Once upon a time, I agreed to do a meme. It was a tag from Laura down at VitaminSea. It was a short one...27th post or something. I could see the possibility of more of these coming, and I made some kind of statement about "...not doing any more of these."
Then ThingFish tagged me with the 10,5,1 year meme. It was easier to say "No Thanks" to a guy and so I did. Thing was very gracious about it...but he did not forget.
So now Wayne at Niches has tagged me with the 7 meme. I don't want to look like a party pooper, plus I am off and the brain is a little freer...so I am going to tackle both of them.
First, Thingfish's meme:
10 years ago: I was teaching as I am now. I was very busy doing the elementary parent thing as I had an 8, 6, and 4 year old to keep up with. Daycare was still a drain on the $. My best dog Ranger was still chasing tennis balls here on earth and Flounder and Feather were suckling pups.
5 years ago: Teaching still. Now I'm trying to keep up with a 12, 10, and 8 year old. Ranger leaves us that spring, Flounder and Feather are insane bundles of energy. I think I stained the cedar siding that year.
1 year ago: Teaching, but now I get to ride to work in a red JEEP. It only took me a lifetime to finally get one...I had wanted one since watching RAT PATROL. Keeping up with a 17, 15, and 12 year old has gotten more challenging and I am trying to adjust to the eldest's new freedom and responsibilities. Cell phones are a godsend when your baby drives out the driveway into a world you know is one dangerous place. I got 4th place in a Glock competition down in Orlando...prizes stopped at 3rd. Oh well.
See why I at first declined...I don't think that's all that fascinating.
Wayne's 7 meme tag:
7 things to do before I die:
1. Finish the remodeling.
2. Own a lot more Labs.
3. Write that novel...just like the rest of you.
4. Figure out a way to keep my kids nearby.
5. Build a tiny writer's cabin somewhere on my woods.
6. Plant more trees.
7. Swing a hammer for Habitat For Humanity.
7 things I can not do:
1. Forgive Bill Clinton.
2. Forgive George Bush.
3. Tolerate negative whining.
4. Nap.
5. Let myself go soft and weak.
6. Anything musical.
7. Watch Ol'Yeller without...you know.
7 things that attracted me to blogging:
1. Rekindle my writing...I used to freelance for wildlife mags.
2. Feedback.
3. Read other people's private thoughts...used to be, you had to sneak a peak in their diaries to see this kind of stuff. Not that I would ever...
4. "Meet" interesting people.
5. It provides a new reason to hog the one computer in our house.
6. Share some photos that don't exist if no one sees them.
7. Spread the word that the real Florida is not a product of Disney and the tourism board.
7 things I say most often:
1. Turn out those lights! If you're not using it, just turn it off!
2. Good boy Flounder.
3. Feather's a good girl.
4. I'll do it.
5. This bathroom's a disaster! KIDS! Get up here and deal with this!
6. I love you.
7. Any instruction given to middle school students must be repeated about 30 times.
7 books I love:
1. Any Dean Koontz...strong female characters and the dog usually survives.
2. Any Richard Preston/Lincoln Child book. Gotta love detective Pendergast.
3. Islands In The Stream by Ernie.
4. A Naturalist In Florida by Archie Carr
5. Any of the Home Depot 123 how to books.
6. A Land Remembered.
7. BlackHawk Down
7 movies I'd watch over and over again:
1. None, over and over means repeatedly to me. If I ever watch a movie twice, there has been a long gap between the last viewing...as in a year or so at least. The holiday movies I mentioned in my Christmas post is about as close as I get to reviewing.
There. I did it. It only took an hour or so and I'm paid up in the meme department.
...and if you think I would ever tag you, you haven't been paying attention.
10 comments:
Love the Old Yeller ...you know...comment. I'm with you there. One of my nieces when she was about 4 responded quite differently, "Shoot him! Shoot him for god's sake!" She is now a fairly normal 23 year old.
aka Slap Me Silly Sally
Oh, you were a freelance writer, that explains your incredibly good and readable writing style.
Nice of you to do the meme. I did the sevens, and now swear that it is the absolute end of it.
So why are they called memes anyway? But entertaining, I admit. (At least to read... don't think I could do a decent job of writing one...)
Ah, Rat Patrol! Those Jeeps were so cool, flying over those sand dunes!
In my humble opinion, one can't begin to understand a movie (or a book especially) until one has been through it at least twice. I've read one novel more than a dozen times (The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth). But that's just me.
Taradharma,
She sounds like a very practical girl. It was the thing to do...darn it. Thanks for stopping by.
RD,
Life got so busy after kids that I just gave it up. It was not making me rich, just a hobby really, but I got a thrill each time I got an acceptance letter.
Thebeloved,
I am so new to blogging that I really don't know. I always assumed it was because you were writing something about yourself (ME ME), but that is just wild conjecture. Thanks for stopping by.
Pablo,
If you like Rat Patrol, check out the real Rat Patrol. They were actually British SAS guys with Landrovers, but still incredibly daring and successful. Point noted about the repeat viewing, I agree you do catch things you missed the first time around.
Two things:
1. Didn't I tell you once before not to mention...you know...
2. Good work with the Glock - I ripped a quarter of my thumbnail off a couple of weeks ago while reloading my magazine. It was that darn 13th round -- if only the magazine just held 12!!
Swampy,
Please excuse my FO PAWS.
Ouch! That recent training must have been LE refresher?
DPR,
You may have hit your allotment of cool toys. You do have an electric bike after all.
I didn't get a chance to read this yesterday when I was by but I did see the Dean Koontz mention (one of my favs because he always has a cool dog in the story...loved, loved, loved his story Watchers, which I recently found in a Used Book Store and will be reading again next month.)
Another thing that I found interesting is that your children are about the same age as mine...My oldest is 20, but my middle is 15 and my youngest 12...and that they consume much of your life...in a good way.
You are an interesting and funny guy and I think you should write that book!
Hick,
"Consume" is the perfect word, but you're right...it's good. I loved the Watchers...big dog role in that one. I just finished Life Expectancy...super story even if not very doggy.
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