Sharing My World 90

Share Your World 8-24-2020

Share Your World Meets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

One of my favorite gifts that Harry Potter received came from the Weasley Twins; and was “Mrs. Mooney’s Marauder’s Map”. This magical document showed every classroom, hallway and secret corner in all of Hogwarts. It also showed you the location- by name- of every person in Hogwarts. If you had such a magical map of your town, what would you use it for? If you would not use it, is there another person to whom you would gift it?

Nope, I would never use it. I have enough going on keeping track of myself and my own movements and my reasons for them. I would gift it to W though and he’d say what the hell do I need this thing for (ever the gracious gift recipient) and then proceed to study it for hours and hours and ignore me completely.

When was the last time you made a snowball? Were in a snowball fight?

It was the winter of 1957 on a cold and dreary afternoon after my brother had finished his snow fort and stockpiled ammunition and then lured me outside to kill me. God we had some good times. This memory is not crystal clear of course, and he is no longer around to consult about the details, but I probably fought back with no enthusiasm whatsoever until getting hit in the face and stomping off to tell on him. Not surprisingly, snowball fights don’t immediately make me think of fun.

Many cultures set great value in each child of the family having godparents. Did you have godparents? Are you a godparent yourself?

We never called them godparents but we knew that my moms youngest sister and her husband were named as guardians for us if our parents died. That would have made a family of 8 kids, so as much as I loved them all, I’m thankful it never happened.

We had good friends when we lived in Yellowknife who asked us to be godparents to their youngest son. We were flattered and said yes and then didn’t have a clue what was expected of us in that role and did pretty much nothing. They may have regretted their choice and eventually picked someone else but were too nice to mention it.

You have found a secret tunnel under your house. Where does it go?

I’ll never know because I don’t do tunnels. They are underground and dangerous and can collapse without warning. I did a touristy tour of a mine shaft once by accident. It was a rush decision because it was the last tour before they closed and I agreed to it without thinking. That won’t happen again unless I’m on some really excellent drugs.

Muggle Questions (of a more philosophical bent this week):

Is intelligence or wisdom more useful?

Definitely intelligence. You’ll never get to true wisdom without it.

How important is play in living a healthy and fulfilling life?

It’s absolutely essential. “All work and no play makes Jack a boring jerk” or however that old saying goes.

Is happiness just chemicals flowing through your brain or something more?

I have no idea what happiness is in scientific terms. It’s different things for different people because everyone creates their own. Aim for contentment, gratitude and kindness. After that, happiness can’t be far behind.