Rapid-fire responses today. See how many of these you can answer without phoning anyone for help. I will enjoy finding out yet more coolish facts about my RtB fiends.

Day 8
When you were ten years old…

1. In what city and state did you live? Brown Deer, Wisconsin
2. What kind of car(s) did your parents drive? A ’67 Pontiac Catalina and a ’65 Chevy Impala
3. What was the name of your elementary school? Algonquin Elementary
4. What was your (5th grade) teacher’s name? Mrs. Rubin
5. What was the name of the street where you lived? Silverleaf Lane
6. What did your dad do for a living? Cost accountant, E.R. Wagner Mfg. Co.
7. What were your favorite TV shows? “Bewitched,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Hogan’s Heroes” (I can still hear Dad laughing at Klink and Schultz)

Ready, steady, go!

Mothers Day version! (Sorry I’m late in posting today; the Js just left after an awesome sleepover.)

Day 7
Name one life lesson or epithet your mother used that has stuck with you all your life.

My mother repeatedly told me, “If you tell the truth, you’ll never have to keep track of what you say.”

Good advice.

What did your mama teach you? And Happy Moms Day to all moms and those who function as moms.

Day 6
In your opinion, what is one of the most useful mechanical/electrical inventions of the last 150 years?

This one should get some interesting answers, given the many areas of human existence machines of all kinds have improved. I’m going to go with the ” in the home” category, and say that the most valuable invention is the automatic clothes washer.

Can you imagine the alternative? (And on the division-of-household-tasks list, doing laundry isn’t even my job.)

Day 5
Tell a few things about yourself that very few people know.

[Of course, please omit felonies.]

1. Not really about me per se, but my father wrote a song called “Loser’s Lounge.” In 1970, Ringo Starr recorded it. Forty-one years later, Daddy still gets royalty checks from the publisher.
2. I almost majored in English ed. instead of music ed.
3. In 2006, I wrote a book under a pseudonym.

All right: True Confession time. Let’s hear it!

OK, this one’s going to be crazy.

Day 4
Name 3 things that annoy you beyond all description.

[But you still have to describe them. :P]

My question is: Which three to pick? There are **so many**. Some days, I think, “I haven’t a thing in the world to complain about; I’m blessed with a great family, wonderful friends, a good job. I shouldn’t squawk.” Then this week happened, and all bets are off. So…

I am annoyed by:

1. Motorcyclists who feel it’s their mission to drive past my house on a summer day and wait until they’re in front of my door to blast their gee-I’m-a-rebel-cuz-I-like-Seger-and-Springsteen after-market exhaust pipes, so it sounds like there’s a jackhammer in my living room. Honestly, I think violent, homicidal thoughts. OK, Do-Rag-Under-the-Pickelhaube. How about I wait outside on the tree lawn with a six-foot pipe, about 3 inches in diameter. You come back around, and I’ll just aim for your spokes. (And that’s one of my least violent thoughts.) *kABLaM*
2. People who let their children run around screaming like yard apes at a theater or restaurant (or, ahem, my concerts) without any supervision or control. They (the parents) either think it’s cute, or they’re completely oblivious to — or thoughtlessly inconsiderate of — everything and everyone around them. BOOT to the head.
3. Nutjob drivers who dart in and out of traffic, cutting people off while trying to pass everyone during an accident back-up, only to expect to be let in at the front of the line when they run out of real estate. *bANg*

You know why I limited it to three, right? I could list these bad boys all night and into tomorrow and beyond.

All right, fiends. Let fly. We’re allowed to snark this one time.