20 Questions with Mr. Hepworth
1. Mr. Hepworth, do you have any pets?
Answer: Why, yes, yes I do. I have a white and gray-spotted cat. Her name is Twiggy. Actually, she came with my wife (or did my wife come with Twiggy? Hm...). I really like Twiggy. In fact, I'm a cat person...in a big way. But I would never name a cat Twiggy. My wife tells me that Twiggy is named after some famous fashion model. I have no idea who Twiggy the fashion model is. If it were up to me, I'd give the cat a better name, like Tantor. Or Helmut (pronounced like it's German). Or maybe I would have two cats, one named Tan, and the other Tor. And together they would be known as TANTOR! (Just in case you were wondering, Tantor is the elephant from the original Tarzan novel. I love that novel. It's one of my favorites.)
Answer: Why, yes, yes I do. I have a white and gray-spotted cat. Her name is Twiggy. Actually, she came with my wife (or did my wife come with Twiggy? Hm...). I really like Twiggy. In fact, I'm a cat person...in a big way. But I would never name a cat Twiggy. My wife tells me that Twiggy is named after some famous fashion model. I have no idea who Twiggy the fashion model is. If it were up to me, I'd give the cat a better name, like Tantor. Or Helmut (pronounced like it's German). Or maybe I would have two cats, one named Tan, and the other Tor. And together they would be known as TANTOR! (Just in case you were wondering, Tantor is the elephant from the original Tarzan novel. I love that novel. It's one of my favorites.)
2. Oh, Mr. Hepworth! Do you have Facebook? OMG, can I friend you!??!?!
Answer: OMG, NO! You can't be my friend! And yes, I do have Facebook. You can try friending me after you graduate, but even then, I'm not making any promises. On the other hand, if you really, REALLY want to, you can join GoodReads.com, and I'll be your friend there!
3. Um...Mr. H. What is GoodReads.com? It sounds nerdy...
Answer: If by nerdy you mean awesome because it's all about books, then, yes, it's nerdy. GoodReads.com is a place for people to keep track of the books they read, look at what their friends are reading, and find new books to read. And I'm not talking about finding more books like To Kill a Mockingbird, either. Don't get me wrong, TKM is a great book, but it would be better if Scout had her own spaceship. And flew to Alpha Centari. And blew up some other spaceships. Then watched her father defend Tom Robinson.
4. Mr. Hepworth! Are you married?
Answer: Yes.
...
5. Who are you married to?
Answer: My wife.
...
6. Mr. Hepworth that wasn't funny...who is your wife? What does she do? How did you meet? How long have you been married? Where do you live? Can I come visit you?
Answer: Okay, okay. Calm down, now. Her name is Mrs. Hepworth, but some of you might still know her as Ms. Czapski. She is an English teacher at Franklin High School, and she coaches forensics there, too. In fact, that's how we met, at a forensics meet (Yeah, we're a pretty nerdy couple. For a good time we go home, turn the lights down low, light candles, and read student essays to each other and mark on them with red pens. Until we get distraced by the cat and throw paper balls for her to chase around the house.) Ms. Czapski and I have been married for three years. I live just a few minutes away from the school. That's all I'm going to tell you. No, you can't come visit. Here, why don't you look at this picture of us instead.
Answer: OMG, NO! You can't be my friend! And yes, I do have Facebook. You can try friending me after you graduate, but even then, I'm not making any promises. On the other hand, if you really, REALLY want to, you can join GoodReads.com, and I'll be your friend there!
3. Um...Mr. H. What is GoodReads.com? It sounds nerdy...
Answer: If by nerdy you mean awesome because it's all about books, then, yes, it's nerdy. GoodReads.com is a place for people to keep track of the books they read, look at what their friends are reading, and find new books to read. And I'm not talking about finding more books like To Kill a Mockingbird, either. Don't get me wrong, TKM is a great book, but it would be better if Scout had her own spaceship. And flew to Alpha Centari. And blew up some other spaceships. Then watched her father defend Tom Robinson.
