Ask Away Friday: When Husbands Take Over

I have an exciting gift for you. For one day only, my husband, Thomas, will be taking over my blog. He has answered ten questions from my dear friend Tia's fiance, Scotty, for Ask Away Friday.

When Tamara suggested husbands swapping questions in the AAF Facebook group, Tia and I jumped on the idea right away. It is the perfect opportunity for all of you to get to know more about Thomas and Scotty, for them to get to know each other better, and for Tia and I to get them to write things for our blogs.

Tia and Scotty - Aren't they a cute couple? 

Be sure to check out Scotty's answers to Thomas' questions here. My favorite part of this swap was when Tia and I emailed each other the questions, and realized Thomas and Scotty had a great minds think alike moment when both of them asked the same question.

For more Ask Away Friday fun, you can visit our amazing hosts, Tamara of Tamara Like Camera, Tiffany of Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter, Christy of Uplifting Families, Stacey of This Momma’s Ramblings, and Amber of Bold Fit Mom.


1. If you could live in any era, in any place, where and when would you choose? Why?

Wow! I asked you this same question for your list. (I want to take Novocain and a little gold with me to pay whichever farmer might end up having to pull a tooth if I get a cavity. I am coming back from this journey, right?)

I love all things Elizabethan and England, I love The Renaissance, and I love the 1950's.  But if I were to decide on just one place and time, I would choose the time and land of Jesus. It would be nice to meet some of those Italian artists in The Renaissance, but most of their art was about Jesus, Mary, and the apostles anyway, and I can always visit Rome or Paris when I get back home...to see if they had it right!

2. What did you want to be when you grew up? Is it still something you'd be interested in doing?

I always wanted to be an artist, and I wanted something to do with history, and I wanted to be a Chaplin. So maybe a monk? I did not take any road that led me down any of those paths, but I can play a guitar and I do like monk's outfits, so I'm still considering that. Maybe a bard? Oh! I know...a troubadour! Yeah. A troubadour. That's the ticket.

3. If someone had never read From Tracie, and you could only share one post with them, which would you choose and why?

I'm thinking one of her early posts, because I can remember when she first started blogging, how she was such a champion for survivors, and she took on a lot of causes. On the other hand, I have laughed hard at a few, for instance the boiled peanuts post (truth is stranger than fiction). I guess, because I read all of Tracie's posts on my own time, I don't have just one favorite, sorry. But I will tell you my favorite kind of Tracie post: it's when she has these unexpected moments of inner clarity about a feather or rain or Skittles; she will post a short thought, and it will blow me away, and move me, like a song or poetry. It is usually some of the best writing I have ever read, and I tell her that all the time. The world would be a better place if every blogger was a Tracie.

4. How important do you think space exploration is to today's generation and for future generations?

I think space exploration is of very little importance to our generation. I'll explain. It's a matter of principle. I don't believe we have gotten this planet right, yet, do you? We don't deserve outer space until we can prove that we deserve it. It's just not sensible. However, if we were to take care of our business here, maybe five or six generations down the line, space could be important. I want to see water and solar energy dominating the world. That would be a cue that it is okay to go traipsing around in rockets and space suits. What do I care if they can grow an eggplant in a space station when they can't seem to grow them on earth without Monsanto poisoning the food supply? Yes, optimistically, five or six generations may keep us from turning our solar system into a Wal-Mart.

5. I was homeschooled by my mom when I was younger. While we mostly stuck to a traditional school schedule, it was also okay if education didn't start right at 8am. Do you and Tracie stick to a traditional schedule for Katarina or are you more lax? And what is your approach?

We are not lax, but Katarina is also low maintenance. She is a better student than I was, anyway. We think it's in her best interest to start school at about 8 o'clock, every day. For Katarina, knowing what to expect, and when to expect it, has established a healthy outlook on her work, and in a way it has given her permission to do well ... which she does, because she loves learning. In fairness, I want to mention also, Katarina has a set amount of work to do weekly. She knows that getting it done early can result in a very long weekend for her. If getting up early or staying late can help her meet her weekly goal, she has a motivation that I never had in public school. (If they had handed me all of my assignments for the week on a Monday morning, I can promise you that I would have been a very sleepy student on Tuesday night, but I would have had the rest of the week off.)

6. You recently dove into social media. With the surge in social media, how important do you think print media is? How relevant is a daily newspaper to you?

Good question. I do love social media. Have you ever read Forbes on twitter?

When I was a child, on the weekends (especially on Sunday), my grandmother would read the paper to the whole family out on the front porch in the cool of the afternoon. Everybody had an opinion or a comment, and we discussed the news. It was great. I learned a lot about life, and newspapers were relevant. I know it won't ever get better than that. Those days are long gone. In today's version of the newspaper, the writing is shabby and inconsistent. There is no heart for the news. In fact, these papers don't even resemble the papers of my childhood. (Could you see a kid on a bike hurling one of these 25-pounders at your front porch? 23.7 of those pounds being ads?) Change happens, and some things aren't meant to last forever. I'm rolling with it.

Did I mention that William Shatner tweeted at me a couple of weeks ago? It was awesome!!

7. If you could go to any concert at any venue, who would you see and where? (Past and current performers are okay.)

Easy. Pink Floyd.

Honorable mentions include Woodstock and Iron Maiden in Rio. I did get to see The Eagles when they first reunited in New Orleans for the Hell Freezes Over tour, and I have gotten to see some of my favorite bands: The Moody Blues, Traffic, Rush, and Yes. But I missed Pink Floyd, and would have loved to have seen any of their shows, especially The Wall or Animals tour. I love rock and roll. So put another dime in the juke box...baby.

8. If you had the extra time, what new hobby would you start?

Let's see, tiki or ice carving? Learning photography professionally would be cool. I already have some knowledge of how to use climbing gear because of my job, so spelunking is an interesting option. I like the idea of treasure hunting with a big metal detector, because I like artifacts and relics. I would love to explore some haunted houses, I am already enamored with cemeteries (go ahead, call me a freak).

I have lots of ideas, but very little extra time.

9. It's your birthday!! You can have any meal you want, any item you want. What do you eat?

ANY? Hook me up with raw oysters, crawfish, some collard greens, corn bread with tomato gravy, and a big thing of sweet tea. For dessert, some of my grandmother's blackberry cobbler. (Well, you did ask me about food, and my birthday is actually coming up on the 12th of August...do you need my address? I can mail you a cooler.)

10. How long before you knew Tracie was THE ONE for you?

When I first met Tracie, I thought to myself, "She is going to make some preacher a really good wife." A couple of years later, after we had become close friends, Tracie told me she was moving to Arizona; that was when I knew that she was THE ONE; I couldn't live without her, and I knew it. Eventually I got the nerve, and told her I loved her, and hoped, by telling her, I would not lose her friendship. Three days later, she told me she loved me, too. We skipped the pretentious dating scene, and got married pretty quick. We've been that way for twelve years now, although we both tend to forget our actual anniversary date, but it's okay if you forget your anniversary when you are best friends.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Thomas. Don't forget to stop by Tia's blog to meet Scotty, and read his answers to Thomas' questions. 

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