About Nathan

July 6, 2003

I thought I would write a little information about myself in order to stimulate some 'get to know you' conversation.

First the basics. I was born and raised on the same ranch I live on now. This place was founded by my great grandfather in 1896. I am the oldest of two boys. My brother Patrick is three years my junior and lives in Manhattan, KS. I attended Medicine Lodge public schools kindergarten through 8th grade. I attended Thomas More Prep in Hays, KS, a Catholic boarding school for 4 years of high school. I went to Kansas State University in Manhattan for 5 years, earning a BS in psychology. I lived in a social fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and sang on the Men's Glee Club for 2 years. I attended for an additional semester with the intention of going to graduate school, but instead returned to the ranch in 1990. I, along with my parents, have expanded our ranching and farming operation through the course of the 90s. We are a cow/calf ranch, running around 1100 Angus-based females on 18000 acres. We also grow around 600 acres of hay for the cowherd. I married in 1995 and have two great kids. My daughter is 8 and my son is almost 7. Incidentally, my parents have been married 40 years and are still best friends. I am 6 foot 1 inch, about 250 lbs. I dislike facial hair and try to be clean-shaven. I have brown hair, brown eyes, and two brown dogs. For those who place a lot of stock in astrology (I don't) I am a Scorpio. I don't have any tattoos or jewelry or major scars.

LIKES -------- (no order)

1. Food/Dining --- I am very fond of foods that are hot/spicy/salty/creamy. If it has horseradish, jalapenos, chiles, salt, oregano, basil, cilantro, or garlic, I can assure you I will like it. Hence, Mexican and Italian cuisine suits me fine. I adore pizza, lasagna, burritos, prime rib, filet mignon, reubens, BBQ anything, and Taco Bell Meximelts. I hesitate on the following foods, but WILL eat them on occasion : Chinese, stir-fry, sweet-n-sour, rice, soups, fish (but love tuna), shellfish, lamb, deer, mountain oysters and pheasant/quail. There are a few things that I won't eat. Liver, sweet-potatoes, sardines, okra and fried-crickets. Tried 'em all, never again. "Sir, how would you like your steak?" Medium-rare. "Dressing?" Blue cheese. "Choice of potato?" Fries.

2. Drink --- I used to drink quite a bit more when I was single and in college. When compared with that I don't much at all. I do still like to go out socially and will drink sometimes. Beer is an old stand-by. If I'm feeling cheap I'll drink Busch, otherwise, Shiner Bock, Michelob, and others. I rarely drink wine, except at family functions or certain social situations. Must be very dry. Hard liquor likes include whiskey sour and Crown and water, very cold. Do not touch tequila, even in the best margueritas at the best Mexican cafes.

3. Movies --- Not a good first-date activity, but I love movies. I'm partial to dramas, documentaries, romantic-comedies, "classics", old westerns, and true stories/biographies. Not so keen on action or horror movies. I like Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Holly Hunter, and Nicholas Cage. Memorable movies for me are, 'Shawshank Redemption', 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest', 'Godfather' trilogy, 'The Hustler', 'Born on the Fourth of July', 'A Few Good Men', 'GoodFellas' , 'Raising Arizona', 'The Big Lebowski', 'Fletch', 'Caddyshack', 'National Lampoon's Vacation', 'When Harry Met Sally', 'Terms of Endearment', 'The Right Stuff', 'Trading Places', 'The Silence of the Lambs', 'To Kill a Mockingbird', 'The Great Escape', 'Amadeus', 'Full Metal Jacket' , 'Rain Man', 'Pale Rider', 'The Sound of Music', 'My Fair Lady',......ok, that's enough. If any of these are on TV, I have a hard time turning the channel. Re-watchability is my thing. Won't watch 'Brian's Song', or 'Old Yeller' or 'Schindler's List' as they make me cry uncontrollably and/or ruin my day.

4. TV --- documentaries (History, Learning, National Geographic, Discovery, A&E, Biography Channels), stand-up comedy features, O'Reilly Factor, 60 Minutes, Antiques Roadshow, Sex and the City, reruns including Seinfeld, Cheers, MASH, All in the Family, Andy Griffith Show, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart (the first one), Carol Burnett Show. Three's Company takes the cake for 'dumbest show ever made.' Dukes of Hazzard is a close second.

5. Music --- Country.....I really like Statler Brothers (four-part harmony and Barbershop quartets are cool), Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Dan Seals, Dan Fogelburg (is he country or contemporary??), John Denver, Brooks and Dunn, Steve Wariner, Dwight Yoakum, the Chix, Martina McBride (we were in the Mingona Boosters 4-H Club together), Shania Twain, Diamond Rio, Keith Whitley, Blackhawk, and of course Alabama.....ClassicRock of the 60, 70s, 80s.....Boston, Queen, Aerosmith, Floyd, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, E.L.O., Eagles (yes!!), AC/DC, Def Leppard, CCR, Scorpions, Kansas, Doobie Brothers, Billie Squier, Bob Seger...... Pop/Contemporary.......Police, Chicago, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller Band, Billy Joel............Classical ......anything that reminds me of my childhood (my mother used to play it all the time) Chopin piano music, Beethoven 5th and 9th symphonies, Bach Brandenberg Concertos, Handel's Water Musik, Marches of J.P.Sousa, .......I like Scott Joplin's ragtime........I have limited exposure to jazz, blues, R&B, gospel, bluegrass, folk, but like what I have heard......don't think much of hip-hop, techno, or rap. The latter offends me and is not music since it lacks melody or harmony.

6. Activities/Other interests, etc. --- I am very open to learning or experiencing new things. Other peoples' interests may differ from mine, but I don't consider that a problem. The key is two people who want to be together and be vulnerable to each other. I like (in no order) attending college football games, going to museums and art galleries (e.g., Cosmosphere, Exploration Place, KSU art gallery once a year), spontaneous road trips, divey bars and their colorful locals, snow skiing, fishing, dinner theatre, antiques, auctions (bidding is such a rush), very remote prairies and forests, Angus cattle, pool/billiards, card and board games, swimming, hot-tubbing, car shopping (car salesmen hate me), the colors dark blue and dark green, investments and business opportunity, native horticulture (esp. prairie wildflowers), science and rational thought, good conversation/debate, building things, knowing how machines work, playing with my kids, watching a newborn calf get up and nurse, stand-up comedy, and lots of other stuff.

DISLIKES ------ fake people, dishonest people, traffic, the word 'like' (as in 'so we were, like, going to the grocery store....'), waiting in line, cigarette smoke, wearing ties, telemarketers, poor grammar/spelling (it's shallow, I know), bigots, pro wrestling, those thunderous woofers in car stereos favored by pimple-faced brats even though I was one (whew!), car alarms, spam (both kinds), televangelists, Jesse Helms, Bryant Gumbel, the metric system, concrete yard ornaments, dogs who jump on you, people who run over turtles for fun, and environmental abuse.

You'll notice the LIKES far outweigh the DISLIKES......the glass is half-full.