4. Mr. Hepworth! Are you married?
Answer: Yes.
...
5. Who are you married to?
Answer: My wife.
...
6. Mr. Hepworth that wasn't funny...who is your wife? What does she do? How did you meet? How long have you been married? Where do you live? Can I come visit you?
Answer: Okay, okay. Calm down, now. Her name is Mrs. Hepworth, but some of you might still know her as Ms. Czapski. She is an English teacher at Franklin High School, and she coaches forensics there, too. In fact, that's how we met, at a forensics meet (Yeah, we're a pretty nerdy couple. For a good time we go home, turn the lights down low, light candles, and read student essays to each other and mark on them with red pens. Until we get distraced by the cat and throw paper balls for her to chase around the house.) Ms. Czapski and I have been married for three years. I live just a few minutes away from the school. That's all I'm going to tell you. No, you can't come visit. Here, why don't you look at this picture of us instead.
7. Mr. H., what is forensics?
Answer: Only the best thing in the world. And it's not watching people on TV hunt for the killers of dead bodies (well, actually the killers would have been killing live dead bodies, and then the bodies become dead, but now you're just distracing me...) Forensics is best described as competitive speaking and acting. Mrs. Koszarek, Mrs. Backhaus, Mrs. Tolbert, Senior Kocovsky and I are all coaches, so any of us can help answer your questions. We start the season in late November and run through the middle of spring. Most of our competitions take place on Saturdays as we travel to other schools and compete against 300 (ish) other students for individual and team trophies. Waterford happens to have one of the best teams in the area, too. In the last six years, we've won five conference championships, and have placed in the top five percent of Wisconsin schools four times. Forensics looks great on a resume, too, and improving your presentation and speaking skills will help you the rest of your life. Oh, and it's a great place to get a girlfriend (or a boyfriend). I should know. I found one there. A girlfriend, I mean. Then I married her!
8. Mr. H., what did you do this summer?
Answer: Um, not much. See normally my wife and I (and Twiggy) would go a-traveling...
8.1 Wait, did you say you go "a-traveling"? Mr. Hepworth, who uses that word!?!? Wait, did you say that Twiggy goes with you? Who travels with their cat?
2017 Answer: No, I don't know what happened to 2015 or 2016. Oops.
This summer my wife and I sold our house and bought a new one. So, ya' know, that was insane. I meant I spent a lot of time making the lawn look perfect, and cleaning the house to squeaky-clean degrees. Fortunately, both of these activities are some of my all time favorites, so that was pretty cool. The rest of the time was spent filling out paperwork, which was pretty boring.
For the first time, I got to take my extended family to the U.P. to my wife's family's cottage on the shore of Lake Superior. We visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Among other things, it's where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank (if you don't know what that is, go find the Gordon Lightfoot song about it...). We also visited the Museum Ship Valley Camp, and we ate at the best restaurant in all of Michigan, the Brown's Fish House in Paradise, MI. In addition to spending lots of time with the family, I also got to sped a lot of time with one of my new nephews, Alton. We even got to celebrate Alton's first birthday. I got him a Yoda bath towel. Most excellent in it, he looks.
Sadly, I didn't read too many books this summer--life was just too busy. But now, school is here, and life is all normal again! Hooray!
2014 Answer: First of all, I'll have you know that Twiggy is an excellent traveling companion. On the other hand, her kitty-friend Gatsby (my in-law's cat) poops in her cage when she travels - so, yeah, that's gross. But Twiggy doesn't even meow or cry when she's in the car. She just sleeps the whole way. We try to feed her little snacks when we stop for lunch, but Twiggy doesn't much care for french fries or burger bits.
This summer my entire family went to Iowa for my dad's 60th birthday. My parents have two cats, my brother and sister-in-law brought their dog and cat, and my sister and brother-in-law brought their dog. Yeah, it was quite the zoo. Wanna see some pictures of the pets? Okay!
