1. Do you remember what it was like when smoking was still allowed in public everywhere?
Oh yes. In my days in the Army, you could smoke at your desk at work, in the motor pool, in the movie theater, and we were in Europe, in any public place, restaurant, etc.
It is weird to go down south in North Carolina and Virginia, for example, where they still have smoking and nonsmoking areas in restaurants. So odd.
2. What’s the kindest thing a complete stranger ever did for you?
A Gypsy cab driver helped me get to the airport out of Columbia,, South Carolina after basic training and tech school in order to fly home to see family before being shipped of to an unknown future in Stuttgart, Germany.
3. If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life (Italian, Mexican, Chinese, etc.), which would you choose and why?
So many temptations, but I have said publicly that I could eat pizza and spaghetti every day for the rest of my life, so probably Italian.
4. What’s a sign you’re officially getting old?
Yesterday, when bending down to grab a comb out of a drawer in my bathroom, I tweaked my back. A comb? Really? Thanks, old.
5. What’s your all-time favorite sci-fi TV series? And why?
Long diatribe on the Star Trek franchise.
As an elementary child, I would run home from East Elementary school to watch the syndicated reruns of “Star Trek” on Denver’s Channel 2. (In Craig, it was on a UHF channel)
In the army again (many this week’s “Five” have been very Army based, sorry.) one of our floor mates in the barracks back in 1987 received a VHS tape from his brother in the states that contained the first six hours of Star Trek: The Next Generation” and we would gather in my big ass room and huddle on the couch and take this show in. I love ST: TNG so much out of nostalgia because of this member of watching the delayed on tape viewings and the anticipation of the next batch of shows.
1) Oh my, yes. I was a light smoker during my 20s and 30s. I actually hated smoking in any public place. The worst was the smoking section on airplanes. I did it once on a trip to Scotland and it was the biggest mistake. 8 hours of sitting in recycled smoking air. Yuck! And even at bars, when I wanted to smoke, I would always try to go outside. Nothing like a cigarette in fresh air to make you feel alive.
2) Back in the day, I used to hitchhike once in a while from college (Gunnison) to home (Denver). I remember one trip being picked up in Gunnison by a 7th Day Adventist and having a wonderful debate/conversation about religion and god, and I was perfectly clear on my agnostic thoughts. The guy was great and enjoyed our conversation so much he drove me all the way to my parent’s house versus letting me off on the side of the highway near my exit.
3) My head says pizza and italian, but my heart needs Mediterranean.
4) Oh lordy, sleep apnea, hard to lose weight, always sore, so many things.
5) I suppose I was a Battlestar Gallatica fan, the original one with Lorene Green.