100 Things You Don't Know About Me (and some you do!)

Ok, so everyone seems to be obsessed with creating these "100 things you don't know about me" lists. So, I figured I would join the fray. So here goes and I'll bet some of this might surprise you and some might not. Anyway, I'll blog away because it's the "thing" to do these days.

100 Things You Don't Know About Me (maybe)

1. I first felt a very personal and strong desire to follow Jesus and God after a late night "time to go to bed" conversation with my Grandmother Jessie when I was about 12 years old.
2. I knew the first time I kissed Sheila that she was to be "the love of my life".
3. I love children and think our children are one of God's greatest blessings in our lives.
4. My favorite football teams are: 1) The Green Bay Packers (all the way back to Bart Starr days), 2) University of Tennessee, and 3) West Virginia University.
5. I graduated from Christian Brother College - now Christian Brothers University (and I did so with honors: Suma Cum Laude).
6. I at one time considered a career as 1) a professional musician (piano), 2) a doctor, 3) a biomedical engineer, 4) a pilot and 5), a truck driver.
7) When I was 9 years old, I was taking a bath and my Dad told me to hurry up and get out of the tub because we were going to dinner shortly. I looked at him and said "I don't have to do what you say" (just like I had a brain). Due to his response, I never repeated that phrase again.
8) My friend Steve and I used to load crab apples with firecrackers and shoot them on a giant slingshot we made toward Bill's house.
9) I think Music is one of the greatest gifts of love from God. It comforts the soul and gives expression to our emotions in ways that nothing else could possibly match.
10. My favorite color is blue
11. My favorite instrument throughout my life has of course been the piano (big surprise there) - but my next most favorite instrument in the world is my daughter's trombone which is played beautifully.
12. My favorite relaxation moment is to sit with a warm cup of coffee and watch a heavy snow come down in the yard with pine trees in the background.
13. I once competed in a NASTAR ski race in Winter Park Colorado where I won a Bronze Medal on my second pass of the hill.
14. When I was about 11, my friend Judd and I pulled a little 9 year old boy out of a Holiday Inn swimming pool after he struck his head upon the side of the pool (he slipped), was knocked out and went straight to the bottom of the pool. He awoke when I pulled him from the pool and ran to his momma. He was ok.
15. My favorite type of dog is the Sheltie; they are loving and loyal.
16. I love computer games that transport me to a new world or environment (bet no one got that one - right?)
17. My 9th grade Algebra teacher, Mrs. Richbourg, turned me from a C&D student who could care less about school to an A&B student who was inducted into the National Honor Society before I graduated high school.
18. Because of my Grandmother Jessie and my Great Aunt Gertie, I learned how to knit.
19. My Grandmother Jessie taught me to play the piano beginning when I was first old enough to sit up on the piano bench (probably around age 3).
20. My Grandfather Richmond was a doctor and he used to take care of Harland Sanders (Colonel Sanders of KFC fame) and his family's medical needs when they lived in Corbin, KY. See this link . I found out recently that Harland Sanders was a pall bearer at my grandfather's funeral! By all public accounts and things I have learned from my family, Mr. Sanders was a good man who did a lot of good things for Corbin, KY.
21. I hate washing dishes - but I do it because I love my wife and I know she hates it too! ;o)
22. My favorite computer adventure games are: 1) Myst (and all sequels) and 2) Schism (which my son purchased for me).
23. I am an addict when it comes to the game Counter Strike (a first person shooting game involving team work - usually).
24. I cry during some movies.
25. I hope some day to serve as an Elder in the Lord's Church.
26. I used to stay up until 2:00 AM working on programming assignments on our old IBM 1130 computer while in college (using punched cards! UGH!).
27. I once swallowed a raw egg whole just to see what it felt like to be like Rocky (in the movie of the same name). (Note to self - always allow the egg to warm up before you swallow it whole else the egg yoke remains intact and rests in your stomach like some really cold ice cube.) I later tried jumping up and down to break the egg yoke so my stomach wouldn't feel so cold. I don't think that worked.
28. I love to watch football on TV (and occasionally in person - but I miss the instant replays then).
29. I am learning to play the electric guitar.
30. When I was a child, I had a full-size dachshund named "Bandit" (after the dog in the Johnny Quest series) and a cat named "Mittens" (black cat with white paws).
31. My elementary school teachers used to tell my parents that I was smart but just didn't want to do the work (in school).
