5 things we don't know about you

[Supertramp78]

Needed to archive this too.

WrenBlue
1. I lived for awhile in a community in Southern CA where I lived in a teepee. It was a retreat center where we practiced Zen Buddhism and also did Native American spiritual practices.
2. I volunteered some years back to work on the Clearwater sloop. This the sloop that Pete Seeger started in the 60s and there is a table in it that is made from a tree in his yard. The Clearwater is based on Hudson River and takes classes of girl/boy scouts or elderly on board etc to teach them about ecology and environmental issues.
3. I married a Polish immigrant 19 years ago to help him stay in the country. I am still married, but haven't seen my husband in over 16 yrs.
4. I didn't know my real birthday until I was 10. Reason: I was born past the deadline in early Dec. to get in school, so my parents lied and told them I was born in mid Nov. All those years they never told me the truth for fear the school would find out. I accidentally found out while I was playing in my room and found my birth certificate...
5. Favorite summer music camp I attended was at Naropa Institute in CO. (with Ralph Towner) That was also the 25th anniversary of the book by Jack Kerouac, "On the Road". Abbey Hofffman, Timothy Leary, Grateful Dead were among the guest speakers there.

pchanne
1 - I secretly wish I could sing like Ethel Merman.
2- I gave up eating meat after my last visit to the Colonel a year ago... it wasn`t pretty.
3 - I actually enjoyed reading the first 3 Harry Potter books but gave up midway through the 4th.
4 - I LOVE my job.
5- I am a compulsive liar.

Bill Hammond
1. I listen almost exclusively to classical music at work and in the car.
2. I spent a couple summers interviewing coming-to-town celebs via phone when I worked for a Milwaukee newspaper. They included Phoebe Snow, Leo Kottke, Joe Walsh, Frank Zappa and (wait for it) ... LIBERACE, among others.
3. Jaclyn Smith once hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.
4. I once made love in a freight elevator. (OK, I was alone.)
5. I got a ride with the Blue Angels in the late '70s. A few months later, the pilot I rode with was killed in practice.


LeCado
1. I made my living as an actor for a while.
2. My wife and I grew up a mile from each other & didn't know each other. My best friend dated her when she was in high school. They broke up, I didn't see her for 30 years. They e-mailed each other, Trish & I started e-mailing, became good friends w/o meeting f-2-f, & 2 years later... "met" and got married 6 months later.
3. I taught & was a track coach.
4. I've run the Boston Marathon 2x.
5. I'm a secret Captain & Tenille fan.
6. I used to have a Cheryl Ladd poster.

Dan Brown

1) I had a terrible stuttering problem as a child and it has tormented me most of my life and still rears it's ugly head occasionally when I'm nervous. I was ruthlessly picked on about it and it made me a tough kid, would come down on anyone with a vengeance and caused me to develop these "make people and dogs faint eyes" that were very handy in the art of child rearing, as a mere glance was all the discipline needed.
2) I contracted "chronic nephritis" a kidney disease at 13 and spent 45 days in the hospital and kept me bed ridden for over a year and 3/4. I was diagnosed because of taking a salt pill during football practice my freshman year and swole up like a watermelon. My parents had no insurance and it was a burden on them I am sure although I never heard one complaint. So I went from being a superjock to learning guitar and reading a lot almost overnight.
3) I lost my virginity to a 14 year old black girl who was the cousin to the sax player in my rhythm and blues show band in college at age 20. She was very lovely and was not a virgin herself and I guess I had absolutely no paranoia about the incident like as in going to jail, I don't know why. I never took her out again, and remain in contact with the sax player Michael to this day, who has a rare form of cancer and lives in Houston. I have always longed for a reunion of "Soul '69 Revue" someday!
4) Some of you have heard this but to fill the new cupcakes in, I once for a time played guitar and took requests for tips in the Bay area of California while wearing a cardboard box painted up like a jukebox, in parks in and around the San Francisco area. I both worked on a catering truck and did this jukebox gig and did a lot of drugs. I didn't even own a guitar and borrowed a Gibson archtop from my landlord. I don't like talking about it so let's not!
5) Although I met my beloved Sheila in college, her parents were very protective and I wasn't willing to pay the dues needed to earn their trust, being busy being a musical hero and all, so I chose to date her roommate instead because I was lazy and she ended up breaking my heart big time! I never new how much Sheila wanted off the farm, though and she ended up being courted and won by the biggest outlaw and the most revolutionary cat on campus. She was brainwashed and lied to and ended up pregnant with my step-daughter Mira and was wed in 1970! After I left college and went to the west coast I didn't see her again until I came back to Louisiana in 1972. I lived with my parents a while and eventually moved to Shreveport area in mid '73. I reconnected with Sheila and her drug dealing, jobless husband Ken and instantly realized what a treasure I had missed and how absolutely miserable she was. It got to where I couldn't even hang around them, for the empathy I had for her and her small child. Next thing I new he was in jail for drug dealing and federal weapons violations, and I started protecting her and supporting her, and she soon got a divorce and we fell deeply in love and were wed in '74 and I raised her child as my own and even today neither Mira or me can't bring ourselves to use the "step" term in any way, 'cause I am her "Daddy!" I set my mind on rebuilding her life that this bum had almost destroyed and I have always wondered what life would have been like had I married her first, but I figure it was God's will that I have the one he picked for me, no matter how it came about.


Brian 2
1. I spent my entire youth dreaming of becoming a foreign correspondent. By the age of 23 I had fulfilled this dream, and was working abroad for one of America’s best-known newspapers. I spent 8 years traveling the world for them interviewing important and interesting people before I grew tired of the gig and wanted to do something else. So, with my wife expecting a baby I quit my job and went back to school.
2. I have no homeland. I have lived virtually my entire adult life outside of my native country. I still love the good old U.S. of A., but I definitely feel like a stranger whenever I return. And having moved around Europe a lot, I don’t really feel that any one place here is home either. Moreover, my parents have now moved to Italy, which is great but sure isn’t where I grew up.
3. I am one of the few men on the planet who really cares about shoes and own some outrageously expensive pairs. In my defense, I also own a pair of Converse All-Stars.
4. The first record I ever owned was by the Bay City Rollers. Hey, I was 8!
5. I was born on my grandfather’s 50th birthday. It made us especially close, and I miss him terribly. I think he would find it amusing that I work for a car company, just like he did for his entire life.

Arch Monkey
1. I secretly wish that, when singing I didn't sound like Ethel Merman.
2. So far everything I have wished for, technologically and socially and romantically, has come true. Including computers, digital photography and cheap home recording. I hope they are working on that cure for old age.
3. I can drink two liters of diet coke in one sitting, but I don't anymore because Carol worries about my aspertame intake.
4. The first record I ever owned was "The Archies" I was 27
(give or take 20 years)
5. I love the guitar but If I could get someone to play it for me, I would probably stop playing.

Millring
1. I have led a rather unremarkable life.
2. I can make stuff up.

[Supertramp78]

Tamarack55
1. I am descended from a Puritan who arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631 (my distant ancestors have no effect on who I am today, but genealogy is interesting history-wise)
2. I decided to become a geologist, instead of a physician or forest ranger, at the suggestion of Charlie, who lived down the hall in the dorm freshman year. Charlie assured me geologists got to work outdoors and get paid for it. Charlie and I later got college credits for spending two months backpacking in the Colorado Rockies researching alpine glaciation. Charlie has never worked as a geologist -- he is now president and brewmaster of a microbrewery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
3. After graduating from college, I spent three months in the fall of 1977 touring Europe -- bicycled thru England, Scotland, the Netherlands, and northern Germany; hitchhiked and took trains thru southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Walked across the entire country of Lichtenstein one afternoon. This was a solo trip because my college friends were excessively responsible and dashed off to marriage, graduate school, or both. High points included having machine-gun toting German police check my passport and thumbprint in a terrorist search and getting picked up hitchhiking by a Swiss banker's son who then treated me to a 3-hour lunch.
4. Met my wife when she moved into the apartment upstairs from me. I thought she was attractive but distant, she thought I was just plain wierd -- my banjo playing had something to do with it. Seventeen years later our marriage improved when I traded the banjo in on a Taylor.
5. We have two terrrific kids who became ours thru international adoption. Our son was born in Peru, our daughter was born in Guatemala.
6. Puritan ancestor on Mom's side. William Brewster -- of Mayflower and "Arsenic and Old Lace" fame.

Chicago Bob
1. I'm a former high school football official (LA & IL)
2. Former member of the LSU Track & Field Officials Assoc.
3. Former alter boy.
4. I have electro-ejaculated stud bulls.
5. Once performed "And They Call It Puppy Love" in drag (part of the Dixie Darlings) on stage at a fund raiser for the Baptist Church.

kookburger
1) I have little or no recollection of my biological mother, as she was killed in a car accident when I was 4. My father was driving the car and was extremely intoxicated at the time, ran a stop sign. Not only did I loose my mother, I lost 3 sisters and a brother (they went to their biological father). My father had an appointment scheduled with a lawyer the week after the accident to do the paperwork for legal adoption. They gave my Dad a 1 in 10,000 chance of coming out of his coma (he was in one for 3 months), much less be anything more than a vegetable. He recovered fully and dove straight into and caried nothing about anything other than a bottle for 20 years. I have come to love and begin to forgive my Dad in that last 5 years or so.
2) After high school, I toured Europe with a choral group made up of the top 3% of singers from Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. We did 8 countries in 10 days and I sang a solo in the Notre Dame Cathedral. I have the concert poster on the wall of my office to this day.
3) My one true passion in life is farming. My grandfather (who raised me while my Dad was recovering from the accident and subsequent alcoholism) was and continues to be the person on this earth that I hold in the highest place of honor. No one could love another human being like I love(d) that man. He was born and raised into farming and died in November of 1974. Had he waited 2 years, they would have had the technology to save his life. Had he made it 8 more years, I would be a farmer today. BTW, RED TRACTORS RULE!
4) I was introduced to my wife, the one true love of my life, by my mother. Who says arranged marriages don't work? LOL We lovingly call her Aaaaangie, because she was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
5) I have an anger management problem. This often scares me. As identified in #4, my wife means the world to me, as do my sons, but my temper is a force to be reckoned with. My fuse is less than a millimeter long and the explosion is intense. I get this from my father. I'm considering happy pill-type medication in order to be the man I want to be for them.

ShannonMD
1. I am adopted and have never met my biological parents.
2. I am both ambivalent and conflicted about #1.
3. My left eye is not the same color as my right eye.
4. I married the only girl I went out with more than twice, and you can count the number of girls I ever went out with on the fingers of a single hand. I never went out with men, so don't ask.
5. I love sports, but have very little athletic ability.

Strick
Five interesting facts? Hmmmmm

1)...
2)...
3)...
4)...
5)...


