Lucy. by Lucy.

*SPEAKERS ON PLEASE*

Also, please note that all bloggers names below serve as links to their blogs as well....click the names and you are there kids!

THE BLOGGER INQUIRER issue # 13

"For Blogging Minds Who Need To Know" ...

...But any therapist or psychiatrist will tell you that ‘not communicating’ always causes far more societal problems than it solves. And let’s face it: it’s not the topic that causes the rage. It is our desire for respect, coupled with our sense of self-pride, that puts us on the defensive. It’s our overwhelming desire to ‘speak’ – and our reluctance to ‘listen’.

This traditional advice - handed down from generation to generation - is intended to prevent heated exchanges and endless feuding that often occurs when we feel our most passionate values are being challenged.

But any therapist or psychiatrist will tell you that ‘not communicating’ always causes far more societal problems than it solves. And let’s face it: it’s not the topic that causes the rage. It is our desire for respect, coupled with our sense of self-pride, that puts us on the defensive. It’s our overwhelming desire to ‘speak’ – and our reluctance to ‘listen’.

At times, most of us resort to ‘labeling’ in order to designate the placement of others along a continuum of two extremes. Often, we use these ‘labels’ to totally dismiss the other person’s views. And when ‘labels’ replaces ‘dialogue’ – that’s when real trouble begins.

Is there a possibility that a new healing dialogue can be fostered?

Can we speak to one another?

Can we hear one another?

Can we come to appreciate each other at a level deeper than the merely "politically correct" virtue of tolerance?

The answer is most definitely “YES”.

The two keys are ‘listening’ and ‘mutual respect’.

My ‘rum and cokes’ and Richard’s beer probably helped a bit, too. T-Con (of “Overlooking Orlando”) once told me he can learn something from anyone. And that’s why he tries to extend respect to every person and listen to what they have to say carefully. No matter how much he disagrees with them.

When Richard interviewed me earlier this month, he set the tone by extending this same courtesy. I tried to reciprocate. And before we knew it, we found out we had much more in common than we ever dreamed.

Now, we’d like to turn the tables. It’s my turn to open up my ears more than my mouth, and allow Richard to have the spotlight.

I hope you enjoy our ability to “dialogue” as much as we did.

But – more importantly – I hope it’s contagious!

MOKIE JOE

INTERVIEW:

R.E. KNOWLTON III - Conducted by MOKIE JOE

Friday- Sept 8th, 2006

First of all, let's check the reviews concerning the interview you conducted with me that appeared on "The Blogger Inquirer" on September 3rd…

"Inspired interview - intelligent guys with differing points of views coming together for a funny and interesting chat and sharing a cigarette after...I love it! “ COLO

"These must be two of the sharpest guys around." KRISTIN

"This was the best interview yet. A little joking, a little poking, and a lot of serious!" HEATHER

"Maybe the lesson is we need to stop taking politics so seriously that we can’t interact with others. Good job, men. Good job." GIRL PREACHER

"Outstanding to all...LUCY, RE and MJ! Warm, jovial conversation... great exchange.... a flowing interview...graphics unbelievable!! Let's hear the applause for ALL !!!! ANONYMOUS

"They are two sharp guys!" LUCY

Oh, and one more….

"The politics was the only thing that we seemed to disagree on and even some of that we are not that far gone from each other that we can not see each others foothold and grounding."

R.E. KNOWLTON III

"Holy Toledo, Batman! In this day and age when everyone in power uses our philosophical and political differences to divide and conquer us, do you think there's a lesson to be learned here."

MOKIE JOE

I honestly think that most of us want the same things.

We want to be left alone by the Federal Government, we want no Federal taxes, we want to be protected and cared for.

We want to do 'our thing' and, as a whole, we try our damn best to extend that out to all of our fellow men and women.

It all comes down to how we go about it.

Sounds like a sound libertarian reply to me. And I like it.

What's the difference between a Libertarian and a Republican?

The political spectrum of things offers us more shades of colour than the definitions of each would allow.

I am a right leaning Libertarian.

That makes me a ‘poster nut bag’.

My best definition of the difference of the two, is that one recruits during election time in front of supermarkets… and one does not. It is a matter of finance and people/number grabbing.

This is why I am a registered a Republican.

It is also at the very bloody and well-walked feet of the two-party system we implore and lick up in this USA.

‘Implore and Lick Up....’

Ah, truer words have never been spoken.

Now, let's talk about your childhood.

