Honea Express

Long before Dan interviewed me, I was supposed to be grilled by Matthew from Childs Play X 2, (whom I’ve drank many beers next to) but he was busy and/or forgot about me. He contacted me today with my questions, and said that he understood should I want to wait a while, fresh as I was off the first. However, since this whole meme involves me interviewing others, I’m going to piggyback the last post so as to hopefully avoid extra work for myself. Asking questions is hard.

Here’s the second round, courtesy of Matthew:

1. Since you went with the bald look, are you more Vin Diesel or more Bruce Willis?

I’m definitely more of a Bruce Willis, back from the days of crackin’ wise on Moonlighting. I’m a thinking man’s action hero.

2. How DO you get your wife to stay with you? I mean, really. It’s like she has THREE boys.

I am EXCELLENT in the sack. That’s what it comes down to.

3. Describe your perfect day.

First we would drink sangria in the park, and then later, when it gets dark, we’ll go home.
We would feed animals in the zoo, then later a movie too, and then home.

4. As a bartender, what was your favorite drink to make and what would you make me if I sauntered up to the bar?

Most bartenders worth their mud will tell you that their favorite drink to make is a Bloody Mary. I would have to agree. The trick is to grind black pepper on the ice, then add two ounces of a decent vodka- Absolute Peppar is made for this drink. There are plenty of good mixes on the market, but I like to use spicy V-8, that way you’ve just justified having a second (or third). Season to taste. I’ve had to use what we’ve got on many occasions, but my favorite additions are splashes of chipotle sauce, fajita spice and a dash of garlic A-1. Don’t go crazy on the garnishes, celery is for old ladies, just a lime and an olive (stuffed with garlic or jalepenos is always nice). Sometimes I’ll go crazy and substitute a pickled green bean.

If you sauntered up to the bar I’d make you a white wine spritzer.

5. Atticus? Zane? Explain.

We didn’t know the gender of our children until the minute they popped out, ala Alien, from their momma’s belly. We figured there are only so many good surprises left, why rush it. That said we had a boy and girl name picked out each time.

Atticus: Like most American’s I was forced to read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school. I couldn’t put it down. That was in English.

My junior year we had a History teacher show us the movie version. I decided then that should I ever have a son, his name would be Atticus.

Oddly enough I went on to get a degree in English with a minor in History. Coincidence?

Luckily, Tricia was cool with the name. At first she was the only one. Even the nurses in the delivery room gave us a double-take.

Interestingly enough, the week before his birth the American Film Institute named the character of Atticus the number one screen hero of all time. Gregory Peck, that played him, died a few days later. Tricia’s father called her and told her that the world needed a new Atticus, two days later they got him.

Zane: The story behind his name is much shorter. Whereas I had Atticus picked out for over 15 years, we didn’t consider the name Zane until Tricia was 5 months pregnant. We had just spent a great 3 days on Catalina Island, which is heavily influence by the author Zane Grey.

At the time we were still bouncing around a number of ideas, which escape me now, and maybe it was the fact that our trip was one of our most relaxing ever, or that Tricia was knee-deep in the copy of Riders of the Purple Sage that she bought in an island bookstore, but the name Zane was offered up and it stuck.

People have had lots of fun with the fact that our boys are A-Z, or the abbreviation for Arizona, where I’m from and where Tricia and I met, but we never even gave it a thought until it was too late, not that we cared.

On a side note, both boys have surnames from Beatles as their middle name. I’m a Beatles guy, what can I say?

I’m not going to put the rules again. If you want to be interviewed just let me know.