Alice Gets Jack

(Polly: Surely you all remember the interview series? Well, this is a remnant of that. Alice interview Ramblin' Jack, and this is what happened:)

Alice: Do you still make pancakes with chocolate chips for Mrs. Poppins?

Jack: Yes, but not just chocolate chips. I take requests. I even do animal shapes.

Alice: Can you do dinosaurs? Specifically the T-Rex?

Jack: You bet! I once did an entire diorama of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. I made the Chicxulub impact crater out of blueberries.

Alice: Why is it that everyone wants to be a designer?

Jack: Because we're rock stars.

Alice: So you do a lot of drugs in your studio then?

Jack: I've given up the lifestyle and settled down. Now I only have the memories of my mis-spent youth, a few scars,  and a lingering infection.

Alice: How did you get the name Ramblin’ Jack? (try not to ramble on)

Jack: It's sort of an alter-ego kind of thing. The carefree, no responsibilities vagabond. The person I could have been had I turned left at the fork instead of right.

Alice: Are you saying that in real life your a Quiet Quincy?

Jack: The only Quincy I know was from a 70s TV series, and I see no parallels between myself and Jack Klugman, other than our names.

Alice: You didn’t really build that teardrop trailer from scratch did you?

Jack: Yes, I did. It's my own design.

Alice: What did Mrs. Poppins do while you were building that?

Jack: Polly helped some, but mostly just gave me space and listened to me blather on about it. Sometimes talking through a problem helps me think. Polly humors me and pretends to listen. She's the best.

Alice: Why teardrop then? Are you sad? Did building it make you cry?

Jack: That's just what they're called. I didn't name them. And no, I'm not sad, nor did I cry building it. Last time I cried was when Ellie died in Up. Absolutely heart-breaking.

Alice: Mac or PC?

Jack: Mac. I got my first Apple computer in '83 before there was such a thing as a Mac.

Alice: I was born in `83. Just sayin.

Jack: Does your mommy know you're using the internet? Just askin.

Alice: You’re reading Foreskin’s Lament by Shalom Auslander, right? I bet you love it so far?

Jack: The cover is quite fetching.

Alice: I'm begging you. Read it.

Jack: I will. We only have one copy and Polly and I read at different speeds, so it's awkward to read the same book at the same time. I'm actually already a fan of his from his bits on NPR/This American Life. Funny stuff.

Alice: Who does Polly like best? Probably me.

Jack: I think we both already know who's first. I'm second. Secret Lulu's third. You can all fight over the remaining slots. Please video tape it.

Alice: So, you can tell the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek, right?

Jack: I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Alice: I think I have a facebook fan page of the same name....

Alice: Do you want to host the next Mojo Party at your house?

Jack: Fine idea. No boas though. Polly hates cleaning house.

Alice: I think boas are non negotiable. AND even if Polly liked to clean house she'd be too busy the next day getting a late brunch with us so we would probably count on you for the clean up. AND you have a housekeeper so Polly can't be your excuse for no boas. How do you feel about ticker tape parades? (Not because we would have one but just because I'm curious).

Jack: Okay, at least get the non-shedding color-fast variety. And I generally feel that ticker-tape parades are frivolous and a waste of taxpayer money, especially if they occur in my house.

Comments

[Chance]

Jack the first computer I worked with was the Apple II e It took me all semester to write code to make a guy wave and have the background turn from sunshine to rain. Stick to you guns on the boas...I would suggest as an alternate...Tassels!

[a mom]

I have pink feathers ALL over my house. All the time. (It isn't from Keith or myself.) I would kill for a one-time boa party and a one-time clean up. I might have eaten a pink feather along with my Cap'n Crunch this morning. And there was one floating around in the bathroom when I dried my hair this afternoon. No joke.

[Alice]

Chance: Tassels! What an idea! Bwahahaha

A Mom: Can I come over?

Jack: I can't believe we didn't talk more about the movie Up. I cried, too. So did my 41 year old date. My 3 year old wasn't so moved.

[Pandora]

@Jack, totally teared up at UP! I also volunteer to help clean up the boa mess because I believe in a world where boas are mandatory at a dance party.

[The Dol]

The boa mess was actually remarkably easy to clean up, and I'm a pretty so-so housekeeper. Thank you, Dyson!

Jack, did you watch the movie "Trekkies?" So fun. Baby Doc and I enjoy watching movies that remind us we aren't alone in our geekitude.

And I cried during Up, too. Fabulous movie.

[Bookgirl]

I hated up. Yes, persecute me for it. I can take it.

Jack, I AM the one who's first, right? RIGHT?!?!?! And I have shown photo of that trailer to people who have never met you. It's that impressive.

A mom, I can't be positive, but I suspect that when I have little Genvieve, my mothering style is basically going to be yours. Feathers and all.

[Bookgirl]

And Pols, he just agreed to Mojo 2010 at your place. In writing. Let us know when we should book our tickets.

[Alice]

Bookie - you CRACK me up with the little Genny talk. Everyone knows you can't name it before it's conceived or it will surely be a BOY

[Polly]

@Alice, I named Secret Lulu "James" before she was conceived and she was a girl. I think that rule is true.

@Bookie, I like to be peripheral support to the Mojo party. If I were primarily responsible my head would explode. I think that Jack knew this when he agreed to host and, moreover, that he only agreed because he guessed that he wouldn't have to make good on the offer or that if he did have to make good he could console himself with a hefty life insurance payout when the aforementioned head explosion occurred.

I have never seen the movie UP.