The List: 1 Point for Each (lowest score wins)
I am lucky number seven! No to helicopters (maybe someday if the opportunity arises), being arrested (shocker, I know), bungee jumping (no thank you), falling asleep in the movies (not with how much they cost these days!), Disneyland (yes, I know, it's an oversight), skydiving (only if the plane decides to fall from the sky), and no tattoos. Most people are surprised that I don’t have a tattoo (I guess I’m the type?), but the truth is I have commitment issues. I could barely commit to the Hub never mind permanent ink! Plus, I have a friend who got a rose tattoo when she was young and as the years have rolled along and gravity has kicked in, it’s become a long stemmed rose. Placement is everything!
All right, Reds, you’re up!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oooh. No missed a flight (I HATE saying that out loud), no arrests or piercings or tattoos, no births or handcuffs, no peeing (what does "in public" mean? Like, at a baseball game in a portapotty?), red light or bungee jumping. Well, maybe the red light, but not on purpose. It was yellow, it truly was. NO skydiving, forget about it.. Does that make me a 10?
HALLIE EPHRON: I’m an eleven… guessing that’s not a winner. I have never been pierced (not even my ears) or (surprise surprise) been bungee jumping or skydiving. Tattoos: I inadvertently gave myself one pricking my arm with the nib of a pen that had been dipped in India ink. I'm not counting it. I've missed connecting flights. Never arrested or rode in an ambulance. Peed in public? Does on the side of a hiking trail count?
And weird coincidence: right now I'm reading Joshilyn Jackson's NEVER HAVE I EVER. It's riveting.
LUCY BURDETTE: See that's what really holds me back on tattoos...the drooping and the mind-changing. That puts me at six, including the dreaded peeing in public. You don't need to know all of the details, but it involved a terrible traffic jam on a bridge, too much coffee, and a coffee cup. Looking back, it was kind of amazing that I pulled it off. (TMI? Jenn did ask...)
I think I've told you I ran a red light on my bike, and that's been worked into the opening scene of the next book, THE KEY LIME CRIME. There was another before that (or was it a stop sign?) that resulted in the accident. Very scary--hope never to repeat that!
RHYS BOWEN: It's nine for me. I can see that mostly I've been a good child: no tattoo, no red light, no handcuffs, no arrests and never skipped school. I did go riding instead of studying for my big religious studies final (and managed to pass by one point). But I have narrowly escaped death, been in an accident and broken bones, and certainly peed it public if being halfway up a mountain with no cover of any sort counts (especially when I was squatting when the mountain train came by and forty pairs of eyes looked down at me!)
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Body piercing - does that include ears? I got mine double pierced back in the eighties, though I've let the second set of piercings grow in. I've never sky dived - as the daughter and wife of Air Force vets, I know the smart move is to stay on the inside of the plane. Never bungee jumped, either, as I'm pretty sure my stomach wouldn't stand for it. I've never fallen asleep in the cinema - that was Ross's thing. He loved his $11 naps. And I've never been in handcuffs. So I'm five? Four, if ears = body piercing.
I have been arrested, I have a tattoo, I've peed in public and I've ran quite a few red lights in my day. I also missed TWO flights from London to the States AT Christmastime ON two consecutive days. Ladies, I think I may be the bad girl of the Jungle Reds.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I'm a seven. Ears pierced when I was fourteen, with a needle. Never regretted it. Broke my collar bone at two, falling off a chair. (Uncoordinated, anyone?) Broke my pelvis at fourteen, when hit by a car. (That brings in the near death thing.)
No bungee jumping, no helicopters, no skydiving. (Seeing a theme here?) No Disneyland (deprived child, parent of deprived child.) No cruises. No handcuffs. I'm still conflicted on the tattoo. I look at images of British-themed postage stamps, and try to image where I could put it that wouldn't stretch... Peeing in public? Too many side of the road episodes in Mexico as a kid. And on one traffic jam on the M4 in the UK, if I had had any sort of bottle or cup, I'd have used it. I've refused to drive on a UK motorway ever since.
Okay, Readers, your turn. What is your number of Never Have I Evers?
No tattoo, helicopter flying, missing flights, ambulance riding, overseas living, bungee jumping, skydiving, running red lights, getting arrested or handcuffed. No roller coasters, sleeping through movies, public peeing, snake holding, brushes with death. I guess that makes me an unexciting 15 . . . .
ReplyDeleteI would say that makes you a very smart 15, Joan!
Delete16 for me. I included a point for never missing a flight assuming that means I didn't make it to the airport in time. I have missed connecting flights because of first-leg flight delays. I think I would get along with Joan just fine!
