Ten Things

I know- my son says no one reads my blog except people who have known me for a hundred years- but I suspect there might be one or two or even three people reading who don't know me that well. So...today I'm going to tell you ten things you might not know about me. Some of these choice tidbits might be in other blogs, but hey, I'm old- I forget things. And maybe you didn't read that blog. And if you don't really care to know more about me...why in the world are you reading my blog at all? LOL

1. I worked as a waitress in a cafe at a bowling alley when I was a teenager. I was a TERRIBLE waitress. I could never get all the orders straight, I hated the food smells, and I didn't know how to deal with unhappy customers. I lost forty pounds; nearly fainted one night and dropped a tray of coffee cups. Understandably a short career.

2. I've been bitten by a swan. Don't laugh. Not many people can make that claim! I was strolling across a small bridge in a serene public park when a blur of white flew up and a swan bit me on the foot. Turns out its nest was under the bridge and it felt threatened. Who knew those lovely things had a temper?

3. When I graduated from college the governor called to personally congratulate me. (Hey, I know it could have been anybody, but I didn't ask for an ID and he seemed to have all his facts straight. He even mentioned his wife.) I had written a editorial for the Dallas Morning News and he called to tell me he enjoyed it. He also wanted to know why I hadn't written it for the Daily Oklahoman. I hated to tell him that I had submitted it there and they had turned it down!

4. I've lived in four states, visited 32 states and two countries. My goal is to visit all 50 states, but I may have to do a whirlwind trip when I'm about seventy, because I never have the time or money to travel anymore!

5. I hate, fear, and detest unfamiliar bridges. Did I mention I'm afraid of them? Okay, just trying to be very clear. We have a rule in any car when I'm a passenger- both hands on the wheel and no talking until we're safely across. And I say unfamiliar because eventually, after say fifty trips, I can become calmer about a partiular bridge. I taught in Kingston for two years, and that meant crossing the Roosevelt Bridge twice each day. I only trembled for the first month or so, honest. And there doesn't have to be water below the bridge. We crossed over a highway bridge in Toronto that nearly gave me a heart attack!

6. When we lived in the city, and were going through some rough times, we survived a year without a car. Think about that for a few minutes- I do sometimes and I wonder how we did it. I had one of those little personal shopping carts that I dragged with me when I shopped. I often walked several blocks home from work in the dark. We had friends who picked us up for church. We rode the city buses everywhere. (I later gave that cart to a young woman who was in a similar situation.) Memories of that make me appreciate the luxury of now having two cars!

7. I've worked for two companies that went backrupt. One actually issued us paychecks that weren't good. You can imagine how it felt to go to the bank to cash my check and have them tell me there was no money in the account! The next experience was even worse- the sheriff came and locked the doors and told us to find our boss: he was not only bankrupt, but wanted for fraud! I include this on my list because those experiences certainly influenced my working career for many years. I wasn't exactly your average "trusting, loyal employee" after those two jobs.

8. I was almost kidnapped as a child. The "almost" part is due entirely to the training of my mother. It was the classic scenerio: I was walking home from school, two men in a car stopped and offered me a ride, then tried to bribe me with candy. As soon as they mentioned the candy my mom's warning lit up in my brain and I ran like I was on fire. I even crossed the vacant lot that she had told me never to cross! Ironically, years later a neighbor offered my brother and me a ride home. When I accepted, my brother grabbed my arm and bit me because "Mom said never ride with strangers!" They were our neighbors Dodo bird! (That was my pet name for my brother- and I'll just bet you didn't pronounce it correctly! LOL Say it with a "long o" sound-it really was a bird- look it up.)

9. During my teen years I had hopes and dreams of being an architect, until I started doing the math... literally. Math is NOT my area. I figured out that all those precise calculations were not suited to the natural workings of my brain. I could visualize what I'd wanted to design, but putting it on paper was torture. And I hate torture.

10.I've had lunch with Anne Rice. Yes, the vampire lady. And I used to have pictures to prove it but I gave them to one of her ardent fans. She made an impression on me because she had such definite ideas about who she was and what she wanted to do. I was a very young, NOT so confident writer and I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do. I was spending the week at a conference at Stanford, representing a small publishing company where I was employed as a production manager. My assigned tablemate was Ms. Rice. It was an experience that I can only describe as surreal, even though at that time she had only written one book. Thanks Anne!

11. Consider this a baker's ten! I believe in guardian angels. I think God created the world and everything in it, but was smart enough to use angels to guide and protect individuals. Angels have rules and stuff. They can't be interfering in "free will" and such. So there is a limit to their powers, but they stay busy just the same. And I've already figured out that God assigned a very young, inexperienced angel to me. It's taken her several years to really understand all the responsibilities of her job. That's why I've had six broken bones, numerous other injuries, three car accidents, seven major surgeries, three car vs. animal incidents...not to mention the whole swan experience. But she's getting better! And I expect that by the time I'm ninety she'll be ready to trade me in for someone less challenging.

Hey, send me comment or an email and tell me ten things I don't know about YOU!  

 

 

Comments

[Susan]

Tell Robert that even though he is a fellow Conservative, he is wrong! I have known you via e-mail for only a few months and read your blogs regularly. Susan