25 factoids about me

50 Things About Me has become a standard among many bloggers. Being half-assed, I thought I would share 25 Factoids About Me.


1. I was named after Johnny Crawford's character, Mark McCain, on The Rifleman. My mom loved that show.

2. As a small tyke, I broke my arm when Gary Cooper* fell on me. I was rushed to the hospital in the back of a police car. The doctor set my arm incorrectly and put me in a cast that covered the broken arm and my entire upper torso. To this day, when my left arm is extended, my elbow is on the top rather than the side... it freaks some people out.
*Just in case you were wondering...it wasn't the actor.

3. My mother died when I was 7 and my father sent me and my brother to live with my grandparents (where my older brother had already been sent to live years before). I am sure these events managed to f**k me up more than I'll ever admit.

4. My grandmother loved us but it was the kind of controlling, manipulative love that did more harm than good... especially after my grandfather died.

5. I have always lived within 20 mile of my hometown...except for one semester at college. I am certain that this is not a positive thing.

6. My grandmother threw me out of the house my senior year in high school for being involved in too many extracurricular activities. I stayed with various friends and spent one night in a phone booth...you remember those, don't you.

7. I graduated in the top 10% of my high school class and failed to live up to any of that potential.

8. I, like Mike Norton, love the smell of ground coffee but do not drink coffee.

9. Instead, I drink way too much Diet Coke... at least 64 oz. per day.

10. I did not get a driver's license until after high school and did not get a car until after I was married.

11. That first car was a Chevette and you get lift the passenger-side floor mat and see the pavement rushing by under your feet. We took it to the car wash on the day we bought it and it died and had to be pushed out of the wash bay. It was a portent of my automotive future.

12. I hate to drive. My wife always drives if we are going out together. Any male who hears this immediately questions my manliness.

13. Speaking of questionable manliness, I have no great interest in any sport. I sometimes get caught up in basketball if the Pacers make it to the playoffs, but even that is only if nothing else catches my attention.

14. I love Broadway musicals! I can't help myself. In the car (when I had one) I put on entire shows with only my MP3 player foraccompanimentt.

15. About 2 decades ago, I wrote a rebuttal paper for a college composition class. The professor wrote this comment on it... Mark- It is a very great pleasure to read this paper. It made me want to go back to all the pieces I've read so far and drop the grades 2 letters... Not to mentionyou'ree just as clever as hell. To this day, whenever I need my spirits lifted, I pull out that paper and hope I can elicit a similar response from a reader in the future. Pathetic but true.

16. I can't speak any foreign languages or play any musical instrument. I still hold out hope that I might learn someday, but that hope is fading.

17. I have attended The Rocky Horror Picture Show way too many times with all the props and expected behaviors. I even went in drag once and sat behind Donny Most (Ralph Malph of Happy Days). I was wearing a lavender jumpsuit and matching afro.

18. I also dressed as a nun twice in my youth.

19. I am a huge Billy Joel fan. I've attended multiple concerts and know the words to all of his songs.

20. I prefer Star Trek to Star Wars. I believe that Deep Space Nine was the best of all of the Treks.

21. I believe that organized religion is far more dangerous than organized crime.

22. I have serious blog envy.

23. I'm sure that money won't buy happinesss, but it would give me more free time to pursue it.

24. My favorite season is Fall and my favorite holiday is Christmas.

25. I love my wife and daughter; they are the reason I get up every day and struggle to be a better person and provider. I keep hoping I'll get better at it.

Whew! I find myself to be pretty uninteresting and this probably confirmed it for all of you.