40 Items on my "Bucket List"

Last Updated 06/03/2022

I don't even have a "Bucket List," so this may not even reach 40 items. And, I am including items that I have already done because if did have a list, these would have been on it:

1. Own a Corvette
   
2. Attend the Indians Fantasy Camp
   
3. Visit NYC (2009)
   
4. See the Indians play
   
5. See the Indians play in Cleveland (Summer 2012)
   
6. Write a novel (2009)
   
7. Get published (2009)
   
8. See the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium (2009)
   
9. Pay for a group of college-aged kids' supper (payback kinda thing) (2013*)
   
10. Go to Australia
    
11. Pay off my debts
    
12. Go to California (2004, 2014)
    
13. Go to Disney World (2008)
    
14. See the Grand Canyon (Summer 2014)
    
15. Have lyrics recorded by professional
    
16. Have lyrics recorded by a demo group
    
17. Publish a book of poems and lyrics
    
18. Finish the "Top Indians by Uniform Number" list
    
19. Watch the Steelers play live
    
20. Visit Wrigley Field (as a bonus, I got to watch the Cubs/Tribe play!)
    
21. Take my family to Colorado for vacation (2013)
    
22. Take a cruise
    
23. Visit Europe
    
24. Visit St. Andrews (for my Dad)
    
25. Ride the Mt. Washington Incline (Summer 2012)
    
26. Start my own business (2022, founded Amalgamated Toast LLC)
    
27. Win a lottery (not scratch-off/doesn't have to be a big one)****
    
28. Anonymously benefit someone in a major way (house, car, bills, etc)
    
29. Be on TV or in a movie (commercial, as an extra, leading role, whatever!)**
    
30. Invent something successful (and benefit from the sales)
    
31. Write a children's book
    
32. See a soccer World Cup game live
    
33. Perform a stand-up routine at a comedy club (added 04/28/2012)
34. See a full performance of Cirque de Solei (added 05/18/2013) - They filed for bankruptcy in June 2020. I will probably never get to see them live.
    
35. Head a non-profit which helps those in financial straits get on their feet (05/18/2013)
36. Present at a national conference (added 05/18/2013) (AESA, FETC)
    
37. Create a scholarship for students with last name of Henderson who attend Henderson State University. No minimum GPA, no minimum credits. The reward is having the same name as the college. Why? Because no one is doing it now, and it should be a given. (Added 07/24/2013) - In 2020, HSU was sold to the Arkansas State University system. At the time, the university retained its name, but all of the operations are ASU. As the school is no longer its own entity, this item will likely never come to fruition.
    
38. Ride AMTRAK at least once (added 05/26/2014) (May 2014)***
39. Ride on Parts of Route 66 (Added 2014) (Summer 2014)

I'm sure there are other things that should/could go on the list, but that's all I got for now.
(This list was originally posted on 09/07/2009)

*On May 30, 2013, I was with a co-worker at Cracker Barrel in Conway, Arkansas. A group of 4 young adults sat down at a table diagonal from ours. I decided then I would pay for their meal. The longer I looked, though, I could have sworn one of the guys looked like Kris Allen (American Idol winner). I texted a photo to my wife. Before she could respond, the reaction of other patrons left no doubt. When our meal was finished, I asked our waitress (who was also his) if she would give me the check. I did not tell Kris that I was paying for his table's meal.

**In 2009, two colleagues and I went to Schaumberg, IL, for Windows training. While there, we decided to walk around Chicago every chance we got. As we passed by Vic Theatre, we saw that Bill Engvall would be there that night. So, we bought tickets. Turns out he was taping his comedy routine for TBS Very Funny! We ended up with seat near the front and close to the aisle. They were perfect! Not only did we get to see a great show, but we were put on video as well! Later that year, TBS aired the special, and there we were!

*** I added this after-the-fact because sometimes we do things that SHOULD have been on our bucket list in the first place.

**** I have won small amounts in the lottery several times (less than $100). I am crossing this off, though winning a big one would be pretty swooft... Haha!

40 Things, or maybe just 13...

Last year, I turned 40.  As a tribute of sorts, I had set out to write 40 blog posts about "40 things" in my life.  I came close.  I managed to write 13 posts highlighting 40 different topics.  You can check those out HERE.

I thought for sure I could hammer out 40 different topics throughout the year, but it was not to be.  I read one time that the key to blogging is passion.  Without a passion for your blog's focus or a passion for writing in general, one's blog will perish, wilting away without the water of creativity.  In my case, it was a combination of laziness and the lack of actually finding topics that I could rattle off "40 things" regarding.  Evidently, I'm more of a "21 things" kinda guy.  Does mean I peaked at age 21?  You don't have to answer that.  Really.

40 Shuffled Songs on my iPod Touch

I haven't done a "40 Things" list in a while, and I thought it might be fun to fire up my iTouch and jot down the names of the first 40 songs that come up as I shuffle through my playlist.  That is, I listed all songs, tapped "Shuffle" then used the "next song" button.  I tell people that I "listen to anything," but a lot of folks don't quite understand what that really means in my world.  Let's see if I can help show what it means!

