Beyond Reality discussion

Does anyone have a current interest/hobby that they've inherited? You can't be quite sure if you're into it because it suits your fancy, or if you were trained to like it because your mom or dad were in love with it when you were a kid?

Mine is John Wayne. I love him! I know that I've seen dozens of his movies, but could hardly name more than 5 or 6 to you. They were always on in the background growing up. Dad, when he had a few hours to kick back and relax, would find "Rooster Coburn" or "The Cowboys" or "Chisum" or "True Grit" somewhere on TV, and we'd while away the day. So, I've started collecting the movies I think I remember and watching them myself on a Saturday afternoon. I can't tell if I want to reminisce about those afternoons with my Dad, or if I really am a fan of the Duke. Whatever the reason, a John Wayne movie always makes me feel at home.

What about you?

Does smoking count?

Reading. My father's copies of Conan Conan the Usurper & Conan Conan the Warrior with the front cover art by Frank Frazetta was what sucked me in. After seeing those, I HAD to read the books.

His father owned a newspaper, The Long Islander, started by Walt Whitman. Every room seemed to have bookshelves that were full with more boxes of them stashed around. Hmmm... strangely like my house, down to the wall of the bedroom covered by a custom built, wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookshelf.

Definitely reading is inherited for me.

Photography. Both my dad and uncle are amateur photographers. And their father was an Army (WW II) and Air Force photo recon officer. I enjoy photography, just don't have the budget to afford the "real" cameras and lenses.

Reading I inherited from my mother, who now works for a library.

I inherited Pink Floyd from my dad, and the annoying habit of packing sentimental crap into boxes that then get stacked into every available 'storage' area - a habit I've been trying to break over the last ten years with limited success.

From my mother I inherited the cooking bug. She was an awesome and adventurous cook, and though I wasn't allowed into the kitchen, I guess I absorbed it through her food.

They were both big readers...

Laurel wrote: "Does anyone have a current interest/hobby that they've inherited? You can't be quite sure if you're into it because it suits your fancy, or if you were trained to like it because your mom or dad w..."

Monty Python. :-) Or British sitcommy stuff in general, really. And things with subtitles. It's my mom's fault.

(The book addict thing is her fault too. She read to me every morning in my high chair.)

Reading--it was always big around our house when I was growing up, and discussions about the books we were reading. Now I'm supplying my dad with books from our ample library.

Crossword puzzles--my mom and dad with the daily newspaper crossword every day together. I was never interested, but when I was in college and would come home on the weekends, my then-boyfriend would join us for Sunday breakfast and do the puzzle with my parents. By default, I participated, and kept doing it with them whenever I was home to visit. My mom died 3 years ago and my dad stopped doing the puzzles completely. I had started doing just the Sunday puzzle by myself a few years prior to that, so I continued to do the Sunday puzzle in my dad's paper when I was visiting him. About 1 1/2 years ago, he asked if we could do it together. I got a little teary... and so whenever I am visiting him (about 1 week every month), we do the daily & Sunday puzzles. And I still do only the Sunday puzzles by myself when I'm at home.

Last one--jigsaw puzzles. We often did these in the winter at home growing up. I started doing them again as an adult shortly after getting married. I find them to be very calming and relaxing.

My grandfather gave me the love of logic puzzles. Spending time (limited) with him learning how to do them is one of my warmest memories.

Laurel wrote: "Does anyone have a current interest/hobby that they've inherited? You can't be quite sure if you're into it because it suits your fancy, or if you were trained to like it because your mom or dad w..."

Reading aloud. My mom read aloud to me and my sibs from the time we were babies. It never occurred to me that other parents not only weren't as good at it as her, but didn't even do it. I've read aloud to kids ever since I hit college and discovered I've inherited her knack for it. It has served me well since I went into children's library work. My husband and I even read aloud to each other over the phone during our long distance courtship. I can't wait to pass this on to our son!

Reading from both my parents (though they can't figure out where I got my love of fantasy from)

But,

I also inherited my love of Errol Flynn and All Creatures Great and Small.

