The Game's Afoot

By C. L. Beck
© 2007

The game of tag is going around and has made its way to our blogging site. I was so anxious to play that I wrote this blog before anyone actually tagged me. Some might say that’s crazy, but I have faith in my blogging friends. Plus, I begged and pleaded to play. And if all else fails, we’re a small group and eventually I’ll be the only one left and someone will have to tag me. In light of all that, I'm thinking I can get away with just pretending to be tagged.

In this version of the game, you’re supposed to tell things that other people don’t know about you. So here goes.

1. I can not sew. I've tried and the garments would either fit an elephant or an ant, but not me. I do have a sense of humor though, which is why I don't mind telling you that the hem on my jeans is glued. (Ok, all two of you who read my profile know that I can't sew, but I wanted to mention it again so that no one asks me to hem their pants.)

2. I am barely computer literate—as evidenced by the fact that this list indented itself when I wrote it (which I didn't want) and then unindented itself when I posted (which at that point, I no longer wanted, either).

3. When I was in my late teens, I drove through the suburbs of Washington DC ringing the bells of an ice cream truck. I think I ate more of the frozen confections than I sold. It was a defining moment in my life when a guy offered me drugs for ice cream. It made me realize just how dumb a drug user had to be to trade something with a street value of twenty-five dollars for a fifteen-cent popsicle. The second most defining moment came when another guy came out to the truck and offered to teach me to sell drugs. He had a flashy Camaro obtained from pushing dope, but I figured I had the better deal—a truck full of ice cream.

4. I once walked over a creek and its steep, rocky falls (Great Falls, MD) on the handrail of the bridge. My best friend squealed on me, and my high school sweetheart (who eventually became my husband) was not happy to hear the news. To this day, he refuses to let me do anything fun, like skydiving or bungee jumping, unless he’s there to take me to the hospital afterwards. Apparently he doesn’t have faith in my ability to bounce when I hit solid objects.

5. Usually I keep this a secret, but since I blabbed it in a column I’m writing for the newspaper, I’ll tell you as well. I have a degree in Entomology. Yes, that’s right … bugs. However, I do not like all bugs, just the pretty ones. I’ve asked my friends not to bring their bugs to me for identification, because I have enough bugs of my own that I can’t identify. However, if you’re really nice and you coax me, I’ll be happy to teach you how to pet a bumblebee.

Note: As of Saturday, I was officially tagged. Wahoo, I'm 'it'. Thanks, Keith. And I tag ... W.L. Elliott and G. Ellen. Twice the tags for twice the fun!