Tuesday's Ten: 10 Potential Dangers of Walking the Trail

I live near a pretty nice trail in a neighborhood called Duck Creek. That should be a good enough reason for me to make use of the trail for exercise and/or leisure, but alas, I have an aversion to the walking, and another to the outdoors. Furthermore, I have come to hear about, witness, and experience 10 potential dangers of walking the trail. Here they are:

1. TRIPPING - Yes, I have tripped and fallen on the trail. While I'm well aware that it could happen anywhere, I would rather not have it be on the trail, where passersby may view this ordinary blunder and have a good laugh without stopping to offer a hand up. More than anything, it just hurts my pride - and I try to avoid places and situations where my pride might get hurt.

2. Sweater WEATHER - It's too cooooooold for you here and now . . . love the way that song sounds. Anyhow, weather is another factor that will keep me off the trail. It isn't usually a danger, but there are those occasions where it has been. Mostly, I'm just never satisfied with the weather I guess.

3. Speedy CYCLISTS - This might sound like another item that ought not to be listed as a danger, but I would advise thinking twice on that. Have you seen the cyclists in this city? They seem to think they own the road - and all the land actually. My own brother sometimes rides like a madman and he has had a fall or two. Even for the best, it can be so easy to lose control. There's no telling who or what will be hit in such an instance, so I try to stay out of the way.

4. DOGS unleashed - My mother has a fear of dogs since she was chased by one as a child, and I think I inherited that fear. Walking the trail last Friday I experienced a chase of my own.  Can I just thank the responsible owner who left their dog unattended outside without a leash? No, actually I think I should thank the woman walking the trail behind me who was able to lead the dog away from me by distracting him with her own two dogs.

My heart was pounding and I was screaming for help, since the pursuant dog looked a lot like this in my head.

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I probably looked crazy, because in actuality the dog was approaching me like this. All the same, it wasn't letting up and I promise you it started to pick up speed as I did my best to back away.

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5. Angry BIRDS - Kinda like the dogs, the birds on our trail will chase you persistently. Our neighborhood and trail are called Duck Creek for a reason. The birds you've gotta watch are the geese. Can you imagine how insane I look running from a goose? Try instead to imagine being chased by one. They'll come at you full speed, long necks extended, wings outstretched at their sides, making one of two horrible goose sounds - a serpentine hissing sound or their usual miserable honking sound. 

6. Poo Poo - Another bird issue. It's a common problem wherever you find birds and sky, but it seems particularly hazardous on the trail. Ducks are pooing on the ground, and all the other birds are pooing from the sky. Not one spot on the trail is safe.

7. COYOTE ugly - Some coyotes really don't look all that bad, but then there are the rest. I saw one from the safety of my car one morning while passing the trail on my way to work. I would have been terrified to encounter it on the trail and I  know that it could very well happen.

Do you remember Wile E. Coyote?  Oh and good news - coyotes don't typically eat humans.

8. Slithering SNAKES - I guess I'm not much of an animal lover at all. Snakes however, ought to be on everybody's list of dislikes. My siblings once saw a snake on the trail and whenever I think of it, I'm glad it wasn't me - I'd probably never walk there again. They still bike on the trail frequently.

9. Murky WATER - Every now and then the water in the creek has a certain glow and it can look quite pretty, but most days it is murky and I question what lies beneath the surface. I've seen enough curious misfits floating above it. Also, if by some odd circumstance I ever fell in, I'm not sure how I would fair, since I don't exactly know how to swim. 

10. STRANGER Danger - Yes, I know that strangers are everywhere and that not every one is out to get me, but there is always the chance. There is a part of the trail that winds behind houses where many things could go unnoticed (like a girl screaming for help as she is kinda-sorta chased by a dog). In a time where people seem to go missing without a trace every day, I have to bear it in mind and beware of such surroundings.

Tuesday's Ten: 10 Oldschool Movie Crushes

Every now and then I find that I am in the mood to watch a classic Hollywood film, but as with any other film I would watch, romance is a must, and I hope for an attractive male lead to follow on the screen. Classic Hollywood men have quite a look - timeless some might say, but not all of them are particularly attractive to me. Here are ten men who made the cut.

1. George Chakiris in West Side Story - "Nardo" as Maria called him, was like a billion times cuter than Tony, from his sharp features to the sound of his voice. Although his voice hardly serenaded viewers in the film, I just loved hearing him speak. What girl wouldn't fall for that accent? I don't know how authentic his accent was, but I bought it - would you believe he is actually of Greek decent?

2. Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday - Peck as reporter, "Joe Bradley" was probably the most attractive guy Audrey ever acted with in any movie (seriously, she was constantly ending up with these older actors who were just not hot enough for her). He had all the charm of a prince save for the title and a classically handsome face. Also, I never saw such so much flirting come directly from the eyebrows.

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3. Sidney Poitier in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner -a classically good-looking black man with a je ne se quoi about him, he brought such class to the role of physician, John Prentice. I'll bet there may have been some white women crushing on him even at the controversial time that it was released. It  was the first movie I saw him in and I learned watching him in other roles later his classiness was a trademark in his acting career. He also had an amazing accent - can an accent sound like chocolat (yes I mean chocolate in French)?

Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life - So much heart in one character, plus all the charm that Stewart brings to every role single one of his roles. It's no wonder he we call him Jimmy rather than John. Stewart is just so believably human and sweet as John Bailey - the stand-up guy a girl hopes to find no matter what day and age she is born in.

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Paul Newman in The Silver Chalice - I don't even remember what this movie was about. All I know is that Paul Newman was a really good looking guy - I can't remember many old movies where I could so appreciate the shirtless scenes - was he even shirtless? Nope, just in traditional Greek attire that showed off all of his best features, save for that adorable face. Fun fact: this film was Newman's debut.

Bruce Lee in The Game of Death - Bruce Lee was just so intense in all of his movies. He hardly needed words to convey what his character was thinking or feeling; it was written all over his face. He had that mysterious brooding face that is thought to be more typical of taller men. Also, he was ripped! And not so much so that it was off-putting. Martial arts must be the key to a perfect body. I specifically remember him wearing that yellow full body outfit in this movie. That and him taking down giant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Farley Granger in Strangers on a Train - Alfred Hitchcock films often featured characters with faces that could seem distinctly good or evil. Granger had a face that could go either way. But then, he also has a boyishness about him that decisively sways you to vouch for his innocence. I just loved that face, I guess. Side note: the shape of his face kinda reminds me of Tyler Posey.

James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause - I have only ever seen this movie in fragments, here and there when it was playing on television, so I don't remember much aside from the sad end, but boy howdy did Dean make rebellion look good.

Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls - Lemme just say, that this movie might not be my first choice, but it is the only one I've actually seen him in. Obviously I need to watch A Street Car Named Desire, because I've seen the photos and the clips and o my stars does he shine in that film. Anyhow, he brought to the character of Sky Masterson (can I just say that I love that name?) the masculinity that he was so very well known for. Sky was a classic Hollywood depiction of a bad boy going good for a girl - and that (at least on screen) for whatever reason appeals to me and women everywhere.

Gene Kelly in An American in Paris - One word: charm. Kelly as painter Jerry Mulligan has it in spades. His brand of song and dance was unlike any other in his time or ours, and frankly singing and dancing are bonuses for ladies from all throughout time. Did I mention that he had a killer smile?

Honorable Mention: 

Anthony Perkins in Psycho - What a cute psychopath! If you're raising your eyebrow right now, check out his resemblance to present day actor, Andrew Garfield.

Tuesday's Ten: 10 "Weird" things siblings do (or is it just mine?)

I've been told that my siblings and I are scary alike from our looks to our habits. I figure it's a sibling thing in general, but I sometimes wonder if it's just us. Of course every family, and especially siblings develop a set of norms between themselves, but some of our's seem unique.

1. Finishing one another's thoughts and sentences - It has been said that great minds think alike; perhaps we simply have great minds - every single one of us. Of course that may not be it at all, since they also say that cute couples and married folks finish one another's sentences, and that certainly does not apply to us.

2. Sharing endless inside jokes - Of course any set of people who spend a significant amount of time together, especially if they are close, build a collection of inside jokes among themselves, but our collection is huge, spanning from all our favorite movie/TV/book/personal quotes to the many references we have to situations we have been through with one another and with others.

3. Breaking out in song - You know how some people would totally be up for life being a musical (or is that a select few of us)? Sometimes life with my siblings is not unlike that. You know how on How I Met Your Mother Ted and Robin share that "General Knowledge" joke? If you don't here's a clip for you.

That's how me and my siblings are with basically any set of words that coincides with song lyrics we know. It's fun for us, but could possibly drive other people nuts.