1. "Beautiful Girl (Demo)" - Michael Jackson
2. "Before He Cheats" - Carrie Underwood
3. "Dancing Machine (Single Version)" - Michael Jackson
4. "You are not alone" - Michael Jackson (I'm sensing a pattern here)
5. "I ran so far away" - Flock of Seagulls
6. "Away in a  manger" - Blaine Larsen (Yes, I still have some Christmas music on there)
7. "Dinosaurs and Rockets Theme" - Kevin Honeycutt, et al (WAHOO! That is cool!)
8. "Call Me Al" - Paul Simon (one of the funniest videos ever)
   
9. "Here for the party" - Gretchen Wilson
10. "Break My Stride" - Matthew Wilder (the epitome of one-hit wonder)
    
11. "Amarillo Sky" - Jason Aldean
12. "DJ's Got Me Groovin" - Grilio featuring Breezy (an AcidPlanet song)
13. "Boondocks" - Little Big Town (Tyler hates the "you get a line" part at the end of this one)
    
14. "Teardrops on my guitar" - Taylor Swift
15. "Winter Wonderland" - Brad Paisley
16. "We've had enough" - Michael Jackson
17. "Life is a highway" - Rascal Flatts (Excellent remake!)
    
18. "Forever & Always" - Taylor Swift
19. "Crazy Train (remix)" - Ozzy Osborne & Madonna (supposedly)
20. "It's On" - NLT (From "Jump In!" Soundtrack)
21. "Last Kiss" - Pearl Jam (One of my faves)
    
22. "Do you hear what I hear?" - Carrie Underwood
23. "Dirty Water" - Plowed Under
24. "There's your trouble" - Dixie Chicks
25. "First redneck on the internet" - Cledus T Judd
26. "Kryptonite" - 3 Doors Down (Would you still call me Superman?)
    
27. "Hoedown Throwdown" - Miley Cyrus
28. "A memory" - Hannah Blaylock & Eden's Edge (WAHOO! Arky girl goin big time these days!)
29. "In the back" - Michael Jackson
30. "Fun Time" - Bruce Willis (Yeah, THAT Bruce Willis - Die Hard, etc)
    
31. "Hard Workin Man" - Brooks & Dunn (the duo formerly known as)
    
32. "Dont stop til you get enough" - Michael Jackson
33. "She Came Down" - Kat Jimenez
    
34. "Rock me Amadeus" - Falco (I still have no idea what the German words are)
    
35. "I'm Already There" - Lonestar (Not the one with the Schwartz)
36. "Coca-Cola Theme (remix)" - Yes, the commercials remixed into a 4:30 song!
37. "Push it to the limit" - Corbin Bleu
38. "I dont think about it" - Emily Osment (Yes, even bubblegum music makes it on here)
    
39. "Time of your life" - Green Day
40. "Dream" - Miley Cyrus

 Not quite as varied as I thought it would be.  Then again, with more than 100 Michael Jackson songs alone, it is easy to see why he ended up in the list so many times.  At the time of this post, I have nearly 450 songs loaded.  I recently pared down my tunes, cutting out almost all the Christmas music and I am about to load in about 500 more songs that I want to add to the mix.  Who knows what will come up next time.

40 Favorite Christmas Songs

Oh you knew it was coming! In my year-long goal to post lists of "40 Things" in honor of my 40th B-Day, here are 40 of my favorite yuletide ditties (not in any order than how they popped in my head, and some are not "Christmas songs" per se):

1. I'm Gonna Email Santa
2. Silent Night
3. Merry Christmas from the Family
4. Away in a Manger
5. Joy to the World
6. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
7. Silver and Gold
8. Heatmiser/Snowmiser song ("I'm Mr. Heatmiser... I'm Mr. Sun...." classic!)
9. I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas
10. Bob and Doug's 12 Days of Christmas
11. All I want for Christmas is You
12. Blue Christmas
13. I'll be Home for Christmas
14. Rockin' around the Christmas tree
15. Sleigh Ride
16. Christ is born in Bethlehem
17. Go tell it on the mountain
18. Do you hear what I hear
19. Do they know it's Christmas
20. Grandma got run over by a reindeer
21. White Christmas
22. Winter Wonderland (and the hilarious spoof "Walkin 'round in women's underwear")
23. What child is this
24. Snoopy vs Red Baron ("Metty Clistmas, My Fliend!")
25. Silver Bells
26. O come, all ye faithful
27. The Christmas Shoes (How do you not tear up?)
    
28. Have yourself a merry little christmas
29. Holly Jolly Christmas
30. Jingle Bell Rock
31. The first noel
32. Where are you Christmas (from "The Grinch...")
33. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! (as sung in "Die Hard" haha)
34. Mary, did you know
35. Hark the herald angel sings
36. Santa Claus is coming to town ("The Boss" version, of course!)
37. Jolly old Saint Nicholas
38. Carol of the bells
39. We wish you a merry Christmas
40. The Christmas Guest (oldie but goodie!)

I had to look up the last one because I knew what it was about but couldn't remember the name, which is goof given it's about, um, oh, I dunno... a Christmas guest!?  Yeesh.

