Roy and Ed at Oktoberfest in Mount Angel, OR
Okay, I’ve been putting this off for way too long. There’s a popular meme floating around the blogosphere called Honest Scrap – or, as my friend Ed in Portland, OR says; “Honest Crap”, where bloggers share ten interesting things about themselves that their readers probably don’t know.
It’s actually kind of fun learning other people’s deep, dark, secrets! I mean, who would have thought that Bethe Almeras at The Grass Stain Guru had a crush on George Michael and Ricky Martin? Or that Jess at Wild Earth Integration has been struck by lightning? I’m not sure I can top being hit by lightning, but I have been in a few “scraps” over the years, so let’s see!
In 1972, I looked exactly like my son does today. And yes, I still know Vallerie – although I haven’t been back to Magic Mountain since that photo was taken.
I’m not much of a surfer, but in 1991 at Cape Hatteras I surfed Hurricane Bob.
My favorite music is…uh…everything. Literally. My MP3 player (which is my Blackberry – I hate carrying multiple gadgets) has everything from Bob Marley to Linkin Park, with Metalica and Loretta Lynn in there, too.
Camping next to a river in Honduras, I woke up one morning and started making some coffee. After a few minutes of feeling something tickling me on the back of my neck, a friend came over and swatted a large scorpion off the back of my head.
My high school was so small that we played 8-man football and there were only 13 of us in our graduating class. Oddly enough, my little hometown has its own Wikipedia page.
Lisa and I aren’t huge fans of California, although I’ve been an Oakland Raiders fan all my life. Oh, and we picked these oranges and tangerines in our backyard, last weekend, in the middle of February! We also have pears, plums, peaches, apples, lemons, figs and persimmons.
I once had a parachute malfunction in Petawawa, Ontario and escaped by the skin of my teeth. A week later, I jumped into northern Quebec and spent three days living out of a snow cave in the Arctic Circle because the parachute on our akio sled failed to open and all of our gear was destroyed.
Can you tell that one of these kids is adopted? Neither can we.
The only time I can remember ever being scared in the woods was when I happened onto some wild boars, in Panama. I’m pretty sure we both took off in opposite directions at a fairly high rate of speed.
I DJ’d for Oregon State University’s radio station and would probably go back into that if I won the lottery.
Received an email with your blog and went to your web site. Black and blue text on a dark brown background is just too hard for my eyes to read. Looked like an interesting site, but I just can’t read it.
Love all the honest tidbits! The parachute incident would have freaked me out! And wow, your son DOES look just like you in that pic.
Mel – it’s a good think old pictures are not very good, or I’d have a hard time telling who was who 🙂
What a fun post! I’ll have to save this idea for when I’m completely verklempt. Which seems to be happening more and more lately. I think we need more SAR missions!
Summer’s coming, Deb 🙂
So glad you gave in and shared. What an exciting life, but do you have to keep rubbing it in about the tangerines? We have fresh snow cone ingredients here. And Oregon State? As a Duck alum I suppose I should be riled about that. But, I’m not.
Hah! Yes, yes I do 🙂 We have 1 Duck in our family, but we just gained a new Beav, too. My niece transferred from Baylor to Oregon State.
Best Post Ever…..
🙂
Wow, Roy! What a great list – I gotta say, I don’t envy you the parachute mishap – the phrase ‘welcome to my nightmare’ rings out in my head on that one! Oh, and it totally made my day that you’re a Metallica fan – we audiophiles need to stick together! Thanks for posting this one, it’s great to learn more about ya!
PS I think it’s hilarious that your mom told you off in the comments – you tell ’em, Diana! 🙂
I know, right? Jeesh, mom!
Wow, man. Some of that stuff is pretty awesome. No one can call you out on not being adventurous.
But I’m older and wiser now, Dan 🙂
What, I didn’t say anything worth mentioning in my Honest Scrap even though I tagged you? Now I’m offended Roy. Too bad I can’t compete with being struck by lightning, or surviving a failed parachute!
I once nearly celebrated New Year in the middle-of-nowhere after following along with friends who misread a map and took us 20 miles from our destination. Fortunately we managed to hitch-hike part of the way back and then walked an unlit road by moonlight and got to the Youth Hostel before midnight.
Oh darn it! I had I think 3 other bullets and one was your COBOL one, but I felt like the paragraph was getting too long (sorry!).
No worries, I forgive. COBOL hardly competes with a lightning strike. I can see though that next time I write something about myself it’s going to have to be a bit more exciting to get some “press” exposure… [starts wracking brain for the most foolish things she’s ever done]
You never bothered to tell your own mother that you had a parachute mishap? Or surfed in a hurricane? Or camped in an ice cave? We need to have a talk!
It could have been worse, Mom – I could have been shot at, or blown up…oh wait…never mind!
Wow, quite the list. The only way it might have been better is if you lived off the wild boar for a week, and used the tusk as a toothpick! We don’t have beaches, but Colorado is tough to beat. We have lots of just about everything else, and while cost of living is high, its not California high! My brother in law just moved out there and just hearing about it hurts.
That sounds pretty tasty, Marc – I remember my dad cooking a pig in the ground, once.
Yours is probably my favorite honest scrap yet. Though I am very upset to hear you don’t care for California!!!!! I know it can be crowded in spots but there are some fantastic outdoor opportunities here!
Wow, thanks Sharlene! I think on Lisa’s part it’s just that all of her family is in Oregon. For me, it’s just the shear cost of living here that grates on my nerves. From a recreational standpoint, it’s certainly tops – the beaches are awesome all year long, whereas in Oregon they’re more seasonal.
Um … there seems to be a slight problem here, Roy. Raiders fan? Broncos, baby, Broncos. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks, Debi! Broncos? Do they have a coach, yet?
Crazy stuff there. I’d avoid the parachute stuff… oh, and thanks for the callout. That Turkey Leg I’m holding still looks good! Yum…
Yeah, you know it was fun but it’s not something I would do for sport (like tackling a whole turkey leg).
I have been sitting on that award myself. You have inspired me to write my post. Thanks for sharing your little known facts!
I can’t wait, Nancy 🙂