Here are ten odd things about me:
1. I live in Iowa but grew up in North Carolina. (I have Southern sensibilities and Midwestern tendencies)
2. I got frostbite on my ears waiting for the bus during my first winter in Iowa. (It still hurts when they get cold!)
3. There are four Steve Anderson’s in my family. (That I know of!)
4. I’ve been in the Navy, maintained and operated guns and missiles, been a paid tax preparer, sold insurance, run a car donation program for purple heart veterans, DJ’d, bartended (poorly), and managed a bar. (Jobs defined me until I decided to redefine myself!)
5. I’ve crossed the Atlantic Ocean and transited the strait of Gibraltar four times, been to Europe, Africa, transited the Suez Canal twice, been to the Middle East, prayed at the Wailing Wall, floated in the Dead Sea, crossed the Red Sea twice, and visited several islands in the Caribbean Sea. (Stockholm was the most beautiful city I ever visited!)
6. I felt more spiritual at Stonehenge than in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. (Those pagans were on to something!)
7. I’ve dropped out of college five times. (No plan for a sixth!)
8. I got lost at the Museum of History in Athens and ended up climbing the Acropolis. (There was a path most of the way to the top…)
9. I got drunk off wine at lunch in Rome but sobered up during a Vatican tour. (I bought my ex-wife a rosary at the Vatican Gift Shop and asked a priest to bless it. He had on a red beanie and belt, but he was kind enough to humor my ignorance!)
10. Before the pandemic, I enjoyed singing karaoke. (I once sang at a karaoke bar in Nice, France, until after 4 AM. I was the only American around. I couldn’t buy a drink if I’d wanted to. Fortunately, the bar patrons bought them for me!)