OK, this will take a little digging on your part. Fun, ja? Research first thing in the morning?

Day 3
List five interesting facts about the year you were born.

I know BoomR, Suzanne and I share the same birth year, so I’ll try not to take all the cool ones.

In 1959…

1. Bonanza premiered on NBC. It was the first weekly television series broadcast completely in color.
2. The average cost of a new home was $12, 400.
3. Ben Hur won Best Picture at the Oscars.
4. On 3 February, the music died.
5. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president — the last US president to be born in the 19th century (1890). His vice president was Richard Nixon.

Interesting, I know.  Who says you don’t learn anything by reading  the Fink? OK, let’s get crackalackin’. Click here and have at it.

Day 2
Describe your first car.

In 1976, my dad cosigned for a $500 bank loan to close the deal on a lime green 1971 Ford Pinto for me. A really nice one would have looked like this:

Of course, mine looked nothing like the picture. Lots more wear and tear, and since it was Ohio: rust. Then there was its tendency to blow up on rear impact. Ford ran the numbers and decided it would be cheaper to pay out damages in lawsuits than to fix the problem, but the notorious “Pinto memo” is shrouded in controversy and widely misunderstood (even though Time bought it).

One of the funniest memories of my Pinto was having to drive my boss (president of the company) home in it one summer afternoon. The reaction from a man who had driven only Cadillacs and Continentals for 30 years was quite entertaining. Still, the little piece of junk never died on me, and I drove it all over creation without a single thought of a breakdown — long before there were cell phones to call out for help. It was a different time, you know?

So, tell me about your first car.

Everybody’s doing it; you can read them on countless blogs and see it on Facebook every day in pictures. Why not an RtB version? But here’s the catch: you have to do it with me.

Each day I will pose a question we all must answer. (Now would be a good time for the lurkers to delurk. I know you’re out there. How do I know? Sorry, classified.)

Day 1
What are some of your most treasured childhood memories? Give a list.

1. Going to elementary school in the fall. The smell of leaves, construction paper, glue, mimeograph ink; Miss Rinehart’s long hair and pretty dresses.
2. 1965. Lying in bed on Christmas Eve, swearing I could hear sleigh bells in the distance. Waking up to find a cowgirl outfit under the tree, complete with skirt, blouse, boots, hat, pistols and gun belt.
3. Eating Sunday dinners at Grandma Johnson’s house, with all the cousins there.
4. Playing with next-door neighbors Mary Sue and Wendy Lapish until dark.
5. Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood — at night.

OK, your turn. Anything come to mind? Tell. The more I know about you, the more stuff I can blackmail you with later.