Moving right along….

Day 14 – Elvis still gets 100 Valentines each year. Tell about one of the people who sent one.

If you knew little ol’ Gertrude Van Buren, you’d know within the first five minutes of meeting her that she was, and still is, the number one super fan of the legendary Elvis Presley. She’d chat your ear off about her signed records and would gushingly explain how, while in the front row at one of his Memphis shows in ’61, she sobbed her eyes out and fainted when he shook those famous hips of his. Although she was carried out of the show on a stretcher shortly thereafter, she will tell you to this day that being in front of his gyrating crotch was the best time of her life. She was in love, and she’d remind you time and again.

Visiting her house is a veritable shrine to the man; posters, paintings, statues, concert memorabilia, a life sized mannequin complete with white leather, rhinestones, and mutton chop sideburns, and a stack of meticulously and alphabetically arranged records. She’s toured Graceland (12 times), his birthplace in Tupelo, and even hired an Elvis lookalike to strip for her at her bachelorette party. Her first born son (Elvis Ebenezer Hounddog Van Buren) is a proud Elvis impersonator, having performed at numerous regional festivals, while her daughter, Elviscera Memphis Graceland, also keeps the Elvis spirit alive by performing his songs nude at various adult night clubs.

True fans like Gertrude will perpetually remind you that they are true fans; she recently inked her undying adoration on her ankle. A lively tattoo for a very lively and adoring number one Elvis fan.

Check out http://www.concreteorchid.com to learn about Andrea’s Elvis fan!

Day 13 – Write about a random picture you would find in an envelope of finished prints at Costco.

This question is actually very interesting to me, because I haven’t actually printed a photo in years. I am completely enveloped within the realm of the digital age, and have not taken an actual picture with actual film (what’s film, you say?) in ages. That being said, I’m sure people still print photos, and I’m sure photo developers are still developing some should not be developed in public type shots.

I’m sure that at one point or another, we’ve all wanted to snap a shot, only to realize that it only seemed like a good idea at the time. Or, we’ve taken a shot, forgotten that we took that shot, and were surprised to see it again in broad daylight on our negatives. I knew a few people that developed photos back in the day, and they did indeed come across some shots that the photographer may or may not have intended anyone else to see.

Sorry to say it, but I’m imagining some random x-rated shot ending up in the random envelope, with the developer printing a copy and showing his/her friends as they all burst out into laughter (and the pic invariably ending up on the internet somewhere). People do it all the time, and I’m sure shots like that tend to make the day of the developer. After all of the hum drum vacation photos, family reunions, and day to day pictures, it probably is unexpected hilarity to get a few good skin shots.

Check out http://www.concreteorchid.com to see what Andrea would find lurking in a random Costco envelope…..

Day 12 – What is your favorite day of the week?

Sunday – Good until about 5 pm, or until you fully realize that the routine of Monday morning is inevitable.

Monday – The day of the week when you wish that you had a different profession, and/or wish that you’d studied harder in school (or studied at all); essentially the day of the week that you wish you could be on a beach instead of in a cubicle.

Tuesday – essentially Monday part two.

Wednesday – Midway through the week, with just enough of a flicker of candle light at the end of the tunnel to realize that you’ve actually made it midway through the week.

Thursday – Making headway now; getting harder and harder to stay motivated at work with the last day of the week looming.

Friday – All desire to be a productive employee evaporates; Friday is slow until 5 p.m., but it’s smooth sailing after that.

Saturday – The day to complete all normal errands and duties that you didn’t feel like doing throughout the week, which generally consumes the morning/afternoon. Saturday night should ideally be spent unwinding.

My favorite day of the week? I’ll take Saturday any day of the week!

Head on over to http://www.concreteorchid.com to see my sister’s favorite day of the week!

*****Please Excuse The Interruption*****

Due to a brief one day hiatus in the writing project (there’s nothing on the books for day 11), there will be no post today; tune in tomorrow for Day 12! As a consolation, I present an Arthur Prysock classic, “Your Body Makes Eyes At Me”, from the album, ‘This is My Beloved’. Fantastic Friday night listening…grab a drink, kick back, and enjoy.

Booyah! 10 days into this challenge, and still going strong.

Day 10 – What do you want to be remembered for?

Who you are and how you choose to live your life will ultimately dictate your legacy, if indeed you earn one. What will people remember about ol’ Gary, if anything? I earnestly hope that I am remembered for having some sort of positive impact on at least one person’s life; to have aided, assisted, or helped to improve someone in some small way. I think that’s all we can hope for, in terms of being remembered. Creating an atmosphere of happiness, a sphere of goodwill that others can feed off of; it’s as simple as a smile here, a kind gesture there, or words of encouragement for those in need. As the cliche goes, the smallest, most meaningless things to you may have an enormous impact on others; it’s all about sharing the wealth, creating a culture of balance, and solidifying an uplifting foundation. If I’m to be remembered, I want to be remembered as the guy that always had a genuine smile for everyone that I met. In my eyes, there is no greater lasting legacy.

Moving right along! Today’s topic deals with a personal favorite of mine, and tugs at my heart strings like a drunken open heart surgeon.

Day 9 – What was your favorite childhood toy?

