“Q” is for Questionnaires

In 2007 I joined a social forum called QnA. The format was based on questions and answers. It was created by Microsoft, with the intention of gathering up information to form a search engine. The surprise for Microsoft was that through those questions data was also gathered by the forum members regarding other members and great friendships were formed. When Microsoft closed down the site, there was a great deal of sadness, but most of those friendships endured; in fact, many of my Facebook friendships evolved from questions asked an answered on the old QnA.

From time to time I have seen questionnaires posted on Facebook that entice people to participate. Even I have been interested in trying a few of them. I have discovered that my color is white, my mythological creature is the phoenix (although, according to Chinese astrology, I am a dragon), I am a swan and if I ever find myself arrested, my partner in crime would be an actress I’d never heard of before: Jennifer Lawrence. These questionnaires are fun, but I wonder for what reason the company that produces them does so?

There is another type of questionnaire that I find absolutely annoying. Anyone who in recent years has attempted find a job, applying online, has had to fill out one of these questionnaires on the application. These are definitely dedicated to collecting psychological data. These are multiple choice questions aimed at driving the applicant crazy, especially since there is, according to the instructions, no correct or incorrect answer. The problem with these ambiguous questions with no right or wrong answers is that if you give the wrong answer you won’t get the job. And not only are there trick questions, but the trick questions are asked over and over, with different wording or the same wording in different orders.

The last group of questionnaires are the ones I understand the least. I mean, I understand that the information we give in the questionnaires given by doctors is very important for the way in which our health is controlled. But, wouldn’t once be enough? Oh well, this is the age of questionnaires.

 

©Copyright by Mary Purpari “Q” is for Questionnaires April 19, 2014

“P” is for Purpari

As I was trying to come up with a subject for this particular letter, I was having a little difficulty. I had settled on Polymath minds, but since it sounded a little too high falutin’, I really was a bit reluctant to use it. And then it hit me. Duh! How about Purpari? Purpari is a very nice Italian name, not very common outside of Italy, although there was one branch that moved to the United States in the very early 1900s; the name has since died out due to a lack of male heirs to carry on the name.

The Purparis are, on the whole, wonderful people, and I am glad to count them as family and family, despite a certain falling out. There is one Purpari that I hold particularly close to my heart—my daughter Sonia.

Anyway, the name Purpari has its roots, as far as I could find, in a small mountain town in the province of Palermo called San Mauro Castelverde. The youngest son moved to Mistretta in 1710,  and this branch has been there ever since. During the passage of time, the name has undergone several variations, but as far as can be discovered it derives from one or both of two roots: The first would be the Sicilian word for octopus PURPO. Someone who fishes for octopus is a PURPARE. This would be highly plausible, since San Mauro, although being a mountain village, it is also not that far from the Tyrrhenian Sea, where there are lots of PURPI.

The other possibility would also be plausible, since it comes from the word PORPORA which stands for the scarlet worn by Cardinals in the Catholic church. There were a number of family members who took the cloth. Whichever of the two it may be, it doesn’t change that I heard my daughter being called PURPA several times by her Sicilian classmates…

When I came to New York, I ran into a little bit of difficulties with peoples’ pronunciation of the name. They ran the gamut, and in the end they just asked if they could call me Sister P. . I was a bit disheartened until my friend, Mrs. James, a teacher, told me her students asked if they could call her Mrs. J. What? 

The best (or worst) one, though, was my very own sister. I still shake my head on this one. My three-year old daughter and I were visiting my family in California. My sister taught the three-year olds in Church and so, while I was in Relief Society, my sister was busy teaching Sonia and the other kids. I think that even if I ever get senile, one thing I will never forget is what happened next. My dear, sweet, beautiful little girl ran up to me and yelled “Ciao Mamma Poopaloopa!” Her aunt, that conniving sister of mine, taught her to say that. Of course, she’s the one who named her oldest son Bowen Erro. sigh…

Why couldn’t I have married someone with an easy name like Rossi or… James?

 

©Copyright Mary Purpari April 18, 2014, “P” is for Purpari

“O” is for Old Ladies with Old Photographs

One of the things this old lady likes to do is look at old photographs of the way she (and her family) was. Sometimes the photos make her laugh when she looks at the expressions and remembers the occasions in which they were taken. Other times, she looks at them wistfully and wishes she still had the innocence portrayed in them. I like to share them with with my friends and family who sometimes have a problem believing that I was slim and young, about around 30-40 years ago. My favorite picture, the one of me standing next to one of the Buckingham Palace Guards (you know, the ones who aren’t supposed to smile when they’re on duty) and he has a grin going from one ear to the other, isn’t here—I think my daughter has it. 

