Jump to content

Things you have done, most others haven't


woodsman

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 166
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Let's see if I can recall any tidbits of interest that others may not all have experienced...

At 12 I attended a concert with my folks at the Hartford Civic Center of the renowned theatre organist George Wright and met him backstage after the show. Also watched the Hartford Whalers hockey team practice while inside the overhanging scoreboard (my dad was a service tech for a firm that built and serviced scoreboards and time and temperature displays along the entire northeast).

A year or so later a distraught unemployed man who lived a block down from our neighborhood started shooting out his 3rd story window of his house, threatening to kill anyone who'd approach his home. Hundreds of spectators, local TV news crews, and the police swarmed our street, and we couldn't see anything from our yard even though we were the 3rd house from the enterance to our development. So our dad and us kids climbed on top of our roof of our 2nd story house to get a better view. The man's last stand (so to speak) consisted of a barage of bullets being sprayed in all directions from his window...one bullet literally wizzing past our heads and striking our brick chimney! Needless to say, we got off the roof post haste (sadly, the man had already killed his wife and small child before saving the last round for himself)!

At 16 my dad and I had literally just finished repairing a dead note on the Gress-Miles pipe organ at South Church in New Britian, CT right before Thomas Murray was to begin his recital. There was no time to pick up our tools and quietly begin the descent down from the Great Division chamber almost 3 stories down without being heard throughout the introduction, so we were quite literally trapped inside the organ chamber while the entire 90 minute recital was performed before a full house! You haven't heard a pipe organ in all its splendor until you've heard it (at full organ) while situated inside an organ chamber with all those pipes literally inches from your face!

During the early '80s while in the Army I qualified Expert with the M16 rifle and M60 machine gun (assigned weapon of choice), fired numerous LAWs (light antiarmour weapons), and flew in several Huey utility transport helicopters during typical REFORGER exercises. Almost flipped the HQ's jeep while driving a night convoy without headlights through the Dutch forest by running into a ditch along the dirt road!

While stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver a group of us went to the Coors Brewery. We also partied at the Red Rocks Amphitheater during the 4th of July and watched several fireworks displays throughout the lower foothills (my then-girlfriend and I made out on the bleaches and didn't see much of the displays...LOL)! One weekend my girlfriend drove us up to Pikes Peak (14,110' above sea level), stopped along a sightseeing rest area where we made out in the back of her old Chevy Chevette (I'm in the mile-high club without ever leaving the ground)!

While stationed in Germany I also visited King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle and his Versailles Palace, and also Prince Eberhard Ludwig's Ludwigburg Palace. Had a blast at OktoberFest, and at a brothel up in Hamburg's red light district! Saw YES in concert at Stuttgart...one of THE best concerts ever! Been to Paris twice (rained both times), and to Amsterdam (no hash brownies, but a tour through the Heineken Brewery was fun). Spent a week in Spain...went to Barcelona to watch a bull fight (never again), and the remainder spent at Costa Brava's largest resort, Lloret de Mar on the beach; went parasailing in the Mediterranean, and spent a few hours at one of their nude beaches with my girlfriend (she talked me into it).

Was contracted by a specialty art firm in Orlando to work at the Magic Kingdom resort at Walt Disney World to provide framed silhouette cutouts for their guests (also did caricatures at Disney conventions)...what started out as a part time job after the military ended up being a full time career where I made excellent money (hourly, plus commission and tips) sitting on my a$$ all day long doing nothing but cutting out paper dolls, checking out hot babes, and mingling with celebraties (i.e. actors, musicians, athletes, a Nobel Prize winner for chemistry, and two former Presidents)...for over 17 years! If it hadn't been for unforseen circumstances, I'd probably still be there. Also went to Miami for two days to shoot a commercial for AFN (the military's Armed Forces Network in Europe), making a chain of paper dolls depicting Marines.

