I have been recently "tagged" for Memes (separately) by Jeannie Kontis and Lisa Ryan!
I had originally done my first Meme, Really? Me and My MEME back in August, so I don't want to repeat anything I've already talked about. It's not as easy trying to come up with a second five things to relate as it was for the first five! But here goes:
1) I am an enthusiastic cruciverbalist! For the uninitiated, that's a crossword puzzle solver. I love to relax with the most difficult crosswords I can find. I used to do the daily crosswords, graduated to the Sunday New York Times puzzles, and now tend to favor the Random House Masterpiece crossword puzzle books.
There's a tremendous feeling of accomplishments when you can solve, piece by piece, a cleverly clued puzzle, plus it keeps my vocabulary from getting rusty!
2) In 2007 I received my SRES designation - Seniors Real Estate Specialist. I'm looking forward to helping the 55-plus generations find the best of the many options that are now available for seniors of any age. These days, great new choices are available for independent and active lifestyles, assisted living, and total care, with specialized services for aging in place as well.
3) I used to collect and repair antique phonographs, and still have several of them, including one that plays Edison Cylinder records. There's something quite exciting when you wind up one of these beautiful old phonographs and suddenly hear, without any assist from electricity, a crackling voice announcing a selection by the Edison Symphony Orchestra, or a vaudeville comedy selection by Uncle Josh ("Uncle Josh buys a Talking Machine", "Uncle Josh at a Chinese Laundry"), or "Come With Me, Josephine in my Flying Machine". An interesting fact about Thomas Edison is that he was hard of hearing, and unable to really appreciate the very music reproduced by his own invention!
The sound of these old records, when preserved in clean, unscratched condition, is surprisingly good. And few things can duplicate the thrill of hearing these distant voices come to life from over one hundred years ago!
4) In April I'll be performing a musical program for the Caring Singles
group. Some of you know that I play the accoustic guitar. What is less well known is that in the 1960s I was a big fan of Bob Dylan, who, like the folk singing activist Woody Guthrie before him, learned to play harmonica held with a neckpiece, at the same time as the guitar.
I was so taken with the total amount of music that could be produce by a single person, that I just had to learn how to do it as well. It has the feel of a one-man band, and I do a pretty good early Bob Dylan impression, if I may say so...
5) Some day I'd like to put together a program of antique phonograph records and take a portable antique phonograph around for speaking engagements. I've learned many interesting pieces of information on the popular music of the last 120 years, and I would hope that many younger people might find it informative to see and hear where and how the music of today evolved from these roots.
Well, whom shall I tag next for a Meme?
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