No, but I do have in-laws who used to be volunteer firefighters.
Have you ever attended a convention?
Several times a year, hundreds of times in my lifetime-generic science fiction, Doctor Who, gaming, anime and many others.
HYE volunteered at a convention?
Sure. Been to a handful of work-related conventions and have attended several Olde time radio/nostalgia conventions too. [ninja’ed Edit: I actually worked at one of the professional conventions and two of the nostalgia conventions too)
HYE owned a baseball glove?
Yes, when I was a kid, and now, too.
HYE played catch with someone much older than you?
When I was a kid in Little League I got to play catch with Brooks Robinson, using my Brooks Robinson baseball glove, at an exhibition game.
HYE been to a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show?
Yes, with my kids’ Cub Scout troop, around 10 years ago
Also, for years and years they used to park their train on a siding right next to the building where I work for a couple of weeks while doing their show at a nearby venue. I wasn’t a particular fan but it felt like the end of an era when they closed.
HYE fed peanuts or anything else to a zoo animal?
Yes. When I was a child, we had a small zoo in our city. On visits, we’d often take treats for the animals. Feeding them through the bars was allowed in those days.
Have you ever been delayed more than four hours in an airport?
Spent the night in O’hare back in the day. Was horrible.
HEY had an emergency landing in a plane?
Almost did. I was flying into Calgary on a commuter flight, in a Beechcraft 1900D. It was very windy, and we had turbulence the whole way. The Beech 1900 is not a large or heavy aircraft, and what wouldn’t bother anything larger would bother it.
And it did. We hit the Calgary runway squarely, but then a gust of wind twisted us, and we yawed. At about a 45-degree angle to the runway. The pilot hollered, “Hang on folks!” to the passenger cabin (no cockpit door on the Beech 1900, so he could yell to us without using the PA) and struggled to get us back on track. He did, thankfully. Otherwise, we would have turned turtle, broken a wing, and so on. As they say, “any landing you can walk away from is a good one,” and I was able to walk into the terminal once we came to a stop. So it was a good, if a little unnerving, landing.
Have you ever flown on a commuter flight?
The closest I ever came was when the municipality I worked for chartered a Cessna 172 for me to take some air photos that were needed for a law suit.
HYE attended a costume party on a day other than Halloween?
Yes. For no apparent reason, a pub I used to frequent held an annual Valentine’s Day costume party. Why Valentine’s Day? To this day, I have no clue, but the parties were fun.
Have you ever worn platform shoes?
Yes. I’m a child of the 1960’s.
Have you ever fallen and need help getting up?
So many times. Gah! I’m a tumbler. Down stairs*, up steps, through doors. Usually if I lay there a few minutes I can manage to move enough to get up. My legs are long and I think that is my issue. Tangly.
(* the only reason there is still carpet on my staircase)
HYE you ever knocked yourself unconscious?
No, but I’ve given myself a concussion on at least one occasion getting into a low sitting car.
HYE pushed candy corn over your teeth to create ‘dentures’?
Ewwww…NO! Sounds yucky!
HYE puffed on a candy cigarette on a cold day, pretending your breath was “smoke”?
I seem to recall doing that years ago, when I was a child.
Have you ever shovelled snow twice in one day?
Many a time.
Have you ever had a whiteboard at home or at work?
If you mean that board on which you are able to write using markers, I have 2 or 3 at the office.
Have you ever combined salt and sweet products at your dishes?
Many times. Salty bacon and sweet maple syrup over pancakes is a favourite breakfast. (With coffee and orange juice, of course.)
Have you ever had fresh-squeezed orange juice? And I mean fresh-squeezed–you’ve watched the orange being squeezed into your glass?
I’ve squeezed the oranges, not just watched.
Have you ever sipped good tequila?