My love of films and books from my parents.

hmm

Reading from the old man. He bugged me for years to read more than just SF and Fantasy, it wasn't till about 20 years ago that I started expanding my reading list.

I hope my kids pick up my love of reading and films.

Ron wrote: "Does smoking count?"

That made me laugh. Thanks Mom and Dad, since you have quit, I continue to kill myself.. slowly.

Cross Stitching, Reading, Cooking from Mom

Sarcasm from Dad.

Thanks guys! I love you both!

My old guy also gave me a love of jazz and swing, and detective fiction, particularly historical mystery. And irony.

Well I actually got my Sci Fi from Dad. He would leave his books in the bathroom and well I guess you can see what happened in some of my longer trips to the room lol

My dad put a magazine/book holder in the bathroom for he and my brother... They loved that silly thing! Somehow it seems wrong for a bookshelf to be in a bathroom. Don't our books deserve better?

Weirdest post I've ever written - sorry!

Laurel wrote: "Somehow it seems wrong for a bookshelf to be in a bathroom. Don't our books deserve better..."

But the bathroom is one of the greatest reading sanctuaries. That room almost guarantees you the least amount of interruptions. The fan (if applicable) provides a non distracting background noise (you also have the option of running water). You're assured a seat on what some consider a throne. And unless you have some entertaining walls, what else is there to do?

This just might be the perfect place for a bookshelf.

Pam, that's the best giggle I've had all day! My Dad would love you!

Reading I suppose. I learned to read from the newspaper before I went to school. I remember when I could only read Henry and Nancy and when I would struggle really, really hard to try to get Blondie. I didn't try for Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Mary Worth etc and I don't recall Peanuts or Family Circle or anything else that would have seemed interesting to a kid. I'm thinking ti was 1964-1965. I am addicted to my newspaper.
But also playing games. card games to start and later other types. This still permeates my entire family and our gatherings and is being passed onto the next generation also.

Great topic
I inherited the love for nhl hockey from dad. First it was the Canucks in 1970, then the Oiler's.

My parents were never into reading other then the newspaper. I used to love reading the weekend Globe and Mail, but who's got the time these days?

I also like playing cards like cribbage. My parents were avid cribbage players.

My Grandpa was an avid cribbage player, and at 8 years old, I was dying to learn to play. I watched, and watched, and finally convinced him that I knew enough about the rules to give it a try. I double skunked him and caught him cheating - he never played me again. He and my Dad didn't get along very well, and oddly enough my Dad played with me every time I asked after that...

Still love the game!

There are lessons there: If you're going to cheat an eight-year-old at cards you should a) do it well enough not to get caught, and b) do it well enough not to get double-skunked anyway.

I forgot about games--family board games and card games, definitely a family tradition that we carry on.

I got my love of sci-fi and fantasy from my father. One of our bonding experiences when I was younger was watching the entire Star Wars trilogy one day while my mother and elder sister were out shopping. He also introduced me to the Hobbit cartoon, Star Trek, and various other things. He's also the other reader of the family, though it's more the love of the genre in all its forms which sparked both my inquisitiveness and my desire for magic in my life.

From my mother comes my love for games but also, unfortunately, my hyper-competitiveness.

And from both of them I guess my collector's streak. They both have shelf-loads of knicks-knacks and things. My father has his pewter collection, which has a lot of fantasy and Star Trek figures. My mother has her crystal, her carousels and music boxes. I have my various Halloween bits and bobs, lots of dragon and faerie figures, Sandman and Harry Potter collectibles, and just a whole assortment of odds and ends.

Chiming in a little late to say that I also inherited the NHL bug from my dad - I'm a huge Red Wings fan. He started taking me to games when I was 10 or 11 and I was hooked!

Somehow, I'm the only one in my family who is obsessed with books. My parents and sister read, but not like I do, and when I was a kid they used to tease me about my penchant for what my mom dubbed "Dragonlady books". At the time it drove me nuts, but we laugh about it now - I even told my mom when I met my now-husband that "he likes dragonlady books too!"