76. Just before I left on my mission I had my wisdom teeth pulled, all six of them!
77. I love poetry. My favorite poets are William Wordsworth and Robert Frost.
78. Did you know that the man who invented the automatic rifle and the man who invented the liquid-fueled rocket were both Mormons? I knew that.
79. I found it very moving and humbling to visit most of the major battlefields of the Civil War.
80. The painter and art teacher from whom I have learned the most is John F. Carlson.
81. I suggest that those who believe that abortion is right might most effectively signify it by aborting themselves to reduce the surplus population.
82. I love Chinese food, and Italian, and Mexican, and American, and British, et al
83. I have taught adult education classes in oil painting and pen and ink drawing.
84. I love ABBA.
85. I once sang in a choir in the Tabernacle during LDS General Conference.
86. I have never met anyone who actually uses algebra in their daily lives.
87. The most useful thing I learned in high school was how to type, or keyboarding, as it is called nowadays.
88. We once had an earthquake when I was working as a draftsman at Tooele Army Depot. The lights started swinging and I ran from the building after my drafting stool rolled me away from my table. But the most striking thing about it was how the huge pine trees outside swayed from side to side. Yikes.
89. Unlike Will Rogers, I have met a lot of men I didn’t like. Women too. I try to love everyone, but some folks I just don’t like that much.
90. I don’t hate anyone… except maybe Kobe Bryant.
91. I feel good knowing what a broad reach is, what it means to be close-hauled and how correct luffing.
92. I once helped some friends steal a case of Pepsi from behind a grocery store to buy us access to a girls’ outdoor slumber party. Teens do dumb things. I have since repented. I now drink only Dr. Pepper.
93. I am glad that I have seen the amazing view from atop Deseret Peak at dawn
94. I love old movies from the 30s and 40s.
95. I am still bummed that the only sports trophy that ever bore my name (1961 Region Track Championship) was destroyed when Grantsville High School burned down.
96. I find the Lincoln Memorial awe inspiring.
97. I think that eight hours of peaceful sleep is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
98. The nastiest trick I ever played on anyone at work was to write a procedural manual for a major job assignment using mainly acronyms I knew my replacement didn’t understand. I thought it was funny and so did others familiar with the acronyms.
99. It always amazes me that I have had the experience of eating a fine meal while traveling 400 miles per hour at an altitude of 33,000 feet. Usually airline food isn’t that good.
100. Most of the things on this list I have never before committed to writing. Many I have never even told anyone.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Yet twenty-five more things about me.
51. I once saw Jimmy Doolittle in person and shook hands with Chuck Yeager, the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound. Mr. Yeager was in a hurry when I met him.
52. I have seen, spoken with and shaken the hands of several prophets of God.
53. My missionary companion and I once walked nine miles from Bury, Lancashire to see a movie in Manchester, then took the train back home. We couldn’t afford to ride both ways. I don’t recall the movie.
54. I took a handball class at BYU and loved it.
55. I used to play a four string tenor guitar and sing folk songs with my cousins. We occasionally sang to entertain customers at a local café and were not asked to stop.
56. I was scenery and lighting director for the first few productions of our community theater group. I designed the scenery and ran the lighting for Fiddler on the Roof and South Pacific, among others.
57. I don’t believe in astrology, numerology, phrenology, tarot cards or palm reading. But in 1980 I did have an amazing string of Chinese fortune cookies that seemed to know what was going to happen in my life. Really.
58. I have read most of the Koran. It’s not an easy read but it makes some things easier to understand.
59. I enjoy eating out alone if I have the company of an interesting book.
60. One of my favorite places is the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
61. I was born on Thomas Edison’s birthday and one day before the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. I see no particular significance in this random happenstance at all.
62. I was once thrown from a Lambretta scooter when the rear tyre blew out at 40 mph.
63. I love dogs, as long as they are far away from me and quiet and I don’t have to think about them at all.
64. I think citizens should have to pass a test on American History and Government to have the right to vote. I volunteer to make up the test. We should also be required to meet a minimum IQ standard.
65. I scored a 174 on an online IQ test. I finished it quickly by guessing a lot.
66. At one time I was invited to run for the office of Mayor of Grantsville. My reply was that I could never live in a community where the majority of citizens were so stupid as to want me for Mayor. A politician I am not.
67. I knew that I wanted to marry Judy Simmonds within three hours of meeting her. I can’t explain why it took so long.
68. Two friends and I sluffed school in the sixth grade. We felt like criminals escaping from prison and spent the afternoon hiding in orchards around town and eating other people's apples. Worried that we might be in trouble, we went home. No one cared.
