All About Me - 34 Things

While on facebook, about a year ago, I had read something on someone's page entitled "25 Things."  Someone had asked them to write 25 random sort of things about themselves and then that person, in turn, would ask other people to do the same and so on.  Well, I was asked to do that too and I have been remiss.  I had doubted that I could come up with 15 things (perhaps 10 I could do) let alone 25.  And besides, who would really want to read something about me?  How could I write something about me?  Why would anyone find anything interesting about me?  How does one write about ones' self without coming across as, well, oh I don't know, narcissistic? 

 
But then I thought about it; dismissed and then thought some more.  This assignment was to write about me.  "You have permission," I thought, "to write about yourself, with no apologies or explanations.  You should take it and run with it!"     

And so, I have.  I embraced my assignment and the more things I wrote about me, the more I came up with.  I've written a total of 34 things!  I thought about things that I hadn't thought about in years. I wrote about things that I had never said to anyone before.  I have numbered them and put the main sentence in bold.  If you, the reader, only want a short list please feel free to not read any further beyond a bolded sentence!  After all, the assignment was just to list things out, not to expand upon them the way I have. But you know me -- by now -- I can't leave well enough alone and I tend to be quite wordy, although I try to chose my words wisely.

My post here strays from my usual outdoor nature theme.  But, it is my blog after all and today, it's all about me.  I hope you can suffer through it! 

 
 

1.  My favorite color is green.

2.  I love daisies.  

They are so simple and happy and sweet and they make me smile.  They also represent peace and love!  On our wedding day, Mike bought me 12 dozen daisies (yes, that’s 144 daisies).  We had bunches of daisies throughout our small apartment.  (I know, right?!) I was in daisy heaven and the scent was intoxicating.  It was truly magical!

 

3.  I used to roller skate when I was young for fun and in competition. Speed skating and pairs routine and dance.   

When I was in 4th grade, the summer after actually, my sibs and I were in a competition.  We made it through  “states” which was held locally.  Then on to “regional's” which was in Buffalo, NY.  Then on to “Nationals” held in Lincoln, Nebraska.  My Mom made our pretty skating outfits.  We traveled to all these places in a school bus that my Dad converted into a camper.  Lucky for us that my Dad was a school teacher so we got to do all sorts of fun stuff in the summers.  As if living on a lake and having woods and rock cliffs behind us wasn’t  fantastic enough on its own -- which it was!!

4.  When I was a child I was afraid of the dark and I would sleep under the covers but it got really stuffy.  I bet I could have suffocated.

5.  I was tear-gassed once in Florida.

Once is enough.  I don’t recommend it.  It was New Years Eve in 1973 (or was it 1974? So I was 16 I guess.) I was with my family down in Ft Lauderdale.  Crowds were gathering as dusk drew near and it was a festive atmosphere with children there and women in evening gowns.  Police were stationed on every corner will billy clubs.  They asked a crowd of people to leave and when they didn’t, the police started clubbing people.  Someone right in front of me got hit on the head (for no apparent reason) with a billy club.  The cops then started herding everyone down a main street and they then shot tear gas canisters at the crowd.  I grabbed my sister and we ran.  It was hard to breath and my sister couldn’t see because she had contacts that got messed up.  The cops started this and I saw many cases of police brutality that night.

 

6.  In the spring of 1972, I slept in Carlton Fisk’s home, in his bedroom, in his bed!

We were on an exchange trip with the high school band in New Hampshire.  Carlton Fisk’s sister, Janet, was in the chorus so we were assigned to her home.  Mrs. Fisk explained to me who her son was (I didn’t know), who at that point was with the Red Sox.  She was very nice and made us a bag lunch for the trip home!

7.  I have shaken (shook?) the hand (hands?) of Governor Ella Grasso and Governor Jodi Rell, AND:

I met Governor Lowell Weicker once while he was a senator.  He is very tall.  I was in attendance at Girls State when former Governor Thomas Meskill was the keynote speaker.  He is very short and uninspiring.  Governor Grasso came to Girls’ State another year (oh, I went to Girls’ State in 1974 as a “delegate” in my junior year of high school and went back for 4 years as a counselor).  When Ella Grasso entered the room , you felt her presence.   She was a good Governor and a great lady!  For those of you who don’t know, she died in office.  You should Google her!  Jodi Rell became, reluctantly I feel, our Governor when John Roland went to jail.  I feel she truly rose to the occasion and I voted for her when she ran for re-election, although I am a democrat and she, a republican.  I thanked her, when I met her, for bringing integrity back to the “office” and I told her that I hoped she would run and that I would vote for her.  She did and I did and the rest is history!

8.  I ran into Meg Ryan once (literally) while we were walking down Central Park South, AND:

I had a conversation nearly 5 years ago with Jill Clayburgh, just shortly before her passing.  We were both “Wheaton Moms” and it was graduation day.  Out of all her accomplishments and accolades, etc., I could tell that this day was one her of best and most joyous and topped anything else.  She was beaming as she talked about her son, Michael.  She wore no makeup as far as I could tell and was absolutely radiant, although she must have been ill at the time, which the public wasn’t aware of.  

