The Friday Five: Changes

[smallhobbit]

1) What one event from your lifetime would you change if you could, and why?
I think the obvious answer would be Covid-19, although Brexit also comes close.  I find it hard to pinpoint individual things in my life I would change - they were bad at the time, but the changes they brought have also been positive.  Even Covid means that I've met people online and benefitted from knowing them who I would never have met before.

2) If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be and how old would your younger self be when they got it? Do you think your younger self would listen?
I must be getting old, because when I think back I can see things I would say, but those things I have learnt from experience which I needed to live through and make those mistakes to learn.  Be true to yourself is the closest I can think of, and I'd say that at every age.

3) If you could have a conversation with the historical figure of your choosing, whom would you pick and why? What would you talk about? (You can't give them advice, though - they'll think it was all a very strange dream!)
I was going to say Emperor Franz Joseph, and ask him what he thought he was doing.  But, as a Christian, I shall say Mary, Jesus' mother.

4) There are many things that we've lost from the past -- how to make Roman concrete, countless episodes of Dr. Who, most of the plays about Oedipus, my favorite stuffed animal . . . . What one item or secret would you retrieve if you had the power to do so?
Currently two t-shirts which seem to have vanished.

5) What would you like to say to people in the future?
Treat each other and the earth well.

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Nice answers. I hope the prodigal T-shirts return one day!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. Yes, I shall be pleased if they do!

[squidgiepdx]

With regards to your first question: Honestly, I think that if we'd prevented the rise of "idiocracy" (read: Tr*mp) then stupid shit like Brexit wouldn't have happened. Others saw how populism started in the US and grabbed hold. And if we could have just stopped what happened in 2016, then Brexit wouldn't have happened, but also we would have been so much better prepared for COVID. We had a pandemic task force that could have identified and possibly mitigated COVID, had it not been for Tr*mp nixing the task force.

And your #5 is just perfect. Well said!

[smallhobbit]

I suspect there's a reason why there's a rise in populism and if that isn't dealt with then if not Tr*mp it will be someone else. If a section of the population believe they're losing out (and in a capitalist system that will always happen) then all it takes is for someone who believes getting their backing will be to their own advantage it's inevitable.

I'm glad you liked #5!

[debriswoman]

Neatly put:-)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much!

[margaret_r]

Some very thoughtful answers there. For No. 4 I'd be tempted to ask for all the missing socks that have vanished into sock-land.

[smallhobbit]

They become snocks - woolly snake like creatures that breed rapidly but never reproduce exactly and feature in some of my Doctor Who fics and badly_knitted Torchwood fics!

[margaret_r]

Ah! Finally an answer to the mystery! How did I not already know this?! *dashes off to find the wonderful world of snocks*

[smallhobbit]

You knew there had to be an answer!