SuperTramp78
1. I’m 25% Hispanic, 25% Japanese and 50% WASP. My maternal Grandfather was born in Japan and moved to the US when he was a child. Several of my relatives were put in concentration camps (oops! excuse me, relocation centers) during WWII. Despite this background, I am terrible with foreign languages. When I was a kid, the other kids thought my name (Cheney) was Japanese and kidded me about it. It is actually French which means I should be kidded NOW for it. When my son was born, the only requirement I had for a name was that it be easy to spell. His name is Cameron.
2. In college I was a stagehand for touring rock and stage shows. I helped set up operas, Broadway touring shows, concerts and special events. When I graduated, I spent seven years in the film business doing everything from grip, gaffer, dolly grip, book operator, camera operator, film transfer, tape duplication and off line editing. Some of my friends worked on movies like Amadeus and Terms of Endearment (a film I visited a few times) and the Dallas TV series. I’ve met Robert Altman, Robert Duval and shot commercials with Patrick Duffy, George Gobles, and Congressman Jim Wright who I think has passed away. Silly Congressman story. We shot Jim on a VERY windy day using 4 foot by 4 foot reflectors (big square panels that reflect the sun) to light with. I was told we were ready to shoot so I went and got him from the dressing room and then I decided to hang onto the reflector, which, with 16 square feet of sail, was attempting to fly away into the shot. I mean I am putting my entire body weight on this thing to keep it on the ground. Jim came out, had to wait more than 30 seconds before we rolled tape and he decided to blame ME for getting him too early. When he saw that I was just a grip on the shoot he loudly yelled, “And just who the hell is HE anyway?” I loudly yelled back, “I’m the guy keeping this reflector from flying through your skull.” He surveyed the situation and shut up.
3. Other than a few months spent taking drums and piano lessons when I was a kid, I’ve never played ANY instrument until I picked up a guitar last July. I was big into sound recording and bought a TEAC 4 track reel-to-reel when I was in Jr. High. I recorded a 40 minutes record for my High School girlfriend. I still talk to her from time to time. (editor’s note – She’s ELP7 FPRIVATE "TYPE=PICT;ALT=8)"
4. I currently own a little over 3,000 books. My wife and I have an agreement. If it is a book, it is ok to buy it. No arguments either way. Good thing she is into books as much as I am. Most of my books are paperbacks. The most expensive books I have are a few that cost over $300. I have purchased books I knew I would never read, but I wanted to have a copy of the book.
5. I fell in love with my wife while running away from a complete nerd. The three of us were walking home from a late class and Randy Milton (sorry Randy, if you are out there, but DAMN you were a nerd) just started getting on our nerves. I looked at Kelly, she looked at me, and we both nodded and broke off in a dead run. We ended up sitting on a couch talking until 3 in the morning. We’ve been together ever since. That was 24 years ago. My parents are still alive and still married to each other, as are Kelly’s parents.
6. I’ll toss one more out. I am a stickler for debunking urban myths. So here is one for you. Aspertame is harmless. There are some people who are convinced the stuff causes everything from migraines to Multiple Sclerosis. Since Kelly HAS Multiple Sclerosis, I’ve done a butt load of research on the disease and everything related to it. Aspetame doesn’t cause it. Aspertame doesn’t cause anything. Well, it does make Diet Coke taste better than Tab.

PapaTom
1. My father played guitar on a semi-pro basis (weddings,etc.). He once had a 15-minute radio show in Knoxville, Tenn., where I was born (I've lived in Connecticut for the past 55 years).
2. I took 4 guitar lessons at 15, after which I quit, showing an early tendecy of not following thru on things. I did, though, learn my first song (Greensleeves).
3. I met my wife (now ex-wife) thru playing guitar, as we both played.
4. I've had 2 kidney transplants, in '87 and '99. Some people collect stamps, I collect kidneys.
5. Last year I almost died on 3 occassions. My children were told that if I survived I would likely be bed-ridden or at least severly impaired. Fooled 'em again (so far).

Antenahed
1.My mother divorced my biological father when I was very small and remarried. My Dad, the one who raised me, adopted me and gave me his name. I didn't know this until I was 18 when my Mom died and an aunt told me about it. I had met my biological father a couple of times, but didn't know of his relationship to me. He died before my mother did, so I never got to know him. Not sure how I feel about that.
2.Grew up as an Army brat. We lived in Germany, France and a bunch of places in CONUS (continental US). Never lived more than about 2 years or so in any one place. Learned how to make friends quick and then leave them behind.
3.Have been playing guitar since I was in highschool with several long breaks of not playing at all. My playing still sucks. I'm very conflicted about this.
4.I'm rapidly going bald, but am too vain to do anything about it. Does that make sense?
5.Blue is my favorite color, but I wouldn't own a guitar painted that way.

rj
1) As a teenage driver I could drive a car backwards up to 40-50 mph until the tranny would whine loudly. I would do this in the dark with no lights on as a result I nearly killed two good friends in another car not proud of it but able to talk about nowadays. I totally freaked when it happened never drove backwards since.
2) I used to be a professional photographer. Sports photography was my specialty football, basketball, and drag racing. I once drove to Tulsa for a national drag racing event set up my dark room in a motel room shoot during the day & make prints at night. I would then sell the prints at the gates the next day. Got into trouble too. Later became a portrait photographer.
3) Attended junior college & earned my accounting degree, got fired from my first accounting job. Went back to darkroom work for a local photographer then found a new accounting job. At age 30 went back to college after my first child was born & earned my undergrad degree in 1995. Received my masters in 1999. Somewhere in there I got married plus had another child.
4) I like tie dye.
5) I am the youngest of nine children. I like large family gathering.

TheEvan
1. My parents were talented folk (my mom a writer, my dad a physician) who nevertheless both committed suicide (my mom when I was 11, my dad when I was 12)
2. I went away to military school 8-11 grades.
3. My first instrument was the clarinet. My second was the harmonica.
4. I belonged to fairly boring cult (no KoolAid, mind you)
5. I wish I had never even kissed another girl besides my wife...

Scruffy
1. When I was a young lad, I was a gymnast. I won a few meets and had the chance to compete in the nationals, but got terribly sick the day before (probably nerves). I had a problem with my elbows not locking in place which meant they were always flexed and it was very exhausting when doing things like the bars or the horse.
Also at this time I got to be a runner (I ran scores from the judges on the floor to the judges table) for The Dial American Cup at Madison Square Garden in 1980. I met several world class gymnasts, Jim McKay and was a few feet away sitting with the judge from Japan when Kurt Thomas performed the very first perfect score for a man. All my friends in school saw me on ABC's Wide World of Sports because I was in many shots.
2. My best friend died at age 27 in a car accident. He was coming up to visit from Georgia and pulled up to the end of the line of a traffic jam. The 18 wheeler coming up behind him never stopped and pinned him between the front of his truck and the back of another. It was at the time of the funeral that his father asked me to go play golf for the first time in my life with him and and my friends two brothers. I loved playing the game and haven't stopped since. Out of tragedy, came one of my favorite things to do in life.
3. I used to write for a local Fanzine called The Ledge. I wrote record reviews and interviewed mostly local bands but did get to meet and interview some semi famous musicians. I interviewed Ben Vaughn from Philly and he now writes and performs songs for TV like Third Rock From the Sun and That 70's Show. I also interviewed my favorite rock band Young Fresh Fellows and have kept in touch with the front man, Scott McCaughy ever since. He now plays with REM on records and is the second guitarist in concert.
4. I live in NJ and have never been past Kansas City or Chicago. So I have never really experienced jet lag.
5. My first guitar was given to me by a friend who bought himself a nice guitar. It's an Ibanez AE300 and sadly, the only guitar I've bought that's nicer is my Baby Taylor. I've inherited my father's (actually just took it with permission because my dad's still with us) Ovation and I also have a Yamaha 12 string that I bought used fairly cheap. So I still have my first real nice, quality guitar purchase to look forward to.

[Supertramp78]

LoopySanchez
1. I came a seatbelt away from being a stain on an oak tree when I was 22. Here's a good recipe for disaster: Mix testosterone, an ex-girlfriend, jealousy, anger, 6 beers and 4 kamikazes, add a Pontiac and a curvy road. Close your eyes, floor the gas, wake up bleeding, with gasoline in your rear speaker cones. I had a purple seatbelt-shaped bruise for a solid month, and still have a scar from my broken nose to remind me: "Don't be a dumbass like that again, Don."
2. I'm an only child to parents that were approaching middle age when I was born. Dad was 44, Mom was 37. they were wonderful parents, and still are. I do sometimes wonder if my being an only child and their being over-protective haven't contributed to my Jekyl-Hyde personality that leads me to fluctuate between being the mature, shy, introverted type, and the selfish, attention-grabbing, brash, egocentric type. Most days I just try to land in the middle and not embarass myself. I've always tried to use humor to deflect the focus away from me, and at the same time to keep some attention on me.
3. I was a late bloomer, romantically. I didn't date until my senior year of high school. I was tall, awkward, and paranoid, and felt more so around girls. I got crushes too fast, and let go too slow. I always played too much of a nice guy, and it got me dumped within three months into every relationship I ever had. On a whim back in '98, my jilted heart and I moved from Birmingham to a city where I knew no one, just so I could get a decent job and start with a clean slate. Things stayed about the same up here. The last girlfriend I had before meeting my wife dumped me in Mid-March of 2000 and got married to another guy five weeks later (you don't think maybe she was cheating on me?). In fact, for most of my adult life, I felt pretty hopeless on the romantic front, and numbed myself up for social interaction by drinking enough beer to find what would pass for confidence. That is, until I met my wife and somehow managed to make all my faults appear cute. God was looking out for me that night. And maybe just a few Bud Lights on both our parts.
4. I'm a mechanical engineer who couldn't fix a car if you gave me a year to do it and all the tools from a Mr. Goodwrench service center. But I like to think I write better songs and play guitar better than most mechanical engineers, so nyaaah.
5. I quit smoking 15 months ago, and have never had another cigarette since. I still want one from time to time, but I've managed to convert those cravings into a confidence that's led me to take less crap from people than I would have taken back when my emotions were kept dulled by a semi-steady stream of nicotine in my bloodstream.

SteveO
1) I was an Ugly Child,(hence Ugly adult) That tie a pork chop joke was made about me...
2) I had to see a Shrink just to be able to go to,and/or stay in School..........
3) got left back in school two years running(Jr./Sr) cause I did not want to get Drafted...(all my friends were going)( I went anyway)
4) spent time in a Hospital Padded room......(We won't elaborate on that)
5) back in the 80's I had a stand off for several hours with a Swat Team(hey they even Evacuated the the whole Block)



Lee,
I never marathoned but I've run steadily for 25+ years (I'm now down to 4 miles two days in a row and one day off). I was recruited (college) to play soccer -- played fresham soccer and basketball. At 6'3" I could dunk a basketball two handed, or off of two feet - but not both. Now I can still touch the bottom of the net!


Brian 2
Not that this is some sort of contest or anything, but when it comes to "interesting", I think SteveO tops the charts.

Haradaf
1) I love to freak people of on the net and in real life.
2) I am 14 (I keep thinking Im still 13) and I wish I was alot older.
3) I made a list of goals for my life and want to do everything on that list that is possible in my life time.
4) I argue compulsively, about anything and everything, and peopel hate me for it. I am trying to stop, but its hard!
5) I have dated more girls that Southern Fried almost 5 times over!!


Brian 2
Hey Millring,
We share an ancestor (along with a lot of other people, I suspect).

kookburger
Reply Interesting
In an interesting twist of ancestral fate, I am a direct decendant of William Techumseh Sherman. My wife is a dd of General Robert E. Lee. We don't talk about that much.

danath74
amazing, incredible, interesting, overcoming, & all around truly outstanding. I, on the other hand, am mediocre at best

1. I've lived in 3 widely separated US states (TX, AZ, AK)& the 3 westernmost Canadian provinces (BC, AB, SK)
2. Though there is not a lot of actual solid fact, I'm told that I have French, German, Russian, English, Irish, & maybe even some Cherokee Indian (which explains why my hair is dead straight, stiff, & points in all the wrong directions - the balding part I must've got from somewhere else).
3. I have a wonderful wife & son, who are wonderful (Oh wait, I think I said 'WONDERFUL' more than once). Been married 7 years ths summer. Best thing that ever happened to me was being dumped by a fiancee (the man she had cheated on me with came back from the other side of the world & POOF she was gone) after all the wedding preparations & plans had been made, invitations sent out. Two years later I met my wife, who is the kindest, most gracious, patient, giving, selfless person I know.
4. I'm guessing I have close to 1000 books, many related to Christianity & theology. My collection of music books is now the most rapidly expanding part of my library.
5. I once spent a month in Ghana, West Africa helping to build a school - among other things. One the way there, our 24 hour layover was in Amsterdam on the Queen's birthday. This is a HUGE holiday. We went for a tour of the city. Our team of bible college students were incredibly jetlagged & breathing in billowing clouds of marijuana smoke - what FUN!
6. (in no particular order) In my 29 years of life I have - worked at a golf course, worked in a beef slaughter plant, done framing & siding, driven school bus, slung burgers, cleaned windows, been a janitor, served as a dorm parent in college, & been a minister; I have purchased a one of a kind hand made guitar (one of the few 'things' that I own that I really care deeply about). I have, at different times, wanted to be a pilot, a doctor, a minister, a musician, a writer, a teacher. My ambitions & interests far exceed my abilitities.
7. I find ALL creative types interesting. In fact, I find NEARLY all people are interesting, if you take the time to dig a little. I love to watch people.

