recognize that the negative feelings have a shelf life, that they’re sometimes self-inflicted, and that I’m often my own worst enemy. I’ve never enjoyed a very high opinion of myself, though I can muster enough self-confidence to get me through a day.

What I have ongoing trouble with, and what often looms like a dark cloud and puts me in a sour mood, is my sense of where we’re heading as a species, given the current leadership at the top here in the U.S., and other places around the globe. There have been too many days of throwing up hands, looking skyward, and muttering under my breath– even when a certain narcissistic, egomaniacal man child was out of office.

Let’s just say that I often don’t like the odds of being able to recover from the damage being inflicted, which is why so many of my blog posts may sound like the ranting of an angry, glass-half-empty sad sack.

A certain “leader of the free world,” whose last name rhymes with “rump,” has long worn out his welcome, so I’m grateful for this outlet where I can get things off my chest and try to deal with a steady diet of lunacy that was foisted on us over a decade ago and continues unabated.

Daily writing prompt

What activities do you lose yourself in?

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Sometimes sitting at the piano and playing, sometimes reading a good book, or putting a blog post together. I’m totally engaged when out on the golf course, couldn’t care less about what time it is. Every now and then there will be a show on the TV that has me marveling at how quickly it went by, and the same for the rare times we actually see a movie in a theater.

Anything where boredom isn’t a factor.

Daily writing prompt

What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?

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The Sandlot, A Christmas Story, the first and third Indiana Jones movies, Close Encounters…, Castaway, The Help, Hidden Figures, Forrest Gump, Jaws, a couple of Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan efforts, The Princess Bride, Dumb and Dumber, The Truman Show, Dances With Wolves, Field of Dreams, Apollo 13, Dodgeball…, The Wizard of Oz, E.T., The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There are probably a few more.

I’ve never watched a TV series more than once all the way through, but I could watch Ted Lasso, Shrinking, M*A*S*H, Doc Martin, maybe Cheers, Hill Steet Blues, and ER again. Though after watching the first season of The Pitt, I’m not sure ER can measure up.

Wow, I’ve spent a lot of time in front of the television.

Daily writing prompt

Are you superstitious?

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A little bit. Since the days of Phil Esposito, I tie my left shoe before the right one, since that was something he did when he got dressed for a game with the Boston Bruins– he always tied his left skate first.

I’m not sure where the crossover is– I’m a bit of a creature of habit, tend to follow the same routine at certain parts of the day. I don’t know if that’s superstition or just being in a rut. I’ve had black cats cross my path, occasionally walked under a ladder, stepped on the cracks in the sidewalk when we’re out getting some exercise– all without incident that I’m aware of. Though in each of those situations, I’ll admit to feeling a bit like I’m tempting fate or waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Daily writing prompt

Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?

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Certainly not a dog- they’re too laid back. I try to be laid back, but can’t pull that off for very long.

I dream about being a bird, if for no other reason than the ability to go airborne.

Probably a house cat. A creature of habit, a bit finicky, sometimes playful, sometimes affectionate, with instincts and movements that might occasionally remind one of a bigger relative in the wild.

Daily writing prompt

Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

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Greetings from here in the past.

Congratulations on reaching the century mark! And you thought you might not see 80…

This is a letter from your 72-year-old self, written in early 2026, when seismic changes continue to be the order of the day and many of us are still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Since you’re 100, you obviously survived whatever upheaval ensued, but I have to wonder how things are going for you, and everyone else. Are you cared for, are your needs being met? Does America still exist? Does society still function? How’s the weather?

Listen to me. I’m getting ahead of myself. My job is to report and convey current conditions. I’ll refrain from asking more questions and offering advice. Hell, you managed to make it to 100– there’s nothing I can offer on that front!

Anyway, it’s a mixed bag here in 2026– more foreboding than promise. We’re still in the hands of an idiot and an equally unqualified cast around him. That you’ve reached 100 says something, I guess, considering what’s happening now. We’re at war with Iran, gas prices are going through the roof. Lots of self-inflicted wounds, on the part of so-called leaders, that are affecting us all.

Sorry I can’t be more upbeat. I guess it says something hopeful, though– that you’re still hanging in there. I didn’t think I had it in me.

Daily writing prompt

Where would you go on a shopping spree?

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If I was using my own money, nowhere exciting. My definition of a shopping spree is heading to Boscov’s and getting some new t-shirts and socks, and, depending on the season, maybe a new, toasty U.S Polo Association hoodie or a new short-sleeved shirt.

If it was a five-minute shopping spree I had won, then maybe a place where I could pick out a wood lathe and all necessary extras. Or how about a Toyota dealership, so I could pick out a new Tacoma extended cab?

Daily writing prompt

What is the last thing you learned?

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I think it might have been something about the function of a kitchen appliance or tool that I have been using for years, but I can’t remember which one it was.

I’m usually learning something new from one news feed or another– some scientific discovery or fact, some new detail about a country or a law, or when the pilot episode of a new show will premier.

And of course there’s always the new-to-me and often dramatic terminology meteorologists use to describe the weather.