One of our recent assignments for WriteOn Joliet was to compile a list of ten things people don’t know about you… me… whoever. I though I’d give it a shot. I will start at the beginning.
- My mother was not present at my birth. She was a schoolteacher and was busy grading papers.
- I never knew my paternal grandfather because he passed away in 1926.
- My second grade teacher forced me to learn to write with my right hand instead of my preferred left. To this day I can still write with both hands (though usually not at the same time.)
- I didn’t know my name was Kenneth until I started first grade. I thought it was Kenny because that’s what everyone called me. (We didn’t have kindergarten in my hometown.)
- I learned to fish at my grandfather’s pond when I was a kid. Later, I learned it was easier to use a pole and not my hands.
- During inclement weather, I would ride my bike in circles in our garage. I guess that explains why I’m so dizzy to this day.
- I was 6-4 and weighed 140 pounds when I got married. When I turned sideways to face my wife to say my vows, no one could see me.
- I played competitive basketball until I was 38. One league I played in contained ex-NBA players. I realized I was out of my element and took up bicycling racing.
- I once rode my bike 177 miles in just over eight hours. Don’t ask me why. I averaged 28.5 miles-per-hour in a criterium. I hit 57 mph going down a mountain road in Colorado, hit a pebble, hopped the bike but didn’t crash. (During one training ride in Colorado, my teammates and I passed all the motorized traffic on a winding downhill road. That was awesome.)
- I appeared on TV numerous times as the drummer for a famous band in the 70s. (Extra credit for correctly guessing the band’s name.)
- One of my father’s ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. (I don’t know which side he fought for, though.)
- I can count past ten.
- Xxxx
- I’m superstitious. (Not really.)
- I’ve written 25, no, 26 books. (If you read this after June 2020 it will be 27 books. Maybe 28.)
- Each book has sold at least one copy. (Thank you, Andy.)
- “He moved with the agility of a brontosaurus in heat as he slipped under the shiny, satin sheet next to her.” is the most frequently quoted line from my writing.