ReplyDeleteLOL - kindred spirits, for sure!
DeleteNo to: tattoos, helicopters, missing a flight, been arrested, given birth (daughter is adopted), no bungee jumping, marriage, no close brush with death (that I know of lol), cinema sleeping, skydiving, and if I held a snake I've blocked it out of my memory (shudder). 11 Does that make me boring????
ReplyDeleteNot at all! Because there are so many other adventurous things to do in life - this is just the short list.
DeleteI think I'm at 13. I'm sure it will surprise everyone that I have never given birth. (Seriously? That's on this list? Half the population will automatically have that one.) I've also never gotten a tattoo or piece anything. There's no way I'm going sky diving or bungee jumping.
ReplyDeleteProbably more surprising is some of the things I have done on the list, like missed a flight (Thanksgiving flying to Dallas. Missed it by just a few minutes and had to take the flight an hour later). And I've run a couple red lights accidentally. The most recent was at the beginning of the month, and I've got the warning letter from the red light camera to prove it.
How did you get away with a warning letter? In AZ, they slap you with big fines so fast!
DeleteI'm not completely sure. But it might be because of the red light camera. I'm going through that intersection again Wednesday night, so I'll look. They might not have signs about the cameras.
DeleteWhatever it was, I'm not complaining.
Thank all that is revered, Joan and Marla have higher numbers than me. I cracked my wrist when I was 12 or 13. Ears pierced, passenger when my friend decided to make an u-turn on a mountain highway, rode in ambulance because of accident though I was in the front seat which means I've had a brush with death, I think. I have appeared on TV - chorus recorded for local broadcast when I was 14. I have unintentionally run a red light, been on a roller coaster, there was this thing called Senior Cut Day and I actually left school. I was terrifed. I have been to Disneyland (more than once)and I would NEVER HOLD A SNAKE. 13! Yup, same ole me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know - sounds like you are wild-side adjacent, Deana :) Also, your accident sounds terrifying!
DeleteI'm so happy to be back from being off the grid - I missed everybody! Let's see, I appear to be a 7: no helicopter, skydiving or bungee jumping (gah to both!), brush with death, tattoo, cruise ship, or held a snake. And handcuffs only if learning how to use them at the Writers Police Academy counts. ;^)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Edith! Seven is respectable!
DeleteGiving more credence to the belief that I'm not the least bit adventurous, I'm a 15.
ReplyDeleteNot adventurous or just smart? It could go either way.
DeleteJenn, true. But then again, I don't have any desire to do a lot of things on that list anyway.
DeleteDelete
I scored a 10. But this post is very timely since Joshilyn Jackson's NEVER HAVE I EVER (a domestic thriller) will be out next week. I'll be running my spoiler-free review this week, but I'll say it that it was a wonderful summer read.
ReplyDeleteI have heard wonderful things about that book! It's on my list of summer reads - can't wait!
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DeleteAt summer camp we caught a snake and passed it around. Hold it behind the head. The head counselor (camp in Arizona, Gertude Dietz was the amazing leader) killed a rattlesnake during a hike... A good sized one. Then she skinned it and cooked it. Or at least that's what I remember. Could have been a dream.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping that was a dream, Hallie, because...OMG!
DeleteFor those of you who are snake shudderers, they don't feel at all the way you would think. I was a tomboy and a biology major, so even as a kid caught little green garden snakes and held them.
DeleteWhat fun! No helicopters,bungee jumping,tattoos, red light running was accidental,never took a cruise, not arrests, handcuffs, TV, missed flight was because they didn't let me off the first flight in time to make the next one,never lived overseas or been to Disneyland. But I've been to Walt Disney World many times.
ReplyDeleteI have to get to Disneyland. In my defense, I have done Disneyworld!
DeleteI'm a nine.
ReplyDeleteI've been in a car accident, ridden in an ambulance, given birth, been on TV, got married once only, fallen asleep at the cinema many times and twice during Phantom of the Opera, in a real theater, run a red light, peed in public, in a cup, while in a gridlock on the 5 in April 1989, Grateful Dead Concert traffic. It was a party on the freeway! I've also ridden a roller coaster many times, run a few red lights, been both to Disney Land and Disney World many times, skipped school (college classes only) and certainly held a snake.
The things on the list I'd never ever do are bungy jumping, skydiving, body piercing, and getting a tattoo. All are on my list of dangerous thing. A cruise ship has no attraction, full of other old ladies with blue hair and a petri dish of gastrointestinal bugs. Maybe when I get really really old?
Living overseas would be at the top of my bucket list, and getting arrested and handcuffed aren't going to happen. Although it's appealing to picket the White House. So maybe.
