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 a place for my responses to the prompts from Andre the Blog Monkey's Banana Bar |
Fun times never stop at "Invalid Item"  .
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| Prompt: All of this traveling has made Andre hungry, and we don't want a Hangry monkey on our hands! So today's prompt is about food, and the best place for our buddy to eat in your town! What food or foods are your town/area noted for? What's the prevalent cuisine? Where is your favorite place to eat out in your neck of the woods? Athens is said to be the birthplace of the hamburger. As such, we have plenty of burger joints. Fast food restaurants reign supreme. However, if you want really good food, we have some local restaurants that need to be tried. For instance, if you are in the mood for a nice handmade deli sandwich, Shenanigan's Deli is the place to go. It is a family owned and run deli that makes their own breads, slices the meat in front of you, and uses nothing but the freshest produce. Their desserts are all made there too - and they're tasty. For a nice hometown sit-down restaurant, the Athens Boathouse has delicious fare ranging from hamburgers (of course) to steak, to fish tacos. Everything I have eaten there has been wonderful. And they also serve alcohol. For Mexican food, we have a couple of locally owned businesses where the food and atmosphere are worth giving a try. El San Luis is a great restaurant where they hand make their tortillas, both flour and corn. And Ochoa's Mexican Restaurant has the most wonderful avocado burritos and avocado enchiladas. And of course, both serve alcohol. Finally, if you like Cajun food, Wawa's Seafood Shack is the place for you. Their crawfish is amazing, and you get a ton of them in an order, along potatoes and cobs of corn - all boiled together. Wawa's is one of my husband's favorite places to eat (that's saying a lot since he is such a picky eater). Well, now I'm hungry. Off to see what I have in the fridge to eat!  |
| Prompt: What is the one thing nobody tells you about _______? - brought to us by SandraLynn Unfortunately, there are very few things people do not tell me. Well unless by "people" I mean my oldest daughter. She refuses to tell me or the rest of her family where she lives. She still talks to me every day, but ever since she moved away, her location remains a mystery. As for everyone else, like I said, it is unfortunate. They tell me everything. Even strangers. I must have a caring or understanding countenance because people I have never met will walk up to me and begin to tell me their problems, their life stories, all of it. Much of it is too much information bordering on uncomfortable. For instance, I once had a woman come into the store and begin to tell me all about the fight she had just had with her significant other. I don't know this woman or her "other" why is she telling me this? I have also had an ex-student (I am a retired teacher) tell me all about the failed relationship he had with the girl he was dating while he was in my class and all of the details that entailed - including some things that made me uncomfortable, as I do not do well talking about (or listening to, apparently) anything sexual. It's a line I just have a hard time crossing. Anyway, people me so many things. Many of which I wish they'd just keep to themselves and most which have absolutely nothing to do with me or my job. I suppose that's life in any of the service industries. Ugh! Word count: 276 |
| PROMPT:Write a blog entry about music's effect on our feelings on sadness and happiness. Music moves me. I can't help it. It comes in my ears and vibrates through my soul. I feel it to the core of my being both physically and emotionally. Music can make me soar, pick me up when I'm down, rile me, and even console me like a friend. There are days when I cannot help but be depressed. Music helps with that, some music helps me cry while other music comforts me or picks me back up - if only for the time it takes for the song to play through. Like I said, music can amp me up as well. On my manic days, I tend to listen to a playlist that is more aggressive like heavy metal or more akin to vanity (consider the songs "I'm Too Sexy" and "Oh Lord It's Hard to be Humble"). On laid back days I tend to listen to things like Bob Marley, Sublime, and Muddy Waters. When I need to quiet my mind, I choose classical, meditational, or tribal music of one kind or another. At then there are days when the only music I need is the music of the earth. Here's one of my Pick Me Ups/Happy Songs: And one that always helps me cry: Word Count: 221 |
| Prompt: So on Wednesday, you told Andre about great places to visit where you live. Now he'd like to know about the people who live or have lived where you do. - Tell us about a famous person or persons who lives or came from your Home Sweet Home I was surprised at the number of famous and well-known people from Athens, Texas. Athens is the birthplace and/or former home of a number of professional football players, politicians, a Major League Baseball pitcher, businessmen, a judge, a writer, and even a rapper. As per Wikipedia, these are the notable people from Athens, Texas:  Fred Agnich, Texas businessman, rancher, state legislator from Dallas; owned a wildlife preserve near Athens Fletcher Davis, one of a number of Americans who lay claim to inventing the modern hamburger Pete Donohue, Major League Baseball pitcher Jakeem Grant, NFL wide receiver for Miami DolphinsWilliam R. Hawn, businessman, sportsman William Wayne Justice, former United States District Court judge Fred LaRue, former aide to President Richard Nixon. Served four and a half months in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice for his actions pertaining to the Watergate break-in and the following scandalTerrence McGee, former NFL cornerback for Buffalo Bills Tay Money, rapperClint W. Murchison, Jr., businessman and founder of the Dallas Cowboys football teamSid W. Richardson, native of Athens, Texas, oilman, cattleman, philanthropistJames C. Spencer, former member of Texas House of Representatives, 1939-1941, 1947-1949, Henderson County Judge Stuart Spitzer, surgeon in Kaufman, Texas, and former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, 2015-2017, born in Athens in 1967Barron Tanner, former NFL defensive linemanand  S.A. Bailey, writer, blogger, semi-professional gun nut, satirist, former paratrooper and veteran of the U.S. ArmyThat's quite a lot of people for such a podunk little town in the middle of nowhere Texas! Word Count: 308 |
