The Saturday Post

My good friend Debbie had her retirement party last night. Shew ... 25 years at the same job! She's part of a dying breed, I believe, as people just don't do that anymore. Huge, huge kudos to Debbie for sticking it out!

This song is for her. Although her daughter did a bang-up karaoke job of it last night, I want to dedicate this version to her.

So here's to you, Debbie. (And don't you dare touch that to-do list yet! Take a break -- you more than earned it ... and probably need it after all those chocolate cake shots last night!)

(SORRY... THIS VIDEO LOST IN BLOG MAKEOVER)

Today's question:

What's the longest you've ever worked at one job?

I worked at the newspaper for a little over eight years. Before that, it was four years at the job where I met Debbie. I'm obviously not much of a long-term career person.

Charmed, I'm sure

On Saturday, Jim and I had to go to Walmart, one of my least favorite places in the world. I can't stand the bungled mess of a parking lot or the even more-bungled aisles. And the carts scare me: All the disinfectant wipes in the world can't get rid of the copious amounts of germs on them, and I'm finding as I get older, copious amounts of germs creep me out.

But Walmart is closer to my house than Target, and the place does have some pretty good deals. Still, it was a shopping excursion I wasn't looking forward to.

As we walked the 2.3 miles from where we had to park, I saw a penny (heads up!) and picked it up. Then Jim found one within a foot of that. He picked his up, too (even though it was heads down). With two good luck pennies in our pockets, I figured it would be a successful and survivable trip into hell.

It wasn't. Which isn't surprising, as I think it'll take a whole lot more than good luck charms to make Walmart a place I enjoy visiting.

But those unhelpful pennies reminded me of something I hadn't thought about in years: rabbit's feet, the go-to good-luck producers of the past.

Decades ago, rabbit foot keychains were everywhere. It was quite common to see a pink, green, purple or yellow foot dangling from a gal's purse or a guy's blue jeans, announcing to the world what a lucky chap or chapette they were -- or hoped to be.

I never had a rabbit's foot when I was a kid, but many of my friends did. I was partial to the non-Technicolor ones, the rabbit's feet that looked like the real thing. They were the creme de la creme of good luck charms, in my opinion, and my friend who was special enough to have one often let me hold her precious white rabbit's foot. I'd stroke the soft fur, hold it up to my cheek, feel around the tip of the foot for that little bunny toenail I knew was there.

I coveted that keychain and wished I were the kind of kid who could steal from a friend with a clear conscience. But I figured that even if I did manage to pocket the paw with no problems, the luck associated with the charm would disappear if I acquired it under less than scrupulous circumstances.

Now that I'm older and could afford a rabbit's foot if I really really wanted one, I no longer want one ... and haven't for about 35 years. They're actually kind of a gross little trinket to give a kid. I imagine many a bunny limped around with only one paw or, worse yet, had their tootsies removed just before being skinned and thrown into the pot for some hillbilly's wabbit stew.

So is that why rabbit's feet are no longer popular? Did PETA step in and educate the country on the true horrors associated with them?

And what has replaced them? Do kids even believe in good luck charms anymore? Is there a new version of the rabbit's foot, maybe a kinder, gentler charm?

I'm pretty sure kids aren't picking up pennies they find on the ground, happily picking it up and grinning at their good fortune as they stick it in their pocket, because even a kid -- maybe especially a kid -- knows that a penny doesn't get you very far nowadays.

Not even at Walmart.

Today's question:

What personal item do you have that you consider a good luck charm?

The Saturday Post

As I get older, I definitely notice myself getting more and more stupid an ever-so-slight decline in my mental capabilities. Especially my memory.

So when I received an e-mail that mentioned Test My Brain, I forgot about it for a couple months then rediscovered it yesterday I had to quiz the ol' noggin with a few cool cognitive tests.

According to the site, "Test My Brain is a website dedicated to internet-based experiments and science education. ... By participating in these experiments, you can learn a bit about your personality and individual aptitudes.   All of our experiments are designed to provide personalized feedback that is specific to you.  By making research relevant and helpful to individuals like you, we aim to make psychology and brain research more accessible and, ultimately, to promote awareness of scientific research.

As Test My Brain grows and evolves, we hope to continually expand our educational content, presenting the latest in brain research as well as results and what we've learned from these experiments."

Last night, I took the "Keeping Things in Mind" test (15 minutes) and the "Can You Name That Face" celebrity face-recognition test (5 minutes). Below are screen shots of my scores. Check them out (you may need to enlarge the screen to see the type ... maybe??), then visit Test My Brain to find out how you fare. And if you're oh-so daring, share your results here.

"Keeping Things in Mind" scores:

 

And the "Can You Name That Face" score:

I guess I'm not quite as cognitively impaired as I thought (although it did make clear that I really DO suck at anything with numbers). Give it a whirl, then share your scores.

Today's questions from "If... (Questions for the Game of Life)":

If you had to name the best purchase you've ever made, which one would you choose?

I would have to say ... Jim's vasectomy. HA! I'm totally kidding (maybe). No, I'd have to say the house we owned prior to the one we live in now because it was one heck of a deal that led to our ability to buy our current home (and provided many, many good memories ... although I don't think those were related to the purchase).