Tagging and Memes

OK, so in the original version of my meme posts (below) I didn't tag anyone. That is because I seriously underestimated my friends and readers. Witness Karen, who responded to both memes, via the comments. Love it! And Shannon said she'd take one on. So, I decided to go ahead and follow the rules...thus, I've tagged both Shannon and Munkay. Better late than never. And if anyone else is interested, your contributions are welcome!

FIRST First Meme

I was looking back at memes on the blog of one of my favorite Icelanders, Gunnella. Turns out, Gunnella tagged me in April 2006, and I somehow overlooked it. Since we are birthday buddies (same month, a "few" years apart) I feel compelled to respond, right now! Here you go, Tokyo Girl:

Amnesia Lane 8 Meme

First town you ever lived in:
Santa Rosa, California, where I spent 18 years. Luther Burbank once said, "this is the chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned." I have to agree. It is a step away to the wine country, the Russian River, San Francisco, the lovely, rocky coast of the Pacific, and is just 3 hours from the Sierra Nevadas. What more could you want?

First album owned: The Monkees.
...and it still resonates, because I too "get the funniest looks from everyone I meet." Here's the one I was in love with...Peter Tork. What a hunk, huh?







First gig seen:
That would be Elton John, Oakland Coliseum, around 1971 or 1972. I wore a cute polyester pants suit, with small light-blue-and-white checks, that my mother made me, and it got a cigarette hole burn in it (NOT my cigarette). Elton wore HUGE glasses, and an Uncle Sam-type red white and blue get-up. He was so fabulous.

First Celebrity Crush:
See Peter Tork, above. Would this have been the origin of the name Peter for my pet rabbit? (the one that I took on bike rides in a pillowcase hanging from the handlebars) Not to mention son #2?
After seeing the picture of Peter Tork, would it surprise you to learn that subsequent crushes included Jerry Brown, Woody Allen, and Armando Manzanero?


First Film you remember seeing:
Wizard of Oz. Still scares me. Don't like it.

First time you drank alcohol:
This is so easy to remember. I was about 14 years old. I went to a wedding with my best friend, Michele, in Berkeley. It was her aunt's wedding, and there was lots of champagne. When I got back to Michele's house I called home to say I'd be spending the night. Wrong! "Your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth so badly that you can't even talk! I'm coming to pick you up RIGHT NOW!" (my Mom)

First paying job:
Besides working for my Dad, it would be my job at JC Penney. Clerk. (Oh, and model. Ha.)

First Kiss: Oooh, Craig. Donner Lake. In the boat tied up at the dock. He was late to dinner and got grounded!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Gunnella. I tag Munkay.

My First Meme

Alda gave me the challenge:

1. Which person in your life has had the greatest impact on you and why?

Boy Howdy! That would be: the one who had his wallet stolen by the trolls, the one who bought me my first Icelandic saga, and the one who keeps the berserker in me from escaping.

He has influenced my taste in music, art and literature; my ability to be kind to others; my appreciation of the large and small things in life. He makes me laugh. We had our 26th wedding anniversary on July 4. He inherited the best qualities of each of his wonderful parents, and passed on all of his finest qualities to our three children. Thankfully he's not perfect--just almost. He's the Whole Steamboat.

2. What type of food do you always have in the fridge?

Fresh fruits and vegetables.

3. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would think more and talk less. (FAT chance.)

4. Name three of your greatest strengths.

Optimism, enthusiasm, willingness to make a fool of myself even more often than is necessary.

5. Which book do you wish you'd written, and why?

Choosing just one is torture. I'll cheat and choose two:

My Life and Hard Times, by James Thurber. I have read this book more times than any other. It is the funniest book I've ever read, and has lots of universal truths. When I read this book hysteria overtakes me, and I cross the line from laughter to tears--or rather, they become one and the same. I wish I could always see myself with the same bemused eye that Thurber uses on himself.

The Fish Can Sing, by Halldór Laxness. This is the book that I began to re-read as soon as I completed it the first time. I love everything about this tender, eloquent book and its unforgettable characters.

What these two books have in common is that their characters always remain with me, and I always look forward to reading them yet another time.

I tag Shannon.