No one can choose the color of their skin, their ancestral heritage, or the cultural/ethnic climate in which they are reared. Being genetically predisposed to certain physical characteristics is no guarantee of success or failure, either.

For years I have shunned others' label that I'm "White." I don't even like the term "Caucasian." Nor would I accept designations of "Asian," "Hispanic," or even "Chartreuse" if any of those were personally relevant.

I was born and spent half of my life in the shadow of the U.S. capital. In the mid '70s when I was in junior high and my sister was just starting elementary school our mother, then legally separated, met and fell in love with a mystery man. For years Mom's sweetheart was known to us girls only as "Mr. X." Knowing the happiness he brought into her life, and subsequently my sister's and mine, we didn't initially question their secrecy.

Time passed as Mom and Mr. X's relationship deepened. By this time the late '70s were upon us and I had begun high school. My sister still went to the same demographically diverse elementary school I had attended years prior. Our family maintained the same middle-class suburban home in which I'd lived since I was a toddler. It was then that my sister and I were finally introduced to Mr. X.

Neither my sister nor I were phased upon the revelation that Mr. X was African-American. We had already loved and respected this man whom we only knew vicariously. From that point of introduction Mr. X was henceforth adopted by my sister and I, reborn as "Chocolate Pop." The four of us, Mom, C.P., my sister and I, could not have been happier. But all was not well in our slice of suburbia.

To this day I still can't speculate the identity of the sad individual who was compelled to repeatedly leave grotesque, venom-filled hate propaganda (KKK) on my family's doorstep. I lost count of the number of times I raced home from school to dispose of these cowardly droppings lest they be discovered by my sister. It wasn't until many years later that she, Mom and I compared experiences on such matters. C.P. wasn't yet even living in our home when these things occurred. The hateful actions of anonymous cowards were utterly baffling and disturbing on so many levels.

Mom confided that more than once she and C.P. were refused service at restaurants throughout the Capitol Beltway area. At school I was regularly cornered in the girl's locker room by groups of both Whites and Blacks who baited me with racial epithets. Their favorite was "wigger." Their assaults escalated from petty name calling to attempts at tripping me, strategically timed flying locker doors, and rat-tail towel attacks to gauntlet-style episodes of sucker punching. This is when I learned to fight- and fight well. I put an end to the attacks of my personal terrorists which school administration flatly refused to acknowledge.

To be continued @ Part Two...

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- d i r e c t o r y -

C&P of message just sent to someone who invited me into their Multiply network.
File under: "friendiligence"

Thanks for the invite. To what do I owe the honor? I see that you visited my blog page. Mind filling me in on what we have in common, please? Fair warning: Multiply is not some superficial popularity contest. I noticed in your guestbook that someone had asked who you are. I understand your page being, well, empty if you're brand new to this service. I bet that will change soon if you plan to actually become active in this community. There's all kinds of great folks here on Multiply.

Word to the wise, though... Sending only the auto-generated invitation without personalizing it at all kind of defeats the premise of building a meaningful network. It would be to your benefit to at least mention what draws you to the person with whom you're trying to make a connection. I'm not saying no. I'm just asking that a few blanks be filled in so that your invitation will merit appropriate consideration. Thanks again, and enjoy Multiply.

Blame my dear fellow Spymac alumnus: the Mistress of the Macabre formerly known as Duranfan. ;oD

• A is for age: Which timeline?
• B is for beer of choice: rootbeer
• C is for career right now: C is for "classified" (read: NOYB/need-to-know only)
• D is for your favorite dog's name: Gracie. Still miss her terribly.
• E is for essential item you use everyday: soap
• F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Been tv-free since October, by choice.
• G is for favorite game: Scrabble. It's been years. **sigh**
• H is for hometown: Capitol Beltway & Florida Spacecoast
• I is for instruments you play: Voice. Anyone who thinks that this isn't a valid instrument is grossly mistaken.
• J is for favorite juice: Does coffee count?
• K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Spin's, for committing suicide, but one can't kick a dead man's ass.
• L is for last place you ate: at home
• M is for marriage: Yup, I'm "institutionalized."
• N is for your full name: fugitive twofourseven ;oD
• O is for overnight hospital stays: Which one?
• P is for people you were with today: People I love.
• Q is for quote: "You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence." - Abraham Lincoln
• R is for biggest regret: A specific detrimental incident which arose out of teenage false pride.
• S is for status: Too much blood in my caffiene stream.
• T is for time you woke up today: 04:50, -6 GMT
• U is for underwear you have on now: mine ;oD
• V is for vegetable you love: broccoli
• W is for worst habit: swearing
• X is for x-rays you've had: MRI, full lumbar, in September
• Y is for yummy food you ate today: potato sticks
• Z is for the zodiac: Allegedly I'm a Libra, but still not entirely convinced that my origins are of this planet.

