I haven't done a lot of interviews. I am much happier asking questions than answering them. I also had a really bad experience with a cable channel documentary crew when I first moved here. This was before the era of reality television when documentaries were more staid affairs. I agreed to let a producer with a camera follow me about. (I would never do that now.) The first day I met with the producer he had a wedding ring on, the next time he didn't. Then he called me in the wee small hours and left a bizarre message containing a desperate request that I find him a psychotherapist in Vegas ASAP. I got in touch with his colleagues and told them I did not think Vegas was good for the guy's issues. They decided not to replace him. So, I opted out of the documentary (which never wound up airing) and refused to sign a release or have anything else to do with the project. Just to be on the safe side, I had a lawyer fax a follow-up letter. That story isn't really relevant; I just wanted to share.

Anyway, usually I average about one call a month from journalists around the country. Occasionally they are seeking a comment from me on something having to do with Vegas, but more often what they want is  help finding contacts for the stories they are working on.  I don't know how others  handle these requests for assistance but I am usually willing to help out if a reporter needs some names and phone numbers and advice. The major exception is the tabloid press who I don't help at all. Oh, another non-sequitur I want to share. Once a major tabloid publication approached me and offered to pay me in exchange for using the access I get from writing for other publications to benefit the tabloid. The proposal was really sneaky and designed so that I would not get caught and could keep my day job.  I did not know the person who contacted me; so I assume almost everybody in the local media got the same offer I did.

Okay now to the point which I have been procrastinating over. I have never done an extended interview before this one.  I probably won't do another one again. After hearing this, I've decided that answering questions feels too much like publishing a rough draft. I would like to add, modify and change about every answer I gave here. I am not being modest. I suck. See how you do when someone asks you why you dropped out of graduate school.  Thankfully, the producer did an extraordinarily generous job editing the prerecorded interview to remove my worst missteps and most wildly inarticulate moments. Thanks KNPR.