Answer: Only the best thing in the world. And it's not watching people on TV hunt for the killers of dead bodies (well, actually the killers would have been killing live dead bodies, and then the bodies become dead, but now you're just distracing me...) Forensics is best described as competitive speaking and acting. Mrs. Koszarek, Mrs. Backhaus, Mrs. Tolbert, Senior Kocovsky and I are all coaches, so any of us can help answer your questions. We start the season in late November and run through the middle of spring. Most of our competitions take place on Saturdays as we travel to other schools and compete against 300 (ish) other students for individual and team trophies. Waterford happens to have one of the best teams in the area, too. In the last six years, we've won five conference championships, and have placed in the top five percent of Wisconsin schools four times. Forensics looks great on a resume, too, and improving your presentation and speaking skills will help you the rest of your life. Oh, and it's a great place to get a girlfriend (or a boyfriend). I should know. I found one there. A girlfriend, I mean. Then I married her!
8. Mr. H., what did you do this summer?
Answer: Um, not much. See normally my wife and I (and Twiggy) would go a-traveling...
8.1 Wait, did you say you go "a-traveling"? Mr. Hepworth, who uses that word!?!? Wait, did you say that Twiggy goes with you? Who travels with their cat?
2017 Answer: No, I don't know what happened to 2015 or 2016. Oops.
This summer my wife and I sold our house and bought a new one. So, ya' know, that was insane. I meant I spent a lot of time making the lawn look perfect, and cleaning the house to squeaky-clean degrees. Fortunately, both of these activities are some of my all time favorites, so that was pretty cool. The rest of the time was spent filling out paperwork, which was pretty boring.
For the first time, I got to take my extended family to the U.P. to my wife's family's cottage on the shore of Lake Superior. We visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Among other things, it's where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank (if you don't know what that is, go find the Gordon Lightfoot song about it...). We also visited the Museum Ship Valley Camp, and we ate at the best restaurant in all of Michigan, the Brown's Fish House in Paradise, MI. In addition to spending lots of time with the family, I also got to sped a lot of time with one of my new nephews, Alton. We even got to celebrate Alton's first birthday. I got him a Yoda bath towel. Most excellent in it, he looks.
Sadly, I didn't read too many books this summer--life was just too busy. But now, school is here, and life is all normal again! Hooray!
2014 Answer: First of all, I'll have you know that Twiggy is an excellent traveling companion. On the other hand, her kitty-friend Gatsby (my in-law's cat) poops in her cage when she travels - so, yeah, that's gross. But Twiggy doesn't even meow or cry when she's in the car. She just sleeps the whole way. We try to feed her little snacks when we stop for lunch, but Twiggy doesn't much care for french fries or burger bits.
This summer my entire family went to Iowa for my dad's 60th birthday. My parents have two cats, my brother and sister-in-law brought their dog and cat, and my sister and brother-in-law brought their dog. Yeah, it was quite the zoo. Wanna see some pictures of the pets? Okay!
After several days in Iowa, we jumped back in the car and drove around Chicago, through Michigan, and up to the U.P. to spend time at my in-law's cottage on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior. This year was a bit cold, and the mosquitoes were the size of eagles - mosqueagles, if you will.
Eventually we returned to Wisconsin. I spent a lot of time working at school, mowing my lawn (in fact, I just bought a new lawnmower 'cause my old one kept losing wheels.), and reading. Since the end of last school year, I have read 17 books (and I'll probably add a few more to that number in the next week and a half), or 7853 pages. That averages out to about 93 pages a day. (This is also why I don't have a lot sympathy when you tell me that you couldn't complete a 10 page reading assignment in one evening...I'm just sayin'.) I even read my longest book ever, The Way of Kings, which clocked in at 1,001 pages. It was spectacular, btw. My wife spent most of the summer sewing different dresses, attending reenacting events, and working at Old World Wisconsin.
I don't know about you, but I'm pumped that school is starting! YES, SCHOOL!