WrenBlue
A few more tidbits from me:

1. My father, Step father and Grandfather all died on my sister's birthday. (different years)
2. Because of this fact, I suggested she name her son August to honor her birthday and our father figure's deaths. August is my nephew's middle name.
3. My father was in the Korean War and I still have his box of letters that he wrote to his mother from that time in 1951-53

Russell Letson
1) One maternal great-grandfather was a German-speaking Slovak cabinet-maker. The other owned a boatyard and was a bagman for the New York State Republican Party machine. Wife was born in a German DP camp. Is this a great country or what?
2) Own about 100 Hawaiian shirts. Have outgrown the first 20 or so. (And not vertically.)
3) Wife's first book of short stories, Nice Girls and Other Stories, came out in April. (Been waiting for an opening for that plug.)
4) Taught college freshman English for 18 years.
5) Am stuffily pedantic, which is not necessarily the same as #4 above. Wait, this is supposed to be things you *don't* know about me. Never mind.

Florida Ken
OK,
1. I was the first person in my home town to be arrested for possession of narcotics. I used to be proud of that.
2. I graduated high school with a D- average (I had to work hard to do that), ranked 125th out of 126 students. I now hold two masters degrees.
3. I used to hate myself so much I considered myself unfit for reproduction and actually used those words to describe myself. That's one reason why my daughter Kelly is so precious to me.
4. I spent 20 years in the US Navy. It, and other things, helped turn my life around.
5. I consider myself extremely fortunate in my life, (blessed as Dan would say), and I wouldn't trade places with anybody.

Cornflake
1 Like Dan Brown, I had nephritis as a kid, when I was 7 and again when I was twelve. Kept me in bed for nine months and also fat, socially insecure and unable to do much for years.
2 The first girl I really considered marrying was Marianne Williamson, who later became a best-selling author of new-age self-help books. Her father, who was a lawyer, didn't want her to marry me because he thought I was destined to be a hopeless bohemian poet.
3 My right eye has basically never worked. The right side of my face was twice stitched up as a result of sports accidents in the 80s. Then a decade back, Bell's Palsy froze the right side of my face and it has never entirely recovered. There must be a hex on the right side of my face.
4 I was a national champion in debate and extemporaneous speaking in my senior year of high school. As a result of that I became very unambitious. I'd succeeded at something and found that I didn't much care. Neither did anyone else.
5 About a decade back I nearly gave up law and went to seminary. My wife hated the idea, not because of the financial aspect but because she has lots of clergy in her family and they all move around all the time. Now I think it's a good thing I didn't go to seminary. Instead I took a four-year extension course that was basically the equivalent of seminary training.

SuperTramp78
My Uncle, Joe Akagi, was the first Japanese American commisioned officer in the US Navy. Retired at the rank of Commander.

DLoase
Your responses make me seem noramal and boring

1. After a carrier of almost 24 years, still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
2. Someday I will own a 1968 Charger.
3. I hate larger cities even though I have lived in Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, and LA.
4. I am the pastor of a small Nazarene church.
5 I have been married 20 years to a women who my best friend at the time introduced me to. When I called her collect ( ) from England and she accepted the call, I knew this must be something special.

- David

Strick
I am developing a better sense for how much I whine about my little problems.

stormntwang
1). I used to work as a professional photographer. Like Felix Unger, portraits were a specialty. Two of my better-known headshot clients: Frank Nastasi, from the old Soupy Sales Show, and the Irish actor Colm Meaney. These days, I am a production editor at Sports Illustrated For Kids magazine.
2). I am particularly fond of cowboy boots, and wear them most days. People here in New York still manage to say rude things about that occasionally, but I, well, I reckon I don't much care.
3). My mother survived the Auschwitz concentration camp in the year 1944, at the age of 12. She was liberated by members of the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945, "the day I was reborn," she says. My father survived six labor camps, including Maidanek, Mathausen, and Plaszow. This last camp was featured in the film "Schindler's List," and my father remembers the sadistic camp commandant who rode around the camp on a white horse, and took potshots at the prisoners from the terrace of his house.
4). On my father's side, we are descended from Spanish Jews who fled Spain during the Inquisition, in 1492, and settled in Leiden, the Netherlands. The family name at that time was either Mendez or Menendez, no one is certain. One ancestor resettled in Poland in the middle of the 19th Century, and it is from this ancestor that my father's branch of the family is descended. My ancestors were mostly lumber merchants or cabinet makers.
5). I was knocked unconscious by a high pop to center field in a Little League game when I was eight years old. I never told my folks, and I never played another season. Instead, I became a voracious reader, and took up the guitar a few years later.

TheEvan
These are just fabulous!
I'll add another.

Always inquisitive, I once dropped 20 hits of acid to see what might happen. That, of course, explains everything.
No, you may NOT know what the result of the experiment was...I'm not going there

Scruffy
You should write a song about it... Sorta like Loudon Wainwright's The Acid Song.

Dan Brown
Boy Oh Howdy, this thread is great! The fellowship of the "Talk" has grown exponentially this day. Thank you, Wrenblue! Five more:

1) My Dad at almost 80 is a champion organic vegetable gardener and if had the patience and the time could write volumes about it and become rich, but never got around it.
He was also for about 30 years until my Mom got sick and hwe moved in next to me, an eathworm farmer iin a very big way(head 'em up, move 'em out! ), all while working full time as the cleaning and maintenace supervisor for the largest Church in Natchitoches!
2) As most of you know my Mom has Alzhiemer's disease but was very intelligent and graduated High school at 14 and led a full life in child care at their church and had a special way with small children, without any formal education. She was diagnosed almost 10 years ago, and resides in River View Care Cenater in Bossier City, LA. We cared for her at my Father's and our home for abot 6 years and she has been in the Care Ctr since she lost her ability to walk, for about 3 years. She has never had a filling in a tooth and at 77 has all of her natural teeth including her wisdom teeth. It was a real trip watching her bright mind fade into obscurity, I love her and my Dad dearly although they have only recenty began to accept me and respect me and truly I suppose I only recently became respectable. They have always been great parents with large hearts full of forgiveness and I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of this family even though we were extremely poor in monetary matters but richly blessed with family.
3) My younger (by three years) sister Carol was a 4.0 college student with a full scholarship to Louisiana College in Pineville, LA. She now teaches advanced algerbra at Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport. She married rather late to the Father of one of her students, Donald who is a very fine fellow and they have two more children Alison, a fine pianist who is going to Centenary College in Shreveport on a full scholarship like her mother and David 16, who plays some rock guitar and just acquired a new Schecter guitar I think was like $500.
4) My older brother by 3 years, (being the middle kid is Hell, believe me!) was an achoholic by 22 and after getting a divorce from a girl he brought home from the army, who never accepted the simple nature and poverty of my family, he while drinking late one night, when he was 25 crashed his Harley Sportster into 5 pine trees on Cane River Road outside of Natchitoches and broke his neck! My Dad's best friend, the Parish coroner and our family doctor all my life practically, broke the news to my Dad with the words at 4AM "Well I told you about them boys and them damn motorcycles! David done broke his neck, and is dead! I told you so!" My Dad eventually forgave Doc Campbell, and they remained fishing buddies. I sold my Yamaha 350 then and have never riden or been driunk since.
5) I once watched my parents have coffee on my front porch in Natchitoches before we moved to Grande Ecore outside of the city, with John Wayne and Glenn Ford during the making of "The Horse Soldiers" as we lived next door to the building they were using for props and wardrobe. He was tall and I was about 7 or 8. My brother and I used to fish and swim on that bridge they blew up the Yankees on at the end of that movie. My Dad supervised the use of First Baptist for wardrobe and makeup during the filming of "Steel Magnolias" and his only remark I ever heard him say about it was being amazed the Darryl Hannah didn't shave her legs!
6) (can't stop!) I am married to the most treasured lady on this planet, (for almost 30 years) and my two children and three grandchildren and her have, with the help of God's mercy, healed my life of so many acquired demons. My live is so filled with love, I am astounded daily at the very large amount of Grace and Mercy that fills my life and the gift of their precios love and the Father who is, it is said Love itself!
My wife parents were special and I have never got a mother-in-law joke, as I was blessed. The were simple and poor country folk, and my wife's mother was a guitarist and gospel singer who grew up singing with her 7 sisters where Toledo Bend lake is now!
7) I have been playing Christian Music almost exclusively since '82 right after my hero Keith Green died, but only really committed my life to the cause of Christ in 1999. I don't want to start a debate, but I believe my God to be living and real and the entire Bible is true and that Jesus was the Son of God, and He died and rose on the third day for our sins and all the sins of mankind. I also believe that my God is soveriegn and is in control of the earth and NOTHING happens that is out of his control, good or bad. I am not an evangelist or a minister although I have seen miracles occur through music and other miracles that have given me undeniable proof of the truth of what I believe, but I believe in the rights of others to believe how they choose, but I won't lie if asked what I think! I thank all of you for your patience and understanding when I get on your nerves and may seem to be misunderstood, just remember I love every single one of you, and lift you all up constantly with my communications with my God. I am angered when asked to justify or explain my beliefs and I prefer not to have to argue about what I believe with all my heart to be my Truth as I live it! I will try to learn to keep more of my heart inside, as I know some of you think I have crossed some lines in the past about my faith.
Blessed, by the fellowship, Dan

[Supertramp78]

ShannonMD
One other odd thing:
Loopy Sanchez and I went to the same high school (although at different times. I am older than he).
Shannon

LoopySanchez
If you hadn't told them you were older, nobody would have ever guessed, Shannon!

Which brings us to intersting fact #6 about me:
6. At 29, I'm following in both my mother's dad's footsteps by going bald at a lovely rate. Meanwhile, my 73 year old dad has a full head of hair that'll still be there when mine's long gone. (Damn you, genetics!) And I bumped my head so many times as a kid (explains a lot, yes?) that the "shaved look" isn't an option for me--My skull is so lumpy that you'd just have to paint numbers on it for it to look like one of the 20-sided dice from a Dungeons & Dragons game. But there are always plenty of dead squirrels on the roads in North Alabama, so I should have an easy enough time making a toupee when the time comes.

J
Myself?
1. I lost my mother when I was 17 after 13 years of struggle with breast cancer.
2. The above thing and Arthur Schopenhauer shattered my beliefs in a higher authority...so far.
3. I now live in a small fishermen village right outside Genova's city limits. "L'anima mea a l'é un scoeggio / Insc'o quest'onda a se franze" (My soul is a rock / over which this wave clashes)
4. My dad's got a girlfriend now, with which I live. It's perfectly fine with me but sometimes I get jealous.
5. Although being mighty young I've already had a very meaningful and profound relationship, which helped me getting over the loss of my mother but eventually was consumed by my own sorrow.

Dan Brown
Evan, I hope you knew that Rolaids absorbs 10 times it's weight in excess stomach acid!
I took some supposed "brown mescaline" and tripped for 5 days on two hits, and on the third day went to fix my grandmother's attic fan and freaked out in her attic after flashing a trouble light in my eyes and told her I was feeling ill and had to leave without fixing it 'til a week later!
Blessed, to be of sound mind, Dan


ajrosales
#1. I am a great cook. I love to pick out recipes and try things out. I am addicted to Food Network when I turn the TV on.
#2. I was raised by a single mother who was partially paralyzed in a stroke when I was 5 years old. (I witnessed the stroke, and still can remember much of it vividly.) Where was my dad, you may ask? My dad passed on from kidney failure when I was 13. (He didn't take cake of his diabetes, you see.)
#3. I am a health freak. I have an incredible resource of health knowledge in my noggin. I spent over a year of my life fighting a "mystery" immune system illness which I was able to alleviate. (of course, I did find out what it was, but not with the help of doctors) Most of my knowledge stems from the nutrition end of things, but I am a font of knowledge about both digestion and the immune system.
#4. I have helped design and detail literally dozens of architectural projects (mostly libraries.) I have spoken in front of city councils and library boards all over the midwest and in other parts too. Part of my job now is promotion in the firm I work at. I can't take all the credit, but I am great at convincing people to hire us in interviews.
#5. I am a "computer artist". Not only do I draft up plans and such, but I have almost a decade under my belt using "rendering" software that helps us to create realistic digital images of buildings and spaces that we design. To me, this is another basic part of my "promotional" skills. I am really amazed that some of my renderings have helped to pass multi-million dollar referendums.


