Seven answers on 7Q (also known as the FAQs of life.)				Interviewed by Tom Mangan Will Baker, existentialist Vermonter His Web site his here		AUTHORS Michael Fuchs Elizabeth Hilts Paul Riddell Gary Rivlin Jim Motavalli Barbara Shafferman Jules Siegel Keith Snyder ARTISTS/POETS/ PHILOSOPHERS Jon C. Allen Will Baker Mike Leung Jon Sarkin COOL SITE KEEPERS Mike Cash Scott O'Neal Colf Godfrey Daniels Cliff Davis, DDS Tammy Hocking Wes Modes Frank Rogan DIARISTS Ralph Becker J. D. Bruns Linda DeVault Mike Reed Moira Richardson Jessamyn West FILMMAKERS Ben Kufrin Dean Mermell JOURNALISTS Bernie Mary Cooley-Jones Lindsay Crysler Jamie Dupree M.O.A.T.M.A.I. David Moll Robert Niles John Orr Steven Ovadia Pierce Presley Mack Reed Rip Rense Curtis Ross Neal Ross John Scalzi Catherine Seipp David Sheets Dwight Silverman Matt Welch MOVIE MAVENS MaryAnn Johanson Brian Koller HUMORISTS Debbie Farmer Mike Jasper Madeleine Begun Kane Patrick Keller Bob Sassone Valerie Sprague Ken Swarmer Ian Wolff SOLDIERS Maj. Jon Anderson, USAF TEACHERS John Warner TECHIES Chris Adamson Mike Gunderloy Michael Ivey Greg Knauss Floyd Maxwell Ellen McDonough Mike Pingleton Wayne Thume John Worth TEENS Gary Baum Marty Beckerman UNDECLARED Bev Gibbs Beth Reid WEBLOGGERS Jason Kottke Jish Mukerji
ONE				Tell a little story about Vermont that seems to encapsulate what's so great about living there. Last October I was driving home from the office. The view was spectacular, the Adirondack Mountains to the west, all red, orange and golden, with Lake Champlain seeming to appear almost at their feet, and to the east the Green Mountains with snow just beginning to accumulate on the peaks. Anyway, I cut a tire and had to pull over and change it. In a matter of ten minutes, three cars had pulled over and two men and a woman all asked if they could help me. When I politely declined their offers of assistance, they remained to chat with me, and with each other, until I was back on my way. The way we interacted with each others, as strangers on the road, well met, is typical of life in Vermont.
TWO				Were else would you live if you had to make the choice? The Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains.
THREE				What turned you into an existentialist? I had an epiphany while studying philosophy in college. My very close friend and cousin died a horrible death, and while attempting to sort it all out, I came to the conclusion that personal experience and acting on one's own convictions are essential to arriving at the truth, any truth.
FOUR				Tell us about a character from a movie or a TV show who seems to illustrate the main points of existentialism. Virtually any protagonist in a Woody Allen movie would provide a strong illustration of an existentialist in action. As would Sallinger's character Holden Caulfield. And the character Chris in the Morning, from the television program Northern Exposure would as well. Each of these characters, by their actions echo Kierkegaard's words: "I must find a truth that is true for me . . . the idea for which I can live or die for."
FIVE				Who has the most influence on your life at the moment, and how does he/she compare to the person who last shared this level of influence? My three-year-old daughter. She helps me strip away from my eyes the scales of jadedness, and to help me see, more clearly, to wonder again. I have an old professor who is my mentor, but his influence does not even come close to that which is exerted by my daughter.
SIX				What kind of music sets your soul racing? As a musician of many years, I appreciate all forms all music. However I do have a fondness for alternative, jangle, grunge folk rock.
SEVEN				How do you think your live would've turned out if you'd been born in Africa instead of the United States? If I had been born in sub-saharan Africa, chances are that I or members of my family would be dying of AIDS right now. Even if that were not the case, I probably would be spending most of my time trying to fulfill life's basic needs and not devoting much time to higher thought. I most certainly would not have the education that I feel privileged to have received. I would no doubt feel alienated and exploited, and probably very angry. Perhaps I would be "fighting for a cause."
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