What Is Greater than God?

     They say the real difference between the serious traveler and a mere tourist is that the tourist just wants to be entertained, while the traveler learns something from his journey.

     Here's something I learned from the kid who works in the kitchen at the none-too-fancy hotel where we're staying in Orlando, Fla. Somehow my sister kind of made friends with him. He seems like a bright kid, with a good attitude. This is the question he posed to us:

     What is greater than God, but worse than the devil?

     The rich don't need it, but the poor have plenty of it.

     And if you eat it, you die.

     It's an old-fashioned riddle. Know the answer? The wise-beyond-his-years answer will be in the Comments box.
    

Notes from the Road

     When you travel away from home, you get a slightly different perspective on the world. For one thing, there's ... the traffic! It's not just rush hour, when you'd expect it. It's all day long. Doesn't anyone ever stay home anymore, even for a few minutes?

     But what made me think of how the world looks different is reading USA Today -- the nation's second largest newspaper by circulation (behind the Wall Street Journal), even though it seems the only place you can get it is in an airport, a railway station, or for free in your hotel.

     According to USA Today, the most noteworthy event that occurred in the past few days was Beyonce possibly lip synching the national anthem at the inauguration. The nerve! The outrage! Like no one ever lip synched in public before.

     Golfer Phil Mickelson said he might leave California because state and local taxes are too high. Then he apologized profusely, because it was insensitive for him to say that, it was a dumb mistake . .. and, oh, right, it was politically incorrect. But how is he different from the thousands, perhaps millions of other people who have left California for lower tax, lower cost states like Arizona?

     There was also an article detailing how states are looking for ways to increase revenues to fund their schools and build out their infrastructure. But just last week I saw a chart showing that state and local taxes as a percentage of GDP have been going up year after year, decade after decade, since at least World War II (while federal taxes outside of Medicare and Social Security have actually gone down.) I'm sure there are many explanations for this. But doesn't it seem like we're forever paying more, but getting less?

     And then there's the headline:  "Te'o is sorry but he insists he didn't lie." I'd like to know how many women out there know what, or who, Te'o is? (I confess, I did not.)

     Speaking of women, USA Today reports that now women will be able to serve in front-line combat positions along with men. This is billed as a major step forward in women's rights. I have no objection to that, I guess. I just thought that women had more sense than that. I 'm puzzled why anyone would want to stand up there and get shot at, and I'd think if anyone enjoyed an exemption, they'd be happy for it. In my day, I knew quite a few people who went to great lengths to avoid being sent to Vietnam to get shot at. Two of our presidents had enough sense to avoid being sent to Vietnam to get shot at.

     And finally -- and now, here's something important -- there is apparently a great controversy over the movie version of Les Miserables. A lot of people like it. Some people love it. But the critics hate it. It's one of those movies that audiences love, but critics hate. And the report sums up: "The only thing critics hate more than Les Mis? Being ignored."

     One critic gave it the ultimate in negative response. He said the movie put him to sleep. Well, it so happens that I have some expertise in this area. I saw Les Mis. I, too, fell asleep for a few minutes. But I fall asleep at almost every movie I go to. In my book, the movie wasn't that bad at all.
 
     

The Best of Boomer Blogs

     Laura Lee Carter over at Midlife Crisis Queen has updated the old Blogging Boomers Carnival, after a mid-winter break, and relaunched with a new name, The Best of Boomer Blogs.

Where is Katie Foster?

     Check out this week's roundup, where you'll find some timely and interesting posts from our fellow Baby Boomers.

     They include items on the perils of the stock market, the anti-obesity campaign sponsored by Coca Cola (Coke ... really?), the virtues of getting organized ... as well as a post by Katie Foster, our intrepid Baby Boomer who currently lives in Dubai, one of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates, where the average high temperature in January is 75 degrees F. (Can you find Dubai on the map?)

     I hope you enjoy this sampling of issues that currently concern Baby Boomers. You might also want to note that Laura Lee has a book coming out soon, called Find Your Reason to Be Here. The book might be worth checking out as well.

     Speaking of 75 degrees in January, what I'm focused on now is the weather in Florida, where I will soon join the flock of snowbirds to spend three weeks basking in the sun. (So far, the weather report looks good!)

     Several bloggers have already departed for warmer climes ... am I the last to go? I don't know how much blogging I'll be doing over the next couple of weeks. I suppose it depends on the weather. The better the weather, the less blogging. The more rain, the more blogging. See you around!