Ducktrapper
5. I, too, was a professional actor for several years (until the Trudeaupian money tree died). My girlfriend was a mime. She went on to play in popular Canadian group The Parachute Club.
4. My Great grandmother, Gort, was reported to be (by my mother) the first woman to climb the Eiffel tower. Her husband was in the Pope's Swiss Guard. Semolina Pilchard came well after.
3. My first guitar was a Kent from Sears. Copy of a Fender Strat. My dad got it in a pawn shop in Winnipeg. He worked on the DEW Line guarding the US and Canada from those nasty Russki rockets. I think he cleaned the place. My first acoustic was a red tag Yamaha FG 180. Bought with my own money from acting job. Children's theatre.
2. They tell me I'm a genius. No kidding. In which case I must the world's dumbest one. For instance, I couldn't saw a board straight to save my life.
1. I'm actually the illegitimate son of Pierre Trudeau and Bianca Jagger. Revenge was sweet said Pete.


Millring
hey DLoase,
My brother in law has been a Nazarene minister for over 30 years (second generation in fact), and is on the board of directors or Olivet.


Mediocre Player
Here are mine:
1 - I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. The pyramids are 45 minutes from where I live. I haven't seen them ONCE to this day.
2 - I had two Egyptian girlfriends and one American girlfriend. All of them had the same name, which is also the name of my mother.
3 - My mom and dad were working all the time, so i was virtually raised by my grandmother. I went to a deep depression after her death in 1996 for four months.
4 - I am so fearful that my parents will die, I dream about it at least once a week
5 - I started playing guitar at the age of 13, inspired by Slash from Guns 'n Roses

Jeff Mc
This is fun, can I come up with 5?
1. We have lived in PA, Washington DC, FL, AL, Ga, TX, LA, MO, and MN and now have a lot in SC which is where we will probably more to next trying to fill in the Southern States. (I'm not in the military and don't even like to admit to my stay in southern MO which is as close as I want to get to hell).
2. I played the trumpet and french horn up til I was a junior in high school. Was much better at them than the guitar and regret that I dropped them due to the high school social pressure. Haven't played either one since.
3. Jon Voigt is my cousin (so I guess that includes Angelina Jolie also), but I have never met him.
4. Once went drinking with Jackie Gleason on a Sunday morning in Daytona Beach. It's a cool story but too long for here.
5. I once had 3 Goodalls (one more than Mr. Hammond).

dradtke
1) I’m here because my ethnic-German Crimean-born grandfather went AWOL from the Czar’s army and worked his way across on a boat to Baltimore. He got a job at the Schlitz brewery in Chicago (where else would a good German work?) and married the cute girl who served the meals at his boarding house.
2) I never knew my father, he was killed in an accident at the age of 44, a few weeks before I was born. I got my ear pieced at 44, to commemorate being older than my dad. I still have his mandolin, and I still haven’t learned how to play it.
3) I bought my first guitar, an Alvarez, when I was 16. Played a lot for a few years, then not very much for quite a few more years, then started up again a few years ago. Still not very good, but a lot better than I used to was. Still got the Alvarez.
4) My best friend in college and I both dated the same woman at the same time. I asked her to make a choice, she picked me, and he and I didn’t talk to each other for three years. We eventually patched it up, and three years after that he was the best man at our wedding.
5) I used to be a theatre techie and stage manager. I stage managed the dinner theatre in Rock Island for three years, worked in Chicago, and at just about every theatre, large and small, in Mpls and St Paul. I remember a theatre party in a loft in Chicago in the 70’s, with John Malkovich. Of course, he was just another actor like everybody else at the time. And all you used-to-be actors, I used to run the cattle call auditions. I was the guy who yelled “Time!” in the middle of your monologue. (One auditionee was really milking his rendition of New York New York. “It’s up to yooooou, Neeeeeew Yooooorrrrrk, Neeeewooooo …” ”Time!”)

Florida Ken
One more thing to add to mine.
I used to be sheriff of Wild West City, in Netcong, NJ.

Village Idiot
1. I'll admit I haven't had time to read through all this, but I've started.
2. I have every intention of doing so.

vagabond17
1. my first guitar was an Espanola dreanought with a neck like a baseball bat. i bought it froma my friend for $75. i still have that beast.
2. i almost commited suicide at the age of 17. a beautiful girl girl named Laura (who later became my first girlfriend) helped me change my mind.
3. i have been known to give cops the finger (not exactly proud of this).
4. i once threatened to kill a 19-year old guy when i was 16. one of my female friends didn't want his attention, and i was a fiesty little sucka.
5. my shoes are size 13 EEE.


PapaTom
This is facsinating stuff; let's give up a little more:
6. My father died at age 49....of kidney failure.
7. I was expelled from kindergarten.
8. When I was 15 Clete Boyer (3rd baseman for the Yankees in the '60's) swore at me during an autograph session, probably because I kept asking him annoying questions.
9. My mother has twice survived cancer and is still going strong at 84.
10.I have, believe or not, forgotten the first guitar I ever had. I must have burned up a lot of brain cells in the 60's and 70's.


sekhmet
1. I am not actually an ancient Egyptian lioness goddess. I don't have a lion's head. I'm not slinky any more and I have never been to Egypt, let alone the pyramids. (Mediocre!!! HOW COULD YOU NOT??) I am fascinated by ancient Egypt, have always been, since before I can remember. I love their aesthetic sense, and I think that they were a joyful people who lived deeply, in touch with a mythic reality in a way that we can hardly hope to understand.
2. I grew up in downtown Montreal as a stranger in my family, my community. I have maintained a "stranger" status my entire life - being always not from "here" and mostly not much like any group of people I have associated with. Okay everyone, put away the psych books, who cares why I feel like I dropped in from off planet. It all began when I was less than five, when I looked at my family and wondered who the hell they were, and how I got there, and began to plot my escape. (They were really really unpleasant.) It took 17 years.
3. I'm curious. I am terrified of dying without knowing everything. Do you think I might be a reincarnated cat? Maybe I was a bad cat and this being human is punishment.
4. I am a late parent - my incredibly talented and beautiful graceful daughter was born for my 34th birthday - and she is the light of my life. She's 20. I am in awe of her. When she was born I decided that I had to go and DO something so she would be inspired to do something worth doing. I went off to the Ontario College of Art and completed a degree in photography, drawing, and painting. My cub spent her childhood doing homework with me. She is way better than I will ever be.
5. I love people. I am a bleeding heart. I always wanted to do something really significant to make things better. You know, when you're in your 50s it occurs to you that life may not be infinite. So I'm going to work on this strings to Africa project. I think at this stage long term goals may be a bit unrealistic. I just want to make someone, somewhere, happy if only for a minute. It's not the strings you know, it's the telling someone that you care. Stuff like that changes the world. Ya think?



heid2
Boy you guys have really born your souls today.

So many sad things in life. I think we've seen an extraordinary amount, and I bet many of us have written about, or have tried to write or sing about it. Its helped me to write about my life, kind of a salve of sorts.

Like Sek, I love life and people, and people seem to find me bubbly- (Scary Thats how I've been described anyway) I want to see everything, meet everyone, look at everything, Do everything! (Well- sorta; Nobody bring a bong to my next gathering k? ))

So five things, not six words eh- Good idea- get to dig deaper that way

K
I almost died when I was 17 (Some of you know about that) My father choked me until I stopped breathing. I remember fighting to breathe until I just went limp and I stopped breathing. My sisters told me my face was blue. My mom was yelling "You killed her" Then I remember all of a sudden taking this huge breath. I was breathing again.
I had a horible home life. My husband and I have talked about it. Figured out that in personality I am completely the opposite of my family. I've always been a free spirit. Whitney is the same way.
Left home when I was 17 (Thank God!)
Haven't seen my old family in 4 years
Comfortable with the life I have now- no guilt trip could make me see them, even from my mom. Why feel uncomfortable and force myself to be around them when I don't have to?
Got permission from a great author/songwriterto make a book into a play-took me 6 months- directed, and one year acted in it.
Love Seattle- As if you guys don't know!!
oops- thats six! ah well



martinfever
I dangled my legs over a ledge at the Grand Canyon...one slip and I'd still be falling. I'm not that crazy about heights, but it seemed like the thing to do on such a nice day.

In the summer of 1966, I hit a game-breaking home run as a pinch hitter in a Little League All-Star game.

My father died of cancer in 1991. He was a WWII vet of Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge. The war scarred him for the rest of his life. His battle with alcoholism and the nightmares of war left him little strength for the demands of fatherhood. Our relationship was based in bitterness and disappointment. We were never close, and that is a great sadness for me.

At the U.S. Open in 1991, I saw Jack Nicklaus hit a ball off a tree root to within 25 feet of the flag. You could see on the root where he just barely nipped the ball. Dude had talent.

Some of you know this one. Mr. Hammond, unbeknownst to me at the time, recorded for his CD a guitar piece I'd written back in 1980. I can't tell you how thrilling it was to hear it for the first time...somebody recorded MY tune! Very cool. Thanks, BillySoundhole!


pchanne
6- I like my electrics as much as my acoustics.
Let the flames begin.
Sek... I`m from Montreal too. In and around the city... we moved a couple of times.


Marshall
I'm wore out from reading all these. . . . , but very glad i did. You are some sensitive people. Thanks for sharing some personal info. I normally don't like to spill much on the internet, but I feel I owe a little honesty. So here's a couple tidbits.

1. Got my first guitar @ 7. Started taking lessons a month before my 9th birthday. Been playing for the next 45 years. Didn’t really like the lessons thing early on. Finally I asked my teacher for a popular song. He gave me sheet music for Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool.” I sang it in the 7th grade talent show. Girls screamed. I was hooked. Later I formed a rock band in high school.
2. Went to College in Chemical engineering (duh). Learned I didn’t like it. Saw my roommate working on architecture projects. Decided I liked that better. Transferred over. When I finally graduated I had 5 years in architecture, and 15 in music. My family wasn’t supportive of the idea of being a musician, so I pretty much gave it up and got married and started working and raising a family. I have 2 daughters. Both graduated from college. One is married. (I finally got another guy in the family.) I have had my own architectural firm for the last 22 years.
3. After about 15 years away from it, guitar music wandered back into my life. I started playing for church. It was a spiritual and musical awakening. It developed into a weekly gig. I have found a wonderful group of close musical friends. Plus I have rediscovered the joy that playing and writing and performing all types of music gives me. After a church performance a couple years ago, I took my family out for lunch. My mom was there to see me play. At lunch I told her how much fun I was having. And that I think I’m a better musician now than I was back in my younger days. She got a panicked look on her face and blurted out, “ You aren’t going to quit your job and be a musician, are you ?”
4. Ever since I was 11, I wanted to make a record.
5. . . . , I’m working on it.

