Jessi and Anna's Betsy Tacy Fun!

Just something I posted on facebook yesterday and thought I would put it on my blog as well...since I haven't posted in about 2 years!!! Wow. This was incredibly amusing to Anna and me. Some of our answers will not even make sense to die hard Betsy Tacy fans because they are our own little inside jokes that have come from reading the books out loud so many times. Example: Bobby being the sun god in training, or Mr. Sibley having a crush on Bonnie.

So...Anna and I created this little activity to amuse ourselves in class today, and it was so diverting I decided to make it into a FB note so that our (very few) Betsy Tacy appreciating friends could join in if they so desired. If you are not tagged in this note, but you are reading it, and are a closet fan...please join in! And if you just want to make picks without having to explain, go for it...but I warn you..it's hard to pick without offering a little justification!

So, we took turns picking pairs of characters/things from the books and then we had to pick which we liked better. We allowed ourselves a bit of explanation just because. We wrote our answers/explanations separately and then compared. Some of our answers were amazingly similar and some were very different. Here are the pairs:

1. Tacy vs Tib

2. Carney vs Winona

3. Bonnie vs Irma

4. Cab vs Tony

5. Bangeter vs Clarke

6. Tilda vs Helena

7. Hunter vs Bobby (Sibley)

8. Mr vs Mrs Sibley

9. Win vs Winkie

10. Miss Mix vs Miss Sparrow

11. Miss Cobb vs Aunt Ruth

12. Mr O'Farrell vs Bob Barhydt

13. Larry vs Phil

14. Rocky vs Mr Bagshaw

15. Hazel vs Mamie Dodd

16. Sam vs Joe

17. Freshman Betsy vs Married Betsy

18. Onion Sandwiches vs Rarebit

19. Coconut Cake vs Lady Baltimore Cake

20. Dennie vs Squirelly

Our Picks:

1. Jessi: Tacy- she's more loveable.

Anna: Tacy- this was hard..but sometimes Tib's bluntness rubs me the wrong way.

2. Jessi: Carney- I relate with her way of thinking, except I'm glad that my family isn't dove gray!

Anna: Winona- She seems more fun, and Carney is a little stiff, verging on snobby sometimes.

3. Jessi: Bonnie- Because I actually feel sorry for her. She had a good year at 15, but I feel like the rest of her youth/young adulthood was really bland.

Anna: Irma- It's not Irma's fault that she's so darn attractive, if I was her friend I'd just join forces and try to get all of the boys in school between the two of us.

4. Jessi: Tony- He's just so dashing and loafing all at the same time!

Anna: Tony- He's more romantic...even when Betsy stops being in love with him.

5. Jessi: Bangeter- She actually teaches something with her Shakespeare class. Clarke just does memorization. Although I do like how much Clarke adores Betsy.

Anna: Clarke- She's just so nice...everyone wants a teacher like her!

6. Jessi: Helena- She's just so German and Old World Europe!

Anna: Helena- Yes Helena is snobby, but so is Tilda. And Helena was basically raised to be snobby and has no way out. Tilda has no reason to be so mean.

7. Jessi: Bobby- He actually has a shot at being purple...being the Sun God in training and all!

Anna: Bobby- No brainer.

8. Jessi: Mrs. Sibley- I feel like she wishes she could break out of her New England reserve. Plus..at least she's not having a fling with her daughter's friend like Mr. Sibley!

Anna: Mr. Sibley- at least he doesn't have a block of ice for a heart.

9. Jessi: Win- she's the not as manly one...right?

Anna: Win- she's only slightly less creepy than Winkie.

10. Jessi: Miss Sparrow- She's lovable, while I feel like Miss Mix is on a fashion high horse!

Anna: Miss Sparrow- I can't help but feel like Miss Sparrow helped Betsy and Joe realize that they belong together!

11. Jessi: Aunt Ruth- She didn’t choose to be alone like Miss Cobb, it was thrust upon her. Plus, she’s a relative of Joe, so there’s got to be some cool in her deep down somewhere. Plus… Wheat!

Anna: Aunt Ruth- She helped with Joe’s story and made delicious bread!

12. Jessi: Mr O’Farrell- He’s a philanderer, but at least he’s broad minded and interesting. Bob not only helped drive a wedge between Betsy and Joe, but he’s just a callow youth frat boy river banker! Ew.

Anna: Mr O’Farrell- At least he was older and exciting and dashing and a world traveler, Bob was just a frat boy.

13. Jessi: Larry- I would probably rather date Phil, but Larry seems more overall good natured. Plus, he's related to Herbert, so he has some good genes.. or maybe Herbert got them all!

Anna: Phil- He served his purpose of making Betsy’s sophomore year more exciting. It was just so great on the Monday after the dance they went to school and realized that they both liked each other!

14. Jessi: Rocky- I find him fascinating… obnoxious, but fascinating. Mr. Bagshaw is such a sensitive, prissy mougar!

Anna: Mr. Bagshaw- if you’re going to be in an unhappy relationship, you can at least be rich! No one liked Rocky… It’s embarrassing to date someone that everyone knows is mean…

15. Jessi: Hazel- She’s almost a real person. Mamie’s like some sort of cartoon in a world of live action people. Hazel is maybe… Pixar.

Anna: Mamie Dodd- At least she was a really great piano player! Hazel was just a freckle-faced debater…

16. Jessi: Sam- If it was who I was dating I’d choose Sam, he would never hold out on someone just because of his pride! But if I was more Betsyish it would be Joe!

Anna: Joe- how could I not pick him?! Sam is fun and all, but Joe is just so cute and works so hard and is just that guy that you would always be a little bit amazed that he liked you!

17. Jessi: Married Betsy-I guess… Married Betsy is more diverse and interesting. But freshman Betsy is pretty darn absorbing for just being a regular 14 year old!

Anna: Freshman Betsy- though married Betsy is more confident and sophisticated, I like Freshman Betsy. She just loves everything so much!

18. Jessi: Onion Sandwiches- I don’t think I’d like either in real life… But in the books onion sandwiches sound delicious, while rarebit sounds harrowing.

Anna: Onion Sandwiches- I’ve always thought they sounded like the most marvelous thing ever!

19. Jessi: Coconut Cake- I can never get a clear image of what Lady Baltimore Cake actually is… but it sounds elegant!

Anna: Lady Baltimore Cake- I don’t even know what it is, but for some reason I thought it would be like a mix between Boston Cream Pie and Chocolate Éclair Cake!

20. Jessi: Dennie- he’s just so jovial! Squirrelly is kind of like Lady Baltimore Cake… I don’t exactly know who/what he is… I mean, how do you even pronounce his name?

Anna: Dennie- He seemed cuter and more fun! Wasn’t it him and Cab that had the Soirees with Betsy and Tib in Betsy was a Junior?

Well...it's been such a productive day in class...and it's not over yet!