Questions and answers

[Midge]

Yes, I bid on a vintage alpaca poncho on e-Bay to replace one I've owned and loved for years but that is damaged. I was delighted to win the auction, but when the item came it was way too large, and I will never wear it. To make things worse, it has a cut in it that I'm not sure whether was already there or I did it myself when I opened the package, so the item I spent over $100 on is basically worthless and now I own two damaged ponchos. That cured me of bidding on e-Bay auctions unless I am absolutely sure I want the item.

Do you wear cologne or after shave?

[dvdjunkie]

Nope. I have been shaving for over two years and cut myself both times!......LOL! I don't regularly use an aftershave or anything. I use Noxzema shaving cream and it seems to have a nice smell after I am done shaving. Seriously though, I don't have much of a hair growth problem as most men. I have no chest hair, and I only have to shave about once a week. I tried to grow a moustache once, and after nine months I gave up, all I got was that day after look that most men who don't shave when they should.

Is there a movie that comes on TCM that you will watch no matter what?

[Midge]

Yes, there are a few: The Best Years of Our Lives is the one that first comes to mind. I also love The Women, any Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie, Singin' in the Rain, Gold Diggers of 1933, 42nd Street, The Band Wagon, Roman Holiday, Since You Went Away, Funny Face, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Footlight Parade, Wings, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Stagecoach (1939), A Star is Born (1937) and The Big Parade.

What movies do you never get tired of?

[dvdjunkie]

I am such a Westerns buff that I never get tired of watching William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy, and I have all 66 movies, and 42 television episodes because of that. Other movies that catch my attention include The Crimson Pirate, Stalag 17, Papillion, The Great Escape, every Marx Brothers movie, and every Francis The Talking Mule movie. And starting this week at The Regent Vibrant Senior Living Center theater we are starting from the very beginning of the Ma & Pa Kettle movies. Every Tuesday for the next 8 weeks we are going to be showing a Ma & Pa Kettle film beginning with The Egg & I with Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert, introducing Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as Ma & Pa Kettle. I am truly a sucker for ANY Western movie from the 30s, 40, and the 50's. That is why they call me "DVDJunkie".

Do you remember the first movie you saw in a theater?

[Midge]

Yes, it was Oklahoma. I remember being wowed by the bright colors, but I think I must have fallen asleep after "Poor Jud is Daid" because that's the last part I remember.

What was the first movie you saw?

[dvdjunkie]

I don't know if it was the first, but the first one I remember clearly is Walt Disney's "Song of the South", which I just loved. I do remember my first western movie I ever saw in a theater because the star of film was Rex Allen and his sidekick was played by Slim Pickens, both were special guests at the theater matinee that day, as we watched "Hills of Oklahoma".

Was television ever considered an influence on your behavior as a child?

[Midge]

Yes, I remember begging my mother to buy specific products after seeing them advertised on TV. Another time, I tried to fly after I saw a commercial for Sugar Jets cereal in which an animated boy soars through space after eating it. Was I ever disappointed when I jumped off the chair and nothing happened! I even had put socks on my hands as "wings" to help me fly. Another more long-lasting influence is that, while growing up on a TV diet of vintage cartoons and Hollywood movies, I developed an appreciation for classic films that endures to this day.

What were your favorite TV programs when you were growing up?

[dvdjunkie]

My top favorites, no surprises here, were "Hopalong Cassidy", "Gene Autry" and "Roy Rogers Show" that filled me to the brim with great western adventure. I never could figure out why 'Nellybelle', the jeep on the Roy Rogers show, never ran out of gas, and they never showed a gas station in any of the episodes! As a family, our favorite shows were "Father Knows Best", "Leave it To Beaver", and "Al Jarvis' Make Believe Ballroom" during the afternoons, and "The Lawrence Welk Show" on Saturday evenings. "The Ed Sullivan Show" was never missed, also.

Did you ever have a tree house or dream of a tree-house when you were a child?

[Midge]

No, I didn't have one or dream of one.

Did you?

[dvdjunkie]

Yes, I did. My uncle and my Dad worked on it for about three weeks, and I think my sister and I played in it for less than a week before we decided that there were other things to do.

Do you collect anything that might seem strange to someone else?

[Midge]

I have all of Enrico Caruso's recordings on 12 DVDs, and quite a few biographies of him. That might seem strange to some.

What is the most unusual collection you have seen or heard of?

[dvdjunkie]

I have a friend who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, who collects everything NASCAR related. Tim and Christy had to move into a five bedroom home because of the size of his collection. I have only seen it once in person, but he sends me pictures of his new additions each year. He has all the pennants of all the drivers since 1962. He has the 1/64 and 1/20 scale models of every race car to every touch four tires to the ground at a NASCAR track. His collection numbers in the hundreds of thousands of items, and it is all insured to the highest degree he can get. Oh, did I mention, Tim and Christy don't have kids at this time. There is talk about growing the family, but I think that Tim needs to slow down on his NASCAR collecting before Christy will want to add another mouth in the house

What 10 items would you take with you if you knew that you were going to be stranded on a deserted island for a period of time? You would have electricity, but no home, you would have to build that. The items can be anything of your choosing. (I got this from another forum that I frequent.)

