It seems as though the older I get, the more of a recluse I become. Not the sort of recluse that lives alone with 15 cats and a creepy doll collection, but more like an older middle-aged widow that has no pets, loves to read, listen to music and write short stories. I love being a homebody. When I say that out loud, it sounds foreign to me, yet slightly familiar and comforting. I was the kid who was the first one by the door with my shoes on whenever I heard the car keys jingle. Most of my childhood was spent outdoors, traveling across the country, and visiting friends and family. We were a busy family. I loved our home as a young girl and we all took great pride in keeping it beautiful, but I just loved traveling and being on-the-go. You wouldn’t know it looking at me now. Most days, I’m lucky if I go outside at all. I take the garbage out and get the mail every day and once a week I go out and start my car just to blow the dust off of the engine. With Covid-19, I’ve learned that having your groceries delivered and the occasional meal dropped off at my front door from Grubhub allows me to stay inside even more. Working from home means I’m here every day, 24 hours a day. I have no reason to leave except for church and the rare meet for Mexican food on a mid-week night with my kids. Life has narrowed way down to a shortlist. I’m not complaining, but I started wondering how many people really know me anymore. I’m not asking that in a negative way or to see if anyone knows my entire life…I just thought it would be fun to make a “getting to know you” list of questions. I promise to answer them as honestly and simply as I can. (I made up these questions, so that leaves me some control in the responses)… Just saying!
I’ll be the interviewer and the interviewee.
Who is your favorite Bible hero?
That’s a tough one, but I love Esther and Tamar – brave women indeed!
Who’s your favorite superhero?
That would depend if we were going with Marvel or DC? My favorite Marvel superhero is IronMan and in the DC universe, it would be Flash.
If you could live anywhere in the United States, where would it be?
In a beach bungalow or cottage by the sea! Always. Duh!
What’s your biggest fear?
Being insignificant or invisible
Favorite family vacation?
Washington DC/New York/Williamsburg
What would you change about yourself, if you could?
My first response is “how much time do you have?” along with all of the typical lists: healthier, thinner, wiser, funnier, etc… My second response is that all the changes done on my part would be temporary, and the changes that really matter are the ones where God is doing the molding.
What makes you angry?
Child abusers and disrespectful people.
What motivates you to work hard?
Bills and dreams.
What are a few of your proudest accomplishments?
The birth of my two children; Graduation from college at 54 years old and first published short story.
What’s your favorite book series?
Not a fair question for a lover of books; however, I will have to admit that the most influential fictional book series that I have ever read is The Mark of the Lion Trilogy by Francine Rivers. If you ever get the chance…read it.
Who makes you laugh?
The ones who make me truly have that deep-down, can’t breathe, belly laugh is my kids, my granddaughter Hannah and Martin Short. Yes, Martin Short is an actor/comedian that is hilarious. At least his older stuff…I’ve never seen anything over the last 10 years or so. Also, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) is funny, funny, funny. I remember years ago watching Mr. Bean with my grandson, Yuri, when he was 1 year old, and believe it or not, Yuri would bust out laughing when Mr. Bean did something hilarious. The words didn’t matter…his actions and body language were what made him so accomplished at his job.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to sing in a famous gospel singing group; I wanted to be an airline stewardess; I wanted to be a famous ice skater like Peggy Fleming and a writer of books. I also wanted to have lots of babies. You have to understand, I went through many phases. I evolved. I did end up singing in a trio with my best friends through many years at church…good times! I was too short to be an airline stewardess and after one or two summers of ice skating lessons, I was told I had weak ankles and would never skate like Peggy Fleming (heartbreaker). I have written hundreds of short stories and continue to dream of one day having them put into a book for publishing or finish the many long novel stories I’ve started but am too afraid to finish for fear they’ll be rejected!!! Whew, that was a long sentence…That dream is still in progress. As for the many babies…I had two. They are my pride and joy, and being a mom was one of the things in my life I absolutely loved doing. Those two babies gave me five grandbabies, and I couldn’t be happier.
If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?
Sit by the ocean (or better yet, lay in a hammock close enough to the ocean to see the waves)… drink my favorite iced coffee or Pina Coladas and write or read to my heart’s content.
Your favorite game or sport to play or watch?
I love baseball; playing it (when I was young) or watching it from the ballpark, or even listening to the play-by-play on the radio is all magic. The crack of the bat, the fresh-cut grass, the popcorn and hotdogs, and 7th inning stretch singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame…” Awww, the days of Summer.
Would you rather ride a horse, bike, or car?
Car
What would you sing on Karaoke Night?
I think it would be fun to sing “Let It Rain” by Crowder and Mandisa! Or another might be, “Enough” by Koryn Hawthorne. When I think of Karaoke Night, I think of fun style songs! By the way, I’ve never done Karaoke before. It’s on my bucket list.
