25 Things

Cross-posted on my Facebook page. I know the rule is that you're supposed to tag 25 people, but I'm not going to do that. If you read this, consider yourself tagged.

1. In 1974, when I was in the 8th grade, I won the Sacramento County spelling bee.

2. My earliest memory is of the day that President Kennedy was assassinated (I was three years old).

3. I remember exactly what I was doing when I heard that Elvis Presley died.

4. I can recite, from memory, the outcome of every World Series since 1950.

5. I believe that, under duress, I could name the title of every episode of the original "Star Trek" series.

6. I own more than 1000 vinyl albums and more than 1000 CDs, but I still think that the greatest song ever written is still out there somewhere, waiting for me to discover it.

7. I've seen six members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame perform live: Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, and Neil Young.

8. I've seen Bruce Springsteen perform live 10 times, at five different venues: Oakland, San Diego, Mountain View, Sacramento, and New York City.

9. When I was in college, I witnessed a future Deputy Secretary of State smoking dope and snorting cocaine.

10. I have a sneaking suspicion that my wife and two sons are smarter than I am.

11. I make my own tapes to listen to when I'm driving, and have tapes in my car that are almost 25 years old.

12. I worked at McDonalds for 4 years, and to this day utilize the lessons I learned about the workplace while I was there.

13. I can tell my stress level about work is too high when I start dreaming about McDonalds.

14. I've been a member of a Sacramento Kings ticket consortium since 1985.

15. Every December, I read "A Christmas Carol."

16. The first alcoholic drink I had was a Blue Hawaiian. Yes, I was in Hawaii.

17. In my old age, I've become quite the beer snob.

18. I never really got the appeal of "2001: A Space Odyssey."

19. There are entire bookshelves in my section of the library devoted to books about baseball, and golf course architecture.

20. Oregon Blackberry, Jamoca Almond Fudge, and Pralines & Cream - that's my definition of heaven.

21. I am the only one of the 3 Vaca brothers without an earring.

22. I knew from the first time I saw it that "The Empire Strikes Back" was the best of the "Star Wars" movies.

23. In 2007, I was within a few feet of Barack Obama, but didn't have the presence of mind to shake his hand.

24. When I was 15, my dream was to become the record reviews editor of Rolling Stone Magazine.

25. I still remember the details of the first episode of Saturday Night Live, and am quite sure that it was funnier than the one I'm watching right now.