Posted by Bill Adams
I really was trying to avoid this “16 Things About Me” exercise, but peer pressure swayed me, once again…
1) – I don’t curse in public and never in the presence of women or children. I censor curse words of others when used in on-line areas I pay for or “own”. In my on-line world, your right to free speech is limited to every word, except the seven you can’t say on TV.
2) – I am a true animal lover. I prefer animals over people. Animals don’t betray.
3) – While living in the Silicon Valley, I was on the Board Of Directors for the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo ( www.hhpz.org/ <-- You'll have to paste that URL directly into your browser window as the webmaster for HHP&Z has inadvertently done something to prevent redirects.) in San Jose, California. 4) – When I’m old enough, I’ll receive a pension check from International Business Machines (IBM), even though I was only actually employed by them for about 4 years.
5) – I can almost answer the “What does it feel like to kill a man?” question, as I came whisker-close to doing so when I was 18. He was my best friend. He was my best friend on crystal (meth).
6) – I was arrested for assault and battery for almost killing the friend I mentioned above. The case was dismissed and all charges against me dropped before the case went to trial, because of Tom Hergenhahn. At the time, though I was acquainted with Tom, he was a friend of my then best friend. He witnessed the entire bloody episode. He saw and understood why I did what I had to do. Today, Tom is my best friend. He doesn’t do meth.
7) – Since the incident described above, I’ve never intentionally struck another human being. I say “intentionally” ’cause I accidentally broke Marci’s nose just a couple weeks ago with a backhand across the face. She had it comin’.
8) – The best and most important lesson I have ever learned was the game of chess. I learned it when I was 12 years old. I learned it from a counselor while I was being held in the psychiatric ward of North Charles General Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. He was one of the several counselors assigned to watch me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ’cause I had escaped the first day dear ‘ol Mom put me in there. Chess taught me how to think ahead and logically. I recommend it be taught to all prepubescent humans.
9) – I shot myself in the hand when I was 12. I wasn’t shot in the traditional way. I had started a fire in a pit in the backyard of my parents’ home. I threw in all sorts of ammunition; bullets and shotgun shells. One of the bullets exploded and the slug lodged into the bottom right portion of my left palm. I dug the slug out with a screwdriver. Never sought medical attention. The scar remains there today.
10) – In 1989 I attempted to resign from a Silicon Valley startup company. They rejected my letter of resignation and instead offered me $50,000 to remain with them for just six more months. I did. I took the money and had a party for about 300 people. It was called the “Bill Adams Birthday Do” and was held on May 5, 1990 in a rented hall in Santa Clara, California. I still have mugs and T-shirts from the Do. I also have 16 hours of unedited, not-yet-viewed videotape from the event.
11) – I was born at 6:14 in the evening and weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces.
12) – I’ve never met my biological father. I know only that his name was Don Galloway. I have never had an interest in finding him.
13) – I’m a pretty mean ping-pong player.
14) – I was a software development engineer back when I had hair. Self-taught, as I have no formal education. The highest grade I completed in school was 9th.
15) – I have an inherent distrust of humans and have only come to trust six of the thousands who have been part of my life through my almost fifty years on this planet.
16) – My home here in Waikoloa, Hawai’i is on the market and I will be moving back to the city of my birth, Baltimore, Maryland. This move will hopefully occur before this Spring, or by Opening Day of baseball season at the latest.
Tags:
Baltimore, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, Maryland, 16 Things, Me, Dummy, Mount Vernon, drats, Explore, Bill Adams
Source