After seeing dozens of my online pals write up their lists of 25 things about them that people may or may not know as part of the “25 things meme,” I’m giving into the peer pressure.
- My favorite television show of all time was The Hat Squad. So far my letter writing campaign hasn’t worked as planned but it has only been 16 years and there is lots of time to bring it back.
- My favorite book as a small child is The Penquin That Hated the Cold. When I was a young teen, it was the Big Red trilogy by Jim Kjelgaard. Big Red, Irish Red, and Outlaw Red.
- I have owned 7 dogs. Tigger (a cocker spaniel/poodle cross), Rusty (a Welsh Springer Spaniel), Misty (a cocker spaniel/lab cross), Quincy (a lab with brain damage), Elway (a lab cross), Maggi (Weimereiner/Lab Cross). I think I may want to own a Irish Setter before I die.
- I have lived in Edmonton, Rainbow Lake, Calgary, Moose Jaw (twice), and Saskatoon. I have never lived anywhere outside the prairies.
- I have never been drunk but by first alcoholic drink I ever had was when I was some Newfoundland screech poured by now Newfoundland Lt. Governor John Crosbie.
- I was 12 when I worked on my first political campaign.
- My favorite kind of pie is pumpkin. I have a love hate relationship with Thanksgiving because of it. I love the pie but I hate sharing it with others
- As a kid I really wanted a Timex Sinclair computer. It was $30 but I couldn’t convince my mom that this was the wave of the future. In hindsight she was kind of right (about the Sinclair anyways).
- My first computer was a Color Computer 3, it was followed by a Commodore 64. My first PC was a IBM XT running at 10 mhz. My first Mac was a Powerbook 150.
- I am the oldest of three kids. My sister is four years younger and my brother is eight years younger than I am. My brother lives in Saskatoon and works at CNH and I haven’t talked to my sister in a decade or so.
- My favorite restaurant is Alexander’s even though you never know how good the food is going to be when I go in lately. The coffee is mediocre and the Diet Coke is terrible. I have complained about the Diet Coke for years and they still can’t get the mix right.
- The first CFL game I ever went to was the Calgary Stampeders vs. the B.C. Lions. The Stampeders were horrible back then and I never was much of a fan. Since moving to Saskatoon, I have cheered for the Saskatchewan Roughriders which means that I am a sucker for pain.
- I became a Denver Broncos fan after watching the Denver Broncos blow a HUGE halftime lead to the Los Angeles Raiders on Monday Night Football. Tony Dorsett became the second leading rusher that game but the Broncos lost after a great second half by Jay Schroeder. For some reason that game made me a Denver Broncos fan for life. Such a fan that I actually named a dog Elway.
- I have a Firearm Safety Certificate but I don’t own any guns. I am not much of a hunter but I do enjoy shooting skeet.
- I was given a 70cc Honda ATC when I was six. I immediately drove it into a wall but I later grew quite comfortable with it which means that I almost killed myself with it several times. It couldn’t have been that bad as I can’t identify any scars with any of the accidents.
- Despite spending a lot of time riding ATC and ATV’s over the years, I have never ridden a motorcycle. I don’t plan to change that but if I could find a Honda Odyssey (the ATV, not the minivan) I would be tempted to purchase it.
- Wendy and I met while attending college together. It wasn’t love at first site but we got to like each other over time. We have been married for 11 years now and I don’t regret it for a moment.
- One of the reasons why Wendy and I decided not to have any more kids is that I thought Mark what a blue angel was when she was in the hospital having Oliver
- I can play the Alto Saxophone. I started in grade five band. Even now I enjoy the chance to play a bit.
- I played hockey, football, and baseball as a kid and rugby when I was a little older. As you can see by my long professional career, I wasn’t that good at either one of them.
- I have read every Hardy Boy book ever written. Of course that begs the question, who do I think was cooler, Joe or Frank? I am more of a Chet Morton fan myself.
- The first NHL player I ever met was Ed Beers when he played for the Calgary Flames in 1980. Every year our hockey district had an awards ceremony and Ed Beers gave out the trophies. Looking back at it I should have chosen a better player to pattern my game after.
- I prefer spring and fall to summer. The plan is to eventually turn the cabin into a three season one which means that I can spend more cool rainy days up there.
- The only person I have ever met who knows more obscure NFL trivia than myself is Mike Gingerich. When we worked together we could almost communicate by the names of failed NFL draft picks. “Ahh, Anthony Dilweg”.
- I was in Navy League as a kid. It makes sense. Land locked prairie kid dreams of joining the navy.
Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I got one up, too (with a twist)…
24 Personal Facts and 1 Lie: A Contest
Thought you might wanna take a stab at it.
Grace and Peace,
Raffi
As a former employee of Alexander’s I must agree with you about the Diet Coke…it never tasted right. The coffe is Nestor’s (the owner) own special blend…he’s quite proud of it.