Interviewed by Cindra & Zombieslayer

First of all, thank you to everyone for the well wishes. That was a particularly horrible 3 day migraine and while migraines aren't fatal, they kinda make me feel like I want to die or else kill people around me, especially when they last that long. Not nice at all. It took until Saturday evening before I felt human again. Sunday was a very lovely day and it was great to be able to enjoy it and not feel like my skull was being turned inside out.

CINDRA'S QUESTIONS


1. If the color and the fruit that we call Lime were banished from the earth, what color or fruit would you then be attracted to next that would then become your new name?

Hhhmm, well I don't actually take my moniker from the fruit, at least not directly (To Lime: Trini slang for hanging out with friends, coined by Trinidadians who saw British sailors lollygagging in port. The Brit sailors were called limeys because of eating limes to prevent scurvy, so ok, fruit is involved but way down the line....)

Alright, so my new name? Perhaps papaya because it is so yummy. I love the fruit and I love the color of a really ripe one. Only problem is 'Papaya' sounds like kind of a masculine name, so maybe I'd be Mamaya.



2. Let's say you are in charge of EVERYTHING, including rules and regulations at DMV. At what age would you allow people to get a driver's license? Why?

You have to be old enough to pay for your own car insurance and upkeep of your own vehicle and not expect your parents to shell out for it. So whatever age when you are ready to do that.




3. Is there any special treat that you adore so much that you would actually grab the last piece and eat it had it rolled under the edge of the refrigerator...just out of sight, but barely? If you answered yes, have you already done such a thing?

Are you kidding? I am queen of the five second rule. Now under the fridge where the fuzzies congregate I'd limit it to something smooth and dry (moist things attract the fuzzies). M&Ms, Reeses Pieces, Skittles, they all work. I mean after all, you're talking to the girl who used to share jawbreakers with her best friend when they were 8. Not one for you, one for me, but...I'll take the red and purple layers, you take the yellow and green layers. One time the jawbreaker fell in a puddle. We took it inside, washed off several layers of color and happily went back to swapping it. I'll pause now while you all gag.



4. Suppose our ecosystem could carry on and sustain us after losing one season...which season would you get rid of and why?

Bear season. I don't eat bear meat and don't know anyone who actually enjoys it so why do we have it (Yeah, I know, control the population, blah blah blah). If you hunt, then eat what you take. If you don't eat it, don't shoot it.



5. Even though you likely aren't interested in the plastic world of celebrity, let's pretend you HAD to choose one of these life paths...would you choose to be a Hollywood superstar or a rock goddess? Why?

Well, rock goddesses are allowed to have really bad and wild hair days. Janis Joplin anyone? So, provided I get magically endowed with musical talent by making this choice, I'm going with that. I can dress anyway I want, let my hair get out of control, not have to be forced to wear makeup and not be as dissed for it as if I were some plastic starlet who has to be a paragon of fashion with flawless hair and makeup. I don't want to have to look like I stepped out of Vogue just to run to the mini market for a gallon of milk.

6. If I were to come to dinner at your house, knowing we'd never met, what sort of meal/evening could I expect?

Well, I'd sort of try to tailor it a bit to what I do know about you so this isn't what someone else would get. I'd have a cookout with you guys. I'd grill some marinated chicken, grill up some marinated venison back straps (gees, I hope you all aren't vegetarians or anti-hunting). We'll have some nice garden salad, maybe some couscous. Bonnie Baby and the Limelets and your other kids can romp around in the woods or bounce on the trampoline. After dinner when the sun goes down we'll get a fire going in the fire pit so we can have smores and hopefully your hubby can make some music for us (he can either bring his guitar or play mine). Beer and hard cider to drink.



7. Can you roll your tongue into the shape of a tube?

But, of course. I have so many useless skills.



8. What is your stance on mixing M&Ms with popcorn?

I'm not morally opposed to it but I think M&Ms go better with nuts, dried fruit, and pretzels and things of a more similar weight to M&Ms. Oh yeah , I dig me some gorp. Popcorn is kinda lightweight so the candies will all sink to the bottom of the bowl.




9. If you could go back to any age, NOT knowing what you know now, what year in your life would you like to relive and why?

