20 Things About Me, Interesting or Not
May 02, 2006 12:18 PM EDT
(Updated: May 02, 2006 12:23 PM EDT)
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comments: 72
- My great-grandfather had six wives. At the same time. And 44 children.
- My other great-grandfathers only had 2 wives. At the same time. Yes, that means my ancestors were Mormon, when Mormons were polygamous.
- When I was six, my beagle, Spot, was ran over by a car. I had let him out in the front yard, against my parent's orders. I've never forgiven myself.
- I've lived in two countries, USA and Canada, but have traveled to 16 countries, 6 Canadian provinces and 43 states, including Alaska and the territory of Puerto Rico.
- One of my ancestors was a Mayflower descendant. Mandana Hillman, of the Mayflower Hillmans, of Oneonta, NY went west with William Dalley to Utah. They bore my mother's grandmother.
- My great-great grandfather walked from Missouri to Salt Lake City, as part of the Oregon (Mormon) trail, in 1849. It was with the Martin Handcart Company, which used handcarts instead of covered wagons to cross-country. A lot of people perished on that trip from starvation or frostbite.
- That great-great grandfather became mayor of Cedar City, Utah.
- I graduated high school at 11<sup>th</sup> grade.
- I never took the SATs. Or the PSATs.
- I was reading at age four.
- I can only do arithmetic and geometry. Algebra terrifies me.
- I play classical piano and I paint. But rarely, as I prefer to let out my creativity in writing.
- I was very straight, growing up in Utah. When we hit Montreal, I became like my peers. I went to the bars underage (they didn't check IDs) and did a very small amount of drugs as a teenager. Like my peers, then.
- My father and stepmother were neuropharmacologists – they researched the effects of drugs on the central nervous system, the brain. Their advice to me in life, regarding street drugs or prescription drugs or alcohol was this: They giveth and they taketh. I drink coffee to excess but no smoking and little alcohol. I believe in good health.
- I wrote a short story in high school in Salt Lake that was judged 5<sup>th</sup> out of top 10. The story judged 6<sup>th</sup> was published in the high school literary magazine, and mine was not. I asked the teacher of the creative writing class as to what was the reason behind this. His answer: "You're not in the creative writing class. The magazine is only for class members."
- I fell into journalism. When I was 24, I met the editor of the book review of The Montreal Gazette stated it was his opinion that graduate students in English can't write. My answer: "Oh, yeah???" His response: "Write a book review for me." Three months later, I wrote a review of Susan Brownmiller's book, Against Our Will. He received it and said, "Wow. I want you to write book reviews for me." That made up for my not making the high school literary magazine.
- The next year, I landed a job as an intern for the best Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail. I was in the music and drama department. I interviewed (by phone) Shaun Cassidy, reviewed Donny & Marie Osmond, interviewed members of the Toronto Second City cast. That was where I got bit by the same bug that permeates Gather. Here, we call it Gatherholism. In newspapers, it's known as 'byline fever'.
- I am the first-born girl of three girls.
- I am left-handed.
- The last time I saw my father was on my 20<sup>th</sup> birthday. He was going on a vacation (his first in seven years) with my stepmother to the Yucatan. He went hiking in Acapulco and suffered a heart attack. He died in his sleep.
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Comments: 72
Thanks for sharing!
Wow I am really impressed. This is an excellent article.
Take care, Thank you for sharing.
Great post! I love learning about fellow Gahter members!
Wonderful write. Like somone else said, you could remove the "or not" from your title.
I related twice to your item #5. I was told that an ancestor of mine signed the Mayflower Compact (Richard Warren). And, I was born in Oneonta, NY. My maternal grandparents lived there until their deaths and I spent the best years of my childhood in a nearby small town.
Thanks for sharing these. Looking forward to more.
As an aside, I was a lefty, but Mom, in old world tradition, placed everything in my right hand as an infant. Now I'm an ambi. Can I visit the lefty group?
Great list!
I felt like I knew you already from your articles. Now I really do.
Good job!
You sure are interesting!!
I love the self confidence you exude in your life travels.
I think your attitude is such that you are successful in whatever you set out to accomplish.
I lost my Dad to a heart attack as well. I was 29 and in nursing school. I went "home"
for the funeral and back to school in a few days. I never really grieved that HUGE loss
for several years.
Not surprising, but I am a lefty too.
Thank you for sharing yourself!
Miriam