Straight Dope Message Board

[Beckdawrek]

Well, sorta. I was a ballet dancer through college and I danced in the corps for many musicals the theatre dept. put on. Never acted.
Danced in many ballets, too.

HYE ballroom danced?

[Elendil's Heir]

No, but it looks fun. Just about every Jane Austen adaptation includes a ballroom dance scene.

HYE read Jane Austen?

[gkster]

Yes!! I've been a big fan for 45 years and have read all the novels (published and fragmentary) as well as her letters, completions of her novels by other authors, early short stories etc.
BTW I just read a fascinating article about a pelisse (coat) that probably belonged to her: https://austenonly.com/2015/06/11/re...ilable-to-all/

Have you ever worn vintage clothing?

[panache45]

I think all my clothing is vintage by now.

HYE gone out in public barefoot (not counting beach, pools, etc.)?

[Dendarii Dame]

No.

Have you ever found someone else's lost dog?

[Beckdawrek]

Yes. A dog showed up on my road. I brought him home and fed him and washed him. It was a smallish corgi mix. Very sweet. He was an older dog. I couldn't imagine anyone would drop off such a nice dog. He had a collar and tags but the name was unreadable. I called him Norm. I decided to take him to the vet a few days later and lo and behold he was microchipped. We were able to find his owner. Almost 20miles away from my house. They had been looking for him for a few weeks and had given up. They don't know how he got out of their yard and as far away as my house. His name was not Norm. It was Storm. Go figure. I got a Christmas card from him with a picture this past year.

HYE ridden an Elephant?

[Cardigan]

I know my son did years ago when we visited the zoo. I don't actually recall if I did or not. I don't think I did, because I took the picture of him riding the elephant.

HYE had any notable phobias?

[Elendil's Heir]

I'm kind of a germophobe. I don't touch doorknobs or elevator buttons with bare skin if I can possibly avoid it.

HYE been to London?

[panache45]

Yes, I spent a wonderful week in London, including a day trip to Stonehenge.

HYE buried a pet (supposedly dead) in your yard?

[Beckdawrek]

I did. My very old(20+) Rat Terrier died in her sleep and we made a little grave site and stone in one of my flower beds. She would lay there and sun herself and we argued about it continuously over the years. She got the last word, so to speak.

HYE witnessed a robbery in person?

[Elendil's Heir]

No, but I saw a drunken guy attack his girlfriend on a city street and was one of several people who rushed to stop him. Police arrived very soon afterwards, fortunately.

HYE seen police make an arrest?

[Spoons]

Yes, a few times. The most memorable was when they took down a suspect outside of the coffee shop where I was having coffee. I watched it through the window.

Have you ever bet on sports (not including horse racing)?

[Dendarii Dame]

No.

Have you ever played bridge?

[Alpha Twit]

When I was maybe ten years old, my mother and two of her sisters spent maybe half an hour trying to teach me to play. Yeah, I would not qualify it as time well wasted.

Have you ever worn a straitjacket for any reason or for any length of time?

[Spoons]

Never, but I have a feeling that I knew a few people who have.

Have you ever been disappointed by a craft beer or microbrew?

[kayaker]

I've had hundreds of thousands of craft beers. I've been disappointed by a few, but I've never not finished one.

HYE been to a beer or wine fest?

[Spoons]

Yes. Years ago, I attended a beer fest, at which I was pleased to find that not only was there a bar serving some great beers, but also a cigar vendor selling its wares in the bar. I enjoyed some great beer and a fine cigar.

Have you ever been in the studio audience for a TV show?

[Bayaker]

Yes, my 5th or 6th grade class(1967-1968?) went to see the talk show Panorama at channel 5 in Washington, DC. It was anchored by Maury Povich in his pre-Connie Chung days.

HYE gone to a theater screening of a silent movie?

[Cardigan]

Nope. Never.

HYE been magnanimous in victory, and gracious in defeat?

[gkster]

Yes, but maybe modest in victory rather than magnanimous; when congratulated for being hired for a job with over 200 applicants I said "I was in the right place at the right time"

And when I met the successful candidate for a job I'd applied for and congratulated her, she thanked me for being very gracious.


BTW re Bayaker's question above, I've attended a silent movie screening, with live piano accompaniment, in a small theater. I really don't remember what the movie was, though.

Have you ever helped put out a fire, major (like a whole building) or minor (like in the kitchen)?

[Dendarii Dame]

No, but I do have in-laws who used to be volunteer firefighters.

Have you ever attended a convention?

[Czarcasm]

Several times a year, hundreds of times in my lifetime-generic science fiction, Doctor Who, gaming, anime and many others.

HYE volunteered at a convention?

[Cardigan]

Sure. Been to a handful of work-related conventions and have attended several Olde time radio/nostalgia conventions too. [ninja'ed Edit: I actually worked at one of the professional conventions and two of the nostalgia conventions too)

HYE owned a baseball glove?

[Elendil's Heir]

Yes, when I was a kid, and now, too.

HYE played catch with someone much older than you?

[Czarcasm]

When I was a kid in Little League I got to play catch with Brooks Robinson, using my Brooks Robinson baseball glove, at an exhibition game.


HYE been to a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show?

[gkster]

Yes, with my kids' Cub Scout troop, around 10 years ago
Also, for years and years they used to park their train on a siding right next to the building where I work for a couple of weeks while doing their show at a nearby venue. I wasn't a particular fan but it felt like the end of an era when they closed.

HYE fed peanuts or anything else to a zoo animal?

[Spoons]

Yes. When I was a child, we had a small zoo in our city. On visits, we'd often take treats for the animals. Feeding them through the bars was allowed in those days.

Have you ever been delayed more than four hours in an airport?

[Beckdawrek]

Spent the night in O'hare back in the day. Was horrible.


HEY had an emergency landing in a plane?

[Spoons]

Almost did. I was flying into Calgary on a commuter flight, in a Beechcraft 1900D. It was very windy, and we had turbulence the whole way. The Beech 1900 is not a large or heavy aircraft, and what wouldn't bother anything larger would bother it.

And it did. We hit the Calgary runway squarely, but then a gust of wind twisted us, and we yawed. At about a 45-degree angle to the runway. The pilot hollered, "Hang on folks!" to the passenger cabin (no cockpit door on the Beech 1900, so he could yell to us without using the PA) and struggled to get us back on track. He did, thankfully. Otherwise, we would have turned turtle, broken a wing, and so on. As they say, "any landing you can walk away from is a good one," and I was able to walk into the terminal once we came to a stop. So it was a good, if a little unnerving, landing.

Have you ever flown on a commuter flight?