Darlene Asked For 8 Things About Me

Yesterday my e-friend Darlene Schacht tagged me for a meme; I’m to tell eight things about myself, then tag eight other hapless folks and pester them into doing the same thing.

Normally I’d ignore such a project.

But since it’s Darlene who asked, I can’t resist. Darlene is a Canadian lady author and editor. She was one of the first people to ever comment on my blog. She became responsible for most of the computer search engines locating my site when she promoted a photograph of me entitled “Pool Boy Wearing Black Socks”. My site has drawn more hits from that search string than any other.

Thanks Darlene.

Darlene is a deeply devoted Christian who founded an electronic magazine for Christian Women. Her magazine is called Christian Online Women (COW for short) or something like that. Lots and lots of women read her magazine and share their faith through it…

Oops. I was a little off with that name. It’s called Christian Women Online (CWO) for short).

Sorry. My mistake.

What can you expect from a pool boy wearing black socks?

Be sure to check out Darlene’s Blog and magazine — which is not COW but CWO

Here are the rules Darlene listed: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

(1.) My ambition as a youth was to become an archaeologist. I spent the happiest days of my youth excavating an Indian burial mound with a local archaeological society.

(2.) One of the happiest days of my life, I spent with my mother-in-law in a corn field. She took me along to excavate a 16^th Century site in Maryland where the English settlers had abandoned a house abruptly (perhaps because of Indian attack or an epidemic which killed the whole family immediately). We uncovered silver shoe buckles, a mortar and pestle, intact kitchenware, etc. under the supervision of a state archaeologist. Wow!

(3.) Reading Dracula as a boy inspired me to begin keeping a daily journal and I’ve kept one off and on for over 30 years. Three years ago my son Donald encouraged me to keep my journal on line as a blog. I published my 2005 journal under the title A Dirty Old Man Goes Bad (available at www.bluefishbooks.info ). The cover photo shows me in my pool boy outfit with black socks.

(4.) Recently a young lady asked me about my sex life. She expressed amazement that a 67-year-old man would only have had sex with two women, my first wife and my present one, in his entire life. (Not virtue, lack of opportunity) She said that was really bizarre. And here I thought I was more or less normal.

(5.) I am a Christian believing that the whole world, especially me, was in such bad shape that God Himself came down to rescue us. Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, taught the ignorant. We nailed him to a cross to torture Him to death for our sins. But as Lord of Life, He conquered death and rose from the tomb. He will come again in glory and judge the earth. In the meantime, He’d kinda like for us to behave ourselves.

(6.) Whenever I mention looking at naked ladies on the internet, my blog readers fuss at me. But my besetting sin, the one that bothers me the most, is stealing. Anytime I go anywhere I look for things to steal. I don’t often actually take things but it’s always a temptation for me, one I struggle with practically every day.

(7.) My parents thought reading was a waste of time. “Johnny, get your nose out of that book and do something useful” is a phrase I heard a million times as I was growing up.

Both parents are dead now.

I’ve been a free-lance writer for over 30 years now and portions of my works has been translated into as many as eleven foreign languages circulating all over the globe. I’ve published ten books (www.bluefishbooks.info) and I’m now working on three others….

Considering my career financially, I realize that my parents were right all along.

(8.) My proudest accomplishment in life was to build a model sailing ship inside a beer bottle. I use a photo of my working on that ship as the avatar for my blog postings:

(9) In 1971, NASA gave me a pin and a letter of commendation for my contribution to the space program. All I did was to stay awake driving for 72 hours without sleep. One of my kids took the pin to school for show & tell and lost it! The letter is in a box somewhere.

And, speaking of the space program, my father was a molder and crafted some parts for the lunar lander, that little golf-cart thing astronauts drove around on the moon and left up there. Some castings my daddy made are still on the surface of the moon. .

(10) Ten?

Yes, ten!

I said that I’m a writer and I get carried away. This has to be the last thing:

I tell the best, most cultured, refined, elegant jokes of anyone in the whole world.

Want to hear one?

Oh… :(

No one else does either.

So, here are the eight… no, ten …(Ok, they’re nine; I’m a writer, not a counter) people I’m tagging:

Amrita in India

Barbara’s Along The Way

Battle Rock

DZCOWART

Eric in Alaska

Jellyhead in Australia

Karen In England

LeiselB at Dead Man’s Honda Pete, Karen’s Dad

Seth