WHO AM I.

Cleaning out email I came across a bio-esque thing I wrote for my thirty year high school reunion last summer. I also found a 25 Things About Me spiel that I never posted on Facebook. Come see about me:

Please share details about your married/single/divorced/remarried and family life (150 words or less)

I've been married to Professor Leslie Robison for almost seventeen years. We have two boys. Roscoe is seven and Otis is five.

What is your occupation?
dad / taste maker / door knob rattler

What are your post high school learning experiences? (How many degrees have you earned and what are they, and from where? Or how many trade schools have you attended and what certificates have you earned, from where? Or how much acreage do you farm and what is your primary production?)

Learning experiences/trade schools include raising my boys, playing in countless bands, writing for my blogs, helping Leslie with her art projects, riding my bike on the beach, burying my dead dog at the river, quitting smoking cold turkey successfully a month before Roscoe was born, winning the Americas cup, reading Tom Robbins, Charles Bukowski, and Thomas Wolfe, getting Special Thanks from Scott H Biram in the liner notes of his new album, writing the liner notes for Dan Auerbach's pre-Black Keys band, watching the short film The Accountant more times than I can remember, holding my mom and dads hands as she lay in a coma and a musical therapist played wood flute, spilling Hot Sauce on Pete Townshend's brother Simon's hand at Taco Time, setting the world land speed record at Bonneville salt flats at seven hundred and sixty-nine miles an hour, moving back to Pullman for three years to clean out my childhood home of fifty-plus years of stuff, speaking at my dad's memorial service, searching for and finding my five biological siblings and having them be five aspects of me instead of the carnies i'd feared. I currently have 98.6 degrees. I farm two fields each about eight feet by five feet. Primary production is tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil, and eggplant. I also farm a section of mint for Mojitos and Juleps.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

Listening to and writing about music, reading, going to the beach with my boys, cooking vegan food, taking pictures and making little movies, indulging my curiosity and sharing my exquisite taste with the masses via my blogs and elsewhere.

Are you involved in any organizations or charities?

Volunteer with The Deep Blues Festival for the last three years which is an international alt-blues (whatever that is) music and film festival in Minneapolis. This year we present over seventy bands. And i'm missing it to be with you.

How do you feel about nearing age 50? Do you have any revelations or epiphanies to share? (300 words or less)

I'm cool with it though I do my best to fight it's ravages tooth and nail. I've thought for years there was an error on my birth certificate of at least ten years. Most days I don't feel a day over thirty-something. None the less I must agree with Bette Davis: "Getting old ain't for sissies."

Can you share a memory about growing up in Pullman? (350 words or less)

Pullman? Not enough space here. High School? I polled my various friends on FaceBook to see what I remember from High School as i've erased most of the files to make room for newer, better memories. The results are:

"Does "Bite Wise" ring any bells?" "Zomper Zeep and the West Side Jug Boys." "I remember I hated it! That help any?" " Hey what about all those fun bands trip like our freshman year to Victoria. How about our state band trip to Tacoma!!!! Come on man there is plenty to remember." "Jerry Harms??? Need I say more?" "Don't forget all the rock and roll shows at Beasley. Budget Tapes and Records, and yes, the playful bantering with Jerry Harms in his "All Things Considered Class".

Now let's see if I can scrape up any of my own...my '67 BelAire, '66 Dodge van with Saunders painted on the side (no worries being spotted doing wrong in that!) . The roar of the crowd and the shock of the parents while playing Schools Out at graduation and thinking "Suck It next generation" and knowing that what we did would never be allowed again...then driving by myself to the river to watch the sun rise. A/V w/Mr.Dibble. He made me watch an hour long vid about depression cuz i'd said I was having a bad day. Listening to Nugent's Double Live Gonzo in a library rooom the day it was released. Busted by Brad Wiley for putting up anti-Mr.Wise posters and nearly being expelled for it. Being forced to apologize to Mrs. Paznokas for telling her to fck off on the next to last day of High School. Papoon for President. A fake Secret Crush note a "friend" of mine sent me. Working at The Station Tavern. The yearbook pic of me with a mustache I never had. Standing up to the senior jocks who tried to mess with me. Stony Road with Ric Herdering. Majic forest. Endless giant rafts of BS i'd rather not re-live. Band. Bands. The incredible support of Dutch Day.

Do you know anyone from the class of 1979 that has died? And do you have a memory to share of them? (this answer will be in a separate section)

Dave Jolly always told me "Rick, Just remember: Stroke it and it will come." He was right.

Do you have any other thoughts or comments you wish to share or add? Or pictures to attach?

It's odd how affected i've been by everything that happened over almost four and thirty years ago. For good and bad. But my therapist says i'll be OK. The most amazing thing has been the discovery of other peoples perception of me. Learning from my wife of the reputation I didn't know I had. I always thought I was a huge dork but I've had so many people tell me how cool they thought I was or how they looked up to me. That was utterly shocking to say the least and quite healing and liberating.
 
25 Things About Me
 
1. Almost all of my closet hangars belonged to my Grandma and almost all of them sport a crochet covering. Each one is different.


2. I love photos of the interiors of abandoned buildings. This probably stems from the times Chris Beamish and I explored WSU's Ferry Hall prior to it's being torn down.

3. I still have the reciept for the 1st two albums I ever bought: Led Zeppelin 4 and ZZ Top Tres Hombres. I bought them the day Budget Tapes and Records opened. Later I worked at that store for ten years.

4. I was held back in Kindergarten. I nearly flunked 8th grade. I barely made it thru High school.

5. I've read every book Thomas (not Tom!) Wolfe, Charles Bukowski, Sinclair Lewis, John Steinbeck wrote.

6. I'd rather be blind than deaf.

7. The longest my wife and I spent together prior to being married was on a ten day cruise.

8. I saw Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr live in Seattle. Sammy kicked Frank's ass.

10. My favorite movie of all time is The Accountant.

11. I love whiskey (George Dickel #8 is my fave) and salt and pepper potato chips (Kettle Brand cuz they use white pepper, too).

12. My wife is the smartest person I know.

13. I never in my life imagined having kids. Ever. At all. Didn't even like kids.
But Roscoe and Otis are just so damn cool.

14. There are few things better in life than a Brave Bull aka El Toro Bravo (Kahlua y tequila.

15. I love the smell of coffee. It's the taste I can do without.

16. I wish there were two of me and days were twice as long.

17. I used to hate naps. I thought I might miss something. Now I can't live without them.

18. I believe in That Which Cannot Be Imagined and all it's prophets.

19. I cut Obits out of newspapers and after editing them down to the important stuff I paste them in a notebook. But only if the person had a nickname.

20. My wife's family rocks.

21. I don't like chocolate candy.

22. I could probably live off Calrose Rice and seaweed.

23. is a number with special meaning according to my old friend Ron Rice.

24. Some of my friends call me Earl. Some of my oldest friends call me Maestro.

25. My life is better than I imagined it would be.