I LOVE TOYS. That’s the only appropriate way to begin this piece. Toys were an incredibly important element of my childhood; I was that kid that loved toys so much, that I meticulously laid the blueprint for my December 25th by plotting my Christmas list in June. I eagerly awaited the arrival of the gigantic Spiegel catalog that would arrive fresh and new during the end of summer, and I’d spend the next few months with my nose wedged between those pages searching for the shiny new goods that I’d ask Santa for. If it was a toy, I wanted it. My imagination was never ending, and toys were somewhat of an escape into a world of action; a realm where heroes ruled, and where the muzzle flash of machine gun fire lit up the night sky.

There were He-Man toys; mid sized, non poseable, and only fun for about 15 minutes. There were Star Wars toys; stiff legged mini statues that were essentially only fun to look at. My sister had her fair share of Barbie dolls, and I took great pleasure in loading them up into her giant red convertible and crashing it into a wall. Oddly enough, my mother thought that it was a good idea to buy me a Cabbage Patch doll named Denny Cody; that bad boy came decked out in a KC Royals outfit, and that gift was quite the surprise. I even had a Michael Jackson doll (the Beat It version) as well as an MC Hammer doll, complete with battery powered silver boom box and glittery gold Hammer pants.

The king of all toys though, was the G.I. Joe. This fully poseable, fully playable lord of colored plastics littered our house like flotsam after the storm of the century. My brother and I would spend our time setting up entire G.I. Joe worlds, only to realize that once we took all day to set them up, we really didn’t feel like playing with them anymore. The real fun was being transported to that zone; that fantasy world where action ruled, and where guys named Buzzer and Ripper terrorized the world as members of the evil organization Cobra. Boys thrive on action, and G.I. Joe was able to rescue me from the real world, and transplant me into a land of gut wrenching glory, larger than life patriotism, and endless playability. G.I. Joe – a real American hero.

Check out http://www.concreteorchid.com to see what toys my sister obsessed over as a kid!

I’ve surpassed the 1 week mark on the challenge; take a look at today’s offerings!

Day 8 – Tell your life story from someone else’s point of view.

I can accurately be described as a semi closed, multiple volume set of encyclopedias, but in all honesty, who isn’t? Most individuals are not altogether transparent. There are very few people that walk around with life stories printed on their foreheads for all to see. Information is essentially given when required, and if not, it’s kept within those dusty volumes that we store inside of our brains. Here’s how a conversation about me would typically transpire:

Person 1 – “So who’s that Gary guy”?

Person 2 – “Well, um, he’s that one guy, right? The black one”?

Person 1 – “Yeah, that’s him. What’s his story”?

Person 2 – “Um, I dunno. Beats me, dude”.

The end.

Or perhaps it would go like this:

Dude 1 – “From what I know about Gary, uh, he’s a pretty legit dude, man. He speaks very highly of his family, friends, and acquaintances, and is a pretty mild mannered and righteous mother. Like, he’s definitely, like, pretty chill. I think his experiences in life have shaped him in like a way that allows him to like see the world in a whole different light, bro. You know what I mean. He’s like a thinker, man…he’s pretty philosophical. I don’t know too much about his life, you know, but what I do know is pretty cool. Booyah, bro. Peace out”.

That’s probably how it would go. I can be very vague, so Dude 1 would have to surmise based on a general lack of solid facts.

Get your butt on over to www.concreteorchid.com for my sister’s take on the Day 8 challenge!

Yes, I doubled up on my days; today is just a double header kind of day. I crammed days 5 and 6 into one day, I sure did. Check it out if you so desire, and then take a test drive to http://www.concreteorchid.com for a double dose.

Day 6 – Write about a person who would buy all of those items in Day 5.

This is an easy question – me. All of the items that I listed were top shelf items, and if you know me, you know that I love my brownies, I’m addicted to coffee, I love a whole host of buns (I do admire a good set of buns), and I bleed tea.  So boom, the answer is a quick and easy me.

*****Random Personal Fact Alert*****

Oddly enough, I grew up hating coffee.  I loved the smell, but despised the taste.  I’d take a few sporadic sips of my mother’s coffee here and there (all souped up with cream and sugar), but that’s where it ended.  Hot chocolate was my steaming elixir of choice, and I’d always imagined growing up to be a hot shot executive and instructing my secretary to brew up a fresh pot of Swiss Miss every morning instead of coffee.  Only upon entering the drab world of corporate cubicles did I unearth a true need for a good coffee jolt.

This topic is a very unique idea; take a look at what I came up with, and scope out http://www.concreteorchid.com for my sister’s grocery inspired goodness.

Day 5 – Pick a letter of the alphabet. Now imagine two aisles of your local supermarket. List everything found in those two aisles that begin with that letter of the alphabet.

My randomly chosen letter is….drum roll….B.

Random items found within two aisles at my friendly neighborhood Walmart (where I get most, if not all, of my essentials):

Bread
Brownies
Buns
Blended Coffee (it still begins with the letter B!)
Black Tea

I obviously chose two of the lamest aisles at Walmart, hence the lack of B branded items. But in my defense, these are some pretty damned good items if you ask me. What’s a morning without coffee or tea (a tense one, depending on who you ask), or a lunch without bread, or a burger/dog without a bun?