69. I believe that one day spent walking the footpaths on the green cliff tops of Cornwall makes a person a year younger. Two years if it’s a sunny day.
70. I was taught high school English by an aunt of Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary.
71. I maintain that I am homely because my kids took all the good looks. It’s called gene sucking or something.
72. My favorite candy bar is Three Musketeers and Snickers and Baby Ruth, et al.
73. I remember port and starboard because right has more letters than left. I also know what a boom vang is and what it does. Most people don’t.
74. I know how to find the Longships lighthouse on a map.
75. I understand why a sailboat can sail faster into the wind than it can with the wind.
52. I have seen, spoken with and shaken the hands of several prophets of God.
53. My missionary companion and I once walked nine miles from Bury, Lancashire to see a movie in Manchester, then took the train back home. We couldn’t afford to ride both ways. I don’t recall the movie.
54. I took a handball class at BYU and loved it.
55. I used to play a four string tenor guitar and sing folk songs with my cousins. We occasionally sang to entertain customers at a local café and were not asked to stop.
56. I was scenery and lighting director for the first few productions of our community theater group. I designed the scenery and ran the lighting for Fiddler on the Roof and South Pacific, among others.
57. I don’t believe in astrology, numerology, phrenology, tarot cards or palm reading. But in 1980 I did have an amazing string of Chinese fortune cookies that seemed to know what was going to happen in my life. Really.
58. I have read most of the Koran. It’s not an easy read but it makes some things easier to understand.
59. I enjoy eating out alone if I have the company of an interesting book.
60. One of my favorite places is the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
61. I was born on Thomas Edison’s birthday and one day before the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. I see no particular significance in this random happenstance at all.
62. I was once thrown from a Lambretta scooter when the rear tyre blew out at 40 mph.
63. I love dogs, as long as they are far away from me and quiet and I don’t have to think about them at all.
64. I think citizens should have to pass a test on American History and Government to have the right to vote. I volunteer to make up the test. We should also be required to meet a minimum IQ standard.
65. I scored a 174 on an online IQ test. I finished it quickly by guessing a lot.
66. At one time I was invited to run for the office of Mayor of Grantsville. My reply was that I could never live in a community where the majority of citizens were so stupid as to want me for Mayor. A politician I am not.
67. I knew that I wanted to marry Judy Simmonds within three hours of meeting her. I can’t explain why it took so long.
68. Two friends and I sluffed school in the sixth grade. We felt like criminals escaping from prison and spent the afternoon hiding in orchards around town and eating other people's apples. Worried that we might be in trouble, we went home. No one cared.
69. I believe that one day spent walking the footpaths on the green cliff tops of Cornwall makes a person a year younger. Two years if it’s a sunny day.
70. I was taught high school English by an aunt of Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary.
71. I maintain that I am homely because my kids took all the good looks. It’s called gene sucking or something.
72. My favorite candy bar is Three Musketeers and Snickers and Baby Ruth, et al.
73. I remember port and starboard because right has more letters than left. I also know what a boom vang is and what it does. Most people don’t.
74. I know how to find the Longships lighthouse on a map.
75. I understand why a sailboat can sail faster into the wind than it can with the wind.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Twenty-five more things about me.
26. I taught my first church class in Mutual when I was 15. I have been teaching almost continuously since then -- for more than half a century.
27. The best BBQ’d ribs I ever tasted were served up at Jim’s Ribs in Moline, Illinois. Yummy! The next best were babybacks from TGI Fridays in St. Louis, Missouri.
28. The longest month I ever spent was four days in August in Houston, TX. 99 degrees, 99% humidity! Ugh.
29. I believe that the Internet is the greatest human invention in history. Thanks Al Gore.
30. When I was a paperboy I got enough new subscriptions to win a four-day trip to Bear Lake. It was awful because I didn’t know anyone and was too shy to get acquainted.
31. My least favorite subject in school was math. One of my favorites was Physics.
32. I have climbed to the top of 11,031 ft high Deseret Peak six times.
33. In ’97 when I was lunching in Cherbourg, France with Paul Simmonds’ family I was able to speak French to our waitress ("merci beaucoup" only). She was not impressed with that or anything else about us.
34. When I was a logistics manager for the Army I took 64 trips to various places all around the country. My favorite place was not Houston.
35. In 1997 I tripped & nearly fell into the sea from a rocky cliff at Land’s End, Cornwall.
36. My cousin, a friend and I were once shot at by some local thugs with rifles when we were playing in the trees and fields south of town. Luckily, they were poor shots!