You - Richard Earl Knowlton III - have written "My Dad is an AMAZING man who has contributed more to me, both good and bad, than anyone else on Earth."

You describe him as an 'outdoorsman in New Hampshire' - and your grandfather as a WWII veteran who played basketball with Michigan State.

Tell us more about the influence both men (Richard I and Richard II) have had on who you are today.

Well, the grandfather you speak of is on the maternal side.

As far as ‘R.E. I’ and ‘R.E. II’, I like to think of myself as a well-prismed combo of both. I am a very real person. I do not mince words. I stand tall, and sometimes too mighty.

In my ideal world, I would be what both of them had wanted for themselves:

A plot of land, a contribution to the World, and a little down time to wonder, "WTF?"

Not to mention a nice lady who cares about me!

Those nice ladies have a way of smoothing over the rough times, don't they?

They do, and I have been somewhat of a ladies man in my day. Not a De Bergerac but rather a Bukowski.

I am lucky, blessed, and down right amazed to have my Lady.

She IS my soul.

Lucky, blessed and downright amazed? I empathize with you completely.

However, gender confusion seems to be a family tradition with the Knowltons.

Your father calls his wife Ralphie. You call your lady Charlie.

What's the origin of this long-standing running joke?

It is a ‘naming fetish’ more than anything. We are creative men who are attractive. More due to their intelligence and creativity, than anything else.

I like ‘naming’ much like my hero, Frank Zappa.

That is THE most fun about writing -- not only my posts but also my poetry. I even do it out on the chain gang, in regards to buildings and places.

Ahh...Zappa! Will there ever be such a man again?

EDITOR'S NOTE

Okay, hold the presses!

How about some Zappaisms from Lucy ?

Lucy's all time favorite: "Don't eat the yellow snow"

(My four year old son even says it now...lol)

"Stupidity has a certain charm - ignorance does not."

"Art is making something out of nothing and selling it."

"Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny."

"If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library."

"Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff."

"All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff."

OKAY SORRY, RESUME BOYS....

No there will not be. Just ask Havlec. He ruled the world, very inconspicuously, from the music tab that he scribbled on. I gave five years of my undivided attention to FZ, and I have more to ‘get on with’ from that experience than most take from church. I respect his sobriety and aversions to libation.

Zappa was an influence.

But you have also credited author/musician Les Claypool (known best for his work with the alternative rock band Primus) as a significant influence in your life.

Claypool's newly released fictional book "South of the Pumphouse" (a dark tale of brothers, murder, drugs, and fishing) has been compared to the works of another of your major influences: Gonzo journalist - Hunter S. Thompson.

You have also said you "would be far better off being Arnold Ziffel (the pig that thinks he's human on "Green Acres)"

As opposed to Maynard G. Krebbs (Bob Denver's beatnik from Dobie Gillis).

All this leads me to believe that you see yourself somewhat of a 'Bohemian' or 'Non-Conformist'.

Is that a fair assessment?

I am a rebel at heart. This is my attraction to Libertarianism.

I believe in legalized drugs that are mandated and profited from by the Federal 'Drug Stores' - much like state liquor stores.

I believe in 'give me my land and piss off'.

I am the guy that flips up the reverse peace/victory symbol of 'fascism' and yells fascism at them.

But I also know that in this country, it is their right to be a corporate prick.

I just don't want the system to overcome me. I think we need a complete revision of government.

I am a hippie… a rebel… a revolutionary.

Why do you think I look this way?

My ultra fav is 19th century Russian literature. Dostoevsky is a hero!

I hold true to my home state/birth rite motto of 'Live Free or Die'.

But at the same time, I'm impressed that you are not afraid to show your vulnerable side, such as "I Miss My Nana."

I don't want to make this painful, but who is Nana and what influence has she had in your life?

She was an anal-retentive, controlling bitch.

She was so WWII that you could flip quarters off the beds she made every morning.

She made breakfast to order - even if it was just for one.

She baked.

She prepared.

She shopped at five different stores for culinary consumption.

She had X-mas bought for in the proceeding February.

She was very formal.

I remember it being a privilege to light the candles every night for dinner upon her visits.

When she was growing up, her dad - my "Bumper Jackson" - took her down to the fishing docks of Boston. They would buy bags of lobster bodies for almost nothing.

She taught me how to pick a lobster body apart. I can get two sandwiches from a body alone - no tails or claws or legs- just bodies.

She tanned like a berry in the summer, and we would use ‘Sea & Ski’ to make it feel better.

