I'm it, and now you are

I got tagged by one of those goofy blog memes, where you're asked to post something odd and tag more people to do the same. A long time ago, I vowed I wouldn't participate in such exercises. Then I realized I enjoyed reading them in other people's blogs when I saw them.

So today I break my vow. Here's what I've been tagged to do:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
   
2. Open to page 123.
   
3. Find the fifth sentence.
   
4. Post the next three sentences.
   
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.
   

(At least I don't have to reveal something embarrassing.)

I'm thankful that the nearest book wasn't some geeky fundraising, marketing, or nonprofit management book -- there are plenty of those around. That would have been so boring.

The nearest book, A Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers, was less than 123 pages long. So I picked up the next nearest book, The Secret History of the English Language by M.J. Harper, which yielded a delightfully out-of-context passage:

How many Latin-speakers do you suppose a 2nd-century shepherd in the Auvergne is going to come across in the course of his lifetime? What, in your opinion, is the likelihood of him meeting, then marrying, a Latin-speaking shepherdess and raising Latin-speaking children? Apparently they all did.

The person who tagged me was Michael Hovnanian of the Bass Blog.

I tag the following bloggers:

• Tom or Roger at The Agitator
  
• "A fundraiser" at Don't Tell the Donor
  
• Katya at Nonprofit Marketing Blog
  
• Kivi at Nonprofit Communications Blog
  
• Sean at Tactical Philanthropy
  

This tagging has no teeth -- no curse if you don't obey or good luck if you do. But it could be interesting if you want to play along.