Here they are, in no particular order:
1. I sang in a bar when I was 15. It was over a weekend period at Frank's, our "pub and grub" in the metropolis of Mapleton, Oregon. There was a visiting rock band. My parents got permission for me to go into the bar part of the establishment--and listen to the band. Somehow, I got up the guts to acquaint myself with the members. This led to my parents giving permission for me to actually sing with the band. I sang "Me and Bobby McGee" as a male/female duet with the lead vocalist, a long-blonde-haired classic rocker. We also performed one I was less familiar with at my tender age--Stevie Nicks' "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around." I also recall having the band accompany me as I sang "Harper Valley P.T.A." and "Old Time Rock 'n Roll." It was quite an experience. I never had a large audience, but it was--nonetheless--an enthusiastic one.
2. I sang at my wedding. My groom-to-be had no idea--I kept it a secret for weeks. I only practiced it once with my junior high chorus teacher, Rick Barrows, accompanying me on the piano. It was listed in our program as "Special song for the couple," with his name as the soloist. To this day, I think it came off quite well--and others told me as much after the fact. I sang "My Only Love" by the Statler Brothers.
3. In the first grade, I had a bit of a paranoia regarding communal toilet seats. At school, I had to meticulously lay strips of toilet paper over each section of the seat because my mom had struck fear in my heart that I could "catch crabs." Of course, I was picturing the ten-legged, seafaring type. But I certainly didn't want them anywhere near my bottom! I think my first-grade teacher thought either my parents or I had gone a bit bonkers when I told her. It makes me grin now.
4. I always wanted four children. I ended up with three here and one in heaven, so I guess I actually got what I wanted. I just have one I don't know quite yet.
5. As a child, I loved to eat nasturtiums, flowering plants with bright-colored blooms. They're considered part of the cabbage family--some people actually put them in salads. Whenever we went to my Aunt Lorraine's house, I'd eat a few from her front beds. She probably wondered where all her blooms were disappearing to. They're a bit spicy--yet satisfying.
6. My Aunt Elsie and I used to perform self-authored puppet skits for our "announcement time" at the Florence Evangelical Church from the time I was nine to approximately age ten.
7. I was part of my high school newspaper (The Navigator) all four years--I loved it. I primarily wrote feature pieces and put together advertisements, not to mention a fair amount of editing and proofreading, which I enjoy to this day.
8. I learned to use a machete when I was ten years old and proceeded to do so up until just before I got married. My parents worked for many years as "woodsmen," cutting young alder trees by the thousand to send to the aluminum plant in Troutdale, Oregon--they were used to stir the large vats of molten aluminum. I was pretty good at this activity and used to go "pole-cutting" with my folks frequently and never cut myself once.
9. I never went to kindergarten. I've mentioned this fact in previous blog posts. It wasn't compulsory then, and my parents didn't want to send me "in the city" (we lived in Portland, Oregon until I was six). Therefore, my first school experience was first grade--which I entered with great trepidation.
10. I learned how to give birth using the Bradley Method, not Lamaze. One of my best friends, Debbie Gross, was a Bradley instructor and taught Byron and me all she knew. Bradley emphasizes "natural" childbirth--i.e., no unnecessary drugs, no epidurals, etc. and normal, calm, steady breathing. I didn't get to practice it for long the first time, as Kristiana was delivered via a medically necessary C-section. But it served me well the other two times. And I had a great coach in my husband.
I'm sure there are other interesting facts I could conjure up from my memory banks, but these are the ones that leapt readily to mind. Perhaps some of you out there feel privileged to know other interesting things about me--now you can finally add to your repertoire.
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