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The Twenty “Firsts” Meme

I was starting to feel left out.  Thom brought this meme to my attention when he did it (a meme stolen by Sunday Stealing from Iain Dale’s Diary.  Then Lisa did the meme.  Then Melli did the meme and now it’s my turn! [Update — this is also up on Barbara’s blog.]  Each of these folks made the meme look fun, so here goes!

First Job: Baby-sitting for the neighbors.

First Real Job: Working in a hop field twining runners around guide ropes and pulling weeds.  I spent 7 hours a day on my hands and knees in the dirt.

First Favorite Politician:  I don’t know about “favorite”, I never quite think of politicians that way, but the first one whose policies I paid any attention to was Nixon.  I was in the 6th grade.

First Car: a 1967 Ford Country Squire Station Wagon — it burned more oil than gas, the tailgate window rolled down every time I hit a bump, and there was no door handle on the passenger side rear door, but the radio worked and she went wherever I pointed her — until one day she didn’t.  I still miss her.  Her name was Freedom and I loved her.

First Record/CD: Bobby Sherman — <i>Julie Do You Love Me</i>.  I saved my allowance for 5 weeks to get that record!

First Sport Played: to the best of my recollection, baseball!

First Concert: Waylon Jennings

First Foreign Country Visited: Canada

First Favorite TV Show: Cecil & Beanie

First Favorite Actor: Bobby Sherman!

First Favorite Actress:  Bridget Hanley — (She played Candy on “Here Come the Brides,” and was the girl-friend of Jeremy Bolt, played by Bobby Sherman.)

First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: Roy Shones — 1st through 4th grade.

First Encounter with a Famous Person: Dotty West was singing at Disneyland.  The audience was seated on the floor and I was sitting by the stage where she was dancing.  She slipped off the stage and stepped on my fingers.  She stopped the show to talk to me and make certain I was alright.

First Brush With Death: Three days old — I was born without my esophagus attached to my stomach.  They operated with little hope that I would live.

First House/Condo Owned: none — I don’t stay in one place long enough to grow roots.

First Film Seen: Bedknobs and Broomsticks!

First Favorite Recording Artist: Bobby Sherman!

First Favorite Radio Station: KJRB out of Spokane, Washington — the only one I could tune it that didn’t play  elevator tunes or square dance music.

First Book I Remember Reading: Green Eggs and Ham

First Meme You Answered on Your Blog:   I blogged for a whole two months before getting tagged for my first meme, which apparently had no name, but it was posted on Auguest 5th, 2006 and is still moldering in my archives.

48 Comments

  1. I’m going to do this meme here. One of the problems (blessings?) of having a blog that is not MY blog, but my son’s blog, is that these things don’t really fit there.

    First Job: Working in my parents’ florist shop.

    First Real Job: Checkout chick in a discount store. I was so good at my job, I was regularly the “fastest checkout operator” and my till was always accurate. I started training new staff after 6 weeks on the job. My first full time job was teaching high school performing arts.

    First Favorite Politician: Natasha Stott-Despoja. She inspired me so much that I was actually seriously considering a political career for a while.

    First Car: Gemi – a 1980 Holden Gemini, white, with two red strips along the sides. I loved that car. It was totalled when I was doing delivery driving for Pizza Hut. A 17-yr-old driving a liquor van T-boned the driver’s side of my car when he pulled out of a driveway without looking.

    First Record/CD: The first cassette I owned was “Let’s Do It 1990”, a mix of the latest hits. First album was Roxette’s “Joyride”, also on cassette. First album I bought myself was Michael Jackon’s “History”. I bought it on the day it was released, on CD, for $AU45, a ridiculous amount of money. CDs were still very new and expensive then.

    First Sport Played: T-ball. My mother was the coach.

    First Concert: It was a festival at uni – I wasn’t allowed to see bands when I was living at home. I think You Am I, Something For Kate and The Fauves were on the lineup.

    First Foreign Country Visited: Vanuatu. Honeymoon. Only country visited.

    First Favorite TV Show: A dance/variety show from the UK called “The Hot Shoe Show”. Wayne Sleep and Bonnie Langford and a whole heap of their contemporaries were involved. I am still looking for copies of it, because it was so good.

