Today is National Let’s Laugh Day and in observance, I’m sharing a list of some of the funniest books I’ve read.
In no particular order:
For the first years of my marriage, I felt like a pack mule, especially when the children were young, and I had to haul their things, too. My husband was always asking me, “Do you have room in your purse for this?” It could have been a camera, a flyer he saw somewhere and wanted to further investigate, or his sun glasses. The assumption was, the wife carries.
Maybe this comes from the hunter/gatherer stage of human development, when women gathered the berries, nuts, roots and such that ensured survival of the species. Men carried their spears. We hauled everything else. They had to be ready to hunt or defend at a moments notice. We lugged the babies and provisions.
Or it may come from the fact that for many years, women’s clothes didn’t have pockets. Having pockets for our wallets and such would ruin our “profile”. (Men wouldn’t be able to ogle our bosoms and backsides.) So we needed bags for our house keys and sunglasses.
My children, however, are now grown. And I am wiser. When TV Stevie and I go out, I carry a tiny bag just large enough for my cell phone, a purse-pack of tissues, a house key, a credit card, my ID, and lip balm. I am now as unencumbered as he is. And I like it.
If you know anything at all about me, you know I am a Bob Dylan fan.
I have been a Bob Dylan fan since there was such a thing to be.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be Bob Dylan. I wrote a term paper comparing His Bob-ness’s lyrics to those of Paul Simon.
I have actually read–multiple times–Tarantula. I still quote it regularly. And yes, it’s well-loved. (See the red electrical tape on the spine?)
Yes, I still have the Milton Glaser poster, although it it battered from being hung in so many apartments. Unframed. With thumbtacks. Shoot me now.
On one of our early dates, TV Stevie asked me what my favorite Dylan album was. “Blood on the Tracks,” I replied. “Mine, too,” he said. Turns out the man had every single Dylan album, plus a lot of bootleg stuff. (Remember, music wasn’t as accessible back then as it is now. The bootleg stuff? Was really bootlegged.) I’ve been joking for over 25 years that I married TV Stevie for his Dylan collection.
The first concert to which we took the chromos was Bob Dylan (and Willie Nelson) at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, NY. X-Chromo does a fabulous Dylan imitation.
A current co-worker once said, “Everyone back then was a Beatles or Rolling Stone fan.” “Hello?” I said. “Not me. His Bob-ness was my musical mecca.” Co-worker laughed and conceded the point.
I have a mix of songs I call “Dylan Says It Best” that I listen to when I’m angry or upset. If the situation is right, I sing along as loud as I can. I don’t have to worry about being on key.
Imagine my utter delight when I learned His Bob-ness won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have been saying for years that he is a lyrical genius. Guess I’m not the only one who thinks that.
So, just for fun, I’m resurrecting a post from April 2014.
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot harder than you think!
Pick your Artist: Bob Dylan
Are you a Male or a Female: JUST LIKE A WOMAN
Describe Yourself: ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME
How do you feel: FOREVER YOUNG
Describe where you currently live: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: BLACK DIAMOND BAY
Your Favorite form of Transportation: BLOWING IN THE WIND or LIKE A ROLLING STONE
Your Best Friend is: ABSOLUTELY SWEET MARIE
You and your best friends are: RAINY DAY WOMEN
What’s the weather like: A HARD RAIN’S GONNA FALL or HURRICANE
Favorite Time of Day: MEET ME IN THE MORNING
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE
What is life to you: I SHALL BE FREE
Your last relationship: MR. TAMBOURINE MAN
Your fear: MONEY BLUES
What is the best advice you have to give: DON’T THINK TWICE, IT’S ALL RIGHT
Thought for the day: ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE
How I would like to die: KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
My soul’s present condition: BEYOND THE HORIZON
My motto: THE TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGING
Thank you MJ for helping me unearth…uh…discover the treasures in my purse!
Here’s my current purse. I got this on sale for the season – a creamy white St. John’s Bay crossbody bag. I have two requirements for a purse. It must be a crossbody, and it must have tons of pockets! This one fits my requirements. I do change my purse out for fall/winter and spring/summer.
What’s inside:
The two outside pockets contain my keys and my phone.
Inside the main compartment you’ll find a few other essentials. Regular sunglasses for when I wear my contacts and prescription sunglasses for when I’m wearing my glasses. Lip balm, phone and glasses cleaner, and eyedrops. Oh, and my wallet. I bought this one a few years ago and still really like it. The back slot of this wallet is perfect for carrying my author business cards and I do hand them out!
Next up is a hodge podge of other “essentials.” I’m usually thankful for these when I need them. As a writer, I would be horrified to not have pen and paper, and the stylus comes in handy sometimes. Hand cream is a year round must. A Leathermen because you need scissors sometimes, cuticle stick, stain and hand cleanser, a nail file, and Advil.
The second picture shows the pile of coupons that are usually in my purse. They’re there to taunt me when I leave the store, purchased the item, and forgot to use the coupon…(eye roll)
I’ve only ever used the umbrella once. I still it carry it everywhere…. The Five Crowns cards are a favorite that I also forget about unless a family member reminds me. I like to keep at least one snack in my purse. It helps quell chocolate withdrawal crankiness. (big smile)
The stevia drops are a must because I’m addicted to coffee and iced tea. They live in the back pocket with some tissues and cough drops.
That’s everything! I try to keep what’s in there fairly light. I add a bottle of water if I’m going to be away for a while.
The Dragon Chronicles Book 3: Healing
Ewain Douglass and Marissa Mays are dedicated healers who work together, and live together, in tight confines. Too bad they set sparks off each other. They might struggle to remain professional to each other, but they’re working on it. Then the enemy sets his sight on the unmated, and targets Marissa with a vengeance.
Meanwhile, Lindy and Alex, the dragon and her controller, are still seeking to learn all they can about their abilities and their future. They tremble once they learn the identity of an enemy no one wants to face. One only the dragon has a chance to defeat.
The dragon has called her allies together and many have come. Paranym soon becomes crowded with the family members of family members. A war for their very lives looms.
Ewain and Marissa don’t have time to declare it on each other.
Available at Amazon.
D.R. Grady lives with her husband near Hershey, PA. She adores chocolate, laughing, collecting bags, books, and shoes, and writing stories that resonate with others.
Website: www.drgradybooks.com
Twitter: @drgradybooks
Amazon Author page
Faceboook Page: D.R. Grady
Google+: D.R. Gradybooks
I’ve been on the road quite a bit since the end of July. As I was getting ready to pack my laptop case for yet another excursion, I realized I have some odd things in there.
I keep meaning to buy an 3-prong-to-2-prong adapter to keep there.
It seems as if every time I pack up to go off and write, I think of something else I need to keep handy.
What do you keep in your laptop case?