She called me her 'Little Whistler’'.

Now that you asked, my mind is flooding and I am quite emotional.

I'm assuming that Nana was your grandmother.

That's exactly what I called both my grandmothers.

She was my Dad's Mom, who passed away in 2004.

I'm sorry for your loss.

My maternal grandmother died in 1964.

My paternal grandmother passed away about 30 years later.

My paternal grandmother was very D.A.R -- very proper and very etiquette-minded.

(Excuse me...editor's note again...what is D.A.R,?)

Was it a generational thing, you think?

I have come to appreciate the generation separation more than you would know. I even feel it, although I’m a flagellum of the Gen X.

(Me, Lucy again....flagellum?...someone help me here!)

Generations are much harder to define than I think anything else. I would rather think of it as ‘age-appropriate moral and living’ coding.

For a while, I thought of myself as a WWII'er trapped in a Gen X'ers body, or age bracket as it were.

I have more in common with ’40-plus’ than I do ’30- under’.

I am a very serious guy who knows how to blend.

I feel more comfortable with people at least ten years older, sometimes thirty.

You also seem to get a kick out of those much younger than yourself.

I enjoyed reading all the nicknames you have for your daughter.

I get the impression that 'Morgan Abbagail' - 'Mrs. Magoo' - 'Gooners' - 'Hambone' - 'Crazy Larry' - 'Ready Freddy' - 'Princess' - 'Silly Gillie' - 'Giggler' Knowlton I" …(deep breath here)…is the light of your life.

Would I be wrong in my assumption?

She is my life.

I was very distraught to find her arrival impending. It was just before my nervous breakdown.

I have loved my daughter more than anyone, ever.

She is a little ‘me’ -- to the point that she gets in trouble with her mama for the same reasons that I would, if we were still together.

I plan on moving to South Carolina, Georgia, or Florida… once my legal battle is done.

I want to see my 'Hambone' every day. I miss her terrible.

Having her keeps me level.

If I don’t move there, I will move home to Massachusetts, so I can at least be a day away from her.

I love my Morgan Abbagail.

I was her primary parent for almost a year. I fed her and put her to bed; I was home from work at 7 a.m., so I took care of her all day ... she loves her Daddy.

Oh, I understand.

My son is taller than I am, but I'm still his 'top guy'. I always see myself in my child. And he awakens so many memories.

Does Morgan Abbagail do that for you - despite the gender difference?

She IS me.

Her mother comments on it all the time. She has a very snide sense of sarcasm, and has been that way since she was three.

She loves to mock and impersonate.

She is very creative and she has been to more states at the ripe ol' age of five than most grown-ups.

She is my angel. My focus.

If my life were to completely fall apart, I would walk to Florida to be with my 'Gooners'.

Sometimes, being “me” gets you a time out or time in the corner.

I respect her for that - lol....

I'm glad to see another proud Papa. The world needs more of them.

Finally, as a journalist, I always learned to ask one simple question that has often led to great things:

Is there something about 'you' that I'm missing?

Is there a something you want to reveal about yourself, but I didn't ask?

The biggest thing (much to the dismay of some) is that I am ‘me’.

I tell the truth.

I show respect.

I say ‘please’, ’thank you, sir’, and ‘ma'am’.

I try to offer up a query of 'Are you ok?' or 'Is there anything I can do to help you?'

This is viewed by most as insane; especially here in Southern California.

I try to be as real as possible ALL the time. I even respond with 'I am horrible' - if I am asked how you are doing and that is how I am doing.

I am too honest for my own britches.

You just mentioned where you live. All right......

I overheard this joke at work late last year:

"Why is Southern California like a box of Raisin Bran?

Because even if you take out all the fruits, you are still left with nothing but flakes."

You may not find it a good joke, but it does give you an idea what the red states are saying about your 'neck of the woods’.

Here are two questions:

Does L.A. deserve its nickname as "Holly-weird"?

And as a 'libertarian with right leanings', do you ever feel like an outsider living in Orange County, California?

I am living in the most Republican county in the country.

I grew up in Massachusetts, which is very liberal -- but has it's own defeat when confronted with the true and blue (or red) stature.

When I was a crazy liberal… when I shaved my head and not let the locks flow... I found Orange County to be a liberal bastion of meth, diversity and surfer dudes who were offering me up sacks of 'Motta' everywhere I went.

You could be ‘punk rock’ - and rock on in the face of the birthplace of Nixon.

