25 Things

When Facebook was off and running several years ago, one of the most popular things being posted was a list of 25 Things about yourself - a narcissistic exercise.  It was supposed to be a way to help your "friends" discover more about you.  I wrote mine out, but never actually posted it.   Here's my original list, with a few updates:

• Asia was my home for five years.

• My wife is Thai, and we married in Bangkok.  My great-uncle, Jim Vann of Headland, AL, was my best man.  My wife is a damn good cook and a helluva person.  She’s been a jolt for my family.

• I’m named after both grandfathers:  Major Watt Espy, Sr. and Victor Allen Grace.  I am the sixth generation in my family to have the name Major.

• My short and long term memory is Grade A. This brain activity comes from quality sleep, which, for me, means nine hours per night!

• I once raced Bo Jackson and shot free throws with Charles Barkley.

• I was baptized in the Gulf of Mexico and have been on mission trips to Canada (for a summer) and Uzbekistan.  Today I am more of a free-thinking person who’s apt to ask many questions. 

• I have seen three US presidents:  George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.  In elections I’m four for four now!  However, the rogue Ron Paul would have been my ideal choice in 2008.

• Good Will Hunting is a movie I have seen over and over.  It does help that it’s come on Bravo numerous times! 

• Thanks to my grandmother Dot’s genes and training, I play a mean game of Wheel of Fortune and obsess over crossword puzzles.

• In 2009 I recorded all my dreams in vivid detail.  There were water rescues and near-drownings, lots of family intrigue, and, of course, sex. ;)

• I’m really into ancestor worship, and it would suit me if we had a holiday where families were encouraged to go the graveside of their loved ones and sit around and eat sandwiches and give toasts to those who paved the way.  I love researching family history and piecing together family puzzles and trees.  I keep a micro-cassette recorder and camcorder handy!

• I traveled solo around Asia for six months, and it gave me a new awareness and different perspective.  I first got a taste for backpacking on a trip thru Eastern Europe in the mid-90s.

• Sometime in the future I plan to take the Trans-Mongolian Railway from Moscow to Beijing - 5 ½ days on board with a few stops in towns across Siberia and a stop in Mongolia.  This has been a dream for many years.

• I developed a love of serious reading in my mid to late twenties.  My three favorite biographies are Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, The Private Life of Chairman Mao and The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

• One goal of mine is to travel to as many countries as years I’ve lived.  I’m pretty much on track.  My favorite countries have been France, Indonesia, England, Hungary, Russia, Thailand and Japan. 

• I have a very strong interest in WWII – the lead-up, causes, aftermath - and have read several books on Hitler and The Holocaust.  I purposely visited Hiroshima, Japan to tour the A-Bomb Museum.  And, in Russia, I toured some mind-blowing museums and memorials pertaining to what they call The Great Patriotic War.  Touring The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC is also something I have experienced, and profoundly affected me.

• When I was young I stepped on a sewing needle, and it broke off in my foot.  This freak incident eventually caused a more serious injury.  I was favoring my foot so much that it caused a hamstring tear and hip injury (broken fragment).  My foot no longer bothers me, but my hip is a great indicator of weather.  I think I could use this to become a weatherman!

• I love drinking coffee.  I can easily tell a good cup of coffee from a bad one, just as easily as I can tell a Key Lime pie from a Persian Lime one. 

• My ideal body weight is 175.  This weight was easier to maintain in Thailand.  It could be done naturally there, with the fruits, the everyday walking and the humidity.  Here, I struggle to set aside cheesecakes, ribs and meatloaf.  Plus, it seems like I am attached to a chair and my hands are glued to remotes and a computer mouse.

• I surprised Kade on our 5th anniversary with a trip to see George Strait in concert.  And in 2012, I took her to see Madonna in Las Vegas as an anniversary present.  My favorite concert of all-time was Aerosmith.

• I rode naked on an elevator in Kyoto, Japan.  Yes, there were other naked folks on the elevator as well!

• I’m known for my sense of humor, quick wit and need for attention (hence, this list!).  I’m pigeon-toed. I also have small ears and a big head.  I was at a fruit market in Uzbekistan and the watermelon guy said my head was like a watermelon.  I thanked him and then ate some more of his samples!

• These countries I was surprised by:  Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Indonesia  These countries made great first impressions:  France, Estonia, Japan, Indonesia  These places I grew to love: Uzbekistan, Russia.