Feel free to add your own! :-)

(almost) 40 Favorite "Scary" Movies

Call them horror, scary, gory, whatever.  I am only including movies that I have actually seen.  There are a lot of scary movies that have been made, but I just haven't seen them.  These are 40 of my favorite scary movies:

1. Poltergeist (yeah, it's the clown. Sue me)
2. Embryo (freaked me out in 4th grade)
3. Cube - The first time I saw it, I was captivated and freaked out at the same time. I knew then I had to have DVD. One of my all-time favorite movies, though I think I forgot to put it on that list. LOL.
4. Friday 13th (the original, and only the first one. After that, they were stupid)
5. Halloween 3 (the only one I saw and the music always reminds me of "every little thing she does is magic"  Seriously, listen to both and tell me it's not there)
6. Saw (I am lumping them all together here. They are awesome scary/gory)
7. The Day After (I was a kid when this came out and it freaked me out. Nuclear war fallout. scary)
8. Carrie (freaky bloody chick. 'nuff said)
9. Pet Semetary (Shan had a cat that looked just like the one in the movie)
10. "The Doll" - not a full movie, but scary enough for me. Freaky!
11. Funny Games (the original, not the remake. scary neighbors are freaky!)
12. The Blob (80's version) - Another reason to stay out of the lake.
13. Nightmare on Elm Street (the first one, original only. Remakes suck, as do sequels in most cases)
14. The Omen
15. Brainstorm - Christopher Walken and a bunch of guys make high-tech sensory playback "tapes."  It scared me to think of what people could do to themselves with computers. I loved it!
16. Amityville Horror
17. The Brood (I saw this on HBO or something as a kid late one night.)
18. Videodrome (As an avid television watcher, it just freaked me out)
19. The Ring. Who knew a sealed well could scare the tar out of you?
20. Jaws. Again, as a kid, I wouldnt swim for months after this.  I just realized I saw most of these as a kid.  How did THAT happen!?
21. The Shining. Jack Nicholson. 'Nuff said.
22. Child's Play. Yeah, I have a problem with freaky little dolls that attack.
23. Alien. Holy cow that was a big scary monster.
24. The Grudge - one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen. Freaky kids.
25. Psycho - The original. The fact it was black-and-white only made it scarier.
26. The Birds - something about animals turning tails and attacking people is just scary.
27. Henry: Portrait of Serial Killer.  Two guys get off on watching the people they videotape killing.
28. American Psycho. I actually liked this a lot.  It was bizarre.
29. Blue Velvet. Yeah, it was sexy, but man it was outright crazy!
30. Cabin Fever - I saw this on IFC or something. It is "B" for sure, but the whole "dogs-eye-view" things was just priceless horror.
31. Fatal Attraction. I had gone out with a girl that I was pretty sure the movie was based on.  Of course, most guys think that.
32. Single White Female. In the same vein - freaky chicks, man.
33. House of Wax - the remake. Okay, yeah, that one bugged me.  Wax figures are freaky. Period.
34. The Sixth Sense - I made the mistake of watching the extras on the DVD before the movie, so a lot of things were 'spoiled.'  The girl who had been poisoned by her mother though... The first time I saw it, it freaked me out.
35. Ginger Snaps

Okay, well, I came close.  I'm sure I could come up with the last five, but I see now it would be really stretching it.

40 Favorite Athletes

These are 40 of my favorite sports figures. They are in no particular order, but will probably follow a slight pattern as I mentally run through various sports. I will include the sport to give reference, just in case some of these get obscure.

1. Bob Feller, baseball
   
2. Terry Bradshaw, football
   
3. Jim Thome, baseball
   
4. Jerome Bettis, football
   
5. Michael Jordan, basketball
   
6. Larry Bird, basketball
   
7. Mario Lemieux, hockey
   
8. Wayne Gretsky, hockey
   
9. Tony Hawk, skateboarding
   
10. Lynn Swann, football
    
11. Joe Greene, football
    
12. Hines Ward, football
    
13. Willie Stargell, baseball
    
14. Roberto Clemente, baseball
    
15. Patrick Roy, hockey
    
16. Pele, soccer/futbol
    
17. Mia Hamm, soccer/futbol
    
18. Mary Lou Retton, gymnastics
    
19. Travis Hafner, baseball
    
20. Len Barker, baseball
    
21. Joe Charboneau, baseball
    
22. Jack Nicklaus, golf
    
23. Tiger Woods, golf
    
24. Mario Andretti, racing
    
25. AJ Foyt, racing
    
26. John Elway, football
    
27. Michael Irving, football
    
28. Julius Ervin, basketball
    
29. George Brett, baseball
    
30. Hank Aaron, baseball
    
31. Shawn Johnson, gymnastics
    
32. Paul Child, MISL/soccer/futbol
    
33. Stan Terlecki, MISL/soccer/futbol
    
34. Pikabu Street (sp?) - Skiing
    
35. Greg Norman, golf
    
36. Cliff Lee, baseball
    
37. Lou Gehrig, baseball
    
38. Emmitt Smith, football
    
39. Jesse Owens, track
    
40. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, wrestling
    

For the record, on this list, I did not hit the search engines despite wanting to in a couple of cases. So, I'd think of things like, "Oh, man that women's volleyball chick" or "that guy who did the speed skating" or "something...Day... man, the jockey..." - but since I could not easily come up with their names, they were left off the list.

The last ones kinda came to me as I ran through various sports in my head all over again. I remember going to the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh and seeing Jimmy Snuka in person. I was 10 or 11 when we were all into wrestling, and thinking back now, we watched guys like Bobby Backlund, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, many folks who are still amazingly around and still involved with wrestling.

Some people will look at this list and ask, "where's so-and-so?" There are two answers for that: 1) I really did run out of numbers, and 2) I forgot that person. Oh, there is a 3rd option: while that person may have been famous or great or whatever, he or she was not one of MY favorites, necessarily.