    

What Guys Talk About

     Some people (women mostly, I suppose) wonder what guys talk about when they get together by themselves and shoot the breeze. (Okay, ladies, please hold the snide comments.) I don't know what younger men talk about, but here are the kinds of things Baby Boomer men discuss when they are together, by themselves, without wives or girlfriends.

      The scene: The Cheesecake Factory. (Someone suggested going to Panera's, but it was judged not "manly" enough.)

     The time: Lunch

    The characters: Three men, age 63, 61 and 57.

    The menu:  One of the guys had meatloaf with mashed potatoes, and a beer. Two of the guys had Diet Cokes and some kind of southwestern pasta dish. "It's okay," concluded the 57-year-old (not me), "but I don't think I'd order it again."

     And the topics of conversation:

     Children:  The daughter of the 57-year-old is 26. She took an extra year to wend her way through college and then managed to get a low-level daycare job in Hartford, Conn., where she was living with her boyfriend. This past year she moved with her boyfriend to Austin, Texas, for a better job as a real teacher. The boyfriend is a musician. "But he has a day job, too," the girl's father was quick to add. He reported that they both love Austin -- lots of young people and a great music scene -- and the father is happy with the whole situation.

     The daughter of the 61-year old, also 26, has been living at home for the past three years, working as an event planner. She had managed to turn a part-time job into a fulltime job. "It pays better now," according to her father, "but she still doesn't get any health insurance." He's still got her on his plan. That doesn't bother him. What bothers him is that she recently moved out of the house, and moved in with her boyfriend, in a house they share with another couple. "I guess it doesn't really bother me that she's living with a guy," he says. "It's just that I'm not too sure about him." He was fine as a boyfriend -- but when you move in together it suggests a bigger commitment. And this guy's ... well, he's a nice kid, but kind of a drifter. He's a few years older than the daughter, and he still has a part time job and is going to school at night. "But gee whiz, he's almost 30 and you'd think by now he'd have his act together."

A "Benz" C-class sports model

     Cars: The fellow who's daughter is in Austin is looking for a car to replace an old Audi that he bought used a couple of years ago. Now he's looking into car auctions. There's one in Kissimmee, Fla., and another upcoming in Houston. "I'm going to watch these things. If it looks like a good deal, I'm going to fly down, visit my daughter in Austin, then go bid on a car in Houston." He's not worried he's going to get a leftover car from a flood or something? No, you can get the Carfax report -- and besides they're so cheap that even if you have to put several hundred dollars into the car, its still a good deal.

     We'll see. But my other friend recently junked his old Mazda and got a good deal (which he found on cars.com) on a "lightly used" Mercedes -- a 2013 C-class with less than a thousand miles on it. To which my other friend set him straight: "You don't call it a Mercedes. You say you've got a Benz!"

     Vacation:  I'm about to leave for three weeks in Florida. The 57-year-old is planning to visit his daughter in Austin in February. (She moved last August, and he hasn't been there yet.) And the other fellow -- the meatloaf guy -- he's planning to go down to Myrtle Beach, where he bought a condo three years ago. He's retired and going by himself for a week or ten days. Then his wife, who's still working, will fly down to join him for a week's vacation.

Remember Blue Oyster Cult? I didn't.

     Music:  We're talking about going to a concert called "John Lennon -- "Re-Imagined," by the Nutopians, where they offer their own interpretations of the Lennon songbook. The 57-year-old is going to a Blue Oyster Cult concert. I had never heard of this group. Have you? My friend was appalled at my ignorance of 1970s bands. "Their big song was Don't Fear the Reaper. You don't know it?" he asked. But what are ya' gonna do? I wasn't that into music in the 1970s, I was into starting my career.

     Golf:  Then, after lunch, we paid the bill and all walked over to Dick's Sporting Goods. We tried out a few putters. One of the guys is in the market for a new set of irons. He admitted he was scouting them out at Dick's, but probably would buy them on the Internet. That seems kind of cheesy to me. And besides, the prices at Dick's are pretty good. I don't know what my friend is will end up doing, but I bought a new pitching wedge, on sale for $39.95.

     So that's it, ladies. No one talked about sex. No one talked about their wives, except in passing. (Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?) No one talked about sports, or guns, or gun control. I don't know how representative we are. We're just three old Baby Boomers slouching toward retirement.