Eventually we returned to Wisconsin. I spent a lot of time working at school, mowing my lawn (in fact, I just bought a new lawnmower 'cause my old one kept losing wheels.), and reading. Since the end of last school year, I have read 17 books (and I'll probably add a few more to that number in the next week and a half), or 7853 pages. That averages out to about 93 pages a day. (This is also why I don't have a lot sympathy when you tell me that you couldn't complete a 10 page reading assignment in one evening...I'm just sayin'.) I even read my longest book ever, The Way of Kings, which clocked in at 1,001 pages. It was spectacular, btw. My wife spent most of the summer sewing different dresses, attending reenacting events, and working at Old World Wisconsin.
I don't know about you, but I'm pumped that school is starting! YES, SCHOOL!
2013 Answer: Wait, you mean you don't travel with your kitties? What do you do when you go a-travelin'? (See, cool people still use "a-traveling.") We just put Twiggy into her little kitty cage and off we go. She's a really good travel companion. No, really, she is. You should see my wife try to get her to drink water that she put into a single-serve plastic ketchup cup. It's cute. I don't think Twiggy's ever actually drunk from it, but that doesn't stop my wife from trying.
Anyway, we seem to have gotten distracted. This summer we didn't do much because my wife got a job working at Old World Wisconsin. Every day she got dressed up in her oldie-time finery and taught sticky, runny-booger five-year-olds how to play oldie-time games. And some days she would bake oldie-time confectioneries. (Look up that word if you don't know what it means. It's a good word to add to your vocabulary. Use it to impress dates when you go on dates with 'em.)
Anyway, we seem to have gotten distracted. This summer we didn't do much because my wife got a job working at Old World Wisconsin. Every day she got dressed up in her oldie-time finery and taught sticky, runny-booger five-year-olds how to play oldie-time games. And some days she would bake oldie-time confectioneries. (Look up that word if you don't know what it means. It's a good word to add to your vocabulary. Use it to impress dates when you go on dates with 'em.)
In the meantime, I spent my summer mowing the lawn, building a retaining-wall/garden thingy, reading books, playing video games (I'm not telling you anything more about that), and, well, I spent a lot of time here at school working. I know, I'm cool.
Eventually, we did pack up the kitty and drove to Extreme Northern Wisconsin, a.k.a. the U.P. to spend a week at the cottage on Lake Superior. It was kinda cold, and there were a lot of mosquitoes. I spent most of the time reading more books.
Speaking of books, because I know you were curious, I read twenty-two books this summer. That would be 9,139 pages, or 415 pages per book, or about 105 pages a day. Yup. It's okay to be jealous.
2012 Answer: Well, I had myself a very busy summer. First, my wife and I went to Iowa to see my family. Then, we all packed up into several cars and drove across the Midwest to Sheridan, Wyoming, for my Nana's 80th birthday party. There's nothing quite like a crazy party filled with a bunch of 80 and 90 year-olds! While we were in Wyoming, we hiked in the mountains, took the four-wheelers into the dusty plains, went to a parade, and we even went to a rodeo...where we waited a really long time in line to get some really bad food, only to turn around and watch some fair-goer puke his guts out right at our feet. Nice. At least the bare-back horse races, steer wrestling, and calf-roping were awesome!
After that, we drove back to Iowa, then home to Waterford for a day, then back in the car to go east to Michigan to spend a week at my wife's family farm where we had a small family reunion of sorts. Then we drove up north to Michigan's U.P. (that's Upper North Wisconsin 'cause we all know that Yoopers really just wanna be part of Wisconsin), and spent two weeks on the shores of Lake Superior at the cottage...where we had another family reunion (I'm so sick of family! (That's not really true - it was just hyperbole)). By this point, Twiggy was really starting to miss home, so we drove back south.
But on the way, we had to stop off in Wausau so my sister could get married. Yup, so we did that, too. Finally, after six weeks of bein' away we made it back home. And Twiggy was very happy. Oh, I also read a lot of books (There is no TV or Internet at the farm nor cottage, so there was a LOT of time to read.). I read 21 books this summer. A grand total of 7,953 pages. Yup. I'm bragging.
9. Mr. H., seriously, that's way too many books. Don't you have a life or something?
Answer: No, I don't.
