Twelve Twelve Twelve Twelve Twelve

Kathy Riordan

Location: Florida, United States
Birthday: April 27

Bio: One woman's view of life and the universe. Follow @katriord on Twitter.

MY RECENT POSTS

Last Dinner On the Titanic
April 14, 2012 08:44PM
One More Trip Around the Sun
February 29, 2012 03:47PM
Perfect Vision
February 09, 2012 12:46PM
The Good Year
December 31, 2011 08:39AM
Christmas, Party of One
December 26, 2011 10:19AM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

“I always blame the parents, who generally not only exercise bad judgment in where…”
May 23, 2012 12:16PM
“Maria, she survived and is doing well. She did have a total of three months in t…”
May 22, 2012 08:52AM
“I am so happy to see this excellent piece did not go unnoticed and got the attent…”
April 16, 2012 01:08PM
“I am so very sorry, Ann. The Frost reference is apt.”
April 16, 2012 01:07PM
“This is very special, Ande. Thanks for sharing it. Before we were ever engaged,…”
April 15, 2012 09:56PM

Kathy Riordan's Links

What I Can't Write About: Floating; The Strong One; The Best News Yet; In My Mother's Arms; To a Younger Sister; Do Not Disturb; Taking the Red-Eye; Breath of Life; Tears; do not resuscitate; Vigil; What I Can't Write About
Poetry, if you like that sort of thing:: The Sound of Trees; At the Public House; Dear Girl; it wasn't long, the time that was; Base Camp in Muddy Bottom; in tribute to stevie smith; After the Having, Having Had; Silver; There Is No Insurance for This; Pretty Maids All In a Row; I Thought I'd Write a Little Villanelle; At the Beguinage (for Megan); Daddy Did You Dream Me Up
Christmas: Silver; Signs and Wonders, and a Christmas Miracle; The Christmas Baby; The Ecumenical, Geographical, All-Inclusive Christmas Feast; Making a List, Checking it Twice; Santa Dog; The Dreaded Holiday Letter; When Santa Was My Grandpa; A Naked Christmas; E-Readers and iPhones and Coffee, Oh My! Holiday 2009 Guide; Favorite Homemade Family Gifts for Christmas
New to Open Salon?: Your Friends on Open Salon; Best Posts of Open Salon 2009; Introduction to Some Great Reads on Open Salon
Where I've been, where I'm going:: Paris; Under a New Mexico Sky; Casting the Movie of My Life; Muffin; Sagebrush and Funeral Potatoes; Saying Goodbye to Summer at the Cottage
Twitter from the Inside:: Twitter Is What You Make It: Who to Follow, and Why
Posts on World War II:: Honoring My Soldiers, My Heroes on Veterans Day; Letter from an American World War II Soldier to His Parents; On the 65th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden; Tom Hanks to Bring "Beyond All Boundaries" to WWII Museum
Some of my work on Iran:: Index: all posts on Iran and Neda; "The Anonymous" Behind Neda Video Awarded Prestigious Polk; Iran Fabricates Interpol Involvement in Neda Investigation; Doctor Claims to Identify Neda's Killer; Doctor in Neda Video Arrives Safely in London; Not that Neda: How the Wrong Photo Became an Icon; Updates on Neda, Symbol of a Revolution; Her Name Was Neda
Some of my favorite posts:: When Mayo Clinic Speaks, I Listen; Incognito in Istanbul; Such a Death
I also write here:: Follow me on bloglovin; Follow me on Kindle; In My Life; Journeys

« Back to Posts

SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 11:46PM

Rate: 46 Flag

My husband's first name is the same as my maiden name. He took that as a sign from God. We also had dogs (same breed) with the same name and grew up with the only two pianos I've seen from the same piano manufacturer.

hainesbrospiano When I enter a store, a large building, an exhibit or an auditorium, I will only go counterclockwise. I won't spin around in a complete circle unless I unwind.

I'm frequently mistaken for being local when travelling abroad. This has happened to me in places as diverse as Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Mexico City.

I'm not generally superstitious, but I am about fortune cookies, and have a lot of weird rituals surrounding them.

FORTUNE cookie 1

I can't swim straight, but I have perfect pitch.

When I came home from my honeymoon I found out I was not technically legally married. We had to fix that. Fast.

As a Mormon teenager, I was baptized for several hundred dead people.

temple baptismal font 2 I once helped the King of Saudi Arabia with his breakfast.

In college I briefly had a job where I didn't use my real name, and had a name that was the same as a drink and a popular song at the time.

I was once the lead vehicle in the Columbus Day Parade in New York City.

I was in Leningrad the day their name changed back to St. Petersburg.

Russia_St_Petersburg

Several years ago I was traveling in southwestern England and dreamt that my grandfather died. The next day, the events of his death unfolded exactly as I had dreamed them.

Author tags:

weird random factoids, open call

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!

Comments

Post a comment

weird and beautiful facts. I want to know why the King needed help with his breakfast

Mimetalker

September 21, 2010 11:49 PM

Pina Colada? (I hope not. I hate that song.)
Love the Leningrad one, and would love to learn more.

froggy

September 21, 2010 11:52 PM

The college job sounds like maybe you were an exotic dancer! The 'married, not really' tale must be interesting too.