The Top 10 Countries in the World

     A friend of mine recently pointed out that my title "Sightings at 60" is really misleading. "Who are you trying to kid?" he said. "It's been a while since you last saw 60."

     With friends like that . . .

     But he has a point. So I've decided to change the title of my blog to Sightings Over Sixty, or SOS. I'm not sure if I can change the web address (I'll try, but I often find that blogger.com won't do what sightings.com wants to do). But anyway, that's who I'll be from now on.

     (And don't worry, I'll get to the Top 10 Countries in just a minute.)

     But speaking of blogger.com having its own way, it recently deleted one of my favorite Gadgets -- the one that highlights recent reader comments in the side column of the blog. Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, do you know how to fix it? First, the Gadget just stopped working. And when I went to try to reapply it, I found that the option was no longer offered on the menu.

     And with blogger.com, you have to pick from the menu ... at least as far as I know. So if anyone has any tips for me on that front, please let me know.

     Meanwhile, I have to admit, I get a kick out of viewing my "Stats" page -- not so much to see how many people view my blog (if I was concerned with that, I'd be posting photos of a scantily clad Lindsay Lohan and mug shots of Mel Gibson) but where they come from.

     As I've admitted before, I am a typical self-centered American. I only speak one language. I've never moved around much in my life, never lived in any other country. I've barely visited other countries -- couple of trips to Europe when I was younger; ditto Canada. I don't even do a whole lot of traveling. I'm soon to leave for my annual trip to a warmer clime, but I don't go to exotic Thailand or Costa Rica (not to mention Nicaragua; see # 8 below), just to boring old Florida or Arizona.*

     Yet, through the magic of blogging, I've reached out and touched some people all around the world. And I really do think that's pretty cool. So finally, I present to you the top 10 countries in the world -- at least according to the "audience" page of Sightings Over Sixty.

1)   USA . . . well, obviously, but it's good to know that we're still No. 1 at something!
2)   Germany ... because of Friko at Friko's World?
3)   Canada ... I have a couple of blog friends from Canada, like Natalie at Knatolee's World, which makes me feel very sophisticated, but it seems Canada is usually No. 2, so come on, Canada, you can do better!
4)   Russia ... I really do appreciate my Russian visitors, but admit they might just have stumbled here by mistake. Maybe they do a search for "Olga." I have a blog friend Olga at Confessions of a Grandma ... I don't even know if she's of Russian heritage; I only know she lives in Vermont and Florida. But anyway, Olga, thank you!
5)   United Kingdom ... again, thank you, Friko, although maybe they're fans of "Downton Abbey" (see my previous post).
6)   Japan ... don't ask me.
7)   Hungary ... Hungary? Why would anyone from Hungary want to read my blog?
8)   Nicaragua ... again, don't ask me
9)   Ukraine ... I did mention Ukraine in my post The Far-Flung Family. I also have a friend whose parents came from Ukraine, and he treated B and me to a Ukrainian Christmas dinner, but no one in the blogosphere knows that! Besides, I featured Kazakhstan more prominently, and so far as I know, I have no visitors at all from that part of the world.
10)  France  ... okay, I only get un peu from France, but still, they make me feel even more sophisticated than the Canadians do!

     Anyway, I'd be interested to know from fellow bloggers if you get readers from around the world. Or, from bloggers overseas, if you get a lot of American visitors. And does it make you feel "special" like it does me?

*Please note, esp. international readers who might miss something in translation, any attempt I ever make at humor is intended to make fun of nobody else but myself ... the point here being not that there's something strange about Nicaragua, or that Florida or Arizona is old and boring, but that I am old and boring -- and if you don't believe me, just ask my kids!

Words of Wisdom from Downton Abbey

     I know a lot of people about my age (if not my gender) are fans of Downton Abbey, which premiered season 3 last Sunday night with a two-hour special.

     I've heard some people say the show is, "Rubbish." But I disagree. It's really very good ... very good soap opera. After all, it poses lots of crucial, life-or-death questions. Will Matthew and Mary finally find happiness as husband and wife? Will Lord Grantham really lose his fortune and have to sell his estate? Could Mr. Bates possibly be his wife's killer? Does Mrs. Hughes really have cancer?

