5 Things
by Will
I’ve been tagged by Eliza to list five things you don’t know about me.
- I played the French Horn for 14 years.
- When I was in elementary school, I rallied my class and eventually other classes to try and write out a googol’s worth of zeroes [edited to add: this is known as a googolplex, thank you Dan Goldstein], because I wanted to get an idea of how big that number really was. For years, I had boxes of paper filled with handwritten zeroes in my family’s basement. We never even got close to being done.
- I once played paintball with Harrison Ford. My group was there for a bachelor party, and Ford and his family (son and brother, I believe, though I’m guessing) were there coincidentally. He was gracious but also very into the game. It’s surreal to be standing in the woods and see Harrison Ford bounding out of the brush in full camouflage to grab your team’s flag.
- I was admitted to MIT as a chemical engineer. I never wanted to go, but I’m proud enough of it that I like to bring it up anyway.
- One day in 1998 I walked all of Broadway in Manhattan, from north to south.
Comments
I hate to brag, but I knew all of these things. Please start over.
Five things my brothers didn’t know (maybe):
–the first song on the first mix tape i ever made was “Legs” by ZZTop.
–i interviewed the guitarist from Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship when I lived in Cape Cod
–on my backpacking trip through Europe, I saved a British girl from drowning
–i was offered a ticket to the first lollapalooza and turned it down
–i was part of a short story writing group when i lived in boston, whose only other members were 40+ year old women. I was 24. I quit after two meetings.
Do you still teach in touch with the drowning girl?
Better.
That’s 10 things I didn’t know about you. I take back all of those mean and nasty things I said about you behind your back. Ok, I didn’t say any “mean and nasty things” but that’s something my grandma said one time and really cracked me up. There’s one thing you know about her. Another thing is that she is not a very good golfer but has 3 hole-in-ones to her credit. She also pushed my mom into being a child model and urged her to marry (and stay married) to my dad. My grandmother wears babydoll nighties to sleep. Recently she has been known to put lipstick all over her face since she no longer sees well. Anyway, Will, I’m glad Eliza pushed you to write those things because they’re fascinating! Paintball with Han Solo??? Did he shoot first?
tag accepted and dealt with. I only tagged one person – but then started following some of these tags around and realized that person had already been tagged.
Oh well, its 1:18 am – so that’s all you get.
I knew all of the original 5! I feel like a good girlfriend.
Fascinating. We Built This City by JStarhip was the first song I ever put on a mix tape. I thought it would se the mood nicely.
On a completely unrelated note I misread your new header as Wii Hines. And laughed hysterically before I realized it wasn’t.
I need glasses. That’s something I didn’t know.
Eliza is at least a good brother.
I knew three, maybe four (I don’t remember MIT, but I’ve heard about the Cornell regret). I probably knew about the Europe thing, but remember more clearly the story about the Greek islands when he had a fever and [censored details that I'll let Will share if he choses too]. I was probably told the Boston short story and Cape Cod stories, but forgot them. My defense is that those times were pretty much immediately post college and so when I saw Will I was either drunk or miserable about some girl whom it turns out had no place in my future anyway.
Jim, talking about “the war”. I love that title for the time after college when you are trying to figure out everything.
Jim, you should probably know that I always describe my post-college time in Danbury as “the war” to my brother. Like, Jim and I were friends “during the war.”
I like to think of the guy walking past the city dump, finding a piece of paper with scores of child-written zeroes on it.
That’s a great description. Will was an excellent wingman even before Bud Lite was doing a commercial about it.
I got into MIT too! Now you know! Didn’t go, either. We could’ve been not-classmates….maybe….I’m tired.
I can’t believe how many people fell for this government-sponsored invasion of your secret history by publishing possibly incriminating facts about yourselves.
When walking Broadway, only outlaws will walk Broadway.
I knew all original 5. In fact, I have even mentioned these 5 things (or variations) to several other people over the years.
About the variations…You were playing the horn and the piano from age 3, when you learned to read. The zero thing became a school-wide project. The Hans Solo event was just as you mentioned. Every prestigious school accepted you for admission. You almost went to Brown. And maybe I never talked about the long walk, but I was aware of the accomplishment.
I am a good aunt.
My Aunt Sue reads my blog!
My Aunt Sue reads my blog, too. This isn’t a joke — I just thought it was interesting that I could say exactly the same thing. And have it be true.