I have decided to share some of them with you; I hope you like them.  

When Old Ladies (and their families) were young VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

“M” is for the Moon and Mars

“Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. «Mars is bright tonight.» «Yeah,» said Hagrid, «but have yeh seen anythin’, Ronan? Anythin’ unusual?» «Mars is bright tonight,» Ronan repeated. «Unusually bright.»¹

This month our skies have presented us with some pretty nifty surprises. In fact, as Ronan noted, Mars has been especially bright this month, because it has been somewhat closer than usual, and even the reddish color of our nearest planet has been quite visible to the human eye. It was an even better show for those blessed with a telescope. On April 8, Mars was in opposition to the Earth and the sun, which is similar to an eclipse, with the Earth in between the two. Although I’m not lucky enough to have a functioning telescope, the event was live-streamed on Internet, and I was able to get a pretty good screen shot. I also got a shot of it with my regular old every day digital camera, which, although not the greatest, is still pretty good for that kind of camera. (it’s the smaller one on the left.)

However, that wasn’t the only astronomical show put on for the Earth’s inhabitants. This past Monday (or Tuesday, depending on where on the American continents you live), we were also given the privilege of watching a total lunar eclipse. There were several interesting points regarding this eclipse. It was the first of 4 total eclipses that will take place around every 6 months during a two year period; the next will be in October, 2014, then April, 2015 and the fourth will be in September 2015. This occurrence is called a Tetrad, and while it is a somewhat rare occurrence, it is not extraordinarily so; seven more are expected during this century, and there was another series during the years 2003 – 2004. For those of you who may have missed the eclipse and would like to see it, click here for eclipse video

One of the more interesting elements of this lunar eclipse was the color: it was the color of blood, earning it the name of the Blood Moon. This is caused by the way the light from the earth illuminates the moon. It is believed that this tetrad will consist of 4 blood moons that will be visible for most of the continental United States. Unfortunately, here on East Coast, the sky was beautiful until an hour before the eclipse (naturally). I DID get a nice photo of the moon at midnight (the silvery moon; it’s a bit fuzzy because of the passing clouds). The rest of the photos were taken as screen shots while watching the eclipse online. They are, from left to right: midnight, 2:45 am, 3:01 am, 3:18 am, 3:41 am this photo is so dark because it was just before it completely changed color), 3:48 am, 4:00 am:

         

 

¹Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, p.253; J. K. Rowling, 1997

 

©Copyright Mary Purpari “M” is for Mars and the Moon, April 16, 2014

“N” is for the Nothing Feeling

This is a poem that Russ wrote in April, 1979. I was in New York shortly after he wrote these verses and I wonder how things would have been had I met him then. Would I have continued on to Italy? Would we have been draw to each other, as we were in later years? Or would we have hated each other, so different then, yet so alike? Even now, I yearn to take away the pain and sadness described in this bitter-sweet poem. And yet, I think all of us have felt this way at least once in our life.

 

The Nothing Feeling

A neon moon is flashing

With midnight coming soon

a neon moon is rising

the juke box plays it’s tune

and a thousand little sorrows

overflow an empty glass

as I sit and think of nothing

and nothing comes to pass.

 

Sometimes I feel so weary

sometimes I gather strength

sometimes I feel so weary

at my story and it’s length

It’s like a nickel novel

with  a slowly turning page

as I sit and think of nothing

and nothing comes of age.

 

So lay me down

Lay me down

On the far side of the river

By the Holy ground

Lay me down

Lay me down

On the bright side of the river

I’ll be heaven bound.

 

The whiskey’s in the tumbler

the beer is in the stein

the whiskey’s in the tumbler

my money’s on the line

sometimes I feel so lonely

that the only thing’s to cry

as I sit and think of nothing

and nothing passes by.

 

And a thousand little sorrows

overflow an empty glass

a thousand little sorrows

letting nothing come to pass

and a neon moon is flashing

on a slowly turning page

as I sit and think of nothing

 

and nothing comes of age.

 

So lay me down

Lay me down

On the far side of the river

By the Holy ground

Lay me down

Lay me down

On the other side of the river

I’ll be heaven bound.

