The New Monday Melee

Fracas has given our Monday Melee a facelift with new questions. Funny, I was just sitting here wondering what has become of the Melee. I hadn't done it in a while because I had run out of answers for the previous questions, and here we have new ones. The timing couldn't be more perfect.

1. The Magnificent: Name someone you absolutely adore, and tell us why.
I just adore the old trumpet player in town known as Skeets. He's pushing 90, if he hasn't already reached it, and he plays an old crusty trumpet with his left hand. The year he is unable to play Taps at the town Memorial Day service will be a sad one.

2. The Muddy: Tell us something about life you just don’t “get”.
I don't get why people become venomous about their politics. They don't just support their candidate of choice or vote according to their conscience. They get downright nasty about it.

3. The Magnetic: Name something or someone good (or bad) you’re drawn to and you just can’t help it. Tell us if you want to change this or not.
I am completely hooked on the show Lost, and I can't help it. The plot is thin, and each episode doles out only a tiny bit of progress in telling the story, like letting out an inch of rope at a time. But when it comes on, from the first beat to the last, I'm glued. I don't mind, though.

4. The Mainstay: Who or what is something you just can’t live without? Why?
Coffee would be the mainstay. It's warm and smooth and comforting and satisfies day or night. The good stuff smells, great, tastes great, looks great—must BE great.

5. The Masquerade: Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t already know.
I have a scar on left knee from when I fell down in the seventh grade. I was running into the school and tripped on the curb. I must have landed on a pebble or something, because I ended up with a little hole and a permanent mark.

6. The Mettle: Tell us about a time you showed courage in yourself, or tell us what you wish you had the courage to do.
I am afraid of lots of things, and enclosed spaces is one of them. I don't mind so much if the walls or close, but if the ceiling is close, then I would prefer to excuse myself from the situation. Once I was in a very crowded elevator in a shopping mall, and going from the third floor to the basement, the thing got stuck. I was closest to the emergency button and call button, and I very calmly placed the call to get us unstuck. Phew.