I have been tagged, in a game of it, by no less than that shaper of futures both unknown and unpredictable – Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. I have attended two of her lectures and the day I met her she gave me a quite unexpected world class hug. I know, you don’t believe me. Not that I care but Miguel Guhlin has posted photographic evidence that treat somewhere on the net. My assignment, as I understand it, is to tell both of my readers seven things about myself that they do not know. As I work through the list you should know that the first 100 or so things I could share, I won’t. I suspect the same would be true of you if you were tagged. Because Sheryl (I’ll call her that since the hug) has linked here, my school Web site, the next 50 or 60 things are out as well. But here I go.

1. I have spent most of my life suspicious of those around me and rarely allowed myself really close to anyone for lack of trust concerning the most trivial of things.

2. I never felt nurtured at a job until I landed at White Oak ISD and I can tell you it was and is a life changing experience.

3. I know from personal experience that one can feel support from distant folk. Even a photo of a smile can touch me now. Yep, I’m talking about you @paulrwood – meet him yourself on Twitter.

4. I fear alligators, standing on a cliff and discovering it is an outcrop or overhang, and kidney stones.

5. My dreams are bigger than my abilities

6. I once trained an aged horse to sit.

7. My memory is so good that I can vividly recall things that never happened. Ask my wife.

With that I think I have met the first part of the assignment but it oddly leaves me wishing I was tagged to do 10 or more. I guess that means number eight would be big ego.  But never mind that, as this tagging is about things you don’t know.  Tagging 7 other people is also part of the assignment.   Although I am thrilled to be tagged by you-know-who, I have to ask myself, “When have I ever completed and assignment that looked even a little bit like a chain letter?”  Soooo, I tag –

dminiraq currently privately serving our county’s most basic need

and

Barack Obama who is currently changing Web sites.