My freshman year of college was a joy. I got away from a very frustrating situation and had a chance to develop as an individual. I wasn't a kid who went wild at parties in college (in fact I avoided the frats and sororities entirely) but I still had a ton of fun. College is where I got myself together as a human being. I was pursuing the education I wanted and I was learning tons about the world outside my hometown. I had enough money in my pocket to take care of my needs and be giving to folks who needed it. It was a great time of life.



10. Do you believe in astrology?

That would be a fairly emphatic no even though I have been told I am a typical Libra.






ZOMBIESLAYER'S QUESTIONS


1) If you had all the money in the world, Pennsylvania, Trinidad, or somewhere else?

If I had all the money in the world I'd have a modest house in both places and spend a lot of time travelling to see all the other corners of the world I have always wanted to explore.



2) Tell me about your favorite movie. Don't just name it, but why do you love it?

Well, anyone who knows me knows I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Princess Bride just for sheer comic value on both counts. But for a movie with a little more meat to it I'd probably say Simon Birch. It takes place in the 60s and is about two 12 year old boys who are best friends and social outcasts. Joe is illegitimate and has all sorts of identity questions related to not knowing who his father is. His mother is a beauty who lives above the town gossip. Joe's friend, Simon, is a dwarf whose parents neglect him entirely. Although he experiences a lot more prejudice than Joe does, Simon has an unwavering faith that there is some great purpose to his life. They each share a trauma and they each have a resolution to their great questions and expectations in life but not the way either thought it would happen. I just really love the way the friendship is framed. I love that the characters are able to challenge the thinking of the day in some really serious and some really hilarious ways. I've also always been drawn to stories that involve questions of identity as well as overcoming some adversity. I also appreciate how matters of faith can be called into question and the leaders or organized religion can be called to account for egregious behavior but ultimately it doesn't give the message that God is dead. I also identify with both Joe and Simon. In certain ways, they both address certain things I dealt with growing up.

Favorite quotes:

Simon to Joe: You're already a bastard. Might as well be an enlightened one.

***

Simon: I've been thinking.

Joe: Yeah?

Simon: Last year we were in the squirt league, and this year we're in the pewee.

Joe: So?

Simon: So what do they want us to do, play baseball or urinate? Anyway, I was just thinking.

***

Simon: If God's made the church bake sale a priority, we're in a lot of trouble.

3) Did you name your kids after anyone?

The names I use on the blog are not their real names but each of my children was named for a very specific reason. Their names were chosen for their meaning and as a prayer for each of them, for the kind of character we hoped they would develop. I more or less chose the names for the girls, both Greek names as a nod to my heritage. My husband chose a Hebrew name for our boy. There is a namesake involved for at least part of each of their names as well, yes.



4) Someone gives you $100 million and a fat salary to run a charity, a charity of your choice. What would it be?

Interesting question. Why do I need a big fat salary in order to run a charity? Pay me a living wage and I'll run it.

I don't think I could name a charitable organization specifically because there are so many good ones out there so I will describe what I'd want it to be. I love the work of Mohamed Yunis (gees, I hope I spelled his name correctly)who won the Nobel Peace Prize. His concept of microcredit is brilliant; loans so small in dollar amount as to be laughable to big banks but so significant as to allow a third world widow to purchase the machinery necessary to start a seamstress business and keep herself and her children out of poverty. I believe he also espouses the idea that loan repayment be at least partly in the form of passing it on to the next individual in the community who is looking for microcredit. Local people get the help needed to get out of poverty and stay out and then help other locals do the same. People's dignity is maintained. What's not to love about that?

I also think Habitat for Humanity is another excellent example. (Ok, I named one specifically) Folks who need housing and who may not qualify for other sorts of financing get low or no interest loans in return for their own sweat equity in building their own home or refurbishing a house alongside others doing the work with them.

I know a couple from Texas who work relocating refugees from the Horn of Africa too. I wish I could give them all the money they need to help folks get set up in their new lives because so often these families escape with just the clothes on their backs. I'd be facilitating things like this and the two above ideas as well as wanting to see grants given for medical research in other endeavors.



5) What have you done to prepare for the upcoming zombie plague?


Everyone at House of Lime knows how to load and shoot a rifle and a shotgun. Three of us are crack shots and the other two are at least half decent. We also know how to live without electricity and running water. We have at least basic outdoor survival skills and we all know first aid. Mr. Lime is hardcore enough to enjoy camping in the winter...without a tent.


If you want me to generate some interview questions for you say so in the comments.