International smuggler
Inspiration for major movie character
Asked a Bishop if he could only move diagonally
My car was hit by a meteor
I survived Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
I rode a pink riding mower all over the neighborhood when I was a kid. Her name was Betsy.
-
Led an expedition of 31 people into an unexplored part of the Darien Wilderness (and out again too).
-
Had a jaguar, a leopard, and a pride of lions within a few dozen yards of my tent while I was in it (not all at the same time).
-
Encountered a forest elephant about 30 feet away while I was on foot.
-
Paid a million for a bottle of beer. (A million zaires, that is, which was worth about a dollar at the time).
-
Bribed a Congolese border guard.
-
Held 10 percent of the world population of an endangered bird in my hands (not all at the same time).
-
Eaten a rat.
-
Had breakfast with an Apollo 11 astronaut (Michael Collins), lunch with Mariel Hemingway, and dinner with Aaron Copeland (not all on the same day).
I’ve had ostrich meat.
I’ve been to 49 states (not North Dakota).
[QUOTE=Gary “Wombat” Robson]
Ridden an elephant
[/QUOTE]
I’ve ridden elephants in the Bronx and in India.
I have performed a citizen arrest on a domestic terrorist
nearly drowned in a river
witnessed a stabbing
watched Paris Hilton put out her cigarette in a random person’s drink, and
met and had a meal with the current (at the time) voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine
I have extracted venom from more than 30 species of snakes, 1 species of toad, 2 species of scorpions, and one species of spider.
Jumped from the stands to walk onto the field at Yankee Stadium during warmups before the 1977 All-star game and walked among the players, and was not stopped by security (I had a press pass).
Shoot, I forgot to mention one of my proudest accomplishments:
I have sung Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer a capella to a theater of approximately 3,000 members of the Communist Youth League of China and their parents. Plus, I nailed the song. And I was paid $50 to do so.
I have played catch with a glow-in-the-dark frisbee at the bottom of Ubehebe Crater under a full moon.
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:19, topic:609410”]
[ul]
[li]Been interviewed live on the radio for 1/2 hour[/li][/ul]
[/QUOTE]
I’ve done that.
I’ve also been on the scene of an ax murder, complete with corpses.
- I’ve met and spoken with the current Emperor and Empress of Japan
- Passed Kelsey Grammer on the street in Cannes, France–then passed him again exactly one week later on the streets of Manhattan. Since he doesn’t know me, the significance was lost on him, alas
- Watched the ritual killing and preparation of fugu. Broke my heart, but I did eat him just the same
- Interpreted negotiations for the US release of the Pokemon movie
- Stolen a huge black Afro wig from a dive bar on Halloween, and worn it successive Halloweens
- Inadvertently stolen a belt from Target (me pants were falling down; I put it on with every intent to pay for it at check out, but forgot)
Been the lead picture on the front page of the Danish newspaper Politiken. It came as a surprise when I saw it, since I was out cold when the picture was taken.
Flew out of LaGuardia on the morning that shoe bomber thing happened. There was no security line, you went through when your flight was called. Every horizontal surface was covered in abandoned toiletries.
I can’t compete with most of those…but my highlights include:
Had an Oscar winner buy me a beer (multiple times…same Oscar winner…)
Seen squid mating in the wild, while diving with the guy who wrote THE book on Reef Fish Behaviors (Ned DeLoach)
Hand optimized a run time library for a missile control system
Had a (sadly unpublished) Maxim photo shoot done in my bedroom, on my bed
Was on ESPN standing next to Dick Vitale during a college basketball game, while he ate a cupcake that I made. (He claimed my college had a cupcake schedule…I made him, well, eat his words)
Ran a 5k and a 10k on the same day. Separate races.
I’ve had 4 MRIs and been in physical therarpy six or seven times (all for valid reasons), and have torn two tendons, but never needed surgery.
And a classic that no one can top, in my heart…Sat in the stands with my Dad during extra innings of game 7 of the World Series, watching our hometown team win.
-D/a
Was bitten on the tongue by an ant.
Spent New Year’s Eve on the Serengeti.
Capsized a boat on Lake Victoria.
Driven a Jeep to the Bandiagara escarpment in Mali.
Got married on Adak Island, Alaska.
Talked to Hilary Clinton (it was brief).
Met Dave Brubek.
Had 15 stitches put in my chest when I was 9 years old.
Drove to Prudhoe Bay AND to Inuvik.
Hiked into the Valley of 10,000 Smokes in Katmai National Park.
Played volleyball and frisbee with dolphins.
Did it in 9 days once. I live in Australia and visited our UK and US offices, and of course had a stopover in Asia for refueling. I think it was all in Economy/Coach, but I would need to double-check my records to see if I got an upgrade.
As for something I’ve done - I’ve piloted an aircraft which had a birdstrike, but given that there are quite a few pilots here it’s probably not a unique experience.
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:19, topic:609410”]
[ul]
[li]Ridden an elephant[/li][/ul]
[/QUOTE]
Did that in Thailand.
… been attacked by a flamingo.
… swum with gray reef sharks.
… spent a week in northwestern Oklahoma, voluntarily.
-Caught the chickenpox twice
-Served fried chicken to Ken Shamrock
-Was shoved offstage by the lead singer of a band
-Had an improv performer acknowledge a comment I yelled at him, at two different shows, in two different cities, 5 years apart
-Got to pet Jake ‘The Snake’'s snake
-Stayed overnight sitting alone in a closed airport bar, watching late-night reruns on the TV
-Cooked and topped 1200 tacos in 6 hours
-Had the lead singer of a death metal band steal my hat
-Had the lead singer of a different band call me out for texting during his set
-Received an award that was created specifically to be given to me
-
Me and my friends called Dexter Manley and his Redskins cohorts “Foreskins” repeatedly while he was trying to kills us and lived to tell about it; Pretty sure we caused the Bears to lose the playoff game, that they were blowing out by the half time, after we called them that though… :rolleyes:
-
Caught a seagull with a fishing rod.
-
Got stupid drunk with Billy Martin (managing Yankees) and Jackie Moore (managing Oakland Athletics).
-
Washed down a shot glass full of raw fish eyeballs with a shot of vodka on a dare. :smack:
-
Danny Bonaduce gave me a twenty dollar tip but I promptly lost it because I was wearing so much clothes and thick gloves.
-
A match book lit up by itself in my jeans pocket, burned a good size hole in them but I didn’t burn me.
-
Returned to US through an airport only with my driver’s license.
[ul]
[li]Won a race involving hot air balloons & bicycles[/li][li]Went jogging on an interstate[/li][li]Been 100’ up in a fire truck[/li][li]Played a pickup football game, in Veteran’s Stadium (former home of the Phila Eagles)[/li][li]Made a snow angel, on the beach, in my bathing suit, *after *coming out of the ocean[/li][li]Climbed 15,504 steps - in 5 hrs[/li][li]Made entry with a SWAT team, securing one occupant (I’m not a LEO)[/li][li]Had my car’s picture on the front page of the local newspaper under the headline, “brothel raided” (honest, the building was on the other side of the train station parking lot)[/li][/ul]