10 Things You Don’t Know About Me

I bet you didn’t know…

Photo by author. Me teaching a writing workshop at a coffee shop.

There are plenty of things I could say about myself that might be interesting enough to lure you into reading the rest of this article. But the game isn’t called “10 Interesting Things About Me”. So my PhD in metaphysics, my recent move to the Caribbean, and my love of cats are all off the table. I’ve discussed them at length in other articles.

Here are ten things I’m pretty sure I haven’t written articles about. Hopefully, they are both interesting and entertaining. And, because I hate to drop facts without context, you’re getting ten tiny stories, as well.

Number One. I was a premature baby. Even though I was born at the beginning of June, my parents didn’t bring me home until late fall — September or October. I spent most of the intervening time in an incubator at the hospital. As a result, when I was later given baby dolls to play with, I put them in shoe boxes. I thought that’s what you did with babies.

Number Two. I started school when I was three years old. I insisted that I be allowed to go to school. My parents had to search to find someplace willing to take a 3-year-old. At this remove, all I can remember about it is rolling giant truck tires down the length of the gymnasium. And asking a question of the teacher that began with, “But…” to which she responded, “No buts!” I don’t recall the question, just my outrage that she stifled intellectual curiosity.

Number Three. My parents accidentally abandoned me in New York City when I was about 6. We were in Brentano’s flagship bookstore on 5th Ave. My mom and aunt were going one way, and my dad and brother were going another way. Each group thought I was with the other, until they met up for dinner. They raced back to Brentano’s, to find me happily reading.

Number Four. I nearly didn’t graduate from college, because I couldn’t meet the Physical Education requirements. I kept getting injured midway through the semester, and having to drop the class. This is particularly sad when you realize we only had to pass two gym classes. I finally succeeded with horseback riding and bowling.

Number Five. I was the first person to get thrown off a jury by the defense lawyer in a murder trial. My explanation for why I didn’t believe his…