Five Things You Don’t Know About Me

 

Usually people want Ten Things, but let’s make it easy for everyone:

1. In 1999 on Kauai for a conference called Storytelling in the New Millennium, I interviewed Todd Rundgren, Thomas Dolby, Graham Nash (a super nice guy), and Dennis Muren of Industrial Light and Magic for video press releases.

2. I once composed, performed, and recorded keyboard music for a guided imagery program for Kaiser Permanente. Got paid $200.

3. I was at that Day on the Green concert with Led Zeppelin where John Bonham beat up Bill Graham’s security guard. They delayed the start by more than two hours, saying over and over, “They’re still trying to fix Jimmy Page’s guitar” until Bill Graham gave into extortion.

4.  A friend who worked for George Lucas gave me a tour of Skywalker Ranch while George was out of town; got to see his private theater and cherry wood elevator. The huge sound stage was designed for the walls and ceiling to move in and out to accommodate sound recordings.

5. My first marriage lasted about 14 weeks; I moved to Minnetonka, MN, for eternal love and marriage, and after the annulment left for a friend’s couch back in California on April Fool’s Day. Sometimes the universe makes an obvious point.

Your turn.

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  1. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Pony Convertible (View Comment):
    I still have my first car, which I bought in 1976, and drive it on a regular basis.

    A ragtop Mustang, perhaps?

    • #61
  2. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Pony Convertible (View Comment):
    I took up paramotor flying for something to do during the Covid lockdown.

    I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Now I’m watching YouTube videos about it. 

    • #62
  3. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    But were you at Woodstock–the only concert where 20,000,000 people claim to have been in the 500,000 person crowd?

    I’ve managed to ferret more than a few out with some “test” questions.  Standard response–“Oh man, I was really blitzed those days.”

    • #63
  4. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    That would be my dad’s side of the family. Born in Opelicka, Alabama, but raised in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

    Now, ya see, that’s not coming from Tennessee. That’s being born in a civilized place and moving north.

    Never thought to ask before, but are you related to William Seward?

    Grandfather Seward (from civilized Alabam) did extensive genealogy research but never came up with a direct link to Lincoln’s Secretary of State.  My wife, upon seeing a stature of William Seward in New York, declared that he must be related to my family because of his big nose!  I do have a direct ancestor on the Mayflower, however, Francis Cooke.  Probably had a big nose, too.

    Seward is a more common name than you would think.  There are actually two other artists in the U.S. named Steven Seward, and another Steven Seward just retired from being the principle tuba player in the Saint Louis Symphony.  I have one of his solo CD’s.  Everyone should have tuba CD’s.

    • #64
  5. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Thank you for a peek into your colorful background.

    I’m still waiting to hear:

    “So Todd Rundgren, Bill Graham, and Thomas Dolby walked into a bar…”

    All I can add to the discussion is that under John Hiatt’s advice, I came to understand that there are only two things in life worth knowing.

    Only I forget what they are.

    • #65
  6. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Everyone should have tuba CD’s.

    Now there is an eternal verity.

    • #66
  7. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Grandfather Seward (from civilized Alabam) did extensive genealogy research but never came up with a direct link to Lincoln’s Secretary of State.

    If I remember rightly, I am descended from his mother, who had at least two marriages and children in each. That makes him some level of half great-granduncle. At least, that’s what I have been told.

    • #67
  8. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Everything you don’t know about me would only reinforce any perception that I’m a swamp creature.  So the only “Five” that I’ll plead is the Fifth.

    • #68
  9. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Grandfather Seward (from civilized Alabam) did extensive genealogy research but never came up with a direct link to Lincoln’s Secretary of State.

    If I remember rightly, I am descended from his mother, who had at least two marriages and children in each. That makes him some level of half great-granduncle. At least, that’s what I have been told.

    Welcome to the Seward Family. You must have a big nose, too!  Wanna hear some tuba music?

    • #69
  10. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Welcome to the Seward Family. You must have a big nose, too!

    Nope. I’m not descended from the Seward side. (I’m not even sure how much I trust the source given other things.)

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Wanna hear some tuba music?