10. Mr. Hepworth, this is a parent asking this question. My son/daughter spends too much time playing video games/texting/braiding his/her hair/"Bedazzling" his/her jeans, and I'd really like him/her to read some books instead. Do you have any good recommendations or favorite authors you could pass along. Please. It's for the children.
Answer: Wow, actually, this is a much harder question to answer than you'd think 'cause I've read so much. Where do I start? Well, okay, let's start with this: I'm better at recommending books for boys than for girls. My wife, however, she reads as much as I do, so we could pick her brain if you're looking for books for your daughters. As for books for your sons, let 'em read books that don't suck! Let 'em read Star Wars novels, or Halo books, or Assassin's Creed stories! Give them novels by Orson Scott Card, John Scalzi, and Stephen King! Let 'em revel in all things male: blood, and guts, and explosions, and action, and spaceships, and swords, and dragons, and gun fights, and big knife fights, and zombies - lots of zombies!
For a better answer, I'm going to refer to you back to my class library HERE. I try really hard to stock books that students will actually want to read. And I'm always willing to give tours of my library, too, so you can see just what sits on my shelf.
Eventually, we did pack up the kitty and drove to Extreme Northern Wisconsin, a.k.a. the U.P. to spend a week at the cottage on Lake Superior. It was kinda cold, and there were a lot of mosquitoes. I spent most of the time reading more books.
Speaking of books, because I know you were curious, I read twenty-two books this summer. That would be 9,139 pages, or 415 pages per book, or about 105 pages a day. Yup. It's okay to be jealous.
2012 Answer: Well, I had myself a very busy summer. First, my wife and I went to Iowa to see my family. Then, we all packed up into several cars and drove across the Midwest to Sheridan, Wyoming, for my Nana's 80th birthday party. There's nothing quite like a crazy party filled with a bunch of 80 and 90 year-olds! While we were in Wyoming, we hiked in the mountains, took the four-wheelers into the dusty plains, went to a parade, and we even went to a rodeo...where we waited a really long time in line to get some really bad food, only to turn around and watch some fair-goer puke his guts out right at our feet. Nice. At least the bare-back horse races, steer wrestling, and calf-roping were awesome!
After that, we drove back to Iowa, then home to Waterford for a day, then back in the car to go east to Michigan to spend a week at my wife's family farm where we had a small family reunion of sorts. Then we drove up north to Michigan's U.P. (that's Upper North Wisconsin 'cause we all know that Yoopers really just wanna be part of Wisconsin), and spent two weeks on the shores of Lake Superior at the cottage...where we had another family reunion (I'm so sick of family! (That's not really true - it was just hyperbole)). By this point, Twiggy was really starting to miss home, so we drove back south.
But on the way, we had to stop off in Wausau so my sister could get married. Yup, so we did that, too. Finally, after six weeks of bein' away we made it back home. And Twiggy was very happy. Oh, I also read a lot of books (There is no TV or Internet at the farm nor cottage, so there was a LOT of time to read.). I read 21 books this summer. A grand total of 7,953 pages. Yup. I'm bragging.
9. Mr. H., seriously, that's way too many books. Don't you have a life or something?
Answer: No, I don't.
10. Mr. Hepworth, this is a parent asking this question. My son/daughter spends too much time playing video games/texting/braiding his/her hair/"Bedazzling" his/her jeans, and I'd really like him/her to read some books instead. Do you have any good recommendations or favorite authors you could pass along. Please. It's for the children.
Answer: Wow, actually, this is a much harder question to answer than you'd think 'cause I've read so much. Where do I start? Well, okay, let's start with this: I'm better at recommending books for boys than for girls. My wife, however, she reads as much as I do, so we could pick her brain if you're looking for books for your daughters. As for books for your sons, let 'em read books that don't suck! Let 'em read Star Wars novels, or Halo books, or Assassin's Creed stories! Give them novels by Orson Scott Card, John Scalzi, and Stephen King! Let 'em revel in all things male: blood, and guts, and explosions, and action, and spaceships, and swords, and dragons, and gun fights, and big knife fights, and zombies - lots of zombies!