What kind of music do you listen to?
That’s another unfair question for someone who lives and breaths music. I’m a moody listener. I have lots of playlists that are named for nearly every circumstance I would need. Examples: Gettin My Worship On, Rainy Day Jazz, Mellow Mornings, Monday Motivator, Tenacious Tuesday, Whatever Wednesday, Thursday Night Inspiration, Friday Fun, Soul Saturday, A Day at the Beach, Ocean Reflections, Road-trip Anyone? and lots more. I love music, whether new or old classics, it doesn’t matter. As long as it moves me, physically, spiritually, emotionally, or mentally, I love music. Not all music, but that which changes me for the better, then yes. Whether its southern gospel greats, which I cut my teeth on, and went to the old fashioned all-night singin’s like The Happy Goodmans, The Statesmen, The Kingsmen, Dottie Rambo to name a few classics that I love. Newer traditional groups like The Gaither Vocal Band, The Collingsworth Family, and many others also play a part. I also love The black gospel greats, both men and women. A few of my favorites are Mahalia Jackson, CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Tasha Cobbs, Andrea Crouch, Larnell Harris, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and way too many more to name. I love classical (Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Yo-Yo-Ma and Itzak Perlman) and classic jazz (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald) and on and on. I also love musicals (Disney primarily) but a few others also. Acoustical guitar vibes in the evening with a cup of coffee is also a perfect way to end the day. Like I said, my taste for good music that speaks to my soul, is wide and various. My dad taught us, kids, to love many different styles of music. He truly gave us an appreciation, but also an understanding that music is a gateway to the soul. Music is a powerful tool. God and Satan both use that channel, so be wise what you allow in.
Which would you rather do- Wash dishes; mow the grass; clean the bathroom or vacuum?
Wash dishes first and my second choice would be to vacuum.
If you could choose to hire someone to help, what would it be for? cleaning, cooking, or yard-work?
Yardwork
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Breakfast
Who’s your favorite author?
Unfair as I’m a lover of books. Too little time to list them all, however here are a few in various genres: Francine Rivers, Ted Dekker, Joel Rosenberg, Rachelle Dekker, Lynette Easton, Diana Gabaldon, Celeste DeBlasis (RIP), Dan Brown, Daniel Silva and I’m not immune to a good romance every now and then, so Nicholas Sparks is on my list too.
Have you ever had a nickname?
Yes, PDB and Flatnose Siwash (don’t ask)
Do you like surprises?
Depends. If there are a bunch of people involved, then no. If it’s one person that shows up at my door or a gift (flowers, card) or letter left on my desk, then YES. (I’ll take food too…cookies, cupcakes, cheesecakes or bags of coffee beans).
Hawaii or Alaska for a visit?
Hawaii – duh…ocean girl here! Icebergs do not count.
Win the lottery or have the perfect job?
Win the lottery. Period. Since I don’t play, that will never happen, so I suppose the perfect job will have to prevail. Even though I know there is no perfect job. And I really really like my job. But if I picked up a lotto ticket on the ground tomorrow and it was a winner – a big winner—I’d quit my very likable job. Just being honest here.
Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island?
Oh man, I don’t like this question. I think about this sometimes and always try to figure out who would be great with making something out of nothing for a possible escape. The only name I can come up with is McGuyver. I would also need someone that could sing (maybe a couple so we can have some harmony)…Mahalia Jackson and Andrea Crouch sound really good to me. And of course, there should be at least one superhero, so maybe Flash so he can speed around the island and keep us posted of any intruders that would try to do us harm. He could also help McGuyver out. A good storyteller would be awesome, so maybe Peter who could also catch fish for us to eat. Esther would be a great asset too since she’s brave and queenly. Honestly, I don’t know. Fire, food, shelter, and a plan of escape are the things we’d need. Sometimes the weakest person can do incredible things when forced to survive.
If you could go back in time, what year or time period would you choose?
As much of a lover of history I am, I can’t honestly say I’d want to live in any of them. They all had their good and bad, pleasant, and horrific times. Wars, plagues, etc…I actually like the time I live in right now. If I could round up all the good parts of each era over the last 500 years and make one great time period, I’d do that. If I did that, something would be missing. It would be the heart and character of the people. I believe each generation of people, no matter how far back you go, had an essence if you will around them. The Jews during the Holocaust, the Christians during the Roman Games where thousands of Christians were murdered in the coliseums; the generation of men and women that voluntarily served during the second world war, known as the greatest generation. As horrible as those times were, it’s what built character and heroes and warriors.
For now, that’s all the interview questions and answers about me. There are more, but I believe I’ve given you enough tidbits about myself to last a lifetime. I’d love it if you would respond and choose at least one of the questions to answer about yourself.
Happy Thursday, and stay safe out there.
Pam Torres | Author 