Conversations with strangers

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Conversation, inspiration, Life, read, Writer

A reporter’s notebook is a license to talk to interesting people.

Ever since I declared journalism as my college major, I’ve been striking up conversations with strangers. The notebook gives me a reason—and permission—to do it without feeling intrusive. Since my first reporting job at The Tampa Tribune, I’ve interviewed architects, designers, chefs, inventors, entrepreneurs, authors, activists – even a fashion designer (who paused during our conversation to give me tailoring tips for my suit.)

The interviews I conduct still challenge, inspire, and move me.

A reporter’s notebook is also a ticket to interesting places. Readers want to be taken somewhere, and, as their surrogate, I have “stomped the divots” at polo tournaments, broken speed records in an offshore power boat, drifted over Florida in a hot air balloon, watched the filming of “This Old House” for PBS and sashayed into Playboy Bunny tryouts. The key to bringing these experiences to life, is to convey the details.

Funny how my notebook – such a low-tech device – is the only thing I need to capture the sights, smells, sounds, and excitement of our world.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Sign me up

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Architecture, book, Conversation, Design, Family, Home, Homeowner, Houses, Memories

Recently I was asked to do a book signing at an upscale boutique in Tampa, Florida. Emails went out to the shop customers, an exterior sign heralded my name, and items appeared in newspaper columns, announcing the event.

I was a bit uneasy about engaging a lot of strangers in conversation, (“Do you need a house-warming gift?”) but it turns out I didn’t need to be: The people who arrived were old friends – some I hadn’t seen in more than a decade – like Fred Rock (pictured above.) They came to congratulate me, to catch up and be supportive. (One even brought the most delicious donuts to tide me over until I could eat a late lunch!)
I was humbled and happy to see each of them.

Today, few friendships survive corporate relocations, divorces or deaths. Virginia Woolf summed it up rather nicely: “I have lost friends, some by death, others through sheer inability to cross the street.”

But I thank God every day for the lasting ones – the people you call when the doctor says “I‘d like to run a few more tests,” or your child moves in with someone you’ve never much liked or trusted.

Funny thing – I’ve no idea how many books were sold last week. I simply know how many friends showed up. And that means so much more…

“Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” is available on amazon.com.

DaytimeTV

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clothing, Conversation, DaytimeTV, Dreams, Home, Homeowner, Housewarming, interview

When the executive producer of Daytime TV at NBC affiliate WFLA-TV in Tampa invited me to do a segment on my book, I jumped at the chance.

The syndicated show airs in 140 markets and I thought my gift book, “Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof,” might benefit from the exposure.

Like any good reporter, though, I needed more information. I emailed inquiries about my hair and makeup (“Do your own and come camera-ready”) and my wardrobe (“Slacks are fine, since we don’t know which set we’ll be using: stools or upholstered chairs” ) and finally, my interview questions (“Oh, you know – stuff like why did you write a book about beams?”)

Uh-oh…

It was clear the producer hadn’t read it and my anxiety level started to rise. Had I been asked such a question on air, I would’ve blurted out, “Why, it’s not about beams at all.”

A very bad start to a televised interview, indeed.

The morning that I arrived at the studios, I still was anxious. I interview people for a living, which makes it extremely difficult for me to sit in a chair, ANSWERING questions instead of ASKING them (particularly when I had no idea what might be asked.)

I prefer to go to interviews PREPARED – no matter which side of the notebook I’m sitting on.

A security guard walked me to the “Green Room” where a bowl of snacks, a coffee pot and water cooler waited. But my stomach churned like a Maytag washer , so I skipped the food and settled on a couch. By the time I walked onto the set, my hands were visibly shaking . (I‘m fairly certain that if the doctor filming the segment before me had taken my blood pressure, an ambulance would’ve been called.)

I clenched a copy of the book in my lap like a security blanket and figured, if the questions were horribly bad, I could simply read an excerpt from it to fill air time.

Yet, when hosts Cyndi Edwards and Jerry Penacoli sat in the upholstered chairs next to mine, they quoted me…my words.

“You actually read it?” I asked, incredulously.

I was delighted.

Questions were asked and I answered them – though I have no memory of what I said. The beauty of WRITING a sentence is the ability to rewrite it, to polish the thought , until it sounds exactly the way you want it to. Unrehearsed speech is very, very different and utterly terrifying – kind of like being shot out of a cannon and waiting to land in a safety net.

Miraculously, the four-minute segment ended and I hoped the microphone attached to my sweater hadn’t picked up the pounding in my chest. Cyndi gave me a hug and Jerry asked me to autograph his copy of my book. By the time I reached the parking lot, my breathing had returned to normal.

