Have you ever...

Another simple game where you answer the question above and then post your own.

Have you ever been to nyc?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. I don't know how much help I actually offered, but my friends used to treat me as their lay psychologist, coming to me to talk about all their problems. But for myself, I'm usually clueless on what I need to do to take care of my own problems.

Have you ever tried to help someone, only to find they don't appreciate it, or that it turned out bad, or they went ahead and did the things you were trying to help them avoid anyway?

 

[PalacePaul]

Without much thinking I'll say yes. I've tried to help people many times and a few of them were total nuts who couldn't use any help in any possible way.

Have you ever received unexpected help from someone?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. Some years ago the tire on my car blew out in a construction zone on the interstate at 1:30 in the morning. I was making a 230 mile trip during the night. I had left a night class, and I was going to visit my mother, who was having health problems and really needed to have someone check up on her. I was sitting in the car just after the tire blew out, when a crew came up and quickly changed my tire and put the donut on. Looking back on it, I think their job was to quickly get cars off the road so the steamroller laying asphalt could move at a constant speed without interruption. If it happened anywhere else, I would have been sitting on the side of the road for hours in the middle of the night. Much of the way I traveled was very rural. It's when things like this happen that I think there was something or someone unseen that was looking out for me.

Have you ever asked about or looked into what a person you liked or cared about is doing now, only to find out that they have died?

 

[rmcrae]

No, but years ago a friend of a friend in HS popped into my head out of the blue and the next day I found out he'd died in a car accident a few days prior. He was only 20.

Have you ever had a friend or family member steal from you?

 

[MusicMan321]

No and if I did I would be upset about it

Have you ever watched a good movie over again?

 

[rmcrae]

Sure. I've watched some of my favorite movies so often that I know every line from start to finish.

Have you ever openly cried while watching a movie in the theater?

 

[Araucaria]

No. I've been brought to the point of tears by a movie, but I've never openly cried in the theater.

Have you ever watched a movie where you disagreed with the premise or conclusion, or were angry about the plot or the way the movie was made?

 

[cityboy-stl]

"Dead Poets Society" I thought the ending totally betrayed the whole premise of the first 3/4 of the film, and I was really angry about it.

Have you ever just walked out of, or turned off, a film because it sucked or didn't make sense?

 

[rmcrae]

I've seen my fair share of sucky movies, but they're usually the "so bad that they're good" kind so I don't turn them off or walk out of them.

Have you ever gone to see a movie with a friend and you loved the flick but they hated it?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. I saw The Truman Show with a couple of friends. I loved it because it struck me as a sort of prophetic vision, a not so far fetched portrayal of a sort of reality show where a character's entire life has been artificially constructed (without his knowledge or consent) for audiences to constantly tune in to what he. will do next. When we got out of the theatre, one guy loudly went on about what a terrible movie it was. Maybe he just didn't get the point.

As for the question before, yes. My lover at the time worked at a video store, and brought home a copy of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, a French foreign film that some people had been raving about. I turned it off in the middle because it was disturbing and lots of it didn't make sense. My lover later watched the whole thing through, and his synopsis let me know it was a truly ugly movie that I didn't want to see.

Have you ever thought a movie was hilarious, if unintentionally so, that everybody else thought was serious?

 

[rmcrae]

I would say Mommie Dearest except the filmmakers thought they were making a serious film only for the masses to laugh at how over the top and campy it was, bless their hearts. I do have to say that the "no wire hangers" scene was well-acted and deeply disturbing.

Have you ever walked out of a concert feeling let down by a mediocre or just plain awful performance?

 

[cityboy-stl]

Yeah. I went to a concert with Van Clibern performing Tchaikovsky Concerto Nr. 1 in 1998 or so. He was clearly out of practice and the performance was awful. This was Van Cliburn for God's sake! I didn't walk out during the performance but I was extremely disappointed at the end when I left.

Have you ever changed your mind about something important that you have, up until then, believed all your life?

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. All my life I have had some vague idea that I would accomplish something significant, whatever that meant. I made several career changes, and now I'm older, retired, with nothing on the horizon which could result in some kind of accomplishment. It's funny, I never associated that idea with her, but when my Mother died some years ago, I seemed to lose all desire to drive toward making that "accomplishment." Now I realize that most likely it will never happen, can I reach the point to where I'm OK with that?

Have you ever taken up fishing?

 

[cityboy-stl]

I cannot think of anything more boring and uncomfortable than sitting for hours in a boat or on the edge of a lake, waiting for a fish. Local churches have fish fries during Lent. That's the extent of it.

Have you ever cracked your knuckles or other joints on a regular basis? Which ones?

 

[Araucaria]

I don't crack my knuckles on a regular basis, only rarely.

Do you still have all of your adult teeth?

 

[cityboy-stl]

All except for one lower tooth in the front that is now crowned. It got broken off in a car accident when I was 19.

Have you ever broken any bones?

 

[Araucaria]

I sprained my ankle once, and the X-rays taken at the hospital showed that a bone fragment had broken off. But my doctor said it looked like an old injury, which makes sense. I had sprained that same ankle previously at age 15 when I chased a ball during a tennis lesson on a clay court, and stepped running hard into a hole someone had made in the court surface.

Have you been in a situation where you were in immediate danger, such as an imminent accident or around someone with a gun?

 

[rmcrae]

No and I hope I never am.

Have you ever been threatened by a stranger during a fit of road rage? (I have.)

 

[Araucaria]

Yes. There was one incident way back in the late 80s or so, when I was driving at night. A jeep came up behind us with two young guys, and pulled up next to us at a traffic light. The passenger was screaming at us at the top of his lungs; for what, I have no clue. As in psychotic rage. He was still screaming as I drove away. The only thing I can think of is that he must have been on something. I don't know what he could have done, though I'm sure he might have tried something. It scared me enough to consider that the jeep would likely easily roll over if I rammed it, if it came to that...

Have you ever watched a movie that was excellent, but you knew you had no desire to ever see it again?

 

[cityboy-stl]

Yes, several actually. Movies where not knowing the ending is important to enjoying film. Hitchcock comes to mind. "The Sting", "The Crying Game" are others. Knowing what happens kind of spoils the enjoyment for these types of movies.

Have you ever watched a movie that you absolutely hated, but everyone else thought was absolutely great?

Can I answer my own question? "Goodfallas" I hated it. They stole a lot of money, they sold a lot of drugs, they killed a lot of people, they said the "F" word five thousand times. That's it, that's the whole movie. It was terrible. Yet, everyone else thinks it was great.

Your turn.