Tag - You're It

I guess I should stop whining before I even start and consider myself lucky that I have managed to duck being tagged in a meme for the nearly two years that this blog has been in existence.

And in addition, the meme that Mike in Midwood has tagged me in is a BOOK meme, and we all know what an avid reader I am.

Here are the rules: reach for the nearest book and write the 5th sentence, plus the next two to five, on page 56. Tag five people to do the same (by linking them on your post and commenting on their blog) and don't forget to link the person who tagged you.  

Oh, and of course you've got to list the requisite seven random and/or wierd facts about yourself.

WARNING:  The rules of the meme clearly state not to go hunting for a book you think will "work well" but rather the nearest book. Therefore, I apologize... I have a rather eclectic taste in books and you may all be left scratching your heads.... 

Page 56 of Atul Gawande's Better: A surgeon's notes on performance: (Nearest book because I finally finished it and it's in the "return to the library" pile...)

"Urban police forces began using Kevlar vests in the early 1980's. American troops had them during the Persian Gulf War.  A sixteen-pound Kevlar flak vest will protect a person's "body core" - the heart, the lungs, and the abdominal organs - from blasts, blunt force trauma, and penetrating injuries.  But researchers examining wound registries from the Persial Gulf War found that wounded soldiers had been coming in to medical facilities without their Kevlar on. They hadn't been wearing their vests. So orders were handed down holding commanders responsible for ensuring that their soldiers always wore the vests - however much they might complain about how hot or heavy or uncomfortable the vests were.  Once the soldiers began wearing them more consistently, the percentage killed on the battlefield dropped instantly."

{I know I know that was SIX additional sentences, but I wanted you to hear the whole point of the thought. Now pardon me while I RETURN the book to the pile and avoid any more overdue fines....}

With that out of the way I go on to the seven random facts:

1. I'm a pretty slow eater.  The only food I eat faster than any member of my family is artichokes.
2. Some may attribute this to my Germanic heritage but I am obsessively "ordered". The birth of my children even follow a 'pattern'. Boy-girl-boy-girl. Four consecutive hebrew months - the boys on Yud, the girls on Yud Tes. The boys on Taanesim (yes, one was "nidcha").
3. I used to do research on chickens. I still love all things medical/biological.
4. I like to refer to myself as hashkafically "middle of the road".  You know what happens when you stand in the middle of the road, don't you?  You get run over from BOTH directions.
5. I'm sometimes frustrated that I remember so little of my childhood.  Though I still remember the brown Timex watch I got for my tenth birthday.
6. I carry a camera in my pocketbook at all times.
7. My family is the most important thing in my life.

Now I see you all ducking and running for cover - - - I tag frumcollegegirl, Daughters in the Parsha, In the Pink, Just Stam and Ricki's Mom ...