Wednesday, July 12, 2006

25 Things About Me*


* Inspired by lynn at sprigs (check out her 25 -- see my bloglinks! And while you're there, click on her 25 peeps picture a couple of times.)

Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. In his Nobel lecture he said, "All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are." So, here's my 2 cents worth.

1. In dreams I am often young and thin with long blonde hair.
2. In real life I am no longer young, or thin, or blonde.
3. My back hurts.
4. I hate to sleep alone. (Fortunately I doon't have to!)
5. My great grandfather had 2 wives at once.
6. I wish I had more self-discipline. (I was once fired from a teaching position in a private school because they said I was "too unstructured and undisciplined." --Who, me??? Naaaahhh....)
7. I do not blame my parents for this. Once, at a parent-teacher conference, the teacher told me my little boy was "spacey." We ALL are, I told her. The whole fan damily is spacey. She thought I was kidding. I wasn't.
8. I used to travel with a theater repertory company. My parents weren't happy about this.
9. My mother was afraid that I would run off and paint flowers on my cheeks and live in a commune, and grow vegetables. I once smoked pot. ONE TIME.
10. I don't drink or smoke. (Or swear, much. Well, I drink milk, and water, and orange juice, and stuff. Cocoa. I love Pepsi.)
11. I once visited the Statue of Liberty with a boyfriend named Jim, who whistled the Russian National Anthem the whole time we were there. I wonder what ever became of Jim?
12. I love the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (and Vivaldi, and Corelli and most Baroque music). Bach had 31--or something--children. I wonder how he ever found time to compose all that music???
13. I also like Bluegrass.
14. My favorite actor is Mel Gibson (!) My favorite actress, Meryl Streep.
15. I grew up in the Mojave Desert. This makes me a Desert Rat, although I was born in the Year of the Rabbit. I am a Taurus, with my moon in Aries and Aquarius rising, which supposedly saves me from total Bulldom. --but makes me unstructured, and undisciplined. An astrologer friend told me I am "Split right down the middle,"--half of me "very straight-arrow, and the other half off-the-wall crazy." Half Albert Schweitzer, half Mickey Mouse.
16. I have blue eyes.
17. I have 5 sons. And 7 grandchildren. One of my sons has a Master's of Social Work degree, works as a therapist with children, and has a black belt in Karate. He can kill with his bare hands! Three of my sons are attorneys. One lives at home, works with mentally handicapped people, and exists in an alternate techno-world of video games. All of them write and perform their own music. And march to their own drummers.
18. I survived melanoma.
19. I miss my mother and father, and my grandpa and grandmas. I hope to see them again sometime.
20. Annie Dillard is my favorite writer. (tho' I really love too many others to mention.)
21. My favorite poet? Walt Whitman. No, let's see...Dylan Thomas. Or, William Stafford. Maybe. It used to be Edna St. Vincent Millay. Could be TS Eliot, or Elizabeth Bishop, or....
22. I want to understand quantum physics. If there are eleven dimensions, I NEED to know ALL ELEVEN. I wonder if there really ARE unnumbered alternate universes? Is string theory TRUE?
23. I will probably never know these answers. But, maybe I will. It's something to look forward to when I die.
24. I don't want to die.
25. I've published 3 books--a novel, a book of poetry, and a poetry textbook. And some loose poems, here and there, and lots of articles. And a couple of short stories. I have a lot of stuff laying around in boxes gathering dust.

PS. My teeth aren't teeth, but pearls. In spite of the "Uncle" thing, I enjoy being a GIRL!


(BTW, today is Pablo Neruda's birthday. Celebrate!)

16 comments:

Paul Bunyan said...

And one with a Master of Social Work degree. Hmmm. Left out of the list....

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Hmmm. Look again, Dude. Actually, I have been working on this all day, adding and subtracting. But now I think it is as done as it will ever be. Mr. Uncle Pepek is worried that your psyche is damaged... I hope not! You remember that my astrologer once told me that we (you and I) carry one another around in our little cosmically-connected baskets. When you are old, she told me, he is the one who will come to visit you in the rest home. Or maybe not, if I have damaged you beyond repair.... :(

Hugs and Kisses. :)

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

PS. BTW. One son does not work with mentally handicapped people at home. Which is what it sounds like. He leaves the house to do his work. But maybe he needs to spend more time at home....

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

PPS. And to be truthful, one son is not an attorney yet. He's a music composition major at the university who will go to law school next year. There! Now is it okay? ;D

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Who needs traffic when I can go on commenting on my own comments all night long?

Pixletwin said...

I would like to know who the thrid attorney is in your family.. Or perhaps one has a split personality?

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Pix, read my PPS. (That's something like, Read my lips).

Geesh.

Paul Bunyan said...

My psychological bell weing is not damaged.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

LOL Good! I'm hoooo sappy!

Nienke Hinton said...

You forgot to mention your gender, Uncle Pepek! I wonder if many people have made the same assumption as I did!
In any case, now that I know you better, I want to recommend a movie and book (in case you haven't seen/read them already).
What the bleep do we know? More info at:
http://www.whatthebleep.com/

I loved it. Maybe you will too!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Thanks, Nienke. I just subscribed to their newsletter and ordered the DVD! It looks great!

Tammy Brierly said...

I loved learning all these things about you :) Awesome LADY!

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Would I lie? Now, would I?

mareymercy said...

OOh - Annie Dillard - I love "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." An amazing book that has given me no end of inspiration.

I'd make a list myself, but I think I'd run out at about 15.

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

I think "Pilgrim" is my favorite book. I had an Annie Dillard Christmas a few years ago, and Santa brought me lots of her books! I met her once, when she spoke at the university here, and we shook hands! (I haven't washed dit since, and boy, it is dirty!)

Deb R said...

I loved reading this list!

My favorite was number 22 because I'm also totally fascinated by quantum physics, although I only get the teeeeny-tiniest bit of it.