4. nickNAMES - For starters, all of our names sound a bit alike since they all end in an "ah" sound (Moriah, Uriah, Kerissa, Ayana, Isaiah). Our nicknames share the same rhythm since they are comprised of a doubled syllable sound in each of our names (Momo, UU, KK, Nana, ZayZay). Personally, I often refer to my siblings using a single syllable sound (U, K, A, Zay).

5. Laughing in tune - We literally laugh in tune, same start and end times, same kind of laugh, pretty much the same sound. It's weird, I know.

6. Reacting to everything the same way - We pretty much react to everything in the same manner, from the look on our faces to the intonation of our voices and the actual words that we respond with. I am sometimes convinced that we share a brain.

7.  Telepathy - Likewise, we seem to be able to communicate without words. Since we've already had one HIMYM example, here's another that illustrates the way it looks.

8. Being Co-workers - Ever since my siblings started working there has always been a shared workplace between at least two of us. At one point, all three of us who work were working at the same place. It had not occurred to me that that was uncommon until people said so. Apparently that doesn't usually work out and it is rare for siblings to even want it in the first place. There are days that I wished that we did not work together and I know they feel the same of me, but most days, it's great to work with them.

9. Sharing Friends - Being that we work together, attended school together, go to church together, and pretty much do everything together, we share a lot more friends than most siblings. The fact of that matter is, you can't know one Georges without knowing another, or in most cases, without getting to know us all. 

10. Conference Communication - Sharing the number of friends that we do, we often communicate in conference style, whether it's a conference call or a shared Facebook message. It's kinda funny, because it's a bit like texting the person right next to you, only with an added person who is not present in the vicinity. It's most efficient as compared with the times when more than one of us is communicating with a shared friend separately at the same time.

Tuesday's Ten: 10 Road Trip Memories

When I was younger my family traveled a bit more. I've only ever been on a plane once in my elementary years and I don't remember much of it. My family of seven used to pack into a car and take to the road to make our trips across state lines. Here are ten vague memories I have of our road trips.

  1. Super-packing - I highly doubt that anyone could pack more efficiently than my parents. The amount of luggage and such that we packed into our car should not have been scientifically possible. I can remember my dad fastening a large grey bag to the roof of our car to afford us even more storage space.
     
  2. The Radio - There were a number of familiar songs that would come on often and to this day I remember those songs and eyes on the road as we sang along. A few of my favorites were Drift Away, Underneath it All, In the Living Years, and Cruisin'.
     
  3. The Candy Shop - Occasionally we'd stop by this vintage candy shop along a familiar route that sold old-style candy at a price reminiscent of simpler times. I have no idea where it was or if it is still around, but I so loved stopping there.
     
  4. Sleep Singing - My dad handled most of the driving on our trips since my mother was not fond of driving and especially hated highways (she still does). When he grew tired at the wheel he would sing some strange version of the songs on the radio, or other songs that came to his mind. Honestly the resulting sound may not have qualified as singing, but it helped him to stay awake and it was familiar to me always.
     
  5. Non-electronic Games -Before we had portable electronic games or worse, phones, we only had one another, our word puzzle books and a few brain games. We loved it all. One of my favorites was Brain Quest.
     
  6. Books, books, books - Although reading in the car can sometimes make you carsick, I mastered the art of doing it. I got so much reading done on our road trips. In a family as big and as talkative as ours, quite time is a necessity during long hours on the road. The best silence you can have in such moments is that which accompanies reading.
     
  7. Rest (stop) - There are two kinds of rest stops that I know of. One is the traditional kinds, where you pull off an exit and find a roadside parking or picnic area where you can stretch your legs, use rest rooms, get refreshments, etc. The second is the Georges kinds where you pull over on the side of the road, switch on your emergency lights, and say a prayer as you sorta-kinda sleep with one eye open.
     
  8. The Sun - Sunrises and sunsets  are like roadside pictures, so beautiful to watch. Did you know the shades of the sky are quite different across state lines? I especially loved watching the sun peek up over and creep behind mountains.
     
  9. Crossing Borders - The excitement of crossing borders never ends. It's kind of crazy how easy it is to be in a new state in a matter of seconds. It feels so wonderful to have that mark of progress after putting in hours on the road. I always picked up one of those state maps at rest stops to mark the cities and states we stopped in.
     
  10. The End - One fantastic part of any road trip is the end. Reaching your destination is a welcome relief for legs in need of stretching and fathers tired of driving. It brings about a sense of accomplishment and the excitement of the beginning of whatever adventure you set out for.