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Nora, Through Dan's Eyes
by
Melinda (aka
MelindaSt)
As I've gotten to know
Nora in the last few months, I've also been
fortunate enough to be introduced to her two sons,
Dan and Jason. Now besides a quick Hi and Bye
relayed by Nora, I haven't had a chance to "meet"
Jason, but I hope that will change in the future.
Dan, as many of you know, has participated in
several of our "chats". Besides being funny, sweet,
and a flirt, he is a genuinely a nice guy. When I
asked if he would share a little of his "family"
with us he was in his words "honored to answer my
questions".
Dan,
can you tell me a little about yourself and Jason?
Jason and I are brothers,
but I would say that we are very much different
people, and different personalities. Jason has
always been more interested in the arts, and
theatre and such. I have been more of the athlete
in the family I guess, really into sports and
stuff. Our tastes in music are very much the same I
would say, although I can't get into that Phantom
of the Opera stuff he listens to! :-) Jason is
definitely more outgoing, I think; he can go up to
someone and strike up a conversation much easier
than I can. He is definitely extroverted, whereas I
lean toward introversion ... I like a lot of time
to myself away from crowds and people. We are both
friendly though. As far as romance goes ... Jason
thinks more concretely. He leads with his mind, I
think; and on the other side, I think I'm more of a
hopeless romantic type. My mom says I always lead
with my heart, and sometimes that gets me into
trouble! ;-)
Dan, do
you remember when your mom sold her first book? If
yes, what was that like?
Do I remember when my mom
sold her first book? Mmmmmm, actually I don't
remember exactly when, but I remember it was
Irish
Thoroughbred, and
she was very excited. But back then I was too young
to really fully appreciate what was going on, all I
cared about was waking up and playing with toys and
beating up my little brother!
Dan, I
know Nora loves to garden, but does she have any
other "hobbies"? Does she collect
things?
My mom does love to
garden, in fact she LOVES to make me MULCH her damn
gardens ... hence my nickname <Mulch Boy>...
as far as other hobbies are concerned she does
collect crystal balls, and dragons, and magicians
and stuff like that. I always keep that kind of
thing in mind when it comes to Christmas or
Mother's day, she really enjoys that stuff ... She
also loves candles. And her number one hobby I
would say is, READING. The woman can't get enough
of it. She is constantly popping into the store and
gobbling up books to take home and sink into.
Dan,
what was it like having Nora for a Mother? Were you
and Jason able to go with her on book tours when
you were younger? What was it like?
Having Nora as a mother
was and is still great ... I mean, she would be so
wrapped up in her writing sometimes that I could
get away with all kinds of unruly stuff around the
house! Kidding ... No, to me, Mom has always been
mom first and a writer second. Maybe some people
would think that she couldn't have time to be a
really effective mother, and wouldn't have time to
spend with her kids writing all the time, but that
was never the case. She was always there for me,
taking me to Little League, helping me with
schoolwork, teaching me to drive ... all that kind
of stuff. And even to this day she is willing to
talk to me and help me out with any questions or
problems that I might have in a heartbeat. She has
always instilled in me great virtues and honest
sensibilities ... whoa, getting kinda deep in here
isn't it??? LOL! No, she is a great mom and that is
the bottom line. I'm very proud to have her.
Dan,
does Nora have a hard time with people recognizing
her everywhere she goes?
As far as having a hard
time being recognized everywhere she goes, no I
don't think that has ever really been a huge
problem. I mean, we live in a very small town, so
it's like even I am recognized everywhere I go! And
I haven't even done anything worthwhile yet!
LOL
Dan,
can you think of any funny stories involving your
mom? (She's told us about you having to sit on your
hands while driving in the car, because you were
misbehaving.)
Funny stories involving my
mom. Hmmmm, can't really think of anything to say
to that other than it's kind of funny she isn't in
a mental institution having to deal with me and
Jason all her life! ;-) As for me having to sit on
my hands, that's okay, I used to make her stand
with her nose in the corner when she grounded me
from watching Happy Days......
Dan,
she tells us BW (her husband) knows better than to
interrupt her when she's writing, because she can
get mean <BG>. Was it always like that? As a
kid did you try to get things by her while she was
writing, thinking she wasn't paying attention?
;-)
Yes she does get irritated
at Bruce when he is stomping around in her office
when she is trying to write, but that is just
Bruce, I don't think he will EVER learn! As for me,
I just keep my distance. Man, I hear the sound of
the keys on the keyboard being punched I just stay
away! Mom would sometimes get irritated at Jason
and me back in the days when we were being rowdy
and she was trying to write, but it wasn't all the
time.
I have to say, Nora is a
Lucky Woman to have such great sons. Thanks Dan for
all your help. I hope you'll continue to visit us
in our "chats".
Melinda
ADWOFF > Newsletters > Edition
2 > Dan (who is now a
newlywed as of May/2001!)
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