I selected these because they stand for something to me, in my life, in some way. Or they have a special meaning to me because of memories, accomplishments, what they might have stood for. There are a lot of reasons we choose the famous people we enjoy watching, enjoy talking about. And why do we do such things? I think it's because those people provide a common thread among our friends and family. But, they also provide a link between strangers. I could walk up to many people and utter one of the names above, and except for a few regional/obscure names, the person I mention the name to would have recognition of that name. I may have to try that for fun sometime.

Feel free to share your list of favorite athletes. Or, for that matter, feel free to check out any of the "40 Things" lists and reply with your variation!

40 Glove Songs

Not only is this another one of my "40 Things" lists, but this one is all about gloves. Well, really it's about changing the word 'love' for 'glove(s)' in the titles of songs. The one rule I have is that it has to actually make some kind of sense!

1. All Out of Gloves
   
2. You Give Gloves a Bad Name
   
3. Looking for Gloves in all the Wrong Places
   
4. Saving all my gloves for you
   
5. Gloves (are) a many splendor thing
   
6. Gloves on the rocks
   
7. All of my Gloves
   
8. Where is the glove?
   
9. Glove Song
   
10. Abandoned glove
    
11. I just wanna use your gloves tonight
    
12. An everlasting glove
    
13. Because you gloved me
    
14. Born to give my glove to you
    
15. Can you feel the glove tonight?
    
16. Chapel of gloves
    
17. Endless gloves
    
18. Feel like making gloves
    
19. Game of glove
    
20. The greatest glove of all
    
21. Hurts to be in gloves
    
22. I love being in gloves with you
    
23. I need gloves
    
24. Let's talk about gloves
    
25. Lost in gloves
    
26. Gloves don't cost a thing
    
27. Glove by another name
    
28. Glove of my life
    
29. Making gloves out of nothing at all
    
30. Power of gloves
    
31. Sea of gloves
    
32. Stop in the name of gloves
    
33. We're in this glove together
    
34. When we make gloves
    
35. You give good gloves
    
36. Your glove amazes me
    
37. Girl don't take your glove from me
    
38. Glove shack!
    
39. We got a groovy kind of glove
    
40. All you need are gloves
    

40 Favorite Christian/Gospel Songs

I thought it would be fun to see if I could even come up 40 Christian/Gospel (not Christmas) songs, let alone a 'favorite 40.' Let's see how it goes:

1. Amazing Grace


2. Grace Flows Down


3. I'll Fly Away


4. Old Rugged Cross


5. Mississippi Squirrel Revival (does that count? I think so!)


6. Who Am I


7. Promise Comin Down That Dusty Road (Purkey version)


8. Thank You


9. My God is an awesome God


10. Victory in Jesus


11. Are you washed in the blood?


12. How Great Thou Art


13. Long Black Train


14. Now is the time to worship


15. Shout to the Lord


16. I'm Accepted


17. When we all get to Heaven


18. Holy is the Lord


19. Power in the Blood


20. Lord, I lift your name on high


21. Stomp!


22. Place in this world


23. The heart of worship


24. Here I am to worship


25. Because He lives


26. Psalm 100 (I think is what it is called)

Okay, I admit, I am out of songs that pop into my head. The rest of the list are songs that I looked up and said, "DUH how could I forget that one!?":


27. Precious Memories


28. When the Roll is Called Up Yonder


29. I feel like traveling on


30. Beautiful One


31. How great is our God


32. You are holy (Prince of Peace)


33. He Reigns


34. Here I am to worship


35. The heart of worship


36. Worthy is the lamb


37. Indescribable


38. Precious memories


39. this is the day the Lord has made


40. holy, holy, holy

Okay, that was a LOT harder than I ever thought it would have been.

I have a song that I did not put on there because it exists only in my head (because i can't sing for jack). It is called "A-M-A-Z/I-N-G-G/R-A-C-E, The Lord's Amazing Grace." I wrote it after my maternal grandfather passed away and it plays in my head more than any other song I have every heard. I suppose I need to write it down and get someone to record it for my sake...

40 Favorite Video Games

Welcome to another installment of "40 Things!" For this round, I thought it would be fun to make a list of my 40 favorite video games. Some of these you may know and others you may have never heard of, but some of these may take you on a trip down memory lane.

1. Little Computer People


2. M.U.L.E.




3. Qix


4. Pac Man


5. Zork


6. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


7. Star Wars: Tie Fighter


8. Zaxxon




9. Donkey Kong


10. Far Cry


11. Wolfenstein 3D


12. Duke Nuke 'em 3D


13. Doom


14. Pirates!


15. Below the Root




16. Secret of Monkey Island


17. Leisure Suit Larry


18. Need for Speed


19. Battlefield 1942


20. Ghost Recon


21. Pools of Radiance




22. Solo Flight


23. Lemmings


24. Totally 80's with Martha Quinn


25. Combination Lock


26. Card Sharks


27. Wizardy!


28. Ultima


29. Yie Ar Kung Fu


30. Summer Games


31. MVP Baseball


32. Space Taxi


33. Intellivision Football




34. Ea Sports NHL


35. MySims


36. Guitar Hero


37. SingStar


38. Empire Deluxe


39. Crayon Physics Deluxe


40. Medal of Honor

My list could have kept going with various Star Wars titles, the whole You Don't Know Jack game series, Gun, Outlaws, and many, many more!

