Irish Stu

The title? Stu tagged me for a meme. Stu isn't Irish in the least, so far as I know. He's a fine upstanding Jew from Southern California. I'm Irish, though; at least partially. No prizes for guessing which parts. Does it make any sense at all? No. That's the way it goes sometimes, especially here in the happiest place in the universe - Suldogland!

(This won't get any better, so you may want to bail now.)

Here are the rules of the meme (which I think I've already done two or three times, but what the hell. There's a near-endless supply of weird/random facts about me, so I suppose I'm good for at least one more go at it.)

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog; some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Done, about to be done, will be done, and you're probably here because it was done.

Okee-dokee. Here's the dope.

(That would be me.)

1 - I Never Went To College.

For some reason, most folks seem surprised when they find this out. Perhaps they're just feigning surprise and I'm too dumb to realize it. In any case, no all-night keggers, racoon coats, or pantie raids for me. At least, not any that involved an institution of higher learning.

2 - My Uniform Number, In Softball, Is 29.

Most people could give a damn, but those who think about it at all probably assume I chose that number because it has some sort of special significance. Nope. Some guys choose their number because it's the same number as a ballplayer they admire. If that were true, then my 29 would be a tribute to Henry Finkel. Nope. Perhaps it is an important birthdate of someone I love? Again, no.

What it is, is the age I was when I started the Blake & Rebhan company softball team in 1987. I figured, from that point on, as long as I was wearing a uniform, I'd always be 29. Duh.

And, to be truthful, I've always considered 29 to be a somewhat lucky number for me, which leads to the following weird fact...

3 - MY WIFE And I Had Our Marriage Ceremony Begin At 2:29pm on 2/29/92.

It ended August 16th, 1998, at 10:32am.

Just joking. And if you said that to MY WIFE, she would reply, "Oh, I'm sorry! Can I get you a glass of water?" This is why we're very happily married. She puts up with my crummy jokes, and I put up with hers.

4 - In My Final At-Bat As A Softball Player, I Stroked A Single To Center Field.

My final at-bat thus far. If I were to never put on a softball uniform again, I could keep remembering that single and kid myself into thinking I could do it all the time, so why not put on a uniform again, so I would, and then who knows what disgrace I'd bring upon myself? So, one way or another, I'll probably end up playing again. For this winter, though, I'm living on that single.

5 - I Have Trouble Distinguishing The Color Blue From The Color Purple.

Unless we're talking about the novel.

Seriously, I have a bit of color blindness. Certain shades of blue and purple (usually darker shades) are not immediately recognizable to me as those colors. I sometimes have to compare them to other, lighter shades to notice the difference. More often, I'll ask someone what it is. Even more often than that, I'll fake it. I figure it's a 50-50 proposition, and if I get it wrong, nobody's going to throw me up against a wall and shoot me.

6 - My Buddy Just Called Me From Jail Looking To Raise Bail Money.

I'm not kidding. It's part of some fundraiser for muscular dystrophy. He was escorted out of work, by actual police, and is now sitting in a jail cell. He tried to reach me live, but I was writing this and he had to leave a message. I called him back on his cell and left him a message. As soon as I finish writing this, I'll try again.

I always figured that, if either one of us called the other looking for help getting bailed out, I would have been the one calling him.

7 - I Bailed Him Out.

Got through to him. Donated. He'll be released shortly.

We often talk about music, as he is a former bandmate of mine. As I was talking to him about the bail, for some reason he started going on about some Procol Harum record from 1976. I told him, "Hey! Put the police back on the phone! I revoke your bail!"

Well, he laughed.

And there you have 7 odd bits of stuff. Now I get to terrorize the neighborhood, by naming 7 of YOU to complete this thing. Problem is, I honestly can't remember who among you has already done this, or been tagged by me to do it, and I know some of you don't like being tagged, and others of you are on vacation, and, um...

I'm tagging nobody on this one. Be sure to thank God tonight in your prayers. Of course, if you wanted to be tagged - and who could blame you, considering the tremendous amount of cachet you'd get from being associated with a big deal like me? - then feel free to meme to your hearts content.

Soon, with what would almost have to be better stuff.

(Got the photo here, by the way.)