Now, I have to return to my other major holiday chore, the introduction to the Ohio State vizpo catalogue. I believe (fervently pray) that it just needs minor editing and that I can take care of that today. It's going to to take a lot of work even if I just need to touch it up, so I really wanted to be able to get this entry out of the way quickly. But I couldn't think what to write about when I tackled it around eight this morning. I was also very tired, though I'd had a fairly good night's sleep. When I checked my e.mail, I thought I was rescued by one I got from Geof Huth. He said, "My apologies for this strange message. A goofy little meme is going around in poetry blog circles. People reveal five little known facts about themselves and then tag five others to do the same." "Ah," said I to myself, "that should be easy." But it wasn't. What hadn't I written somewhere about myself? I mean, somewhere it's even recorded that Cheerios is my favorite breakfast food, and that I like Wheat Chex, too. I started eating them when they were still called, "Shredded Ralston." What a great name! The only thing I could think of was . . . yikes, now I forget.

I thought of getting through the assignment with jokes like "one little known fact about me is that I'm always right." Or, better: "one almost entirely unknown fact about me is that I'm not always right." I'm too responsible a fellow to do anything like that, though. But, gee, I just couldn't think of anything little known about me. Eventually, I went back to bed. I'm now feeling a little better but still semi-tired. It's a little after eleven in the morning.

I now believe I can get through my assignment. Why? Because a sudden insight hit me while I was in bed: the main little known fact about me is that I exist! The seven or eight people a day that visit this blog probably know this, and other, perhaps as many as a thousand, who have read something I've written or something written by someone else about me, may know I exist--or may not, if they've forgotten the experience. Another thousand or so know me personally, but not too many of them know much about me. Like the fact that the first comic strip I really really liked was "The Katzenjammer Kids." (That was the one I was trying to think of earlier.) Does that explain everything about me for those of you who are familiar with that comic strip? It was about two little German boys who played practical jokes on a fat Captain and a little bearded professor like blowing them up with dynamite or setting fire to them. Hilarious!

Clearly, the assignment is really to list five things about oneself that are little known to those who know you. So I can't legitimately list any old five facts about me. But I'm not going to too critically interrogate each fact I come up with for its bona fides, but just toss out the first five I can think of that not too many people can be aware of. The one about "The Katzenjammer Kids" first. Then the fact that the Christmas Carol I least like is "Away in a Manger," probably partly due to my brother Sherman's influence, for he announced when he was sixteen, I eight, that he couldn't stand it.

Number three is that I'm not always right. Wait. I said I wouldn't use that one. Substitute the fact that Randolph Scott was my favorite actor when I was a kid.

I notice that all these are facts about me as a child, so I'm going to try to make my last two about me now. One might be that I'm not a pothead (or any other kind of illicit drug-user), but that, while true, is too close to jokey. (Many at the high school I sub at believe I smoke marijuana--because I look like a hippy, am weird, and have at times joked about drug-use.)

Many facts about my political and religious beliefs are unknown, but I can't reveal them for fear of losing all my friends--and getting new friends I can't stand. Okay, here's something about religion I suppose I can reveal, considering how few people will read it here: I sometimes wish I were able to believe in standard Christianity because I think I'd make a terrific priest or pastor.

Number five: I've more than once thrown spent batteries out with the regular trash.

I'm not good at this. I think other lists would be more fun, like what five things about yourself do you most like? Most dislike? What five things would you most like to be remembered for? What five dead people do you most wish you were like? What five kinds of things do you think would make the most interesting lists of this sort?

There, another blog entry taken care of.