I’ve been tagged and tickled by Chris and Christy to share 5 things you might not know about me. This invitation took me on a journey into old photo albums and journals.
When I was a little girl, I was a huge Willie Nelson and Neil Diamond fan. I used to love to sing, Mamas, Don’t let your babies grow up to be cowgirls. Teach them to be lawyers and doctors. These were my lyrics, of course, not quite accurate. I had to adapt quickly when we moved to the new house in 1983 and the kids were NOT into Willie. I learned to love Michael Jackson… and we even started our own Michael Jackson fan club. I mean, we had to, we were special: We lived in Jackson’s Creek. It must be a sign!!
I’ve always been a pretty observant and rational individual. I was also a very obedient child and so my parents took me everywhere (before my brother was born). I remember being around 4-years-old. I was sitting at a bar (I loved to do that, to flirt with the bartenders and get them to fill me up on Shirley Temples and tons of cherries). As I was sitting there I was observing my straw. I noticed that the circle of the straw seemed to be exactly the same size as the opening in my nose. Surely, if I can put this thing in my mouth and suck, I should be able to do the same with my nose… I mean it is the perfect size! I can still feel the burning of that experiment!
For a long time, acting was my thing. I was fortunate in that I had a supportive and inspiring teacher, Lynn Ellis (I think the link is her!). 
Acting definitely pushed my edges and challenged me to be more aware of how I show-up, move, speak, interact with others, etc. I auditioned for one comercial when I was in the 1st grade… and I got it! It was for Field’s Hotdogs, a Tennessee based hotdog company. The scene was a family grilling out in the backyard, lip singing, I want a um-ditty um-ditty um-ditty um, a Fields Hotdog. I want a dog, a dog on a bun. A Field’s Hotdog is the natural one. We would take HUGE bites of the hotdogs… and then move off camera where a woman was holding a tray for us to spit the bite out. 
We couldn’t swallow them because the chemicals they put on them to make them glisten and to accentuate those beautiful black grilled lines were unhealthy! I got to bring my own clothes… they chose for me to wear this striped outfit! Oh, and a bonus was that something happened to the original filming so we had to do it again… which meant I got paid double! Later my brother became the actor in the family. Here we are at Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Every year my Aunt Mel and I would go to the circus. It looks like this year my brother was old enough to join us. Aren’t we cute!
Perhaps it’s a natural progression that in middle school and my first year of high school I was a cheerleader. I really loved cheering. I liked the idea of smiling a lot and trying to encourage enthusiasm and excitement in others. I enjoyed being a part of a squad of girls, sometimes engaging in unison and other times weaving together in dances and cheers. I loved building with shoulder stands and pyramids. What I hated about it all, however, was the stigma and the attitude that many of the girls had. It was a real dilemma for me in highschool. I enjoyed the sport but I didn’t like the culture… do I try out or do I quit? I went with it for one more year (I had cheered 2 years in middle school) and then that was all I could take.
It’s funny. While I was a cheerleader, I always felt like I wasn’t a very good dancer. I couldn’t keep time and wasn’t coordinated enough to follow the routines as well as some of the other girls could. I created a story for myself that I wasn’t a very good dancer. And yet, as I grew older, it became increasingly obvious to me that dancing is so essential to my soul. I love to dance!! It’s just that following routines isn’t my thing! I guess it might be a family tradition. Here’s my grandmother getting down.
There you have 5 things about me that you might not have known. Here’s a bonus, one thing that I imagine you do know about me… I LOVE people!! I think I always have and I hope I always will!
As for continuing this game. I’d like to invite my family to play. I’d love to hear some stories from my dad, Papa Hertz, Frank, Ryan and George (a male theme). What are 5 things that we might not know about you? Of course you don’t have to have a blog to play, sharing in any way would be wonderful. And for those of you with blogs… I’d love to see some of your photo stories.