    Sure. I actually have a CD called “Tuba!”

    • #70
  11. Jan Inactive
    Jan
    @ChileGirl

    Nobody knows anything about me, so here goes. 

    1. I can back a horse trailer better than most cowboys. 
    2. Once had to euthanize my own pet cat. 
    3. Had an Okie great grandad who insisted the family hang on to mineral rights, even when the farm was lost.  It took 3 generations for that to pay off.  
    4. Had another great grandad who was run out of Nairn, Scotland for marrying an Englishwoman. They are both buried in New Zealand. 
    5.  My Dad was a Marine and an amphibious tractor pilot at Tarawa. 

    • #71
  12. Mark Alexander Inactive
    Mark Alexander
    @MarkAlexander

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Welcome to the Seward Family. You must have a big nose, too!

    Nope. I’m not descended from the Seward side. (I’m not even sure how much I trust the source given other things.)

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Wanna hear some tuba music?

    Sure. I actually have a CD called “Tuba!”

    My trombone lamp and French horn lamp.

    • #72
  13. davenr321 Coolidge
    davenr321
    @davenr321

    I got Florence King’s and Pat Boone’s autographs within two months of each other. 

    • #73
  14. Steven Seward Member
    Steven Seward
    @StevenSeward

    Mark Alexander (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Welcome to the Seward Family. You must have a big nose, too!

    Nope. I’m not descended from the Seward side. (I’m not even sure how much I trust the source given other things.)

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Wanna hear some tuba music?

    Sure. I actually have a CD called “Tuba!”

    My trombone lamp and French horn lamp.

    Excellent!  Now all you need is a tuba toilet paper dispenser.

    • #74
  15. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Steven Seward (View Comment):

    Mark Alexander (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Welcome to the Seward Family. You must have a big nose, too!

    Nope. I’m not descended from the Seward side. (I’m not even sure how much I trust the source given other things.)

    Steven Seward (View Comment):
    Wanna hear some tuba music?

    Sure. I actually have a CD called “Tuba!”

    My trombone lamp and French horn lamp.

    Excellent! Now all you need is a tuba toilet paper dispenser.

    A trumpet would be appropriate.

    • #75
  16. She Member
    She
    @She

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    1. I drove submarines in the Navy, and flew a Cessna in civilian life. Still haven’t driven a locomotive . . .

    https://nnry.com/pages/engineer.php

    Nevada Northern Railway – take a quick class, then get on board to drive a steam locomotive. Expensive, but something I would love to do.

    Mr. She and my brother-in-law took a two-day class in the UK with the Severn Valley Railway, and then they got to stoke the boiler and drive the train (steam) through the Severn Valley.  My sister and I rode in one of the carriages, and had tea served to us.  Beautiful English countryside.  It was delightful, and both of the guys realized a lifelong ambition.

    Just had a look, and it seems their classes aren’t as intensive these days,  and their prices have gone up exponentially since 2005.

     

     

    • #76
  17. She Member
    She
    @She

    Randy Webster (View Comment):
    The best people come from Tennessee stock.

    In the early days of the Internet, when it was still quite cumbersome to do such things, I went looking for folks with my maiden name (not all that common, spelled as it is) to see if I could find any of the branches of the family who were reputed to have left the UK and gone to the US or Canada. I never did find any who’d admit to a possible relationship, but most people with the same name seemed to be in Tennessee or Missouri.  I (hand) wrote dozens of letters, and continued correspondence with some of the folks (most of whom were elderly) who replied, for several years.  Nice people.

    It’s only recently, that I discovered, through Ancestry, that there was an actual relation (my paternal grandfather’s  brother, which I think would make him my great-uncle?) who died in Buffalo NY at the age of 88 in 1973.  Sad, really, because that was only a little over 200 miles from where we were living from 1964 to 1978, and we didn’t know.  Of course, I have no clue what the story was–perhaps he would have preferred not to know us anyway.  Haven’t yet discovered if there were any further descendants this side of the pond.

    TBA (View Comment):

    Glad to hear you’re branching out into emotional support sheep.

