Getting to know Michael Pettay


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Michael Pettay

Your nickname on IRC, ICQ, AOL or whatever? The Goblin King

Name given at birth? Michael Jon Pettay

Nicknames? I'm sure I have some that I don't know about!

Favorite words or expressions? Cattywampus and 'the functional equivalent'

Hometown? Northhampton I guess

Occupation? Teacher ( can you believe it ! )  University of Florida/ Environmental Horticulture Dept.

Current residence? St. Petersburg, Florida

Dream job? Volunteer tour guide at Kew Gardens in London.  Retired and living off of my Lotto winnings!

Dream place to live? The Hundred Acre Wood

Croutons or bacon bits? Yuck !  Can I have sliced black olives instead?

Favorite salad dressing? Ranch or Greek

Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Not intentionally.  I had to retrieve my pants after someone else threw them in!

Do you make fun of people? Sometimes, when stuck in traffic behind people from Ohio!

Favorite colors? Hunter green and slate gray.

Have you ever been convicted of a crime? No.  Am I still on the list of usual suspects?

Favorite singers/bands? Tori Amos, Kate Bush, The Church, The Smiths, and an odd mixture of  traditional Irish stuff.

Favorite Christmas carol? John Denver - Christmas for Cowboys

Five of your favorite songs? Tori Amos - Cloud On My Tongue Kate Bush - Watching You Without Me The Church - Shadow Cabinet The Smiths - Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others John Whelan - Lorraine's Waltz

Favorite book? Elizabeth Coatsworth - The Cat Who Went To Heaven

Movie? Gary Oldman version

Hobbies? Aquariums, a spooky-ass cactus and succulent garden and lots of books!

Toothpaste? Anything with blue or green gel in it!

Favorite food? Sphaghetti with mushrooms, olives and butter.  ( Yum! )

Favorite car? The older Volkswagon vans.

Favorite town to chill in? Sedona, AZ

Favorite ice cream? Coffee

Favorite non-alcoholic drink? Diet Pepsi

Favorite alcoholic drink? Pepermint schnapps

Shampoo or conditioner? Anything green or blue that I have a coupon for.

Smoking or non? Quit ( well, mostly ) New Year's Eve of '82

Adidas, Nike or Reebok? Whatever it is they sell at Kmart.

One pillow or two? Not fussy, though I have to have a third so the cat wont sleep on top of my head!

Dogs or cats? Cats.  Dogs and gardens don't mix!

Brains or beauty? Are we still talking cats?  Actually, I'd better not say.  This is one of those questions that has a "right" answer!

Nick or Disney? Disney.  The women get better one-liners!

Jan or Marcia? Jan.  Marcia's voice was like nails on a chalkboard!

Greg or Peter? Greg.  The sly dog was rumored to be doing Florence!

Ginger or Marianne? Marianne.  I'm betting she would be less concerned with the grass stains on her white shorts!

Mick or Keith? For what?  Scaring children?  Though hats off for Hard Woman To Please.

Favorite perfume/cologne? Jessica McClintock

Favorite subjects at school? In highschool?  English I suppose.  I wasn't good at anything else until I finally went to college 15 years later.

Least favorite subject at school? I hated gym, though Marcus Fish often got me out of it by telling Coach Kane I was "in the weight room."

Favorite sport to watch? None, though my wife rather enjoys hockey and I have a great time watching her screaming and throwing things at the screen!

Humiliating moment? Let's not talk about that.  What goes around comes around.

Favorite Web sites? Karrawyn Long - The Rest of Me
The Phipps Conservatory
Kew Gardens
Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction sites

Do you get along with your parents? Yes

What do you look for in the opposite sex? First thing?  Nicely shaped hands.

Quirky things about you? I talk to the cats as though expecting an answer.

People would be surprised to know that... I briefly made my living modeling tuxedos at bridal shows!

Before you die, you'd like to? Visit Madagascar, learn to speak Gaelic, and get my damn credit cards paid off!

Something great that happened to you? That I've had so many good people in my life who loved me in spite of myself.

Something sad that happened to you? Two deaths, one divorce.  'nuff said.

Brush with death? Some of you might remember that I graduated from a hospital room.  I thought it was very nice of Mr. Muscaro to bring me my diploma there.  Let's skip the details though.  It involved a brain injury that some wags think goes a long way toward explaining some of my odd behavior!

Brush with stupidity? Well, maybe a few! 

Secret shame? If it's secret AND shameful why would I put it on a website that folk don't pay me to log into?

Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life? Brad Pitt - Go rent Twelve Monkeys and you'll see what I mean!

Heroes / role models? John Moutz ( my grandfather ), David Quammen, E.O. Wilson

Motto: Always wait until tomorrow before responding to someone who has made you angry.  Once the words are out of your mouth you can't take them back, and you might wish with all your heart that you could.

New York or California? New York Botanical Garden - too cool!

A cause I believe in: Wilderness.  There are places that we can only mar by our very presence.  

A perfect Saturday: Sitting on the back steps, with a cup of coffee and one of those Dolly Madison apple pies, watching the morning sun on my garden before the rest of the house wakes up.