     Aside from all that, it's B's favorite TV program (well, rivaled by "Say Yes to the Dress" but we can't go there, because I promised I would never tell on her).

     But what I noticed from this latest episode is how many words of wisdom can be gleaned from a show about an old English family. And as anybody knows who read my previous post, Speaking of Cliches, I'm constantly in search of more catch phrases and old sayings.

     For example, when Anna visits the jail to see her husband, Mr. Bates, she tells him: "Just remember what my mother used to say: 'Never make an enemy by accident'."

     Later, when Mrs. Isobel Crawley contemplates living a simpler life in reduced circumstances, she reminds everyone that it takes a lot of work to keep an estate going, summarizing:  "Much cattle, much care."

     Tom Branson, the former chauffeur who's now Lady Sybil Crawley's husband, goes downstairs to say hello to the servants. He tells them: "I wouldn't want you to think I've gotten too big for my britches."

     And when maid Daisy goes into the kitchen and formally announces her protest, an outraged Mrs. Patmore responds by asking her:  "Have you swallowed a dictionary?"

     Later on Mrs. Patmore scolds Daisy, telling her, "A bad worker always blames his tools."

     The Lady Dowager Violet Crowley (played brilliantly by veteran English actress Maggie Smith), upon seeing her lavish dining room all decked out for a party, comments, "Nothing succeeds like excess." But later she warns us:  "No guest should be admitted before the date of their departure is settled."

     And as the future of the family hangs in the balance, she cautions: "Never mistake a wish for a certainty."

     One piece of advice I found particularly practical is Mrs. Patmore's reply to Mrs. Hughes, worried about the cost of medical treatment: "If you must pay money, better to a doctor than an undertaker."

     Meanwhile, it was Sir Anthony who "saved the day," while Cora advised the family not to "cast a pall over the proceedings." And -- not as any advice, but just as an amusing turn of phrase, the older Sir Anthony asks the dressed-to-impress Edith Crowley, "Have you done something jolly with your hair?"

     But as a man with two strong-willed sisters, who's had occasion to sometimes enlist the support of my brothers-in-law, I found Matthew's advice to Tom particularly relevant. Matthew turns to Tom, who's having a hard time with the family, and says: "We're brothers-in-law with high-minded wives. We'd better stick together."

     Anyway, Downton Abbey is on TV again tonight, with the second episode. I wonder how many new bits of advice I'll be showered with tonight?

The Far-Flung Family

     I received a Christmas letter from a cousin. He's a year or two older than I am. He got married young and had four children. Tragically, his wife got cancer and died when she was about 50, in the late 1990s.

     After his last child, a daughter, went off to college in 2002, my cousin joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Kazakhstan. He filled out his service, and then ... decided to stay on to live in the country. He ended up remarrying a Kazakhstani, and lives there to this day.

     I never would have guessed that this cousin, of all my family members, would have been the one to be so adventuresome. He was the younger of two boys, and when he got married he settled down only a few miles from where he grew up in Connecticut -- and that's where he lived for over 25 years. But I remember talking to him on the phone not too long before he left. He told me he no longer had anything holding him there -- his mother had died; his father gone to live with his brother -- and he wanted to see what else was going on in the world.

     Many of us have siblings, or children, who have moved across the country ... I guess, most starting out in their home states in the Northeast and Midwest, moving to the West and the South for new opportunities. My ex-wife grew up in Ohio; she now lives in Georgia, where her two brothers live as well. My two sisters grew up in New York. One now lives in Florida, the other in Arizona. My two best friends from childhood both live in California.

     I wonder, though, is this just my experience, or is it a more general trend. Where do your brothers and sisters and children live? Have any of them wandered as far as  Kazakhstan?

 
     The email I got from my cousin was very circumspect. He would not mention in his email a certain religion, or a certain president -- for fear of censorship and/or reprisal. I don't think he's paranoid; his fears seem real. And he did allow that he and his wife are considering moving back to the States, if things got much worse.

     "Each year the government passes new laws making it more and more difficult for foreigners to live and work here," he wrote. "There is also a growing anti-foreigner (not necessarily anti-American) attitude among the local people." He concluded,  "Until you have lived overseas you can't really appreciate what the USA is."

     Regardless, he seems very satisfied with his experience in Asia. He said he met some wonderful people from all over the world -- something he never would have imagined doing for most of his life in Connecticut -- and he made friends with people from Russia, China, South Africa, Australia and Saudi Arabia.

