A to Z's of Me: A Reflection

The 2025 A to Z challenge is over.  I finished.  My theme this year was the A to Z's of me .  

During the last few weeks of each year I spend a lot of time tinkering with the look of my blog.  I made a text box called Me from A to Z.  It had an attribute of me from A to Z. As I shared in my theme reveal the original 26 attributes were :

Amateur Parodist, Blogger, Christian, Daring do-gooder, Evangelical sans Trump Kool-Aid, 

Father of 3 adult children, Giraffe lover, Husband of one amazing wife, Illinois resident, 

Jester, Kindred spirit, Library lover Middle School teacher, Nincompoop, Original, Poet,

Quintessential worker , RITA (Republican in theory, anyways.) ,Sixty something 

Teller of jokes,U of I Parent - ILL,Voracious reader, Willy Wonka Wannabe, Xenophile ,Yankovic enthusiast ,Zoo attender

I made the list , put it on my blog home page and kinda forgot about it.  As I began to prepare for the challenge I ruminated between several ideas for themes.  I thought about going without a theme

 or even not participating and just concentrating on reading and commenting.  Then I remembered the list.  I hadn't even considered using it for the challenge when I created it.  

 

As I began to prepare posts that matched the titles it became clear that some of those titles weren't going to make it to the final product.  I have emboldened the attributes I didn't use in the list above and the attributes I replaced them with in the links below.  For example in the middle of March I stopped subbing at the middle school I'd been at for over 2 years.  So M for Middle school had to go.  Others were so similar that expanding on them made it seem like I was being redundant.

A was for Amateur Parodist

B was for Blogger

C was for Christian

D was for David Davidovich

E was for Evangelical Sans the Trump Kool-Aid

F was for Father of 3 Adult Children

G was for Giraffe Lover

H was  for Husband of One Amazing Wife

I was for Iguchi Appreciator

J was for Jester

K was  for Kindergarten Clear

L was for Library Lover

M is for Muppet Man

N was for Narnian

O was for Optimist

P was for Poet

Q is for Quintessential Worker

R was for R.I.T.A. Republican In Theory Anyway

S was for Stonehill Fan

T was for Teacher

U was for U of I Parent

V was for Voracious Reader?

 

W was for White Sox Fan

X was for Xenophile

Y was for Yankovic Enthusiast

Z was for Zoo Aficionado

This is the 4th year that I have been copying and pasting the same introduction at the beginning of my posts.  I did use 2 variants of the intro this year: 1 for when I was posting on time and 1 for when my posts were late.  In the latter I would say how many posts I was behind.  I stayed up to date from amateur to Iguchi and caught up at Xenophile and was still on pace when I ended at zoo.  I was late for a little more than 1/2 of the challenge.  The funny thing is I posted on my blog on both the K and the L day which is where I fell behind.  They just weren't A to Z posts.

Being behind didn't bother me too much.  I was always confident that I would finish.  It did impede with my reading and commenting on blogs which was the least I have ever done in all my years doing the challenge.  I did get to more of that in the last few days once I caught up.

Something I did this year that really helped me get to this reflection right away is that from day 2 I built the index of the challenge on my daily post.  So, it was a simple matter of changing the topic from the previous day from "A is for " to "A was for"  and then copying and pasting the whole thing to the current letter.  Today all I did was take my list from the beginning of Wednesday's post  and change is to was for Z.  I'll change them all back to is when I put the index on a page in my blog later this month. 

One thing that surprised me this year was how many of my posts had political or spiritual components.  I guess I shouldn't be so surprised since my theme was me and I do have spiritual and political components.  I did go hard after Trump on 3 occasions and restrained myself from making it four when I was writing X is for xenophile.

There were many posts including lots of A, some of B, and all of C where I reused previous posts, pictures, poems and songs.  Again, with the subject being me, it felt natural to share as many examples of me as possible.  

A is for Amateur Parodist may have been my favorite post this year.   It had links to works by 3 other parodists, examples of some of my older parodies, and 2 that were written while I was writing the post.  I was especially proud of Amlodopine, which is a parody of Yesterday that starts  with someone singing the praise of the efficacy of their blood pressure medicine and quickly changes into a rant of how Trumps first 100 days is making him more  dependent than ever on the medicine. In my mind, the song  became an homage  to the old Sesame Street segment when Kermit The Frog would interview Don Music at the piano and after a little head bashing on the piano due to writer's block  the lyrics of the song would change dramatically from the original.  

I enjoyed participating in the A to Z challenge again this year.  For more about the A to Z reflections click here. To sign up for the reflections click here.For the reflections spreadsheet click here.

