Five Things…

I was tagged to list 5 things about myself that many of you probably don’t know. I started writing this yesterday but it was coming out way to long. I don’t know why I feel a need to explain everything in such detail, but sometimes the less detail the better, and this is one of those times.

So here it goes….

One: I’m a high school dropout. Not one of my greatest achievements, by a long shot. I almost made it through the 9th Grade, but not quite. For some reason I hate to conform and I hate being told what to do. That’s still causing me problems to this day. I was just very disruptive and eventually it was agreed that I not be allowed back on campus. My troubles started very early, and frankly, I’m amazed I made it as far as I did. If any of my teachers are out there, I would like to formally apologize now. I’m very sorry for the trouble I caused. To give you some idea of how bad it was, on the first day of my 7th grade English class my teacher called me out in to the hall and said something to the effect of, “All of the teachers have warned me about you and I want you to know I won’t put up with your antics”. I didn’t last long in her class.

Two: I had a whirlwind, 3 week romance with a Russian woman in St. Petersburg, RU. This was not one of those internet Russian bride things, either. In fact, this happened in the mid 80s when the internet was still only the domain of Universities and the military. The Wall had not yet fallen, Ronald Reagan was still rattling is saber, and it was in the early days of Perestroika. I wanted to achieve world peace one Soviet at a time and it began and ended with a beautiful 24 year old Russian woman named Elena. I was about the same age at the time. For 3 weeks we drank gallons of cognac and made love like bunnies in one of the most beautiful cites in the world.

Three: I’m a devout atheist. This was a slow, evolutionary change for me. I am a huge skeptic and I question just about everything. Something about the belief in a God didn’t sit well with me early on, but I could never really articulate it. At one time I felt guilty about not believing in God and I kept it to myself, but not anymore. The belief in God is a question of faith and I need more to go on. To me, all belief systems that are based on some spiritual higher power are like an upside down pyramid. You can pile all the evidence you want on top that a God or Gods exist, but at the end of the day, it all rests on the one tiny notion that can’t really be proven. Besides, if a God does exist, a doubt this entity that created the Universe is so petty that it cares one way or another that I believe in it.

Four: I’m the most impatient person in the world. Sometimes I wish I would hurry up and die just so I could find out if I’m right about the whole atheist thing. Of course, the Catch-22 is, if I am right I’ll never know it, because there will be no afterlife.

Five: My big fantasy is to write a book and be interviewed by Charlie Rose about the book. Writing the book would be great, but the interview by Charlie Rose would be the real achievement. In this fantasy, he finds me so fascinating that it is a rare hour long interview that gets aired. Oh, and I’ll need a very patient editor.


So now I’m supposed to tag 5 people. I’m not really sure, so I’ll just pick Chicago 2-Flat, A House Made, Stucco House, Here is the house....where it all happens, 1951 Ranch Redo.