A meme for Woman in the Moon

Woman in the Moon and I began writing here at about the same time in 04, but it took us awhile to hook up.  She is one of the writers who make it worthwhile to be here- a good writer who tells us of her life in a place I, for one, know little about.  I am not ashamed to say that she has given me food for thought and has been a real influence on what I think and how I think it.

*

Dictionary.com defines "meme" as: A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. The idea of the meme list is you leave me a note that you want me to meme you. I pick a few random entries from your diary and respond with the following:

1.  Something random:

A picture she recently posted, two tractor tires and wheels leaning against the barn.

2.  The challenge:  Recently, Woman in the Moon wrote a meme for me (and it was a really fine one, that made me blush all to hell) and in it, she challenged me, but didn’t, to obey stop signs and to stop attacting police attention on my paper routes. Although that wasn’t the real challenge, I’ve gone ahead and done it anyway- I make full stops now and haven’t seen any cops since then.  The real challenge she made me was one made privately that I am also happy to say that I have accepted and am acting on, and it’s going pretty well, I think.

As for a challenge for Woman in the Moon:  Read Ken Kesey’s "Sometimes a great notion" and tell me what you think of it- it is an Oregon story, and is, in my humble opinion, a Great Tale.  I think you’ll really like it.

3.  A color I associate with you:  The greens of alfalfa, of soy beans, of other crops growing in your fields.  You are an earth mother.

4.  Something I like about you:  You have your head screwed on straight.  You seem like a no-nonsense kind of woman, one who knows her mind and acts on it.  And, you write me good notes – meaningful and insightful notes.  Always a plus in my book.

5.  My first memory of you is a note you lift me on an entry of mine where you said:  

Are you serious? You mean what you said? [woman in the moon] 

and my reaction was, umm, defensive.  Not to say it was a bad reaction…but not it was a good one either.  I think I blocked her at that time (never said I was, like, nice, did I?) but I reconsidered and next heard from her on this entry: about two weeks later, when she wrote:

I love newspapers. We take for granted what it takes to get them to us. Thanks a lot. [woman in the moon]

Stroking the Cat is always good for lots of points, and besides. having read some of her diary by then, I came to see that this was someone I wanted to know.

6.  You remind me of a wise old Mule, one who knows her mind, what she wants, and who to support to get it.  This isn’t to insult you- mules are smart animals.

7.  Something I’ve always wanted to ask you is this- you’ve mentioned the west coast and especially the Redwood Highway in Northern California a few times, and I wonder how you came to travel that road- that magnificent and awe inspiring highway through the grandest trees around- could you tell us about it?  It seems it was a significant trip for you.

Woman in the Moon is one of my favorite writers, one who has taught me a few things; one I admire greatly for her activism in politics, her showing us of her life, and of the farm she lives on, and for her wisdom and insights.  She began this meme thing, and it’s been a fun way of learning about other ODers and about myself – Woman in the Moon, I salute you!

*****