40 of my favorite songs

Okay, I realize that limiting a list of all the kinds of music I listen to down to a list of 40 is going to be difficult. But, let's see where things go...

The problem with a list like this is that I am a HUGE Michael Jackson, Weird Al, and Asia fan. So, I will only list one song from each of them to start with, but if my mind goes blank, I'll add more of their songs to the list:

1. "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" - Christopher Cross
   
2. "Dirty Diana" - Michael Jackson
   
3. "Fat" - Weird Al Yankovic
   
4. "Wonderful World" - Louis Armstrong
   
   
   
5. "Cleveland Rocks" - Presidents of the United States of America
   
6. "Steelers Polka" - Jimmy Psihoulis ("Jimmy Pol")
   
7. "Teenagers" - My Chemical Romance
   
   
   
8. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day
   
9. "Girls Just Wanna have Fun" - Cyndi Lauper
   
10. "Music of the Night" - Phantom of the Opera
    
11. "All Summer Long" - Kid Rock
    
    
    
12. "Cowboy" - Kid Rock
    
13. "Remember When" - Alan Jackson
    
14. "Bible Belt" - Randy Travis
    
15. "Back in Black" - AC/DC
    
    
    
16. "Flying High Again" - Ozzy Osbourne
    
17. "Paralyzer" - Finger Eleven
    
18. "Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor
    
19. "Heat of the Moment" - Asia
    
20. "The Reason" - Hoobastank
    
    
    
21. "Hanging By A Moment" - Lifehouse
    
22. "Piano Man" - Billy Joel
    
23. "Borderline" - Madonna
    
24. "You Spin Me Round" - Dead or Alive
    
25. "So Alive" - Love and Rockets
    
    
    
26. "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N' Roses
    
27. "Livin on a Prayer" - Bon Jovi
    
28. "White Lines (Don't Do It)" - Grandmaster Flash
    
29. "Breakin... There's No Stoppin Us" - Ollie & Jerry
    
30. "You're Gonna Miss This" - Trace Adkins
    
    
    
31. "Nothin Better To Do" - LeAnn Rimes
    
32. "Fancy" - Reba McIntyre
    
33. "Endless Summer Nights" - Richard Marx
    
34. "Greased Lightning" - Grease
    
35. "I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis
    
    
    
36. "My Life Would Suck Without You" - Kelly Clarkson
    
37. "One" - U2
    
38. "Heart of the Matter" - Don Henley
    
39. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" - Jim Croce
    
40. "Takin Care of Business" - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
    
    
    

Okay, this was WAAAAAYYYY too hard to limit the list to just 40 songs. I may come up with a genre-based list (pop, country, rock, etc) because my mind was all over the place while making this list out.

(not quite) 40 Jobs I've Actually Held

(Updated 04/25/2019)

Yes, believe it or not, I was able to come up with (not quite) 40 different jobs I've had in my life. I am the consummate 'Jack of All Trades, Master of None.' I may have forgotten some. If so, I'll add them in. Meanwhile, prepare to be confused:

1. Litter Picker-Upper - The first job I ever had. I had a stick with a nail in it and walked around the apartment complex where we lived and picked up trash. I sucked at it, and Mom (who was manager of the complex) fired me.
2. Seasonal Dept Associate - I worked at Target in Toys and Seasonal. It wasn't too bad of a job, really. Well, except for putting together lawn mowers and patio sets.
3. Fry Cook - Yeap, I put my time in at McDonald's. In fact, I worked at several different ones during my life.
   
4. Pizza Delivery Guy - I've worked at several different Pizza Huts in different states. At one point, I actually worked at Mickey-D's AND Pizza Hut at the same time. Ah, Shan hated those days...
5. College Lunch Line Cook - Believe it or not, they actually let *ME* cook on the grill at the first college I attended and they paid me for it! Crazy people!
6. Computer Sales Associate - I worked for a small computer consulting company. They offered me an assistant manager position if I would stay and not go back to college. Thank the Lord, I chose to return to school!
7. Lawn Mower - I was hired to mow a hill.
8. Computer Lab Manager - At the first college I went to, I got a job working in the computer lab. I loved that job, and it is probably what started my career path, though I spent most days playing Wizardy on old clunky IBM-PC's!
   
9. Door-to-door jewelry salesman - Seriously. I drove my car all over the state, trying to sell jewelry to business employees.
10. Radio salesman - I sold ads for a radio station.
11. Radio disc jockey - I worked for the local commercial radio station in college.
12. College radio DJ - When I wasn't working at the commercial station, I was working at the college station.
13. College radio news director - I was in charge of newscasts for the college station. I won two awards for my work there.
14. College radio station manager - I eventually made it to manager (co-manager) of the campus radio station.
15. Virginia Whiskey - I had a temp job where I was the guy who made sure the bottles of whiskey got put into boxes. The bottles came down a line single-file and then at the end of the line, they formed a 3x3 grid. Below the bottles, the boxes would come along and my job was to expand the boxes so the 3x3 bottles would drop in. Lots of bottles would smash into each other and I left there smelling like (and wearing) whiskey.
16. Administrative Assistant - Yeap, I was an office manager once. I helped the interim director for a state organization.
17. Human Resources Assistant - I worked for a great woman who taught me a lot about human resources, organization, law, etc. I actually had two bosses, and the second one had me running all over the place getting the company ready for JCAHO certification.
    