Ann - I saw the Dead in 1992 at the Meadowlands! I knew you were my people!
DeleteI'm a mid-range 8. It would be lower but sanity kicked in at the last minute allowing me to avoid a tattoo. Love movies too much to sleep through one. It seems that the bungee jumping, skydiving and the ensuing ambulance ride have been missed. No arrests or handcuffs, which considering I came of age in the 60"s, is amazing!
ReplyDeleteOf course, life is an adventure so I suppose there's still time to lower my score.
LOL. My mom almost got arrested in Italy, so you never know...
DeleteHiding my shamed face, I think I may be a 16 too, though if I don’t count ear piercing, maybe not but for peeing in public I do have a tale to tell. Cinco de Mayo, 2092; the phone rings at 5 am, my daughter, two hours plus away is in labor. I dress, grab some clothes and leave the house. On the way to Boston, no car Nav, I consider my route to the hospital in Boston, decide Route 93 would be faster on a Sunday. Exit in downtown and now all I need is the straight shot to Women’s Hospital. But guess what, there is no just one Cinco de Mayo parade but two that morning and I am one end of Boston and she is the other. I won’t repeat what the first cop I asked for directions around the parades told me, but he was from Peabody, enough said. By this time I also have a second problem and the only DD open I can find doesn’t have a bathroom. Saturday Boston, downtown is closed up. Somehow I find myself in extremis, on Beacon Hill. So what does the prospective grandmother do? Take a bottle of water, empty it, take her knife and cut off the narrow top and there you are, solution presented. Yes, I was rather flustered on arrival at the hospital, but once the day was over and we welcomed grandson number one, who now drives, will be a senior this Fall, I wonder if he will laugh to. Perhaps this is a grand parent story.
ReplyDeleteNever mind the number, Celia, you are clearly a badass! Great grandma story!!!
DeleteI did count ear-piercing!
DeleteShalom Reds, I think I am at 12 nevers. I don’t have any tattoos. It’s just one of those commandments that Jews tend not to break. I’ve never flown in a helicopter. I’ve never broken a bone. I’ve never missed a flight. I haven’t really flown that much and the last time was over 30 years ago. I have no body piercings. I’ve never appeared on television. I’ve never even been in the birthing room. (No children.) I’ve never been bungy jumping. (The older I get the more afraid of heights I become.) I’ve never been in handcuffs. (I was arrested once, but the judge threw out the case.) I’ve never been skydiving. I don’t drive and I don’t remember ever running a red light even on my bicycle. I’ve never been to Disneyland. (I think if I had had kids, I would enjoy it. But otherwise, no.)
ReplyDeleteDavid, I had no idea there was a "no tattoo" commandment in the Jewish faith. I think 12 is very respectable!
Delete9 for me. And most of them are the scary things like helicopter, bungy jumping, those things. Oh and no handcuffs or ambulance for me.
ReplyDeleteYes. There are some things on the list that are just NO.
DeleteThis is all so funny… And also kind of nostalgic, you know? We’ve all had so many experiences that make our lives, and to see it all put together this way is kind of fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying hearing everyone's stories. Life is such journey.
DeleteMost certainly the loser of the game and it is simpler to list what I have done than what I didn't ( 20/24 ) .
ReplyDeleteI had car accident, pierced ears, gotten married and peed on the the side of rural road during a very long ride in the middle of nowhere. I tried very hard to give birth but after many miscarriages , I decide to adopt.
Not missing on the other 19 that didn't happened.
Not missing the other 19 is the important part!
DeleteHa, ha - 14. No tattoos, helicopter flights (although I'd totally take one if offered), missed flights, arrests, living overseas (I'm not counting Puerto Rico and the USVI, because that was working), cruises (yet, I'm hoping to do this one next year), bungy jumping (hell to the no), being in handcuffs (wait, does training at Writer's Police Academy count?), close brushes with death, skydiving (see bungy jumping), skipping school or visiting Disneyland (I have been to Disney World).
ReplyDeleteGeez, I'm so BORING!
I've never appeared on TV, either. Re-counting, I think that's 13.
DeleteWait. Julia? Tell us about the arrest. Hard time? lol
ReplyDeleteJenn didn't have a question about speeding, another traffic issue I had, shall we say, problems with. I got one ticket, failed to mail in the fine, and got a summons for a court date. I put the summons on my Important Papers Pile... and promptly forgot it. (In my defense, not only am I naturally scatter-brained, but at the time I had two busy kids and a new baby. I wasn't at the top of my game by a long shot.
