The Versatile Blogger Award

Yesterday I was honored (and shocked) to learn that my friend Steve the Chubby Chatterbox nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award.  To think that someone as creative and articulate as he would nominate lil 'ol me is quite humbling.  Thank you, Steve.  :)


According to nomination protocol I'm supposed to share 7 interesting things about myself ("interesting" being relative) and then pass on my nomination for the award to a few others I find deserving.  So without further adieu....


1.  I had a loving, stable childhood.  Two parents (no stand-ins), both very caring and ultra-ethical, only three public schools, culminating in a B.A. in BS from Texas Tech University.  My dad had an outrageous sense of humor, so on those occasions when I go totally bonkers just know I'm helpless....it's my dad's genes running amok inside me.  For 30-something years my brother and I have been partners building Park Place Custom Homes (.com if anyone cares).


2.  Politically I'm all over the map.  My conservative friends think I'm a card-carrying Socialist, while my liberal friends think I'm just to the right of Attila the Hun. So which is it?  Both, depending on the issue....with a heavy dose of cynicism mixed in.  I firmly believe our elected officials at all levels (and of BOTH parties) care about themselves first, those who bribe contribute to their re-election campaigns second, while We the People rank somewhere down there with the family pet....maybe even a notch below.


3.  I've had a life-long interest in aviation.  When I was 8 years old my parents asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told them I wanted to have a party on the observation deck of Dallas' Love Field.  Back in the mid-80's I joined a WWII aviation heritage group then known as the Confederate Air Force.  We acquired, restored, and then flew our 130+/- aircraft at airshows all across the country.  I was a marshaller, leading a group of around 50 others who organized and ran the flight line at these shows.  I was the Ramp Boss at events from California to Maryland, Iowa to the very southern tip of Texas.  It was a very challenging (volunteer) job, basically run like a huge jigsaw puzzle based on aircraft size, turning radius, etc.  Over the years I worked closely with the US Navy Blue Angels, the USAF Thunderbirds, the RCAF Snowbirds, and the RAF Red Arrows.  That all came to an abrupt end when....


4.  ....I had several back-to-back detached retinas in my left eye which, long story short, left me with no peripheral vision on that side.  When you're literally working just a few feet from giant whirling propellers capable of turning you into sausage in the blink of an eye, situational awareness is critical.  With no peripheral vision on one side I decided it was time to hang it up.  I then studied and became a certified docent at a local aviation museum, but frankly I found it boring.


5.  I've attended both Citizen's Police and Fire Academies, giving me just enough knowledge of what they do to be dangerous. It was a blast, and very "hands-on".  I've also completed (for real) Aircraft Rescue And Fire Fighting (ARFF) training at Dallas' Love Field and DFW International Airport.  I was first to arrive at several airshow crashes, but the damage was catastrophic and there was little I could do when I arrived on scene.  Very sad.


6.  Back in 1992 I was invited to experience a "trap" (landing) and a "cat shot" (takeoff) on the USS Forrestal, a US Navy aircraft carrier operating in the Gulf of Mexico at the time.  It was a fun ride, lemme tell you!  Yes, that makes me a "tailhooker", no pun intended.  (Well...maybe a little.  ;) 


7.  I met my wife Kelly (aka "K") online, but not the way you might think.  I was reading an aviation blog and it said "for further info on this topic read XYZ@Journalspace.com", so I linked over.  JS said I had to have a membership to read there so I signed up.  Later while surfing JS I saw a photo of a weed on a blog, the blogger asking what it was and how do you control it, so I answered.  Later posts were also interesting so we began visiting.  Come to find out she was living far away at the time but was from near Ft. Worth, Texas (I'm from near Dallas).  More talk, then a meet, then....  :)  And to think if I had linked over to Journalspace just a few seconds earlier or later I probably would never have seen her weed photo and cry for help.  It was fate, I tell ya!


Are you bored to tears yet?  I thought so.  


Now please allow me to nominate a few other bloggers I find interesting:


Oddball Observations....Bruce writes about....well....oddball observations.  He's had an interesting life and has some interesting opinions, too.


Charleston Daily Photo....Joan shares some of the interesting sights and history of the Charleston, SC area.


Suldog....what can I say?  Jim is just not right!  In a good and humorous way, though.


Now y'all close your computers and get to work.  :)


S