A to Z 2024 Holiday Reflection

 This is my 2nd of two reflections for the A to Z 2024 challenge,  This will include some thoughts feelings and concerns in no particular order from my foray into all things Holidays.  If you would like to see my first reflection which focused on the playlist I amassed from my songs of the day during the challenge click here. 

My Theme for the 2023 A to Z challenge was Holidays.  The idea behind it started to germinate  when I worked at Chase in their Business Fraud department.  Each day we my manager would start a chat for all of us working on that day.  Each day she would title the chat with a different holiday that was taking place that day.  She would choose the Holiday from a list she would find on the internet for that day.  I don't remember exactly which one she queued them from, but it was similar to what you would find on National Day Calendar.

Instead of making an alphabetized list of such holidays, I wanted to actually choose holidays occurring on the day the letter was posting. From the start this proved to be problematic.  National Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd and autism starts with an A. but April 2nd we featured the 2nd letter of the Alphabet, which is a B.  Some worked out just fine, like April 4th was the first day of the United Kingdom's Discover National Parks Fortnight.  May need just a little tweaking.  Wednesday, April 3rd which is National Film Score Day matched with the letter C, by being described as Cinematic Compositions. 

When I get a idea for a theme , I often add to it a few wrinkles.  One wrinkle I added was immediately confusing. I decided to not only write about actual made-up holidays, but to also make up 5 of my own.  I chose 5 because there are that many vowels in my native tongue.  I say immediately confusing because A, the first letter of the alphabet is a vowel, so I made up a holiday, Adult Children Appreciation Day, on the first day of the challenge. It wasn't until the next day that I started chronicling actual holidays like Children's Picture Book Day which I introduced as B is for Books for Children.  

Even though I explained the entire concept each day with the same exact disclaimer:

 For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate.  Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day.  I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. 

I still think that doing something different with the vowels was confusing and I don't think I'll attempt that again.  I did, however like making up holidays.  For Adult Children Appreciation Day I wrote each of my 3 children aged 18 to 24, a letter appreciating, encouraging, and advising them. I plan to do the same the next time Adult Children Appreciation Day Rolls around which will be on April 21st , 2025 (As you know, Adult Children Appreciation Day is always the Monday after Easter). Besides Adult Children Appreciation Day, I also created 4 other Holidays

E was for Wedding Planner Black Friday

I was for Indicted Illinois Governors Day

O was for One More Time and You get a Parade Day

U was for Undecided, Undeclared & Uncertain Day

Speaking of Undecided, Undeclared & Uncertain Day,  I tried to mix up my presentations here and there this challenge.  This blog used to be 4 different blogs, 2 general interest blogs, 1 vlog, and 1 sports blog.  During the challenge I tried to bring in features from some of these blogs to my daily posts.  The U post was presented in vlog fashion as a You Tube video of me presenting the day in question.  On my M day I posted about National Micro-volunteering Day, but I did so in Frequently Asked Question Format which  is a format I have used multiple times before in my blogs. I even had two holidays regarding sports for S and T.  

I  completed the challenge this year.  What I try to do is predate my entry so it drops at the time that reflects that day's date.  For example my A post dropped at 4:01 A.M. on April 1st.  Some days I had to manually post later that day.  On one occasion I posted minutes before midnight.  I was never late and I was never early each post dropped on the correct day.  

I didn't drop in on every blog but I did visit quite a few,  I received 90 comments on my blog in April and I feel like I may have left that may comments myself.  Next year I'll try to keep track. I discovered 3 new blogs during the challenge that I have been following, they are Hot Dogs and Marmalade, The Versesmith,  and Backsies is What There is not. I am giving them all a try out on one of my blogrolls along with the The Curry Apple Orchard, which was my favorite blog to follow during the challenge.  Now that the challenge is over I hope to pore through every reflection and discover some more blogs worth following,

Before I put this reflection to bed, and me with it, I have a couple of final thoughts.

• The end of the school year is fast upon us, and the middle school where I am a building sub, is basing their end of the year countdown with theme days from the holiday of that day.  What a fantastic idea, I wish I had done something like that for the challenge.  Oh wait, I did!
• In my Theme Reveal this year, I mentioned how my theme for 2024 was supposed to be Chronicles of Narnia related.  My plan is to reread all the books this year, as I do most every year but did not do in 2023, and have that be my 2025 A to Z theme.  

The next stop for me is to register for the A to Z Road Trip,  I also am going to make an index page at the top of this blog for the 2024 challenge.  Until then I'll try ti go back to my 6 to 10  times monthly blogging pattern.  For more A to Z Reflections click here.  

