Tagged...

a few days ago for "Five Weird Things About Me". I've been mulling trying to come up with some I haven't listed before...

1. I've set myself on fire once! Burning paint off a motorcycle frame I couldn't afford to sandblast. It was lying on a patio, I covered it and lit it, then when the flames went out, I used a 1/2 gallon pitcher to pour more on it. Apparently, it was still hot enough to provide instant ignition, and the fire came right back up to the pitcher, and up across my face as I tossed it. I lost part of my goatee and moustache, most of my eyebrows and my hair was singed. After driving to get my wife we went to the base dispensary (I was her dependent in those days) and they ran cold saline solution over my face for a long time, then checked my eyes to make sure they were OK. The cold drew out the heat, the saline drew the moisture to keep it from blistering, and I never blistered or peeled!

A few years later I read in another magazine that the best thing you could do for a sunburn was to make saltwater with as much salt as you could dissolve in it, then chill it with ice cubes, and dip washrags or towels in it to apply it to the burn. Change them when they don't feel cold anymore...

2. I have an ugly scar on the inside of my left elbow. We moved when I was in the 5th grade and the new house was on a septic tank. Dad gave away Mom's automatic washing machine and bought a wringer one so less water went through the septic. The first thing Mom said was to never walk my fingers on the wringer. I didn't understand what she meant, and got her to explain it. Everytime I went to the basement she would utter those cautionary words; after about 6 months I tried it.

I had on a long sleeve nylon shirt and my arm got sucked in up to the elbow, then it couldn't go any further, so it just sat there and spun while I screamed. I wasn't strong enough to pop the safety release, or smart enough to pull the plug. It peeled the hide off the inside of my arm from about the time it was halfway to the elbow, then as it sat and spun it got down into the meat a bit. Mom finally came downstairs, unplugged it, then used a hammer to open the release bar.

Of course, all the way to the doctor's, she said "I told you not to do that!"

3. I listen to a lot of jazz, big band, swing and classical. I grew up listening to swing era stuff, and found earlier and later jazz on my own. I played classical through school, only to get myself into the stage bands, but these last few years have come to love it as well. I never really listened to rock until I was in the service! Working where I do with so many radios on throughout the assembly plant, either on classic rock or country or rap stations, you can only listen to those 50 songs that are in rotation so many times before you burn out...consequently (and for commercial free listening) I gravitate to the left end of the dial...I'm happy with New Age, Celtic, trance, techno, world, reggae, Asian...there are times my wife will get in the car and it's Tejano or Persian music; then she'll ask if I can at least play something in English...

4. I don't have a savings account, and no prospect for one...

5. I have no stock, PSP, 401K or any of that...only my GM retirement, which seems to be more endangered everyday!

Sorry if those last two are "wimping out" but it's Saturday night now, I've been mulling these for days; Dottie stayed home sick today so I didn't get here until midnight, and I'm heading for the shower and to bed! I did laundry, replaced the alternator on my Chrysler and shopped today, fixed dinner, and spent a few hours watching "Ghost Whisperer" with her, along with trying to transfer our phone books to two new cellphones and figuring out how to load MP3's onto mine (Gayanne, the ballet score, Gerry Mulligan and Astrud Gilberto were first, see 3 above...)

I don't have the heart to tag anyone else...hope I'm forgiven!

Hope you're all having wonderful weekends!

alan