DeleteSo I got pulled over in my own town for passing at an intersection (for this, I plead that the "road" lead to one single farm, and I thought it was a driveway!)they ran my license and... next thing I know, I'm sitting in the cop shop, waiting for Ross to bail me out.
My time behind bars - okay, actually, I was sitting in the chief's office - reformed me, though, and no I only speed about 50% of the time I'm on the road.
Julia, my, you are a dark horse. Who knew? LOL
ReplyDeleteNo tattoos, no bungee jumping or skydiving (are you crazy?), and I have not yet been arrested or in handcuffs. (You never know, right?) And sadly, I have never lived overseas.
So I guess that's six for me.
On tattoos: two of my daughters have small ones now, both fairly tasteful and subtle, especially the one of a lovely constellation that wraps around the middle one's midriff. I also could never decide on one that I wanted to live with for the rest of my life.
When I managed a maternity store in the 70's, when tattoos, especially on women, were unusual if not rare, one young woman's mother waved me into the dressing room to see her daughter's butterfly tattoo. I'm sure it was pretty before her pregnancy, about 3" long, above the groin on one side, where it would have hidden in even a bikini. But her growing stomach had str-e-tch-ed the tattoo into something almost grotesque. I wonder what it looks like today, 40 years later!
By the way, I didn't get a chance to comment yesterday, but Celia! That chicken looks fabulous, thank you. I will definitely make it.
ReplyDeleteAnd if the Reds want to continue this cooking demo periodically, I'm all for it.
Good to know, Karen!
DeleteI got 23. Not sure if the body piercing includes ears but I'm going with yes. I have 1 tattoo on my left wrist that is a heart and says family. I was on tv once for news 2 wfmy when I rescued a dog from the animal shelter, and lastly, yes I have skipped school but when you're bullied it seems to happen (a lot).
ReplyDeleteI think I miss counted.
DeleteYou subtract, not add, Tara. Like UNO, lowest score "wins."
DeleteI was bullied a lot in school but never skipped school.
DeleteI'm the most boring person in the world with a score of 4. I didn't count handcuffs because the only time I was in them was at the Writers' Police Academy in the class where we learned how to control a suspect.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait! I DID skip school once (Senior Skip Day). I spend it play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. (Yes, I was a nerd. Still am and proud of it!) Raise my score to 5. LOL
The other way around, Kathy - at least that's how Jenn had us do it. Start with 24, and take off to see what your score is.
DeleteJulia: D'oh! 24 - 5 = 19.
DeleteNo tattoo. No helicopter ride (though I would love to IF I knew the pilot, what shape the copter is in, etc.). Broken bone? Maybe. I landed hard on my tailbone a couple of times as a kid and I suspect it is cracked. Does that count? Haven't missed a flight; connections don't count as they are out of my control. No arrests, body piercings, no overseas living, no bungy jumping, no handcuffs, no close encounters with death, no skydiving. Been in the peanut gallery on local kid shows way back. Ridden in the ambulance as a passenger up front. Asleep at the cinema? Can't remember. I was dragged to a god awful movie back in the 70s and I remember being so tired I wanted to sleep. I cannot remember if I did or not. I was going to say no to running red lights until I remembered some short yellow lights that turned on me. Peed in public? Um, way off a trail in Scotland when hiking. And no one was around except husband. Off in the distance. Cut classes in college but not prior to that. So my score is 9 to 13, depending. So my iffy ones are broken bone, missed flight, sleeping at the movies, and peeing in public. I've definitely been in minor car accidents, on kid TV shows, been in the front of an ambulance, given birth, done the cruise ship, married, ran pink lights, been on numerous roller coasters, cut class, been to both Disneys, and held a snake.
ReplyDeleteHmm. Middle of the road with a 10. Ridden in a helicopter too many times to count (former flight nurse); of course ridden in an ambulance--providing care; broken pelvis from what should have been a fatality accident, (so I guess near death works); broken elbow, broken finger--yeah, a bit accident-prone; on TV as a kid competing on a talent show. And despite spending years in the helicopter, you couldn't hog-tie me and make me bungy jump--I'm afraid of heights. Fun little 'test', though.
ReplyDeleteWell, I’m a 16. The one thing I regret not doing is sky-diving. My physical therapist’s face pales when I mention an interest in it. I don’t see kickboxing on this list, another thing I’d like to try. The PT laughed out loud when I recently mentioned this one! I don’t think my life has been dull: I’ve been mugged, I’ve had death threats, there was a fire in the basement of my freshman college dorm and I panicked when I began to smell the smoke, and I have had other less than dull experiences as well. A few years ago I remember wondering if I should pray to have a duller life!
