Seven Things About Myself

At the Cross on the river today (my previous post explains this picture)

So, I've been tagged by Ira and now I have to tell you seven things about myself according to the rules.

1. I wasn't supposed to be born. At 35 years old, my mother was shocked to discover that she wasn't suffering from the flu, but morning sickness. Doctors had told her that she could never conceive a child and further assured her that she would not be able to carry one to term. One doctor was so convinced that he scheduled an abortion for her to avoid any complications her unusual pregnancy might present. She adamantly refused and I was born at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA thanks to her faith in God and not doctors.

2. I have a scar under my chin that required seven stitches. I can't remember how old I was, but I remember that I was wearing a cape and pretending to be Underdog. My downfall, quite literally, was caused from running across a polished dining room table with socks on. I landed on a toy work bench that opened up my chin like a salmon fillet. I still remember my mom holding my chin together as my dad drove to the doctor. When it came time for the stitches my dad had to politely excuse himself from the room to "check on his truck" outside.


3. I met my best friend, Joshua Ryan Marshall, at Mooney Grove Park in Visalia, CA when we were both two years old (I'm two weeks older). He had a nose bleed and my mom gave his mom a handkerchief to help stop the bleeding. Joshua Ryan Silva was named after "Uncle Josh".


4. When I was about seven years old, my grandmother and grandfather lived on the same ranch with us in another house. One day my grandmother sent me home with a fresh baked lemon meringue pie. I sat under an orange tree and ate the entire thing. The next day, my grandmother asked my mom how the pie was. "What pie?"


5. I was a sniper in the U.S. Army. This came as no surprise to my parents since I was obsessed with shooting for as long as I can remember. I was just like the kid in A Christmas Story. My dad overruled my mom's objections and bought me my first BB gun. It didn't take long for him to regret that. What can I say? I was good. Windows, gauges on tractors, and even overhead lights were no match for my marksmanship skills (Sorry Dad). At least I never shot my eye out.


6. I like mustard on my fries and on anything else I can put it on for that matter. Unfortunately, it is no where to be found in this part of the world. Occasionally someone is generous enough to mail us some, but I long for the day when I will find it for sale here.


7. Someday I want to visit the city of Prypiat near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant only a few hours from where we live here in Ukraine. It had a population of 50,000 people before it was abandoned in 1986. I've always been fascinated by ghost towns and this has to be the biggest in the world. I've already been to Slavutych, the city that was built to replace it, but my dream is to walk the streets of Prypiat one day.

So there you have it. Seven things about myself that hopefully allow you to know me a little better.

Just about everybody I know, including my wife, has been tagged, so I'm going to bend the rules a little and just tag one person.

Micah Claycamp

Tag! You're it.