Thursday, February 5, 2009

About Me - Rich

I hate talking about myself, but since Stephen tagged me a short time ago (okay it was several months ago), I'll share enough to make him regret it.

Things on My Wish List

1. A Mazda RX-8 in midnight regatta blue. I've always loved that car. I don't know why.
2. A secret room behind a bookcase that opens when you pull back on a torch.
3. The ability to time travel. Oh the possibilities. Don't get me started.
4. The ability to retire young...now.
5. Weather where the wind never gets above 20 mph.
6. Photograph either Bigfoot or the Lochness Monster. Either one will do.
7. The flying machine that Barney invented on the Flintstones.
8. A 40 foot by 80 foot barn with a loft. I had a bigger one as a kid.

Things That Can Instantly Change My Mood

1. High Winds. They cause me great stress for some reason. I hate wind.
2. Homemade Shepherd's Pie. Mmmmm.
3. The smell of leather. Mmmmm.
4. The smell of fresh cut grass on a windless 70 degree day.
5. Putting together and revising shetland breeding plans. It's fun.
6. Watching an episode or two of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
7. I like hearing the heat kick on at night. It relaxes me.
8. Seeing old, well kept barns.
9. The sound of horse hooves on pavement.
10. Visiting Amish Country (now that I'm no longer being shunned).

Things That I Still Want To Do In Life

1. Go to Tuscany
2. Go to Scotland (where I will Photograph the Lochness Monster).
3. Raise a shetland that receives a score of 100 on our rating system.
4. Take one run down the Lake Placid Bobsled run.
5. Have something published where I receive actual money for doing so.
6. Kidnap the Groundhog the night before Groundhog's Day (I'll return him unharmed...unless he bites me).
7. Visit Abraham Lincoln (if I can develop the ability to time travel. See above).
8. Host my own talk show. It might suck, but I'd still like to do it.
9. Live off the fruits of my own labor rather than relying on employment.
10. See my kids through college one way or the other.

I'm a simple person with simple desires.

Favorite TV Shows of All Time (in no particular order)

1. Kolchak: The Night Stalker
2. Happy Days
3. Seinfeld
4. Cheers
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. Fall Guy
7. Friends
8. X-Files
9. Chuck
10. Police Squad
11. Ken Burns' "The Civil War"

Favorite Foods

1. Homemade Shepherd's Pie
2. Pasta and meatballs
3. That Enchilada casserole that Jen makes
4. Spanish rice
5. Goulash
6. Beer (I'm not sure that qualifies as food)
7. Baked haddock
8. Real mashed potatoes
9. Vegetable beef stew
10. Fresh clam chowder
11. Lobster claws
12. Amish meatballs that Jen makes

Things I Think I Can Do But Probably Can't

1. Perform successful ACL surgery
2. Go three rounds with the current heavyweight boxing champion and win on points
3. Be President of The United States
4. Split the seem in a two deep zone and hit an NFL receiver in stride against an NFL defense in an NFL stadium
5. Cover any NFL tight end one-on-one
6. Kick a 40 yard field goal
7. Write a novel
8. Invent something useful

Something Most People Don't Know About Me

I tried out for the traveling American Gladiators show back in the early 90's. I didn't make the cut.

My Perfect Day

I'm sitting on the porch on a Saturday evening sipping on a glass of wine after eating Amish meatballs. It's 70 degrees with puffy white clouds, a slight breeze, and the smell of fresh cut grass rises gently in the air. I look out back and lambs race playfully in the spring pasture. I can hear jazz music playing softly inside the house. An Amish buggy rolls by, then two more. I go inside and pull back the torch by the fireplace and the bookcase opens. I enter the secret room and play chess with Abraham Lincoln. I win. Not a bad evening.

There's nothing else to know about me of interest. Notice that I have more favorite foods than any other category and there's many more.

4 comments:

Michelle said...

This was fun; thanks for sharing! I take it you were raised Amish?

Jen and Rich Johnson said...

No, I was joking. Incidentally, I can't wait to see your lambs this spring. The gulmoget that you used was impressive looking.

Liz said...

That sure was a fun read! Very interesting and truly colorful!

stephen rouse said...

A very thoughtful writing. I liked many of the things you did. It was really interesting and fun to find out more about you. Thanks Rich! :-)