I've been tagged!

Well, I don't know what to say, this is sooooo unexpected...well I might have some notes in my pocket just in case such a thing were to occur suddenly, out of nowhere, without warning...I don't care, I crack myself up. See how I put this photo on THE RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! Har, har, don't be thinking that you know my politics by looking at this photo from The Bryan Daily Eagle circa, whew, 196...? That's me, the girl (with a PONYTAIL~the last time I had more than 2" of hair on my head other than The Mystery Pigtails of The PFM of 2007), that's my mom in the sunglasses (aka Emily Gilmore), that's Mrs. Whosit (used to babysit her kids), and, yes, that's Dubya. So sorry about the black and white photo from the newspaper...you can't see how we are all wearing RED, WHITE, AND BLUE! It's was Texas, I was drunk...oh wait I was only 11, I was under duress.

Okay, so I've been tagged by, thank you very much, Mellie of Little Melfie's Studio. Here are the rules: Each player starts with seven random facts or habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blogs about their seven things as well as these rules. At the end of the post they pick seven people to get tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and to read your blog.

Okay, so as I said, I'm totally unprepared (plus blushing, I'm usually SO private) for this but here goes...

1. To explain the above photo, my mother was campaign chair for H.W. when he ran for congress. On this day Dubya, my mom, and I were making the photo-op rounds about town. Our family was good friends with their family at the time. I went to see H.W. the next summer when I was in DC at his capital office. It seems like I've had more than my share of irony in my life but this is one of the more obvious, humorous ones. Just check out my sister, Valori's, blog listed at the right to see what we really think about our dear old friends now. I'm from Texas, where I first met the Bushes, lived 20 years on the West Coast, and now here I am spittin' distance from my old bud on the East Coast and we aren't friends no more! My life of ironing...

2. A lot more proud declaration...I kissed Clint Eastwood on the lips!!!! Now this is only news to y'all who have never met me 'cause when I meet new people I say, "Hello, I'm Stephanie, I kissed Clint Eastwood on the lips.". I scream it out at parties or in bars or in restaurants. Thankfully it's the only tag I have for my turret's thus far. It was 1977 and my sis and I were living in Pacific Grove, CA when my parents came out to visit from Texas. One of our fave spots was the outside bar at the Hog's Breath Inn in Carmel where we liked to drink the hot spiced wine by the outdoor fire. We had run into a woman my sister knew and she had joined us and when Mr. Eastwood appeared inside the bar she went in and told him that there was a table full of Texans just dyin' to meet him. He came over, allowed us to introduce ourselves, and, knowing this would be the only chance I'd have in my life, I strapped on my big girl panties and asked for a kiss. He obliged! I was very proud of myself and I've had a great story to tell (over and over and over) for 30 years.

3. What character in Gilmore Girls am I most like? Depending on my cycle...Paris Geller on a good day. Trixey on a so-so day. Taylor Doosy on a not-so-good day. How 'bout you?

4. I can remember almost every lyric to every song I've ever heard. Also I know the melodies and grunts, intonations, etc. BUT, I can't carry a tune in a bucket of Jacksons. I love music and love to sing and love to dance. We sit in the very front pew at church so I don't hurt any one's ears. I like to sing loud and proud.

5. Which leads me into...I am a Christian child. I was born and raised an Episcopalian, I am proud and thankful to say, but I found Jesus through Young Life Camp at Frontier Ranch in high school and it has been the main influence in my life ever since. If you know of any at-risk youth I would highly recommend supporting them for a week's stay at one of the many Young Life camps throughout the U.S. I was blessed to be able to go to Frontier in Colorado and witness for the first time true natural beauty of such magnitude as the Rockies, then to Windy Gap in Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It's not hard to find the Lord hanging around in those places.

6. My sister, Valori, is my hero. Sidebar irony~she owned a clothing boutique named Heroes in the 70's and also had a bassett hound named Hero. I've never known anyone who knew my sister who didn't like her. She's the only person I can truly say that about. And she's benevolent as all get-out. She's very global, Oprah~esk, she cares deeply about the world and everyone in it. She's Mother Theresa with a different habit (and Buddhist to boot). Lest I start to sound like this list is about her, check out her blog, she's an inspiration to me, is and has been to many others as well. Valori's new to Corvallis, OR but already has made the news and papers with her work for peace and the legacy she made on the Monterey Peninsula continues on and will go on for a very long time and is permantly on record through her many awards including Monterey County Woman of the Year and the United Nations' Peace and Justice Award. I just decided to "Google" her while I'm typing this and I see she's got more than two pages of hits! I'm am so proudly overwhelmed I really have to pause to blow my nose. There's no more I can say other than check her out if you feel moved to do so.

7. Which naturally leads me into...I love Oprah too. There was an article about her in the Washington Post on Sunday regarding the honorary doctorate she received last week. They quoted a professor who's an expert on nonverbal communication saying how Oprahs' presence and demeaner show that she is truly authentic. When she started to cry with emotion she turned to the crowd without shame to share her true feelings. That's how she makes such a great difference in the world. The quote from the professor is, her "completely emodied-what someone is feeling internally is congruent with what they're expressing. That's what we call presence or charisma.". The paper says, "She's engaged...She's always absorbing and always expressing something. The impression I get from her is that she's showing us how to be in the world." (Wow, that's huge.). On a scale of 1 to 10, the professor rates Oprah as "a 12" as a communicator.

P.S.

I guess I get the award for longest fracking list in history. What I really want you to know about me if you care is that I want to be like Oprah, I want to be like my sister. I want to be authentic. I'm turning 50 this year and that's my goal. I'm way silly, some may find me a little off-putting (I can also surgar-coat things), I've been that way especially since 9/11 but I also grew up in a home with everyone having the same slightly-twisted sense of humor. But 9/11 taught me that life's too short to take too seriously and to not have fun, so I stopped trying to hide my silly. I want y'all to know that I'm for real and if I'm your friend I truly love and cherish you and that I also care deeply for the world at large...

I'm tagging Hope, Shelley, Maya, Christine,