Elder Noodles

Originally posted at: http://eldersparks.wordpress.com/:

In October, we started a monthly Noodle Talk group at an assisted-living facility here in central New Jersey. Noodle Talk is a lightly structured discussion based on questions that explore the human condition as a rich mosaic of personal story. We developed it years ago and think it’s arguably the “best excuse to sit around and schmooze since grunting gave way to grammar.” That’s one of the reasons we were excited about bringing it to a group of seniors.

Some customers tell us that when first introducing Noodle Talk, they go through the questions beforehand to weed out the “more difficult ones.” I never do that, but as the first few questions were picked, I began to wonder if I had made a mistake: every one was the serious kind that might easily send newcomers running. And if that wasn’t bad enough, an overly zealous prosecutor might interpret some as prima facie evidence of elder abuse (e.g., What feeling or thought would you like to accompany your final breath?).

Tags: conversation starters, conversation stirrers, ice breakers, conversation game, family conversations, Noodle Talk. assisted-living activities, seniors, senior enrichment, assisted living

Time Out

Readers may note that several months went by this winter without a new post. In tending to an elderly parent who is ill, we haven’t been able to spend much time in the blogosphere so please bear with us. Filling Noodle Talk orders in timely fashion, however, will always remain a priority.

Tags: conversation game, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, dinner parties, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, ice breakers, Noodle Talk

Taking the Talk Out of Noodle Talk

One of our customers bought Noodle Talk to take on a weekend skiing trip with friends. In the evening, everyone was too exhausted to play so Noodle Talk never made it out of the luggage. Back home, while checking out some of the questions, B≈ came across an art-related one and realized that he knew very little about the subject. He resolved to start going to museums and broaden his knowledge and awareness of the art world.

Funny how Noodle Talk works sometimes.

Tags: conversation game, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, dinner parties, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, ice breakers, Noodle Talk

And Now, a Word from Our Competitor

We were recently surprised to see that one of our chief competitors (whose name shall remain unmentioned for obvious reasons) was featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show — with none other than Jennifer Aniston as celebrity pitchman. At first we were jealous because it looked like terrific pr. But given how lame, stupid, silly, superficial — and did we say, stupid? — the whole segment was, our envy morphed into relief.

Now don’t get us wrong. We happen to think that the competition has a decent-enough product: nice graphics, impressive retail distribution, and questions that aren’t half-bad. (Sometimes, we can’t help wondering whether Noodle Talk, which has been on and off the market since 1993, has been ripped off or plagiarized, but that’s another story altogether.) Nevertheless, in our totally unbiased judgement, Noodle Talk questions are more entertaining, imaginative, provocative, and quirkier than theirs. It’s also a much better bargain: customers get far more questions while paying less, even though Noodle Talk is printed and assembled in the U.S. of A., not overseas.

Tags: Noodle Talk, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, ice breakers, conversation game, dinner parties, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, Ellen, Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jennifer Aniston, Trivial Pursuit

Noodle Talk ♥ TASK

With Valentine’s Day coming up soon, we opened our January Noodle Talk session at TASK (the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen) with a question about what the French call “amour”: “Suppose that love was not an emotion, but an actual substance, object, or imaginary place. Please describe its physical characteristics or scenic features.”

The answers ranged from the surprisingly mundane to expansive and poetic, and nearly all came with a warning:

It’s like a sponge full of holes that soaks up but also leaks.

It’s a rag that wipes things away.

It’s like a fire that keeps you warm but will burn you too.

It’s a brilliant, blinding light that’s brighter than the sun.

It’s like being on top of a mountain with a 360° unlimited view that overwhelms you. You don’t control it; it controls you. You do things that are stupid because you love that person even if they don’t love you as much.

As for metaphorical places, one participant likened it to paradise (specifically, Paris with its Eiffel Tower) while another saw a close resemblance to Camden (nice but rough).

Tags: Noodle Talk, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, ice breakers, conversation game, dinner parties, Trenton, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, TASK, poverty, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, love, alcoholism

Last Words

We recently spoke to a customer whose introduction to Noodle Talk came at a family gathering more than 15 years ago. Among those present was a father who  didn’t have long to live, and whose illness made him irascible and difficult to be with. In response to a Noodle Talk question, his eyes teared up as he mentioned  how proud he was of his kids. It was the first time his children had seen him cry and  the words they most remember him by.

This is one of the reasons we do Noodle Talk.

Tags: conversation game, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, dinner parties, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, ice breakers, Noodle Talk

MultiTASKing

We’ve been a little remiss in posting about our monthly visits to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) but fortunately this break between Christmas and New Year’s gives us a chance to catch up. We were there in late October and early December, and both occasions were notable for some totally unexpected answers that left deep impressions. The first came in connection with the question: “Where would you most like to be the proverbial ‘fly on the wall’?” M. answered, as most people tend to do, in a gossipy kind of way by referring to a friend of hers who doesn’t say much in her presence. She was curious to know what he talks about behind her back. Our own response takes a similar course, wondering what secrets the present POTUS and FLOTUS share with each other when alone in their private quarters.

