Interview

I've been watching interview questions make the rounds of my favorite blogs. I shamelessly waited until Gunfighter posted his responses to pounce at the chance to ask him to interview me. And here is what happened:

1. You have settled you're accentlessness, and we know that you weren't born in the Bahstin... er, Boston area, so... where are you from? and how did your parents come to settle in the area you are in now?, and why did you stay there?

I was born in Lexington, Kentucky to a mom from Louisiana and a dad from Virginia. My dad has his Masters in Hospital Administration and came to Boston to be part of the merger of two hospitals. My parents fell in love with the town they moved to when I was two years old and I am grateful. There was a wonderful Unitarian Universalist congregation, strong public schools with music and drama programs, and public transportation to cool urban places.

I went to college in New York state, spent a summer teaching in South Central Los Angeles and then taught in New Orleans in the early 1990's through Teach for America. While there I realized that health care access was my (initial) passion and I wanted to live in a part of the country that valued government's role in helping people. So I came back to the Boston area for graduate school and knew I was settling here.

And a really cute guy followed me from New Orleans. We've been married for over 11 years.

2. Your husband plays rugby. Do you go to the games? Have you ever had the inclination to find a women's team to play on? Do you think you will encourage your kids to play rugby?

O.k. So that really cute guy can be a tad irritating too. He discovered rugby in his late 30's. I have gone to exactly three games in the nearly three years he's played. It has just been too complicated with three little kids.

I have also had absolutely no inclination to find a women's team to play on. None. Zip. Zero. I like having my ears.

The boys were in an instructional league last summer. They were the youngest by 3 years. It was a bit painful to watch. Not that they were being hurt - it was just that they wanted the older kids to acknowledge them and they got as much recognition as gnats.

3. Are you a good cook? What is your signature dish? What is your favorite comfort food?


[Pause.... can't breath..... wait.....]


I've stopped laughing now. No one would ever in a million years put my name and good cook in the same sentence. I'm actually one of those folks that eats to live, not lives to eat. Which is sad since my husband can recall the exact ingredients in meals he had years ago. He actually wept over a plate of risotto in Italy. I am not wired to have food send me over the edge like that.

My favorite comfort foods are gin and tonics, a big bowl of cereal with cold skim milk and pasta. Not all together.

4. What are you passionate about?

My children. The world is a better place because they are a part of this global society.

5. Do you have any tattoos?

No. Really. I'm not saying that because my parents and aunt read this (Hi!). I sat with a friend while she got one in Santa Monica (see #1 about teaching in Los Angeles) and that pretty much turned me off.

6. How do you want to be remembered?

As a mother who worked for a just society. I tried to have my children think beyond themselves and I worked for organizations that shared my values.

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Thank you GF for the questions. I had to think for a while.

Would you like me to interview you? Just leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you some questions.