Sunday, August 06, 2006

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

15 comments:

MB said...

Gerry Mulligan's Prelude in E Minor is something else! ;-)

Heidi said...

I'm not a Tag person myself..but wow reading about your fire mishap is scary! Glad you weren't seriously injured.

Hope Dottie feels better.

JLee said...

Hi Alan! those are interesting little factoids about you. I don't want to laugh because you were hurt, but the fact that you did exactly what your mom said not to is kind of amusing. You REBEL!!

robin andrea said...

Very interesting list of weird things. That fire sounds very scary, as does that wringer on the washer. Yikes. Big concern on that GM pension plan. What's the possibility that you could get them to transfer the value of it to a 401k before they crash it? How much control do you have over it yourself? Can you withdraw it?

alan said...

Robin Andrea- The union may negotiate something like that in the next contract, or something that says that if you have 25 or more you get to keep the old plan, and if you have less it turns into a 401K. That's the specualtion for now.

A while back they stated that they were doing away with conventional retirement entirely, but that turned out to be for the salaried employees only. (I can't imagine!)

JLee- The part that bothers me is I'd have never thought of doing it if she hadn't said it! :o)

Heidi- She's better today and back to work, thank you!

MB- I don't think Mulligan recorded much that wasn't! I got to hear him live once, about a year before he died. It was fantastic!

alan

dragonflyfilly said...

hey alan, one should always take time out for a Cat Nap, actually we were originally catnappers, in the days of hunting and gathering, because we could not always be guaranteed a good night's rest, y'know!

3, 4, 5, ditto ditto ditto and ref. the wringer, i remember those, i used to be so scared when i had to help out with the laundry sometimes -- i always imagined that i was going to get my fingers caught in there then my hand would be next then my whole arm - i made myself into a nervous wreck!!! Now i know there was good reason for my fears, hah hah, but sorry to hear you were a real causualty.

cheers on this lovely Sunny Sunday,
pj

dragonflyfilly said...

ahhhhh, that is not so....you KNOW you are SOMEONE'S SuperMan, yes you do!

XOX,
Persephonie!

Patricia said...

dang those first two are scary! i remember the old wringers and i wanted to play, too. my grandma always used to tell me that if i was going to "play" with them, i could do the entire laundry baskets full of clothes. from washing, to hanging on the line, ironing, folding, and putting away.

that kinda stopped my desire to play.

alan said...

Ceri-I thought it was the act of printing it that was the difference, but when I looked it up (dictionary.com on my right click) it has two meanings; the first is something that has been repeated so often it's taken for fact; the other meaning was a brief, somewhat interesting fact.

Nice to see you again!

Patricia-though I do a lot of laundry now, I rather avoided that laundry room until that machine left!

PJ- Thank you for such kind words!

Off to the gym!

alan

Mystical Me said...

Very interesting sweetheart, I love learning more things about you. You are truly unique & a very special man indeed.
I m glad you didnt get hurt any worse then you did when you were younger. Sounds really scarey!!
Take care sweetheart!! Love always, MM XOXO

Dr. Deb said...

The fire must've been a scary experience...

As far as tags go, these nuggets of information are very different!

Barbara said...

Hello there Alan. I got tagged too but I don't know 5 other bloggers who haven't already been tagged. :-(

Taradharma said...

alan, i'm back from my retreat; thank you for being a good sport and listing these things -- i had a feeling you'd forgive me! And I forgive you for not tagging others....it was a bit out of my comfort zone as well, but hell, sometimes I just go for it!

dragonflyfilly said...

hi alan; uh oh! mulberries...i did not realize that they make people ill. oh, but you know what you reminded me of that i now crave? -- goseberries! yum!

alan said...

Barbara- you can tag me anytime you like, I'll try to come up with something!

TD- I had done this one a couple of times, and didn't want to list the same things again. The people who I know haven't been tagged for this one are offline at this point, or I wouldn't have minded at all! :o) I'm dreaming a new one up (I think)!

PJ- I'm not sure if they do or they realized how mahy I must have eaten, lol!

alan