{"id":1310,"date":"2009-01-28T06:44:17","date_gmt":"2009-01-28T12:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=1310"},"modified":"2022-01-02T07:36:01","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T12:36:01","slug":"25-random-things-about-the-eyeguy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=1310","title":{"rendered":"25 Random Things About The Eyeguy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arrrrgh!<\/p>\n

Why am I resorting to pirate talk so early in the morning? Because I’ve been tagged about a gazillion times in yet another internet meme, this time on Facebook: 25 Random Things About Me.<\/p>\n

Not that I mind that much, it’s just that it has that whole cheesy, chain-letter feel. When I was a kid, my mother would always make a big production about ripping those up and throwing them in the trashcan whenever we received one, so it’s probably just one of those weird Baby Boomer childhood psychological baggage flashback things. Don’t sweat it if you tagged me; I’ll deal with it like I always do.<\/p>\n

So, I’ll post these for both Fusioneers and Facebook friends. And these days, there is less and less difference between the two. Let the weirdness begin:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I’m a native Virginian, and that’s something that I often throw into a conversation because, you have to admit, it does have a certain historical and intellectual cachet.<\/li>\n
  2. I entered first grade in 1968, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were among my first distinct memories and my first real indication that the world could be an unsafe place.<\/li>\n
  3. My Great-great grandfather Jerome fought with the 2nd Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War and was on the field at Gettysburg, fighting against Custer’s 7th Michigan on the east side of the Union line while Pickett charged from the west.<\/li>\n
  4. I started running in 4th grade because I was overweight and had failed all my physical fitness tests in the fall, but come spring, after a winter of running and lifting weights, I passed every one.<\/li>\n
  5. Even though I have a physical defect that reduces my lung capacity 20% from normal (it was a 40% reduction before corrective surgery at age 17), I still run; that’s how important it is to me.<\/li>\n
  6. In 5th grade, I won first place in the Burnt Chimney, VA Ruritan Club Student Essay Contest on the subject “Why I Love My Country.”<\/li>\n
  7. I still love my country, and each day I wake up and try to serve her to the best of my ability.<\/li>\n
  8. I love my country so much, that I went absolutely ga-ga when I visited Washington, DC last summer, but when the tour trolley drove past the statue of William Tecumseh Sherman, I reflexively turned my back.<\/li>\n
  9. My biggest phobia is going through a drive-through with a carload of people who can’t decide what they want to order.<\/li>\n
  10. Needless to say, I often go to pieces over little things that don’t matter, but I am capable of being the calmest in a major crisis.<\/li>\n
  11. The death of my father one month before I graduated from high school is the singular most influential event in my life and the greatest wound that I bear; it changed everything, for better and for worse.<\/li>\n
  12. Peanut butter is my go-to comfort food.<\/li>\n
  13. I am so over having to know all the answers to everything and have made mystery and doubt my friends.<\/li>\n
  14. My first date with my future wife was a hay ride in 20 degree weather and, out of necessity, we latched onto each other to conserve body heat; not much has changed.<\/li>\n
  15. I am proud of my three sons and the fine men they are becoming.<\/li>\n
  16. I’m in the tank for Christ, but I believe God can speak multiple languages if He chooses.<\/li>\n
  17. I believe in God more than I ever have; I just don’t believe all the things that men say about Him.<\/li>\n
  18. I used to make fun of people who read college football recruiting websites, but now I’m hooked on them. Roll Tide!<\/li>\n
  19. I’ve been known to “rearrange” living room furniture during the closing seconds of a tight Duke basketball game.<\/li>\n
  20. Chariots of Fire<\/em> is my favorite movie (runner-up: O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em>)<\/li>\n
  21. #41 (the acoustic version recorded live at Luther College) is my favorite Dave Matthews song.<\/li>\n
  22. I had several public high school English and literature teachers who refused to accept anything less than my best work and challenged my presuppositions with a healthy dose of angst-ridden existentialism, and I’m thankful.<\/li>\n
  23. I was a community columnist for The Huntsville Times<\/em> for one year in 2008, and I’ll admit that I greatly miss seeing my byline and picture in the paper.<\/li>\n
  24. I’m a closet Anglican (well, not anymore).<\/li>\n
  25. With a nod to Bono, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Arrrrgh! Why am I resorting to pirate talk so early in the morning? Because I’ve been tagged about a gazillion times in yet another internet meme, this time on Facebook: 25 Random Things About Me. Not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,48,1,49,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-family","category-general","category-history","category-nostalgia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9209,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1310\/revisions\/9209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}