32. I once took a class (in New Orleans) to learn how to do folk dances from various countries.
33. I am a certified EIT (Engineer in Training - the first half of the professional engineer certification process).
34. I have held nearly every position possible in Cub Scouting including the Cub Master position. I enjoyed doing that with my son when he was little.
35. My favorite instrumental musicians are: 1) David Arkenstone, 2) Yanni, 3) Tim Janis, 4) Secret Garden and 5) Llewellyn
36. I recently saw lightning hit a neighbor's chimney and blow the bricks off the roof.
37. I will practically kill myself to do someone a favor and help them out when they are in need but I strongly dislike people who take me for granted.
38. My favorite car is the Ford Mustang. After many years of driving "junkers" my wife orderd a red 2000 Ford Mustang GT convertible for me! What a great wife!
39. My favorite comedians are: 1) Tim Allen and 2) Robin Williams.
40. I enjoy programming - it's a creative activity - I liken it to drawing and painting in art (which I am not so blessed with ability).
41. I used to play games of imagination with my friend Bill - specifically we created a society of plastic dinosaurs who were heavily vested with technology. We also used to sit in front of his multispeed attic fan (in the attic of course) and pretend we were pilots flying across the country or in a war. We could change the speed of the fan to simulate changing events in our "plane".
42. As a kid, I loved to build models - cars, boats, and planes.
43. My childhood friend Bill would receive plastic models for Christmas and I would put them together for him.
44. I have seen the magician David Copperfield in person twice and shook his hand once.
45. My favorite types of music are both instrumental and vocal "new age" style music (but I do not embrace the philosophy of the same name), country and western and rock.
46. I can whistle without pursing my lips together. I just use my two front eye teeth and my tongue.
47. I like to do a Scottish accent when I am in a silly mood (just ask my kids).
48. I enjoy using my imagination even at my current age. That includes stories, songs and similar.
49. My favorite hobbies are amateur radio, music, astronomy, and computer stuff.
50. I truly enjoy sending my wife flowers. I share in her enjoyment of beautiful flowers.
51. I really love to play Texas Hold-em (but not for money of course - just fun) and I consider myself to be pretty good at it.
52. My daughters can pretty well get their way by just smiling at me and saying "I Love You Daddy"
53. I would secretly like to produce some high quality CDs of my own original music compositions if I could find the right equipment to provide high quality instrument digitization.
54. Babies make me smile.
55. I have a tendency to rescue bugs I find in my house and put them outside (unharmed).
56. I once won a 4.5 foot tall pink and black colored stuffed dog at the Mid-south Fair while I was in college by tossing a wooden ring onto the neck of a small glass coke bottle. Usually they would just bounce off the bottles when people tried this but the first ring I threw went right onto the bottle.
57. My middle name (Perkins) is the last name of my Grandmother's side of the family. At one point, I actually met my great great Grandmother.
58. I once hid a pet hamster in the "storage room" off my bedroom and kept it there. It was a reject from a lab experiment at high school and I rescued him and kept him hidden in the storage room so my Mom wouldn't make me get rid of him.
59. I used to catch spiders and keep them as pets. I would put them in a bottle and then feed them ants and flies. (They love flies)
60. Speaking of eating, my favorite restaurants are: 1) Mexican food restaurants, 2) Chinese food restaurants and 3) Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans (and White Castle - but what category does that fit into?)
61. I once got a fortune at a Chinese restaurant (when I was about 46 years old) that said "A fool at 40 is a fool indeed".
62. My least favorite types of music are hard rap and unintelligible opera (foreign language opera).
63. I proposed to my wife-to-be on Christmas Eve and I wore a suit.
64. I love to remember and tell jokes. I can still remember jokes from the 7th grade.
65. I dislike rude and selfish drivers.
66. I love rapid acceleration in a car, plane or etc.! (Hence why I like my car)
67. I love birds of all kinds. I enjoy feeding them in the winter and watching their behavior.
68. I once held a live hummingbird in my hand in WV.
69. Christmas is my favorite holiday and Winter my favorite season. One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas traditions with my parents, sister and brother is purchasing hot bread right off the assembly line at Harts Bread in Memphis and then driving around looking at Christmas lights! We still continue this as a tradition every year with our own children. Sheila bakes two loaves of bread, makes hot chocolate and off we drive listening to Christmas music and looking at Christmas lights.
