Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Blast Off to the Hodgepodge

After a couple weeks off, I'm happy to be joining Joyce and friends over at the Hodgepodge. Be sure to click on the button to pay her a visit.



1. July 20th marks the anniversary of the first time man stood on the moon. Flash forward 42 years to July 8, 2011 which marked the start of the final Space Shuttle mission. Should we continue to explore space? Should nations devote more or fewer of their resources to exploring space? Would you want to go into space if the opportunity arose?

It is amazing to think about what has been accomplished by the space program in my lifetime. Why, back when I was a kid, Pluto was still a planet. With the final Space Shuttle mission, I believe that space exploration will definitely change, but that we will continue to learn from the study of the universe beyond our little home, planet Earth.

Hammer and Rails sent out a tweet this morning which said, "What did your school's most famous alumnus do 42 years ago today? Ours just went for a little walk. That's all." Yes, Neil Armstrong is a Boilermaker, and yes, we are proud. Purdue recently recognized three astronauts on campus at a dinner spotlighting the University as the "Cradle of Astronauts." Grandson Matthew was in attendance, and was thrilled to meet Neil Armstrong, Eugene Cernan, and Jerry Ross.

So I hope we continue to explore space. Because this little guy and future Boilermaker wants to be (among other things) an astronaut.

2. What are three things in your freezer?

Ice cream, pizza, and beef. And did I mention beef? Our freezer's full of it. 
We like it. 
It's what's for dinner.



3. If you could see any band/artist perform live tonight who would it be? It has to be someone living...no Beatles, Elvis, etc.

This guy, of course.

The King of Cool himself.

George Strait.

4. Ice-cubed or crushed? Or are you one of those people who don't like ice?

I would say cubed. But I must admit as I've gotten older, I don't really need ice in my drinks anymore. Hmmm.

5. The owner of a small restaurant outside of Pittsburgh recently announced he was banning children under six, saying they regularly disrupted other customer's meals. You can read the story in more detail here but isn't this a perfect topic to discuss in our Wednesday Hodgepodge? Have at it friends...what are your thoughts?

I have read some of the debate on this one, and I have decided I'm ok with the ban. I sure remember how difficult it was to take 5 small children to a restaurant, and I always apologized to those around us for any inconvenience. Of course, common sense dictated that the restaurants we frequented were of the family friendly variety. On the other side of the coin, if my husband and I had the rare opportunity to have a night out without the children, we might enjoy it more in the peace and quiet of an adult atmosphere. It's also true that my husband is the one who would offer to hold the fussy baby for the family at the next table. Hopefully, folks find that endearing and not creepy.

6. What was your first car? How did it come to be yours?

My first car was a Chevy Vega. I'm not even sure what year it was, but I got it in 1976, when I was 16, and it wasn't new. I sold my horse to buy the car (seemed more useful at the time), and my dad, the banker, set me up with a car loan to pay the balance. My payment was $23/month, which I paid with money from my job teaching dance lessons one evening a week. Big stuff. 
He looked just like the car in the picture below.

This is the only actual photo I could find of me with him. His name was Vinnie, and he served me well through my freshman year of college. This is me waving so long to my new friends as we left the Hanover campus for the summer. I wonder what ever happened to Vinnie the Vega?


7. If I had a nickel for every time I _______did a load of laundry__________ I'd be rich.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It's HOT! This cartoon has been posted on Facebook, and I thought it was cute.



It also reminds me that we are getting close to sweet corn season here in Indiana. 
Nothing better than Indiana sweet corn. Mmmmmm.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!

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