Sunday, February 15, 2009

Twenty-Five Things You May Not Care To Know About Me

1. Christ is my salvation. Theresa is my heart. My children are my joy. God is good, all the time.

2. One of my favorite quotes is by Robert E. Lee, "I am but a lowly sinner, trusting in Christ alone for my salvation." This is one of the truths I hold fast.

3. My other favorite quote is also by Lee, "Do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never wish to do less." This is the one piece of advice I wish my children would remember long after I'm gone. I'd like it on my tombstone.

4. I've learned that the meaning of life is found in serving others.

5. Some of the smartest people I've known never graduated high school. Knowledge or money do not make you a great person, what you do with your life does.

6. I wrote my own word processor with search and replace function at the age of fifteen in 1984.

7. I am the descendant of at least 36 Confederate veterans. Only one was wealthy enough to own slaves, the rest were dirt poor farmers.

8. I like all types of music: Tibetan chant, bluegrass, folk, gangster rap, blues, grunge rock...just about anything.

9. My mother wanted to name me after Christy Mathewson, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher.

10. American Revolution General Francis Marion and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel were two of my childhood heroes.

11. My father died ten years ago, I miss him dearly, but I get to hear his words every time my boys do something stupid.

12. My daughter Abigail has the perfect name, it means "a father's joy."

13. Abigail is just like her mother -- strong willed, temperamental, and a joy to experience.

14. My fraternity brothers Francisco "Chico" Soto and Kevin "Bruno" Brueland kept me alive for the better part of a year when I was dirt poor in college. I'll never forget that. Chico and Bruno are the meaning of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

15. My favorite book as a toddler was "The Digging-est Dog!" by Al Perkins. I also remember my mother reading Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold Bug" to me.

16. My favorite Christmas present ever were season tickets for the Columbia Mets. Relief pitcher Mickey Weston lead me to Christ through the bullpen fence.

17. My wife is my hero. She has more charm and heart than anyone else I've ever known.

18. I saw the movie "Star Wars" (now called Episode IV) twenty-six times in the theater when it was originally released.

19. My favorite foods are catfish stew, South Carolina hash and rice and liver mush (fried crispy with mustard) sandwiches.

20. I secretly regret not having been in combat while in the Reserves during Desert Storm. That said, I loved blowing things up at drill.

21. While in high school I was the editor of the school newspaper, wrote for the Gaston Gazette and had my photographs published in a sports magazine. In college I was a columnist and later news editor for the campus paper.

22. I wish I could play the guitar.

23. Growing up I won state awards in electronics and cooking while in 4H.

24. My favorite Peanuts character is Snoopy.

25. I hope I make my wife happy. She's made my life.

I posted this to my Facebook profile and thought I would post it here also.