There's more, but this is just the real cool stuff...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to lay in bed tonight thinking of everything I have ever done...Ok, here's a couple of things:

Partied and jammed on guitar with Danny Hutton and Corey Wells of Three Dog Night in a hotel room in Memphis while I was managing Tommy Boyce (well they all jammed, I kind of played the 5 or 6 chords I know). And talk about some stories from the 60's and 70's between them...man what I would have given to have a video camera...

Went to ASU on a track scholarship in '75-still have the Kennett Mo High School high hurdle record after 30 years...

Grew up with Sheryl Crow-does that count?

I lost my soul mate too from cancer in 2002- worst time of my life...

Met soul mate #2 at my high school reunion and moved to Hot Springs to be with her after 20 years in Memphis..

And of course, I bought my '67 vette!! whew! more later...

KG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I spent July 4th, 1987 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (present day Croatia). It was communist then...

Interesting looks we received from the armed guards on almost every corner while waving little American flags and singing patriotic songs.

This was the same summer of the Iran-Contra investigation.... Wow, almost 20 years now. I'm old.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

During a very heated tennis doubles match, our opponents put up a weak, short lob to my side of the court. So that I had plenty of time to decide where to hit my overhead, I decided to let the ball bounce instead of hitting an overhead out of the air. A slight mis-hit resulted in my shot hitting one of our opponents in the hip.

Why would this qualify for this thread you might ask?

Because to my knowledge, I'm the only person in tennis to have hit an overhead smash into an opponents colostomy (sp?) bag! [:o] [:$]

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like everyone has had some fullfilling experiences along the way.

Edit: I'll just say that I've met the famous and the infamous, from paupers to Presidents, that some of the "most ordinary people" have had the most profound effect on my life and that along the way, I hope I've left some of those positive effects on others.

All in all a pretty good life so far, with only more yet to come.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In elementary school, I was involved in what was called "Mini Circus". We performed locally (Hamilton Ohio), and made road trips to various other cities/states. We primarily did halftime shows at basketball games or had our own show.

We performed in Louisville, Knoxville, Sarasota, Indianapolis...

While doing Indy, we did the Indy 500 parade.

In one parade I rode a 10' unicycle and the next year I was one of two riding what was called a Bedstead (a BIG bicycle made out of a headboard to a bed)

During the Bedstead parade, they showed us on national tv (as they did the prior year) and I was of course looking for myself.

They were just getting ready to cut away for a commercial when BAM, I came by right in front of the camera and stole the entire shot as the camera dude wasn't expecting someone to cross his field of view.

Just for kicks, I've attached a before pic. I think I was in 5th grade here although it's possible it was 4th.

A couple years ago I went to my 25th high school reunion, all 5 of us were there an not a person thought to take a picture until the second night of the reunion when one of us wasn't able to make it.

Left to right Me, Paul, George, Mike, Sandy

post-15072-13819304777328_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe his last name is spelled Mehaus. I've got no idea what his profession is today so can't answer the law firm question. Nor do I know where he lives. It would seem I only see him every 5 years at the reunions... [:$]

As for the others in the pic, I thought it was pretty cool that we were all together some 30 (?) years later.

I tried to get on a unicycle a year ago (first time since elementary school). It shot out fairly quickly from under me (though it DID have a flat tire and I was in my sisters basement)

At the HS reunion, we had some laughs ...seems some of my fellow unicycle riders were getting a kick out of the horrid looks on their kids faces seeing a bunch of 40 year olds (plus), getting their jollies by buzzing around the parking lot on a uni.

Falling while riding a 10 footer was never much fun either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own a Klipsch heritage-based home theater, with Klipschorns and La Scala's.

Well, it might be common around here, but I'll bet I'm the only one for a few hundred kilometers around!

Apart from that, spent 3 months aboard the german scientific ice-breaker Polarstern, mostly around 82 N off northeast Greenland, spent 6 weeks in the Canadian Arctic aboard CGCS Amundsen. Measure temperature/salinity profiles in the Gulf of St. Lawrence every winter from a hovering helicopter. Stuff like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have been in jail in Bolivia....twice.

