The Firsts

As Mary suggested for herself, maybe this will help me get back in the groove a bit:

First Job Other than babysitting, or getting paid a comic book to put stamps on the mail in my father's office on a Saturday morning, my first real paying job was in a fabric store in the business area at the edge of my neighborhood. I think I worked there for most of my junior year of high school, after school two days a week, Friday night, and all day Saturday. I learned a lot because I was into sewing then.

First Favorite Politician I remember watching JFK's inauguration on TV about a week after my 7th birthday. The first politician I had stickers and buttons for was Eugene McCarthy in 1968, and then Hubert Humphrey, same year.

First Car The first car I got to use as my own was the 62 Oldsmobile Super 88. I used it for two or three months until that year's insurance on it ran out, and then my father sold it. It was powder blue, had nice fabric seats, and seatbelts had been installed in it in 1963, so our first car with seatbelts. I could drive six or seven kids home from school in it -- it was my junior year, I think -- including several big, hulking guys. But every so often the car would refuse to start unless my father's hand was on the key. It loved him.

First Record/CD I had two or three kiddie record, including a story of Pinocchio, which I would act out as it played. My first 45 was Running Bear. My first real album was Meet the Beatles, for which my mother had waited on line at the nearby department store all morning and then brought me home as a surprise.

First Sport Played I played kickball -- good at it -- and dodgeball -- not so much -- in school, and then whatever else we did in gym over the years. The only sports I've attempted outside of school were tennis -- very not good at it -- and racquetball. I could play racquetball, but I never won a game, even when my opponent was someone I had taught to play that very day.

First Concert I saw Little Stevie Wonder in Central Park when I was about 12, maybe 13.

First Foreign Country Visited My uncle took us all on a day visit to Tijuana when I was 7. Skeevy is the word that comes to mind. I went to Canada with a camp group when I was 15. I went to Europe when I was 21, landing in Brussels and spending two weeks in England and Wales.

First Favorite TV Show TV was the background of my life as far back as I can remember. My true firsts were The Mickey Mouse Club and Howdy Doody. For a little later on, I'll go with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

First Favorite Actor In keeping with the previous question, the first "actor" I wanted to grow up and marry was Cubby O'Brien from the Micky Mouse Club. After that, I always had a crush on someone: David McCallum, Paul McCartney ... you know. I think the first actor I appreciated for his work was Spencer Tracy.

First Favorite Actress The first actress whose work impressed me was, not surprisingly, Katherine Hepburn.

First Girlfriend/Boyfriend After Robert Chewsky in secnd grade, I was single until my first kiss, which came from Mark Weiss on our way home from a school trip, so, on a bus. I wasn't with Mark long, because after a month or two, my true crush asked me out. That was Bob; we were a couple for about a year and a half. So he was my first real boyfriend.

First Encounter with a Famous Person I think that when I was a kid and we were in the city for a show or something, my father and grandfather would say hello to any famous people they happened to see walking on the street. The governor of New Jersey once passed our car in his limo on the New Jersey Turnpike, and my father rolled down the window and said hello. When I was in DC on a class project, I spoke to the Speaker of the House (Mike McCormack), and ran into Adam Clayton Powell on the elevator. A few years later, I met Alan Alda buying ties in Bloomingdales.

First Brush with Death They say I was close to death at two weeks old, with a very high fever, and was saved by this new drug that had recently been made available to the general public, penicillin. The first real brush with death that I'm aware of must have been the brain surgery, though.

First House Owned It's the one we still live in. We moved here in November, 1985.

First Film Seen The first one I specifically remember is my father taking me to see Old Yeller. I may have been three or four. Around that same time, my parents let my sister take me to the movies on a Saturday afternoon. I remember seeing, among others, Sink the Bismarck! and Operation Petticoat.

First Favorite Recording Artist The Beatles, man!

First Favorite Radio Station There were two big top 40 stations out of New York City. We first listed to WMGM (Wee Willie and the Morning Show!), which then became, I think, WABC. We (my sister and I) listed to that one forever, until the format changed, which was maybe when I was in college.

First Book I Read I had Little Golden Books, and have recently (I think) told the story of how my father taught me to read with one. The first book I took out of the library was The Five Chinese Brothers.

First Meme I Answered on My Blog Possibly a Friday Five; I did those a lot. But more likely it was something I saw on someone else's site.