Apologies to any innocent bystanders who were taken aback by the replies section of the "100 Questions" entry. My handling of the situation was not a "reaction," but a prelude to an action. I make no bones about who or what I am, nor am I here to be any random element's punching bag because they don't like "fugi facet X". Screw the trolls. Screw the haters. Screw the stalkers. And mostly, screw anyone who's got some sick little notions of going after me or mine. It will not happen here on Multiply. Period.

"Okay, Chris. We got that part. So, the rest of your point is...?"

Maybe a few insights are in order as to what makes me tick. Borrow what you need and leave the rest. Namaste'

"Umm, okay Chris. But what's with the lists?"

Oh, it's just a little sump'n-sump'n I find beneficial to do every once in a while. There are numerous variations on this format. It's just one more way for this Dopeless Enigmaniac to maintain a realistic perspective. Any elaboration beyond that would probably have to fall under "Vegas Rules," quid pro quo. ;oD

Blame my dear fellow Spymac alumnus, Duranfan, for this one. ;oD

1. What are you listening to right now? Tool's "Sober"
2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I don't do hoodies, thanks.
3. Do you like coffee? "Like" is an understatement.
4. How are you feeling RIGHT now? My HALT is out of whack and I'm in physical discomfort. Other than that... Meh.
5. What is your favorite Michael Jackson song? The ones parodied by Weird Al.
6. Do you say aim or a-i-m? "Aim" as in targeting.
7. What are you? More importantly is what I am not, today.
8. Could you eat your favorite food everyday for a month and not get sick of it? Sure, if I could get it 100% gluten-free.
9. What are you craving? Not a "what" but a "whom." And it's not in a sexual context.
10. Do you smoke? Yup. Tobacco only. For this chick it's the lesser of many, many evils, trust me. Lectures are ill-advised. I retaliate. You have been warned.
11. Ever had a drunken night in Mexico? Never been to Mexico.
12. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Yes, numerous times.
13. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Depends on how it's served.
14. Do you use smileys? ;oD
15. How many bathrooms are in your house? 2
16. Have you ever met a celebrity? I spent half my life in the Washington, D.C. metro area. It's a loooong list. Take my quiz.
17. Name someone with the same birthday as you? Hmmm... Let's see... Lech Walesa, Cervantes (how cool is *that*?!?) and... wait... ol' "Ferret Face" from M*A*S*H.
18. What's the last song you had stuck in your head? Cripes... Which one? **LMAO**
19. Favorite place to be? Right here, right now.
20. Are your parents strict? My parents were appropriately strict when necessary.
21. Would you go sky diving? Not any time soon, but hell yeah.
22. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Not on a bad bet.
23. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? Nope. Not into sparkly, thanks.
24. Do you rent movies? Occasionally.
25. Who sits in front of you in your science class? Huh?!?
26. Where are you going to be Saturday night? Not sure, but I know where I won't be, thank goodness!
27. Do you dress for style or comfort? Comfortable style, thankyouverymuch.
28. What are three things you believe in?
    1. Love
    2. Determination
    3. Miracles
29. Ever taken a train? Yes.
30. Do you speak any other language other than english Not enough of any other language to sufficiently qualify.
31. What day of the week is it? Thursday. Thirsty Thursday. More coffee, stat!
32. What was your lunch? Coffee.
33. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? No.
34. So, how about them Yankees? Hows 'bout them thar Rebels, y'all?
35. What is your bus number for school? Gee, further evidence this time killer was created by a non-adult.
36. Is your hair curly? Nope.
37. Last time you cried? ::: pass :::
38. Ever walked into a wall? Not in a couple hundred 24s...
39. Have you ever bought anything from Pac Sun? Don't know who/what Pac Sun is, nor do I care.
40. Favorite season? Autumn.
41. Do you sleep with the TV on? *ugh* Not if I can help it. Hubster's chronic, though. **sigh**
42. Do you think you're old? Not 100%
43. Are you afraid of the dark? No.
44. Do you like your life right now? When faced with an attitude of gratitude, yes.
45. When's the last time you took a bath over a shower? Ask me again in an hour.
46. Do you knock on wood? Yes. It's a matter of heritage; not superstition.