| Prompt: Take a drive down memory lane and arrive at the Drive-In Theater. (circa ????) Tell us about your first experience attending a Drive-in movie. Be as descriptive as your memory allows. The first movie I remember watching at the drive-in movie theater was Porky's. I was pretty young, about six I think, but back then, a lot of parents took their kids out to the movies and/or bars with them. We were in my Momma's gold Ford LTD and we had the sunroof removed so we kids could stand up in the car and watch from a more out-door vantage point. The part of the movie that has stuck with me all these years is where the girls are in gym exercising and they are all saying, "We must, we must, we must improve our busts...The bigger the better, the tighter the sweater..." Don't ask me why this particular scene stuck with me all these years, but it did. I think in a way, that scene made me feel less uncomfortable about getting my boobs before any of the other girls at school - and later, proud even of my large bosom. I don't remember much more of it than that. Weird, isn't it? The things we remember and the things we forget. Word count: 212 |
| Prompt: Prompt: Describe the plot of one of your favorite comedy movies WITHOUT saying the movie's title. Challenge your readers to guess the title of the movie you described. The movie is loosely based on elements of Shakespeare's Hamlet, most of the film was shot in Toronto, Scarborough, Kitchener and Hamilton, Ontario. Parts were also filmed in Prince George, British Columbia. Two toque wearing, beer drinking brothers stumble onto a secret plan to take over the world by placing a mind control substance in a popular drink made where the brothers work. The brothers are framed for murder, declared insane, and placed in an institution. They break out of the institution with the help of a retired hockey player. Their dog turns into a superhero and flies to the celebration where the initial coup is supposed to take place. The dog is painted like a skunk and scares all the innocent people away to keep them safe. The brothers remove all of the mind control juice tainted beer and save the day, getting to drink a seemingly endless supply of beer at the end of the movie. |
| Prompt: Let us see How wrong you can be - Thursday, May 5, 2020 You decide to join a book club and the first book you need to read for discussion is Les Misérables. What is this book about? WRONG ANSWERS ONLY. Les Misérables is a book about an up-and-coming racehorse farm, its owners, and their journey toward owning a Triple Crown winner. Mitch and Danna Sérable, who own Les Misérables Stables, hire a new trainer/rider for their recent acquisition, a jaunty one year old Thoroughbred named Official Business who was born from the bloodline of Justify, the 2018 U.S. Triple Crown winner. Through years of training and races, they learn the strengths and weaknesses of their horse and their relationship. The story culminates a handful of months before the Kentucky Derby, as their trainer/rider admits to the Sérables that he has a drinking problem. After being released from the treatment center, he wants to prove to himself and the Sérables that he was the right man for the job. The story ends happily with Official Business winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and finally the Belmont Stakes. |
| A Day Late, but...Mystery Guest Prompter Prompt: Write about something you lost that you’ll never get back. Memory. You see, I have epilepsy and every seizure I have steals more and more of my memory. Some of these memories are short term and don't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but through the years I have seen a significant loss of memory and cognitive ability. I've lost memories of dearly departed loved ones, much of the education from college for all three of my degrees has been lost as well. This loss is the reason I no longer am able to teach, no longer able to program. I've mostly gotten over the embarrassment of forgetting what I am saying mid-sentence and forgetting someone's name is so commonplace that I make light of it, telling people up front that I won't remember them. I'm not being rude, just realistic. What still bugs me though, is the loss of the happy memories of my youth and the loss of many of the memories I made with my husband and my daughters as they grew from babies to young women. I know I'll never get those memories back and when someone shares their memories of those experiences with me, they are like looking at photographs rather than true memories that I could see in my mind and experience with my other senses. Maybe one day, I will lose the knowledge that I am losing my memory. Maybe that day, I will no longer have any regrets. |
