Betty made me do this

Geez, Betty... It's Steeler week!. But maybe I need to think about something else besides my Bengals.. so here goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?


1995... I was finally accepting that my macular degeneration couldn't be treated and I wouldn't be able to go back to teaching. I was focused on being a stay-at-home dad to my then 7yo daughter and 3yo son. I just looked at a pic taken of the three of us about that time. I teared up.... I could tell by their faces and how they had their arms drapped around me that they loved and appreciated me. I was listening to lots of good music, and reading for pleasure.


Where were you five years ago?


I was sleeping in the basement on a couch trying to accept that my marriage needed to be over. It was the worst year of my life. Then my beloved, first-born, nephew died at 29 from a liver problem which was misdiagnosed. He was sick for five years! They sent him to a psychiatrist at one point. He never complained. I'll miss him forever.


Where were you one year ago?


Ok... now I'm getting depressed...*S*. I was trying to adjust to having my kids fulltime. My ex- decided she didn't want to be a mother anymore. I went to a therapist for the first time in my life. She helped me see that I have much to be thankful for. .... my kids like living with me, and I no longer have to worry about them being unhappy with their mother (she's not a bad person).

ATTENTION! My life is pretty good.

What are your five favorite snacks?

1) Cookies... almost any kind.
2) more cookies... vanilla wafers
3) fruit... grapes, apples, plums
4) potato chips
5) Wheat thins.... seriously!


What are five songs to which you know all the words?

1) Sweet Baby James
2) You've Got a Friend (the Carole King original)
3) Afternoon Delight
4) Yesterday
5) Leggett's Serenade (a introspective song about a failing love on Kate Wolf's great 1980 album, Close to You).


What are five things you’d do with 100 million dollars?


1) Take care of my five sisters.
2) Try to defeat my idiot Congressman, Geoff Davis, next year.
3) Give 1 million each to many of the worthy causes I'm passionate about.
4) Give money to Betty so she can do good works
5) Hope that my children would not be harmed because they were suddenly rich.


What five places do you like to run away to?


1) The theater with Melanie
2) My rock garden (which is still a work in progress)... had fun when Betty helped me plant bushes.
3) My bedroom or screened porch with a good book and music.
4) Striding behind my lawn mower.
5) Backroads on my bike.


What are five things you would never wear?


1) A condem? I've had my tubes tied.
2) Hey! I'm a man. I'll wear anything. I'm skipping 3-5.


What are your five favorite TV shows?

1) Lost
2) 24
3) Charlie Rose on PBS
4) Hardball with Chris Matthews
5) Any show my 13yo son wants me to watch with him.... Survivor, South park, Futurama, Family Guy, Robot Chicken....


What are your five biggest joys?

1) My son, Kellen.
2) My daughter, Jocelyn (she's comes in second because she is self-absorbed to a fault).
3) Being in a relationship which is becoming more permanent and fulfilling with each passing day... It's good to express doubts.
4) My cats.
5) Watching the REDS at GABP or the Bengals at PBS.


What are your five favorite toys?


1) My yard, garden, and shop.... can't separate them.
2) My book collection.
3) My cd collection and the stereos in almost every room of my house.
4) My bicycles.
5) My life.


Five people to pass this on to:

1) Melanie
2) Kellen
3) Jocelyn ( I would be extremely interested in her answers.)
4) My ex-wife. We were married for twenty years, yet I have no clue who she is.
5) You