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I'm at 12, but I feel like a cheat. I been in an ambulance because I was an EMT. And I've been in handcuffs because of Writers Police Academy. On the other hand, while I've not ridden in a helicopter, I have ridden in a bi-wing plane (cue the Red Baron song). That should count for something!
ReplyDeleteI think I am a twelve. I have never been arrested. Never gotten a tattoo. When I get varicose veins eventually, I can pretend they are tattoos. LOL. Never went bungee jumping. Cannot recall what else I have never done. I had a near death experience when I was seven years old. My family travelled to my great aunt and great uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. The driver taking us back to the hotel after the celebration was drunk and started weaving on the mountain roads! My mom saved us! She took control of the steering wheel and managed to take us all back to the hotel. The police came to arrest the driver. I once rode in an helicopter called the Bee. My family were going to Disneyland. We took the Bee from the Oakland airport to San Francisco airport and flew on the smiley plane to Disneyland.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a fun game!
Diana
Never have I ever.... flown in a helicopter. I can’t due to a head injury.... missed a flight... again I can’t. Been arrested... nope I’m a good girl!😂 appeared on tv...lived overseas.... I would love to but sadly no... been on a cruise ship.... I get motion sickness really bad to do this.... been bungee jumping.... hell NO!... been in handcuffs... again I’m good!😂 had a close brush with death... well this one may count... when pregnant with my first child we both went into distress. She was losing oxygen and so was I. So there was that chance... been skydiving... again Hell NO!... been to Disneyland. I have been to Disney world and would love to go back...
ReplyDeleteNow I have held snakes. They don’t bother me but I can’t stand frogs!! Skipped school I have... been in ambo goes hand in hand with been in a bad accident that my now husband and I had. We were hit head on with speed... given birth 2 times... gotten married... fallen asleep at cinema... I’m pretty sure I have at some point or another... run a red light but it was accidental... peed in public... there were no bathrooms.... well to be fair we were on an airboat ride in FL surrounded by gators... my ears are pierced... one in cartilage which they call a body piercing... I’ve broke my toe...😂 I have ridden roller coasters... just not big ones... and I have 3 tattoos... I don’t regret them I just wish one I would have made a better decision on it...
8 for me. Never had a tattoo (although I may still do that), never flown in a helicopter (and won't), never been arrested, never lived overseas, never been on a cruise ship, never been bungy jumping, never been in handcuffs (that means officially, right. hehehe), and never been skydiving.
ReplyDeleteI must be the best-behaved person in the world (will someone please tell my mother?): I'm a 16, I think. No tattoo, helicopter, broken bone, missed flight, arrest, giving birth (all the cats are adopted), living overseas (2 weeks doesn't count), cruise ship, bungee jumping, marriage, handcuffs, brush with death, skydiving, Disneyland (doesn't Disney World count?), or snake. Not certain if I've slept in the cinema, but I've done it at the theater and the opera. Re peeing in public, I have similar questions as some others--does peeing along the side of the road when nobody else is around count? Portapotties? Or using the pan when my parents pulled over by the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for a picnic on the way to my grandparents' house?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we have a couple of tattoos and at least one snake holder, lol. We are a wilder bunch than I expected! Such fun to hear everyone's stories!
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ReplyDeleteI think I'm at 12. No tattoos or body piercings -- one in each ear lobe was all the pain I could stand . . . but I was tired of losing clip-on earrings. I've not only held snakes, I kept the science department's snake for a summer, such a dry summer that I couldn't find worms and had to buy some from a bait shop. ;-)
Lucy, my youngest brother was once given a warning from a police officer for speeding on his bike, downhill and toward a busy street. He was maybe ten, and far too pleased with his bad self. ;-)
ReplyDeleteEight. No children, never been to Disneyland, not a thrill seeker as to jumping from heights; cruise ships not my thing. White water rafting should be there!
ReplyDeleteI’m a five. Pastors can be bad girls, trusting in grace.😉😇
ReplyDeleteHelicopters are nearly as much fun as I anticipated-- so noisy you can't hear yourself think. And some movies SHOULD be slept through.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! At eight, I fall in the medium class, I guess. Not as boring as I think, but not even close to wild. Do ears count as 'body piercing"? All I got for that one. Mostly I do not do things that are possibly scary (bungee jumping? skydiving? snakes? tattoos? As if!) but I have been in a helicopter and it was great. Also a balloon, equally great.More than one (several, actually) car accident and more than one broken bone(unrelated to cars.) I did have 2 babies and - wait for it- they were over 8 pounds, I weighed less than 100 pre-pregnancy... and it was natural childbirth. My one claim to possible badass potential. :-)
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