| 5/4 Prompt: If Andre visits your Town, what are some places/sites/locations he should visit? 2. Famous locations or places to see in the town/area For those in whose interest lies the creepy, Fuller Park is a great place to start. But I'd advise Andre to stay away from the Monkey Cages lest his ancestors come back a visiting. It would probably also be a good idea to "miss" seeing Monkey Bridge as well, for the same reasons. All kidding aside though, Athens is full of history. There are historical markers everywhere in the area. I'd advise him to go check out our local pub, Athens Brewing Company. From there it's just a short stumble to the old Texan Theatre where he could chill out and listen to some great local musicians (and drink even more). He could find specialty brews at Come and Take It to take back to his hotel or for consuming as he fishes one of the numerous lakes in the area. If learning about local aquatic wildlife is in Andre's list of interests, we have the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center where they breed fish species endemic to Texas to restock the state's lakes. After a short drive east, Andre could enjoy the day zip-lining through woods thick with pine and hardwoods in a small town called New York. To the west of Athens on Cedar Creek Lake is another draw for people (and monkeys, I suppose) from around North America, Gun Barrel City. Only in Texas, right?! There are plenty of open-air bars in Gun Barrel for whiling away those warm summer nights while overlooking a huge lake. If fishing is his cup of tea, the area boasts three large lakes within thirty minutes of Athens, all of which are great for fishing for bass, crappie, or catfish. Just to the south, in Palestine, we have the Texas State Railroad Commission, where you can book train rides. They even have adult only cars that serve alcohol where you can enjoy the ride without having to deal with someone else's bratty kids. Palestine is also home to a quaint little hole-in-the-wall bar that serves amazing draft brews alongside some of the best deli sandwiches this side of Dallas. A little farther east of Palestine (and one of my favorite areas), there is another Railroad Depot in Rusk that is also run by the TSRC that gives train rides. Rusk is amazingly beautiful with towering pines, and in the spring, flowering dogwoods and wisteria that crawls through the trees making great canopies of drooping purple flowers. Northeast of Athens is Tyler, where they have an awesome public rose garden, a zoo, and of course, more bars. Directly north of Athens is Canton, a shopper's dream come true, as they host what is touted as the World's Largest Flea Market every first Monday weekend, where you can browse the wares of over 4,000 vendors. In the area, there are loads of things to do and places for camping, state parks, city parks, and about 8 or 9 disc golf courses. Plenty to keep a person, or monkey, on the go. |
| PROMPT: Share a sad story in your blog entry, but not just any sad story, your sad story should have an interesting twist or an unexpected happy ending. Your story can be taken from personal experience, something you witnessed, or completely fictitious. I loved him. I loved him with all my heart and soul, and we were inseparable. He was privy to my fondest dreams and was a keeper of all my secrets. Winter nights were spent relaxing beside a nice, warm fire and summer days were spent running together through woods, stream, and fields. I guess you could say Rocky was my first love, as far as a human can love a pet anyways. It's true what they say, you know. Dogs really are a man's best friend, a girl's bestie too. Rocky was a fixture on the farm and my constant companion. Down at the creek one day, I came across a snake. I guess Rocky could tell I was scared because he attacked it before it could get too close to me. The next day, he wasn't waiting on the porch for me when I woke. I walked the farm calling for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Days went by and still he never appeared, never came to my calls as I continued to walk the pastures looking for him. I was despondent, crying myself to sleep each night of his disappearance. One day, I happened to hear a whine as I passed by the sheep barn. Immediately, I ran into the barn in search for him. I found him bedded down amongst the hay in the feed room. His snout was swollen so much his right eye was closed. He must have gotten bitten while he was keeping the snake away from me. I rushed to get my family, hoping that maybe my big brother or parents could carry him back to the house. We did get him back to the house and I set up a nice bed area for him on the back porch. Daddy called the vet, who made a house call to see to my best friend. The doctor lanced open the bite and gave Rocky some kind of shot and left after telling us that there was no guarantee he would survive. I stayed by Rocky's side, crying, blaming myself. A child's logic that he wouldn't have been bitten if I hadn't wanted to go to the creek. So, I stayed there and I prayed and I tried to make deals with God. "Please, Lord let him live. If you let him live I'll never get in trouble again." Maybe it was blind hope, but I thought he was going to pull through. He didn't though. He died in his sleep and finally was no longer in the pain brought on by the venom from the snake bite. I cried for days. The world wasn't such a bright place to be any longer. A couple of months passed while I lived in that emptiness. Momma came to my room one day and told me to go out into the yard with her. I just figured she wanted me to help her in the garden or something. To my surprise, our neighbor was visiting. He had a litter of puppies in the back of his truck and one of them looked just like Rocky, only the fur on his head stood up on end like he had stuck his little paw in a light socket. Our neighbor had come to show us the legacy Rocky had left behind. After the pups were old enough to wean, the neighbor man let me keep the little bugger that looked like Rocky. I named him Einstein and he became my new best friend, until he went into the road and someone ran him over. But there were plenty of pets after him, some who wriggled their ways into my heart and stole my love just as much as Rocky had all those years ago. Is it fiction or is it real life? I'll let you decide. Word count - 684 |
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