[Supertramp78]

Sawkill
1- Born in New Jersey, into a fairly normal lower middle class family, dad worked on the railroad, mom worked in a bank. I've had asthma since I was 9 days old. Played soccer and tennis in HS, played trombone in the band, and in a couple of groups that used to get jobs at school and church dances. (my younger brother went on to become a pro musician, and still is. he plays reeds and flute) I made All State Chorus. I had a fairly major role in the senior play.
2- Majored in Chemistry in college, (minor in Biology) Taught for three years, then decided to move to Florida with a buddy who was going to Florida State to go to grad school. Planned to stay a few months, stayed four years. (as much as I hate winter, I guess I should have stayed there.) While there, I worked as a mechanic, took a few grad courses, taught Chem. Lab at FSU, and was a fertilizer analyst for the Florida Dept. of Ag. Got involved in sports car racing, and married my first wife.
3- Moved back to NJ to go to grad school. Got an MS in Plant Biology. Went to work teaching HS chemistry and biology, coached tennis. Briefly taught and coached Laura Prepon, "Donna Pinciotti," on "That 70s Show." Got interested in fly fishing, spent all or part of eight summer vacations fishing in Montana.
4- Got divorced after 24 years of marriage, no kids. Was a bachelor for five years, pretty boring.
5- Met and married my present wife. She had four daughters, three already grown, and we adopted two more. So, we have six girls, ages 6, 8, 13, 28, 33, and 36, (and six grand kids) and we are a pretty close group. Even though the big girls live 2 or 3 hours from us, we all get together once or twice a month, and the phone wires hum. I retired from teaching after 30 years at the same school, but every once in a while I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking "Oh my God, I haven't done my lesson plans for tomorrow." I've rekindled my interest in fly fishing. I live in one of the greatest fly fishing areas in the east. Finally, I am working at learning to play the Tenor guitar, tuned DGBE, and I'm having the time of my life. I really don't think it gets much better than this. I am content.
Bob

HarmonEyes
What an incredibly strong group of people we have on this forum....I admire you all for having the courage to get through it all; thanks for sharing

Here's my 5:
1) During my childhood I always had ear infections, even had tubes put in my ears when I was 6 or 7. As a result of all the pain from the infections, I am super careful with my hearing. I've always worn earplugs to concerts/parties/nightclubs (back in my clubbin' days when I would have the energy to dance the night away). I also plug my ears if sirens drive by; it boggles my mind that other people don't do the same!
2) My mother has Schizophrenia (Schizophrenia is a chemical brain imbalance, not a multiple personality.) At times it's very difficult dealing with her and her disease; she gets very paranoid (anybody see the movie "A Beautiful Mind?) and she constantly hears voices. For the longest time I'd try and convince her that what she was imagining wasn't real; finally, after a long, long time I realized that logic doesn't work for a person who has this disease. I couldn't help her, period. I think that was the hardest thing I had to accept.
3) I was arrested when I was 22 (see the "Up against the wall, boy; come clean!" thread).
4) I've never been stung by a bee or broken a bone. However, I've had stitches on 3 separate occasions on my right hand only! The first time I was 12 and I was playing soccer. I fell and my right palm gathered some gravel....enough for 5 stitches. The 2nd time I was 16 and washing the dishes. The glass I was washing broke on my right forefinger knuckle--2 stitches. The 3rd time I was 27. I was repositioning a glass shelf for a display at work when the glass fell fully on my wrist, cutting 25% of the tendon and JUST missing the radial artery and the radial nerve. Total of 10 stitches there.....after I got the stitches I looked like I had just attempted suicide!
5) Sometimes I think in colours. Like for Monday I think blue, Tuesday's red, Wednesday's brown, Thursday's navy blue, Friday's dark green (my favourite colour), Saturday's grey, and Sunday's yellow. I do that with numbers and letters as well.

pchanne
7- never liked pro wrestling and don`t understand the attraction. Don`t they know it`s fake?

RobinL
1. My first musical idols were Lonnie Donegan and Buddy Holly. One of the highlights of my life was seeing Buddy Holly in concert, one year before he died, when I was 11 years old.
2. I started medical school but dropped out during the first year. Spent the rest of that year hitching around Britain from folk club to folk club. This was in 1965, when Paul Simon and Jackson C Frank were in Britain; I saw them frequently, also Martin Carthy, The Watersons, Bert Jansch, Al Stewart, John Renbourn, The Young Tradition and many more, all of whom have influenced my musical tastes and style.
3. At age 30 I resigned from my job in the steel industry and left Britain. First spent about 6 months in Greece – mostly Corfu and Crete. Then about 4 years on a Kibbutz in Israel, where I met my wife, Bonnie. She is from Long Island, where we have lived for a little over 20 years. Our children, Becky and Ben, are 15 and 12. They have inherited our love of music and are both multi-instrumentalists.
4. I enjoy mathematical and word puzzles. Once won the puzzle on NPR’s “Weekend Edition”.
5. I also enjoy learning foreign languages. Speak French and Hebrew pretty well, and can get by – more or less - in Spanish, Greek, Italian and German.

PapaTom
Member
MartinFever, I understand you concerning your relationship with your father. My father was also part of the D-Day invasion (101st Airborne) and the war, according to family members, changed him. He went overseas in '43 (Think - I wasn't around yet) as a happy-go-lucky guy and came back in '45 as a different person. I guess that explains his moods and tendency to violence. My mother said for years he couldn't go to the 4th of July fireworks (couldn't deal with the noise) and would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares about the war. This is something that, like many combat veterans, he very rarely talked about but instead kept it all inside. I know that this affected our relationship (that, and my love of good times over any form of work or school). We got along better as I became an adult, but never had a chance to become as close as I am to my kids, as he died at age 49 when I was 22. So I know what you're talking about.

kookburger
This has really turned into an incredible thread. Here are a couple more;

6) I saw and dealt with 5 dead bodies as a police officer. Two suicides, one motorcycle accident (sold mine three days later) and one murder/suicide (why do they always commit the murder first?). I learned early on that a police officer should carry cigars in their briefcase whether they smoke or not. Death is one smell (just like pot) that one never forgets.
7) The only job that I have ever actually held that I have loved is law enforcement. If not for the love I have for my wife, I would be a deputy sherrif right now.
8 ) After farming, my second strongest dream is to become a teacher. I know that my temper does not allow me to really do this, but I would love to either teach industrial arts to high schoolers (not just, "here's a board, make something", but drafting, planning, design, etc.) or college-level anatomy/physiology.
Papatom, I suspect that just like me, the relationship you enjoy with your kids is because of the poor relationship you had with your father. I tell my boys every day that I love them.


rj
6) I am a slow reader & finally read all of them. Great Stuff

Jeff Mc
My dad also died at the relatively young age of 55 of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), a terrible way to go. He lived for about 5 years after being diagnosed. He was a terrific, personable, athletic guy, loved by everyone that knew him. His father died when he was very young so he had little experience on how to deal with some jerkoff kid (ie. me) going through his rebellious years so we went through a long time at each other's throats. In his declining years we lived far away and did not get to see each other much. I still regret it, but life's lessons taught me to be more patient with my son and talk to our kids on the phone at least several times a week since now they both live far away also.

rj
7) Did I mention I once dated a girl with the nickname Duck?


SuperTramp78
Did I mention that I once went to a High School dance with two dates?

Bill Hammond
This was during Tramp's ISP (Indecisive Sexuality Period). He had a girl on one arm, a guy on the other.
They dumped him at the dance, fell in love, and are now happily married.

Ducktrapper
Um, would you be interested to know that, Guess Who front man, Burton Cummings once offered to "sign my eyeball"? Didn't want his autograph anyway.

Grace
I'll give it a try. All though my life is not near as interesting as most here.

1-I have just recently been reading on the history of my ansestors. They mostly traveled here to Utah from England. Yes, they are pioneers. Very interesting stories , extreme hardships, great adventures.
2-I have a Grandfather that was a pro-baseball player. My other Grandfather was a baseball coach and a pro-golfer and ran a Golf course here while I was growing up. I got to drive around the golf carts at quite a young age and am not a bad golfer. My brother is the Head Football coach at a major University here. My family is a sports family and not much in to music. All though I did have an uncle who was a music professor.
3-I had a fasination with dogs of all kinds while growing up. I started dog grooming at age 14 and have had my own dog grooming business for 18 years.
4-I have 2 kids ages 15 and 18. I have been married for 21 years to my best friend. Both of us have had a hard time growing up. LOL!
I started playing the guitar at age 35. I played on a borrowed Baby Taylor exclusively for almost a year.
5-I have been a member of the sheriffs possee( had a badge and everything.) I helped direct traffic at rodeos on horseback. I was obsessed with Mules for about 4 years and had 5 of them. I even traveled thru no-mans land (Nevada) to Bishop California to one of the biggest mule shows in the Western USA.


pchanne
Member
8- my first slow dances with female members of the opposite sex were to the BeeGees song... Massachusetts, in basement parties. Thats when I began to realize girls weren`t so yucky after all.

kookburger
Quote:
I have been married for 21 years to my best friend
Does your husband know?


victor
1 - I quit drinkin' and druggin' when I was 17. I was straight and sober for well over 10 years. Boy am I glad that's over!
2 - When I was 19 I was arrested for jumping off a bridge. It was my 2nd jump, and I brought a friend to witness. I jumped alone the first time because it would be totally an unfair thing to make a friend watch me die. I had to make sure it wouldn't kill me first. The cops were too busy looking up, open mouthed, at the bridge when I confessed, and they forgot to read me my rights. Suckers.
3 - Favorite things I've taught myself: To juggle 3, 4, and 5 objects. To run straight into a tree, take 2 leaps up the tree, and backflip off (Saw it on a Mountain Dew commercial, and just had to do it).
4 - I've had 6 lung collapses, 3 on each side (spontaneous pneumothorax). The blebs which caused the original collapses have healed, adhering themselves to my inner chest cavity, effectively holding my lungs up, so I probably won't ever have a collapse again, although I still do experience very sharp chest pains.
5 - At 34 years old, I am now enrolled at UMass Dartmouth as a Music Major. I start as a Freshman in September with a Classical Guitar concentration. I already have a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from the same school, but I've had just about enough of these computer thingies (I'm a Unix sysadmin).


Jeff Mc
Member
Did I mention that I dated a girl in college that my frat brothers nicknamed "the worm"?

She was a blind date and majoring in microbiology or some actually intellectual subject, was thin and had big glasses so some smart-ass thought she looked like willy the worm and named her accordingly. Dated her in her freshman year off and on. She came back in the fall, joined a sorority, ditched the glasses and voila was a total babe. All the sudden these "brothers" were asking me if it was ok if they asked her out - yeah right buddy! Had forgotten all about her.

PapaTom
11. I lived in a housing project until I was 11, whereupon we moved to a 4-story walk-up tenament (we were on the 4th floor)
12. I missed a chance to lose my virginity at 14 when the girl who lived in the next tenament, who was far more experienced then I was, developed a crush on me. Being pretty naive at that point in my life I didn't handle it well, so losing my virginity had to wait for a few more years.
13. My brother and I as children invented a game called "goal line stand", where one of us with a football, tried to jump over the other one and land on the bed (touchdown). That game ended when I knocked my brother's front tooth.
14. We lived in an interesting neighborhood. Our next door neighbor once chased his son thru the yard with a pick axe. He thru at him but missed (I hope he missed on purpose). Didn't matter much, as the kid committed suicide a few years later. Believe it or not, my brother and I thought the ax throwing incident was hysterically funny at the time.
15. Believe it or not - I went thru 4 selective service physicals before being rejected as unfit to serve. Arlo Guthrie has nothing on me.


marcel
1. My oldest brother died a few minutes after birth with an open spine (Spina Bifida). My other brother was healthy but I suffer from Spina Bifida, too. My left leg is disabled from the knee down and during the last two years I've lost feeling in some parts of my right leg, too. Despite that I've played tennis for 26 years and was No.1 of the mens team of my club for several years, as my brother was before me and both my parents in their senior teams.
2. I started guitar at the age of 8 and stopped at 12. Started again and got hooked at 16 when some friends of mine had a band. Got mostly interested in composing stuff that was far above my playing skills (and still is).
3. My musical taste has never changed. My first albums were Men at work- Busness as usual and Cargo. I still own all the LPs I bought since 20 years ago, keep them in perfect shape and I still love the music.
4. I never travel. I was in Belgium when my class won a trip to Bruessels and I was on a cycling trip in Denmark with my parents at 13. I never left Germany again. When I'm on vacation, I spend my time at home, making music, go cycling or playing tennis.
5. At the age of 25 I shocked all friends and relatives when I cut my hair short for the first time in my live. It had been beyond shoulder length since I was 12, up to 20"+. Got back to longer hair again but it doesn't grow so long anymore.


