“Poetry is like a bird, it ignores all frontiers” (Yevgeny Yevtushenko). Do you agree? Think back … What’s the earliest poem you remember? What’s your favorite poem and why? What poems can you recite from memory? Have you written poetry? Have you taught favorite poems to your kids? Share your poetry stories forward.

As children, gifts seemed magical to us. Think back … What’s the earliest gift you remember? What’s the best gift you’ve given or received? What’s the worst gift you’ve given or received? Do you enjoy shopping for gifts, or is it a burden? What’s it like giving gifts to grandchildren? Is it more blessed to give or to receive? Are gifts still magical? Share your gift stories forward.

We all want to be home for the holidays, but what does that mean? Think back … Why did you settle where you did? How did you choose your home? Have you bought,  rented, built, or renovated real estate? How did that work out? Have you ever been homeless? What sights, sounds, tastes, and smells remind you of home? What was it like to leave home? Can you go home again? Share your home stories forward.

Almost before we learn to talk, we learn to sing. We sing nursery rhymes, the alphabet, in church, at camp, in school, in youth groups. If we’re lucky, we keep singing as adults. Think back … What’s the first song you remember singing? Did you “follow the bouncing ball?” Did you and a partner have “our song?” If you sing karaoke, what’s your go-to selection? Share your singing stories forward.

Thanksgiving is for families—but what does that mean? We think of mom, dad, and 2.2 kids, but families are multifaceted and change over time. Think back … to ways your family has been extended, blended, and compacted. Has it evolved through (inter)marriage, divorce, death, remarriage, or adoption? Has it acquired stepchildren, exchange students, or strays—or been divided by rifts or feuds? Share your family stories forward.

Pranks and practical jokes go hand in hand with Halloween, so think back … What pranks have you pulled? Did you TP a house? Make crank phone calls? Did you get caught? Do you regret pulling them? What’s the most creative prank you’ve heard about? Have you been victimized by scams targeting seniors? Share your pranks and practical jokes forward.

It’s “all about the shoes,” they say, but there’s also hats, handbags, jewelry, scarves, fragrances, and even tattoos. (Men: don’t forget ID bracelets, class rings, ties, watches, and that midlife sports car.) Think back … What’s the earliest accessory you remember? Have you had a “signature” accessory? Are accessories more important as we age? Share your accessory stories forward.

The recent movie “Eighth Grade” got us thinking about middle school, that awkward, difficult, in-between time when we were not quite children yet not quite adolescents. Or was it? Think back … What was it like? Who were your friends? What were your interests? Were you still close to your parents? How did it change you? How was it different for your kids? Share your middle school stories forward.

Birthday parties, holiday parties, dinner parties, dance parties—we punctuate our lives with parties. Think back … to parties you remember. Which did you enjoy and which did you hate? Were you the life of the party or the wallflower? What was the best party you ever attended? What was the worst? What parties have you thrown? Is our two-party system obsolete? Share your party stories forward.

In the future, Andy Warhol (famously) predicted, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. Think back … What’s your claim to fame? Been on TV or in the news? If you’ve been famous, what was it like? If not, would you like to be? Have you had brushes with fame or the famous? Are today’s celebrities “famous for being famous?” Share your fame stories forward.