37. Once, when I was flying toward Wendover with my Dad, we were forced to land the Piper Cub on the salt flats when the plane’s fuel pump failed.
38. One of my greatest achievements in life has been staying alive .
39. When I was young my favorite games to play with my cousins were, kick the can, run sheepy run, red rover, hide & seek and Simon says.
40. I still recall and can recite a mixed up (syllables transposed) reading about Paul Revere that I gave on a high school traveling assembly when I was 14 years old.
41. I still recall a complicated ‘memory exercise’ Jerry Lewis recited once on TV’s Tonight Show when I was 19.
42. Now I can’t remember my childrens’ birthdays.
43. I love all of Judy’s siblings and their children and want to visit them again very soon.
44. When I visited Walden Pond I was greatly disappointed to discover that that peaceful locale had been invaded by motorboats and water skiers. Thoreau would be shocked.
45. I have never been drunk, nor have I ever drunk anything that could make me so.
46. I would be happy if I could watch the sunrise on the Teton Mountains every day. But seeing the early rays striking Deseret Peak produces pretty much the same effect.
47. I have seen the movie Joe vs. The Volcano more than 30 times. Fun stuff.
48. While a member of the Great Salt Lake Sailing Club, I drew up the design for a self-steering gear that would keep us on course without tending the tiller. It worked well!
49. I portrayed Professor Henry Higgins in our community theater group’s production of My Fair Lady. Fun fun fun!
50. One of my paintings was purchased by Zions Bank in Park City, Utah. It may be hanging there still.
27. The best BBQ’d ribs I ever tasted were served up at Jim’s Ribs in Moline, Illinois. Yummy! The next best were babybacks from TGI Fridays in St. Louis, Missouri.
28. The longest month I ever spent was four days in August in Houston, TX. 99 degrees, 99% humidity! Ugh.
29. I believe that the Internet is the greatest human invention in history. Thanks Al Gore.
30. When I was a paperboy I got enough new subscriptions to win a four-day trip to Bear Lake. It was awful because I didn’t know anyone and was too shy to get acquainted.
31. My least favorite subject in school was math. One of my favorites was Physics.
32. I have climbed to the top of 11,031 ft high Deseret Peak six times.
33. In ’97 when I was lunching in Cherbourg, France with Paul Simmonds’ family I was able to speak French to our waitress ("merci beaucoup" only). She was not impressed with that or anything else about us.
34. When I was a logistics manager for the Army I took 64 trips to various places all around the country. My favorite place was not Houston.
35. In 1997 I tripped & nearly fell into the sea from a rocky cliff at Land’s End, Cornwall.
36. My cousin, a friend and I were once shot at by some local thugs with rifles when we were playing in the trees and fields south of town. Luckily, they were poor shots!
37. Once, when I was flying toward Wendover with my Dad, we were forced to land the Piper Cub on the salt flats when the plane’s fuel pump failed.
38. One of my greatest achievements in life has been staying alive .
39. When I was young my favorite games to play with my cousins were, kick the can, run sheepy run, red rover, hide & seek and Simon says.
40. I still recall and can recite a mixed up (syllables transposed) reading about Paul Revere that I gave on a high school traveling assembly when I was 14 years old.
41. I still recall a complicated ‘memory exercise’ Jerry Lewis recited once on TV’s Tonight Show when I was 19.
42. Now I can’t remember my childrens’ birthdays.
43. I love all of Judy’s siblings and their children and want to visit them again very soon.
44. When I visited Walden Pond I was greatly disappointed to discover that that peaceful locale had been invaded by motorboats and water skiers. Thoreau would be shocked.
45. I have never been drunk, nor have I ever drunk anything that could make me so.
46. I would be happy if I could watch the sunrise on the Teton Mountains every day. But seeing the early rays striking Deseret Peak produces pretty much the same effect.
47. I have seen the movie Joe vs. The Volcano more than 30 times. Fun stuff.
48. While a member of the Great Salt Lake Sailing Club, I drew up the design for a self-steering gear that would keep us on course without tending the tiller. It worked well!
49. I portrayed Professor Henry Higgins in our community theater group’s production of My Fair Lady. Fun fun fun!
50. One of my paintings was purchased by Zions Bank in Park City, Utah. It may be hanging there still.
Twenty-five things about me.
