A Good Memory...

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One of the things that brings back good memories for me is the Peanuts theme song. It was written by a jazz musician Vince Guaraldi. My mother always liked the Peanuts characters, especially Snoopy. From what I can tell her love stemmed from when my brother had a Snoopy plush doll, which looked something like this. She had given it to him because my Dad was away (My Dad was a helicopter pilot in the Navy for a bit of time before becoming an Officer). My Mom and brother had apparently gone to see a Snoopy movie (not sure which one), and my brother became attached to the Snoopy plush doll. I am not sure about the complete accuracy of the story because my memory of what she told me could be somewhat wrong.

Every time I hear the theme song, it brings a smile to my face and kind of makes me want to dance. My love of the Peanuts stemmed from my Mother. I think my love of the characters also has to do with the semi-simplicity of it all.

What is something that brings back a good memory for you?

-D

Charlie Brown Christmas Dance

Surreal

It's said often that life is short, and we never know when it might end. A day like today reminds me of this all too well. I found out sad news that my cousin passed away. I was never really close with him, as he was a distant cousin. Though, I had just seen him over the summer, and he seemed fine/happy, and he was one of the few family members that lived farther away that came to my Mom's funeral. I have always seen him as a good person, and I hope he is in peace now.

The song "Don't Wait" by Addison Road is relevant to today. Here is part of it:

"I never even got to say goodbye [...]/But life is short you only get one turn /Whoa oh gone before you know /Whoa oh so make the most /We're not indestructible /Our lives, unpredictable /It can turn on a dime so now is the time ."

Link to Lyrics

Davida

This is pretty cool...

I think it's great to see these kids playing this type of music. It gives me hope that creativity isn't a lost art! I saw this group play on t.v. last night.

10 Random Facts

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1) The male platypus has venom in its back leg (a sharp thorn like appendage on its back feet). The venom is not usually deadly, but the effect from it sure isn't pleasant.

I learned this last night at game group. (http://australian-animals.net/plat.htm)

2) There are about 164 dog breeds (I saw various answers) and 70 cat breeds.

http://www.justdogbreeds.com/; http://cats.about.com/od/felinegenetics/a/colorpatterns.htm

3) The Candy Cane's origin: http://inventors.about.com/od/foodrelatedinventions/a/candy_canes.htm

4) How did Santa Claus originate: http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/santa.asp

5) The first video game was "Tennis for Two". http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/higinbotham.asp

6) First Candy Bar: The "early humans made candy out of honey by drying it and forming a taffy like concoction" (http://www.ehow.com/about_5152551_first-candy-bar-ever-invented.html).

7) How did the name Tucson come into origin? http://phoenix.about.com/cs/wacky/a/phxspelling01_3.htm

8) The First Computer: http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm

9) How was the Grand Canyon formed? http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm

10) First Recorded Song: http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200804046

Poem I wrote last night

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Not sure if it is complete yet. Here it is:

This time of year…

Always brings that nagging feeling

Of a hole on the inside of my heart

The endless Christmas songs played on the radio,

the colossal amounts of decorations in stores,

and the “need” to feel happy…

Pile into doldrums

Followed by a storm of impatient anger

Written by Davida Thomas (No Copying Under Any Circumstances) Dec. 2011

Who knew it would still be this way?

This Time of Year...

I often feel inundated by the amount of things in stores this time of year. I may be stretching it a bit, but I believe that this detracts from what this time of year is about.

Some things I think it is about:

1) Watching holiday movies with family.

2) Spending time with family and friends.

3) Ornaments from years past

4) Tradition

...and much more

Even with all of this, it's sometimes hard to remember that this time of year is supposed to be happy, whether it be due to missing family members who have passed or any other reason.