I just finished a book given and recommended to me by my cousin. Our Lady of the Lost and Found really seemed like two books in one. In one part the author, Diane Schoemperlen, writes about an impromptu visit from the Blessed Virgin Mary to the humble home of the narrator(like the author, a single, older novel writer). Interspersed between the humorously subtle and mundae events were the narrator's thoughts on a wide variety of related topics such as faith, doubt, time, knowledge and most of all history.
The beginning of one chapter in particular captured my imagination. In it she says:
"There are many ways to divide up the world...the more usual demographic categories such as male and female, young and old, black and white, have and have-hot. I am sure that a detailed investigation of the propensity (of people who make) lists or (people who do) not list would yield remarkable new insights into the deepest psychological crevices (or crevasses) of human nature" (pp.288).
I love this idea of dividing up the world in different ways other than the usual gay or straight, crazy or sane, foreigner or native, butch or fem, sick or healthy, employed or unemployed, homeless or not! As I've demonstrated on numerous occasions on this blog, I have a propensity to fall into the category of people who make lists. So I'm about to continue in a similar vein as Schoemperlen and invite you to do the same if you feel so inclined!
The world could be divided between....
*people who can dance alone and people who can't (or won't).
*fiction readers and non-fiction readers.
*those who shower in the mornings and those who shower at night.
*those on-line and those off-line (perpetually or forever!).
*people who have traveled/lived abroad and those who never have.
(revised: those who hold passports and those who can't be bothered to get one.)
*those who always buy new items and those that frequently choose to buy items used.
*folks who have a few basic pairs of shoes and folks that have several for various occasions and moods.
*those who "double-dip" and those who abhor the practice.
*givers and takers
*people who prefer pencils to those who use pens.
*those who drink milk and those who don't.
*city people and country folk.
*people who use cash and those who use plastic (debit/credit/etc).
*those who enjoy children and those who don't.
*those who are continually making new friends and those who tend to stick to a chosen few.
*people who like to travel solo (backpack style) and those who like group package tours.
*those who go out on the weekends and those who are homebodies and like to relax at home.
*moviegoers who stay to watch the credits roll and those who find credits boring and leave during them.
*Macintosh users and Windows PC users
other ideas?
*Update: Thanks for all your comments and idea! New ones kept coming up yesterday in conversations and I added them above! Then today while reading The Toronto You are Leaving- I came across this related item: An English professor said that "There are only two kinds of people in the world-the people who prefer Mansfield Park to Emma, and the people who prefer Emma to Mansfield Park." (both by Jane Austen)
Monday, December 04, 2006
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5 comments:
I have a few!
-- Thinkers and feelers.
-- Idealists and pragmatists.
-- People who balance their checkbooks and those who don't.
-- People who like their margaritas on the rocks and those who prefer them blended.
You are truly a Virgo! I really liked your list. I could definitely see myself distinctly fitting into one group or the other of those choices. I only read fiction, I'm always online, I never drink milk, I try to always buy used...this list goes on.
The only thing that comes to mind to add to the list is: People who use their turn signals and those who don't.
heh heh ...
-those who like VEGEMITE and those who like MARMITE (this leads to war in New Zealand)
- people who read one book at a time, people who have several on the go at once
- pepsi drinkers and coke drinkers
- people who teach WITH stories, people who teach THROUGH stories
- musicians who play by ear or those who play by music
- people who fly first class and the rest of us...
(ooh now I am on a cynical roll! - here comes the bitterness ... ;)
- people who fly with a north american luggage allowance and the rest of the world (who get one 44 pound bag!)
* Coffee vs tea.
* Red wine vs white wine.
* I don't agree with this one, but - Democrats vs Republicans. Or as most folks foolishly imply - liberal vs conservative.
* Those who can clap along to the beat vs the rhythmically challenged.
haha! Good ones guys! How about this?
-those who comment on posts and those who merely lurk!
You know who you are! :) haha!
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