 

4/79

 

© Mary Purpari and Russ Kelly “N” is for the Nothing Feeling April 16, 2014

“L” is for Living in Limbo Land and Lunar Eclipses

The first thing I’d like to do in this blog entry today is apologize to everyone for the less than cheerful blogs and comments I have been writing lately. The last three and a half months since Russ died have been a little difficult for me and I’m really not the most cheerful person in town, I guess. But, this challenge has been helping me out, too and I think some of my humor is returning; at least I’m not crying continuously.

When Russ first died, I couldn’t stop crying; when I woke up in the morning, the pillows would be drenched. I cried so much that my tears weren’t salty any more and I truly have no idea why I didn’t become dehydrated. When I went to his memorial, I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry, that I would be strong; I lied. I did pretty well until I was right at the very end and then, my lower lip began to quiver and the dam collapsed, letting all the unshed tears flow down my face like a waterfall. Anything and everything was a cause for crying, and cry I did.

Now, I suppose one could say things are a little better. At least, as I said, I’m not crying as much and I do laugh a little. Sometimes. But I’m not sure if living in a limbo land can actually be classified as better. Sure, my pillows are dry in the morning, but I just don’t have any real feelings. I’m just…there. When the guys in the bodega across the street ask me how I am, I just say I’m okay. And they know that with me, okay is not so great, because they have known me for over four years and they knew Russ, too. I’m listless and I either eat too much or not enough, depending on the day. I don’t cry as much, but then again I don’t laugh as much either, and even cracking a smile takes a lot out of me. Sometimes, I lay in bed and wonder whether I should get up or not, but then Kitty pops into my window, and the decision is made for me.

Other mornings, though, I wake up after a wonderful dream in which Cute Guy has appeared and the whole day is happy. I smile and even enjoy the weather. Except that Wednesday they said we may be getting more snow, and I am not particularly thrilled by this.Those are also the mornings when I usually have a wake-up song that sticks with me all day long. So, you see? There’s still hope for me. And no one can take away the healing power of Narcissi and pansies and I have both; the cats didn’t even sleep on top of them. Of course, I warned kitty that her meal ticket would be cancelled if she did, and she’s a lot smarter than she looks. But, there you have it: the old me is starting to pop out every once in a while.

If you’re wondering about the second part of my title, I just wanted to remind everyone that tonight, visible throughout the entire United States, the moon is favoring us with a total eclipse, or blood moon. I’m hoping I can stay awake long enough – or wake up in time – to see the spectacular show. Of course, this also depends on the weather…

“K” is for Krazy Little Kitty

Okay, so I am “owned” by a little feral cat who hasn’t completely understood yet that she is a feral kitty. She understands enough that she doesn’t bring her babies up to the house, which is fine with me; not that I don’t like cats, because I do, it’s just that she has TOO MANY! One time, she brought seven or nine kittens up (I can’t remember which, there were so many of them).

Russ and I met Kitty in April, 2011.  We were outside looking at the tomato and zucchini plants I had just planted and this teensy little black cat came walking up to us begging to be pet. Now, Russ was allergic to cats, even though he liked them, but I have no such problems and as I bent over to cuddle her a little I discovered that her tummy was a little too wiggly—uh oh! babies in arrival. This was bad, since she was little more than a kitten herself.

We had a folded tarp hanging from the floor upstairs, along the fence; one morning I looked outside my bedroom window and saw the tarp moving around in an odd manner – she had decided that that was the perfect place to have her kittens. There were 4 of them, and they all survived; however, they didn’t have their mother’s friendly disposition, although they didn’t disdain to eat the food that Russ and I left out for them. (By the way, Russ was responsible for naming her Little Kitty). They left the premises, though, when they were old enough to fend for themselves.

Now, Kitty is still the sweet-tempered little cat she always was; the difference is that she no longer gives birth on my porch (maybe because my landlady took away the tarp; who knows?)She hasn’t stopped giving birth (as you can see from the picture); she just does it elsewhere. She does have one hilarious habit, that had both Russ and I laughing our sides off (I still do): she likes to sit outside in the window, and when she sees us (me) come into the kitchen, she climbs up and starts doing a regular gymnastics routine, right between the window bars and the screen. It was Russ’ idea to make a video and add Nadia’s theme to it. He never got to see the video, but I’m pretty sure he would have loved it. I hope you all do, too. I’m so thankful for this crazy little cat and her gymnastics for helping me start my day with a smile, in a time when smiles are few and far between.

Little kitty and her gymnastics routine to Nadia’s theme.

 

© “K” is for Krazy Little Kitty, Mary Purpari April 11, 2014