Gabby Abby

September 21, 2010 11:52 PM

How completely unusual and fascinating...the King of Saudi Arabia, wow...

Just Thinking...

September 21, 2010 11:55 PM

Wow, I've had prophetic dreams, but not nearly so precise.

bluestocking babe

September 21, 2010 11:56 PM

I had no idea that live people could be baptized for dead people...

mypsyche

September 21, 2010 11:57 PM

a dozen times wonderful! Particularly fond of the "coincidences" that neither your husband nor I feel were anything but intended signs. ;}R

A Persistent Muse

September 21, 2010 11:57 PM

Fascinating. I hope you'll fill in the details of all of these!

I, too, have rituals with fortune cookies. I eat the first half, then read the fortune, then eat the last half. Every. single. time.

Lisa Kuebler

September 21, 2010 11:58 PM

Will you trade lists with me, Kathy? If I ask nicely and throw in my chihuahua? Such a fantastic gaggle of facts!

Susan Creamer Joy

September 22, 2010 12:00 AM

My wife's maiden name is basically the same as my first name too! We joked about me going by (name name) but in the end we went the more traditional route and she now has my last name!

L. Carl

September 22, 2010 12:08 AM

What an enoyable list with a but of whimsy thrown in Kathy. Was the drinks pseudonym Tequila? The dream about your granddad was pretty interesting too. I'm between skeptical and disbelieving of stuff like that but I can't deny that lots of folks have had similar experiences. And those coincidences with hubby-to-be, enough to make anyone superstitious.

Abrawang

September 22, 2010 12:08 AM

You helped the king w/breakfast? I once served the shah of Iran's son at an all night party we were catering. Man, do I have stories....

lschmoopie

September 22, 2010 12:49 AM

Wow, your Things are interesting! Perfect pitch? Really? Cool.

Lainey

September 22, 2010 02:04 AM

I don't really believe in astrology (see my facts) but I've found fortune cookies to be infallible. Especially the ones in red ink.

David Kinne

September 22, 2010 02:04 AM

So if you sing and swim at the same time you get a perfect stroke?

mhold

September 22, 2010 02:38 AM

Their are 12 days of Christmas and you must be one of them...

Algis Kemezys

September 22, 2010 03:46 AM

I meant, If there are twelve days of Christmas , you must be won of my favorites.

Algis Kemezys

September 22, 2010 03:49 AM

what a fascinating life you lead! what are your fortune cookie rituals and what was your assumed name? :-)

Pavanne Veltman

September 22, 2010 05:07 AM

Very interesting. The dream is a little bit scary! R

Dear reader I married him

September 22, 2010 05:13 AM

I'm not superstitious, either. But when I used to play soccer, I had a weird think about my shoelaces. I couldn't replace them for the entire season, and ended up taping my shoes together by season's end.

Ken Honeywell

September 22, 2010 06:00 AM

Definitely one of the most fascinating! ~r

Joan H.

September 22, 2010 06:51 AM

So cool to see the baptismal font again. I had the privilege of touring the temple here before it was closed to the public. Very impressive. Great list. I get the counterclockwise thing...

Linnnn

September 22, 2010 06:58 AM

Each of these deserves as essay of its own! R.

Amy A

September 22, 2010 08:11 AM

Brandy, you're a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life, my love and my lady is the sea...?
I think the King's breakfast story sounds like a children's book title.

Lucy Mercer

September 22, 2010 08:15 AM

Wow. I think any of of these might be worthy of a full post all of its own!

Katy B.

September 22, 2010 08:16 AM

Did you have to wear a veil during the breakfast?

Matt Paust

September 22, 2010 08:16 AM

You can read more about two of those, here: Two Truths and a Lie, Times Two

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 08:37 AM

I love the coincidences but I have no way to understand the psychic events you describe. r.

Jonathan Wolfman

September 22, 2010 08:47 AM

And Lucy wins the prize.

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 08:51 AM

Your maiden name is "Larry"? ;) I bet the waitress name you had was "Brandy". I just bet.

cartouche

September 22, 2010 09:04 AM

Lawrence. And I was not a waitress.

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 09:06 AM

Perfect pitch. How lucky you are.

Sheba Marx

September 22, 2010 09:06 AM

Such a diverse 12! Oh, the things you have seen! R

Jane Brogan

September 22, 2010 09:08 AM

Tequila? I go clockwise, even cleaning a room........

Ann Nichols

September 22, 2010 09:26 AM

Ann, are you left-handed?

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 09:35 AM

Since Tequila was a popular song in the 1950's, I hope it wasn't that. Lucy got it right.

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 09:37 AM

How funny, I have 6 strangely similar and one identical to your list. I'm laughing aloud because we appear to be so different. Life is truly mysterious and wonderful. Thank you.

l'Heure Bleue

September 22, 2010 10:00 AM

Dying to know which ones those are, l'H B.

Fortune cookie ritual: I insist on taking the last one at a table, which I believe is meant for me, rather than choose one myself. I insist that everyone open their fortune cookie and read it aloud before anyone eats one. I save every single fortune cookie fortune and will never leave one behind on a table in a restaurant, including those that belong to other people. I have containers at home specifically for keeping fortune cookie fortunes.

Kathy Riordan

September 22, 2010 10:06 AM

Kathy, this was truly fascinating! I could easily read more. You've lead an interesting life so far...