18 Jan Seize the day! My interview with Jonathan Goldstein.
I began listening to Jonathan Goldstein on CBC radio while driving three-hours back from Meaford, Ontario to London–a trip I used to do quite often. WireTap, the name of his show, is a series of telephone conversations with his friends and family.
The drive was always on Sunday, a lazy kind of day anyway, doubly so because I was always a bit hung over from drinking brewskis, and listening to vinyl records late into the night, with a good buddy the night before. Meandering along highway 21, I thought about the previous nights’ conversations, and laughed to myself out loud a bit as the car lurched up and down the crazy ass peaks and valleys of the Bruce Valley. Every 20 minutes or so I slowed down for the inevitable small town, gassed up, or better yet, stopped into the Flesherton Bakery for cinnamon rolls. And I don’t know how I did it, it really wasn’t intentional, but I always turned the radio on to Goldstein’s voice.
Goldstein’s voice is monotone; his humour, dry with a splash of self-deprecation. He’s also the voice of reason amongst his friends. Take Howard Chackowicz for instance. On one episode, Howard misreads his SAT scores and suddenly thinks he is smart. So, in his asinine way, Howard begins to use big erudite words. Over the phone, Goldstein also calls him out: “are you smoking a pipe?” Classic.
So, when my friend and colleague at Western’s Writing, Rhetoric and Professional Communication department asked me if I wanted to interview Goldstein about his new book, I’ll Seize the Day Tomorrow, for the literary journal, The Rusty Toque, www.therustytoque.com, I leaped.
Not just cause I’m a fan, but I also relate to the subject: the book is about the year preceding his 40th birthday. I wanted to know what a mid-life crisis felt from the male side.
I am excited, but also anxious. I’m anxious all the time, but this was different. I mean, listening to him for so long, I feel like I know him. Take Sex and the City. Carrie Bradshaw eats oranges in bed for bleeping sake! I know this because I’m her virtual friend and I’ve stood by through her many break ups with Big; I’ve seen her through the loss of her precious Manolo’s. I’ve been there.
So, today I speak to my friend, er, interview subject, Jonathan. I wanted to drive to Montreal to meet him, but my little car wouldn’t make it through Montreal’s snow, so, today at 4 pm, I will converse with Johnny, that’s what Howard calls him from time-to-time. Oh, Howard. I feel like I know you, too.
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