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Romania through international eyes

Vivid Questionnaire - An Interview with Leslie Hawke

March 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie Hawke’s foundation, Gata, Dispus si Capabil (eng. Ready, Willing and Able) is leading to a heightened awareness of the problems facing Roma people amongst Romanians and foreigners alike.

What is your earliest memory?
Standing at my grandmother’s screen door looking out on the street.

What were you like at school?
Inattentive and bored.

Are you a good dancer?
I think so, but a lot of people I’ve danced with don’t.

What is the last good book you read?
Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, about how a little bit of knowledge goes a long way if you filter the essentials that matter from all the other variables.

If you went on ‘Mastermind,’ what would your special subject be?
The Roma, of Eastern Europe.

Do you collect anything?
Quotations.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?
I was there when my son nearly died. Does that count?

Would you sunbathe naked?
In the blink of an eye.

Would you bungee-jump?
Never.

Would you consider getting a tatoo?
Absolutely not. I hate needles.

Where did you spend your most recent holiday?
I don’t do holidays.

If you could holiday anywhere, where would it be?
My apartment.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
On Calea Victoriei, in Bucharest.

What is your greatest personal sporting achievement?
Having a baby.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Beer made from leaves chewed by the local Amazon men and spit back into a wooden bowl.

Describe an enjoyable meal.
Good friends, a cold Corona, Mexican food and a blazing sunset.

What is your most recent extravagance?
My birthday party.

When was the last time you cried?
Reading the ending of a screenplay about the American Indian chief Geronimo.

What is your favourite musical instrument?
Just looking at a grand piano makes me happy.

What are you best at doing?
Getting things done.

What would you personally like to achieve in the future?
To see Alex graduate from high school.

What five words best describe you?
Open, direct, tenacious, impatient, and monolingual.

What do you like least about yourself?
My tone of voice when people annoy me.

Is the glass half-full, or half-empty?
Depends on whether you’re an ex-pat or a Gypsy.

If you were not doing your current job, what might you do?
Look for my current job.

What do you do passionately?
a. work
b. ride my bicycle on country roads.

What is your most prized possession?
The bracelet my grandfather gave my grandmother before they were married.

What do you always carry with you?
Two purses and a backpack.

What might you be reincarnated as?
The Dali Lama.

What do you do in hotel rooms?
Stick all the brochures and ashtrays in drawers and open the drapes.

What is your all-time favourite television show?
Cheaters.

What is your all-time favourite work of art?
Shaker furniture.

Who is your favourite James Bond?
Warren Beatty.

What was your most interesting job before this?
As a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives.

Have you got any pets?
Fletcher Whitefang, age 7, but he’s not really a pet, he’s more like a long-term companion.

How much money have you got on you now?
About enough to get home.

What is your favourite website?
Google.

Is the art of letter-writing dead?
Not at all, it’s just adjusting to a new medium.

Have you ever written a letter to a newspaper or magazine?
Yes, to the New York Times about the correlation between leadership ability and love affairs.

Can you recite a line of poetry?
As I walked out one evening, walking down Bristol Street, the crowds upon the pavement were fields of harvest wheat …(Auden)

Have you ever been arrested?
I’ve never even been a suspect.

Have you ever been refused credit?
Credit for what?

Are you happy with your passport photograph?
I won’t even let the customs officer see it.

When was the last time you were in a fight?
I can’t remember, but it was probably my fault.

Who is the sexiest person in the world?
Liam Neesan.

Who is the sexiest person you know?
Mircea Cartarescu.

When did you last have (way) too much to drink?
The party after Victoria’s funeral.

What is the best rock concert you were ever at?
Jimi Hendrix, 1967, at Fort Worth Texas.

If you had three wishes, what would they be?
To renovate with my magic wand all the buildings in Bucharest, to meet my great, great, great grandparents, and to wake up tomorrow fluent in Romanian and French.

If a film was made of your life, which actor would best play you?
Gene Hackman.

What is best about living in Romania?
Watching it get better.

What Romanian would you most like to meet?
Traian Basescu.

What question would you most like to answer?
How do I make a donation?