You Think You Know Mandee Montana?
I share a lot about what's going on in my world on the air and online with you, but here are ten things you might not know about me.
1. I'm absurdly interested in Astrology. My mom gave me a book all about my birthday, September 11, when I was a child and I became curious about everything associated with my birth month and what it meant to be a Virgo. I checked out books on astrology from the library at school, and as an adult I learned to create a birth chart and mapped where all the planets were aligned when I was born. So... I'm an earth sigh, but have a watery moon, and everything else is full of fire. Strange, I know.
2. I was a child model. Every parent thinks their child is the cutest thing ever, and mine were no exception. They had professional portraits made when I was three and I was featured in a modeling book titled 'Faces,' a few pages away from the Lawrence Brothers. Yes, those Lawrence Brothers, Joey, Matthew and Andrew.
3. I competed at the Texas Women's State Powerlifting Championship in 2002. When I decided to quit softball my senior of high school, I transferred my athletic energies from the field to the weight room. I wasn't very good, but when every other qualifying female in my weight class developed injuries during competition I got bumped up to compete at State. I fell on my rear end, but not everyone can say they competed at that level. I can.
4. I snuck a photo of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with my smart phone while visiting Italy in 2012. Visiting the Sistine Chapel is a somber experience. Guests are asked to be silent and to not take photos. I was quiet, but I had to sneak just a couple of photos with iPhone. Though I definitely want to, I may never return Rome. My fingers are crossed it happens in 2021.
5. I love audiobooks, and own a copy of each of the Harry Potter series, and have listened to them to multiple times. You're already aware that I love the Harry Potter stories, but I not only love the written work, I'm enamored with Jim Dale's presentation in the audiobooks. He's one of the best in the business, and even won two Grammy Awards for his efforts.
6. I can recite the alphabet backwards. My granny thought it would something funny to teach us as kids, so instead of playing UNO or Skip-Bo one weekend she helped my brother and me learn to say our ABC's as ZYX's. This became a great party trick after my 21st birthday.
7. My dad was a cowboy, Vietnam Vet and an engineer for Union Pacific Rail Road. It's true story. Dad grew up working cattle on a ranch with his family before enlisting in the Marine Corps. and serving in Vietnam. When he returned home he went to work for the Rail Road, and worked his way up to engineer over a long career.
8. I have incorrectly identified the gender of two family cats and named them wrongly. When I was five, my parents gave me a kitten for Christmas. I named the cute black and white cat, Sarah. The night before Sarah was scheduled to be fixed, our Vet called and suggested we change her name to Abraham. Eighteen years later, I adopted two farm cats from a friend and named them George and Tammy. Several weeks later, I learned that I had done it again. My black cat, George, became Georgie Girl.
9. I have a Certificate of Photography from Kilgore College. After learning to take photographs on the journalism staff in high school, I became interested in photography. While picking up an Associate of Arts degree at KC, I also took enough Photo classes to score a Certificate of Photography under the instruction of O. Rufus Lovett.
10. My high school mascot carries a big wrench. I spent 13 years at White Oak ISD, and I'm still entertained by our mascot, Joe Roughneck who stands tall beneath the towering oil wells with a giant wrench propped on his shoulder. Below is an entertaining look at 'Roughneck City.'