Wednesday Hodge Podge: A Penny For Your Heart?

1. What makes love last?

The sake of argument I’ll assume we’re talking romantic love between life partners. I think making love last requires communication, a shared sense of humor, mutual respect and the ability to feel comfortable and enjoy your time away from each other.


2. The Beatles made their US debut fifty years ago this week. Are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite Beatles tune?

I think I'd say I’m not a fan but I don’t dislike them. I don’t really have a favorite but I sometimes enjoy when I get an ear worm of Eleanor Rigby or Norwegian Wood.


3. Valentine's Day-your thoughts? Do you celebrate in any way? Do anything special for the people you love? Expect anything special from the people who love you?

Some years I enjoy sending kid-Valentines to my friends in the mail but I really haven’t done that since 2002 when most of my Valentines were returned because I put single dark chocolate Dove hearts with a recipe card for “Antioxidant Hot Chocolate” with them and the US Post Office returned them because they were too thick.

Valentine’s Day was a wonderful holiday but not a romantic holiday until I met David. Now since our wedding anniversary is so close to Valentine’s Day he takes me out for our anniversary dinner and I take him out for Valentine’s Day.


4. Steak or burger...you have to choose. Now that that's settled, how do you like it?

Oh the steak or burger part is easy; I hate steak. With that out of the way, if I have to eat beef I prefer ground beef in sauce or chili but since I had to pick one or the other and the other choice burger as in a patty we'll go with the hamburger. If I’m eating a hamburger it must be cooked beyond well done. I usually call the way I like hamburgers “hockey puck.” Really, I like the little bits that fall onto the griddle and are crunchy without anything on them. Since it would take forever to cook a whole hamburger to crunchy I settle for well done and drowned in condiments; end to end coated with about a quarter inch of ketchup and an even layer of mustard. If we havr relish a half inch of that under the ketchup is nperfect. The milder the taste of beef the better.


5. The Hodgepodge lands on the birthdate (February 12th) of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is quoted as saying, 'Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test his character give him power.' Do you agree? Why or why not?

Oh, the Hodgepodge lands on my friend Tracy’s birthday too, which she happens to share with President Lincoln.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRACY!

I have to say that I totally agree with the quote. We have too much evidence of it being true. Think of all the wonderful stories that you hear of men and women faced with incredible challenges that are doing well in spite of them. Heck even me with my occasional breakdowns behind closed doors can still remain smiling and optimistic. Now think of how corrupt most of our politicians and many CEOs are with all of their power.


6. Honest Abe's image is featured on the US penny (1 cent coin) so I'm wondering...what do you do with your pennies (or your country's equivalent)? It's been suggested the US stop making the penny, and two bills have been introduced proposing just that, but neither were approved. What say you?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Don’t stop making the penny! I collect pennies! I have books of both American and Canadian pennies. Those include pennies minted in San Francisco, pennies with wheat or maple leaf clusters and I even have a handful of Indian head pennies. They changed the penny again and I have a few new ones too; the 2009 Lincoln series and the current shield.

When I was little the wheat pennies were already rare in change, but I remember always thinking it was special when I got one and spent it last. It’s a small enough denomination that children have them and there are pennies on the dollar sales tax and prices that end .99 for the marketing value of not rounding up to the next dollar; we need them.

Think of the travels of a penny. I don’t collect mint sets or anything like that; I want the pennies that have history, even if I don’t know the history. I look at the well-circulated penny that was shiny and new the year WW2 ended and I can romanticize where it was on V-J Day. The Indian Heads are over 100 years old and when they were new they bought a lot. Looking at one of those makes me wonder what my great grandmother might have bought with one of them when she was a child. And the old Canadian pennies with the maple leaf sprays, well, how much Canadian Chocolate would they have bought when they were new?

We can’t get rid of the penny because of those cents at the end of prices, which are valuable marketing tools, but the penny is also an inexpensive introduction to the magic and wonder of history.


7. Do you think pop deserves serious study?

If you mean historic pop culture, absolutely! Understanding daily life, popular recreation and fads in the past help us better understand and appreciate our life now. It also helps us improve upon where we are by knowing what worked in the past. Should we study ur own pop culture now? Definitely. It’s the history of everyday life we’re sending forward.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

After 2 years of no snow removal needed, the guys from Rapid LLC have been here SIX times this winter! I was chatting with the driver on my way home from my monthly MS meeting last night and we agreed with a chuckle that this year has not only made it okay, but fashionable to “talk about the weather.” That’s good as I’ve just finished week 6 of Random 2014 and gee I’ve talked about snow and cold a lot! In a few weeks I’ll be talking about Florida and the fun I’m having reading Edna’s posts about the vacation I’m enjoying vicariously through her blog! But for now, I’ll continue to enjoy fashionable Toledo conversation\; BRRRRRR!!!!!!