TAGGED!!

So, I've been tagged.

 It came out of nowhere. It stunned me, it shocked me, it took me down!

Then I got ahold of myself.

A new blogging acquaintance from Photostory Friday, avt coach, informed this morning of my tagged status. Check out her blog (and that gorgeous header) here, and beware that she has a very low tolerance for people who embarrass themselves -- so please try to behave!

Here are the rules:

Okay, here goes:

1. I sleep with socks and slippers on. I've done this since I was about 18. For some reason -- and I think it's psycosematic  -- my feet dry out, if I don't keep them covered. Unless I wear sandals. Go figure (and no, I don't wear socks with my sandals).

2. I taught myself to play the piano. I can read music, to a point, but I play by ear. 

3. My talents -- meager as they are -- rest in the areas of music, photography and the written word (I'm not saying I'm good at these things, just better than I am at most other things), so naturally, I make my living driving a forklift for a moving company. I despise my job.

4. I carry a pen with me everywhere I go. I carry this pen even on my pajamas. I am lost without my pen. It's like a security blanket. I've named it Linus. I constantly write notes to myself. 

5. I have a 4 gig ipod Nano. The vast majority of that space is taken up by "books." I learned to appreciate books on cassette -- and their various decendants -- when I worked the graveyard shift, at a gas station in a small town in southern Utah. Currently, I have on there Charles Kuralt's America, American Creation, by Joseph J. Ellis, and The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks. 

6. I have a strange distinction in my family. I have been the younger brother, and the youngest child. I have been an only child. I have been the older brother and the oldest child. And, in the grand scheme of things, I am the middle child.

7. This is a stretch (I was thinking about doing the traditional "100 things about me" post for my upcoming 100th post - but if I'm struggling to get to seven...)

Anyway, I lived in Indiana for a couple of years, and in that time I lived in Huntington and Greesncastle -- the hometown and college town, respectively, of Dan Quayle. And let me tell you, Indiana is proud of it's native son. Even if he can't spell potato.

Sharing the wealth:

1. Aaron, at Life moves pretty fast, has been my best friend for thirty plus years, and I have the scars to prove it. Tag!

2. Sharon, at Out of my mind...back in 5 minutes, has great taste in men. Tag!

3. Catey, at Random thoughts from the zoo, makes me wonder about her taste in men sometimes...Tag!

4. Pam, at No-ordinary life, is a great photographer, and has (almost) the cutest kids on the planet. Tag!

5. Kathy, at the Lee Nut House, has her hands full with twins girls and their "little" brother. Tag!

6. Val, at Greensides News, is a good friend, and the daughter-in-law of my employer. We share a common enemy. Tag!

7. And imbeingheldhostage, at In the Gutter, attracted me to her blog with the title. She's in England, but originally hailed from the southwest -- the unbearably hot part of the southwest -- which may explain why she's just a little cracked, but dang she's funny! Tag!