"It's listed as an annual Blockburger favorite. I don't know what Blockburger is, but you could Google it?"
So I'm writing this blog post in hopes that I can help someone who actually does Google it. The answer? I am a Blockburger! So is my brother, and his wife, and their baby. My little sister is a Blockburger, as are my parents. My two older sisters used to be Blockburgers, but they got married and now are other things.
In more esoteric ways, Blockburgers are many things. We are pretty smart (most of the time; sometimes we trip on curbs and break our hands). We are competitive. We tend to have sweaty feet and hands. We're terribly sarcastic.
We're religious. We like to read books and play cards. Many are known to do math for fun. Others like to diagram sentences. We can be pedantic and tend not to recognize rhetorical questions. We're introverted, but talk a lot.
We're really not that athletic.
But we are musical.
Almost every Blockburger I've met has been left-handed, but that ratio is steadily shifting. There may soon be only one left-handed Blockburger.
We enjoy figuring things out before we're told about them. We like to trick people in clever ways. [Ad hoc, ergo propter hoc?] We like puzzles of all kinds.
We sunburn easily.
Have any other suggestions for how to define a Blockburger? If so, please comment below. My sample size, after all, is pretty small.
Sorry, I'm no help with the definition, but I think what you wrote was great.
ReplyDeleteDid you type this whole thing one-handed?
Indeed I did. More on that later.
ReplyDeleteBlockburgers are a dying breed. It's a heavy weight on our shoulders to keep the clan alive. Good post.
ReplyDeleteAs I've thought about trying to describe a Blockburger, I've been trying to define who qualifies as a Blockburger. Are we including those who were born a Blockburger but no longer are? Or those who are currently Blockburgers but weren't born as such?
ReplyDeleteIf we count only those who currently use the name, our local clan drops to only 7, 2 of whom married into the name. If we count only those born with the name, there are 9 of us. And including all those who use the name now or have in the past increases that figure to 13. There are also 6 or 7 out in Kansas that I've met, though I don't know them well enough to categorize them at all.
Your post implies that as your older sisters are now other things, we're counting only the 7 of us as Blockburgers.
Well, we are only 2/6 left-handed. (With 1 undecided. Julia will be left out of pretty much all of this.) 5/6 play a musical instrument. 2/6 play more than 1. Perhaps 3/6 do math for fun. As many as 4 in 6 could be considered pedantic, though that's probably debatable. I'll own up to the sweaty hands and feet, so that's at least 1.
7/7 are Utahns. Eye color ranges from blue to green to brown. Hair color from "blond" to red to brown.
Well, closer examination shows that I really use two definitions for Blockburger. First, I define Blockburger by those who currently use the name. But then, for the more esoteric description of Blockburger, I used for my examples all those who have been a Blockburger at some point in their lives. [Bigger sample size that way.]
ReplyDeleteI'll admit to having sweaty feet, and Jessica has owned up to having sweaty hands.
Unfortunately, I also fall into the sweaty feet category.
ReplyDeleteAddendum: I forgot to include Grandma, Grandpa, Marsha, Joyce, and Connie in my earlier Blockburger ruminations. As did, apparently, Clark.
ReplyDeleteHmmm . . . still accurate anyway?
Do you guys know your Myers-Briggs types? That could be interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn my comment, I referenced 13 people (living) who at one time have used the name Blockburger (and who I know personally): Martence, Connie, Joyce, Steve, Marsha, Christy, Carrie, Melissa, Suzanne, Clark, Jessica, Shannon, Julia.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I guess then I just can't count.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to compare Meyers-Briggs types. I'll have to try to find the test online.