Bought a new Harley 20 years before they were "trendy".

Have broken at least 21 bones including 15 fractures in my spine and still think motorcycles are cool.

Hiked on a snow-capped mountain in the Andes to an altitude of 17,500' and drank coca tea at the summit.

Ridden out a hurricane on a floating drilling rig in the Gulf.

Been offshore in the North Sea during storms with 100' seas.

While having handcuffs removed after nearly being arrested, I passed gas in the face of the Deputy that was removing the cuffs. His next words were; "looks klike you boys'll be spending the night in jail after all". The nearly being arrested was then a thing of the past. I can admit to not being very smart at times when I was much younger than I am now. This jail was much nicer than the Bolivian ones.

Have awakened in Europe and was not really sure what country I was in.

Two friends and I used to call a nearby travel agent when we lived in Scotland and have her book the cheapest 3 to 5 day vacation she had available. She would then call us with the time to be at the airport. We didn't know where we were going untill we got to the airport to pick up the tickets. We would buy suitable clothes when we got to our destination...... I never liked planning for trips in advance.

Refused to drive a friends Mercedes home after he was arrested for DUI by a British cop. When the not so friendly Officer asked why, I replied that I had had much more to drink than my friend who was now cuffed and waiting transport to the pokey. The now, even less friendly Officer tested me and promptly arrested me for public drunkenness! I was however released after arriving at the jail and speaking to a friendly Officer who didn't hate Yanks as much as the not so friendly one.

Have actually been in countries that I have not been arrested in, although probably, knowingly or unknowingly, broke several laws while there. I know, not being arrested in a foreign country is the norm for most folks and not in line with the title of this thread, but for me it's unusual! It's not that I'm a bad person or too roudy (I am not like the Ugly American you can see traveling in almost any country in the world). I just tend to end up in the seedier and less traveled areas of the cities I visit. It's the only way to see what a place is really like. Anyway, if a cop sees someone who doesn't belong in one of these places, he usually thinks you're up to no good (good guess) and it's time for a little confrontation. I have a family now, so I travel the straight and narrow and would never take my kids to the places that are the most interesting.....maybe when my son's a little older.[;)]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've travelled to over 18countries on a 6 1/2month cruise on a ship which was owned by my dad's former company while we lived in India (while on this trip, made out with a spanish chick who was 17 and worked at a chocolate shop near Bilbao, Spain.... oh by the way, i was 12 )

I've gotten kicked out of school in gr.5 in India for obnoxious behaviour

Eaten a goat's brain, heart, and kidneys ... I won't get into the rest of things Ive eaten nobody would even imagine

I've eaten 8 whoppers at burger king in about an hour and a half after 2L of wine

Have planted over 68,000 trees in a span of 2months

A cop bullied me when a bunch of me and my friends were walking back to our hotel in a town in northern Ontario (it was a mild racism incident) so when I happened to see his cruiser parked in the parking lot of a 24hr coffee shop, I pee'd in through a gap in his window onto his seat ... and waited at a distance to watch him climb back in after 10mins n drive away

Im sure theres more I'll add as my memory refreshes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn, I can't top those stories...

I did drive a friend's new jet black '84 Saab 900 Turbo down Germany's Autobahn A81 between Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart at a leisurely 120 MPH, and was still passed by BMWs, Porsches, and Mercedes going much faster still! Also drove a buddy's modified, bright yellow '73 BMW 2002 on the same stretch of A81 doing about 115 MPH...good times![au]

Three years ago a Guitar Center coworker and myself were given backstage passes for a Journey concert at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa. After the show, we were escorted backstage to a ballroom with a bunch of middle-aged fans acting like kids. After the meet 'n' greet (with lots of eating and drinking), a georgous woman in her 40s had her breasts autographed by Steve Augieri (sorry, her shirt remained on)! We had brought along two Fender Strats and had them both signed by Steve, Neal Schon, and the rest of the band...they were later auctioned off at our store for a pre-Thanksgiving sales event.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...