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Categories of threes show what our lives are made of
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Published: August 16, 2009
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.
--
Rabindranath Tagore
I received an e-mail from a friend. The subject line, "3's About Me," was inviting. The instructions were simple. "Now, here's what you're supposed to do ... and please do not spoil the fun. Hit forward, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then send this to a few good friends and family INCLUDING the person who sent it to you."
So, I did as instructed and had a little fun. I learned a few things too.
There is something special about the number 3. It isn't overwhelming; it's simple, even spiritual. Maybe that is why I decided to complete the exercise. There were eight categories to list three things about myself before forwarding.
The first category, "Three names I go by." That's easy enough -- Nigel, Nige (my granddaddy called me that) and Big D. The latter is a childhood nickname. My middle name is DeWalt, my grandmother's maiden name, and I was, well, husky. Whenever I hear that name, it usually is from someone who has known me a long time. I have to cheat and add a fourth, Mr. Nigel. That's what Lexa, a friend's daughter, calls me.
My friends have some interesting names they respond to as well, such as Jimbo, W-P, SP, Bon, EM, Mama, Mommy, Mum, Big Moe and Littlejohn (my wife's maiden name).
I found out about some interesting jobs people have had that I didn't know about. I worked at the Taylor Brothers tobacco factory the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at Livingstone College. I knew what I didn't want to do for a living after that experience. Hard labor is a motivator. I was also a church janitor; my grandfather got paid, I worked.
Responses from others included bank teller ("I was VERY BAD at this!"), U.S. Army Ranger instructor, Davis Department Store manual elevator operator, seamstress ("My sister and I sewed for the church choir, friends") and creosote lumber yard ("hot, physical labor").
When I read my wife's response, I learned something new after knowing her 39 years. She was a bank clerk once.
We have lived in a multitude of places also. My home is Winston-Salem, but my wife and I lived in Salisbury during our college years and Greenville, S.C.
Others have lived in a few interesting and diverse places: Mankato, Minn.; New York City; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Carthage, Tenn.; Jersey City, N.J.; Bury St. Edmunds, England. Said another with a sense of humor: "in my imagination."
I especially liked the category, "Three of my favorite foods." That was easy -- chitlins' (with Texas Pete Hot Sauce), mac n' cheese and German chocolate cake.
Our tastes were varied, as should be expected. The list included hot curry, anything Mexican, lump crab cakes, a great hamburger, pineapple upside-down cake, ice cream, fried chicken, greens, pineapple milkshake, home slow-cooked ribs in spicy wet sauce and green beans.
So much for food. We all have traveled around the globe, too -- to Venice, London and Istanbul; places in France, Switzerland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Armenia and Mexico; the Cayman Islands, Oyotunji Village, S.C.; Tybee Island, Ga.; and Holden Beach.
Other categories included three shows I watch, three friends I think will respond and three people who e-mail me regularly. The last question was great too, and revealing: Three things I am looking forward to.
"Lunch (I am starving)," said the person who sent me the message and started this fun exercise. That's probably because she is preparing for her next triathlon, which she also is looking forward to.
As for others who responded: "My daughters (every day)." "A full year without tragedy." "The day I open the last box of ‘stuff' we moved into our new home." "Continuing to try to be a gift to my friends and family and a suitable offering to the spirit of the creator." "Good health." "Buying new clothes." "Silence with God." "A walk on the beach with my son." "Prime rib dinner and a movie with my wife." "Living each day to better someone else's."
Sarah looks forward to exercising. I am looking forward to lunch with my sister (Gloria), finishing the book I am reading, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, by Ben Mezrich, and living each day with my wife.
What are you looking forward to?
■ Nigel Alston is a Dale Carnegie trainer and motivational speaker who lives in Winston-Salem. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.
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