The Far and the Near

Thomas Wolfe wrote a short story, The Far and the Near about how things can be idealized from afar and when you meet them up close, you are disappointed so at the risk of boring you, Michael Greenwell tagged me to tell eight things about myself:

When I get a good meal in a restaurant, I tip the cook. The waitress sets it in front of you, but the cook does the real work.

I once hitchhiked around Mexico and Central America for three months. I always defend Mexicans because in general, I found them to be the warmest, kindest people I ever met. I think a hostile environment changes them.

I was blamed for organizing a strike in the sixth grade but I only spread the word, I did not originate it. I was forced to copy the entry for Abraham Lincoln from the encyclopedia and all I remember is that Lincoln spent some time hunting Indians.

For one session, I was a lobbyist for Common Cause in the South Dakota legislature.

I was once lost in the Riding Mountain Park wilderness in Canada for two days. I was really scared about running into a bear as I stumbled around the downed timber and crashed around in the brush, completely clueless to my direction.

I have a teaching degree but quit teaching because I knew I was not good at it. I am too shy to stand in front of a group and the time I spent in this occupation was pure agony for me. I like change and I have lived in Hawaii, California, Colorado, Montana, several places in North Dakota, Texas, several places in South Dakota and just recently moved to Minnesota.

I am not a handy person but I try and do things for myself. Most times I have to do most things more than once but it is seldom that I ask anyone for help. I enjoy fixing up houses and know the wonders of trim.

I have an antipathy to professions that make large incomes from troubled people - doctors, lawyers, morticians, psychiatrists, drug companies, self-help gurus, diet inventors, etc. I don't resent movie stars or sports people because they get paid for providing pleasure and you have the option to contribute - it is the people that make big money from pain that I hate.