1. Many local regions, especially rural areas where I live, have haunted houses. Have you ever spent the night in a house that was supposedly haunted? Anything ‘strange” happen?  I have spent a night in “the haunted bedroom” of a 12th century abbey in Scotland and HERE is the story. Yes, something did happen. (The top story room overlooking the graveyard in the photo above is the one we stayed in.)
2. The Quidditch Cup (riding broomsticks while chasing a small ball) was a huge sporting event in the land of Hogwarts. What is the largest sporting event (or concert, etc.) that you have ever attended?  A Leo Kottke concert at the Hollywood Bowl. I remember Ruth Gordon was in the audience and entered in style attired in an evening gown, but on a stretcher carried by four young men in tuxedos. I think she had broken her leg and wanted a more exotic entrance than on crutches.
3. When you go for a swim, do you prefer an ocean, the seaside lakes, or a pool?  I grew up swimming in stock dams and the White River in South Dakota. The closest pool was 40 miles away in a town that had scary kids in it. When at the ocean, I like going in every day, but I do exercises in lieu of swimming and it can be tricky with the waves rolling in. One minute you are chest-high in water and the next over your head. So, I guess I prefer going into my own pool at home where the level is consistent and the water is very warm because it is piped in from hot mineral springs that are heated by Colima Volcano. Ahhhhh.
4. Ron Weasley received a horrid robe to wear as formal wear to the Christmas dance at Hogwarts. Tell about the most ‘ghastly’ fashion statement that you have ever made. This is a secret that has never been told before. The year that Osama Bin Laden was caught and killed, I went to a masquerade party in a Muammar Gaddafi mask and clothed like him, with gloves on so no one saw my hands. I had a toy pistol and I kept running around, hiding behind chairs every time people came in, ducking behind doors and madly rushing around the garden. Everyone was pretty spooked out. I had made up flash cards with things I wanted to say on them so no one heard my voice. When the party got busy, I went out and changed into my own clothes and came back. No one ever figured out who it was. Some thought it was someone crashing the party. Others thought it was someone else who came to the party right after I left. To this day, Those of you reading this post are the only ones who know, except for my friend Harriet who was with me when I bought the mask but who wasn’t at the party.

For Share Your World, Aug 31, 2020