NOT QUITE 25 OTHER THINGS ABOUT ME...

Are you on Facebook? I am. And one of the things that’s been going around over there for the last couple of weeks now is a chain letter called “25 Things About Me” in which you jot down 25 little known facts about yourself for people to read to get to know you better.

Now when my buddy Earl Newton tagged me with his note, I spent several days agonizing what I’d write and what I’d reveal. I put it down carefully, re-writing some things and rearranging the order until it satisfied my sense of honesty as well as my sense of the dramatic. I posted the thing the other day (feel free to check it out on my Facebook page if you’re able) and immediately began to get notes and comments from friends and acquaintances. Most of them were quite nice and well-intentioned, but I was alarmed at how many folks thought my list was a thinly veiled cry for help. Like I’d ever “thinly veil” anything! What really knocked me off my pins, however, was when my friend Dave Chancellor banged his own list out two hours later (two hours!)…and I liked his list better than mine! Not that I like Dave’s life better than mine, but mainly because Dave’s list was funny and touching whereas I did what I usually do when presented with a opportunity for self-examination, I jumped into the deep end of the navel-gazing pool and got as introspective as was humanly possible.

I guess that’s just me (number 26!). I find it extremely easy to cannibalize my own soul and present it for entertainment purposes, usually with fries and a drink. We’re not going to examine the rationale for that behavior (I’ve gazed at my navel long enough, thanks). Instead, using the Dave Chancellor model, I’ve rewritten my list and since I can’t replace the list I’ve already put out into the world, let’s call this one: Not Quite 25 Other Things About Me. Read on, if you dare:

1. I collected comic books from the time I was 5 until I was thirty and still own over 600 of them.

2. I took piano lessons for two years and the only thing I can play is “Lean On Me”.

3. My first role on-stage was The King of the Calendar in second grade.

4. My imaginary friend is Benjamin Franklin. For years when I had a particularly difficult problem, I would work it out by talking to “Ben”.

5. The original version of the movie “The Omen” scared the living beejeezus out of me.

6. I enjoy reading about American Revolution and Civil War history.

7. My favorite literary character is Robin Hood.

8. I would rather be Batman than Superman.

9. In thirty-five years of being on-stage and almost 100 plays, I have only had two on-stage kisses.

10. I cry at Hallmark commercials.

11. My personal heroes are my dad, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Pretty much in that order.

12. I would vote for Bill Clinton again (watch-THIS is the one I’ll get comments on!)

13. I would rather be Han Solo than James T. Kirk.

14. The only regret I have in life is marrying my third wife.

15. I was once the Vice President of my high school’s Young Republican chapter.

16. I have never smoked a cigarette of ANY KIND in my life.

17. My dad gave me my first beer.

18. Reading “The Lord of the Rings” for the first time when I was fourteen changed my life.

19. I was a Grand National Champion Public Speaker for DECA when I was 17.

20. I saw Elvis in concert the year before he died.

21. I would rather be with Maryann than Ginger, Betty than Veronica and Janet rather than Chrissy (and if you don’t know who those people are, you aren’t old enough to be reading my blog anyway!)

Well, if nothing else I think this list is more fun than the first one. Both lists are true and are 100% affected by the mood I was in when I wrote them. Which I guess illustrates not only how little we know one another and how much less we know ourselves. That’s good to know, but if Dave writes another list and it’s better than mine, I’m liable to get all maudlin and introspective again and you know how painful that can be.