LoopySanchez
Hey Marcel, I love Men At Work! I still have both of the albums you mentioned! I got the first one when I was about 8, and loved putting the needle down and playing some toy Sears drums along to just about every song on it. I'm sure in retrospect I sucked, but it's one of those childhood memories I still cherish.

SuperTramp78
I came to the forum to learn. "Any tips on Fmaj?" "Changing Strings?" "Good Capo?" on and on and on. Anyone that can remember my posts back in July and August of last year, I was the Uber newbie.

Then I discovered TTT and found out that, while I couldn't contribute as much as I would like in the guitar info area, I could at least crack a joke from time to time. I hope nobody feels that anyone here truely dislikes anyone or intentionally is out to hurt anyone. It makes me feel good that, while GP felt upset enough to post his complaints, he also felt comfortable to relate some interesting family history. I don't know about you guys, but even if this thread IS archived, I'm going to print out a copy. There is just so much to learn here.

Anyway. To everyone who left and came back, thanks for coming back. To anyone who is here and thinking of leaving, please don't. We would be less because of it. Everyone else, move along, show's over.

sekhmet
Member
I don't buy into the argument that online communication and online friendships are less than "real life" encounters.

The sort of community that we have here is totally unique in the history of humankind. We are the beginning of a total revolution in human relationships. I am completely fascinated by the phenomenon.

I don't say to people here what I would not say to people in my immediate proximity - I guess I'm a pretty straight-forward person in that respect. If my feelings get hurt here it is because someone said something hurtful - but I take it in context and realize that a lot of signs are missing online - I can't see the glint in your eyes. But I think you know pretty much what I think or would think, because I have been writing to you all for ... what is it? Two years?

You know what I'm learning to do? I'm getting really really good at counting to ten and sitting on my paws.

danath74
I know I'm not one of the well knowns around here, but I'd sure hate to lose any of you.
BTW, Sek says she counts to ten. I just delete every second post. Seriously, I bet I delete almost as many potential pieces as I post. Course, at that rate I'll never catch Mr. Hammond. But who's counting - I enjoy my time here.
david


godotwaits
My great great grandfather was Benjamin F Wade. The senator from Ohio leading up to the Civil War and during. He was most often characterized as Lincoln's nemisis. I'd like to say that he was drawn to the finer idiealisms of life, but frankly, he was just a pragmatist, who insisted that if "...all men are created equal..," then either do as you say and change what you say you do.
But on the other hand, he was amongst the few who greeted the southern senators with squirrel guns in congress... and he was on a buckboard rallying the retreating troops from Bull Run to "...go back..." His two sons lead the black troops...aka Buffalo Soldiers into battle. So while he never argued it in such terms, he may have, nevertheless, felt more idiealisms than we thought at the time. Sometimes I think it is a curse that hangs over the family.


Cornflake
It's interesting to me how many people have mentioned their ancestors.

About four years ago I had the task of emptying my mother's house in West Texas after she was placed in an Alzheimer's unit. Among the things I found were genealogy records, my great-grandmother's scrapbook from the 1880s and other insights into family history. I'd always been totally indifferent to such things. Started exploring. Got interested. It does give you a different view of historical events when you know that someone you're descended from was involved in them.

So far, I've found that about 50 percent of the family legends about forebears were true and about 50 percent were not, or at least there's no evidence to suggest that they are.

Anyway, godotwaits, my folks were at Bull Run, too, but on the other side.

Peter Prout
Reply Late to the party.......

.....but oh well. I'll throw out a few and probably shut this thread down.

1. My mother was born in Souix Falls, SD, to an American woman and a Norwegian immigrant father. In 1939, the family (including my mother's 2 sisters) took a vacation in Norway. They were stuck there for the next 6 years when Hitler invaded. To make it worse, her father jumped a frieghter back to the States shortly after they got there and abandoned his pregneant wife (who soon gave birth to my uncle). Although Gram never forgave her husband, I never heard my mother (or any of her siblings) ever diss the old man. He remarried and died of a stroke back in the '70s. Mom saw him once back in the '70s on a trip to SD with us kids and we got to meet him to.

2. I was born in Salt Lake City, UT. My father's family was one of the 2 first non-Morman settlers in the in the valley. They used to take turns guarding each other farms with shotguns. Grace, my dad's family is also English.

We moved to Detroit just as the '67 riots were starting. We lived in a Holiday Inn on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn for several months. Michigan Avenue is where most of the rioting occured, although several miles up the road from our location.

Dad, an architect by trade, worked for the auto comapanies, eventually becoming the Corporate real estate manager for AMC. Back when I was about 17, he hired the famous Loizeaux (pronounced Low-waz-oh) family to blow up a building at the Jeep factory in Toledo. He arranged to have me go down and "work" with the family on the last day before the blast and then we were special guests at the blast itself. Didn't get to touch anything (duh), but I got to see all the charges and go to lunch with the family.

My parents are sooooo cool.

3. Met my wife while working in a hospital. I was a Respiratory Therapist and she was a Nurse's Aide. I saw her in an elevator (made my heart stop) and stalked her for a couple months until I could find out enough about her to ask her out.

I've actually seen more dead bodies than I care to count including car wrecks and suicides (one was the nephew of the labor leader Frank Fitzsimmons). I was usually working on them when they died.

4. My 13 year old daughter was born 3 months premature at 2 pound 4 ounces. Within a couple days, she had dropped to less than 2 pounds. Spent 2 months in Intensive Care. She looked a little like a Barbie doll, about the same size, but, of course, infinitely cuter. My 8 year old son went to term and was born at 9 pounds 11 ounces. He looked like an Eskimo baby, only infinitely cuter.

5. I played Carnegie Hall (the real one in NYC) with a college jazz band in 1989. I've got pictures to prove it.

[Supertramp78]

Birdman
I don't have anything as dramatic to add as many of the posts I've read here (haven't read em all yet), but here goes:

1. I'm blessed, as Dan would say. My parents are still alive and happily married and live a half-hours drive away from me and active in the lives of my children. I'm happily married to a wonderfull woman who gave me two beautiful, healthy daughters.
2. I don't have a large number of friends and I'm not very easy to get to know but I hold my close friends very dear. My father was a CIA agent so we lived a military-type lifestyle of moving among foreign countries every 3-4 years. As a result I grew up having to make a completely new circle of friends every time we moved. My closest friends tend to be people who have lived a similar lifestyle.
3. I don't have a musical background. Mom made me take piano lessons until I was a pre-teen, she eventually gave up. I played the alto saxaphone until about the same time, boy do I wish I stuck with that. My oldest brother stuck with the piano and became very good at it. He was the keyboard player in several rock bands that frequently jammed at our house and he pursued a music career probably longer than he should have. His gigs include a stint with the Platters (1 original member, there were several bands touring as "the Platter" then) and an Elvis impersonator who underwent surgury to look like the king.
4. I am too easilly annoyed by extreme political views on both the left and right of the political spectrum. I know I've probably been a bit too trigger happy on left-wing political threads here, fortunately I haven't seen any ultra-right wing ones. Hmmm, maybe I should start one
5. I am not really some horrible man-bird mutation. I adobted my user name in honor of the pride of my acoustic guitar collection, my Gibson Hummingbird. That is until I get my Collings OM, or maybe I should go with one of those Huss & Daltons. Then again, Bill's always talking about those Goodalls....

Bach by Request
1. I only went out with the receptionist that once.
2. I really admire great musical genius; Bach; Tarrega; Torroba.....
3. I have a nicely maturing gardens, full of life and habitat for local creatures.....myself being one of the local creatures.
4. I am working to get enough money so that I can make the transition from being thought of as "weird" to that of being "eccentric".
5. The receptionist still wants me to ask her out again...she just got into round two of Canadian idol.

LeCado
It's time to confess my deepest, darkest secret.
I'm half French-Canadian.

sastrugi
1. I am half polish/italian and half native american. That's the west for you. I was born in Kansas, left when I was only a few months old and have never seen it since.
2. My parents divorced when I was three. My mother never remarried, but my dad did twice. My first stepmother was straight out of the Bros. Grimm, but the current one is a wonderful woman. My Dad has ALS, like Jeff McM's Dad. Tho my Dad and I have never been close, over the years we have come to love each other.
3. I began playing guitar in high school, but didn't have a good guitar, got discouraged and gave it up while in college. I picked it up again three years ago as a strategy to avoid alzheimers. My kids tell me it hasn't worked.
4. I fell in love with Alaska and my husband on a visit in 1980 and moved here a few months later. We have triplets, two boys and a girl, who are now 17. We also have a younger daughter, 13. Don't get me started on how wonderful they are.
5. I love crosscountry skiing and became athletic late in life due to the influence of a dear friend. This friend committed suicide last month and it is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through.


Bill Hammond
Like being French-Canadian, you mean?
Zut alors!


epaul
1. Jeez, have I had an easy life. My head and heart were pushed by what I have just read. A lot of tough and warm resiliency here. I will be reading posts a little more carefully. There are some amazing people behind them. I am feeling incredibly shallow and lazy right now.
2. I live on the farm my grandfather homesteaded and my father was born on. My grandfather came over from Norway as a 17 year old as he was a third son, and there was absolutely nothing for him there. He, and a bunch of other Norwegians off the same boat, was told there was still some land available in N.W. Minnesota, and that there were lots of other good Norwegians in the area. That was all he needed to know. A train took him to Moorhead. He walked the remaining 120 miles.
3. There is now a lovely grove of trees surrounding the farm site: oak, elm, birch, willow, aspen, plum, apple, spruce, pine. Many were planted by one Tandberg or another. Squirrels accounted for many of the rest. I haven't done much in this life, but I will leave a gorgeous woods.
4. I think of how physical change is a factor in the lives of so many, and not a factor in mine. My home town had 403 people when I was born 50 years ago. Now it has 409. Outside of some fresh paint here and some vinyl siding there, the town is unchanged from my youth. The swings and monkey bars I played on as a kid are still there, and I watch my kids race the same playground I did. (I keep them off those decrepit swings and monkey bars, though.) (just kidding, the darn things were built to last. I suspect swing bearings and seats have been replaced, but otherwise, they are the same damn swings, and I still swing on them. I won't go on the monkey bars though.)
Humans seem built for change, so I tend to think of Newfolden as more of a curiosity than a virtue. It is a good little town, and I am very happy that I am able to raise my kids here. And I hope they move somewhere else when the time comes. But I am not sure where I would want them to move. Modern cities seem simultaneously rich and exciting and dangerous and unlivable to me. They are very smart kids and I will incline them towards skills that provide options of place. (any ideas? Ocean, space? Biology, medicine?)
5. I spent seven years in college and came out with a double major in English and Humanities. I taught English one year at the American School of London, in Knightsbridge. I lived in Clapham Common and took the tube to school. I usually bought some coffee, a scotch egg, and the Times Herald for the train ride. I was strongly considering teaching there another year, when the school was sold and my benefactors were casualties in a labor dispute with the new owner. The deal went to hell. I taught in Minnesota for a couple years, and then finished up the harvest when my dad had a heart attack (survived). The next year I rented the farm (there was talk of layoffs at my school, and farming was something I wanted to try. It was a short-lived time of $6.00 wheat.)

I have stayed active in various capacities in local schools as a bus driver, sub-teacher, play director, guest artist and storyteller. I feel connected to these small northern towns and I try to contribute to them. I have made up several stories I perform for elementary kids. I am writing some of them out to see what happens.
6. I am grateful for the people I have met through this forum. I’m with Sekmet. I value the connections I have made here, and they are real. And I value them. And they are real. I am very grateful to Bill Hammond. The Rosejams and open mics have meant a lot to me. A lot.
I like where I am, but I wish I had a Star Trek-type transporter device in the basement so I could beam over to Bill’s basement and jam with the good people there every so often. (and, in addition to his phenomenal support and good energy, I love to hear Bill’s guitar work when I am playing the harp. He is so good to jam with.)
There are some other places I would beam. You going to be home tonight?
Paul

epaul
John,

I've got golf league this afternoon and won't be done until around eight or nine. But, if this riggamajig works, I should be in Indiana around, well, around eight or nine.