I’m looking forward to watching the interview when it airs…alone. I hope viewers enjoy it. ( I hope I do, too!)

“Sweet Beams: Inspiring everyone who lives under a new roof!” is available on amazon.com

Tips on tapping

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Conversation, dancing, exercise, fashion, Ginger Rogers, Humor, Memories, style, tap, tap dancing

I never knew that tap dancing involved math.
When I signed up for a class, I was looking for a fun cardio-vascular workout…something I could do at home with the radio on. After all, Ginger Rogers made it look easy.

According to the brochure, “Tap dancing is a vigorous form of dance, requiring a great deal of physical fitness. Many kids as well as adults tap dance for fun and exercise. It builds aerobic fitness as well as muscle control.”
In addition, it also involves COUNTING combinations of steps – 4 of this, 2 of that – then, break! (I confess I was an English major …math always has been my nemesis.)

Hoping to lower my risk of dementia, I persevered and learned that tap dancing consists of several basic steps that can be done as slowly or as quickly as you wish: 
Stamp (heel and toe at the same time on the floor, shifting weight.)
Stomp (same as “stamp” except with no change of weight.)
Brush (involves gently brushing the ball of your foot against the floor.)
Ball change (shifting your weight to the ball of your foot for a split second.)
Heel tap (strike the heel on the floor and release it immediately.)

The best part, of course, is the noise – tap dancers use their feet like drums to create rhythmic patterns. The term “tap dancing” is derived from the tapping sound produced when the small metal plates on the dancer’s shoes touch a hard floor.
On a positive note: I’m proud to say that I made a lot of racket.

A typical tap class like mine lasts about an hour, beginning with a warm-up to stretch the muscles of the legs and feet. We learned a series of basic steps, adding more difficult combinations as we (theoretically) became more proficient.

“Your knees and ankles should be relaxed at all times,” our instructor (a former Broadway dancer) declared over the microphone. She must be kidding…

Actually, they were sort of relaxed until my weight shifted from the ball of my foot to the heel, causing me to fall backward – with arms flailing – until the saintly woman standing next to me stopped my fall. I imagine we looked at bit like an elderly version of “A Chorus Line” at their retirement party.

Later, as I untied the ribbon of my shiny tap shoe and pulled on an Ugg boot, a charming lady named Rita whispered into my ear. “I took my first tap lesson when I was 62,’ she said, patting my arm. “Don’t worry, honey. You’ll get it.”

I hope Ginger Rogers started this way…

Live with what you love

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Collections, Conversation, decor, Design, diy, Florida, Home, Houses, style

Less isn’t always more.
Arranged on a fireplace mantel, hung on the wall, or displayed on a console, collections of objects and art can bring a living room to life by injecting it with the homeowner’s personality. Adding collections to a home’s interior design scheme not only communicates individual passions, but also creates a distinctive decorative statement that visitors won’t see anywhere else.
Happily, they don’t have to be expensive.
I began collecting tin sand toys from the 1940s-50s while living in Michigan – I missed the white, powdery sand of Florida’s Gulf Coast beaches. (Walking across dirty brown gravel to plunge into the icy waters of Lake Michigan wasn’t much fun for me.) Today, sand pails, sifters and shovels cluster atop my kitchen cabinets, where I enjoy them every morning as I make my coffee.
Regional design celebrity and author of “The Collected Tabletop,” Kathryn Greeley defines collecting as, “The passionate search for items that speak to you, that you can use on a day-to-day basis…or enjoy as art.”
I’ve seen unusual items add zip to a home:
– Antique musical instruments suspended from tall ceilings.
– Rubber duckies nesting on bathroom shelves.
– Model trains running on suspended tracks around a family room.
– Large antique apothecary jars holding rocks, shells, marbles, or other small objects in a single dust-free display.
Collections are an ideal way to fill the void in any room. They add interest, spark conversation and bring your personality into what could otherwise be a sterile decorating scheme.
According to designer Greeley, who has created uniquely personal environments with collectibles in the Southeast for more than 30 years, “It’s of no joy to you wrapped up and packed away in a closet.”
I read somewhere that everyone collects something…how about you?

The Sunshine Award

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Architecture, Awards, clothing, Conversation, Dreams, dress code, environment, Family, fashion, Humor, Memories, mood, Writer

I want to thank the wildly creative Kate at MasonBentleyStyle for nominating me for this lovely award. The international fashion press will soon be writing about her vintage-inspired designs!

My 10 questions from Kate:
1. Who is your style icon?The elegant, glamorous and ageless Carolina Herrera, who was elected to the Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1980 and remains there to this day. Her signature crisp, white shirt – with cuffs turned back and collar turned up – is impeccable. (Hell, I’ve watched the woman chew gum elegantly!)

