The other day I heard Daniel Pinkwater, the writer of children's books and self-proclaimed fat guy, interviewed by Terry Gross on her show Fresh Air. There's always been something vaguely annoying about Terry but I've never been clever enough, or perhaps never tried hard enough, to identify and articulate exactly what.
Now Pinkwater comes along and without any apparent effort to humiliate or ridicule her, makes it plain that Terry is something of an idiot. When she asked him "were you close to your parents [when you were a child]?", he said something like "Close? They were my parents," i.e., how far away could they be, for fuck's sake? This was but one of numerous examples. It loses a lot in the retelling but take my word for it.
Well, finally got around to pulling up the interview and listening to it (I've enjoyed Pinkwater's books since I was a kid, and I still listen to him on NPR from time to time) and this is my conclusion: Daniel Pinkwater is very, very secure in his identity, and I think that Terry Gross found this quite disarming. Maybe she is insecure at some level, or maybe Pinkwater just has that effect on some people. (I mean really, there is something quite disarming about a giant self proclaimed fat man who is truly comfortable with his identity and self image in this calorie/carb counting age). Regardless, it was quite pleasant to see the tables turned on the interviewer... I think the most annoying thing about her is the way she says "This is ffFFrrresh Air!"
Terry Gross is a nice lady, as far as I can tell. Besides, she has the job of sitting every day and talking to authors and other boring types. If I had that job, I would start attacking the guests, maybe hurling things at them, and would soon get fired. Until I did, I would ask every author, "Why are you so in love with the sound of your own voice?" and "Do you realize you are completely superfluous, and nobody cares?" I point out that Terry did not ask me those questions--and I think it reflects very well on her.
Woa. That Pinkwater looks like an authentic Pinkwater. If it is, I am honored. Thanks for stopping by, P. Sorry my blog is such a puerile, foul-mouthed muddle of masturbatory drivel. I might have tried to clean the place up a little if I'd known you were coming (-:
As for Terry, yeah, you have a point. Many of her guests are such self-important dweebs I have to switch my radio to something else, and there ain't a helluva lot else to choose from. She often manages them splendidly. Still... there's something irritating about her.