A to Z 2024:Reflections - The Music

I am doing my A to Z Reflections in 2 parts this year.  The traditional reflection with the index and the pontification will follow.  This year I paid homage to John "1 Hand Typing" Holton  by having a "song of the day" for each letter of the alphabet at the end of my post. I would post a You Tube video of the song in question and then daily add that song to my Spotify A to Z playlist.   

I am adding a bonus song of the day for the reflection called appropriately enough, Reflecting on My Reflection by Allen Levi.

The Leap of Dave A to Z Playlist ia now ready with all 26 songs from the challenge.  

I will be back later this week with my traditional reflection.  Foe more reflections click here.

Z is for the Zenith of the American Revolution

 

For The A to Z Challenge this year, I am focusing on everyday holidays. Each day there are multiple unusual things to celebrate. Every day of the challenge I look for an event taking place that day and pair it with the letter of the day. I have also made up 5 holidays to coincide with the vowel days of the challenge. At the end of each post I will share a special song of the day for that day's letter. At the end of the month, these songs will be assembled in an A to Z keepsake playlist on Spotify. Every day is a celebration, let's unwrap today's together.

April 30th 2024 is the 235th anniversary of George Washington being inaugurated the first President of the United States.

George Washington

By Gilbert Stuart, Public Domain, Link

On April 30th 1789 George Washington was innaugurated the first President of the United States of America in Federal Hall in New York City.  Here is the transcript of his address ...

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: 

 Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month. On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years--a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time. On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrust-ful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope is that if, in executing this task, I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which mislead me, and its consequences be judged by my country with some share of the partiality in which they originated. 

Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow- citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence. 

By the article establishing the executive department it is made the duty of the President "to recommend to your consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject further than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, in defining your powers, designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the surest pledges that as on one side no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views nor party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests, so, on another, that the foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in the economy and course of nature an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity; since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. 

Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will remain with your judgment to decide how far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by the fifth article of the Constitution is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the nature of objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular recommendations on this subject, in which I could be guided by no lights derived from official opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good; for I assure myself that whilst you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen and a regard for the public harmony will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question how far the former can be impregnably fortified or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted. 

To the preceding observations I have one to add, which will be most properly addressed to the House of Representatives. It concerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my duty required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution I have in no instance departed; and being still under the impressions which produced it, I must decline as inapplicable to myself any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a permanent provision for the executive department, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed may during my continuance in it be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require. 

Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the Human Race in humble supplication that, since He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures on which the success of this Government must depend.

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The song of the day is Zion by Aaron Shust

The A to Z Challenge is complete!  The Spotify Leap of Dave A to Z playlist is complete.  They both have been a lot of fun.  I will be back soon with my A to Z reflections.

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To go to the home of the A to Z challenge click here, to see the 2024 master list of participating blogs click here. Enjoy the 2024 A to Z challenge, and Happy Holidays!

A Month at the Movies End Credits

  Last Month I participated in the A to Z Challenge.  My theme was A Month at the Movies.

1796714 © Awcnz62 | Dreamstime.com

The Films I examined were ...

Arsenic And Old Lace (1944)

Breaking Away  - 1979 

Chariots of Fire - 1981

Dave - 1993

Empire Strikes Back, The -1980 

(F) 42 -2013

Gattaca  - 1997

Hidden Figures -2016

It's A Wonderful Life -1946

Jesus Revolution -2023

King's Speech, The- 2010

Last Full Measure, The - 2020

Man For All Seasons, A - 1966

North by Northwest - 1959

Ordinary People - 1980

Persuasion - 1995

Quiz Show - 1994

Return To Me - 2000

Silverado -1985

The Muppet Movie -1979

UHF -1989

Vertigo - 1958 

When A Man Loves A Woman -1994

X-Men: First Class -2011 

You Can't Take It With You -1938

Zootopia -2016

A Closer Look

• 5 of the movies are from before 1964 (before I was born)
• 13 of the films were made between 1964 and 1997 (before marriage)   
• 8 of the films were made since 1998 (since I've been married)

Each post contained my thoughts on the film, a positive and a negative Rotten Tomatoes review,  a comment referencing what the film had to say about resilience, which was the theme of the A to Z challenge this year, a comment regarding whether this film might be in my top 100 films of all time (a list I'm in the process of revising), and any connections the film might have with other films in the challenge. 

