Who are some of your favorite musicians? I don’t have any favorites, per say. I have a couple of types of music that I enjoy. My husband is a musician and while he was working professionally, it was a hobby for him. Now that he is retired, it is his full-time job. He plays with a lot of bands. They play traditional Jazz music primarily of the 1920’s. So if there is music on at home, that is usually what it is. And if I’m driving or have an opportunity to just turn on something and listen to it, it tends to be classical music. There is just so much wonderful diversity out there I never really needed to pick any favorites. I do like live performance. I think there is something almost magical about seeing the passion people have when they are performing live. Whether it is a sympathy orchestra, or string quartet, or a marching band, or a Broadway show, or a small Jazz combo. It’s a real privilege to see other human beings engage in their passion and their creativity.
What are your top three favorite movies of all time? I don’t go to movies very often. I’m tempted to say anything that includes Meryl Streep or George Clooney, but I suppose that really dates me. I really only go to one or two movies a year. It’s often whatever has just recently won a Golden Globe or an Academy Award. The last movie I saw was ‘SlumDog Millionaire.’ I always look at them and think, ‘Oh, well, that looks interesting. I would like to see that,’ but, ya know, my time is booked almost constantly, through weekends and evenings. So there has never been time to pursue those kinds of interests.
Who are your favorite novelists? Actually, I like things that are kind of spy or mystery on the bestseller list. So Grisham and that sort of general genre, although he’s getting less interesting then he used to be. But, those kinds of things where you have a block of time on an airplane or something, and you have got the work done that you need to do when you get to the other end. You can just sort of lose yourself in something that you don’t have to remember. There is a guy by the name of Steve Martini who writes criminal justice types of things, and they happen to be placed in Sacramento, where we used to live. It’s always kind of interesting when your reading something about a place where you have been. On the fiction side, I don’t have a lot of specific authors that I would follow. I kind of explore what’s at the top of the bestseller list in the mystery/spy genre.
Do you belong to any social networking Web sites such as Facebook or MySpace? No, I don’t.
Have you ever thought of it? I have, actually.
Why did you decide against it? I just got a lot going on with what I already do. I think in my position it’s probably better to avoid those kinds of opportunities and use things that are more institutionally supported, rather than individual. Because the president becomes the personification of the institution, and you always have to think about the presidency as well as the person who occupies the office. I have to [make sure there is] respect and the proper kind of significance accorded to the office of the president. And my personal desires really have to take a place very, very far down on the list. ‘