    First Favorite Actor: Cary Elwes. The Princess Bride. As you wish. *sigh* I had such a crush on him at 9.

    First Favorite Actress: Probably Bonnie Langford, even though she’s more of a triple threat. But she counts because she was also on Doctor Who.

    First Girlfriend/Boyfriend: David Brady. Year 8. I dated him again, more seriously, for most of year 11.

    First Encounter with a Famous Person: Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich in The Sound of Music (movie version) came to see opening night of the production of TSoM in which I played Liesl. He told me that I had a bright future and should consider a career in acting.

    First Brush With Death: The car accident that totalled my first car (mentioned above). I required 6 months of physiotherapy and my back has never been the same.

    First House/Condo Owned: The one we sold just before Christmas. We bought it, moved in and two days later, discovered we were expecting Elijah.

    First Film Seen: I have no idea. I know I saw Poltergeist when I was 5 (I don’t know how this happened. Maybe I sneaked downstairs while my sister was watching it) but probably saw something more age appropriate before that. Poltergeist spooked me for years. There’s a tree at my aunt’s farm that still gives me the heebie jeebies and I really don’t like static on the TV.

    First Favorite Recording Artist: It was probably Michael Jackson, since I was willing to LINE UP to spend $AU45 on his CD. But the first that I really connected with was (and still is) Tori Amos.

    First Favorite Radio Station: Triple J. Youth radio station under the banner of the A(ustralian)BC. Non-commercial station. I still can’t bear to listen to anything else.

    First Book I Remember Reading: The Hobbit. I know I read other books before that, but don’t have vivid memories of them. I read this at age 8.

    First Meme You Answered on Your Blog: I don’t think I have answered one.

  2. I don’t think anyone will know any of the Australian-specific things I’ve mentioned, like the bands and politician.

    1. Gee — thanks for sharing! You were just entering the pop culture scene about the time I got old enough and busy enough to lose track of it!

  3. That’s two for the price of one! ROFL!!
    I got tagged with a meme before I even knew what the word meant!! Sheez!! It’s still in my draft archives, it was the middle name meme, and I never got to publishing it !!
    I’m glad the doctors did such a good job and saved you. I would never have met you if they had not. Go figure.

    Jientje’s last blog post..Ruby Tuesday Rock the Boat …

  4. Oh that sounds like fun! I may have to try it out over at my blog. I like the story about your encounter with Dottie West. Too funny!

    Church Lady’s last blog post..Fun Monday

    1. I had skipped work for the day and they televised the show — complete with Dotty talking to me. A couple of my coworkers saw me and wanted to know when I went. I lived in fear of being fired for about a month!

    1. Yes. And when I took it my parents said it was too hard and I was just going to quit, so I refused to quit and they finally forced me to. I was a stubborn cuss! (And I was so relieved when they forbid me to return!)

  6. Your brush with death is very scary. I’m glad that you made it through, ’cause the world just wouldn’t have been the same. 🙂

    Lisa’s last blog post..Hearts and Lace

    1. Yes, I am certain my little bit of nonsense would have made a vast difference on the cosmos if it were missing. [rolls eyes] But thank you for appreciating me!

  7. LOL! YOU are right – her name WAS Candy on the show! How could I have forgotten that??? And yes… didn’t we ALL fall in love with Bobby Sherman? I’m going to do a post about my experience with him one day!

    Wow… you’ve never talked about your scary start in life… God’s had his hand on you right from the git-go! Yes, He has!

    I bypassed all the babysitting I did and began the meme with my first real but not real job… at least that was how I considered it. I figure any job my mother could ban me from doing on Thanksgiving Day was not REALLY real! And besides… I got fired for that anyway!

    Melli’s last blog post..Pigeon Falls… and Stuff…

    1. From the age of 12 to 19 or so, I had a vast number of baby-sitting jobs. People fought over me and called me sometimes a month in advance (I always took the first job offer). One summer one particular family paid me to keep every Friday night free. They gave me $20.00 to keep the night free for them whether they went out or not! Since the going wage for baby-sitters was 75 cents an hour, that was dang GOOD pay!