9.  I used to water ski when I was young

Growing up on the lake and all, it was almost a requirement and it terrified me - looking down at the water rushing beneath my skis.  I could slalom (1 ski only.  I’d start with 2 and drop one) and jump the wake back and forth.

10.  I like to kayak but I am afraid of the water.  

I still go.  I know my fears are all  in my head.  No, there are no monsters living in the water.  But you should have seen the mother of all snapping turtles that I encountered once.  I no longer dangle my fingers in the water while “coasting” along in the kayak!

 

11. I am irrationally afraid of spiders.

I’m cool with snakes, mice, frogs, salamanders and the like.

12.  I miss my “boys” immeasurably......

….....and every now and then, after 2:00 PM if I am home, for a fleeting moment, I expect to see them come walking down the driveway from off the school bus; and then I remember (what year it is and how old they are!) My biggest hope for them is that they’ll always know how much they are loved.  And that they know they can always count on me and they know that I am their biggest fan!  A mother’s love knows no bounds even if her babies are full grown and off on their own!  I love them SO much, I ache!

13.  When I was a child, my family traveled a lot and went camping in the summer in the converted school bus/camper.

In the fall we’d go up north for the weekend to New Hampshire or Vermont.  I loved those times and places.  I’ve been to 24 states and Canada.  When my own boys were small we had an RV and would do a little traveling and camping. We took practically the same route (as I did in 7th grade) down to FL one spring all the way to Key West.

 14.  When I was a kid, between us Dibble girls and the Pelletier neighbors, there were 10 of us.  

Sometimes, while playing in the Pelletier's front yard someone would yell, “pig pile” and we’d flop to the ground and pile onto one another.  This was scary and I think I could have been crushed!   We probably could have used a bit more supervision!

 15.  We (the 10 of us) used to play on this old waterlogged wooden rowboat in the water.  

We’d get under it and sometimes we’d roll it over and over.  Again, more supervision would have been a good thing! I shudder to think of all the bad things that could have happened to me while at play when I was a child and as a result, I never let my own boys do anything fun when they were small.

16.  Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens really ARE a few of my favorite things!

17.  For many years I worked for a few various stock brokerage firms as a sales assistant.  

In an effort to better assist the 2 brokers that I worked for as well as earn a share (albeit very small share) of the commissions, I became licensed as a stockbroker.  (The license is called a "series 7")  This involved many months of studying volumes (literally) of information after which I would sit for a 6 hour exam.   (There is a point to my story -- wait for it).  The firm hired interns (men) to train and sit for the exam too, but this was different from what I was doing.  They were paid to study at the office for 8 hours a day and received all sorts of help and input  and, well, training!  I worked 8 hours a day and then studied at night on my own.  (Have you seen the movie “Working Girl?”)   This was years before my sweet babies were born.  I couldn’t have done it otherwise, and wouldn’t have wanted to and that would have been fine.  So, the exam was held in Boston. (Long before the internet and on-line classes, exams, etc.)  When the time came, and here is the point of my story, my dear hubby didn’t want me to worry about having to drive up there and find the place and find parking, etc., so he drove me there and dropped me off.  He then drove the 90 minutes back home.  He then drove back up there to pick me up!  Wow!  That is the point of my story, really.  6 hours of driving for him because he didn’t want there to be any additional stress on me.  But here's the kicker, when driving back to pick me up, poor Mike went west on the Mass Pike instead of east and had to drive 30 minutes before he could get off and turn around!  So, that’s an additional hour of driving!  He was very supportive!  I aced the exam, of course.  The interns at the office had to take it twice!

 18.  I have flown in a helicopter on a few different occasions.  

I took business trips twice down to Manhattan. I didn’t care for the ride.  I don’t really like to fly but my fears will not stop me from flying somewhere if I need to.  I’d just rather not do it on purpose.   

19.  I used to have dreams about escaping from someone, presumably a kidnapper, and running in the middle of the night.  

I was afraid (in my dream) that I wouldn’t get away because I wouldn’t be able to run far enough, as I would become out of breath.  During my waking hours I took up running and was a bit obsessed with it.  I stopped having the dream after a short while.  I also, at that same time, was obsessed with being able to run for help if I was out in the woods with my boys and there was an accident or something.  Maybe they’d break their leg or get a bad cut and I’d have to carry them and/or run for help.  I wanted to be able to do everything I could to save them and protect them.  I needed to be in tip top shape and prepared for them; and I was!  Running up and down in the stairwells for 45 minutes during lunch at my office building in Hartford was part of my daily regimen.

 20.  Some day I’d like to visit all the National Parks.

I’d also like to thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine!  2175 miles.  I love the woods.  There is a peacefulness and a calm that comes over me when I am hiking, locally, in the woods.  And I love the solitude too.  I have a bit of a "wanderlust" for sure.  I just haven't wandered anywhere - yet!

21.  I have seen the tidal bore come in, in the Bay of Fundy.

I recommend witnessing this awesome natural event!  

22.  We had all sorts of pets when I was a child, including a small alligator named Jack.

Some unusual pets that my boys had when they were small included a ball python and a tarantula.  I love dogs and I love cats.  I adore baby animals of any sort!  (and baby humans too!)

