An Interview by a Strange, Dark Gypsy Girl

The gorgeous Strange Dark Gypsy girl has interviewed me. For all of you who haven't read her blog, check it out--of course after you read the interview. Her blog is funny, sexy, and beautifully written. Check it out!

ahem

strangedarkgypsygirl.com

Gypsy: What's the best experience you've ever had on the water?
Beej: I would have to say our first sailing vacation. It was in August 2000, and we had a 26’ Pearson Commander on Lake Champlain. We sailed the boat up to Burlington, VT on that trip, and all over the Lake for 10 days. It was on this boat that I really learned to sail, and could actually single hand the boat without any great difficulty. A few times Todd would go below and take a nap on the trip, and he’d wake up impressed that we were 1. in a different place than we were when he fell asleep, and 2. that I managed to tack the boat by myself. This particular trip was very empowering for me in that I could sail this boat by myself—it was a great confidence builder for me. Though I lost a great deal of this confidence when we bought a bigger boat, and I've been learning all over again--but so has Todd so that makes me feel better.

Gypsy: Why and when did you start playing the guitar?
Beej: I bought my first guitar when I was 14. It belonged to my cousin Chris, and I bought it off of him for $100. It was a Memphis, and was the cheesiest guitar ever. It was turquoise, and had the shape of a guitar you’d see on a Night Ranger or Winger video where a man clad in spandex plays it with his teeth. I took lessons at Music Men, a music store in my home town, and stopped taking lessons just before the part where I would have learned to play with my teeth.

The guitar looked like this, but it was turquiose. It was all the rage in 1988.

I wanted to learn to play because guitars are amazing instruments. I used to listen to my brother Kaz play things by Iron Maiden and Ozzy Ozbourne flawlessly, and though I didn’t want to learn all those crazy guitar solos, I still wanted to learn to play a few things and ultimately to write. A decade later I was doing the chick-in-the-coffee-house-with-a-guitar thing, which ended up leading to how I met Todd. I can trace meeting Todd back to buying that sexy guitar off of Cousin Chris. I ended up trading that guitar in for my black Gibson Epiphone acoustic when I was 22. Still haven’t traded in the husband, however.

Gypsy: What's your favorite song to sing and why?
Beej: I have different favorites for different reasons:

I love to play “Are You Out There” by Dar Williams, just because it’s such a rockin’ song. The lyrics are great, and I can belt out the words with abandon, and have a blast with it.

I wrote a song called “Redfern” about a story I’d seen on the news when I was in Australia. This man was found dead on the floor of his apartment, and had been lying there for 2 years. They only found him because his electric bill was exactly the same amount for 2 years, because he had 1 light and the radio on. I like this one because I put in some funky time changes that make it interesting to listen to, and because every time I sing it I am remembering this man when everyone he’d ever known had forgotten about him.

I like to play the ones I wrote for my Mom when I am feeling like I need a good cry.

And you know I love to play “Gumby” which is my iteration of “Zombie” by The Cranberries.


Gypsy: If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, money being no object,
where would you go and why?
Beej: Antarctica. Only because it’s the hardest place to get to. If someone else is footing the bill, might as well go to the place that’s the hardest to get to. Imagine the Life of Adventure entries from that trip. Spectacular.

Gypsy: What one thing do you wish you hadn't done and why?
Beej: I wish I hadn’t gotten ferrets. I had 2 ferrets, Neptune and Sylvia, and they both ended up riddled with tumors after a few years. Neptune died in 2005, at age 6 and Sylvia died in 2006 at age 6. Adrenal glad tumors are very common in ferrets, and there is evidence to suggest that the tumors are caused by the animals being spayed or neutered at an impossibly early age. If the ferrets are in the pet store on display at 6-8 weeks, that means they would have arrived in the store at 4-6 weeks old, and were quarantined for a week or two in the stock room. This means that the ferrets were fixed at age 2-4 weeks, prior to shipment to the store.

Yes, they are adorable animals, and brought Todd and I a great deal of joy. But buy buying 2 ferrets I supported a cruel industry that “fixes” animals at an age that is way too young. Vets recommend that dogs be fixed at 6 months, and I supported an organization that fixed ferrets a scant 2 weeks after birth. By buying two of them I created a demand for these animals--the likes of which do not actually exist in the wild. Domesticated ferrets are a genetically engineered animal so that the ones you see in Petco could never exist in the wild. Never again will I buy a ferret.

Thank you for the fun interview, Gypsy. Also, I think Todd has fixed the site feed atom thing if you want to check it out.

If you would like me to interview you, please let me know in my comments and I'll be happy to cook something up for you.