Music of the Day: Jonathan Butler, Celebration

Welcome readers of Average Joe! This is the first of what I hope will be a series of interviews with Better Than Average People (BTAP). As most of you know, I have been keeping this blog active for close to two years and, to date, it has been comprised primarily of my opinions on books, politics, current events, and my ramblings on items that can only be called “personal.” This new endeavor gives me the opportunity to branch out a bit and to let other folks, Better Than Average People, to express themselves here on a variety of subjects. So, let’s begin!

AJ: You are about to complete an undergraduate degree while working at least one, and sometimes two, jobs to support yourself. What do you think are the two or three most valuable lessons you’ve learned from your experience?

BTAP: One really important thing I’ve learned about myself is that I have to be doing a lot of things to maintain my sanity. I get bored very easily and having lots of different options for recreation, education (whether it be organized or self-imposed), and work keeps me from feeling like I’m wasting time. I used to think that I had to pick one thing to focus on but that approach never worked for very long. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Another thing that I’ve come to realize lately is that I am much happier if I’m working less and spending more time doing the other things I love. I enjoy both of my jobs, and I enjoy them even more because I don’t work either of them full-time, but doing crazy shit at the crag or on the mountain really makes me feel alive, and powerful, scared sometimes too.

AJ: I think I know the answer to this question, but I’m going to ask anyway: If you had to choose between going to a movie or spending the same amount of time reading, which would you do?

BTAP: Depends. Normally I hate going to movies. The whole experience insults my sensibilities. You’re usually paying for garbage, but that isn’t the worst of it. I can’t sit still. By the time the movie is halfway done I can’t think of anything but getting up out of those damned chairs. Conversely, I’m a very picky reader. I won’t just breeze through anything, I have to be involved. Also, as I said before, I get bored easily so I may really be interested in a particular book but don’t make a lot of time for reading because I’ve got so much other stuff going on. I go through phases.

AJ: People who read Average Joe’s blog are literate, intelligent, attractive people; tell these folks what you think are the four or five most important books that you’ve read and would recommend to others?

BTAP: A Game of Thrones: Martin, George R.R. [This is] wonderful adult fantasy. We are definitely not talking Harry Potter here. The scope of the storytelling is vast, the characters are palpably human, and the action is brutal and unexpected. Caution: It’s a series, four books long so far, about 1000 pages each and the time between books is an eternity, so read slowly. Warriors of God: Reston, James Jr. A brilliantly told history of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin during the third Crusade. It’s already an engrossing subject that is only compounded by Reston’s ability to not write like your average historian, but with the lives of those he writes about in mind. Food Lovers Companion: Herbst, Sharon T. Basically it’s a dictionary for anybody who cares about food. There are no recipes but it can be an invaluable tool in the kitchen. I flip through it just to learn new kinds of crazy stuff people eat. Catch 22: Heller, Joseph. You just can’t beat the humor, or the stunning tragedy in this book. I think it takes a somewhat crazy person to appreciate this book to the degree that I do. I have friends who couldn’t stand trying to read this book because of its non-sequential, overlapping progression. If you like Catch 22 then check out Slaughterhouse Five and Cat’s Cradle by [Kurt] Vonnegut.

AJ: Choose one: The Allman Brothers Band, Culture Club, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones, or Dave Matthews.

BTAP: That’s a tough one. Of course Pearl Jam; I have something like 25 of their CDs. The Stones were money back in the day and the Allman Bros have some great stuff too. Culture Club and D[ave]M[atthews]B[and] are way down on the list. Way down.

AJ: You have been doing a lot of fishing since your recent knee surgery; have you caught anything yet and, if not, what are you going to do differently, or does actually catching fish matter to you?

BTAP: Yeah, I’ve caught a couple of cats at the lake. I caught both of them about fifteen – twenty feet off the shore in the middle of the afternoon using anchovies with a bobber about three feet from the hook. It’s nice to catch fish, but that isn’t why I fish. Mostly it’s a way to feel like I’m doing something active without actually doing anything. Plus, you have to have those days where you don’t get squat to make catching a fish somewhat exhilarating.

