Who am I? Can I condemn this man to slavery?

A few words about profiles: I tend to have a hard time with them. Either they ask leading questions, then not give you enough space for the answer, or ask questions you don't really want to answer.

As to mine here, I was inspired on my way home tonight by something written by one of my favorite authors, Richard Bach, in his book "Illusions: Adventures of the Reluctant Messiah." In the "Messiah's Handbook," one of the statements is "Sometimes the simplest questions are the most profound. Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you going? Ask yourself those questions a couple of times a day, & watch your answers change."

I didn't fill out the profile here at first, because the space was so limited; my favorite books? Movies? Music? Are you asking me to choose from the hundreds of titles in my libraries, of books, films, & CD's? If there was a simple answer to any of those questions, I think I would be a pretty boring & mundane person, which I can assure you I am not.

So I came up with a pretty clever solution: I gave single answers to each one, just for today. Which is to say, I am going to add to each answer every time I add a blog entry, until I run out of space, at which point I will delete the top entries to make room for the next ones. This is, in fact, a form of extortion, you see; this way, in order to get a better, more complete impression of me, you have to keep coming back. Clever, huh? What a way to ensnare a captive audience!

I don't know about the picture, however. I initially used one of a more recent vintage; I have now changed it for one of my personal faves, which also just happens to be almost 20 years old. I am making this clear from the get-go, because I don't want anybody accusing me of misrepresenting myself by way of my appearance. So let me be 100% clear: That picture is my college graduation picture; it was taken when I was 27, & I am currently 46. Do I still look like that? To a certain extent, yes; the hair is shorter, & thinner, & lighter in color, & streaked with silver. But as I know I mentioned a while back, my ID may say I am 46, but I sure as h**l don't feel it, nor do I look it.

Another important part of who I am involves the cast of characters that are, or have been, a part of my life, most particularly at this stage of it. So let's start with my immediate family, past & present. Here they are, in order of appearance on earth:
My dad, Robert (Bob) Elliott, entered stage left 1917, exited stage right 1995.
My mom, Virginia Wilber Elliott, bloomed in 1924, faded away 1995.
My oldest brother, Floyd, burst on the scene 1950, left in less than a blaze of glory 1970.
My next oldest brother, Keith, lit up the sky 1952, disappeared with nightfall 1994.
My older sister, Jamie, high-kicked her way in 1956.
Then me, hatched 1963!
My younger sister, Anne Marie, pushed herself into the crowd 1966.
Jamie's first husband and father of her children, Richard, first encountered by me in 1983.
Jamie's daughter Megan, joined the party 1986.
Jamie's son Matthew, threw his first punch 1987.
My first partner, Michael, married me 1991, left my life 2004.
Anne Marie's husband, Charlie, snuck in under the radar with his daughter Bailey 1992 (I think).
My wife, Heather, elbowed her way in 1998.
Anne Marie's & Charlie's daughter, Olivia, popped in 2001.
Jamie's second husband Jerry, recruited in 2002.
My second partner, Kent, joined my life 2005, joined the angels 2007.

Try to keep the names & characters straight, there will be a quiz later.