Six Truths and a Lie - Revealed!

There is no truth. There is only perception. ~Gustave Flaubert

Okay, the day you've all been waiting for... it's time for the reveal of the truth behind my post on Tuesday. First off, all names have gone into the virtual hat over at www.random.org and the winner of the $5 GC to either The Wild Rose Press, Samhain Publishing, Amazon.com or BN.com is:

JAIME!!!!!!!!!!

Jaime, email me which GC you'd like to have.

Jaime didn't guess correctly, however. The honor of THAT goes to Keri Mikulski, who got the right answer and it behooves me to offer her something as a prize -- so, Keri, you get your choice of any of my stories in PDF format. Email me your choice to authormariannearkins AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get that to you.

Now, let's talk about me. *G*

Here is the list I posted on Tuesday, with explanations:

1. I've handled a rattlesnake with my bare hands.

True. However, I didn't REALIZE it was a rattlesnake at the time. I was eight years-old and collecting critters for my reptile zoo that I was keeping in the goat pen, and found the cutest little bitty snake.... yep, a baby rattler w/o rattles. I scooped him up, put him in his new house and then showed him to my step-father who, despite the panic he must have been feeling, chopped off his head with a shovel

End of snake that could have been the end of me.

2. I've belly-danced in front of an audience.

True. Of course, I was a toddler and the audience was my mother -- she says I did a pretty good job!

3. I bought a pony with a bag of nickels and pennies.

True. My dad used to toss his change into a box at night, and when I went to visit, he'd tell me to leave him the quarters and dimes for laundry and take the rest. Eventually, I saved up $25 -- the cost of my neighbors pony -- and got my first horse. And it didn't occur to me to take the change to the bank and get him bills... I was only in fifth grade.

4. I've never broken a bone.

False. I broke my wrist in a fall from the back of the pony referenced above! LOL... he was a feisty little bugger -- and made me realize that ponies aren't always the best animal for kids. We had the gentlest horse in the world, too, a leopard spot appaloosa called Hombre who was so sweet, you could ride him without tack. Maybe I should have claimed him as my own instead!

5. I've walked to the bus stop, two miles in the snow (though it was only uphill one way).

True. We lived in the boonies and I walked a mile or two to the bus stop every day, depending on whether I took the dirt road or the woods. Rain or shine, snow or sun, I walked it every day.

6. I owned Mork & Mindy rainbow suspenders and wore them with pride.

True. We didn't have much money when I was young... I could tell you stories about owning two pairs of pants, and having to wear one pair for two or three days in a row, while I washed the other one by hand and waited for them to dry... but I won't. *G* So, when everyone who was anyone had those suspenders, I wanted them in the worst way ... and I got them! I wore them constantly.



7. I'm afraid of chihuahuas.

True. When I was very young ... third grade... one of my friends had this seriously nasty chihuahua, and when I visited her, she'd keep it locked up. Once, her siblings apparently thought it would be funny to let it out. I was in the backyard, it charged out barking and chasing me. I ran (as an aside... running from a dog is the worst thing you can do) and it cornered me by the gate before I could get out. And, it bit me. Only dog that ever has. And, I've never quite gotten over that fear.

Thankfully, in junior high, my best friend also had chihuahuas and helped me realize that not ALL of them were nasty, biting little things. But even so, my heart goes in my throat whenever I have to deal with them. As an adult, I don't run screaming on the outside, but I do on the inside.

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In other news, because apparently the five squash and nine cucumbers weren't enough, my SIL brought me SIX more squash and FOUR more cucumber plants. The cucs are easy enough to find a home for .... but squash? They are space HOGS. Oy.

Good thing I have a freezer, because I suspect I'm going to be doing a lot of canning and freezing this year.

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We have our bi-annual agility competition tomorrow. Hopefully my camera won't crap out on me and I'll have some good video. DD is determined to get a gold medal for Dakota, but she's also running two other dogs. The instructor is having DD run her Papillion, Missy and there's a mini-Australian Shepherd named Riley whose dad recently had back surgery. He's having DD run the dog for him.

She's an awesome handler and it's fun to see that other folks appreciate her too.

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