Unimportant things

A couple of days ago, a friend "tagged" me. I'm not sure what this means, but it sounds like a chain letter. I'm supposed to list six unimportant things about myself and tag others. Because I don't have many blogging friends, I'm just going to post my list and not tag anyone else. I hope my blogging friend will forgive me. If not, I'll hang out with my non-blogging friends at the "uncool" lunch table.

Like my blogging friend, I've had some trouble coming up with 6 unimportant things. Rest assured, my dilemma is certainly not a reflection of too many important things. Quite the opposite, it's hard to limit myself to only 6 unimportant things. Here's what I've come up with:

1) I can't drive a stick shift car. Many have tried to teach me and many have failed. In one classic episode, I downshifted from third directly to first gear in my brother's car. After he peeled himself off the dashboard and checked behind the car to insure that his transmission wasn't lying on the ground, he said, "I didn't know my car could do that." That was the last time I drove his car. I've accepted that I'll never master this skill and have moved on with my life. As long as they continue to manufacture automatic cars, I think I'm OK.

2) I still keep myself organized with a paper calendar. That's right, I actually carry around a calendar that's printed on real paper, and I write my appointments in pencil. Not a mechanical pencil, a #2 Ticonderoga with a rubber eraser on the end. Maybe one day, I'll graduate to a Blackberry or similar device. For now, I'm happy with my low-tech calendar that never crashes. As long as I have a pencil sharpener, I'm good to go.

3) When I travel, I try to find the kitschiest souvenirs to remember my journeys. So far, my collection includes a rubber ducky with Bill Clinton's head and a saxophone from Little Rock; Poseable Elvis from Graceland; a potato bobble-head from Idaho; a Patrick Henry doll with fist raised (more Black Power salute than "Give me liberty...") from the Liberty Bell; and Instant Civil War capsules from Charleston (just add water and Civil War will ensue.) I'm heading to Minneapolis later this week, who knows what I'll come back with.

4) Some days, there's nothing better than Atlanta Braves baseball, potato chips, french onion dip, and cold beer.

5) I can identify MASH and Friends episodes within the first 2 minutes. I'm not particularly proud of this, but there you go. Perfectly good brain cells that could be used to cure cancer are instead storing information about Hawkeye, Klinger, Chandler, and Joey.

6) I like a window seat on an airplane. Sure, I'm boxed in and have to inconvenience 1 or 2 other people if I have to go to the bathroom, but for the remainder of the flight, I don't have to worry about getting hit by the cart and I can lean my head against the wall, zone out, and sleep. I'm also too short for airplane seats, so I carry a backpack that I can use as a footstool.

There you have it. As Julie Andrews might sing, "These are six of my unimportant things..."