Previous Years Challenges 

2012: No Theme

2015: Nouns

2015 White Sox Home Run Hitters (Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog)

2016 Y is for You Tube - Dave Out Loud

2016 Cubs Home Run Hitters - Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog

2016 A to Z  Superheroes (Sadly I no longer have access to these posts)

2019 Songs of the Sherman Brothers Random Acts of Roller

2020 State and World Capitals Random Acts of Roller

2021 Living in 1921

2022 Wordles, Limericks, and Home Runs (Oh my)

Reflections on 2023 

At times I wondered when quoting negative and positive reviews of each film whether people might be confused about how I felt about the film.  Other times I felt a little bit of guilt in posting a negative review of a film I adored.  However, my intention was to show the reader the spectrum of opinions that a movie no matter how well done can engender.  In the end, I was gratified that I could find well-reasoned arguments on both sides regarding the quality or lack thereof for each of my selections. 

For the most part, this was another good year at the challenge.  I did not interact with as many other blogs as I would have liked to.  I don't think I looked at any blogs other than my own for the last week of the challenge.  Each year I tell my wife that I should have all the posts written before the challenge starts.  I never get anywhere near that goal.  This year I had a few fully prepared in advance, but I had set up each post in advance and had added good chunks of information ahead of time.  For example, I had the graphics copied to the individual posts about 2 weeks ahead of time and the Rotten Tomato reviews were linked usually the Sunday before the week they appeared.  I also in retrospect was wise because I finished Z and Y completely before the challenge, so when Friday hit and challenge fatigue was at its highest, I was essentially finished with the challenge.

FAQ

Did each film represent your favorite film with that letter?

No, some films were, and many films were not. Adventures of Robin Hood is one of several A movies that are in my top 100, whereas Arsenic and Old Lace will probably not make my top 100.  Arsenic and Old Lace was the one I chose to feature.

Did you have certain criteria for choosing each film?

I wanted each movie to have had a theatrical release, and I wanted it to be a movie I had previously seen and enjoyed,  Other than that I did not have specific criteria.

Did you rewatch each movie in anticipation of the challenge?

No, but I did rewatch some prior to writing my post and watched others on or near the day the post dropped.  I watched You Can't Take It With You this afternoon with my wife as a post-challenge treat.

Closing Remarks

I think that there should be a week or so between the end of the challenge and the beginning of the reflection period.  Reflection shouldn't be rushed and rest and reflection walk happily together.  Of course, I want my reflection to be near the top so more people can read it, so I eschewed the rest and am finishing my reflection on the challenge before the challenge has officially finished.  

In that vein, I would not start the A to Z Road Trip until Memorial Day.  On the positive side, I think it's grand that there will be at least one post a month on the challenge blog for the rest of the year.  I did one of those posts in February 2022 and would be honored to step in again if asked. 

Next Year: I plan on an A to Z look at characters from The Chronicles of Narnia.  Each year since 1983, I have been reading all the books at least once and this year when I do I'll begin making a list of which characters will appear here in 2024.

1921 A Musical Review: A to Z Reflection Post

1921 seems like a long time ago.  And in a way, it was.  Spending the month looking back at it through the lens of people who were alive then has given me the perspective that 1921 is still visible in our rear view mirror.  

Every morning on my way to work I listen to music from one or two artists and every few weeks I change up those artists.  Consequently, I have heard Billy Joel's. We Didn't Start the Fire many times in the past few weeks.  This was at the same time I was participating in the A to Z challenge and I was surprised as to how many people mentioned in the song, I had featured in my 1921 theme.  I have included the lyrics below wit links to all the people mentioned by both Joel and myself.  I have also placed in bold anyone in the song who was alive in 1921 but not mentioned in my posts.

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana, goodbye

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, space monkey, mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK – blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law
Rock and roller, cola wars, I can't take it anymore

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on

 I knew I was going to mention more than 26 people alive in 1921. That being said, I was very surprised when I tabulated that I had mentioned 69 people and 1 stuffed bear that were around  in 1921.  

At the first mention of each these people, I always included how many years they had lived before 1921 and after 1921.  On average these people lived 30 years before 1921 and 48 years after.  This means my average subject was born in 1891 and died in1969. In 1891 there were 44 states in the U.S. 

During the challenge I tried to include material from my other blogs, both new material and previously published material on the people I was profiling.  I also tried when possible to include people living in 1921 who were still alive in 2021.  I started with Al Jaffee on my first post, Prince Phillip passed away during the challenge before I got to Q for Queen's Consort.  I discovered today that I had already included someone years ago in the A to Z challenge who is currently living.  In 2015 I participated in the A to Z challenge from, Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog and my theme was White Sox Home Run Hitters.  For E I wrote about Eddie Robinson. At the time Eddie was 94 years old and the 21st oldest living major leaguer.  Since then, Eddie has become the oldest living major leaguer.  He was born December 15, 1920.  That means I began the A to Z challenge with someone from 1921 who is still alive and I get to end the challenge the same way.  