23.  First grade Mrs. Jansen’s class when JFK was shot.  

We were sent home.  5th grade Mr. Winkle’s class when RFK was shot.  In Florida at my Grandmother’s when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  At work in Hartford when the Challenger exploded.  In home office watching live TV when The Towers were hit.

24.  My nickname from childhood is Shaz which is short for Shazam.

My sibs, mother, an Uncle and a few close friends still address me this way, which I like.

25.  6th grade was my hardest grade of all.  

I liked it and I liked school and I liked my teachers, but it was a hard one for me.  

 26.  I was a tomboy when I was young.  

Maybe I still am.  I always wanted to have boys, when my thoughts later on were of having children.  However, I adore seeing little girls all dressed up in their birthday party dresses or jumpers with white tights and black patent leather shoes and barrettes in their hair and if I had had girls, I would have dressed them like that and we would have had tea parties.  They still would have been encouraged to put on “play” clothes and to go out and get dirty but they definitely would have had their dresses, tights and shoes!

 27.   I just recently took the NRA basic pistol course.  

                This is the course you need to take to apply for a pistol permit, which I have done.  I am not a gun nut and I don’t go target shooting.  I would never go hunting as I would never want to kill anything, not even the spiders that I am afraid of.  I shoo them out the door with a broom. ( OK, hornets.  I would kill hornets.)  That’s about it.  But I wanted to be able to handle a pistol and know how to use it and not be afraid it.  I wanted it for home protection as in the case of a home invasion.  It would be fine with me if no one owned a gun but I live in the real world.   So, I have fired a 40 semi-automatic Glock,  a 22 semi-automatic target gun and a 380 semi-automatic Ruger.  I now know what to expect if I need to fire a gun.  I own a 9mm Ruger.  It is locked in a safe.  It has the “safety “ on.  I know where the key to the safe is.  It is hidden.  I am prepared in the event of a home invasion.   I hope it never happens but if it does, I am ready to protect myself and my family.   The shot gun that we used to have for such purposes would have had a heck of a kick back and would most likely have sent me flying and even knocked me out if I ever fired it.    

28.  My sister Laurie died in 2008 when she was 53.

                I miss her dearly and think of her every day.  She was my favorite sister.  (sorry all you others, if you're reading this.  But, admit it, I think Laurie was everyone's favorite!)  At age 56 I often think that I'm living on borrowed time.  And, as much as I try to take good care of myself and I keep myself fairly fit, I can't help thinking that that all doesn't matter.  I think that I may die "young" also.  I'd really REALLY rather not!  I can't express this adequately enough!    

29.  I have gone up in the air in a hot air balloon.

                OK, so it was tethered at the time and I only went up 20 feet but still!   The bigger thrill, really, was seeing it through the trees as it began to descend in preparation of landing.  I hopped in my car, grabbed my camera and followed it to where it landed.  I helped to disassemble it in return for the "ride."

30.  I have ridden in a rumble seat! 

                When we were kids our Dad took off the trunk cover of the car and bolted down a bench seat from our school bus inside the trunk.  So there we were, taking turns riding out in the open in the rumble seat in the trunk.  And, with no seat belts!!  I learned something about this that, all these some 50 years later, I still remember clearly:  You can't really eat an ice cream cone while going 40 mph out in the open!  It just doesn't work.  It's pretty messy.  I don't recommend it.  The other thing I learned was that I would never let my own kids do, even a fraction, of all the cool things I did when I was growing up.  What a great childhood I had.  My own kids?  Well I think they were just pretty board most of the time.  I mean: no rumble seat, no water skiing or playing in a water logged row boat, no pig piling, no bow and arrows, no, no no!  Just no!  Well, there is a whole other blog to write there some other time!   

31.  I've always wished I could sing!

            No, not professionally and certainly not in front of anyone or for anyone.  But, merely for my own satisfaction and enjoyment when I am alone, (that is to say, by myself).  I'd love to just be able to sing.  And so I think about what sort of voice would I want?  Who's voice would I want to have come out of my mouth if I opened it to sing?  And there are so many that I like but I keep on going back to either Karen Carpenter or Linda Ronstadt.  I'll just leave it at that!

32.  I feel comfortable by myself. 

            That is to say that I enjoy my own company.  I genuinely like people and I am somewhat outgoing but I also like being alone or by myself.  I don't feel "alone" when I'm by myself and like the quiet time.  But what I also mean to say is that I would have no problem, say, going to a movie by myself or something along those lines.  I never have done that though.  I do hike by myself in the woods and I love it!  I suppose these are 2 different sort of things but, there you have it!

33.  3 of the best days of my life ever, and there’ll be no topping them, were on: March 5, 1979,  May 3rd 1986 and March 17, 1990.   

34.  Sometimes I’m afraid of “missing the boat.”  

            There is so much I'd like to do.  (Bungee jumping, by the way, is not one of them, nor is parachuting.)  I often think of my own mortality and I’m scared.  But if nothing else, I’ll always have #33, and that is enough for me. That is way more than enough.  Please don't get me started on writing about my boys!!