Happy Valentines and all that.
In honor of the season, I decided that this week's reader of the week should be my Valentine. Isn't that cute? Thanks. We met on a blind date--an incredibly awkward, weird, and surprising blind date. Six years and two kids later, we are still a little awkward, weird and surprising. You'll see what I mean.
So, without further ado, I present, this guy:
Hi Cam.
Hi.
Did you take that picture of yourself?
Yes.
Oh. What were you doing?
Laying on a my sleeping bag taking pictures of myself.
Interesting. You look very GQ.
Yes.
Do you do that a lot?
I used to say I'm using up the end of the film, but since we've gone digital I don't have that excuse.
Do you feel nervous?
Not really.
You should.
Okay.
Let's get started. First of all, who is your favorite superhero?
Megalith; I have the first three issues of the comic.
Really? Where?
Downstairs.
How much are they worth?
Next to nothing. Nevermind.
Okay, fair enough. Now let's get serious. Before you were married did you ever, you know, indulge in online dating and if so, what can you advise others who might want to find love on the internet?
Nothing ever came of it. It didn't make for anything to write home about.
Right. Well, what do you think about blind dates?
I had the best blind date ever. We went to Indian food, roller skating at a rink, watched a video of me break dancing at a talent show - typical date.
And?
The rest is history.
Who was your first valentine?
3rd grade, Kim Johnson. Later in the month I saved her. Darren was chasing her with a smashed soda can, like he was weilding it, and I flying-kicked it out of his evil hands. He was illiterate.
Typically what did you give girls on Valentines Day? Is this something you put a lot of thought into?
No, as evidenced by my breaking up with one girlfriend on Valentines Day. But it had to be done, on principle. I do like to break from tradition and not give anything red or pink. Too easy. I like to give gifts that mean something later on, too.
Do you feel Valentines is important? why or why not?
Yes, if my wife wants it to be.
What is your current feeling about love in America?
I think America is not in love. They have crushes on actors, diets, politics, unemployed women with six kids that just had octuplets, and other fads. America needs to mature, go on Spring Break, fall in love, get her heart broken, and then she can love again.
Hmm. Something to chew on. So, any romance novel you can recommend to readers?
If you need a romance novel, you'd better read them all and you'd better start now.
Do you think handholding or kissing is more significant when trying to find the right person?
I think handholding is significant as a step to kissing. If the step is skipped, then the kissing will feel off. Before handholding there is the elbows brushing each other. Then there are the six stages of touch. I don't know; I'm not an expert.
Okay. What is your ideal Valentines Day?
Whatever you want to do. With low lights. And soft music.
All righty. Let's change gears, shall we? Other than your romance collection, what is your favorite book?
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.
Why?
Even though Isaac Asimov is my childhood favorite author, and to me Bradbury was his competition, I was fascinated with his descriptions of all the elements of the book - the characters, the weather, the library, the amusement park. Reading the book again when I was older helped me understand smaller parts of the book - like reversed aging and the like.
What does that mean? Reversed aging and the like?
On the merry-go-round. The old guy becomes a boy. Oh, you should probably SPOILER ALERT that last part.
Okay, what was the first book you ever read? Was it romantic?
Encyclopedia Brown or the actual encyclopedia.
Weirdest book you ever read - A Confederacy of Dunces written by John Kennedy Toole
I'll agree on that one. What's your favorite sport?
That I haven't played would be rugby. That I have would be climbing. It's not a team sport, but its got all the classic elements of sport; man vs. nature, man vs. self.
Yeah. Remember when you made me belay you on one of our first dates and I'd never done that in my life and you could have been killed?
That was fun.
Talent many might not know about?
I am sick-fast at Ten Key. What's Ten Key? It's on your keyboard - to the right - where you can punch in numbers. I can zip through hundreds of numbers, with three decimal places.
I didn't know that. How has that helped you in life?
My fellow workers always want me to Ten Key for them. I'm like, "Get in line, bra."
Okay, what's your Favorite Youtube video?
I guess this is where I plug me. Well, my Breakin' at Wagonmaster is a good video (it's featured on this very site under the bio link). But my favorite video is Mr. Baby piling on the raspberries on his mommy's little bump of a belly. I had to take it off because I submitted it to AFHV, but I think I missed the deadline by a day because we haven't heard back. I guess it made next year's deadline. i know it's going to win.
It is a funny video and I hope we win. Please let us win. Please.
Quickly, worst and best smells?
Worst smell - The filling in my molar (tooth #14 for all you dentists out there) got some decay under it. Blech. But my tooth broke, the filling came out, and no more worst smell.
Best smell - For me - Snow by Demeter. For my wife - euphoria by Calvin Klein. For the kitchen - Homemade (by me) Chicken Noodle Soup.
P.S. he broke his molar eating Grape Nuts. Beware.
Okay, a few more questions. What were you like in junior high and high school? Be honest. It's okay. And please, was there love?
I wore tank tops and short shorts because I was poor. Little did I know how cool it would be the day after I graduated. I also ran with a group of boys. Still do. Same group. Running sucks. But I didn't really plan out my future, so it's taken a while to finally get here. To the future.
DId you read? Really and truly? And if so, what were you reading?
Yes, but only if it was sci-fi. I read sci-fi digests. Probably the lack romance; robots hate romance.
What would you like to tell everyone about reading?
Enjoying reading is easy if you find the right thing. That takes time, seems hard, but pays off. Unless you want to be like Darren, chasing little girls with a smashed soda can in your hand. I think he's still illiterate.
Okay. Thank you.
I have one more thing to say.
Yes?
I'd just like to say that my Valentine is the best Mom. I'm so excited for my boys to grow up with such a smart mom. She's a trekker, a reader, a baker, an artist, a singer, a dancer, a jog-oline-er, a cleaner, and a wife. She really is the brass ring . . . that I actually caught.
Ahhh. Now you don't have to get your wife anything for Valentines Day. See you guys? Aren't I lucky? He knows exactly what to say. Such a sucker. If you have any questions/comments for him or Brooke, the previous Reader of the Week, ask away. And again, if you'd like to be featured, just let me know.
HAPPY VALENTINES!
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bitt
said:
| oops, the link should look like that - http://wiwapia.com/en/Valentines_Day |
bitt
said:
| The history of this day is a bit different from what we are used to think -[url= http://wiwapia.com/en/Valentin...tine's_Day |
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