Share Your World | Going To The Turtles

/ Ally Bean

Once a week Cee asks the questions on her blog, and I answer them here on my blog.  It’s a good thing, ‘ya know?

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• What is something that people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the point of?

Basketball.

*yawn*

Here’s my take on it: a bunch of people, who call themselves a team and wear matching culottes, make a big deal about bouncing a ball while running to one end of a wooden court where they make squeaky noises with their shoes as they toss the ball among the team members.  Eventually, someone attempts to throw the ball into an overhead small circular net.

Why?  No one knows.

Then, the whole nonsensical show repeats at the other end of the court allowing the other team to do the same thing.  And then it happens again.

Ad infinitum. 👎

• What quirky things do people do where you are from?

No one does this where I live now but…

I grew up in a small town where the word “mango” meant green pepper.  Yep, no one called green peppers what they were, except my mother who knew that a mango was a tropical fruit, not a vegetable.

She never tried to correct anyone in town on this point, but she did make it clear to me that what everyone in this small town believed to be true, was in fact objectively false in the rest of the world.

It was a life lesson, I suppose, on the dangers of groupthink.  And of putting the wrong ingredients into your recipes.

 • What are some things you wish you could unlearn?

What it is like to be inside a MRI.  All of them, any style.  It’s a feeling too horrible for words.

• Who is someone that you miss having in your life? 

I used to go to yoga classes at the wellness center in a local hospital. Carol, a RN, taught the classes.

These classes were the most safe and satisfying yoga experiences I ever had.  However, Carol retired, the hospital closed the wellness center, and I’ve been left ever since trying to find [unsuccessfully] anyone as fun and centered as Carol was.

I miss Carol.

• Optional Bonus Question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? 

Last week’s gratitude award goes to Fredrik Backman for writing the darkly humorous novel, A Man Called Ove.  This book kept me entertained/distracted for hours so that the remodeling noise and the various people traipsing around inside our house did not bother me.  No better review, eh?

This week’s looking forward to something goes to meeting some friends to go see a professional baseball game.  We do this once a year and it’s always a good time, regardless of who wins the game.

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This post is part of Cee’s Share Your World Weekly Writing Challenge.

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75 thoughts on “Share Your World | Going To The Turtles”

    • Kate, I do not like basketball uniforms. They look silly on everyone. Not that baseball uniforms are much better, but I like the hats so I prefer seeing them for that reason alone.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I’m with Kate. At least basketball moves fast. Those baseball people do an awful lot of standing around. I’m highly in favor of the hot dog and just being outside, though. So there’s that.

    🙂

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  4. My, yes. My grandmother (born in what was then Wiggletown, Ohio) called green peppers “mangoes”. She also called the noon meal “dinner”. She had all kinds of odd dialectical proclivities like that. All her saucepans were called “dippers”; she never tidied up–she “redded up” the kitchen. My mother, of course, brought all those oddities into our family, and for years and years I was the only person IN THE WORLD who called a sofa or couch a “davenport” instead.

    Later on, in my college career, I took some classes in Dialectical Survey, and became fascinated by US regional dialects. Every once in a while, I can pin down someone’s area of verbal influence just by listening to him/her speak for a little bit, especially if I hear a few key phrases or terms.

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    • nance, my father called the noon meal “dinner.” And my mother “redded up” the kitchen. Growing up I, too, lived in a house with a “davenport.” I wonder if those words can be traced back to the German farmers who showed up in Ohio in the late 1800s? That’d be my guess.

      I’d love a class on regional dialects. That’d be endlessly fascinating. Seems like there should be some online class now that I think about it. I’ll look into that one of these days.

      Liked by 1 person

        • This from Wikipedia: “Davenport was the name of a series of sofas made by the Massachusetts furniture manufacturer A. H. Davenport and Company, now defunct. Due to the popularity of the furniture at the time, the name davenport became a genericized trademark.” Don’t think my family would have ever have said “go into the house and sit on the “Davenport-brand sofa” until I get to you.”