18. Network Administrator - While at Youth home, I was allowed to troubleshoot computer and network issues, and they added those duties to my job and paid me for it! That was where I cut my teeth on Netware 2 and 3 and first learned just what the heck a token ring was. I also wrote an access database program for them. I loved that part of the job.
19. Computer Repair Tech - I worked for a local university as a computer tech. I liked the job fine, mainly because the higher-ups included me in everything we did. I learned a ton working there, and it's there that ultimately led to what I do now.
20. Education Service Center Technology Coordinator - I left the university to take a job that I knew nothing about other than I was asked if I liked gadgets and if I liked to help people with technology. Since my answer was 'yes' to both, there I was. Little did I know that I'd be TEACHING technology classes. I was pretty rough at first, but over time, I learned how to take things slowly and actually help teachers understand the technology they were being asked to use.
21. Pizza Waiter - Oh, i forgot, for a while I worked as a waiter for pizza hut. I made good tips because I was good at it.
22. Pizza Cook - and, I was also a pizza cook for a while at pizza hut. I enjoyed it a lot, but I always got dinged for putting TOO MANY toppings on my pizzas. Rather than use the scale, I used my eyes. I laid enough toppings to make the pizzas LOOK good... Yeah, I used way too much. Oh well!
23. Distance Learning Coordinator - I enjoyed the 'techie' side of distance learning and I have to admit, visiting the baseball hall of fame through interactive video is AWESOME!! I had a lot of fun in the job.
24. Computer Consultant - My catch-all independent work. I've done work for friends, family, and a congressman. This job covers everything from networking to virus removal to recovering lost files. I really never know what each will bring.
25. Internet sales guy - eBayer. For a while, I was hitting it hard and heavy - buying things off other sites then selling them on eBay.
26. Lifeguard - for a very short time, I worked as a lifeguard.
27. College Practicum Instructor - while serving as radio station manager in college, I also team-taught the class in which students got their 'hands-on' experience at the station.
28. School District Technology coordinator - I served as the district technology director for a local school district.
29. Education service center technology coordinator - yes, I know I already listed this, but it is sort of a running joke around my circle of colleagues because it seems I always come back to this title (I've had it three times, well, technically four times).
30. Podcast Host - Starting in 2015, have been co-hosting the EduTechGuys podcast. We not only do a weekly show, but also provide coverage at education conferences around the country.
31. YouTube Creator - In 2016, officially launched a YouTube channel. As of April 2019, it has 5100 subscribers. Not bad for a 50-year old, eh.
32. Adjunct Professor - I taught English Comp I at the local 2-year college.
33. Author - I have two published books and have a short story in an anthology as well.

40 places I've been

Welcome to another installment of "40 things." Today, we take a look at 40 places I've been in my life:

1. Prescott, AR (where I live)
   
2. Eureka Springs, AR (Honeymoon!)
   
3. Pittsburgh, PA (Born and raised Black-n-Gold!)
   
4. Washington, DC
   
5. Denver, CO
   
6. Boulder, CO
   
7. Cleveland, OH
   
8. Phoenix, AZ
   
9. San Diego, CA
   
10. Seattle, WA
    
11. Dallas, TX
    
12. Chicago, IL
    
13. St. Louis, MO
    
14. New Orleans, LA
    
15. Shreveport, LA
    
16. San Antonio, TX
    
17. Williamsburg, VA
    
18. Hershey, PA
    
19. Woodbridge, VA
    
20. Niagara Falls, NY
    
21. Niagara Falls, Canada
    
22. Colorado Springs, CO (when you were free to see the Academy Chapel)
    
23. Memphis, TN
    
24. Bowling Green, KY (DUH, almost forgot that one!)
    
25. Nashville, TN
    
26. Texarkana, TX/AR
    
27. Houston, TX
    
28. Hot Springs, AR
    
29. Branson, MO
    
30. Oklahoma City, OK (left my appendix there)
    
31. Orlando, FL (Disney World!)
    
32. Springfield, MO
    
33. Mobile, AL
    
34. Vail, CO
    
35. Gunnison, CO
    
36. McKeesport, PA
    
37. West Mifflin, PA
    
38. Fayetteville, AR
    
39. Sandusky, OH
    
40. Arlington, TX (Rangers!!)
    

Okay, I admit that some of those are 'nit-picky' but they have meaning in my life, which is really what this is all about anyway, right?

40 TV Shows

In the irregular schedule of posting these, I present to you forty TV shows that I enjoy or have enjoyed (translated: addicted to) over the past 40 years of my life (not in a particular order except that in which they popped into my head):

1. big bang theory
   
2. top cat
   
3. jetsons
   
4. h.r. pufnstuf
   
5. banana splits
   
6. beverly hills 90210
   
7. ER
   
8. chicago hope
   
9. friends
   
10. night court
    
11. fish
    
    
12. growing pains
    
13. brady bunch
    
14. family ties
    
15. welcome back kotter
    
    
16. wheel of fortune
    
17. frasier
    
18. cheers
    
19. flintstones
    
    
20. american idol
    
21. desperate housewives
    
22. gilligan's island
    
23. hee haw
    
    
24. beverly hillbillies
    
25. all in the family
    
26. the jeffersons
    
27. happy days
    
28. laverne and shirley
    
29. mork and mindy
    
30. courtship of eddie's father
    
    
31. land of the lost
    
32. three's company
    
33. facts of life
    
34. diff'rent strokes
    
35. mash
    
    
36. golden girls
    
37. bosom buddies
    
38. quantum leap
    
39. cosby show
    
40. seinfeld
    
    

Man, the list could actually go a whole lot longer than that, too. I didn't realize just how much TV I've watched so far in life! Wow.

