I was interviewed by Yellowdog Granny. She made up 4 random questions for me. They were not too bad, except for that #3 question... I've spent hours trying to answer it. I even inserted videos, rock songs etc., but to no avail (I took them all out, and, how can you have a rock opera without music? I'm horrified, but I don't know how to add music sound bytes). What was I thinking? Rock Opera? Man. What a lame playwright I am. That's one career I can scratch off!

1.If you could take your Harley and camera to any country and just travel it end to end and do nothing but take pictures which country would it be and why..

Heck, that’s an easy one. Combining two of my absolute favorite LOVES all in one shot... Iceland of course! Not an easy road to travel on a motorcycle, as most of the lone highway referred to as the “ring road” (the road which encircles the country’s outer rim) is made mostly from harsh lava-gravel; not easy-going on a Harley. But the pictures, the views, the landscapes and the birds... ahhhhhh. You need not possess any special talent as a photographer to capture the most fabulous of photos - the natural scenery is breathtaking just as it appears. I would go in the early summertime, when the midnight sun rides the sky and the temperatures are suitable for camping. The love of riding astride my Harley coupled with the miles of unbelievable eye-popping moss-covered lava fields, purple lupine waving on black-sand lowlands, endless waterfalls, blue-iced glaciers and windswept vistas is something one can only dream about.

2. If you could go back in time with your camera and capture one picture of one incident in time that has never been captured in print, what would it be and why?

It sounds selfish, and perhaps it is when compared on the world’s grand scale… but I remember as if it were yesterday the day the tall 15-year old dreamboat (my Bear) stepped forward out of a completely unknown crowd of many other young party-going lads & gals to take his rightfully won place on the back of my black & white pinto Misty for a ride, in exchange for his tall Colt .45. He jumped, in his attempt to mount the horse to sit behind me, at which point he did a complete endo, landing on his handsome head on the other side of Misty in the dirt. It was so funny I’d give anything to have a picture of his dazed face… He was determined however, and gamely tried again until he succeeded in placing himself comfortably and snugly behind me as we rode off into the hot Malibu afternoon…

3. You have just finished a rock opera and it's going to open on Broadway this week..what is is about and who will play the parts?

Okay keep in mind the question: "What is it about, and who will play the parts. "
I struggled mightily with this one for two days - as I know it needs more MUSIC and MORE MUSIC. I haven't seen many Rock Operas - I can think of Jesus Christ Superstar (bleah) and also Tommy (bleah bleah)... I wanted to see HAIR but my grandparents told my parents that it had actual nude actors parading down the aisles, so that one was definitely out (never got to see it). Well, here is my sincere attempt (that I almost DELETED A BILLION TIMES). I do like some of the Hollywood glitz (especially Sam Elliot, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino...) but unfortunately it hasn't translated into Broadway.

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS - IN THEIR OWN WORDS
A portrayal of 3 beings who try (as do we all) to make life work out in a positive fashion, and the evil meanie who tries to thwart their happiness.

FIRST LITTLE PIGGY – Starring Rachael Ray, bobbing happily along in the woods to Grandma’s house with a huge basket of stuff which her studio fridge was too overflowing to store it in. Oops – did I get the plot mixed up with another fairy tale?

SECOND LITTLE PIGGY – Me

THIRD LITTLE PIGGY – Played by The Little Red Hen

BIG BAD WOLF - My former boss

One day the FIRST LITTLE PIGGY built a house made out of straw. She stocked her fridge as if there was no tomorrow & her stage hands wouldn’t be back tomorrow with fresh ingredients. She stacked her picnic basket and blithely took off into the woods. The last time she was seen was on her way to a little chapel in the woods humming

and was never to be seen again. (Hmmm, I think I’m missing part of the story here) Anthony Bourdain took over her TV show and ratings actually went up.


Next day, the SECOND LITTLE PIGGY went into the woods, fully intending to gather the sticks needed to build her house. She procrastinated on her chore, and soon became enthralled when she discovered an ancient raven habitat, and never made it back to the homestead at all, instead finding solace and peace living among the Corvid tribe.



She was welcomed back among her own and lived happily ever after.


Finally, the THIRD LITTLE PIGGY came along and after much ado managed to supervise the organization of enough of her offspring to build a complete luxury brick house, spa included out the back.

Knock Knock: “Who is that knocking at my door” asked the third piggy.

“The big bad wolf” said he. "I am here to take away your job, your paycheck, destroy your close family ties with your co-workers, and steal your dignity. If you don’t let me in, I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down."




The third piggy gathered her kin, found out who owned a shotgun between them all, and blew a big fat load of rock salt into the cowardly Big Bad Wolf’s butt, sending him howling into the sunset, never to return.

THE END


4. You are granted the ability to cure one disease...what disease would you cure and why?

My younger Sister Tammy died at age 38 from Lou Gehrig’s disease only one year after her diagnosis. There are so many diseases which take or destroy the lives of our loved ones, that it seems silly to imagine a cure for only one of them. But since the question was personal, finding a cure for such a cruel sickness as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s, which takes the ability to freely move and breathe away from an otherwise healthy person seems reasonable. With the onset of this disease, the victim has perfect cognizant skills and sense of physical touch – comprehending and aware of the same things as you & I are all the way up until the last day of their life. The illness robs the luckless stricken person of all ability to move their limbs, lungs, mouth… eventually requiring intubation for feeding, breathing etc. though the person is just as aware of every feeling in every nerve as you or I. It is devastating, and if I could find a cure for such a torture I would do it in a heartbeat. The inability to breathe on her own, sentencing her to a breathing machine and no voice (she had to sacrifice her speaking ability for the greater necessity of breathing) was torture and eventually killed my Sister when the breathing machine malfunctioned and she suffocated. The amazing Stephen Hawking British Theoretical Physicist has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition that has progressed over the years and has left him almost completely paralysed. The long gevity of his condition however is an anomally, as the usual expected time from diagnosis to death is 2 or 3 years.

Thank you Jackie Sue for making me think, making me reflect, and finally for making me fume and fret until this dang post was finished. :)