5 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

I must be in the minority, but I never was a big fan of tag. Or rather, I was never a big fan of being “it.” Being “it” was alright as long as you weren’t “it” for too long. Once you exceeded a certain amount of time as “it,” you very quickly approach a harrowing state of shame and humiliation. Maybe that was just me.

Well, I’ve been tagged. Tagged by a fellow blogger, Mr. Make it Great, Phil Gerbyshak. Now that I’m “it,” this particular game requires me to share 5 things that other people don’t know about me. I like this game a little better, because I have some control over how long I have to be “it.” But in the spirit of tag, I shall now share a few things that put me in danger of entering a harrowing state of shame and humiliation:

1) When I was an adolescent, I had a picture of Michael J. Fox taped to my ceiling. Over my bed. Why? I thought he was cool. (And I didn’t realize just how gay that seemed. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…) But before you think this is a post about me coming out of the closet, let me also say that I had about 15 pictures of Elle McPherson on display (torn from the highly coveted Sport Illustrated Swimsuit issues.)

2) I had six wisdom teeth. Now I have just four, the same amount normal human beings have. The dentist told me that once in a while, it’s possible for people to get an extra two or four wisdom teeth. He didn’t mention anything about alien abductions or anal probes, but he didn’t sound very convincing, either.

3) When I was about three or four, my parents used to dress me up in a brown plaid robe and carry me around the house while singing “Scandinavian Hotshot.” I think it’s a real song, but I’ve never heard it and I don’t know what it means. From time to time, they also intermixed “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme song from Rocky.

Now for some cool ones…

4) I was named the co-captain of my varsity baseball team. I played second base (like my hero, Ryne Sandberg) and one time I caught a fly ball with my bare hand. It was a high pop hit to short right field. I scrambled out to get it and got a little disoriented. (Those things can be tricky.) I finally located the ball and at the last minute, reflexively thrust out my non-gloved hand. The ball just stuck — the third out. It was the weirdest thing. Of course, I trotted back into the dugout acting like I had planned it all along and it was no big deal.

5) Finally, I once saw Michael Jordan drop 55 points on the Knicks. I went with some friends to a game while we were in college. The seats weren’t the greatest, but when he hit 50 points, the crowd went crazy. It was awesome.

Well, that wasn’t so bad. Now Daniel, Tony, John, Ian, and Jason…you’re “it!”

[tags]Phil Gerbyshak, Daniel Bigler, Tony D. Clark, John Wentz, Rodeo Clown, Jason Bean, Michael J. Fox, Rocky, Ryne Sandberg, Michael Jordan, wisdom teeth, Elle McPherson[/tags]