     I myself have recently met some interesting people -- although I didn't go far to do it. I've joined a table tennis club. The members come from as far as 30 or 40 miles away to play.

     The club does not reflect the standard white suburbia -- or, maybe it reflects the new suburbia. I've met a Yuri from Russia, and another Yuri from Ukraine. I've played with an Olga (she beat me; she's good). The pro is from Jamaica. There's also a Dieter, a Jingsong, an Alok, an Andriy, an Animu, a Juan and a Sumeng. As well as a Jennifer, a Richard, a Frank. And me, I'm a Tom.

     I, myself, have never ventured far from home -- never lived for any period of time out of the New York tristate area. And although I love where I live, I've always had this nagging feeling that I've missed something.

     Still, I'm trying to do my part to connect with the rest of the world, one serve at a time.    
    

12 Great New Year's Resolutions

     Generally I'm not in favor of New Year's resolutions. I mean, if it's a good thing to do, or a bad habit you want to get rid of, shouldn't you make that resolution right away, instead of waiting until January 1?

     If you want to know more about how habits form, and how to break the cycle of a bad habit, check out The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. B suggested I read it over Christmas break (what was she trying to tell me?!?) and while it's no cure-all, it did open my eyes to some of the things we do unconsciously, without thinking, without paying attention.

     But speaking of resolutions, a friend of mine posted the following on her facebook page, which she got from Avivagen Animal Health, a Canadian pet company, which in turn got it from rockpapercynic. Just had to share.

Answers for Baby Boomer TV Shows

     I'm not saying these shows were by or about Baby Boomers. And, as at least one reader pointed out, many of our parents watched some of these same programs. Back when the networks reigned supreme, and TV channels were not so scattered and specialized, we all sat down and watched many of the shows together.

     I know that people like me, who are getting older, typically think things were better back then. But wasn't Dick Van Dyke, or All in the Family or The Waltons more wholesome, more relevant and more entertaining than Two and a Half Men, or Honey Boo Boo?

     Anyway, let's look back . . . and answer the questions about those old shows.

     1)  Earle Stanley Gardner, a practicing lawyer and prolific novelist, created the character of the famous defense attorney. William Hopper played Perry Mason's trusty private detective Paul Drake. But it was the incomparable Raymond Burr who won two Emmys playing Perry Mason (and who also went on to star as a wheelchair-bound detective in Ironside, from 1967 to 1975).

     2)  Bonanza, 1959 - 1973, was branded the second-longest running western. The longest was Gunsmoke, starring James Arness, which rode the airways from 1955 to 1975.

     3)  Rob and Laura Petrie, and their son Richie, lived in the suburb of New Rochelle, NY.

     4)  Vince Edwards was Ben Casey. It was Richard Chamberlain who played the impeccably handsome Dr. Kildare. He later went on to mini-series fame in Centennial and The Thorn Birds, and devoted much of his time to stage acting. Ironically, in his 2003 memoir Shattered Love, the former heartthrob revealed that he was gay.

     5)  Dick Cavett wrote for Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. Regis Philbin wrote for his own local talk show in San Diego, only because he had no budget for writers. It was Woody Allen who worked for Candid Camera, as well as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show, before going on to standup comedy and his storied movie career.  

     6)  Ed Sullivan happened to be passing through London's Heathrow airport in 1963 when he saw the crowd's reaction to the Beatles, who were arriving from a gig in Sweden. He signed the group for three consecutive shows in America, beginning with their live performance on Sunday night, February 9, 1964.

     7)  Everybody who was anybody at the time appeared on Laugh-In, from Tiny Tim to Richard Nixon, from Bing Crosby to Flip Wilson. But the record shows no appearance by Bill Cosby, who may have been too busy doing standup comedy, making movies and studying for an education degree at the University of Massachusetts.

     8)  Laverne & Shirley took over top TV ratings from All in the Family in 1977, starring Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney.

     9)  Fonzie, of Happy Days, used the men's room at Arnold's as his "office," but he lived in a room over the Cunningham's garage. However, he did rent his own apartment in the last season of the show, so give yourself full credit if that was your answer.

     10) A trick question? Actually, I made a mistake. John Boy was the oldest Walton child, born in 1916. Then Jason, Mary Ellen, Ben, Erin, Jim-Bob, and the youngest was Elizabeth. Oops, count 'em. That's seven.

