Tuesday, January 20, 2009

c'est moi, an interview

My pal from Texas farmer's Wife is interviewing me today and I am so excited. Who wouldn't want to know more about ME???? Such as I dance to Vanilla Ice?
FW sent some very challenging questions. If you would like to be interviewed by me, email me, then I will try to make up appropriate questions for you.

1. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher, and why?
I dreamt of Mr. Luna from third grade the other day. He wasn't neccesarily my favorite, but I remember him---and his long hair and platform shoes. My fifth grade teacher, whose name I don't recall, was by far the best teacher I had. It was a little neighborhood school one block from my house, and I would see her after school when I walked out basset hound. She was the kind of teacher who invited the whole class to her house for a party--maybe impossible these days. The important thing was, she told me that I could, and would, do anything I wanted. Be anyone I wanted to be.
Me and the missus were chatting about teachers last night. She currently has an A plus, number one, perfect professor of poetry she is studying with---and what a difference encouragement makes. I actually studied architecture in college but hated the prof so much (probably mutual, but since he was a snooty Englishman, it is easy to say he was unlikeable) but my ceramics instructor was the absolute nicest woman. So I studied pottery, not architecture! And look what happened....

2. What did you wanna' be when you grew up, before the pottery change?
There was no change. I grew up wanting to be an artist. I fiddled with paints and paper and sculpture my whole childhood, and studied art in college, concentrating in architecture (see above) and ceramics. I got a masters as a special ed teacher and reading specialist and taught that several years, but retired to make pots when I was 31. I was a good teacher, but it sure wasn't what I wanted to do---just something to make a money while I figured out how to be a potter.

3. When did you decide to become a Vegan, and why?
I became a vegetarian when I was 16, a young anarcho-punk, and read Sinclair's "The Jungle" about meat packing plants 100 years ago. I dropped the dairy a few years ago because my dairy allergy has gotten worse and worse.

4. If you could go back in time and change one thing, any one thing, what would it be?
If we are talking about my life, there are a lot of people I wish I had been nicer to over the years.

5. If you could visit the future for six hours, what time would you travel too and what would you do while there?
I would travel to June 1, 2009. It would be warm, I would be wearing shorts, I would be listening to the chirping birds and this cold and dark winter would be a MEMORY.

:)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

A "snooty Englishman" ???

You know - if I could visit the future, I'd like to spend six hours in 2039. I'd be 87. I could see what it will be like to be elderly - or - I could see what the 'other side' holds!

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

Great play, Gary!!! Love it!

I so *heart* those mugs. I'm going to get me one!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful interview! Kudos to both you and & FW. :)

Gary, those lovely red pots up in your header? AWESOME!!!!

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Thanks all around.
There is a particular type of person who KNOWS for certain that he is the smartest, coolest and sexiest dude on earth. The rest of us just make him look better. The English accent is just the icing on the cake.

Anonymous said...

as far as question #4 is concerned, perhaps that might have been true in the pass (but i think we can all relate and i admit i still go there from time to time) but i do know that now you are the nicest, coolest person.

Glennis said...

Very nice!! I like your memories of your teachers.

fiwa said...

It's amazing how one good or bad teacher can change your life.

I LOVED reading this!

Anonymous said...

I very much agree with your answer to #4. I think a lot of people would agree with it actually :)