40 Favorite Movies

In honor of this being my 40th year of existence, I am going to randomly choose 40 things and write about them. Today's 40 things: my favorite movies. No particular order, just out there for your enjoyment and/or bewilderment:

1. Stand By Me - my all-time favorite movie. Period.
   
2. Arthur - used to be all-time favorite until "Stand By Me" came out.
   
3. Major League - baseball, Indians, what else do you need?
   
4. Pretty Woman - First movie Shan and I ever saw together.
   
5. Grease - Yes, I like it. I'm a guy. Get over it.
   
6. Saw movies - All of them. They're great fun, in a sick sorta way.
   
7. A Pure Formality - one of the best independent films I've seen. I know a lot of people hated it, but I loved it. I'm weird like that.
   
   
8. Candleshoe - I was very young when this came out and it gave me an instant crush on Jodie Foster. What can I say?
   
9. Embryo - The scariest movie I saw as a 4th grader on HBO or something. I watched it every time it came on, and it freaked the crap out of me. I loved it.
   
10. Field of Dreams - hands-down one of the best baseball movies ever.
    
11. The Jackal - I am a huge Bruce Willis fan.
    
12. Die Hard series - see note above
    
    
13. Hudson Hawk - see note above the note above
    
14. The Sixth Sense - one of the first DVD's I ever owned.
    
15. Risky Business - probably the first "R" movie i remember - I stayed up late to watch it without my parents knowing. It was worth it.
    
16. The Matrix - Amazing story and incredible action!
    
    
17. Toy Story - the best animated film in history as far as I'm concerned.
    
18. Cars - tied for the best animated film in history
    
19. Heavy Metal - the strangest animated movie I have ever seen, but was young enough that it gave my libido fits.
    
20. Armageddon - I shouldn't admit this, but the end gets me every time I watch it, and I know exactly what's going to happen.
    
21. Con Air - Lots of my favorite actors all on one crazy ride!
    
22. 1408 - I love Stephen King and John Cusak - this movie brings them together wonderfully.
    
    
23. The Great Gatsby - I loved the book and thought the movie was well done.
    
24. Funny Games - the original 1997 version. Man, a couple kids kidnap a family in their own house - talk about nutjobs! Great movie.
    
25. Airplane - classic slapstick humor. Great!
    
26. Princess Bride - I almost forgot about this one! DUH! One of the best comedies EVER!
    
    
27. Spaceballs - Nothing like a movie that pokes fun of sci-fi!
    
28. Star Wars series - okay, I don't know why this did not pop into my head until way down here, but DUH - it's friggin STAR WARS!! Personally, I think "The Empire Strikes Back" is the best of the whole series.
    
29. Smokey and the Bandit - It was either this movie or "Close Encounters" that I specifically remember seeing first in a theater with my Uncle Bill.
    
30. Close Encounters - potato mountain. What else is there to say?
    
    
31. A League of Their Own - women playing baseball. And based on real life. That's what I'm talking about!
    
32. Saving Private Ryan - The greatest World War II movie of my generation.
    
33. Big - Zoltar, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Montgomery, and toys. Yeah, buddy!
    
34. The Breakfast Club - High school angst at its peak!
    
35. Ghostbusters - one-liner after one-liner
    
    
36. Strange Brew - My brother and I must have watched that goofy movie hundreds of times, and I could pop it in right now and laugh my rear end off, you hoser!
    
37. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - The way I wish I could have skipped school!
    
38. Dream a Little Dream - Corey Feldman's Michael Jackson routine - priceless
    
    
39. Moonwalker - I was a massive MiJac fan when this came out and I have (or had) the VHS tape to watch over and over - Smooth Criminal was great!
    
40. Save the Last Dance - Julia Stiles, DUH!
    

40 Memories

Before I get started with my '40 memories" post, I woke up this morning to help Shan get some things scanned in for her and other teachers. She wished me a Happy Birthday and we got to scanning. When I got the kids up, they both told me Happy Birthday, too.

I don't normally listen to the radio when I drive - I prefer to listen to the iPod through the FM transmitter deal in my truck. But, I didn't feel like messing with all that this morning, and I had the local station playing. When they announced birthdays, my name was mentioned from the fine folks at the education co-op where I work. I thought it was very nice.


At the end of the birthday list, they draw a name to win a prize, and they drew my name! How cool is that!? My prize? a $5 gift certificate for the Western Sizzlin in Hope. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm happy I won, and I even scored a free meal out of the deal. Or did I? Actually, no. See, the meals are $6.99 and up. Yes, I realize I get my meal for $1.99+tax, but it still strikes me a bit sideways. I mean, why not give away a free meal, say up to $8 or something? The other issue is that we don't eat at Western Sizzlin. Frankly, it just hasn't been that good. We've one a time or two, mainly to see if things had gotten any better. They had a fire there a while back, and we have not been there since the remodeling (and I think they even have new ownership, if memory serves). I suppose this is a good excuse to go. So, later today, I'll run by the radio station to pick up my certificate.

