Diary Friday

And we’re back, with another addition of “Diary Friday”. I found this entry from November 21, 2001, and read it over this morning, guffawing with laughter. It’s interesting: at that time, I was still pretty much in shock from what had happened two months earlier. New York was still in chaos, time had stopped on September 11. But I went home for a weekend with my family in November, and this entry is from that trip home. I had completely forgotten about this, until this morning.

The entry describes me, my father, my mother, and my sister Jean playing Trivial Pursuit. And so we begin:

Nov. 21, 2001

Trivial Pursuit – me, Jean, Dad, Mum. The lame millenium version. But it provided us with MANY laughs.

I frigging GUESSED all the languages represented at the United Nations. I am pretty amazed by that. English, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French. Jean said that she could tell when I started to “think politically”, and then, off the top of my head, I rattled them all off. And I was RIGHT.

I was stretching casually from my run at the beginning of the game. The question had to do with a “South Central Asian Republic”. I went thru them in my mind, deductive reasoning, as I stretched: “It can’t be Kazakhstan because of this this and this … Could it be Uzbekistan? Now, let me see…” Finally, I decided it had to be Tajikstan, which I said casually, no big deal, stretching my leg out behind me, and of course it was right and everyone FLIPPED. It was so hilarious. Jean was screaming: “SHEILA. I’ve never even HEARD of Tajikstan!”

Mum – trying to think of DaVinci’s most famous painting. Completely blanking. And Mum’s an artist! We all were horrified. “Mum! You know this!”

She said, “All I can think of is The Pieta.”

There was a pause. Dad’s FACE. He said, sort of flat, contemptuous, “That was a statue, Sheil, by Michelangelo.”

Jean, trying to guess which Celtic player looked like Herman Munster (that was the question. I hate the millenium version).
Jean: “Kevin …. ” Long pause.
Dad: “They named a Navy after him.”
Jean’s flat annoyed face. “MCHALE? Can I PLEASE be given the chance to guess stuff ON MY OWN?”

We kept ruining her chances by giving her hints, we couldn’t help ourselves, or whispering stuff to each other which she would overhear. We went through three Science & Natures with her, because we kept giving it away by mistake.

I was mouthing to Dad in a very exaggerated way: “Persian Gulf” – Jean glanced my way, and clearly saw my mouth forming “Ulf” – which ruined it for her.

We had had one question about Iceland: that they coined the name “geyser” because there are so many of them there. Later, I got a question: “Which island nation is a member of NATO even though it doesn’t have a standing army?”

I was very stumped. Racking my brains. I so lost the track that I murmured tentatively, “Japan…?”

Dad said to me, overenunciating, “North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

“I know! I know!”

Mum went to give me a hint. “Think island nation…”

Pause.

Dad added, “With geysers.”

HAHA Oh my God. We roared. Suddenly we had become Iceland experts because of one question.

Oh, and I commented during my thought process for that one, “None of the countries I study have anything to do with NATO.” Which got a huge laugh, and then Dad said, “You need to come over to the winning side, Sheila.”

Which then was completely obliterated by my casual “Tajikstan” moment. You really can’t get any more on the losing side than those “stans”! Who is more of a “loser” globally than Tajikstan?

Jean, trying to guess the series of questions which me, Mum, and Dad kept ruining. We were so badly behaved. One question was about what body part is affected by cholera. A discussion ensued, as Dad, Mum and I started to hash this out. (Guys, pipe down. It’s not your question.)

Dad: “Hm. I would say it’s the lungs.”
Jean: “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Respiratory somehow.”
Mum: “I actually would say the intestines.”
I shot Mum a warning look, a look of import, which Jean completely saw. Jean’s face went completely flat.
Jean: “Next question.”

The ongoing theme of “Multiple Intelligence”, which Trivial Pursuit has worked into the lame millenium version, with pictures standing in for the actual thing … because different people’s brains process information in different ways. (Oh, just shove it up your ASS.)

Jean would hold up a card with a picture on it, as Dad was trying to answer a question, and intone at him, “MI, Dad, MI…”

So dumb. As though a picture of a plane or Chairman Mao will spark something, due to the existence of Multiple Intelligences. So stupid.

Lots of fun later with Jean and Siobhan, sitting at the Carriage Inn by the fire. Jean and I told Siobhan every detail of the Trivial Pursuit game, laughing hysterically.

“That’s a statue, Sheil, by Michelangelo.”

Another question:

“What organization’s launch did FDR miss because he died?”
Jean wanted to say the FBI, but Dad gave her a hint … to show her she wasn’t on the right track.

Jean said, “Oh. Okay … so … it’s not political then … Okay. So … Uh … is it the NBA?”

Oh my God. Dad’s FACE.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha

(The answer was the UN, by the way.)