[Midge]

Tent
Blankets
Portable Electric Stove
Water Purifier
Dehydrated food
Signal Flares
Matches
Lantern
Sunscreen
Knife

What 10 items would you take?

[dvdjunkie]

Machete
Blankets
Matches
Fishing Pole
Camping Stove
White Gas for fuel
Lantern
A big screen television
A Blu-ray player
My 12-disc Alfred Hitchcock Movie collection

Did you have a 'little red wagon' when you were growing up?

[Midge]

No, I didn't have a red wagon, but I had something called a Catalina Racer. It was fire engine red and was like a pedal car except that you sat on a white seat similar to a tractor seat and powered it by pushing and pulling on a hand lever. You steered it with your feet. My stepfather gave me that as a reward when I finally stopped sucking my thumb. Here's what it looked like, although this example is beat up, while mine was brand-new and shiny:



What was your favorite toy when you were a kid?

[dvdjunkie]

That's easy. I loved Lincoln Logs! Like kids today that like Legos, I loved my Lincoln Logs and that was my toy of choice over Tinker toys, or anything else. But I also had a 'little red wagon' to haul my Lincoln Logs in.

Did you ever have a secret hide-out when you were a kid?

[Midge]

No, it was hard to have a secret hideout in the California suburbs, where most houses don't have cellars or attics.

What was your secret hideout like?

[dvdjunkie]

It was in the back yard behind the garage. I jused some big cardboard boxes and taped them together. It had an entrance door and a peep-hole to look and see if anyone was coming. My sister hated the thing and used to tear it apart when I was out doing my paper route or something. I eventually made my little hideout easy to take down and set up and my sister was angry because she couldn't make me run to Mom telling on her.

What kinds of fresh fruit do you try not to overeat?

[Midge]

Generally speaking, I don't have a problem overeating fresh fruit, but I have to be careful not to overdo the dried prunes, which I love. The other day my friend Margaret ate about 20 dried apricots, and was she ever sorry later on!

Is there any food that you have trouble resisting?

[dvdjunkie]

Home-baked Macaroni & Cheese. That is my total downfall. And with the grand kids thinking that is the only thing to have on weekend for lunch or dinner, I know that I will get my share. And I also can't pass up the chance to have a foot-long Meatball Marinara Subway Sandwich with Provolone cheese and black olives.

When you are dining out what section of the menu do you look at first?

[Midge]

Normally I check out the daily specials first.

If you had to live on only one food for a whole week, what would you have?

[dvdjunkie]

Beverly's Mac & Cheese. She can make about a dozen variations of this comfort food and I just enjoy them all.

So,

If you had to live on only one food for a whole week, what would you have?

[Midge]

I think I could live on tuna casserole.

Have you watched any of the TV coverage on the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination?

[dvdjunkie]

Not really. There was so much coverage on local stations with their 'expanded' newscasts that I was not going to watch any of them. However, I did watch a very good movie called "Executive Action" starring Will Geer, Robert Ryan and a host of other actors. This was the telling of plot to kill Kennedy by the Johnson Administration and raised a lot of eyebrows when it was shown in theaters. Very good movie with a different look at the "grassy knoll" theory and resolution. That was enough for me to watch last night.

Are you going to watch "The Crimson Pirate" (my all-time favorite Burt Lancaster film) on TCM when it is on this next week?

[Midge]

I don't know. It depends on what time The Crimson Pirate is on. I would love to watch it if it's scheduled at a time that's convenient.

Has anyone in your family tree lived to be 90 or older?

[dvdjunkie]

My great grandfather on my Dad's side lived to be 109, my grandfather on my Dad's side lived to be 101, and my Dad lived to be 93. So I am hoping that I have the genes to at least get to 90 before it all ends.

Great question:

Has anyone in your family tree lived to be 90 or older?

[Midge]

Yes, one grandmother and one uncle lived to be 92, and an aunt lived to be 95.

Did anyone in your family die young?

[dvdjunkie]

Unfortunately yes. My oldest and first-born son, David, died after choking to death on a thumb tack at the age of 2 years. This is why I am so set on not allowing any types of tacks in our home. It still bothers me when people tell me that he died for a reason out of our hands. It still hurts, and I still have a picture of him on our mantle. Other than that, my sister committed suicide at the age of 42, and was followed by her husband about six months later. There were no letters or anything explaining why, but time has healed a lot of the hurt from that. Our niece, their daughter, Laurleen, has become very active in the Mental Health field, she is currently after her PhD in Mental Health/Psychology/Psychiatry.

Can you make a hula hoop work correctly?

[Midge]

Oh, Bill, I'm so sorry about the tragic loss of little David and your sister's suicide. That's terribly sad.

No, I can't make a hula hoop work correctly. There was one in the employee gym where I worked, and I tried and tried, but couldn't do it. As a child I had a hula hoop and had no trouble at all using it, so I am not sure what has changed.

Have you ever had a premonition that came true?

[dvdjunkie]

Not that I can remember.

I like that question:

Have you ever had a premonition that came true?