A Load of Scrap

Independent Crime’s Nathan Cain has tagged me to participate in the latest Internet meme, “Honest Scrap,” which calls on folks to “spit out 10 honest things about yourself.” Although this is quite reminiscent of an earlier meme that asked bloggers to reveal “16 random things” about themselves, I guess I can play along.

1. I didn’t have my first date until college. (Thanks, Cindy, you were a real trooper.) Blame this as much on the fact that I attended an all-boys Catholic high school as on any natural introversion.

2. When I was a teenager, I distressed my mother by watching what seemed like endless hours of TV game shows (Hollywood Squares, The Match Game, Password, etc.). Nowadays, you’d have to pay me to waste time in front of Deal or No Deal, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? or series of that ilk.

3. I can’t stand to have flies in my house, and will swat the little bastards at any and every opportunity. On the other hand, I graciously usher spiders out the door unmolested.

4. I almost never read books recommended to me. Even by friends.

5. To the best of my recollection, I’ve only ever voted for one Republican in my life, and he’s no longer living. I grew to distrust members of the GOP during Richard M. Nixon’s Watergate scandal, and there’s nothing the party has done since to give me more confidence in its honesty. Trying to convince the country that President Bill Clinton was unfit for office and should therefore be brought down by what was effectively a coup attempt in the 1990s? Selling the media a bill of goods about “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq that justified breaking the Treasury to pay for George W. Bush’s war on Islam? Promoting the idea of privatizing Social Security, but then lying about their intentions? Propounding one falsehood after the next to try and stop President Barack Obama’s efforts to reform health care and save the U.S. economy? Republicans think that Americans are stupid or uninformed enough to fall for their crap ... and the sad thing is how often they’re right.

6. On the other hand, and much to my shame, I used to think that Barbara Bush (the younger one, of course) was pretty hot.

7. My favorite number has always been 73. I don’t know why.

8. I almost never answer the telephone. The only people who get through to me directly are those whose names appear in my cell phone’s rather short list of contacts; otherwise, I let incoming calls go to voice-mail. I much prefer e-mail, which allows me to receive messages, consider them, and then get back to people as I am able.

9. I would rather eat breakfast than any other meal of the day. When I’m working hard on something interesting, I can go all day long without eating, no problem.

10. I’ve always preferred the company of women to that of men. I find women more interesting and, thankfully, less prone to making a competition out of everything. I used to have more female friends than male ones, but since I got married 18 years ago, that imbalance has tipped in the opposite direction to maintain domestic harmony.

And a bonus #11: The first person I was ever assigned by a professional newspaper to interview was former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, who had been invited to speak at my college as part of its annual lecture series. During the course of our discussion, we talked about the limits of the press’ intrusion into the private lives of public figures. (Q: “If [President] Carter was sleeping with someone [other than his wife], would it be a story?” A: “Depends on who.”) And I asked whether former first lady Betty Ford’s alcoholism should be considered fair game for reporters. Bradlee responded:

Oh, sure. She made it [a story]. She was spaced out all the time, Betty Ford; she really was. It was plain. And I’ll tell you when I noticed it most at the [1976 Republican convention]. Her seat was at right angles to the press box where I was sitting, and she was obviously out to lunch. Remember than scene where she was kind of swaying to the music? And the camera would go off to what’s-her-face [Nancy] Reagan in the corner and back to her? She was flying.

Rather than obeying the rules and tagging 10 other people to add their own “honest things” to the pile, let me instead just point Rap Sheet readers to a few other bloggers who have already made these sorts of lists: Randy Johnson, Darius Whiteplume, and the wonderfully named Max the Severed Head. If you would like to contribute your own self-revealing facts in the Comments section of this post, please feel free.