Flat or sparkling?
Flat. Bubbles are unnecessary in drinking water.
If you could only have one sense (hearing, touch, etc.) which would you want?
Hands down, it would be sight.
Do you have a signature drink?
Jack & Coke. I’m not picky about whether it is Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, etc. Any cola-flavored mixer will do fine as long as there is enough Jack Daniels.
Name 5 things you always travel with.
My backpack (a dependable old Kipling), my phone, my tablet, charging cords and a S’well water bottle.
Who would you invite to your fantasy dinner party, dead or alive?
Charles Dickens, Christiane Amanpour, Ina Garten, Robert Doisneau, Barack & Michelle Obama, Louis XIV and Oscar Wilde.
What is your favorite big city?
London. It is the one place I have traveled to more often than anywhere else in the world and the city in which I feel most at home, even as a tourist.
What is the last TV show you binge watched?
I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I did binge the entire season of Bridgerton on Netflix over the holidays and I loved it.
What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas. It is everything I love – wintertime, music, food & drink, family & friends. As Frank Cross said in the movie Scrooged, “…it’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we… we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.”
How do you take your coffee?
Cream & sugar.
What is your most prized possession?
I’m generally not that attached to “things”. I guess I would have to say a monogrammed gold pocket watch that originally belonged to my great-great grandfather.
What is the last book you read?
“How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi.
Where do you get your news?
First thing in the morning I scan the BBC News headlines on my tablet to get an overview of what is going on in the world. Then I listen to NPR while getting ready for the day. I get CNN Breaking News Alerts in my inbox during the day, see the Yahoo newsfeed all day long and then look at the New York Times at day’s end for a recap and a mini-crossword puzzle.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Since this is all theoretical, I would probably like to move around. Winter in Mexico, springtime in Tuscany, summer on the coast of Maine and autumn in the English countryside. And (of course) I could travel anywhere at any time I wanted.
iPhone or Android?
What is this thing you call Android?
What is your favorite food?
If I was forced to eat nothing but pasta and pizza for the rest of my life, I would be just fine. If I had to narrow it down to one dish – Lasagna Bolognese.
If you could have only 5 songs on a playlist and they would loop over and over, what would they be?
“Human” by The Killers, “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals, “Clarity” by Zedd, “Happier” by Marshmello & Bastille and “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay.
If you could have a Superpower, what would it be?
I would love to be able to become invisible on demand. Wouldn’t you?
Hotel or Airbnb?
Hotel. I absolutely love staying in hotels. I like having room service, daily housekeeping, and someone available to pour me a drink.
If you could time travel, when and where would you go?
Around 1800 in London, with the caveat that I had access to money and a country house.
Describe the rest of your life in 5 words.
“Working on my defense strategy”.
For clarification, watch the movie “Defending Your Life” with Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks.
