A String of Pearls

On the interview show Inside the Actors’ Studio (which I’ve never seen, but is the impetus for today’s daily prompt), host James Lipton asks each of his guests the same ten questions. What are your responses?

• What is your favorite word?     I like the word accordingly. I feel the need to explain myself,  to explain my thinking and actions, and this word comes in handy during situations where this is required, especially when writing business letters.
• What is your least favorite word?     Jesus Christ, when used as an interjection or exclamation, is an indication of  insensitivity, or, worse, immaturity or ignorance.
• What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?     Enthusiasm will get me thinking creatively, whether it is my own or someone else’s. The incredible beauty of nature and the adaptations of its species ignites my spirituality. I am moved emotionally when I sense, even briefly, that I matter, that I am essential to someone’s well-being, when there is evidence that I inspired someone to want to change or make a difference. I am equally moved when I sense my insignificance in the grand scheme of things.
• What turns you off?     People who overly project themselves on others or into a normal social setting turn me off. It could be a smell–cigarette smoke, perfume, body odor; a loud voice or car stereo; an out of control or excessively active body; or stepping, uninvited, into my personal space.
• What is your favorite curse word?     I get a kick out of strings of profanity that people let loose when they are completely frustrated:  “Goddamnmotherfuckinpieceofmotherfuckinshit…” When I am at my wit’s end, I deliberately spew one of these and it always makes me smile and lightens up the situation. A perfect example is the scene in A Christmas Story when the 1940s dad crashes down the basement stairs to do battle with the furnace. Black smoke poofs through the vent into the kitchen where the wife and children sit, stunned, as he “weaves a tapestry of obscenity that as far as we know is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.”
• What sound or noise do you love?     I love the sound of silence. Not complete silence (is there such a thing?), but the silence that compels you to listen to all those sounds that your brain typically filters out–the wind, the hum of the refrigerator, the breaths of your child. Another type of silence is that which enables one to get completely lost in thought, lost to their surroundings, listening only to that  in the mind. And then there’s the sound of a comfortable silence, when I’m with someone who totally gets me, who already understands what I’m feeling and no words are needed. This is the sound that often comes along for the ride on a road trip through beautiful country.
• What sound or noise do you hate?     I hate the sound of silence. The sound of no talking, no interacting, no taking chances. The silence that follows a one-word answer. The silence that understates your value. It is the sound of walking on eggshells, of tiptoeing around passive aggression, of resentment. This was the predominant noise in my house for too many years.
• What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?     I would do well with any career that recognizes initiative, rate of production, and results and compensates accordingly.
• What profession would you not like to do?     I have no interest in touching strangers’ bodies or hair. I would, therefore, not enjoy hands-on medical work, styling hair, or giving pedicures.
• If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?     Come on in and you will see that everyone is here. You were right to believe that I would welcome everyone.

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