I really enjoyed participating in the challenge again this year.  I have my theme all set for next year but first I'm going back to the simpler non a to z blogging lifestyle.  I am looking forward to the a to z road trip after a little rest.  Working for a century can do that to you.  

The nounsense is over

My A to Z Challenge  theme was nouns.

A noun is a person, place or thing.

My people were:

Allen Levi
Dave Ramsey
Frank Thomas
Hank Aaron
King Tut
Minnie Minoso
Nobody
Paul  Konerko
Jimmy Stewart
Bob Wallace

My Places were

Comiskey Park
Debt
Elgin
Illinois
Nowhere
Turkey
Uzbekistan
Virginia
Zoos

My Things were
Bibimbap
Discussions
Giraffe Poop
Jack & Diane
Library
Nothing
Oreos
Quinjet
Ragamuffin
Xanthosis
Yoyo

I enjoyed my time doing a to z blogging.

Here are three things I learned.

1) It is a lot easier to do a to z blogging as a full time home school dad than it is working outside the home.

2) I tried to do two blogs at the same time and had to give up on my  baseball one at U.

3)  Blogging here everyday for a month has gotten me more psyched for blogging than I have been in 2.5 years.  I am actually planning on participating next year in 3 blogs but have already picked my themes and hope to be much more prepared then I was this year.

I am sorry it took me a few weeks to post my thoughts.  But i went to Florida for 1 week right after this ended and it's taken me about a week to get back in the swing of things.

Speaking of road trips I am participating in the a to z road trip .  For more info click here.

Blogging A to Z FAQs and a Puppyism

April was my first foray (actually I only wrote one a post not four) into the Blogging A to Z Challenge.

Today, I am going to tell you a few reflections about my experience there, Since it is now 12:00 a,m Friday which as you know is Half Past Kissing Time, I will give these reflections in fragment form. I will do this in Frequently Asked Question format, since I haven't done a FAQ's of Life segment ever so long

FAQ/Fragment # 1 What was it like?

A to Z was fantastic, fun and frenetic. It was also several words that don't begin with the letter F, but I was on a roll. Starting Sunday April the first and ending Monday April the thirtieth with the exception of the subsequent Sundays, I blogged about a word beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. I did this in alphabetical order, because that's the kind of guy I am.

FAQ/Fragment # 2 Did you plan ahead or just fly by the seat of your pants?

yes. The first few weeks were planned out ahead of time and many were written days in advance as I knew I would be very busy the first few days of April. After about mid month, I still had a few letters I was planning on doing, but many I decided the word and wrote the post just hours before the end of that day. I was also very busy the last few days of the month and that's the only time I got into major panic mode?

FAQ/Fragment # 3 What was your most unusual experience with the A to Z challenge?

My wife Amy sometimes will write an unsolicited post for me, as me. Often these are jokes, to get a reaction from me. Many of those never make it to the light of day. Sometimes, she will write something very poignant as me, often saying my thoughts better than I could. Well for the letter O, she did a post for me, as me. This post got more views than any of my other A to Z posts. The unusual thing is that it was called Original.

FAQ/Fragment #4 What was your greatest challenge with the challenge?

I dropped my laptop about two thirds through the challenge. I have still not gotten it back. This really created many problems with getting the challenge done.

FAQ/Fragment #5 How would you compare Blogging A to Z with NABLOPOMO?

NABLOPOMO is something that I've never really enjoyed. I have participated in it three times, completing it twice. The first time, I did it was my second month of blogging. It nearly ended my blogging career before it got off the ground. I was able to complete it again a year or so later, it was less stressful but not very fun for me.

Blogging A to Z was fun. I enjoyed following other blogs. I enjoyed getting more readers and more comments. I really enjoyed getting Sunday's off. Even with my busy April schedule, and my computer mishaps, I would definitely Blog A to Z again. Next year I might even enter from more than one of my blogs.

For more A to Z Blogging experience reflections click here.



Fragment # 6 Puppy on the Wagon

Today, technically yesterday, while the bigs (my name for our oldest 2 kids) were running an errand for me, I told puppy I would take her on a wagon ride.

Here's a snippet of conversation as I started getting ready to leave the house.

Me: Hey Puppy are you ready for our walk?

Puppy: I'm not walking, I'm riding.

Me: That's right. I'm walking and you're riding.

Puppy: You're exercising and I'm restercising.

For more Friday Fragments click here.