Frequently Asked Questions

What is your greatest fear?

Walking into Bed, Bath and Beyond and never finding my way back out.

Did you really read James Joyce’s Ulysses in college, or is that just something you mention to impress people?

Um, yes?

Is it true you once got seasick on a Venice canal?

It’s true.

I didn’t even know that was possible.

That’s not a question.

Can you define the meteorological term “adiabatic lapse rate”?

I’d be happy to. It describes the change in air temperature as you rise in elevation, and it’s typically about 7 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 feet.

Is it true you once worked as an extra in Hollywood?

Yes. I’m particularly proud of my work as a shaggy-haired squatter on “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” I was part of a fire brigade and was paid 17 bucks extra for working with water — in industry parlance, a “bump.” Ka-ching! You might also recognize me from “Beverly Hills 90210,” where I stood outside a church and chatted inside a bar.

If you were a 1970s TV show, what would it be?

“CHiPS.”

What was your reaction when Erik Estrada walked off the show in a dispute over syndication earnings?

Who was happy about that? Were you happy about it?

Can you recommend any books on travel writing?

I like Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Writing, written by Don George, and Michael Shapiro’s A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives and Inspiration. I’ve heard good things about Tim Leffel’s Travel Writing 2.0.

You’ve traveled a lot. What’s your favorite place?

I hate this question. Probably Mexico. Americans take it for granted. It’s a fascinating place – and often as confounding to Americans as the most far-flung corners of Asia. If Mexico calls, get thee to Guanajuato, Mexico City, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas, Veracruz — drug war permitting, of course.

Do you have a favorite travel quotation? Is it that Mark Twain quote about travel being fatal to prejudice and bigotry and all that?

That’s a good one, but if I had to choose just one, it’d be this one from G.K. Chesterton:

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.”

Good, no?

Not really. Tell me this: Is it true that thunder only happens when it’s raining?

That’s patently false.

What about the notion that players only love you when they’re playing?

Again, false. Where do you get this stuff?

What is your current state of mind?

Flummoxed.

Seriously?

No, I just love that word.