T. though wanted to be on the wall of Osama bin Laden’s cave where he could overhear any plans and report back to American authorities. We’re not familiar with T.’s personal situation but suspect that as a soup kitchen regular, he has a lot more immediate things on his mind (e.g., paying bills, landing a job perhaps, etc.) than protecting our large cities from terrorist attack. Yet here he was, showing more concern for his country’s well-being than our government shows for his.

Tags: Noodle Talk, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, ice breakers, conversation game, dinner parties, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, TASK, poverty, family conversations, sex education, New Year's

Holiday Fritters

We’ve been doing some holiday gift fairs the last few weeks and enjoying our Noodle Talks with shoppers who stop by the booth. Their responses to sample questions offer tasty morsels of conversation that nourish and delight. We call them “fritters” as a way of tweaking that other form of social networking whose value we have yet to fully get. Below are some “fritters” we’ve recently enjoyed.

Question: If you were to become the patron saint of something based on your natural aptitudes or personality, who or what would be the most likely beneficiaries?
Answer: Soil micro-organisms. (The respondent was an organic farmer selling fruits and vegetables at a nearby table.)

Question: What’s the biggest bargain you ever found?
Middle-aged woman: My husband.

The only Noodle Talk question that deals with sex — overtly at any rate –  is: “How did you first learn about human reproduction or responsible sexual behavior? (Or have you yet?)” After I told a retired Princeton University biology professor who specialized in embryology about some recent answers I had heard, he shared this amusing anecdote: Many years ago, one of his four daughters came home from school, bursting with pride that she had figured something out. When her father asked what it was, she said: “You and mommy had sex four times.” Speaking to me, the professor grinned and added: “Funny, I could only remember three.”

Question: Being as imaginative as you like, and regardless of personal or practical limitations, what would you like to accomplish that has never been done before?
Seven-year-old boy: Build a train by myself.

A young girl was initially stumped by the question: “What are the first questions you would ask a friendly visitor from another planet?” I tried to help by saying: “Pretend you’ve just met me, and I’m all green and have a big nose coming out the top of my head, and bulging eyes that are as big as soccer balls. What would you be tempted to ask?” Very shyly, she replied: “What’s your name?”

Finally, a thought from a fan who points to something at the heart of Noodle Talk: “You can tell a lot about a person by the way they listen.”

Ain’t that the truth.

Much of what separates Noodle Talk from ordinary talk can be found in this guideline:

Honesty, support, and listening with an open mind are highly recommended. Anyone caught criticizing, intellectualizing, psycho-analyzing, interrupting, one-upping, digressing, pontificating, belching, or passing gas loudly should be sent to bed immediately.

Released from the burden of saying something intelligent, humorous, or sensitive whenever there’s a pause in the conversation is actually quite liberating. The spotlight turns away from us and focuses on the speaker. We become free to simply listen and take in what’s being said, sometimes for the first time ever! Discourse is no longer the “running about” that its etymology suggests, but a way to relax by the side of the road and enjoy the view.

Perhaps we should call Noodle Talk “Noodle Ears” instead.

Tags: conversation game, conversation starters, conversation stirrers, dinner parties, embryology, family conversations, fritters, host or hostess gifts, ice breakers, Noodle Talk, patron saints

Pillow Talk

Yesterday, we met a customer who was introduced to Noodle Talk by a friend and considered it “the best thing [she had] seen in a long, long time.” She bought a whole bunch of Mini 100 sets for stocking stuffers and had another idea which struck us as the best thing that we’ve heard in a long, long time. (And we’ve been doing Noodle Talk for decades.) While putting her 4 and 10 year-old to sleep, she and her husband share childhood stories from their lives. We thought that was a beautiful family ritual and were pleased to discover that Noodle Talk would play a part in it by jogging memories and opening up a whole new world of bedtime stories.

We’ve always felt that Noodle Talk was superior to ordinary talk because it never puts people to sleep. Now that we’ve been proven wrong, however, we’re delighted to acknowledge our mistake.

Tags: conversation starters, conversation stirrers, ice breakers, conversation game, dinner parties, family conversations, host or hostess gifts, Noodle Talk. pillow talk

Someone Special

We normally don’t do this, but here’s someone who caught our attention yesterday and deserves a shout-out:

(Click on image to enlarge)

How many of us could/would make the choice that Mrs. McKinney’s husband did?

Btw, if you don’t already know about www.thehungersite.com and its sister causes (Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rainforest Preservation, and Animal Rescue) we highly recommend a daily visit. Except for smiling, there’s no easier way to help make the world a better place.

Tags: animal rescue, animal rescue site, animal shelters, pets, St. Francis, www.thehungersite.com