     11)  Mary Tyler Moore moved from New Rochelle, NY, in The Dick Van Dyke Show, to Minneapolis, MN, for the Mary Tyler Moore show. In real life, she was born in Brooklyn, grew up in California, and currently lives in Manhattan, where she is active in diabetes issues and animal rights.

     12)  Shirley Jones was the mom in The Partridge Family. Shelley Long played the mom in the much-maligned Brady Bunch Movie in 1995. It was Florence Henderson who starred as the mom in the hit TV show.

     13)  M*A*S*H (which stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) said its final goodbye on February 28, 1983.

     14)  In the final scene of Dallas in the 1979-80 season, J. R. was shot twice by an unseen assailant. The next episode, called Who Done It? aired on November 21,1980, and revealed that sister-in-law and mistress Kristin Shepard (played by Mary Crosby) shot him in a fit of anger. The episode ranks second only to the M*A*S*H finale as the most-watched TV program of all time. 

     15)  Cameron Diaz played one of Charlie's Angels in the 2000 movie, and in the 2003 sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. But she was not in the original TV series which aired from 1976 - 1981.

     Bonus)  TV Guide rated Seinfeld the greatest TV show of all time. Number 2 was I Love Lucy, No. 3 was the Honeymooners and No. 4 was All in the Family. See cbsnews for a complete list of the top 50.

Do You Know Your Baby Boomer TV Shows?

      Take this quiz and find out:

1.  Who played Perry Mason, the defense attorney on TV who invariably proved his client innocent, from 1957 to 1966?
 a) Earle Stanley Gardner   b) Raymond Burr   c) William Hopper   d) Raymond Massey

2) What's the longest running western on TV?
a) Gunsmoke  b) Bonanza  c) Wagon Train  d) Rawhide   

3)  Where did Rob and Laura live on The Dick Van Dyke Show?
a) New London, Ct.         b) New Holland, Pa.         c) New Rochelle, NY         d) New Brunswick, NJ

4)  Who played Dr. Kildare, the medical intern who set female hearts aflutter from 1961 - 1966?
a) Vince Edwards   b) Bob Newhart   c) Robert Young   d) Richard Chamberlain

5) Who as a young comedian was a writer for Candid Camera?
a) Woody Allen    b) Dick Cavett    c) Regis Philbin    d) Jerry Seinfeld

6) When did the Beatles first appear on the Ed Sullivan Show?
a) Jan. 20, 1962    b) Sept. 22, 1963    c) Feb. 9, 1964    d) May 24, 1964

7) Who never appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the iconic comedy that ran from 1967 - 1973?
a) Tiny Tim       b) Rod Serling       c) Richard Nixon       d) Bill Cosby  

8) Laverne & Shirley (1976-83) was one of several shows to develop out of the groundbreaking All in the Family (1968-79). Who played Shirley?
a) Penny Marshall    b) Valerie Harper    c) Cindy Williams    d) Suzanne Somers

9) Where did Fonzie live?
a) In back of Arnold's   b) In the Cunningham's garage   c) In the Cunningham's basement   d) In his own apartment

10) How many kids did the Waltons have?  
a) 2     b) 4     c) 6     d) 8

11) Where did Mary Richards live in the Mary Tyler Moore show?
a) Washington, D.C.        b) San Francisco        c) Minneapolis      d) Milwaukee

12) Who played the mom on The Brady Bunch for its entire run from 1969 - 1974?
a) Shirley Jones      b) Florence Henderson      c) Shelley Long       d) Shelley Winters  

13) The final episode of M*A*S*H was by some measures the most-watched TV program of all time. When did it air?
a) March 15, 1984  b) Dec. 7, 1983  c) Feb. 28, 1983   d) Nov. 23, 1981

14) Who shot J. R. in the final episode of the 1979-1980 season?
a) Kristin Shepard    b) Bobby Ewing    c) Sue Ellen Ewing    d) Clayton Farlow

15) Who was not an original Charlie's Angel?
a) Farrah Fawcett     b) Jaclyn Smith     c) Cameron Diaz     d) Kate Jackson 

Bonus Question:  What series was named the greatest TV show of all time by TV Guide?
a) All in the Family    b) The Honeymooners    c) I Love Lucy    d) Seinfeld

See next blog post, on Fri., Jan. 4, for the answers.