Growing up north of Boston, I realized an ‘elitist Ivy League mentality’ that was much different than the polls and generalizations would lead you to believe. I felt more like a conservative in MA than I do here - where I HATE everything that IS Orange County.

I wish I could meet WHIT and have coffee to discuss it face to face, he only lives about twenty minutes from me.

That would be a goal before I leave So Cal and tread and trek back Eastern bound, where I smile more. ‘

'Out here- is too here'…if that makes any sense.

Sure. That makes sense.

But my 15-year-old son just read your last reply, and is now asking a question:

What is 'Motta'?

(Lucy is scratching her head wondering the same thing)

LOL - It is Mexican for 'grass' - aka Marijuana.

Thank you for contributing to my son's education.

OK...ready for the fun stuff?

'Get 'er done".

Thanks, Larry….er…I mean Richard.

OK, the Blog Stream Inquirer required three - plus one.

What is playing in your tape deck, CD player, I-Pod, or on the ole' record player?

I am listening, as always to Frank Zappa.

Along with that, I hear the melodies of:

Pizzacato Five, The Band, D.J. Scribble's Dance Party Volume One, Wu Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, The Dead, and of course Dwight Yoakham - with a pinch (or maybe more so) of Graham Parsons - with Dylan thrown in for good measure.

Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is one of my fav's.

Well, it’s almost time for our boot heels to be wandering.

Next question:

What five bloggers would you care to meet in person?

OK ... this is one I have thought far and tall and above on...

YOU and WHIT are “give-me's”, right?

So...

KRISTIN - Due to her fabulous comedy.

LAGNIAPPE - Because of his beyond intelligent view of 'F' yeah'.

MIZMACEY- Due to the psychological bond we hold.

HEATHER- Because I know the dance will ensue.

CHANDA BEAR - As I know her to be the most righteous thing to happen to me from the south beyond BIGGIE T, MR. ODOM, and many others.

I do wish to meet ZAPPA FAN, CAPT'N, and BIG CHRIS ...

But five is not enough.

I was put under pressure.

And of course, LUCY'S top priority question:

Boxers, briefs, or the banana hammock?

(Editor's note....I don't even know where this question originated...I don't even know what a 'banana hammock' IS ! Is it a "Man Thong" ?)

I am a banana hammock kind of guy, but my torso girth kind of repels regarding my wants.

So I go with a fabulously tight-fitting brief.

I like security, tight, like a blanket -

I am Linus: We need security somewhere, if only in our Jockey's.

What about the best/worst Presidents question you asked her during our last interview.

Is that a pre-requisite?

That is one of mine, but I will sum it down to two fav's of either political party.

Go for it.

Favourites: Madison, Roosevelt (Teddy), Nixon

Ad I am sure I will be hung for the last; but I am sure we would have suffered death by China if not for him.

Worst: First John Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and Woodrow Wilson. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

However, I should tell you that John Adams was my Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Uncle?

I'm not joking. I'm serious.

My stepfather is related to Grover Cleveland.

We make sense.

We sure do. And you know what? I agree with you.

My Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Uncle was a complete dick head.

So let's talk ‘guy-to-guy’.

If we were not committed to other ladies, which one of the Blog Steam women would most likely enter your fantasies as you fall asleep?

(It's Lucy again...this has to be one of the best questions...!)

WOW!

I'm putting you under more pressure now.

Uh-oh...

Hot-bedded question.

I feel like red beans and rice - lol ....

As your ‘Governator’ says – No Pain, No Gain.

But let me be nice. I'll answer, if you answer first.

Fair enough?

KRISTIN or MACEY or HEATHER - all of which for completely - COMPLETELY different reasons.

Very good.

I will agree with you concerning KRISTIN. I couldn't believe how much I had in common with her as I read her interests.

HEATHER is a beautiful and intelligent girl, but I also like COLO and CHERRY and LUCY and...well, just about every gal that's given me a compliment.

I am a sucker for a feminine compliment.

How about you?

I cannot comment about LUCY - we all know why.

I like COLO since we talked on the Blog Stream Anniversary Party, we cleared up the comment that got me banned from WHITS . She had no idea!

I wish that WHIT would talk to me again, forgive me, and let me be able to comment. I am not that bad of a guy to be referred to as a 'mosquito'.

As far as SHERRY goes, I have enjoyed her ‘back and forth’ with me in the chat room, and her comments (which I thought impossible, as of her comments on you and WHIT). But she now promises to call me the 'Hula HO Commander' which I LOVE.

HEATHER and I rock on. She is a queen.