The last time I won anything from a radio station, I was working in Northern Virginia for a computer retail/consulting company and happened to have the station tuned to 105.1. This scraggly, drunk-looking guy in a Santa suit walks in and before I could call security, he says, "Are you listening to 105?" I have no idea if that's what I'm listening to or not, I'm trying to decide if I need to deck the halls with you, buddy. He listens intently to the radio in the store and then to the headphones on his ears. I reach for the phone. He says, "You are a winner! You just won $105 dollars from Super105 (or whatever it was)!" I remember looking at him like he really was drunk, asking, "Really?" He reached into his 'bag' and pulled out a card, a media release form, and a cell phone. He called the station and sure enough, I had won. A few weeks later, I had a check for $105 in my hands. I bought a Garrard 6-disc CD changer. That was a big deal in 1986. We still have the thing, though one of the trays no longer works. Not bad for a piece of electronics that is more than 20 years old.


So, as I said, later today, I'll go pick up my gift certificate. Ironically, the station that I won it from is also 105, though it's 104.9... I sense a disturbance in the Force.

---

In honor of my 40th birthday, I thought it would be fun to list 40 things I remember. These will not be in any order, other than the order in which they popped into my head - though I will try to start with my earliest memories and work forward. Honestly, I'm not even sure I'll make it to 40 things with the way my mind works... And, I'll probably have to get Mom to fill in the blanks. Some may be funny, some painful, but they are the first 40 things that have come to mind:

1. Yellow VW Bug we had when I was a kid
   
2. One of our friends putting their hand through our glass door
   
3. Getting on a bus for Sunday school or something
   
4. Family reunions in Oakland (I think Oakland), outside of Pittsburgh
   
5. Marci - first girlfriend (1st or 2nd grade)
   
   
6. Penguins hockey game - first date (1st or 2nd grade w/Marci)
   
7. Getting punched in the face by a girl (a friend's sister, 3rd grade)
   
8. Eating little red berries, then puking my guts up from the 'medicine' I had to take because poison control told my mother to make me take it
   
9. Going to the hospital because my parents filled our blow-up pool with enough chlorine chemicals to fill an Olympic-sized pool. Let's just say, that leaves a lasting impression on a young BOY - operative word there, folks!
   
10. Having a blood clot in my throat, spewing up tons of blood. I don't even remember the whole story - must be a mental block
    
11. Doing flips off the apartment pool diving board, and the time a 'friend' yelled "SHARK!" just as I launched once, causing me to land on my back. That was followed by a stream of cuss words which did not go over well, considering the young kids there
    
    
12. Going to Geauga Lake, Sea World and Cedar Point for summer vacations when we'd visit my grandparents in Cleveland (Lakewood, actually), Ohio
    
13. Drawing my first Chief Wahoo on poster board with the numbers of all the players on it for my grandfather (Paternal)
    
14. Watching Bob Ross paint on PBS while sitting on the couch with my maternal grandfather
    
    
15. My maternal grandmother scolding us for drinking a glass of milk AND having milk in our cereal
    
16. My maternal grandmother making us eat peanut butter with butter sandwiches
    
17. Eating St. Joseph's chewable aspirin mixed into my applesauce. To this day, I cannot eat applesauce without tasting that awful orange flavor of the pills
    
18. Playing football and baseball with Dad, Uncle Bill, and everyone else on the hills in the back of my maternal grandparents' house
    
    
19. Listening to the "Grease" soundtrack while trying to kiss Kim in my grandparents' basement. LOL, now THAT was funny - not then, but it is now... I was such a dork.
    
20. Listening to the Village People in Kim's grandparents' basement
    
21. Painting my face my face in High School for a pep rally. It was the only time I ever did that - never before, never again.
    
22. Pushing Kim's (not the same one from the "Grease" album) yellow VW bug (not the one I had as a kid) up the hill after the Senior Formal with Dave
    
    
23. Loretto Heights College - my first 'liberal arts' environment - I learned WAY too much that year!
    
24. Going to University of Colorado - Boulder and majoring in socializing
    
25. Getting a letter from UC-Boulder encouraging me to take time off to consider my collegiate career
    
26. Michelle and Jen - the two girls I dated during those times
    
27. Meeting Wallace (who went by Wally in those days) for the first time, and his aspirations to be President some day. I'd never met anyone that actually WANTED to be President one day
    
28. Wally telling us the story about drinking the NyQuil
    
29. Meeting Shan for the first time - the most beautiful woman I had ever met. I was drunk, my brother convinced me to go hang out with a bunch of girls he knew, and I spent the time picking at the carpet while Shan and her boyfriend at the time sat on her bed or couch or something. I made a great first impression. LOL!
    
    
30. "Relieving Stress" in front of Russell Fine Arts - the first time Shan and I kissed
    
31. The horrid, rundown trailer Brian and I lived in while going to Henderson State University
    
32. Proposing to Shan at DeGray Lake after she had just awoke from the drive in from Little Rock, and her saying "NO" in her groggy state, then realizing what I had asked and saying "YES!"
    
33. The miscarriage of our first child
    
34. Tyler being born
    
    
35. Driving from Prescott to Little Rock for about a year because I could not find a job locally
    
36. Working at Southern Arkansas University
    
37. Meeting Pat Ward at McDonald's several times while interviewing for the job in Camden
    
38. The stress of trying to have a second child
    
39. Emily being born
    
    
40. Shan's love and forgiveness - the reason I am where I am today, who I am today. It may not sound like something for a list of memories, but when two people go through the things we have gone through, there are memories that God keeps clear in my mind to show me each and every day just how blessed I am.