The Greatest Meme

New meme. I'm sure someone else has made one up like this, but I haven't seen one like it yet. At least, not that I recall...

The theme is "The Greatest...", as in the greatest book or movie or place to visit or meme. Whatever. I'm sure you'll get it. You're all smart people, hence I expect smart answers!

Here are the rules: Copy the meme listed below to your blog and answer the 10 questions. At the end of the questions, add one more question of your making. Let's see where this goes! Enjoy!

Oh, please note: These don't necessarily have to be the greatest of all time ever. It could be the greatest whatever at this moment in your life. What's great today, might not be tomorrow. I'm as interested in the present as I am in all time, if you will!

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In your opinion, this is the greatest...

1. Book
2. Song
3. Movie
4. T.V. Show
5. Place to live
6. Place to visit
7. Place to eat
8. Fruit/Vegetable
9. Chocolate
10. Quality I Possess

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Here are my answers.

1. Book: That's a tough one, because I love books and I have jillions of them. For me, though, the greatest book of all time ever in my life would have to be Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, because it changed my awareness of the world around me as a young person. A very close second for similar reasons would be The Diary of Anne Frank. Both were pivotal in influencing my understanding of and interactions with others.

2. Song: Hey Eugene! by Pink Martini with Dosvedanya Mio Bombino by the same a close second and Hang On Little Tomato a close third.

3. Movie: Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others). Perhaps not the most brilliant or cinematically stunning, but the story stays with you and the ending is perfect. Literally. Hence, it's greatness.

4. T.V. Show: The Vicar of Dibley, hands down. Dawn French, bloody brilliant! And Prime Suspect. That's great t.v., too.

5. Place to live: This will be obvious, but I found living in California to be pretty damn great! If I could pick the absolute greatest place to live, it would be in my friend Lea's former house in Inverness, California. If I ever win the lottery, I'm making the current owners an offer they'd be absolutely foolish to refuse.

6. Place to visit: I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the greatest place to visit would be a toss up between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, with Savannah edging out Charleston. It's everything you ever imagined the south to be, complete with ghosts and charm and history and good eats. I enjoyed Savannah very much and would go there again on vacation or business.

7. Place to eat: This will also be obvious, but I stand by my choice. The greatest restaurant ever is Ti Couz in San Francisco. Sublime. Divine. Innovative. Hearty. Just great eats.

8. Fruit/Vegetable: The greatest fruit ever: a ripe, juicy peach. The greatest vegetable: fresh, sweet corn on the cob. Bliss.

9. Chocolate: I confess, I'm not overly snobbish about this one. I'll eat just about any chocolate. The greatest, though, would have to be... Oh hell, I don't care, as long as it isn't Hershey's or Nestle.

10. Quality I Possess: I know this one's a little egocentric, but I think so often so many of us don't give ourselves enough credit for the things we do well or the good people we are. So, in the spirit of this question, I think the greatest quality I possess is kindness. I'm told I'm a very kind person. I like that. I hope that's true, and not just on my good days.

And now, for the bonus round, I choose poetry. The greatest poem of all time is Ogden Nash's The Tale of Custard the Dragon. I love that poem! It's tied to some of my best childhood memories and it's the poem I always read at my Twist of Brunch events, when I have them.

I tag anyone and everyone who loves memes. Have fun with this one!