E is for Epitome, Woven into a Wednesday Hodgepodge

E is for epitome,
With accent on the pit.
The man who stressed the "ep" instead
Was standing in the pulpit.

"Excuse me, Preacher," said my brain,
(my tongue stayed put, for once)
"Would you please say that again
for giggles, snorts, and grunts?"




Two for the price of one today, folks. I'm managing to combine my "E" word of the A-Z challeng with a meme I enjoy too much to forego during the challenge. Thanks, Joyce, for coming up with great Hodgepodge questions every week.

1. National Read a Road Map Day falls on April 5th. Would people say you have a good sense of direction? Do you rely on a GPS when you drive somewhere new? When was the last time you used a map?

People who would answer this question about me would say no, I don't have a good sense of direction. But I would say they're wrong. How can you be a geography teacher and not have a good sense of direction? Well, I will admit that I have called my husband on many occasions when driving to some of the very places I've been before. I call moreso because I'd rather double-check than double-back.

I have a good sense of direction in terms of knowing where things are in relation to outerspace. In other words, I can picture things from an aerial view. However, an aerial view is not all that handy when you're lost in a bad neighborhood after dark. On the ground. With your gas tank on E.

I hate the GPS. They're the epitome of frustrating technology. I've gotten lost using it to going to Ladew Gardens, a lovely sprawling topiary masterpiece here in northern Maryland. Had we not used the GPS, my sister and I would've gotten there in the usual 45 minutes. Good thing we had some "catching up time" to do as sisters separated by half a continent, because the two of us (and she is a master navigator) relied on the darn device and arrived in a mere 110 minutes.

I'd rather be given written directions from a local. They're the EPpy-tome of helpful in getting me from point A to point B.

2. What's your favorite cookbook?

Cookies & Bread Recipes, a collection of ...well, cookies and bread recipes...put together by a group of homeschoolers back in the mid-1990's (before h.s'ing was an acceptable educational form in modern culture). The darling little cookbook features my daughter Sarah's and my son Stephen's drawings when they were just 6 and 4, respectively. The spiral-bound booklet, printed on heavy cardstock, was sold to the visitors at our Defender's Day Celebration in Fort Howard, Maryland. I seldom actually use the book; it's a priceless treasure for the artwork alone!

3. What painting would you like to "walk into" and experience? Why?

Part of me wants to walk into da Vinci's "Last Supper" and just grab Judas by the throat and yell, "Don't you get it, man? Do you have any idea what Jesus is saying to you? Are you a MORON? A DERELICT? A FOOL?" And then I think, "Watch it, Zo. You'd be on holy ground in that picture, and besides, how many times has Jesus NOT taken YOU by the throat when YOU are being every bit as moronic, derelict, and foolish?" (I was going to say "derelicious," but that wasn't exactly the nuance I was going for.)

4. What annoys you more-- misspellings or mispronunciations?

Oh, boy. I would say misspellings annoy me. Mispronunciations usually amuse me. You can always tell who reads widely but hasn't actually heard the word they're using. Right context, wrong sound . Or, in the case I always think of, "right church, wrong pew" is a fitting cliche. We had a pastor when we were first married who was talking about a "cuh-MUL-a-tive effect" of praying often for someone. To this day, my hubby and I tease each other when we hear the word "cumulative." He'll say, "Watch out. If you do that over and over, it'll have a cuh-MUL-a-tive effect." The same pastor talked about the Bible being the "EPpy-tome" of all written instruction on godly living. Granted, it is quite a big tome, but Paul and I still chuckle when we hear the word "epitome."

5. What is something your mother or father considered important?

Good spelling and proper pronunciation.

6. Do you like or dislike schedules?

I love my own, and like others' if they fit into mine. No, seriously, I like schedules that have "free time" built into them on purpose. I work better with deadlines as long as I can count on sanity breaks. However, I do NOT like getting out of the house before 9:30 a.m, so one day a week it's a real squeeze on my natural rhythm to get to my teaching job. Sundays can test my Christianity, too, given I have to be at church by 9:52 in order to get five seats together-- and I refuse to be ushered all the way to the front. My pride is harder to lose than weight.

7. Let's have some fun with National Poetry Month (that would be April)...write your own ending to this poem-

"Roses are Red

Violets are blue...
Can you pronounce "cumulative"
and "epitome," too?

Incidentally, if you'd like to read the history behind that little ditty you'll find it here.

8. Insert your own random thought in this space.
I'm starting to learn to use Picnik for photo editing, thanks to Lea. I hope to post new and better pictures soon and have fun playing with the various tools. It looks easy enough for a derelicious techno-moron like me.