1. I walk with a limp. My knee is not entirely healed from when I fell & snapped my quadriceps tendon .
2. I want to see Land’s End, the Lake District and Robin Hood’s Bay again before I die.
3. I when I was about 11 years old I got acne, braces (orthodontics) and glasses all at the same time.
4. I once nearly sat on a large live sleeping diamondback rattlesnake. I am deathly afraid of snakes.
5. I much prefer Dr. Pepper to Coke and Pepsi. I drink a lot of it.
6. At the age of 12 I was bitten by a dog while delivering newspapers. The tetanus shot nearly killed me. I'm allergic.
7. I believe that being radically liberal politically is a form of insanity.
8. I have money my wife doesn’t know about.
9. When I was young my brothers and I built a tree hut that was 60 feet, six inches off the ground. We measured it.
10. I wish I owned a cherry red Porsche Carrera Cabriolet. I would sell it and spend the money on trips to England.
11. I love flying. I would like to fly around the world. (First class, please.)
12. The worst thing I have ever eaten is chocolate covered grasshoppers. Yes, more than one. Why? Adventure.
13. I love real English fish and chips with mushy peas. Cod is best.
14. I loved the smell of my first boss’s pipe tobacco smoke. It smelled like slightly burned fudge
15. I wonder what the government will do when they have ALL the money. Taxes are gonna go up folks!
16. I once shot a jack rabbit between the eyes from a distance of 30 yards, quick-draw, from the hip, with my Ruger single-six, frontier model, .22 cal. revolver. I was proud then, now, not so much. I don’t shoot anymore.
17. Oswald acted alone. The conspiracy theory is silly, for reasons that should be clear to any thinking person. (Jack Ruby acted alone too.)
18. I will start jogging when joggers start smiling.
19. The worst pain I have ever felt was when my physical therapist bent my knee 90 degrees for the first time after it had been straight in a splint for six weeks following surgery.
20. Gradual global warming is real but is part of a natural cycle. The idea that it is human-caused is an alarmist conspiracy invented to bilk money out of the gullible.
21. I can’t stand broccoli.
22. I love roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Doesn’t everyone?
23. Bowling is the greatest game ever invented. Anyone can play; no training is needed; it can be played any time of year, regardless of the weather; and there is no need for referees, umpires or scorekeepers. My average score is 180. I haven’t bowled in nearly 50 years.
24. My wife is the most selfless person I know.
25. My greatest treasure is my family.
2. I want to see Land’s End, the Lake District and Robin Hood’s Bay again before I die.
3. I when I was about 11 years old I got acne, braces (orthodontics) and glasses all at the same time.
4. I once nearly sat on a large live sleeping diamondback rattlesnake. I am deathly afraid of snakes.
5. I much prefer Dr. Pepper to Coke and Pepsi. I drink a lot of it.
6. At the age of 12 I was bitten by a dog while delivering newspapers. The tetanus shot nearly killed me. I'm allergic.
7. I believe that being radically liberal politically is a form of insanity.
8. I have money my wife doesn’t know about.
9. When I was young my brothers and I built a tree hut that was 60 feet, six inches off the ground. We measured it.
10. I wish I owned a cherry red Porsche Carrera Cabriolet. I would sell it and spend the money on trips to England.
11. I love flying. I would like to fly around the world. (First class, please.)
12. The worst thing I have ever eaten is chocolate covered grasshoppers. Yes, more than one. Why? Adventure.
13. I love real English fish and chips with mushy peas. Cod is best.
14. I loved the smell of my first boss’s pipe tobacco smoke. It smelled like slightly burned fudge
15. I wonder what the government will do when they have ALL the money. Taxes are gonna go up folks!
16. I once shot a jack rabbit between the eyes from a distance of 30 yards, quick-draw, from the hip, with my Ruger single-six, frontier model, .22 cal. revolver. I was proud then, now, not so much. I don’t shoot anymore.
17. Oswald acted alone. The conspiracy theory is silly, for reasons that should be clear to any thinking person. (Jack Ruby acted alone too.)
18. I will start jogging when joggers start smiling.
19. The worst pain I have ever felt was when my physical therapist bent my knee 90 degrees for the first time after it had been straight in a splint for six weeks following surgery.
20. Gradual global warming is real but is part of a natural cycle. The idea that it is human-caused is an alarmist conspiracy invented to bilk money out of the gullible.
21. I can’t stand broccoli.
22. I love roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Doesn’t everyone?
23. Bowling is the greatest game ever invented. Anyone can play; no training is needed; it can be played any time of year, regardless of the weather; and there is no need for referees, umpires or scorekeepers. My average score is 180. I haven’t bowled in nearly 50 years.
24. My wife is the most selfless person I know.
25. My greatest treasure is my family.
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