Mama's Me-Me game

Mama wants me to play her game. I enjoyed reading 7 things about Mama, so I'll return the favor, but I'll pass on tagging others to do the same.


Here are 7 "things" about me.

1. I am 29 years old. Yes, folks, nearly 30, but not there yet. The White Ranger said when his 30th birthday was looming he felt the need to go skydiving and do a couple other things from a list of "What I need to do before I'm 30." I don't have a list, but I am not looking forward to this milestone birthday. I feel old and I despair of ever reaching some of my goals. Unfortunately, skydiving isn't one of them. That would be easy to get done (although I might pee myself in the process).



2. Since as far back as I can remember, I've loved the outdoors. One of my earliest memories is of kissing a frog I found in my swimming pool. I wasn't kissing it because of that whole Prince story, I felt sorry for it. We were living in Edwards AFB at the time. In the Mojave desert. I felt bad for the little guy, since water was so hard to find. He needed a kiss. I was always catching bugs, snails (not hard to catch), lizards, frogs, toads, minnows, snakes (the one thing Mama wouldn't let me bring in the house), whatever I could get my hands on.



3. My first career choice was "Grasshopper salesman," or so I told Mama. But I'd only sell to people who wanted them as pets. What can I say? I thought I was pretty darn good at it. How was I to know there's not a huge market for that kind of thing? Then I was going to be a zookeeper. I won a Father's Day contest when I wrote an essay saying that I loved my dad and that because he's so strong, he would catch elephants to put in my zoo. In the fourth grade I was in class and the teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. After four or five other girls said they wanted to be veterinarians, I realized I'd have to pick something else. First, I didn't want to be like the other girls. Second, I didn't want to do a job that only girls wanted to do. Third, I didn't want to compete with so many people. Fourth, I liked wild animals better anyway. So by the time it was my turn I'd decided I wanted to be a wildlife biologist. I was the only one in the room. In high school I started volunteering with a search and rescue post. I really got something out of finding pieces of murder victims and searching for evidence for the sheriffs. I enjoyed finding the live people even more. That's when I decided I wanted to work in law enforcement. But I got a wildlife biology degree anyway, because I love science.



4. I'm learning to play the bagpipes. I hate playing "Amazing Grace," but it's the first tune I learned. I also can play "Grand Old Flag," "Highland Cathedral," "Robin Adair," "Will Ye No Come Back Again," "Scots Wha Hae," "High Road to Gairloch," "The Cassions," "The Marine Hymn," "Anchor's Aweigh," "The Minstrel Boy," "The Rowan Tree," "The Isle of Innisfree," and "Going Home." The bagpipes are my third instrument. I started with the clarinet in 5th grade through high school. I played the oboe my senior year.


5. I love to travel. I've been to New Zealand twice, Scotland three times, The Netherlands, the Bahamas, French Polynesia, The Yukon, BC, and all over the US. My list of places to visit far exceeds the list of places I've been. After my Nepal/India trip next month, I want to go to Switzerland, South Africa, Peru, Patagonia, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand (I know I've already been there, but dang it, it's beautiful), Bolivia, Brazil, and China. My list is subject to change and constant revision.


6. I like to read. I just finished a pirate tale, and I'm halfway through a story on the rescue of the POWs from Cabanatuan. I wouldn't mind writing a book someday.


7. I like long backpacking trips. Especially solo or with a good friend. I like to take my time, take pictures, stop creekside to soak my feet in the water and see what lives under the rocks. I like to sit on my backpack and let the wind dry my sweaty back while I eat warm chunks of smoked gouda cheese or salty sweet gorp. I like to stop walking just to hear the sounds around me. I like to see tracks in the snow and the mud. I like to smell the piney smell of a dry forest in the Sierras and the wet, tangy smell of the ocean as I hike along an empty beach. I like to look back and see how far I've come on my own two tired feet.