Favorite Things

 

Dear George,

The other day I decided to make a list of my favorite things in life.  I’m not sure what prompted this.  Perhaps a gloomy sense that our current lives are routine and unexciting.  In any case, I found it easy to make a lengthy list, and doing the task lifted my spirits.  The original entries spanned my whole life history from early childhood to the present, so I broke the items down into three separate time periods:  1949 (age 12, grade school); 1957 (age 20, 3rd year of college); and 2020 (age 83, the present).  Out of curiosity I asked my wife Katja to make the same three lists of her favorite things.  Our respective responses are given below.  I recommend this as a useful exercise for anybody who wants to remind themselves of some of the wonders that life has to offer. 

Love,

Dave

KATJA          1949 (Sixth grade)    1957 (College)     2020 (Current)  

Author         Robt Louis Stevenson  Herman Melville    Hilary Mantel 

Book           Nancy Drew Mysteries  Moby Dick          The Odyssey

Movie          Gone w/ the Wind      Gone  w/ the Wind  Lawrence of Arabia 

Actress        Elizabeth Taylor      Elizabeth Taylor   Charlize Theron

Actor          Randolph Scott        Montgomery Clift   Bradley Cooper 

Music          Country Western       Folk Music         Classical

Musician       Harry Belafonte       Odetta             Andre Watts   

Radio/TV       The Shadow            Your Show of Shows Downton Abbey 

Comedian       Danny Kay             Peter Sellers      Joan Rivers

Play           Romeo and Juliet      Richard III        Richard III 

Musical        (None)                West Side Story    Fiddler on Roof  

Sport          Baseball              Baseball           Tennis 

Athlete        Richie Ashburn        Richie Ashburn     Roger Federer 

School         History               Literature         Literature

Leisure        Reading               Traveling          Reading/music/TV 

Politician     (None)                (None)             Barack Obama 

Food           Chicken a la King     Chicken a la King  Raw oysters

Collectible    Baseball pics         Stuffed animals    Table linens

Place to shop  (None)                Wanamakers         Nordstrom’s 

Breed of dog   Scotties              Standard poodle    Old English Sheepdog

Vacation       Jersey shore          France             France  

DAVID          1949 (Sixth grade)    1957 (College)     2020 (Current)   

Author         Mark Twain            Bernard Malamud    David Sedaris

Book           Huckleberry Finn      On the Road        Me Talk Pretty…

Movie          Roy Rogers movies     The Seventh Seal   Casablanca

Actress        Dale Evans            Marilyn Monroe     Helen Mirren

Actor          Roy Rogers            Humphrey Bogart    John Malkovich

Music          Pop music             Jazz               Country Western 

Musician       Spike Jones           Thelonius Monk     Patsy Cline

Radio/TV show  The Jack Benny Show   I Love Lucy        Ray Donovan

Comedian       Groucho Marx          Jackie Gleason     Steve Carell              

Play           (None)                The Iceman Cometh  August: Osage Cty

Musical        (None)                Threepenny Opera   Sweeney Todd 

Sport          Golf                  Tennis             NFL football

Athlete        Joe Louis (boxing)    Wilt Chamberlain   Aaron Rodgers

School         Spelling              Creative writing   Poetry writing

Leisure        Comic books            Com’s Tavern      Poetry writing

Politician     Pres. Harry Truman     Hubert Humphrey   Barack Obama

Food           Ice cream              Pizza             Cheeseburgers

Collectible    Baseball cards         Jazz records      Antique postcards

Place to shop  G.I. Surplus Store     Strand Bookstore  St. Vincent de Paul

Breed of dog   Irish setter           Irish setter      Old English Sheepdg

Vacation       Chicago                New York City      New Orleans