A Heartfelt Birthday Tribute: Glenn Celebrates Traci Taylor with Love

I've been friends with Traci Taylor for over 20 years and have been working with her for 13 of those years.

Traci always teases me because in the 20+ years we've been friends, I've only ever given her one birthday present and it may or may not have been a present that someone else bought for me to give to her.

To celebrate our friendship, Traci turning 45 on her favorite holiday, Valentine's Day (not) and so she can't say I missed out on giving her a birthday gift again, my gift to her (and you) is 45 random things about Traci.

1. Traci is the oldest of 7. Her siblings are Jeff, Brian, Beth, Sarah, Charlie, and Sam. She has four nieces and three nephews. Her youngest sibling is Sam and he just turned 21.

2. Traci used to have a dirt collection. She moved a lot when she was little and she collected little jars of dirt from each state, except Hawaii and Alaska. She also had dirt from well-known places like the Norman Rockwell Homestead and Buckingham Palace.

3. Traci was born into a military family in Washington State. She hasn’t been back to her home state since she was a kid but dreams about visiting and walking the land where her family built a home in the woods by the Hood Canal.

4. Traci took piano and violin lessons, but can’t remember how to play either. She also took ballet for several years because her mom said it would make her more lady-like. We know how well that turned out.

5. Traci, all of 5 feet tall, holds a track record in her hometown school district for...the high jump.  No, I'm not kidding. When she was in middle school, she was invited to join the high school varsity track team and her focus was hurdles. You could say she's always been "boingy."

6. Traci loves ethnic foods, the spicier the better. She does not like seafood. Or chocolate. Or cake. I do. She gives those things to me.

7. When she’s really tired, Traci laughs and cries at the same time. She’s tired a lot.

8. Traci was told she would never be able to have kids but became a mom at the age of 35 to a boy who looks like his dad but who has his mom's personality.

9. Traci’s grandpa was born on a cotton field in Arkansas and never finished middle school but joined the Navy, then became a nuclear engineer, and then a pastor. Traci says he was the most amazing man she’s ever known and she strives every day to live up to what he would want her to be. I think she's doing a good job.

10. Traci calls her grandma, “Bob.” When she was very little, Traci, her mom, and her grandma were picking blueberries and Traci fell into a bush. Just learning how to speak, she started calling out for “Bob” and her grandma was the first to get to her. And so she became Bob.

11. Traci’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day and she’s never loved having her birthday on a lovey-dovey day. Not ever. She hates hearts which is odd because that's her default response to me whenever I text her. Is she giving me the brush off? I think so.

12. Traci’s grandma’s ancestors immigrated from Ireland to Canada and in the 1800s, they played a (and from what I understand somewhat scandalous) part in building the Rideau Canal.

13. When she was a kid, Traci used to wake up her entire house by playing Glenn Campbell’s Wichita Lineman record on her record player as loud as it would go.

14. Amazing Grace on Bagpipes makes Traci cry. Every time.

15. Traci’s middle name is Renee. Too bad it's not Nicole. Then she could be TNT...dynomite. Get it? Nevermind.

16..Traci’s husband knew the minute he met her that he was going to marry her. It took Traci almost 10 years to realize she was going to marry him. And she's supposed to be the smart one...

17.Traci’s favorite book is Gone With The Wind. She loves going to book sales and because other people didn’t know what they had, she has two very rare unabridged versions of the book.

18.Traci’s favorite color is Kelly green.

19. Traci graduated from high school and college in the same year. See, I told you she was a smarty pant. Except when it comes to love, obviously (see #16).

20.Traci’s favorite drink is coffee which comes as no shock to anyone. Her favorite special occasion order at Dunkin Donuts is “toasted almond, light and sweet.”

21. Traci’s favorite flavor ice cream is pistachio. If they had a granola flavor, that would probably be her favorite because she's the bran of the Hawk Morning Show, keeping things regular.

22. Traci HATES heat and humidity. Summer is her least favorite season. I hate Traci in heat and humidity. Carol Anne Freeling in Poldgergist has nothing on Traci when Traci is hot.

23. Traci’s family has a cabin accessible only by boat in Canada with no running water, no electricity, no internet and no TV. It’s where they go when they need to get away from the world. Aka: Me.

24. Traci’s eyes are mostly hazel, but when she’s really happy they turn green and when she’s really mad, they turn dark brown. I have seen them turn dark brown. It's scary.

25. Every musician is Traci's favorite. Her top favorites though are Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20, Collective Soul, Dierks Bentley, and Alabama. Oddly enough, the Oakridge Boys didn't make the list.

26. Traci’s favorite state is Vermont, but her favorite destination is Palm Springs.

27. Traci HATES to get dressed up. Even casually.  If she has to put on what she calls "people clothes" for work, the first thing she does when she gets home is to change into sweats and put her hair in a ponytail.

28. Traci’s favorite perfume scent is Dark Vanilla Musk by Coty, but they don’t make it anymore.

29. Traci has lived all over the country, but her favorite place to shop for food is Lancaster, PA. She loves how easy and cheap it is to get fresh produce at all times of the year.

30. Traci likes to read. A lot. Since she doesn’t have much alone time to read anymore, she listens to audiobooks in the car. What’s on her Kindle? Right now she’s “reading” books by Kerry Anne King, Fiona Valpy, and Imogen Clark.

31. Traci is obsessed with Febreze with Gain moonlight breeze wax melts and she is not very happy that it's so hard to find.

32. Traci’s favorite subject in school was English. She even considered becoming a college professor until radio lured her in.

33. Speaking of radio, when she was 8-years-old, Traci and her mom drove by a radio tower in Albany. Traci told her mom she would work for that radio station one day and she did. Her first job was at WYJB, B 95.5, in Albany.

34. Traci doesn’t get much time to watch TV, but when she does, she likes FBI and the Chicago series. On Netflix, she likes Virgin River and Huntress.

35. Traci would rather hang out in the woods or by a river than at the ocean. What is wrong with her?

36. Traci’s son doesn’t call her mama, mommy, or mom. He calls her me-mo.

37 Traci can whistle and hum, but can’t sing on key to save her life. She doesn't hit the notes, she clobbers them over the head. Oh yeah, she also can’t dance at all either

38. When she wasn't waking her whole house up with her Glen Campbell records (see #13), Traci would wake them up by jumping on their beds while playing the kazoo to "Christ The Lord Has Risen Today."

39. Traci has a soft spot for kids and veterans and does a lot of work with both.

40. Traci loves to travel and she loves history. For her 50th birthday, she wants to take a trip to Europe to visit Ireland, where her family is from and England, where her husband's family is from.

41. Traci was once asked to be the Press Secretary for a governor but she turned down the job to stay in radio.

42. Traci's family nickname is Toes because she used to lay on the floor with her feet on the wall and play with the phone cord with her toes. Back when phones had cords.

43. Traci is a magnet for people who have questions. I guess she just has that look like she has all the answers. Even strangers stop her and ask her questions.

44. Traci used to sing opera for fun at the top of her lungs when she was a kid. Her mom made her go into a shed in the backyard to sing because...well...her singing was painful.

45. Traci used to work for an answering service where she took calls from customers and dispatched the messages to business owners after hours. She says other than radio, that was her favorite job. Probably because she got to talk. And she likes to talk. A lot.

Get our free mobile app

I ran out of things that I know about Traci at #35. So thanks for helping me write the rest of your birthday present, Traci.