Tag! You’re It!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. And that you’re continuing to enjoy the time between Christmas and New Year’s. I’ve always found that this is a good time to reflect on the year that’s past, the year ahead and to take stock of what’s important. More and more, I find that family and friends are the most important things in life.

While I was in St. Louis, I had this strange feeling that I’d been tagged (call it telepathy, if you will — and thanks, TBV), but since I didn’t have access to a computer or to the Internet, it took a bit to see if I was just imagining things or not.

Sometimes it’s good to get away. Of course, that always leaves some catching up to do when you get back.

Anyway, here’s my list of five things you might not know about me:

I’ve lived in five college towns in the Midwest: Madison, WI; West Lafayette, IN; Columbia, MO; Ann Arbor, MI; and East Lansing, MI. Currently, I’ve escaped the college town life (it’s not bad, really) and am living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is one of America’s unsung gems of a city.

I was born in St. Louis, MO and have traveled to five countries: Canada, the UK, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

I’ve been following the Tour de France since Eddy Merckx won his first of five Tour titles (1969). At the time, we were living in Lewes, a small town near Brighton, England while my father was on sabbatical (from Purdue) at the University of Sussex. By the time we returned, I’d acquired a thick Sussex accent that I lost after much merciless teasing from my friends. (It only reappears if I’m surrounded by other Brits.) The Tour was easy to follow back then, what with the newspapers and BBC coverage and all. Not so easy after we returned to West Lafayette.

I’m a photojournalist by training, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia. In keeping with the fives, I’ve attended or taken classes at five colleges or universities: Purdue, U. of Rochester, Washington U., U. of Missouri, and Washtenaw Community College.

I’ve always thought wolves are the coolest members of the canine family. Siberian Huskies (and their cousins Alaskan Malamutes and Alaskan Huskies) are a close second. My wife and I have two huskies, Alex and Icy, both of whom we got from rescue organizations. Just like wolves would, Alex and Icy serenade us from time to time with epic songs. Hard to know exactly what they mean, since I don’t speak fluent Husky. Prior to Alex and Icy, I’ve had five pets: Three cats and two dogs. Not all at the same time.

I’m currently reading Jesper Skibby’s book. Slowly. It’s really helping build my Danish vocabulary, though. (Also, four other books on related topics.)

Now comes the fun part: Finding five others to tag.