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          • That’s interesting. So Davenport, like Kleenex, came to be a generic term. However, Davenport, unlike Kleenex, didn’t have a hissy fit about it. Just went with the free advertising. Fascinating. Thanks for looking that up.

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    • Joanne, I know that just about everyone loves basketball– and I say “here’s my ticket, please go enjoy yourself!” I don’t know why it bugs me, but it does. Now baseball, football, hockey I enjoy. To each their own, eh?

      A Man Called One is one of the funniest novels I’ve read in ages. I kept laughing out loud, then looking around to see if anyone was looking at me funny-like. Such a clever book to read.

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  6. Loved the book, A Man Called Ove. Admittedly, it took me a few chapters to get into it but once there, I was hooked! Funny you should bring up the game of basketball (the sport I know the least about) as my son has recently applied for a position with our Toronto NBA team. Guess I might have to learn!

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    • Lynn, A Man Called Ove was the perfect book to be reading while chaos was going on around me. It’s a funny novel, and easy to pick up and put down as need be.

      Most people adore basketball so you’ll probably enjoy it. I dunno what there is about it, but the noise and the repetitiveness drive me crazy. Also, those dumb uniforms don’t help…

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      • Not sure if you have attended an NBA game, I went to one years ago with my son & it is crazy how much goes on on the court that you don’t see on tv. Holy over stimulation! Perhaps they are trying to make up for those silly uniforms!

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        • No, I’ve never been to a NBA game, only college ones. I didn’t know about the other stuff that goes on. I’m mellow at heart so I’d not like that kind of over-the-top entertainment interspersed with the game. Too much movement, too much noise, too much polyester/nylon shiny fabric. 🙂

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  7. First of all, I love the turtle pictures! They are enjoying life!
    We have the Fireflys here in Columbia. It’s fun to go to their games and just hang out outside. Like you, I never care who wins.
    It is funny that we called green peppers mangoes. Everyone did in our town. Maybe no one had ever eaten a true mango! A saying here in the south that bugs me is when someone says, “That’ll be 52 cent.” No “s” on the end of cent. Weird.
    Sorry that Carol retired. Maybe you can remember some of what she taught. But I know it’s her personality that you miss. I hope you can find someone else that is similar.

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    • Beth, the turtles made me smile so I had to take pics of them. I have no idea why everyone around us while we were growing up said mango when they meant green pepper. Where did that come from? You might be right that no one knew what a real mango was.

      No “s” on cents? Well, that’s just plain goofy. It would bug me, too. I liked Carol for her quiet sensible point of view about yoga– which was: it’s healthy for you, but let’s not get too new age-y with it.

      Liked by 1 person

    • bwahahah!! My EXACT thoughts on basketball! And football too actually. And most other sports besides baseball, and then only if I’m at a real loose end. They ALL rewind too much (IMHO)..

      And that MRI thing? I agree. And I want to know why one’s nose or ankle or body part starts to ITCH so much just as you’re told you have to lie perfectly still AND DON’T MOVE. And that clanging/banging thing? No. It’s just WRONG. My sympathies!

      Liked by 1 person

      • Embeecee, I don’t mind most other team sports but basketball makes me sad to watch. Well, more like bored… then sad. Why bother running back and forth? It tires me out.

        You said it about the MRI. They’ve been to a one horrible experiences that have made me so anxious that I’m sure each one has shortened my lifespan by a month.

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  8. For me, it’s football I don’t get. Smashing into each other, risking chronic brain injury not to mention torn ligaments and tendons, seems self-defeating. But I like watching professional basketball when the Cavs play, mostly because it’s something my husband and I do together.

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  9. a green pepper called a mango? Now that’s really strange – what do you call a mango? That orange skinned (green when unripe and you don’t eat the skin) wonderfully delicious orangey fleshy fruit that is the dickens to eat – best in a bath tub, or shower ..
    Do you like cricket? That’s enough to induce a sleep though the men are usually quite handsome ..
    Thanks Ally Bean – fun post 🙂

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    • Susan, there were no mangoes in the small town that I grew up in. At all. I doubt that most of the people who lived there even knew there was a fruit mango tree on this earth. Green peppers were mangoes and that’s all there was to it. My mother, who majored in Home Economics in college, knew the truth of the matter.