  8. First of all I am really REALLY glad they had good surgeons when you were a baby.
    Second – did you like Bobby Sherman by any chance?
    Just a feeling y’know! ;0)

    Great meme.

      1. I remember the album and the posters soooo very well !!! and the Barbies !! and I am so very glad you lived too, it was a scary time for your family. We loved you before you were born and couldn’t bear the thought of life without you. XOXOOX

    1. Delete you?! Never! (Unless you say something REALLY offensive, which would be completely out of character!

  11. Funny about Bobby Sherman! I had such a crush on him!

    Wow, that is absolutely scary about needing such a serious surgery so young! I agree with Melli — God definitely had His hand on you!

    Barbara H.’s last blog post..Famous Firsts

    1. Nessa — he’s still pretty cool. He works as a police officer in L.A., and — because he invested all the money he made as an entertainer so well — he donates his pay to a local charity.

    1. Sigh We didn’t actually get to HEAR him. He got falling down drunk and couldn’t perform. It was rather sad, but the venue gave us free tickets for the next night — which was Charlie Pride and he put on a two hour show which was incredible!

  14. Folks, you don’t know the half of that surgery story. It made medical history, as it was the first time it had been performed successfully. And it was performed by the local country doctor – a gentleman from a family whose resources precluded all hope of sending the obviously-gifted lad to medical school. A benefactor stepped in and supported his education on condition that he return home and practice there. Which he did.

    the amoeba’s last blog post..For Cause

    1. Love — you still left out a couple parts. I am debating sharing the full story. I just keep remembering Gram telling me it’s not only MY story ….

  15. Boby Sherman…Someone else also liked him and I had forgotten all about him. Wow Quilly, the start of your life was something else and then OC finishing up the story…great. I for one am certainly glad that the outcome was as good as it was. I can so picture the station wagon…how great and Dolly Parton is one of my all time favs. Lucky you.

    Thom’s last blog post..Coffee Machine

    1. I think I have one of his CDs around here somewhere — or it could be in my sister’s garage in Spokane.

  16. Quilly…how do you register for your blog? I don’t see it on the meta. And I want to get registered so when I make a typo, ie Bobby above I can get in and correct it and not make another inane comment ROFLMAO. Lemme know. Mahalo

    Thom’s last blog post..Coffee Machine

    1. Can’t register — I don’t even know where to find that option and turn it on for you. Tell me and I’ll change the setting. In the meantime, how do you want your comment fixed?

      1. Bobby I spelled it Boby. LOL. but I fixed it with the reply. And by the way Happy Cinco De Mayo. As far as registering, mine came with the blog theme. So I guess you would have to contact your theme creator. Look to see if you have this code in your left sidebar: in the meta area

        Thom’s last blog post..Coffee Machine

  17. phew, that was quite a start to life! that doc did a great work!

    who the f… is bobby sherman?! should google him but am too lazy to do it now… oh well

    juliana’s last blog post..Just a pretty pic

  18. Bobby Sherman was an American pop idol in the late 60’s/ early 70’s especially popular with pre-teens and girls.

  19. Green Eggs & Ham, Good book, I remember this one but my favorite always was Go Dog Go.

    Dotty West, always liked her, still do.

    Good Answers,

    Glad you are with us and the Doctors were wrong.

    Bill’s last blog post..Does It Show

  20. I took the meme and it will post in a couple of days. I’m going to be pretty busy the rest of the week so I set a couple up. That brought back some memories for sure. Some I thought I’d totally forgotten..like first boyfriend…aie aie aie

    AmberStar’s last blog post..Cinco de Mayo explained

    1. Amber, so you’re telling us it is going to take a few days for you to remember and/or research your answers? 😉

  21. I tucked the meme to do sometime in the future.
    I am amazed that you can remember all those firsts.
    Glad they saved you or the quivel would never have been born. The world’s loss.

    Dr. John’s last blog post..How I think

  23. I guess I must have missed something- I don’t ever remember hearing about Bobby Sherman.
    Anyway, I did the meme, too.

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