It comes complete with rules and a little blog bling picture that looks like this:
As with most blog bling awards, the rules are pretty simple: cough up some secrets (seven actually) that people don't know about you and nominate some folks for the award (fifteen actually). Imagine my surprise when I continued reading to discovery that Brigid had selected me as one of the bloggers to which she was passing the award along.
I am genuinely flattered by the recognition from someone such as Brigid who is a phenomenally better writer than I am; however, I'm still scratching my head as to what it means to be a "stylish blogger". A little help from the readership would be nice about now. I know it ain't got nothin' to do with my fashion sense or lack thereof. How would you describe my style?
Anyway, since I'm claiming the award, I supposes that means I have to abide by the rules. So, here goes.
SEVEN THINGS ('CAUSE I'M NOT GIVEN NO SECRETS) YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME
1) I am a Sabbatarian. Long time readers will know that my faith is not something I talk about often despite the irony of me claiming the title of Shepherd K. I've always tended to be fairly tight lipped when it comes to my beliefs. It's not that I'm embarrassed about them or anything. I just try to live my beliefs instead of wasting my breath trying to tell people what they are.
2) I am a licensed (albeit not current) pilot. For my 16TH birthday, I was given flying lessons. My instructor was my grandmother who was an ATP rated pilot, FAA Safety Inspector and one of the two women first hired by the FAA for inspector positions back in the early 1970's. I've been planning on writing about that part of my life, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.
3) I am 6'4" tall, and I am horrible at the game of basketball. It's true. This white man can't jump. Or shoot. I'm a terror on rebounding though.
4) My office is extremely cluttered, but very well organized. Trust me on this one.
5) Briefs. Defintely not boxers (much to The Queen's dismay).
6) I have had a moment of perfect clarity. It was not as enlightening as it sounds. (Slamming on the front brakes on a motorcycle is a bad idea. Especially in rush hour traffic. One of these days, I'll get around to sharing that story too.).
7) I cannot dance anything more complicated than a two step.
FIFTEEN BLOGS NOMINATED FOR THE
1) 911 This Better Be Good. This is a recent addition to my blogroll and also, apparently, my most recent follower. I admit I have a morbid fascination with the world of stupid people. Where better to indulge that fascination than in the world of police blogs? Snark-o-plenty.
2) GunDiva. One of my long time followers and all time most prolific commenter. She writes for something like a hundred blogs now. At least it seems that way. I know of at least five she's got going right now (does that mean I can move on to nominee number 7?). She writes about horses, guns, life in general and the occasional medical related post.
3) PKWynn of MostlyGrocery.com. I used to work retail as a cashier for Walmart and Best Buy back in college. Every once in a while, you really need to get back to your roots...and get a healthy reminder why you left that line of work.
4) John the Texaner of All You Really Need. "A Blog of Guns, Food and Photography". Need I say more?
5) Candance of Crazy Texas Mommy. You want to talk about style? There is no mistaking this woman's style. I've never met her in person, but I have no doubt that I could pick out of a crowd blindfolded the second she opens her mouth.
6) TJIC of Comments for Dispatches From TJICistan. TJIC is currently off the air due to a little misunderstanding with the authorities in his home state of Massachusetts (I hate spelling that friggin' word). Hopefully, he'll be back up soon.
7) Momma Fargo of The Boogie Man is My Friend.... Another popo blog with the snark turned up to 11.
8) Mary Whitsell of ResidentAlien. Great stuff about teaching and living in other cultures.
9) Lawyer at Lawyer With A Gun. I'm cyber stalking him. Just for fun...and to keep my skills up. I'm not weird or anything. Shhhshh. Don't tell him.
10) Captain Tightpants of I Aim To Misbehave. I admit to shamelessly stealing his idea. He changed his blogger name from his first name to Captain Tightpants as a double homage to the show Firefly. I thought that was brilliant and co-opted it by changing my blogger name to Shepherd K. in my own little homage to Firefly. He's another police blogger, but he has the added extra special bonus of being on the bomb squad for his department. Great guy. Regular commenter. Give him some love.
11) Rick O'Shea of Bullet Points. How can you not like a gun blogger with that name?
12) Blue Steel with Point Blank Range. Go check out his Sunday, 2/27 post. The picture alone is worth a giggle or two.
13) Melanie of One Hot Mess. Another of my long time followers. She's a tad busy with school and all now, but she posts when she can.
14) Bob S. of 3 Boxes of B.S.. One of these days, he and I are going to have to go shoot something together.
15) theJu of My Curious Life. My oldest niece's blog. She's only done a couple of posts so far. Be patient and kind. I'll know if you're not.
Did your grandmother work with Wally Funk?
ReplyDeleteBrigid, that name does not ring a bell for me. My grandmother passed away in 1996. So, unfortunately, I cannot ask her. I can tell you she was trained in Oklahoma City. Her first assignment was in El Paso, and she transferred to the Dallas FSDO sometime in the late 70s/early 80s. She retired in the late 80s/early 90s.
ReplyDeleteWally was the first female hired by the agency. Quite a lady I hear. Your grandmother sounds like an incredible woman. I bet we have an mutual acquaintance or two. I'm sorry she's gone.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is a retired mechanical engineer who moved to my neck of the woods from around Lake Jackson, Texas. He is a pilot and about 5 years ago, when his son was 15, he became a pilot also. It made such a lasting impression on that young man that he currently pursuing a degree in aeronautical engineering at Texas A&M.
ReplyDeleteI have always had the desire to fly until I actually did once. I'm sure being in the driver's seat up front is way different than being hauled like cattle in the back.
Brigid, ah. I'd never heard the name, but the story I got was that Wally and my grandmother were hired on the same day and someone in HR decided that Wally was the number 1 hire and grandmother was number 2. As such, I'd be surprised if they didn't know each other. I'll have to check with mom to see if she can confirm that. We probably do have some acquaintances if your piloting took you into Texas at all. Or Alaska. My uncle was a bush pilot for an apparently now defunct charter service in Ketchikan. My grandfather was an A&P mechanic in central Texas of some reputation (he may have been a swindler and a crook, but the man was a genius when it came to machines).
ReplyDeleteBlue Steel, being in the driver's seat is much different than being in the cattle pen. I highly recommend it if you have the money to pursue it. The family had always hoped that we would be able to pass the experience along to the next generation. Unfortunately, we don't have any instructors in the family at the moment. I'm the only one in a position to try for it, but I have other priorities for now. So, if my nieces want to pursue that, we will have to come up with another option.
Congratulations on the award, and thank you for the kind words and the plug.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic that you learned to fly from your grandmother -- you definitely should write about that. Also, for what it's worth, my father was 6' 4" and he couldn't play basketball worth beans. He passed that inability on to me, along with a modest amount of his height. P.E. teachers soon figured it out, but it was pretty embarrassing to have to assure them that my height was purely ornamental.
I really should start reading my blogs on a more regular basis. First, congrats on the award and second, thanks for passing it on. I guess gone are the days when we each only had four followers :)
ReplyDeleteYou've given me a lot of new blogs to look at and add to my blog roll - like I needed any more.
Mary, I completely understand what you mean, and I love the "ornamental" description. That applies to me. I can't complain...The Queen said she wanted a tall man. I also take after my father too. He couldn't play basketball either.
ReplyDeleteGunDiva, you are welcome and you're right, the days of obscurity are gone...although you are less obscure than I am by a lot. I know what you mean about keeping up with the reading. My blogroll is getting fairly large, and it's hard to keep up with everyone and get work done.