For a better answer, I'm going to refer to you back to my class library HERE. I try really hard to stock books that students will actually want to read. And I'm always willing to give tours of my library, too, so you can see just what sits on my shelf.
11. Mr. Hepworth, I heard that one of the parents on Parent's Day asked you if you played video games, and I heard that you even answered the question. So...do you play video games? What do you play, and can I pwn you on CoD?
Answer: Yes, I occasionally play video games (This is Mr. Hepworth's wife, here...if by "occasionally" you mean whenever I'm not using the TV then, yeah, I guess you play "occasionally"!) Um, Mrs. Hepworth, don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration? (Mrs. Hepworth: No, I don't!) Seriously, honey, I only play video games so I can better relate to this generation's students! I swear! (Mrs. H.: Mr. H., you are so full of crap...) Ouch, dear, that really hurts. Ouch. (Mrs. H.: Don't be such a baby. Suck it up.)
...
Well, that was unpleasant. Geez. Now how am I supposed to answer the question? I know, I'll do it secretly...
Yes, I play video games. I mostly prefer RPG's but I have been known to dabble in shooters. No, I don't play online with the shooters. I don't really want to have to talk/coordinate/play with some little second grader from Canada. Currently, though, I am a bit addicted to Dark Souls 2. It's like Skyrim, swords and dragons and whatnot, but for men. Come on guys, step it up - leave Skyrim; join me in Dark Souls 2 (parents, don't worry, I didn't just invite your child to join me in some strange cult, I swear). Real men play Dark Souls. Okay, enough about video games. If you really want to know more, just ask me in person. In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty honest with my answers.
There! It's secret! You can't see it, can you? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
12. Mr. Hepworth, where are you from? Where did you go to school? What did you do when you were in high school?
Answer: I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In October. That's as close as you're going to get to my birthday. I attended Regis Catholic High School as a freshman and sophomore. Then my high school merged with another local Catholic high school and became a brand new high school in a brand new building called Xavier High School.
While I was in high school I played in the band (played the trombone, but not very well), sang in the choir (a lot of choirs, actually), performed in forensics, acted in plays and musicals, ran cross-country, played basketball and volleyball. Oh, and I was in Boy Scouts. I'm an Eagle, btw. See, that makes me safe. Safe, I tell you! Here's proof:
Answer: Yes, I occasionally play video games (This is Mr. Hepworth's wife, here...if by "occasionally" you mean whenever I'm not using the TV then, yeah, I guess you play "occasionally"!) Um, Mrs. Hepworth, don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration? (Mrs. Hepworth: No, I don't!) Seriously, honey, I only play video games so I can better relate to this generation's students! I swear! (Mrs. H.: Mr. H., you are so full of crap...) Ouch, dear, that really hurts. Ouch. (Mrs. H.: Don't be such a baby. Suck it up.)
...
Well, that was unpleasant. Geez. Now how am I supposed to answer the question? I know, I'll do it secretly...
Yes, I play video games. I mostly prefer RPG's but I have been known to dabble in shooters. No, I don't play online with the shooters. I don't really want to have to talk/coordinate/play with some little second grader from Canada. Currently, though, I am a bit addicted to Dark Souls 2. It's like Skyrim, swords and dragons and whatnot, but for men. Come on guys, step it up - leave Skyrim; join me in Dark Souls 2 (parents, don't worry, I didn't just invite your child to join me in some strange cult, I swear). Real men play Dark Souls. Okay, enough about video games. If you really want to know more, just ask me in person. In case you haven't noticed, I'm pretty honest with my answers.
There! It's secret! You can't see it, can you? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
12. Mr. Hepworth, where are you from? Where did you go to school? What did you do when you were in high school?
Answer: I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In October. That's as close as you're going to get to my birthday. I attended Regis Catholic High School as a freshman and sophomore. Then my high school merged with another local Catholic high school and became a brand new high school in a brand new building called Xavier High School.