      I’ve seen cricket on TV when we were in Bermuda on vacation. The game is so slow that an earth worm could dig through to the other side of the globe before a game [match?] finished. Kind of the opposite of basketball actually.

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  10. Well, our basketball team is the Warriors so…but I must say that I liked the old fashioned short shorts that they used to wear as opposed to the culottes they wear now! Baseball is my sport of choice. Odd about the mango peppers. Cute turtles!

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    • Janet, I don’t get why culottes are the style of choice for a basketball player. I find them distracting… from a game I don’t enjoy to begin with. I liked the turtles, too. Sticking their necks out into the sun. There’s a lesson to be had.

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  11. “It was a life lesson, I suppose, on the dangers of groupthink.”
    Love that sentence.

    And I am not a fan of basket ball either. Whenever I accidentally watch a bit of a game on TV I’m thinking, “Why don’t they move the basket up higher? Make it more of a challenge!” And, “Why don’t they have a 1 minute warning for the last 1 minute of the game? No time outs if the score is greater than 10 points between teams. OK, I guess I watch more basketball than I thought.

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  13. I read A Man Called Ove several years ago – I think it had just come out here (it was one of the early audiobooks I listened to, actually). I remember being surprised that I enjoyed a book with some dark themes as much as I did – usually I wouldn’t even finish a book like that.

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    • Sarah, I picked up a copy of the book in the store and glanced through it, found myself laughing. THEN I read a review of the book only to discover it had such a dark premise. I had no idea from my random perusal. However, somehow the novel comes together in an uplifting way.

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  15. Gosh, I miss Carol FOR YOU.
    I clicked on Ove, so first, the library… thanks for the recommendation.
    I like basketball, but not as much as most Hoosiers.
    I’ve heard green peppers referred to as mangoes, too. Down around Southwest Virginia.

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    • joey, Carol was just so calm + funny + quietly healthy. Her attitude was: yoga is no big deal, just do your best.

      Ove is a character and the novel is funny in a dark humor way. There’s a movie, I’m told, but I haven’t seen it.

      No kidding, green peppers are mangoes in VA, too! There has to be a reason why… One day I’ll turn this topic into a research project, but not today.

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  16. I’ll see your basketball game and raise it to include just about all sports. I don’t get the all consuming dedication/obsession. I mean, every newspaper has a section dedicated to sports – an that section is usually far bigger than culture, arts…

    You’re right of course, to each her own. I like trains, after all.

    Thanks for the recommendation of the book title. I just happen to know a certain librarian that was asking for suggestions!

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    • Maggie, I’ve never been much of a sports fan, but basketball is the team sport that I find the worst to watch. I understand that some people love all the sports, but to have one whole daily newspaper section dedicated to sports seems a bit much to me, too.

      [Trains are cool, don’t think otherwise.]

      Hope you enjoy the novel. It really made my week.

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  17. haha culottes and squeaking shoes! You’ve described basketball to a T! I don’t like watching any sports, especially golf, which my mister watches obsessively. It’s so boring and slow, and those polite little hand claps…just ugh! … Great photo of the turtles! I tried taking a picture of some that hang out by our little lake. They saw me coming, and dove back into the water. 🙂

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    • ghostmmnc, I’m glad that you understand basketball the same way that I do. I don’t get it, but encourage anyone who does like basketball to go watch all the games you want. Just don’t invite me along.

      I haven’t seen golf on TV in years. I’d forgotten about those little hand claps… really kind of odd now that I think about them.

      Turtles can move darned quickly when they want to. Sorry you missed your shot.

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      • You’re not missing much by not watching golf on TV. It’s always the same players, doing the same thing as every other time. Most sports you get to holler and yell to encourage the team, but not golf…you have to be all quiet. It’s not natural! haha … Maybe I’ll try for a turtle photo another day, if I can sneak up on them. 🙂

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        • You’re right about how subdued a golf game is. I’ve never been a fan of golf, but my mother was so I saw a lot of golf on TV growing up. I adore the idea of sneaking up on turtles! Best of luck with that.