Put some fresh strings on your Ya aha. I'll bring some strawberries, they are really coming on line up here. You guys got any tomatoes yet? I'm looking forward to this.

Paul


docsthebest
Well, if you're ready to be bored to tears. What a sheltered little existence I've led.

1. I lived in Dallas from when I can remember until I was thirteen, in a poor, but very nice, well behaved little neighborhood in Oak Cliff, Dallas(at that time, anyway). The fourth of ten kids, we were always pretty poor. There was always enough to eat and clothes on our backs, but not much else. My parents, through all the bad times, and there were many, had an ever enduring religious faith. Now that I'm grown, that's the thing about them I'm the most thankful about. I don't have it myself yet, tho. I think I worry about that a lot.
2. I'm a voratious reader of modern day adventure books. I can't get enough of them. The whole spectrum, from Steinbeck's 'Travels With Charlie' to 'Worldwalk', their stories fascinate me. I want to do what they're doing, but I'm too chicken, I think. I've never even hitchhiked. It's dangerous, you know.
I guess the closest to a real adventure I've ever had was when mom and us kids moved to the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks in 1970. Dad stayed and worked in Dallas, and came up on the weekends. From Dallas, with a pretty little yard with thick, spongy St. Augustine grass and magnolia trees, to a seventy acre farm away back in the boonies, on top of a knob looking up at the highest point in the state, Mt. Magazine (still a hill, actually). Outhouses, well buckets, the whole nine yards. But it didn't last. We got indoor plumbing eventually.
3. I started smoking cigarettes when I was about 12, using smokeless tobacco when I was about 15, drinking when I was about 18, experimenting with drugs when I was about 20. I quit doing all of those by the time I was 24, about 22 years ago.
4. I love to hike. The best hike I've ever went on was when me and my wife, who is also my best friend, hiked almost to the top of Engineer Mtn. in Colorado. The most beautiful view I've ever seen up there, nothing but mountaintops in every direction. I was having so much fun hiking and climbing, I'd forgotten all about my fear of heights, until I got to the spot we'd picked out to stop and turned around and sat down. My heart almost stopped, then decided to start trying to play 'Wipeout'.
5. My wife and I love to travel. The trip I remember most fondly was the one after we first met, when her boy was still alive. (He died in an accident five years later. He was the only child either of us had. He was an awesomely gifted kid. Very handsome, straight A student, superior athlete, well-mannered.) Anyway, the three of us went out west to New Mexico and Arizona, (Carlsbad, Albuquerque, the Grand Canyon), in the heat of summer, in a new, but un-airconditioned Bronco. We pitched a tent at KOA camps every night. We never seemed to notice the heat. We were young and tough then, I guess.
Most of our trips have a musical flavor anymore. We love Merlefest.

phantoj
1. I grew up on a farm. Not much social activity, but a lot of chances to run around free, find stuff, look at stuff, and do stuff.
2. I am now a mechanical engineer; I work for a gun company. Three things greatly influenced my decision to be a mechanical engineer: 1. I gained a love of mechanical things from working on a series of dirtbikes and crappy cars. 2. My older brother, who is just like me, went into engineering. 3. I didn't want to be a farmer because farming sucks (constant work and stress)
3. I am left-handed.
4. We had no TV in the home when I was growing up.
5. I knew how to read when I entered school, so I skipped kindergarden. I attended public school through grade six, and was homeschooled for grades 8-12. I skipped grade seven, and I entered community college at age 16.


tim farney
I've loaded trucks at Sears,
Washed trucks for the city of Springfield Illinois,
Worked an archeological dig,
Assisted in autopsies including many coroner's cases...
Did my senior writing project under the direction of John Gardner, author of The Sunlight Dialogues, King's Indian and Grendel (that's ok, nobody else I've told knows who he is either)...
These are the things that qualify me for my distinguished career in marketing.
Tim

tim farney
My kids are 30, 19 and 5...
At the peak of my addiction a few years ago, I was reading at least 16 magazines a month...
I gave them up for books...
Ronald Regan made me a Democrat, or maybe it was the reading. I've never been sure.

Tim


stevnim
I just introduced myself and told a lot!
1. My parents were not the musical type. One day, however, my Dad came home with a violin from a garage sale and started playing it. He was not hacking at it, but really playing it. Understand he grew up outside Winnipeg and went to only grade 8 in a one-room schoolhouse. It's still one of those events us kids (now adults) remember terrifically.
2. I work at an electronics retailer as a computer repair tech. I followed the recent thread about customer service returns with interest. Suffice it to say, that one has not really lived until someone says to you: "You can take that computer and shove it up your _______".
3. I have two kids, both into arts, but in completely different ways. One just graduated from Univ of St. Thomas as a Music major/Computer Science minor. The other is travelling around the country doing Renaissance Festivals making chain mail wear.
4. I've had the Last Rites three times. I don't know why I'm still here.
5. I like to read and am persistent. I once read all of Shakespeare's works doing it only on 10-minute breaks. It took a couple of years. Currently reading a 15 volume "History of United States Naval Operations In World War II" by Samuel Eliot Morison.
That's enough!!!
-stevnim


heid2
Oh, one other thing- Going off docs hitchhiking thing-
Me and my best friend hitchhiked all over West Yellowstone when I was 17- I totally forgot about that till he mentioned...
We kept giggling when we stuck our thumbs out. We worked 8 miles from Yellowstone, so on the weekends we would hitchhike into town and into town with the packs on our back and hang out at differnt camps. Some around Old faithful, soem around yellowstone lake. One time we brought hot dogs to cook, but got to Yellowstone lake and found out you weren't alloud to cook on the beach. We ate raw hot dogs till we were walking along and some boys asked us how long they would have to follow us till we talked to them
They looked at our raw hot dogs and started laughing.(Oh, um, what did I just say?) Anyway, we ate well that day, they loaded us up with cookies and food and were pretty cool guys. Lot of good memories, hitchhiking round that place Met about a million truckers,(They would always pick us up) got picked up by a cop, who told us to be careful, then drove us where we needed to go, and met people from France with a cute son. Those were the days.

epaul
Member
I think GRENDEL is a hell of a good book. It tells the story of Beowolf from the monster's perspective, and an eloquent, touching (and tortured) perspective it is.
Paul


tim farney
Grendel is one hell of a book. So is The Wreckage of Agathon, if you ever get a chance to read it. Still, most people never heard of my old teacher.
Tim


chollyred
I'll probably be the last (or nearly so) person to post to this thread...Compared to the rest of you, I've had the most boring life on earth...

1) I've always lived within 20 miles of my hometown, and have never found a place I'd rather be.
2) I'm the middle of three kids and grew up in a family so poor, that my parents would save up for a month to take us to the drive-in theater where the ehole car load got in for $1.50. We'd take Kool-Aid and popcorn from home because we couldn't afford the snack bar.
3) Mom and Dad loved to dance and always had music playing on the hi-fi (no such thing a stereo back then.). The Hi-Fi was my baby sitter. As long as music was playing, I wouldn't move away. While neither of them played any instruments, I think this was my major influence and one of the reasons I have no preferred style of music.
4) I started playing drums at 7, and sat in with a working band at 8. Started with my first real band at 14. About that time, was given my first guitar. A Japanese copy of a Gibson ES-335 (a great copy!). Was only interested in the electronics. I loaned it to a high school friend and never saw it again.
5) I'm the world's worst procrastinator who seems to never finish anythin


pchanne
my mom married my dad when she was 16. During the London Blitz, she told us kids grew up fast during the war..... ya know the big one....WW II, read it like Archie Bunker used to say it. I`m the third of four brats. Painter by training, took up guitar 6 years ago at 41. I can play between 20 and 30 songs now. I`m a late bloomer.


Possum
Okay, I'll play.

I have 50 teeth, the highest number of any mammal.
In New Zealand, it's been estimated that we eat 21,000 tons of vegetable matter each night! (I have approximately 80 million cousins over there.)
In Florida, the first Saturday in August is Possum Day.
Our fibre, which has microscopic air-pockets, is very light and 7% warmer than wool.
To make a nice possum tartare:
1. Kill a possum.
2. Stop the car, put the possum in the trunk, continue driving home.
3. Remove possum from trunk, place on large board, sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic. Some folks also like onion.
4. Run over it one more time to mix the spices in thoroughly.
5. Contact your mental health professional and inform him of what you're about to do.


Millring
possum, funny! Man, are you warped or what? (LOVE your new picture!)

Flatpicker
1. I'm a Libertarian which means I believe you may feel free to live your life anyway you choose so long as you don't infringe upon the rights of other individuals including their right to accumulate wealth. So if you screw up your life through poor decision making, don't expect me to condone your using the force of government to seize the hard earned wealth of those who made better choices to help you out of your problems.

2. I spent about 10 years during high school and immediately afterward making those poor choices. But I've gotten things pretty much straightened out now, without government assistance thank you very much

3. I started in college to become a physical therapist but changed my major to biology because I didn't care for the rigid cirriculum and scheduling of the physical therapy program. Yet another poor decision.

4. I thought biologist would at least get to play with furry little animals and do a lot of walking around through the woods and stuff. Professionally, I've always worked in a laboratory and the only little furry critters I got to play with, I injected with carcinogens and then killed.

5. "The Jerk" is one of my favorite movies. I was born a poor black child.

heid2
5. "The Jerk" is one of my favorite movies. I was born a poor black child.
I LOVE that movie!! And thats all I need You wouldn't happen to be Dufresne in disquise would you?


tequilabob
1. I am ampidextrous
2. I am a Clift Notes guitarist
3. I love fast cars
4. I am basically 15 years old, and have been for 40 years
5. I am honest when it suits me

stevnim
Remember TequilaBob:
You have to grow older, but you don't have to grow up.
God said this.

pchanne
that`ll be my motto then. A toast .....to immaturity !

[Supertramp78]

docsthebest
Okay, maybe I left a few out too

6. Wanted really, really bad to be a good tennis player. Spent all kinds of money on lessons, raquets, balls, club dues. I had a lot of fun and got my wife and her boy started playing, and they both became excellent players, especially her boy. But as for me, except for having one of the hardest, most consistent backhands around, I always pretty much sucked.
7. Almost became a black belt in karate, but it was cutting into my quest to be Jimmy Connors.
8. Was having cabin fever really bad once, so on the first day of vacation, since we hadn't planned anything yet, I told my wife I was going to get up and get me some breakfast and go up on Mt. Magazine and watch the sun come up. When it came up, it was so cool. It was like it was just me and my little mountain top. I couldn't see the valley floor at all. It was covered in the densest fog I've ever seen. After it burnt off, it struck me how close I was to the folks' farm. I hadn't been out to see them in way too long. So I went over and had a nice chat with Dad. That was the last time I saw him. He died less than a month later.
9. While I was there that time, I had the overwhelming urge to ask Dad to go for a little walk around the farm, so I could tell how much I admired him, and how I was sorry about not being a better son, because me and him had been best running around buds in Dallas. Then I did like a lot of kids do, I guess, and just kind of grew away from him when he started having problems with my drinking and things. And I had a perfect opportunity to, but I waited a second or two too long to make my move, and it never came again. I thought, Oh, well, I'll do it next time.


Village Idiot
Point number nine reminds me of something that happened to me, docsthebest.

My Dad and I used to hunt every weekend during pheasant season. The routine was for my dad and I to hunt, then stop by Grandma and Grandpa's place on the way home. My Grandpa was a farmer, a woodworker, a very prominent research veterinarian whose name was known by any vet student in the 50's, and a very kind man. He had been suffering from parkensis (sic) disease for years, and was at the point where his days were spent laid up in the bedroom.

