24 Things About Me

Logtar has issued a general challenge, so here it is: 24 Interesting Things About Me That You May Know Or May Not Know.

1. I once played the Tin Man in the 6th grade production of "The Wizard of Oz". I believe I still have the wooden axe we made.
2. I hate nuts and can't stand the smell or taste of peanut butter.
3. I was in the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band from 1984-1987 and played at the Superdome in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl where UT beat Miami 35-7. I was the tip of the beak of the eagle we made at halftime.
4. I came in second as "Most Talented" in high school behind a guy who dropped out between semesters. He also had been my best friend in elementary school and lived down the street from me, but got weird in Junior High and went punk.
5. I went to the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville about 49 times. My family had seasons passes, and a friend and I would take a bus from Ftn City to downtown every weekend during the summer and sometimes during the week.
6. I can only open one eye underwater.
7. I used to be an asst. manager at a movie theatre in Sevierville. Every evening while I was counting up the daily receipts, I would fill a big cardboard tub I kept in the office up with popcorn and eat the whole thing.
8. I have no problems flying whatsoever. From takeoff to touchdown I enjoy the trip. It's getting to the airport, checking luggage, finding ticket, going through security, finding the gate on time, changing planes, finding your luggage on the carrels and securing ground transportation that I loathe.
9. I can vibrate my eyes. It's quite unnerving, so I hear.
10. My college roommate and I (not this one, an earlier one) kept all our empty pizza delivery boxes stacked in the kitchen, just because. Once it got to be almost my height we threw them out and discovered the roach colony(s) living inside them.

11. My family visited relatives in Atlanta every summer when I was growing up, and we always went to Six Flags over Georgia. My favorite ride was the Okeefenokee Swamp, and my favorite attraction was the Sid & Marty Krofft Puppet Theatre. The first real rollercoasters I ever rode were there (Dahlonega Mine Train, the Mindbender and the Great American Scream Machine)
12. I can eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting.
13. I have every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation on video tape, beginning from when they first aired back in 1987. I also have almost every episode of Deep Space 9 and Voyager and the first season of Enterprise. I stopped taping them when DVD Season Boxed sets started appearing in stores.
14. I've never bungee jumped, nor do I ever intend to. I've also never hang-glided or parasailed, though I'd love to.
15. I've been in love with two women in my life. Someday I may talk about the first one, though there's not much to tell except she was already engaged. Oh, and I married the second one :) Thank goodness the first one didn't work out.
16. I bawled on my dad's shoulder in the few minutes after my son was born out of relief and joy. It's the first time I'd cried in front of my parents in 20 years.
17. My favorite vacation is a cruise to the Caribbean.
18. I would dearly love to be able to compose, record and perform my own original music, or perform one-man shows in public. This fellow's talent and ingenuity is amazing, and this guy's showmanship is also amazing. Why don't you just go for it, Barry, you ask? Good question.
19. One of my favorite things I do to annoy people is recite movie dialogue that I'm familiar with right along with the movie.
20. My "pointer" toes are longer than the other toes. This is a trait of Scotch-Irish heritage, so check your feet - do your second toes stick out past your big toes? Welcome to the family, lads and lassies! It didn't get passed on to my son, but my daughter's feet are like that.

21. I love the smell of hot buttered popcorn, barbecue cooking and fresh baked bread and bacon sizzling. Hm, all B's. What does that mean there, Barry?
22. I've never broken a bone or had a significant injury.
23. I have high blood pressure, but it's controlled nicely by medication.
24. I've never been drunk. I've been buzzed a couple of times. I've never smoked a cigarette or drank a beer. I hate tequila but like rum. My favorite alcoholic drink is a strawberry dacquiri. My favorite regular drink is sweetened iced tea.