47. Are you aware of what happens around you? Intensely.
48. Can you hula hoop? Not any more.
49. Do you have a job? Yes. Once the creator of this survey is determined, he/she/it will be invoiced at my premium hourly rate.
50. Worst thing that happened today? My coffee mug is empty.
51. When is your next road trip? Even running errands in town can become a road trip royale.
52. Have you ever crawled through a window? Which window? Which time?
53. What was the most recent thing you bought? Gasoline on Tuesday.
54. How often do you talk on the phone? It varies.
55. Do you hate more than 3 people? There are maybe a few folks whom I particularly dislike, but I don't "hate" anyone. True hate takes commitment. I've got better things to do with my life.
56. Have you ever tripped someone? Intentionally, aside from self-defence: no.
57. Do you think mickey is sexy? Who? Mickey Mantle? Micky Rooney? Nahhh...
58. Have you ever slapped someone? Yes. He totally deserved it.
59. Who was the last person to text message you? I don't do text messaging, thanks.
60. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? I *was* the last person in the hospital.
61. Do you own something from Hot Topic? Don't know who/what Hot Topic is, nor do I care.
62. Have you made a prank phone call? Not since the 70's
63. Any plans today? We're going to do the same thing we do every day, Pinky- Try to take over the world!!!
64. Do you like your hair? It's overdue for some professional TLC, but it's okay.
65. Last thing you watched on TV? Pump Up The Volume via internet, streamed through one of our Xboxes. Damn, I love technology!
66. Are you closer to your mother or father? It varies.
67. Do you chat on aim often? Not often, but I keep that client on when Trillian is running.
68. Where is your cell phone? I don't do cell. Not much point in bothering with it since my region of the Ozarks has so many large non-signal areas.
69. Whats the closest thing to you thats red? A cigarette tin.
70. Does your best friend comment your myspace? My best friend doesn't do social networking sites.
71. Do you comment theirs? Most of my commenting isn't for casual view.
72. Do you get easily embarrassed? Nope. Something has to be pretty epic to make me feel embarassed.
73. When you were in school, did you speak up in class? You gotta ask? **LMAO**
74. If you are in your yard, front or back, what are you most likely to be doing? Let's see... 30 gorgeous, wooded rural acres with several water sources... I'm doing damn near anything legal that I want to.
75. Do you have a green thumb? Yes. I'm dying to get back into bonsai, amongst other botanical pursuits.
76. Are you a good speller? I'ze kin spel reel gud. Axe ne1.
77. What kind of critters are you scared / nervous of? Two-legged ones with high-level gov't clearances.
78. Do you collect anything? Beads, old books, vintage glass, assorted curios...
79. Have you ever googled your name? My ID? Sure. Me personally? My legal name (fairly common) doesn't show up anywhere in connection w/ my ID. And I plan on keeping it that way. [tutorial]
80. Do you have any bad habits? I can cuss the ears off a brass monkey when I'm pissed.
81. Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Behind. I don't photograph very well any more.
82. Would you rather be in a really cold place or a really hot place? Either works.
83. Do you feel younger or older than your current age? I don't believe much in those types of individually subjective correlations.
84. What are you excited for? A few hours of "me" time between when my kids leave for school and when my sweetie wakes up.
85. What is an experience you have had where you couldn't stop laughing? Those instances usually come courtesy of something spontaneous from the kids and/or our critters.
86. In what year did you graduate from high school? Ronald Reagan was still in his first term.
87. Have you ever met an internet friend in real life? Yes, a few times.
88. Have you ever been in the newspaper? I don't know about print media, but I have been on stage, television and radio.
89. Have you ever eaten poo? Literally? No- of course not! Figuratively? Who hasn't?
90. What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day? It depends upon who else is around. If the kids are home, anything that keeps the zoo at a dull roar is fair game.
91. Is anyone with you right now? My darling little dynamos are jockeying for attention.
92. If , WITHOUT using their name, there's one thing that you want to say to someone out there what would you say?Tick, tick, tick, tick...