Ten Things About Me You Likely Don’t Know
And maybe don’t want to know
and invited me to write ten things about me. I am always game for an invitation, well, perhaps not all invitations, but certainly for this one.
I enjoy reading About Me stories from other writers more than writing about me.
So, here we go…
A neighbour introduced me to smoking cigarettes.
I was nine years old. The neighbour — I’ll call her P, was a few years older. One day on our travels around the neighbourhood, P reached into her pocket, and a pack of Kool cigarettes with matches came out. She removed one cigarette, lit it with a match, and took an inhale. P asked, “Do you want to try it? Eagerly, I nodded. Raising the lit cigarette to my lips, I inhaled. Hmmm, it tastes minty. I choked and coughed while P laughed at me. She said I would get used to it. And I did until I was mid-thirtyish. I smoked Kool cigarettes for many years.
Corporal Punishment in Grade School
I received the strap in Grade 3 when I was eight. We had just moved to the neighbourhood. I don’t ever remember getting the strap in the previous school where I was in Grade 2.
I also don’t remember what I did to warrant punishment by that thick leather beast of a thing. Sometimes the teacher, Mrs. M, delivered those forceful stinging slaps to my served-up palms outside the classroom door. Other times, the principal, Mrs. D, gave the strap in her office. Mrs. M was also my teacher for Grade 4. Punishment for that year included staying after school to write lines on the chalkboard (again, I don’t remember the crimes) or writing out pages of the dictionary for homework.
I Won the Speech Contest
Teachers began nurturing my strengths in Grades 7 and 8. I prepared a speech for the school speech contest with help from the Grade 8 teacher. The idea being that the winner would compete at the district level. I was surprised when I performed my speech in our gymnasium in front of students and teachers that I had won and would go on to the district competition.
On the day of the district competition, I came down with a nauseous stomach. I was nervous about performing the speech, but my mother didn’t know it was nerves and allowed me to stay home. It felt worse when I had to go to school on Monday to face disappointed teachers and the principal who were counting on me to represent our school at the district competition.
I received a Certificate of Distinction
At the age of 15, I had a part-time job at a department store in the cafeteria. Most of the staff were part-time high school students. As a cashier, I worked after school and on Saturdays. Many of us carpooled to the beach on summer Sundays. The guys brought cases of beer, and we purchased food from the beach vendor shacks.
They were a great group to work with, and I was sorry to leave when my family purchased a house in a different city when I was sixteen. I received a glass framed certificate, “The World’s Greatest Drinker,” signed with funny sayings and well wishes to remember everyone for my going away gift. I’m pretty sure I still have it.
Work Careers
I left high school at seventeen to work as a cashier at a major department store through the Christmas shopping season. Once January arrived, I went to human resources, where I found a full-time permanent position as a proofreader in the catalogue department.
I have also worked doing inventory control, purchasing, customer service, accounts receivable/payable, payroll, invoicing, taxes, accounting, bookkeeping, and sales. I was a licensed private investigator for a year and a bit, as well. (That’s a whole other story.)
I love to drive a stick shift vehicle.
At sixteen, I learned to drive the family’s automatic vehicles. My boyfriend drove a MGB sports car. He taught me to drive his MGB when I was seventeen. The first vehicle I bought was a Volvo stick shift.
I enjoyed shifting the gears to get me where I wanted to be. Driving a stick shift took away the boredom. I felt in control. I was driving the car, not passively sitting in a car while it drove me. Does anyone feel the same way?
The car I loved to drive, besides the convertible Camaro Z28, was a Subaru four-wheel-drive sedan. With snow tires, that Subaru stick shift handled like a charm in the snow. I never got stuck with a stick shift.
I have traveled to places in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
United States: Las Vegas, Detroit, San Diego, Orlando, Miami (to catch a cruise ship), New Orleans, Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach, Denver, Wheeling, WV.
Europe: London, Denmark
Canada: Victoria, Vancouver, Jasper Park, Winnipeg, North Bay, Niagara Falls, Montreal.
Many years have passed since my traveling days; I doubt I will travel again. It was fun then.
I am sixty-six (soon to be 67). My Medium profile image is a younger version of me at age sixty-five, two years ago.
Yeah, I’m old. Young-old. Aging sneaks up fast. All I can say about that is to make the best of things when you are young, eat healthy, stay active, and de-stress often in healthy ways. Of course, there are no guarantees. Sh*t happens.
(Speaking of health, I want to mention , MIT engineer, Wharton MBA, who wrote a comprehensive article on an urgent topic affecting all Americans, Life Expectancy vs. Healthcare Costs in the U.S. According to the research, life expectancy for Americans has dropped considerably compared to other countries, while healthcare costs per-capita have dramatically increased compared to other countries. And, guess who is benefiting — the for-profit stakeholders, not the patients.
Jeffrey writes,
“Bottom line, people in the U.S. are dying earlier — substantially earlier — than our peers in other countries. And we are paying substantially more for this “privilege” of dying earlier than our peers in other countries pay for their healthcare systems.”
Jeffrey is passionate about fixing the broken healthcare system and has some ideas about how to do just that; it would be a shame if the article doesn’t get the exposure it deserves. I think Jeffrey’s work is essential, and judging by the comments, others who have read the article think so. Please support Jeffrey’s work by clicking on the link to Jeffrey’s article before you go, have a read, and see what you think.)
Last two of the ten things…
I’m Canadian, Eh?
Born and raised. Our ancestors are from Scotland, England, and Sicily, and who knows, wherever else is fine with me. I’m not into this whole radical nationalism thing. First and foremost, we are human beings. We are one family of the human race. That’s the way I see it anyway.
Religion
Having been baptized, communionized, confessionalized, confirmed, and attended Catholic school, technically, I could say I’m Catholic.
But, I went through an extensive seeking phase, not feeling content to be slotted into one category or label. I’m not opposed to those who chose a particular path. Not at all. If it is fulfilling, who am I to judge. I have many friends who have had lifelong relationships with their church. And, I think it is lovely to have a community with like-minded individuals.
If I were to choose one path, I might choose one of the mystical traditions. Every major religion has a mystical tradition, so I would have to choose just one, which I couldn’t do. I’m more of an interfaith person, a universal religion person.
I have heard that the Dalai Lama said his religion is kindness. I am all for that — kindness to ourselves and others. And sometimes, being kind means removing oneself from harm’s way.
That’s it! Ten things.
Thank you so much for reading!
This story turned into a longer piece than I had planned. I hope I didn’t bore you with details.
I sincerely thank you for your time. Before you go, here are some funny stories that are bound to make you laugh.
And here is a link to an About Me story with a few more details:
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