70. I hate mowing grass.
71. I am proud of my Tennessee heritage. - Yes, I love "sweet tea".
72. When I was a kid, my friend Steve and I would dig foxholes in his backyard and play with our GI Joes. We would also set off model rockets.
73. I like people of all types of personalities and I enjoy meeting new people. I am very likely to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
74. I was a First Lieutenant in ROTC and a member of the Drill Team. I performed with the rest of the team in Memorial Day parades and drill competitions. We were once inspected by Third Army's General Throckmorton. See this link
75. I have been told I have perfect pitch.
76. At age 12, my best friend Chuck and I (and some other friends) used to ring doorbells in Whitehaven when I would spend the night at his house. We would run up to a house late at night, ring the doorbell and then take off running.
77. I once pitched a tent in a pouring rain in Florida during a Spring Break trip with my friend Bob.
78. One time when I was about 10, I put some pennies in my mouth and climbed up to my tree house (climbing the pole that Dad had affixed to the side of the tree). In my semi reclining position as I climbed, I accidentally swallowed several of the pennies! (I can't make any "cents" out of why I did that).
79. I once pretended (in front of my sister) to put my foot in the toilet. Upon one of my repeated demonstrations of this lunacy, she deftly flipped up the lid and gave me a shove! In went my foot! I later hung the wet sock in my closet to dry so my Mom wouldn't find out.
80. I was friends in high school with Cybil Shepherd's brother Bill (she was two years older than us).
81. I think I am a romantic. I like romantic movies and I enjoy surprising my wife with some romantic gesture.
82. I give blood regularly and I think everyone who is able to donate should do so as long as they are able to do it. We never know how long our health will remain good enough for us to help out in this manner.
83. I have two parents who always put us (the kids) first and who demonstrated parental love and marriage solidarity that other people could surely benefit from today.
84. I really enjoy crunchy food. I can pass up the sweet stuff but give me a chip that goes crunch with some salt on it - and I'll eat the entire bag.
85. I know God wants me to be the best Christian man I can possibly be. I do not want to disappoint him. He is important to me and I want my life to have been pleasing to him.
86. Friends are so important. My wife is my best friend in life and I have been blessed with many other friends through work and church.
87. I think our country has forgotten that just being open minded in and of itself is not a virtue. Righteous judgment can and should still be exerted as governed by God's word. There still is a right thing to do and a wrong one.
88. I think Steve Irwin was a good man who cared about his family and about wildlife and demonstrated a lot of heart and commitment and was true to his mission in life. I will miss him.
89. When I was in elementary school, someone told a funny just as I took a big drink of milk. I ended up spraying milk on my teacher sitting directly across the table from me. She was not amused.
90. I have discovered that you never quit being a parent.
91. I have a heart arrhythmia now and then. (It's been checked out - don't panic - just a part of life). Reducing caffeine reduces it.
92. I have been to Tokyo, Japan. It was a good trip and the people were nice (the food was great!).
93. I was robbed while I slept one time in Florida.
94. I am very stubborn when it comes to solving problems. I will usually beat on a problem until I win. (Sometimes I lose).
95. I believe the Bible is the actual and inspired word of God and that Jesus is His son. I believe He gave the Bible to us so we could understand what we must do to be in a saved relationship with God and to appreciate His incredible love for us. I believe baptism is required for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38) and it is then that we figuratively come into contact with the blood of Christ which provides that remission of sins. 1 Peter 3:20-21
96. I won a free coke from a state trooper at Cub Scout Day Camp one year by shooting a high score on the BB gun range! (Yeah me!)
97. I once blew my car horn at a retarded young man in Metairie, LA who was attempting to cross the road. (I wish to this day I could have apologized to him).
98. I have eaten some weird things in my life including: crawfish, crabs, eel, alligator and sushi (including Sea Urchin).
99. I take a lot of notes when I attend classes and lectures (probably a hold-over from college).
100. I believe that college is essential to success in life.

Ok, there you go - I can't believe you actually read this far! Admit it; you skipped some of it - right?

Oh well. You must not have much house work to do.....

Laterz..... love - Jerry