My Dad and I were in the room with him, when my Dad left. I was alone with him. My Grandpa spoke:
"Sit down, Todd".
I sat.
"When I'm gone, will you remember me?"

I didn't answer. I welled up and fled the room. I didn't see him again because he died.

I felt bad for years about not staying and not being a man and not telling him that surely I would remember him and not saying all the profound things I could have said if I could have gone back in time after I had known what to say and not acting out all these wonderful moments that occur only in the world of hindsight and not being able to re-live this profound moment I had spent with him.

But times change as life goes on. I don't worry about any of that any more. He knew me, he knew what I thought. He knew what I was like. I know that. I'm very comfortable with my memories of him. I feel no guilt.

Funny, but it's easier to clog up our lives with memories of "should-haves" then to let life go on. And life does go on. We should allow that to happen, we should relax, and we should look forward.


iamjohnne
Member
Gee whiz the stuff I miss when I am not here. Ok most of you know some stuff about me but I will try and come up with five things I think are important.

1. I am an Air Force Brat. My dad retired from the AF when I was fourteen and we moved to Miami, FL.

2. Because I was in Miami at the right time, back in the sisties(good grief how old is this bit$$?) I got to rub shoulders with and get to know on a semi perrsonal level some great folk musicians (Fred Neil, Joni Mitchell etc)

3. I have been married two times and have five kids. and now have six grand kids. All the kids but one live here in GA near me. The other one is in Michigan. He is a computer analyst(I think) and works on some really awesome projects. Hee spent 8years in the AF at the Pentagon.

4.I still dont know what I want to be when I grow up.

5. I love to be around live music. That was what got me interested in guitar, seeing and hearing some of the great ones play and sing. Not that I was gonna be anything like them, but I could talk to them about it.


docsthebest
Thanks, VI

iamjohnne
Well it took almost all night but I read the whole thread. This one is amazing. We are an interesting group of folks.

My dad and my mom were at Normandy. Mom was there at D-Day plus 6 and Dad didnt get there till p;us 12. hw was a flyboy and she was a nurse. Dad flew B-17's.
My mom waded thru waste deep water to get to the beach, they were told the nurses couldnt come ashore yet because it wasnt secure. they went anyway because they saw so many of our men injured on the shore and had to get to them.
I just learned that about my mom last week in Miami.

Cornflake
I think we ought to start "five more things to know about you."

A friend and I backpacked the Barranca de Cobre (Copper Canyon) in Mexico in 1976. Edward Abbey wrote an essay about hiking the same canyon a few years later. In his essay he suggested that his was the first party of Americans to do it. Nope. I out-wildernessed Abbey.

pchanne
my mom is a war bride. Dad was in the Canadian airforce, first in the mail then trained a a gunner on bombers. Found out last Christmas he was AWOL for a bit before going overseas. Spent a week end at an uncle`s farm and was having so much fun he didn`t report back....cheeky... till the RCMP came and picked him up. He gave me his service medals last year too.

docsthebest
That would've probably made it way closer to the top of my list, Cornflake. I love to backpack. My knees aren't real crazy about it.
The first time I backpacked alone, I'd never spent a night by myself in the woods, I had no idea what to expect my reaction to be. It turned out to be by far the most serene feeling I've ever experienced. There may as well have not been another person alive on the face of the planet. I was enjoying the stars and the animal sounds so much, I didn't even build a fire, just kicked back in the old hammock and sipped my coffee. I haven't done it in probably ten years. I'd love to start back. I'm sure my knees would still hate it.

That was awfully pompous, even for someone like Abbey.

Passport52
Unregistered User
Hi,
I'm new to talk,talk,talk. It's great! And I have 5 things to know about me:

1. Last october, I took a trip around the world- heading east from Minneapolis, through western Europe, eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and ended up on a beach in Hawaii. Traveled by myself for 9 weeks.

2. I am an amateur radio operator

3. I got married the same exact day, year, time as my boss.....only to someone else!

4. I love popcorn! ( Even ate popcorn popped in fish oil in Bangkok.)

5. I am a first time record producer....and having a ball!


Ducktrapper
I have dismissed Harry Potter as essentially juvenile and inconsequential to my life.
I did not buy a Hootie and the Blowfish CD.
Jewel did not fewel me.
Never owned a pet rock.
My heart's in the right place.


fingerstyledude
about me..

1. born in the swamps of Louisiana.. that's why I think Minnesota is a Paradise
2. asked my wife to marry me on the 2nd date..(I am not impulsive.. I WAITED until the 2nd date.. been married 22+ years)
3. once owned approximately 40 acoustic guitars (but who's counting)..
4. Lived in a Yoga Ashram for 1 year (they wouldn't teach me any secret knowledge, so I left!)
5. 4 kids, 2 Welsh Corgi's.. painfully average player but Love it never-the-less..
5 1/2. (I never follow directions) Last voted when Nixon was Dictator..


stormntwang
Five MORE things you don't know about me:

1) Though I am descended from the Hebrews, I really like pork products, especially prosciutto.
2) I can juggle apples and oranges.
3) I've known how to sail since I was 13. Need crew, anyone?
4) My favorite kind of chocolate is the bittersweet kind.
5) Amelia Earhart's story has always been fascinating to me.

tequilabob
1. First live music "concert" attended.
Dinah Shore and Pat Boone
2. First record puchased.
"Beep Beep"
3. First guitar owned
1964 Martin 0018
4. First Car Owned
1948 Austin 8
5. First Marriage - Ended on my Birthday 1981

AztecRiker
1) First name: William
2) Last job: Corrections Officer
3) First guitar: Goya
4) Favorite Movie: Apocalypse Now
5) Favorite Concert: Pink Floyd, no Waters

ketchbob
1) Grew up in Gilbertsville, NY, a small town just West of the Catskills. Small town living was great. I never planned on going anywhere else, heck, I didn't even know how to imagine myself living anywhere else.
2) Currently live in Spearfish SD, a beautiful small city at the North end of the Black Hills, only 11 miles from Wyoming. I've been here for 10 years this time. I've lived out West for 31 years now.
3) Long-term foster parent of 2 girls, one is 19 and moved away now (she moved in with us a month after her 14th birthday), and the other is soooooo 13 and just moved in last month (May 2005). We also have 2 daughters that were born to us. They will be 21 (in 2 weeks) and 18 (in August). Yes, I'm married to their mother, and have been for more than 21 years.
4) Both of my parents died of cancer in 1978. Dad died 3 days before my 22nd Birthday and Mom 7 months later on what would have been Dad's birthday. No, it wasn't a broken heart or anything, she just died.
5) On of my Great-Great-Greatgrandfathers (I think it was 3 greats) was extremely influential, and responsible, for financing the North's Civil War efforts. He was a banker in NYC.
6) Through my father's mother's family line, I am a descendent of two great conservative presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

paul0geetar
My five -
1. I've been kicked out of a McDonalds. I have no idea why I'm so proud of that.
2. I'm the father of twins. You already knew that, but I said it anyways.
3. I have a doctorate in chemistry, a third degree black belt in aikido, and was a national chamion and many time national medalist in whitewater canoe slalom. I'm the underachiever of my family. My brother's been to three olympics, been rated top kayaker in the world several times, and was US national champion for about 10 years in a row. He's a great guy.
4. My wife got me guitar lessons three years ago because I was the only non-musician in her family. She's the best.
5. I had the childhood everybody dreams of. My parents are great, my brother is a hoot, and we did all kinds of cool stuff. I never take that for granted, and am eternally grateful.

LasciviousFidelity
1 - I am a singer songwriter (guitar)
2 - I am influenced by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Audioslave, Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine
3 - I am madly in love with Chris Cornell
4 - I don't think their is ONE correct religion ( I believe in everything )
5 - I want to have Chris Cornell's babies...
NAH
Just kidding
My dream is to be a recording artist ( i will achieve it )

Dru Lee Parsec
1) For two years I made my living as a magician.
2) I have degrees in Applied Math and Computer Science. But I can't remember what 7*8 is.
3) I have only 9 fingers. This is the result of an accident at a hydraulics shop. There was a pipe, it had 7500 psi in it, it broke, I was in the way. Now the little finger on my right hand is gone and the right hand ring finger don't work so good.
4) My lovely wife (My first and only) was born in Finland and I speak a little bit of Finnish (Very little). If people think English is a difficult language HA! Try Finnish. My wife and I met while rock climbing.
5) I honestly don't remember a time when I didn't play music. My mom was my first piano teacher and everyone on my mom's side of the family was a professional musician. I was 9 years old before I realized that not everybody has a piano in their house. I played trombone in elementary and Jr, High school and picked up guitar at the age of 15. (31 years ago ) It wasn't rock & roll that brought me to guitar, it was hearing my best friend play classical guitar. I had no idea you could play melody, counterpoint, and chords at the same time. He became my first guitar teacher and I truely feel that playing guitar and mandolin have saved my life. I say this because I've been dealing with depression for most of my life and music has always been the thing that brings me back from the edge. (BTW kookburger, I saw your post about anger management. Meds can work wonders. They let you see the world clearly so you can learn to deal with frustration and anger. And, at least for me, it's not a lifetime deal. You can take them for a year or so and learn to deal with life, then you can come off of them. Take care of yourself buddy. )
Anyway, that guitar playing friend and I lost contact for 8 or 10 years. About 2 years ago I found out that my best friend and guitar teacher from high school is now living life as a woman. He's had surgery and everything (ok, "she's had surgery"). It took me about a year to come to terms with that but now I realize that she's a much happier person. We've met again and talked and she's a neat person. So I learned quite a lesson about compassion last year.
6) [ super extra bonus answer ] I'm leaving my job as a software engineer to move (with my wonderful wife) to northern california. I'll be teaching guitar, mandolin, and banjo and also building instruments ( you can see some of my work here : www.brouelette.com ) We'll be living in the trees near Grass Valley in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. This will be the first time in my life I've lived north of Los Angeles or more than 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean. I think I'll love it.

Andrewrg
Well.being a new guy on the forum there`s loads you dont know about me,but here`s some stuff I dont usually share.
1.I gave up drugs overnight,6 months ago,after 30+years of less than moderate abuse,stayed clean and never been tempted since.
2.I can bend the last joint on my left hand pinky back past 90 degrees(and it works just fine).
3.I am a Baronet,a title I inherited from my father and am officially entitled to be addressed as Sir Andrew,or The Honourable,Sir Andrew ******.
4.My mother and grandmother were slave labourers in Siberia during WW2.
5.I`m still in love with my first girlfriend,Jessica,although I havent seen her in 35 years.

Re: you don't wanna know
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shallow, gretan? I think not. Music is an infusium into the deepest currents of the wisom of the Ancients.

Well, good music is, anyway.

Strum gently and listen with your whole self as the notes fade and slip away into the silence. Can you hear the wisdom?

Guitone
Let me see, this may be a good place to post today:
1. I had to work hard to control a bad temper I inherited from my father, I don''t like that part of me and I try my hardest to not allow it to come up.
2. I studied to be a psychotherapist and did, trained in both Gestrald Therapy and NLP before deciding that I wanted somethig else in my life.
3. I love my dauther more than anyting in this universe.
4. I play guitar like a hack, no talent, tone deaf (I can't sing either), but it still makes me feel good to play, I think I am an advanced hack now (after 42 years I think that makes sense).
5. I grew up in NYC in a blue collar household close to the ocean (Far Rockaway, NY)..I spent time at the boardwalk in the summer at night, China Town, Central Park (concerts at Sheaffer Music Rink, or something like that), Filmore East....growing up was great, NY was a great place to be.
All things retro, Martin guitars, Rivendell bicycles, Converse Chuck Taylors.

Dub Martin
I had Rev. Gary Davis over for dinner… twice.
I used to sit with Mike Bloomfield trying to catch licks from the likes of Big Joe Williams, Sleepy John Estes, et al. He's the one who got it.
A band I was in once opened for Harry Chapin.
I've performed at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom.
I was once hired, with others, to perform at a reelection rally for Hizzonor Da Mare at Chicago's Medinah Temple.