How did you end up in Idaho?
We're both from Texas but we moved to New York City for work in the late-90s. We were there for about 6 years but it just never became home. Some people absolutely love New York. We did too for the first year and then it just got old. It can be a lonely, hard place. In some ways our move to rural Idaho was a delayed reaction to September 11th, but not 100%. We had been saying for years that we'd love to move to the mountains (specifically Jackson Hole) and that it seemed like most people had it all backwards by living in the city and vacationing in the country. In a way, it was our dream. When we were finally burned out on the city life, we headed west on a long vacation to clear our heads. And boy did our heads get clear. We realized that although we needed to get rich before we could live in Jackson Hole, there was a lovely area that looked and felt just like it on the other side of the Tetons in Idaho. Some people call it the back of the Tetons, but that just depends on how you look at it.
What made you name your son Huckleberry?
Honestly, we both just thought it was the best name we'd ever heard. Classically American but fun and unique too. It was really only ever a matter of becoming inured to the naysayers. His first name is actually Benjamin, so if "Huck" ever becomes too much of a burden, he's got a fall back. But I have a strange feeling it won't. He fits his name well. And with as many Finn's and Sawyer's around these days, surely there's room for a Huck or two. Our only problem with the name is that you can't exactly name the next one Joshua or Emily, you know? We've got some work to do....
Did you name your daughter after the pancakes?
Despite the fact that Aunt Jemima does indeed make a very good pancake mix and syrup, no. Like Huckleberry, we just really liked the name Jemima, and didn't really care that many consider it "strange." It only carries the pancake connotation here in the US. It's a much more popular name in the UK and was a more popular name here in the US until the early 1900's when it was first used in advertising. It also fits our no-fail name formula of Old Testament + Fruit: Benjamin Huckleberry & Jemima Plum--Jemima was the beautiful oldest daughter of Job. It's unlikely we'll have a third child, which is good, or you could one day be reading all about the antics of little Hezekiah Kiwi.
What kind of camera do you use?
Okay, no one really asks me this. But only 3 FAQs seemed lame. If someone did ask me about my camera, I would tell them it's an Ultra compact Sony CyberShot DSC-T70, or something like that. I like it for it's portability. It can fit in your back jeans pocket. But the stability leaves something to be desired and as my son gets older, I'm finding that this camera can't keep up with him. It's been mostly blurry shots for the past 6 months it feels like. I'm really wanting a Canon Rebel xti or a Nikon D-40 or even maybe Canon G9. It might just be what I ask Santa for this year.
Feel free to ask any other questions.
