Cigarette?

Is this like the "Vodka" question? ;)

Cigarette. I don't use 'em. I tried one once out of curiosity. I didn't want to smoke, I just wondered what it was like. It's hard to explain this to people but I felt the effects of it instantly, and for about a day or so afterwards. In my throat. Talking was ok, but I felt a difference, and singing was very difficult. I couldn't control my vocal cords as effectively. A couple of days later things were fine, but I was surprised that any effect like that would last beyond a few minutes.

I have the same trouble with helium. You know how people sometimes inhale helium to make their voice sound funny? My voice stops sounding like a munchkin after a minute or so, but even after it sounds normal again, it doesn't work 100% normally until a day or two later. Every once in a while the cords will just spasm and completely give out, and no sound will come out. Even during regular talking.

I can only imagine what the long term effects of daily smoking must be like if I could feel such a difference from a couple of puffs. - That and er... helium addiction...

bow

Hair bow. Boat bow.

Bow wow....

Bow legged.

I bow to the wind, and the wind lifts me up. Invisible, soothing, familiar. Whispering, "I am here."

Etiquette

I know to use the outermost utensils first and work my way in.

I know the fork goes on the left, because my friend once told me "It looks better on the right side doesn't it?" and I said "Ah ha! So it does go on the right!" and she said "No, I meant on the CORRECT side." - Frankly it looks the same to me on either side.

I know my napkin is supposed to go on my lap, but I've never understood that. I don't use a napkin on my lap unless I've been given two.

I need my napkin for my hands, or face, or the table if something drips or spills there. How could I spill something on my lap? It's under the table!

If I must cover my clothes, it makes more sense to me to wear a bib. Or a large tarp. Because what are the odds that something would spill on my lap without getting anywhere else on the way down?

Plague

I think "Bible."

I gave up on the Bible when I was about six. It described such an angry petty God. The God I imagined was nothing like that. So I decided the writers didn't know what they were talking about and continued to believe in what I considered to be a more enlightened and less hormonal omnipotent being.

Straw

The last one of course.

The last straw with me is when you put my life in jeopardy. I generally try to stick to a two to three strike rule, but when you screw with my life, whether you meant to or not, - whether you knew you were or not - I won't have anything to do with you.

I may not stop caring or wishing things were different, but I'm not a complete idiot. (Though I'll sometimes wonder how bright I could be to have missed this trait in you.)

I would never be so careless with a life. That you would be, speaks volumes.

- May you get every single thing in life, that you deserve.

Mean

People come to mind. Specific people.

What does that mean? "Mean?" Maybe it means intentional harm, or pleasure derived from harm to others, or maybe it just means someone who doesn't care enough about anyone but themselves to make sure they never do anything to harm another.

I hate people sometimes.

(Yeah I know... pot... kettle.... blah blah blah.)

Expecting

She hadn't been expecting this. She'd thought it would be more like a working vacation. Getting to know new people... learning new skills... Visiting places she'd never seen before. That no one had ever seen before. Being a kind of pioneer in an era when there wasn't much left to explore. Well, not in her immediate vicinity anyway. But this...? This was not what she'd signed up for.

Maroon

Geek alert.

Let's just say, I don't own one.

For anyone in the dark about that, don't worry. That just means you're NORMAL.

My friend broke her leg in first grade. The teacher told us we could all sign her cast if we wanted to but that we should take turns, and not all go over at once. The place to sign the cast was on the floor, over by the window.

- I had no idea what a cast was but eventually I went over to sign it and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw that my friend was attached to it.

* I was expecting to see a card, or a box. Not the person I thought was miles away!

Stem

When I was younger, I noticed a small tree growing. I don't know why it was such a big deal to me but I watched it grow, and I'd talk to it... check on it when I came home from school... I was so excited to see it get taller and taller. Taller than me even. I'm not sure if you could call it a tree. It looked more like a tall green branch. But it had maple leaves on it and it was growing out of the ground.

Then one day the gardener mowed it down.

Life sucks.

Assisted

She assisted, more to keep an eye on things than to be of any real help. She didn't know what they were doing. And he did not need her help. She wondered, did he know why she was really there? No... it was enough that she'd said she'd wanted to be. No further explanation had been needed.

She craned her neck to see above the barricade. Not too far, and not too obvious, or they would see her.

How did this happen. Why hadn't she left sooner?

Because she'd wanted to believe that these were good people. That someone would still come through. But all of them had known from the start.

Crane

Paper

Frasier

Crane your neck

Crane in a construction zone....

Ugh.

Paper cranes. Always wanted to know how to make them. Then did. Then I think I forgot. I can still make a blow up balloon/box/ball thing though. And a frog. Used to jump those all around the classroom from desk to desk. Because that's what you do when you're a creative/geeky type and bored in class. - Passing notes was so "yesterday."

Given

It was a given that she'd be going along. There was no way she was going to miss out on this adventure. Her husband could stay at home and take care of things while she was away. It wasn't as though they wouldn't be in touch. Oh, "the powers that be" could try to limit communications, but she knew how to get around that.

Honest

Honesty is everything to me. Honesty in your words, in your dealings with people... and especially in your dealings with me. And that includes standing by your word. If you give your word, whether casually ("I'll call you!") or definitively ("I promise."), you'd darned well better stick by it, if you ever expect me to stick by you.