2. What are you wearing right now?
A “Simply Vera” Vera Wang dress for Kohl’s. Ever since Target Corp. successfully broke the mold and asked Isaac Mizrahi to design a capsule collection for their stores (a one-time product partnership between a high-end designer and a retail chain,) others have followed: Who could imagine Versace for H&M or Georgina Chapman of Marchesa designing prom gowns for JC Penney? It’s a treat for those of us who can’t afford couture.

3. Where was your best holiday?We spent 10 lovely days in Villefranche sur Mer while our son attended the University of Monaco. The lavender and rosemary-scented air was so fragrant…I’ve never been able to replicate it at home. Life moves at a more leisurely pace there (which gave me more time to enjoy the delicious café crème!)

4. And your worst?
We were staying on Useppa Island, off the west coast of Florida and my husband had to return to Tampa for business meetings. He left by boat and literally abandoned me with our 5-year-old daughter and infant son on an island without electrical power or generators. I was sitting in the dark (actually candlelight) when my sweet friend called and asked, “Renee, have you ever seen “The Shining?”

5. Did you learn much at school?
Certainly the basic tenets of journalism, but I also learned success is not something you HAVE. Success is something you DO. It’s something you experience when you wake up and act accordingly.

6. Could you predict your life?
Heavens, no, but I suppose that’s a blessing. I graduated from college with a journalism degree and established a career as a writer – that prediction came true. I supposed I intended to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, but if I’d pursued that I might not have had time or energy to raise my amazing son and daughter. What is that saying…”Life is what happens while you’re making other plans?”

7. What was the first album you bought?
Sooooo long ago, but I’m guessing it might be James Taylor’s “Sweet Baby James” or Carole King’s “Tapestry.”

8. Could you live in another country?
I’d move to the south of France or Tuscany in a heartbeat!

9. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
I would be called “Spring” or “Summer.” I love the colors and growth associated with those two seasons. Every time I hear the Olympic swimmer Summer Sander’s name, I smile.

10. If you could have any person be your mentor, who would it be?
After her husband’s suicide, Katharine Graham led her family’s newspaper, The Washington Post, for two decades. She was unsure of herself but totally sure of her principles: The Pentagon Papers and Watergate are milestones in journalistic history. Kay Graham understood two rules of business: Surround yourself with talented people , then nourish them with responsibilities and gratitude. Her memoir, “Personal History,” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

And now, my 10 Questions:
1. What was the best advice you ever received?
2. What inspires you?
3. What is most important in life, to you?
4. Who is your style icon?
5. Can you describe your perfect day?
6. Where was your best holiday?
7. Have you ever had an Oprah Winfrey “Aha moment?”
8. Do you have any regrets?
9. Does religion/spirituality play a significant role in your life?
10. What would your epitaph be?

I’ve nominated these blogs for the Sunshine Award:
1. YumandYummer – You’ll love Kerry’s cooking and travel adventures!
2. Rose of Bohemia’s World – This Manhattanite is a fabulous tourguide of what to see and where to eat!
3. Digging Archaeology – Someday I’d love to assist on a dig with her!
4. Sadie and Dasie – A photography blog featuring two darling dogs.
5. Crooked Halo Catholic blogspot.com – Nanette muses about spiritual issues.

The Rules:
Include the award logo in a post on your blog.
Link to the person who nominated you.
Answer 10 questions about yourself.
Nominate 10 bloggers in the post and comment on their blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

Memorial Day chairs

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Chairs, Conversation, Family, furniture, Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a great time to remember that chairs are great places.  They hold us.  Indeed, they can hold great conversation too.

 

 Furniture is one step beyond clothing:  It fits our bodies as it does our moods and our homes.

 

 Consider this: When it comes to chairs, owning a variety of sizes will allow everyone a choice of the best fit.

 And don’t leave this planet without having owned a wooden rocking chair!

 

Generosity

Tags

Conversation, Homes, kitchen

• 
• It is a generous act of service to prepare and offer food.
• Invite someone over to eat with you on a regular basis – not for a social extravaganza, but for the celebration of friendship and life.

Gathering around an open flame

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Conversation, cooking, Home, Homeowner, Housewarming, kitchen

                           At heart, we are all kitchen dwellers.

 

   Since time began, human beings have thrived by gathering around an open flame. With its sweet smells, its gentle crackling sound and its mesmerizing flicker, the cooking fire provided warmth, conversation and a delicious dinner all in one –ask any camper!

 We are still drawn to the fire, though now it may have evolved into a rather sophisticated convection oven. Conversation flows easily around a kitchen table,  from topic to topic…one plate to the next.

 Reflect for a moment on the entertainment mystery of all time:  Why does the center of any party always gravitate to the kitchen?