AJ: You have been in the food-service industry for a very long time, considering your relative youth (28 y.o.); when did you first realize that cooking for others was one of your strongest passions?

BTAP: Simple. Good food makes me happy. I like that I can make other people feel happy when they eat my food. And I get to practice on them.

AJ: What is the best meal you have ever had?

BTAP: Canned tuna mixed with cream cheese and red onion on white bread. You’d be surprised how good that’ll taste after five days on the river.

AJ: Choose one: four wheel drive vehicle, sports car, pickup truck, motorcycle, speed boat.

BTAP: I choose my mountain bike. After twelve weeks of driving everywhere and another month of physical therapy looming before I’m able to ride again I just can’t wait to get out of the car.

AJ: What foreign country you would most like to visit, or live in, and why.

BTAP: I really want to go to Chile. No particular reason, I’m just enthralled by a country with a vast mountain range and coastline so close to each other. Plus, I love the wildness of the Patagonia region. It is a land of extremes and of extreme beauty.

AJ: You own four or five musical instruments—which is your favorite and why?

BTAP: Actually, I’m down to three now—my six-string [guitar], my twelve-string [guitar] and a violin. The six-string is my favorite by far though. I learned to play guitar with people, not through lessons. I feel this has made a huge difference in how I feel about music. There was never (or rarely) any thought of making money, it was just what we did when that particular group of friends were together. I miss that. Now I mostly play for myself. It’s therapeutic to just wail on the guitar for a while. But like everything in my life, my passion waxes and wanes at apparently random intervals.

AJ: Your sister is a couple of years older than you are; how are you two most alike and how are you most different from one another?

BTAP: We’re both alike in that we love each other very much. That wasn’t always the case, but I think that we’re very important to each other and I’m glad that we can say it to each other now. We’re also very different from each other, and not just in height. I think that I sometimes have a hard time accepting people for who they are, whereas my sister has a hard time accepting people for who they aren’t.

AJ: Bar sport you most prefer: Pool, darts, air hockey, foosball?

BTAP: For sheer drunken debauchery I’d have to go with air hockey. There’s little to no skill involved, it mostly just matters how hard you can hit the damned thing. Awesome.

AJ: If you had the opportunity to share a cab ride with a famous or important person, who would that person be?

BTAP: I’m going to pull a dead guy out of the hat and say Stevie Ray Vaughn. Damn that dude can play.

AJ: American city that you would most like to visit.

BTAP: Kodiak, Alaska. On Kodiak Island. It just screams adventure.

AJ: What are the three things in life that make you angry?

Just three? Okay, greedy people; people who feel entitled, to damn near anything; and people who don’t know how to cook a steak.

AJ: Is the glass half empty or half full?

BTAP: If it’s a pint glass then the f****r is empty. We’ll just say half there. I’m a “middle path” kind of guy, not to get too Buddhist on you. Empty and full are modifiers that detract from the true nature of what is there: half a glass of…whatever.

AJ: Your parents didn’t take you to religious services when you were growing up; do you regret that? How would you describe your spiritual outlook? If you become a father, will you take your kids to religious services?

BTAP: I appreciate religion despite the almost total lack of religious influence from my parents. I’ve been to plenty of services on my own and have found that I just don’t buy it. Some people call it agnostic, but I just think that any claim of “knowing god” or “his will” is pretty damned arrogant. I don’t believe that the universe just blinked itself into existence, but I sure as hell am not going to spend my time trying to convince anybody that god is a big bearded dude in robes and sandals watching me twenty-four hours a day. How boring can you get?

AJ: Every college student has probably had one class that really had a huge impact—is that true for you and, if so, what was it about the class or the professor that made it special?

BTAP: Not really. The Advanced Placement English class my senior year of high school was pretty important to me because it really helped me understand what a skilled wordsmith can accomplish with language. Honestly, college has been kind of a bust in that respect.

Average Joe sends huge and major thanks to the first Better Than Average Person for taking the time to answer these questions with candor. More of these interviews will follow in the months ahead.

And, as always, thanks for reading Average Joe’s blog. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM’S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.