what about bob?

100 relatively interesting facts

Eventually this list should get to 100…or it may go a few more recognizing that not everything here is all that interesting.

  1. I was born in Dunkirk, NY & grew up about 12 miles away in Brocton, NY.
  2. While growing up in Brocton, the world’s strongest man also lived there.
  3. I was born when my parents were married for a total of 10 months.
  4. My parents aren’t that much older than me (mom is 20 years older, dad, 21).
  5. I got to meet Barbara Mandrell when I was a kid.  I went on her tour bus & got her autograph & a tour.  But since this was before she was really famous, I threw her autograph away.
  6. I have one sibling…a younger brother who lives in Erie, PA.
  7. When I moved to Ithaca in 1994 I thought I would be here for 5 years…turns out we really like it here.
  8. I always thought I’d end up in Boston or Philadelphia.
  9. I do not know any languages other than English…& don’t have a desire to learn one.
  10. I played trombone in high school (poorly).
  11. My wife plays violin, guitar, & viola. (well)
  12. I went to SUNY Oswego for my freshman year of school…I should have gone to class more & the woodshed & ferris wheel less.
  13. My parents still live in the same house they did when I was 4.  I’ve moved 10 times since they moved the last time.
  14. My high school graduating class had 59 people.
  15. I hated middle school & high school.
  16. I had really bad acne in middle school & high school.
  17. I loved college.
  18. I was at the Roland Hooks game.
  19. My father-in-law still calls me Rob.
  20. My wife’s first boyfriend was named Rob.
  21. I got to sit in the Green Monster seats @ Fenway park the year the Red Sox won their first world series in 86 year
  22. I also went to the World Series Parade…we drove 5 hours there, stood in the rain for 3 hours, watched a 20 minute parade & drove back 5 hours.
  23. People used to tell me I look like Jay Leno…it is part of the reason I always have facial hair.
  24. When I was a kid people used to tell me I looked like Fred Savage from the Wonder Years.
  25. I know a bunch of people who know Phil Keaggy but I’ve never met him…I’d like to.
  26. My daughters are 3 of the funniest people I have ever met. (Erin could go on tour)
  27. I once ate more than 80 chicken wings at one sitting at the Ground Round in Tonawanda.
  28. I used to weigh over 250 pounds.
  29. I like watching movies…& tv.
  30. I like to read too.
  31. I’m glad my daughters play hockey because I hate watching soccer.
  32. I am an INTJ.
  33. When we were kids, my brother & I had a dog.  I bought his half for $4.
  34. My mom gave me the Heimlich maneuver once when I was choking on a Rolo.
  35. I once saved my mom’s life when she got in water over her head.
  36. I have also saved my youngest daughter and our associate pastor James from drowning.
  37. I once dove into the shallow end of a pool & hit my head on the bottom.
  38. When I was in 3rd grade a lunch lady pushed me against the table & cracked my sternum.  She didn’t get in trouble.
  39. I wish our church had a softball team.
  40. I have played on 2 teams as a kid where I wore a different uniform than the rest of the team (although once there were 2 of us in the odd uniforms).
  41. I am fidgety.
  42. I like leading the Ithaca Vineyard.
  43. I am not good with cars or puttering around the house…I’m much more confident with gadgets & computers.
  44. I really like coffee.  Sometimes if I’m watching tv or a movie & someone is drinking coffee, I’ll think, “I can’t wait until tomorrow morning when I can have some coffee.”
  45. Three months after we started the Ithaca Vineyard, I had 5 inches of my colon removed.  (But you probably really don’t want to know that.)
  46. I still have titanium staples in me.
  47. I had to wear braces on my legs when I was an infant to straighten them out.
  48. I had tubes in my ears when I was a kid because I was about 1/2 deaf.
  49. I have excellent hearing now…in fact I can hear the mosquito ringtone with my left ear. [story]
  50. I get frustrated with people who “speak for all evangelical Christians.”
  51. I hate mowing my lawn or any other form of yard work.
  52. I was in my room, doing my homework and listening to Foreigner’s Head Games on my 8-track player when I heard about President Reagan being shot.
  53. One of the biggest regrets of my life is the tux I wore for my junior prom.  I wish I could blame it on drugs or something.
  54. I think every follower of Christ should go on at least one short term missions trip in their life…it will change how you see the world.
  55. Mac over PC…(not even close)
  56. Picard over Kirk…(a little closer, but not much)
  57. I like the DH rule.  Why would anyone want to watch pitchers bat?
  58. I would like to get a lot better at photography.
  59. I think it is annoying when people say, “Bob? Do you spell in backwards?” & they think it is funny.
  60. I named my first kid hannaH.  And she does not spell it backwards either.
  61. I saw Liz for the first time ever in a Sunday School class at the Fredonia Assembly of God.  We didn’t actually meet until several weeks later at a campus fellowship (Chi Alpha).
  62. We started dating about 3 years later.  Two months before I moved 5 hours away to Albany, NY.
  63. When I was in college I joined Amnesty International so I could get a t-shirt.
  64. I think about things too much.
  65. I stress about thing too much…(but way less that I used to)
  66. I never went out for baseball in high school because I was afraid of getting cut.  So I played tennis instead.
  67. The tennis team is the only sport I have joined & then quit in the middle of.
  68. Accrording to the most recent Strengthfinders assessment, my top 5 strengths are: 1) Strategic, 2) Maximizer, 3) Responsibility, 4)Learner, 5) Self-Assurance ( I have also had Futuristic, Acheiver, and Deliberative show up at various times).