15 Things I Like

There was a time when banana flavored popsicles were my absolute favorite treat to buy from the ice cream man. He had the worst hands, chapped and cracked and callused from putting them into a cold ice cream truck every day, but he handed out the most wonderful treats. And we were always happy to see him, icky hands and all.

Banana flavored popsicles had two things going for them as far as I was concerned: (1) they were relatively cheap and (2) none of my friends liked them and so I didn’t have to share. I’d seen what “sharing” involved and I worked for my money while my friends got allowances. End of story.

Today you couldn’t get me to eat a banana flavored popsicle if your life depended on it. Well, okay maybe. But I’d have to be absolutely 100% certain that was the case.

These days my tastes run to the natural (those popsicles were artificially flavored and frankly didn’t taste all that much like banana), but bananas are a no-no for me these days because they give me a migraine headache. Go figure. Strawberries do too. And chocolate … ah well. Frozen chocolate covered bananas … picture my eyes closed in rapt appreciative memory.

I also once just loved to watch a good musical. Didn’t matter if it was black and white or color. If it had Fred Astaire, Gene Kelley, Bing Crosby or especially Donald O’Connor in it, I was glued to the television set. More recently, with the exception of “White Christmas,” they just tend to set my teeth on edge and make me wish I’d never given control of the remote control to my husband. I solved that one problem by cancelling all television reception.

So here is my list of fifteen things I like today. Fair warning … it could change tomorrow. It is presented in no particular order.

1. I like dogs. They are funny, just about always happy to see me and nice to pet. They are more complicated than some people might think, but still uncomplicated enough that you can pretty much figure them out. You know where you stand with a dog. I’m never shy around dogs.
2. I like horses. I can’t be around them anymore due to PTSD from a really bad accident that almost killed me, but I still like them. They smell nice. They feel nice. They’re just nice.
3. I like to hike. I like to hike in the desert. I like to hike in the mountains. I like to hike around lakes. I could have made this into three separate “likes,” but thought that might be cheating. I think it is fairly self-evident why I like to hike, but I’ll spell it out anyway. It gets me into nature and away from the complicated lives of the people around me. A tree is pretty much just a tree and a rock is pretty much just a rock. No guess work involved. Does there seem to be a theme developing?
4. I like to write. I always feel as if I am doing something when I am writing. Even if it’s just a bit of inanity, I usually feel better after writing something.
5. I like the video “Recovery Room Rambler.” It’s a short thing that aired on America’s Funniest Home Videos and won the $100,000 prize. You can find it if you search with the words “afv recovery room rambler.” Why do I like it? Because it makes me laugh every time I see it.
6. I like cats. We have a cat named Bonfire. He is not all that uncomplicated, but I’ve never held that against him. He can’t help it. He’s a cat. I like cats because I like cats and you’re not going to get any better reason why from me. That might be a whole article all on its own.
7. I like my husband. I also love my husband. The two are very different and not really all that interchangeable. But liking him certainly makes loving him easier and more enjoyable. Imagine if you loved someone that you didn’t really like all that much. As to why I like him, well that might take up an entire book.
8. I like whole grain rice spaghetti pasta with homemade meat sauce. I like it so much that I eat it once a week pretty much without fail.
9. I like sunrise. I like the pink and blue layering of the sky in the west as the sun comes up in the east. I like to hear the birds sing and I like the smell of the morning air.
10. I like sunset. I like the pink and blue layering of the sky in the east as the sun sinks below the horizon. I like the calling of the ravens as they fly from tree to tree while working out who will sleep where and with whom.
11. I like my computer. It is the best computer I have ever had. It’s fast and dependable. It gives me very little grief. And while it is quite complicated, it is not complicated in a way that vexes me … for the most part. The same cannot be said for many of the people I know.
12. I like spinach. When I was young, I hated spinach. But then, it came in a can, got warmed in a sauce pan, plopped on my plate and doused with vinegar. What kid would like that? Today I will eat spinach just about any way you want to fix it. Just don’t try to feed me frozen or canned spinach unless you like to wear it.
13. I like sleeping. I may not always like my dreams, but I like sleeping nevertheless. I always feel better after a good night’s sleep. There isn’t any more to it than that.
14. I like water. I think it is the perfect drink. There are no artificial flavors in it. There are no sweeteners in it, either real or artificial. There are no colors in it, either real or artificial and there are no calories. It’s pretty much the perfect drink. I don’t know why more people don’t drink more of it.
15. I like living … for the most part. Some days I like it more than others. Some days I like it less than others, but I always like it. Do I really have to explain this? Because that might require a book from me and I’m really not up that at this moment. Right now, I think it’s time for me to indulge in a little #13. Bernd already is.