The Five Things Meme: My 150th Post!

Post 150! I was too clueless to pay attention to when I reached my 100th post, so I've been keeping track to note this milestone. It was a little tricky because I had to go back and count "draft" posts which I've used to host photos, etc. Blogger counts them in their "total posts" but I didn't want to. Um... one paragraph in and I'm already making everyone fall asleep.

Moving on...

Pam over at MarillaAnne tagged me for the "Five Things You May Not Know About Me" meme. This meme seems to always be floating around the blog'verse but I have never done it. I did do a 100 things post so it will be a challenge to add to that. Hmmm... let's see...

1. Historically Speaking: My maternal grandmother's cousin, Raymond Hamilton (second cousin, twice removed?) was a member of the Barrow Gang. Clyde Barrow actually broke Raymond out of prison. They ended up parting ways less than amicably and Raymond was eventually captured and executed in Huntsville, Texas. After the execution, John R Rice preached a radio sermon about Raymond which blamed his criminal life on the facts that his mother was divorced and that he went to the movies. (I have a photocopy of this sermon that I obtained from the archives of the Dallas Public Library when Paul and I lived there.) Raymond's brother Floyd Hamilton, also a criminal, was a prisoner on Alcatraz where he once attempted to escape. He made it as far as the water and was initially presumed drowned. He was hiding out in a small cave along the island's shoreline and two days later, turned himself in. His story has a happier ending than his brother's, though. He became a Christian in prison and was eventually released and went on to lead the life of a model citizen.

2. Neurotically Speaking: I tend to obsess over things that I say. Because I tend to think before I speak, I sometimes say things I wish I could take back. I will dwell over my misspoken words for days. At those times, I would move heaven and earth for the Omega 13 device from Galaxy Quest. The Omega 13, in case you haven't seen the movie, is a device which can turn back time for 13 seconds.

3. Physically Speaking: I have those weird double-jointed elbows. In sixth grade, I signed up with a friend to be a Pop Warner cheerleader for her brother's team. When we would practice and my arms were supposed to be straight out from my shoulders, the cheer coach always told me my arms weren't straight. If you haven't seen it, it is hard to describe, but my elbows do look a little weird whey they are extended.

4. Intellectually Speaking: When it comes to Art, Literature, Music I like what I like. I have tried in the past to care about what should be seen, read and listened to but I gave up on that. I don't care about Picasso. I love Van Gogh. Russian Literature makes my brain hurt. I love modern novels. I can't make myself enjoy most jazz music. I love a little classical, a little blues, a little rock, a little pop.

5. Morbidly Speaking: I used to be fascinated by true crime stories. Helter Skelter, Ted Bundy, you name the murderous freak and I would read about him. Eventually, it got to be too much for me. I was reminded of this former interest recently when I read about a new movie being made, Savage Grace. It is the story of the murder of Barbara Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite fortune, by her son. I don't think I'll be seeing that movie. That mother/son relationship was pretty twisted.

So, there you have it. Five Things You Probably Didn't Know and Possibly Don't Care to Know About Me!