Andy Smallman
Family
I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a grandson, a nephew, an in-law, a... Here's some of that in specific detail:
- As a husband to Melinda
- As a father to Chloe (born 1993) & Ella (born 1996)
- As a son to Al & Carib
- As a brother to Scott & Steve
- As an uncle to Jessica, Stephanie, Nick, Tammy, Olivia & Perrin
Education
Hmmm... I sometimes say I am the product of public schooling. By that I mean I was churned out, graduating from high school in 1981 with no sense of what I wanted to do in life. I did know I wanted nothing more to do with "education". I floated around for a few years before realizing that there were different ways to get a good education. So I started college at age 22, graduating from The Evergreen State College in 1988. I completed a teacher training program and, ultimately, a Master's program through Pacific Oaks College. Those two experiences helped me realize that one COULD be in charge of her/his education.
What would you like to learn to do someday?
This has been on my to-do list for quite some time so I should just go do something about it, I suppose. I want to learn to play the guitar well enough to play along with other musicians, write songs, and pretend, even just for a moment, that I am a moderately famous singer-songwriter, good enough to make a living at it but not so famous that I have no personal life.
What’s your favorite concert you’ve ever attended?
Good question! There are so many good ones but I'm going with seeing Leon Redbone at the Showbox in Seattle in 1980 just after I turned 17. I had recently seen him on Saturday Night Live and was completely taken in with his version of "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone." I saw that he was coming to Seattle and tried to get some friends to come with me. When no one else was interested, I decided to go by myself and borrowed my parents' car. Now anyone that knows me well is aware I don't like driving in to downtown Seattle because I hate looking for parking. I overcame that, as well as the women in the 1st Avenue shop windows with the "come hither" looks and the bottle wrapped in the brown paper bag being passed up and down the admissions line outside the venue. Once inside, there were old metal folding chairs set up on the floor and an opening act that looked like was pulled right off of 1st Avenue. Then Leon came on stage, took the audience's picture with a Polaroid camera and proceeded to entertain us for what seemed like hours.
What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
I'm betting the question is being asked more from a standpoint of strangest thing I've eaten and was mindfully aware of the choice. But I'm going to give my answer as "ants from a yellow shovel" with only minimal explanation. I was a little kid in Nebraska sitting on the porch with a plastic yellow shovel and orange bucket. Beyond that, it's up to you to fill in the blanks.
Which TV show would you pick to live inside for a week?
Just one? Can't I pick a different show for each night for a week? Or change shows every hour or half hour, or change them randomly every few seconds like I do with the remote until my wife goes crazy?? No? Then I'm picking "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" starring Bill Bixby. It's set in the early 70's, they live in a cool apartment (although I want Melinda to modernize the kitchen), everything always ends happily, and I'd get to hang out with Mrs. Livingston.