100 THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I hate lima beans.
2. My middle name is Anne, which makes my initials my nickname, MAR.
3. My first published piece was when I was 15, in The Montclair Times, a letter to the editor complaining about the bus fares rising from $.12 to $.15.
4. I studied violin for 12 years, classical and folk guitar for 5 years.
5. In kindergarten I was a bumblebee in my ballet class' recital.
6. I speak some French and pidgin German.
7. In 1966, my friend Dottie and I stole a plastic banana from a store's Christmas display and ran down the street screaming "Electric Banana!" No, no drugs.
8. I once tried out for Jeopardy and missed passing the test by one question.
9. I married my high school sweetheart.
10. My eyes sometimes are blue, sometimes green.
11. When I was born, my parents disagreed on my name: Angelique (Dad's choice), Maria, Marion, Marianne, and finally, Marilyn Anne.
12. I sing in the car, all the time.
13. Even though she's been dead for 22 years, I still miss my Grandma very much. She was a huge influence on me.
14. Grandma called me "Dolly."
15. I almost died having my second daughter.
16. My favorite flower is a rose that really smells; my least favorite are gladiolae.
17. A toddler can wrap presents better than I can.
18. I've always wanted to learn to play the piano.
19. The first time I went to a Mass with a Catholic friend, I fainted because I'd had nothing to eat.
20. I almost became a registered nurse.
21. I spent the Summer of Love, 1967, in London and Vichy, France.
22. I've worn glasses since I was 5, a result of the measles.
23. Whiskey and scotch make me sick to my stomach.
24. I have no patience for those who don't try their best.
25. I wish I could have a dog.
26. My kids call me Mamoo.
27. The first time I ever heard the word "fuck" was when I pushed my 8-year-old brother out of an apple tree. He said it.
28. The same brother told me that there was no Santa Claus. He was 4, I was 8.
29. I played 1st base and catcher in HS softball.
30. My favorite boardgame is Monopoly.
31. I was asked to leave college.
32. Sometimes I want to dress up for Hallowe'en.
33. My skin is very sensitive.
34. I fear being bored.
35. There's nothing better than a guy with a mustache.
36. I read Gone with the Wind in three days, when I was 12.
37. My favorite bands are the Stones and the Beatles.
38. I still dance.
39. My favorite vacation is to go to New England, which I've done many times.
40. The cats I've owned have been named Nigel, Buffy, Milo, and Cleo. Nigel and Milo were my choices, the other two were out of my hands.
41. I cry easily, at sad movies, sad songs, sad memories, and when I hear about abuse to children.
42. Peace comes to me when I sit by a lake or a stream with my knitting in hand.
43. I love biographies.
44. There's nothing that pisses me off more when I'm driving than to see someone dump litter on the road.
45. Speaking of driving, I've never gotten a speeding ticket, despite that fact that I put the hammer to the floor.
46. I've seen every single Monty Python episode.
47. I once flirted with John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful in an elevator in NYC. He looked familiar but I didn't recognize him until after the doors had closed. Damn!
48. I loathed dolls as a child, collected Matchbox cars, played baseball, and ran with the neighborhood boys.
49. I make a dynamite cole slaw, chili, and sauerbraten. Separately, not together.
50. If I could go to one place, it would be Germany, to see where my family came from.
51. When I'm finished with work, I love to go online and play cards--Texas Hold 'Em, Spades, Cribbage. And yes, Gin.
52. If I lose, I'm gracious.
53. You will never find any friend more loyal than I am.
54. Despite my online persona as The Knitting Curmudgeon, I'm really very patient, very happy, and almost always in a good mood.
55. I love kids of all ages.
56. In the 32 years I was married, I only remember 3 times when Jim and I had a knock-down, drag-out screaming fight.
57. My favorite book has always been Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
58. Bugs scare me.
59. I'm also afraid of the dark. And heights.
60. The biggest thrill I ever had was sitting on the back of a motorcycle going full-tilt boogie down Deadman's Curve at Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, NJ.
61. If I could have been anyone, it would have been either Kate Hepburn or Janis Joplin without the booze and the drugs.
62. I'll never turn down sea urchin sushi.
63. I wish the current US administration would implode.
64. Give me a bag of M&Ms and a diet Coke and I'm happy.
65. I failed algebra.
66. The first boy I ever had a crush on was Todd Healy in 6th grade. He had red hair and freckles.
67. I own three black bras.
68. If I'm alone when I eat, I read.
69. My late husband always said I was the only person he ever met who could hurt themselves just sitting still.
70. When I meet people, I'm always drawn to their smile first.
71. I'm quite shy and reserved until I get to know someone. Then, fahgedaboudit.
72. I met Eleanor Roosevelt right before she died, in 1962.
73. Sitting in any class makes me fidget.
74. I love the spring, right around my birthday, April 25.
75. I call my grandson Ian my Birthday Present, because he was born on April 26.
76. Sometimes I just have to have White Castle hamburgers or hotdogs from Hotdog Johnny's.
77. I admit it, I love sex with the right person.
78. But sometimes a kiss means so much more.
79. I'll never stop swimming.
80. There's something about Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsey Lohan that I find so wrong.
81. I dislike folding laundry.
82. The hair is blonde. From a bottle.
83. In the summer, I love iced tea with lime.
84. The idiots on American Idol fascinate me.
85. Picking up shells on the shore is the best. Along with the steamers, the lobster and the fried clams.
86. The furthest west I've been is Santa Fe, the furthest east France, the furthest north Montreal, and the furthest south Florida. And not much in between.
87. I'm terrified of flying but I'll do it if I have to.
88. I would have liked to have tried acting. Perhaps I still will.
89. I can blow bubblegum bubbles bigger than my head. Ask my mother.
90. I collect many things: miniature teasets, Flow Blue porcelain, Frozen Charlottes (penny dolls from the Victorian era) and any other antique thingie that strikes my fancy.
91. I'm happy with my life, my friends, and my family.
92. Listening to "Bad Moon Rising" reminds me of singing "there's a bathroom on the right" when I was in high school.
93. I never say "never."
94. My spirituality is something that most people don't realize I have.
95. Warm rain makes me want to stand in it.
96. Cruelty to animals and children is something I won't tolerate.
97. I was a psychiatric technician for nine years.
98. Loopy and I have been friends for more than 10 years but only met in person once.
99. If it's purple, I can't turn it down.
100. When I die, I want my obit headline to read, "Writer, Knitter, Bonne Vivante."