Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Thursday Thirteen #102 -- The Never Before Revealed Edition


THIRTEEN THINGS
YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TOLD

ABOUT
THE GAL HERSELF

Lisa, aka Snarky Pants, often credits me for helping her with her blog content. Today she is returning the favor. When you have posted as long, and as often, as I have, coming up with things you haven't already revealed about yourself can be a challenge. In my attempt to come up with 13 new Gal facts, I used her 100 Things About Me as my template. (Thanks, Snarkela.)

1. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Jack. Had my older sister been a boy, her name would have been Jack. If my baby sister had been a boy, she would have been named Jack. My dad really like the name Jack but alas, never got to use it on a son of his own.

2. I didn’t plan to be a writer. I was a secretary at Sears Corporate Headquarters and one of the established women executives (and there weren't many in those days) took me under her wing. "Doesn't it bother you that you're smarter than your boss?" She convinced me to take the catalog copywriter test, and I was on my way. I Googled her, and she's 83 now and lives in Boca Raton. That makes me happy.

3. The first boy I was going to marry was named Tommy. We were both in Kindergarten and watched Lassie together on Sunday evenings. We were going to have a big back yard and lots of dogs, all of whom would be kept on leashes so they wouldn’t face the dangers Lassie did each week. I was sad and confused when his family suddenly moved away, no notice, no forwarding address. It turns out his dad was arrested for dealing drugs, in cahoots with the local pharmacist, and Tommy and his mom went to live with her parents. In the dull, boring, white-bread suburb I grew up in, it was a major scandal. My mom didn’t tell me the truth about this until I was almost 30.

4. My uncle was in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1966. I was very worried about him when he was over there, because I watched the news coverage every evening. When he got home, safe and sound, I brought him to school for show and tell. I love him extra for that.

5. I thought my Kindergarten teacher was the most beautiful woman in the world. She kept her blonde hair in a knot atop her head and always wore lipstick.

6. My favorite color is blue. Paul McCartney’s favorite color is blue, too. Coincidence?

7. My favorite movie quote to work into conversation is, “My sister. My daughter. She's my sister and my daughter.” I even slap my own face from side to side as I use it to illustrate that I can't make up my mind. I enjoy seeing if anyone in the room gets it.

8. When I was little, my "babies" were plush toys. Dearest were my Lassie dog and a musical duck named Charlotte.

9. The best boss I ever had is now my theater buddy. I’m glad Barb is still in my life. She was, and remains, my biggest professional influence.

10. I wish I could whistle.

11. I sleep with the TV on.

12. I read William Goldman’s book Magic in one sitting. It's funnier and more shocking than the movie.

13. I wish I looked like Mariska Hargitay. (I don’t.)

To participate yourself,
or to look up more TT participants,

visit the new hub (thursday-13.com).

20 comments:

  1. What a great list. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into your life. Happy T13!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:21 PM

    That's a very entertaining list about you..

    My fave colour is blue too! And
    I know what it feels like to be smarter than your boss!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I used to be able to whistle, but then I got braces and no more.

    Magic...was that the movie with Anthony Hopkins as a ventriloquist?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great stuff...alot of people sleep with the TV on. Not me though. How have you been my friend? Happy TT:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was going to be Sean if I was a boy. My older sister would have been Sean, too. When my mom got pregnant after me, they decided on Thomas Junior, and had a boy. Go figure.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great list. Your uncle was a great guy to go to school with you like that. Very classy. Tell him 'Thank You' for me. The Viet Nam vets got a really raw deal from the 'peace-niks' when they came home. They deserved to be treated with respect and gratitude instead of jeers and spitting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:12 PM

    I was going to be named Jacklyn, but my parents named my brother after my dad's godfather, and so they had to name me after his wife. I like my name now, but I had a terrible time with it in primary school with everyone calling me 'Betty Fatty'! Arrggghhh, how I hated my name then! LOL!

    I feel it's such a pity about #3, who knows what might have happened with you and Tommy if he didn't move away. I'm a sucker for romantic, lost-love and found again stories, though I know real-life doesn't always work like that. =D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing list. I wish I looked like Marissa too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:28 AM

    I'm excited to learn 100 things about you!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous6:04 AM

    If I have a daughter I'm going to name her Jackie Edith after my dad's sisters.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous6:51 AM

    What a great list! I love all the fun little factoids about you!

    ReplyDelete
  12. YEY!! I love reading all that stuff about you! :) And so happy to be YOUR muse for once.

    (BTW, just read that the one musician Cookie wants to meet and play with is .... drum roll .... your very own Paul McCartney! I thought of you when I read that and said "there's a dream concert we can BOTH attend!")

    Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for sharing. I feel like I've learned lots of interesting things about you. Happy TT!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous8:52 AM

    Did William Goldman also write The Princess Bride?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great TT list. Some days it is hard to come up with new stuff, isn't it?

    Blue is my favorite color, too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great list and interesting facts. I'd love to know what movie that quote is from, because I have got no idea. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. That was a good read. I'm sure the blue eye thing must be more than coincidence, and like samulli I'm also wondering where the movie quote's from.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I thought my Kindergarten teacher was the prettiest lady in the whole world (other than my mom). Ms. Richardson was her name - she was so patient with us all.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous12:45 AM

    Hehe. Good disclosure.
    Happy TT!
    I'm up at both EW, with13 Love Spells and Thornesworld with13 Ally Graphics

    ReplyDelete

Please note: If you have a WordPress blog, I can't return the favor and comment on your post unless you change your settings. WordPress hates me these days.