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  18. I’d rather watch baseball than basketball too – at least with baseball you’re outside and if you look away for a minute or two, you usually don’t miss much. I’ve been wanting to read A Man Called Ove for a while now, so you’ve just moved it up to the top of my list – thank you! I hope you’re not going too crazy with those renovations!

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    • Sheila, I like being outside at a baseball game, and if I get bored with the game I can walk around one of the spectator levels that wrap around the field. That’s fun, too.

      I enjoyed A Man Called Ove. It’s my type of humor and the plot unfolds most unexpectedly, in an expected way.

      So far this week the renovation work has been quieter and only half days. We’re to the drywall/prime the walls phase, waiting for the tile setter to be available. Then things will get really interesting! Thanks for asking.

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  19. I’m with Kate. Watching baseball is like watching paint dry. Watching basketball is only slightly more interesting. Proving that it’s all relative. Great post, Ally!

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    • Donna, it’s interesting to find out who likes to watch which team sport. Or who doesn’t bother with watching sports at all. No right or wrong, but a lot of fun conversations.

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  20. I had to look up what “culottes” was. That only came into style at some point in the 90’s. Before that, basketball players wore shorts that………… well, left very little to the imagination. It was like the NBA meets beach volleyball….

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    • evilsquirrel13, I’m happy to know that I’ve tricked you into learning about fashion. I remember the super short shorts that the basketball players used to wear. They were revealing, but going to culottes seems like an extreme solution to the problem. But what do I care? I won’t like the sport regardless of what they wear.

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  22. No mango green peppers where I grew up in NJ, but lots of people had Davenports. I had no idea what they were then-I thought they were porches!
    But I bet they had davenports in the town where a man called Ove lived. Quite a wonderful story indeed.

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  23. I enjoy basketball, but only under very specific conditions – like it being tournament time and my alma mater is yet again trying to make a play for a return to the glory of the 80s only to have their chances be wrested away from them yet again by ref who have clearly either been paid off or have an active bet or two riding on the outcome in Vegas. Not that I am a bitter fan or anything.

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    • Well obviously you aren’t bitter, Allie! Why would you even suggest such a thing? I can see why you’d like basketball under those very specific [obviously hypothetical] conditions. Who wouldn’t?

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  24. I absolutely love the mango story. Almost like science fiction. You mom had a great take on it – group think is so weird…often not so funny.
    Basketball has undergone so many modifications and rule changes, it’s now boring: run toss, run toss, run toss – little strategy really – all about the tall guys. At least it’s over quickly normally.
    (A good yoga teacher makes all the difference. Searching here, too. Not really into the cute young hot yoga classes with the trendy set any more)

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    • philmouse, it’s funny in that I hadn’t thought of the whole “mango” issue in years, but Cee’s question brought it to mind. Small town life, you know?

      I just cannot get into basketball for the exact reasons you mentioned. But for those who like it, please have a good time without me.

      I know what you mean about how off-putting all the hot yoga cuteness can be. I like basic old Hatha yoga, but those classes are few and far between now. Pity, really. I’ve got the time and the money now, but nowhere to go with it.

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  25. Just finished that book. It started slowly for me, but grew on my heart after a while. It’s a tough read for a widow/widower though. Very odd about the mango/green pepper thing. We aren’t tropical here, but we do have lots of mangoes from California, so people would look at you REALLY strangely if you called a green pepper a mango. 🙂 I like basketball OK, but don’t make me watch golf…EVER!

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    • Margaret, I couldn’t stop laughing while I read about Ove. Something about the author’s take on the situation tickled me, even though the topic was dark.

      I cannot explain the mango/green pepper thing, but will do some research on it to find out more.

      I’ve been to professional golf matches and watching paint dry is more interesting than waiting forever to see people wander by as they hit a little ball at a flag over yonder. [At least when you watch golf at home you can ignore it comfortably while reading a book.]

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