My friend Tyler Wiggains (a really good band director) recently tagged me to write 8 things about myself. This is my first time to be tagged so bear with me. Here we go:

1) During my junior year of high school I watched “Braveheart” every Thursday night. I had a small 13 inch (sometime) color television but I rocked those VHS tapes in widescreen. That’s how I roll.

2) Most people who know me know that I’m a big U2 fan. But the boys from Ireland aren’t the only band that I have all the official releases from. I own the complete catalogues for two other bands. I have every release from Coldplay and… wait for it… Counting Crows. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.

2.5) My favorite album in the world is Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Bet you didn’t see that one coming either.

3) I hate fish. The smell, the look, and the taste all send me running for the hills. In Greece a restaurant place a whole fish in front of me: eyes, gills, fins, scales. I managed to avoid ralphing all over everyone but my tolerance level has come way down since then. Sandy will have eaten a small tuna sandwich for lunch and I can smell it when I come home hours later.

4) Which brings us to my sense of smell- it is amazing! Most times it is humorous. I can smell and identify brands of deodorant that people are wearing around me. On one of my first dates with Sandy I began smelling a distinct smell in my car as we drove to the movies. The smell grew stronger and I realized what it was. “Are you wearing Degree deodorant?” I asked her. Bingo! It happens all the time. While that’s a great parlor trick my sense of smell is no fun when people aren’t wearing deodorant or if there are unpleasant smells around.

5) I was the only person present when our above-ground pool fell apart and the only one there when our trampoline bounced its last bounce.

I was just a small kid lounging in an inflatable donut when the aluminum sides of our pool tore open and the next thing I knew I had washed up onto the back porch. My family opened the back door and gave me their best Chris Farley “What-did-you-do!?!?” look.

Fast forward a few years to my first first trip home from college. I told my mother that I wanted to jump on the trampoline. She told me that I should change clothes first but I assured her that I was just going to jump for a few minutes. Unbeknownst to me no one had jumped on the trampoline since I had left for school and it had begun to dry-rot. On the third landing I heard and saw the trampoline tear open at the seams as it shot me into the air. I landed flat on my back and the force of the landing knocked all the air out of me. I staggered into the house still trying to breathe. The first thing my mother said to me was, “I told you that you should have changed clothes.” I love you mom!

6) I have two copies of An Introduction to Gospel Preaching

7) When I was a kid I had a crush on two girls- Annette Funicello and Haley Mills. Keep in mind that I grew up in the early 1980s (not the 1960s). I would watch “The Parent Trap” and “Merlin Jones” and dream about one day marrying one of my dream girls. Admitting my problem is the first step to recovery.

8) I have a scar on my stomach from jumping over a fence at Six Flags to recover a hat that had fallen off of a rider on the Shockwave. I cleared the fence easy the first time but on the way back over a security guard started yelling at me and I lost my balance causing me to become one with the fence. Oh, yeah… I was with my youth minister at the time. Would you believe me if I told you that the scar tingles when the students in my youth group think about doing something reckless?

Well now that I have embarrassed myself it is your turn. If you are reading this consider yourself tagged. Remember to comment so that I can read where you’ve posted the 8 things about you.