8 Random Things

Clay Burell tagged me for the 8 Random Things Meme:

First, the Rules:
1) Post these rules before you give your facts
2) List 8 random facts about yourself
3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them
4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged


Whoopee - I get to play!

1. My Dad graduated from RPI on the GI Bill, when I was two years old. To celebrate, he drove cross-country while my mother and I flew to California to meet him. One of my earliest memories is of the bears in the San Diego Zoo.

2. I belonged to our school/church choir from 6th through 12th grade. On Sundays, we sang hymns and Gregorian chant, and twice a year we gave concerts featuring popular and show tunes.

3. Although my Dad was Italian, my Mom is Irish - and hates cheese. The first time I tasted pizza was when I went out with friends after a high school basketball game.

4. I loved to take reading tests in elementary school and thought this would be a wonderful job when I grew up. (Yet another example of "be careful what you wish for")

5. One unforgettable summer, I lived and studied at Oxford University. In order to get a reader's card from the Bodleian, I had to take an oath "not to bring into the Library or kindle therein any fire or flame."

6. My son is a rabid Green Bay Packers football fan. I've accompanied him to Lambeau Field four times to see Brett Favre play (Scott's gone an additional nine or ten times on his own).

7. On November 15, 1969, I participated in the "Mobilization" peace demonstration in Washington, D.C. This protest against U.S. involvement in Vietnam drew an estimated 250,00 to 500,000 marchers, the largest single anti-war protest in U.S. history. My future husband was serving in the Navy at that time, under combat conditions (we didn't meet after until he had been discharged from service). We discuss those turbulent years occasionally, and I've managed to convince him that the vast majority of peace activists were anti-war but not anti-servicemen.

8. My daughter, Ellen, is getting married on 9-08-07 and has asked me to be her Mom-of-honor, to stand beside her as she takes her vows. We aren't sure how often this has been done before, but our family has never balked at tweaking tradition
My turn to tag:
1. Ethan Bodnar
2. Judy O'Connell
3. Meredith Farkas
4. Jennifer Macauley
5. Cheryl Klein
6. Abby Fisch
7. Tim Stahmer
8. Grandad