Telling Secrets and Jumping on a Trend
10 things you probably don’t know about me
I just read Erika Sauter’s “10 things you might not know about me” post.
Then I remembered my friend John C. Gyorki challenged me on Twitter to share my list.
Honestly, I’ve overbooked myself lately. I’m not one to jump on just any trend. But I need a break, and I’m always happy to do what I can for friends.
Besides, you’re dying to know, right?
In the spirit of honesty and letting you take a peek at my otherwise cloistered life, here goes.
I don’t like small talk that much.
I’m an introvert who sometimes masquerades as an extrovert. It’s not that I don’t like talking. I love it — sometimes. And I love people. But when I’m exhausted, the only thing that recharges my batteries is alone time to think, learn, and breathe.
I attended the first night game under the lights at UGA.
This was so long ago, it’s hard to remember. I think we played Clemson that night. I remember three things. My date. The weather — it was raining cats and dogs. And that I had to wear a pancho and a plastic bag over my hand.
Why?
I sliced my finger to the bone that week with a serrated knife. No water allowed into that wound!
My first business deal was selling my stereo to my brother on credit.
I was entrepreneurial before I could even drive a car.
My client and I agreed on a fair price. He didn’t have the whole amount at the time, so I extended payment over 3 months. He would earn enough money from allowance to handle it without getting uncomfortable.
He signed the deal and paid every month right on time.
I had a mailing list for my store 20 years ago.
It wasn’t my first business. But it was the first time I built a customer list since the paper route I had as a teenager.
It’s tough to stay successful when there are 7 stores in the same shopping center selling the same type of merchandise as you.
This was before email was much of a thing. I sent post cards with coupons on them. Gotta track those results, right?
Before I sold out, I had over 4,000 local customers on my list.
I once told a stranger with a gun pointed at me to shut up.
I stayed late one night at work to count the till.
I was greeted at the office door by a masked gunman.
He pressured me to hurry up and fill his bag with everything that had monetary value, including my cellphone. When it came time to open the safe, his constant verbal abuse made me forget the combination.
I turned around and looked him dead in the eye.
“You want me to open this thing?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you’re going to have to shut up.”
He did.
He got what he wanted — the cash. I got what I wanted — more time to live.
My roommate and I drove Richard Kiel to the Atlanta Airport.
You may or may not remember the James Bond flick, Moonraker. Richard Kiel played Jaws, the giant with a mouthful of silver teeth and a menacing look.
In the 1980s, Richard went to different churches across the U.S. to speak to young people about how Christianity changed his life.
My roommate and I picked him up from his hotel and took him to the airport. I remember his hand enveloped mine when I introduced myself. He didn’t want to talk about Hollywood. He talked about his kids instead. And he was very articulate.
He was a classy guy and I’ll never forget the experience.
I’ve watched every episode of Breaking Bad three times.
I don’t normally binge watch anything.
Except maybe the Twilight Zone every holiday weekend.
Breaking Bad got me hooked at the first episode. The story unfolded with a precision few other shows can match. Bryan Cranston literally became Walter White to me. And there are so many hidden life lessons in that show, it’s unreal.
I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t.
I overanalyze just about everything.
This comes from being an introverted thinker. I also pay lots of attention to people, catching even the slightest nuances in their attitudes and presence.
I like to see how things fit together, why stuff happens, and what the future holds.
Then I’m passionate about sharing that with anyone who will listen. The trick for me is to boil down that expansive thinking into bite-sized pieces that are easy to consume.
I drove by Herschel Walker as he was jogging through my neighborhood.
I think I was on the way to school or work that day. He lived in the fancy duplexes in the front of my neighborhood.
We didn’t acknowledge each other, and to this day we’ve never met.
I was a member of a church that is older than the United States.
Did you ever see the movie Forrest Gump? The big steeple in the opening scene belongs to the church I went to back in the early 90s in Savannah, Georgia.
That steeple reaches 260 feet into the sky, making it the tallest in the Southeastern United States.
The church was planted by the Church of Scotland back in 1736.
It’s still a vibrant church today. In fact, the last time I visited there were people in the balconies — and it wasn’t Easter or Christmas.
Now It’s Your Turn
I’d love to learn more about you. Write 10 things nobody knows about you and drop the link in the responses below. I’m looking forward to reading your posts!
