Mad Libs for Parting with your Clunker

All right, I really got into today's post so sit tight. I was listening to David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day driving to work yesterday and in the essay, 'Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa' he compares his childhood in North Carolina to his boyfriend Hugh's in the Congo. He writes, "The verbs are the same, but he [Hugh] definitely wins the prize when it comes to nouns and objects." Interesting, right? How many times have you listened to another's experiences and realized perhaps that it bares striking resemblance to your own but with a few unique details?

Thinking of this reminded me of a story I identified with on NPR a couple of weeks ago. Writer Julie Zickerfoose writes a charming, heartfelt story about how it felt to trade in her beloved Clunker. Her story came at a perfect time for me as I too was parting with a Clunker of my own. Her story could have been my story, just with a few nouns, verbs, numbers, etc. It's almost like... Mad Libs!!!



For your pleasure, I have turned Julie's story into a Mad Lib! If you traded in Clunker of your own (whether during the Cash for Clunkers program or not), perhaps this will be an appropriate way to pay homage to it. Even if you have a non-Clunker that you love dearly, you might find yourself enjoying this. So, below is a numbered list of words types. Provide the requested word next to each number and then when finished (not before!), plug them into the Mad Lib into the corresponding numbered space. See how much the story changes with a few different words?! Have fun!


1.) Year, Make, Model of Clunker
2.) Number of miles on Clunker
3.) Mechanical problem with Clunker
4.) Mechanical problem with Clunker
5.) Make of Clunker
6.) Noun
7.) Number
8.) Adjective
9.) Noun (plural)
10.) Noun (plural)
11.) Food item that you have eaten in your Clunker
12.) Another food item that you have eaten in your Clunker
13.) Another food item that you have eaten in your Clunker
14.) Another food item that you have eaten in your Clunker
15.) Personal item
16.) Item you would wear
17.) Proper noun
18.) Proper noun
19.) Popular phrase
20.) Popular phrase
21.) Adjective
22.) Adjective
23.) Noun
24.) Type of animal
25.) Type of animal
26.) Adjective
27.) Noun
28.) Same noun from #27
29.) Liquid
30.) Noun
31.) Noun
32.) Number
33.) Mechanical problem with Clunker
34.) Number

35.) Proper noun

36.) Noun

37.) Adjective

38.) Adjective

39.) Noun

40.) Verb

41.) Make of Clunker

42.) Make and Model of dream car

Click Here for Parting with your Clunker Mad Lib


Click Here for Original Article by Julie Zickefoose, "Parting With a Clunker: Such Sweet Sorrow"


(Photo pictured above courtesy of NPR.org)