    Oh, I’ve been doing this for years.  Sheep, goats, roosters, dogs, cats, rabbits, they stick to me like glue.  Your comment does make me wonder if I could get one of them on a plane though.  That might be a fun thing to try.

     

    • #77
  18. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Charlotte (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):
    My favorite food is beer.

    I believe the instructions were to list things we don’t know.

    Good point.  Still, I wanted to make sure . . .

    • #78
  19. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    1. Other than meeting prominent conservative writers, thinkers, and politicians on NR cruises and Meetups, the most famous person I’ve met was Admiral Rickover in my interview for the Nuke Navy.
    2. I’ve met one Hollywood producer/director because one of my best friends is married to his older sister.
    3. The same best friend had lunch with President George HW Bush on Air Force One.
    4. My late brother-in-law was one of the top vacuum cleaner experts in the country.
    5. I’ve been married three times.
    6. I was named after both my grandfathers.
    7. I drove submarines in the Navy, and flew a Cessna in civilian life. Still haven’t driven a locomotive . . .
    8. My wife and I adopted three girls from Russia in December, 1996.
    9. My favorite food is beer.

    https://nnry.com/pages/engineer.php

    Nevada Northern Railway – take a quick class, then get on board to drive a steam locomotive. Expensive, but something I would love to do.

    I am soooooo tempted . . .

    • #79
  20. Juliana Member
    Juliana
    @Juliana

    Stad (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    1. Other than meeting prominent conservative writers, thinkers, and politicians on NR cruises and Meetups, the most famous person I’ve met was Admiral Rickover in my interview for the Nuke Navy.
    2. I’ve met one Hollywood producer/director because one of my best friends is married to his older sister.
    3. The same best friend had lunch with President George HW Bush on Air Force One.
    4. My late brother-in-law was one of the top vacuum cleaner experts in the country.
    5. I’ve been married three times.
    6. I was named after both my grandfathers.
    7. I drove submarines in the Navy, and flew a Cessna in civilian life. Still haven’t driven a locomotive . . .
    8. My wife and I adopted three girls from Russia in December, 1996.
    9. My favorite food is beer.

    https://nnry.com/pages/engineer.php

    Nevada Northern Railway – take a quick class, then get on board to drive a steam locomotive. Expensive, but something I would love to do.

    I am soooooo tempted . . .

    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you. I would sign up my husband in a heartbeat just so I could ride along – he is even more of a railway fan than I am, but he balked at the price.

    • #80
  21. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Juliana (View Comment):
    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you.

    Paging Sandra Bullock . . . paging Sandra Bullock . . .

    • #81
  22. Juliana Member
    Juliana
    @Juliana

    Stad (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):
    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you.

    Paging Sandra Bullock . . . paging Sandra Bullock . . .

    Actually I was thinking more of Captain Kirk. You need to go to about 2:40.

     

    • #82
  23. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):
    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you.

    Paging Sandra Bullock . . . paging Sandra Bullock . . .

    Actually I was thinking more of Captain Kirk. You need to go to about 2:40.

     

    Is that steam coming out of everywhere at 2:25?

    • #83
  24. Juliana Member
    Juliana
    @Juliana

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):
    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you.

    Paging Sandra Bullock . . . paging Sandra Bullock . . .

    Actually I was thinking more of Captain Kirk. You need to go to about 2:40.

     

    Is that steam coming out of everywhere at 2:25?

    Didn’t you know the Enterprise actually ran on steam? Sheesh.

    • #84
  25. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Flicker (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):

    Stad (View Comment):

    Juliana (View Comment):
    Do it! Do it! Do it! You can bring one person in the cab with you.

    Paging Sandra Bullock . . . paging Sandra Bullock . . .

    Actually I was thinking more of Captain Kirk. You need to go to about 2:40.

     

    Is that steam coming out of everywhere at 2:25?

    Didn’t you know the Enterprise actually ran on steam? Sheesh.

    Actually, in the original Star Trek blooper reel, there was a scene in which Kirk calls for more power, and it cuts to men shovelling coal into huge fifteen-foot-tall furnaces.  So I guess I knew after all.

    • #85
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