a. favorite carnivorous plant: the sundew
b. favorite sno-cone flavor: grape
c. favorite tiny automobile: the King Midget
d. favorite cactus: the mammillaria
e. favorite butterfly: the zebra swallowtail tied with the zebra longwings
f. favorite 90s sci fi TV show: Babylon 5
g. favorite Robert Heinlein novel: Podkayne of Mars
h. favorite foundation: Second Foundation
i. favorite dove: mourning dove
j. favorite quilt pattern: wedding ring
k. favorite Beatles song (this week): "She's Leaving Home"
l. favorite mechanic: Joe at Morningside Auto in Lomita, California
m. favorite crustacean: the crayfish
n. favorite Ramones song "I Wanna Be Sedated"
o. favorite Jane Austen novel: "Pride and Prejudice"
p. favorite animal character in a James Herriott novel: "Tricki Woo"
q. favorite bottled water: Mountain Valley
r. favorite soft drink: diet ginger beer
s. favorite laser show song "Comfortably Numb"
t. favorite chess opening name: The Hippopotamus
u. favorite cathedral stained glass: Chartres
v. favorite toy museum: Bethnal Green
w. favorite elusive tort concept in Latin: res ipsa loquitur
x. favorite mirliton; the kazoo
y. favorite cookie: gingerbread man
z. favorite Kinks song: "Waterloo Sunset"
I love the way that 26 such preferences can tell the reader so much, and yet, really, tell the reader nothing at all. But listing out 26 more will hardly be more, or less, enlightening. For example:
aa. favorite hiking trail in the Angeles National Forest: Red Box
bb. favorite burrito stand, Mr. Burrito, in La Canada Flintridge, California
cc. favorite saltwater shorefishing locale: Chace Park, in Marina del Rey
dd. favorite aquarium fish: the feeder guppy
ee. favorite poet: Wilfrid Owen
ff. favorite passage in a novel: the first fifty pages of Ford Madox Ford's "Some Do Not"
gg. favorite Armenian chicken restaurant: Zankhou chicken, in Glendale, California
hh. favorite milkshake flavor: chocolate
ii. favorite fruit: banana
jj. favorite movie (this week): The Wizard of Oz
kk. favorite nebula: M 42
ll. favorite hymn: "This is My Song", to the tune "Finlandia"
mm. favorite theologian: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
nn. favorite color: blue
oo. favorite fishing bait, freshwater: the earthworm
pp. favorite fishing bait, saltwater: cut squid
qq. favorite snorkeling sight: green sea turtle
rr. favorite horse: the apaloosa
ss. favorite color of great dane: brindle
tt. favorite Star Trek series: Star Trek: DS 9
uu. favorite prayer: the Lord's Prayer
vv. favorite constellation: Orion
ww. favorite seafood: shrimp
xx. favorite green vegetable: broccoli
yy. favorite Asian cuisine: Indian
zz. favorite mountain range: the Verdugo Mountains
I could list onward and onward, numbering my list into the thousands or tens of thousands. But my point is that I, like most people, have so many favorites, and so much texture and story to my life.
It's all perhaps surface/shallow, but there's a richesse, I imagine, in every life.
It's a good writing prompt for me, to remember this--all people are so rich and varied, and every mind holds a thousand facts and notions and stories.