While I was in high school I played in the band (played the trombone, but not very well), sang in the choir (a lot of choirs, actually), performed in forensics, acted in plays and musicals, ran cross-country, played basketball and volleyball. Oh, and I was in Boy Scouts. I'm an Eagle, btw. See, that makes me safe. Safe, I tell you! Here's proof:
Okay, well, I those aren't really pictures of a Boy Scout. Maybe things will be better in college. So let's talk about that next.
On a side-note: I attended the same high school as Kurt Warner..who was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer!!!! Go Regis High School!!!! (Sadly, Regis High School is now Regis Middle School.)
13. What about college?
Answer: What about it?
14. (Sigh.) Where did you go? What did you do? Any degrees?
Answer: I attended college at Concordia University Wisconsin. There I received a major in English and Secondary Education and a minor in Theater. In college mostly I sang in the choir, and acted in plays and musicals. I did nothing exciting nor scandalous while at college. Sorry to disappoint, but it's true. Perhaps we can find a nice mature-looking picture of me in college to help set my image straight:
On a side-note: I attended the same high school as Kurt Warner..who was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer!!!! Go Regis High School!!!! (Sadly, Regis High School is now Regis Middle School.)
13. What about college?
Answer: What about it?
14. (Sigh.) Where did you go? What did you do? Any degrees?
Answer: I attended college at Concordia University Wisconsin. There I received a major in English and Secondary Education and a minor in Theater. In college mostly I sang in the choir, and acted in plays and musicals. I did nothing exciting nor scandalous while at college. Sorry to disappoint, but it's true. Perhaps we can find a nice mature-looking picture of me in college to help set my image straight:
15. So what do you do now for fun? I mean besides play video games, since you and your wife covered that question pretty thoroughly in question 11.
Answer: Read. Watch the Packers. Read. Grade papers. Read. Mow the lawn or snow-blow the driveway. Yeah, I don't really do a lot for fun, unless you love reading as much as I do, I mean. I don't really watch TV (oh, except for re-runs of The Big Bang Theory. I love TBBT!) or movies. Um, yeah. Oh, I know! Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean every day of my life) I make Twiggy say really dumb things. Just take one of my classes, and I'm sure you'll hear about it eventually.
16. Mr. Hepworth, what's with all of the posters in your room that talk about interviewing authors?
Answer: Great question! I'm SO glad you asked!
For the last few years I've been organizing and moderating Skype interview with New York Times bestselling authors. Sometimes the interview are specifically for my Science Fiction Lit. class, but I always run several interviews that anyone can attend. (And if you really want to, I can also probably squeeze you into an interview with the SciFi Lit. class.) Most interviews last and hour, and we get to talk to the author about anything we want. I've got quite a few interviews in the works for this year, but you'll have to stop by my room to see who's actually been confirmed. If you think you'd want to talk to an author, the next step is to read his/her book. I always have lots of copies from my interview authors, so you should be able to start reading about spaceships, lasers, swords or druids right away.
Here are a few of the books we've read and a few of the authors we've talked to in the last two years:
Answer: Read. Watch the Packers. Read. Grade papers. Read. Mow the lawn or snow-blow the driveway. Yeah, I don't really do a lot for fun, unless you love reading as much as I do, I mean. I don't really watch TV (oh, except for re-runs of The Big Bang Theory. I love TBBT!) or movies. Um, yeah. Oh, I know! Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean every day of my life) I make Twiggy say really dumb things. Just take one of my classes, and I'm sure you'll hear about it eventually.
16. Mr. Hepworth, what's with all of the posters in your room that talk about interviewing authors?
Answer: Great question! I'm SO glad you asked!
For the last few years I've been organizing and moderating Skype interview with New York Times bestselling authors. Sometimes the interview are specifically for my Science Fiction Lit. class, but I always run several interviews that anyone can attend. (And if you really want to, I can also probably squeeze you into an interview with the SciFi Lit. class.) Most interviews last and hour, and we get to talk to the author about anything we want. I've got quite a few interviews in the works for this year, but you'll have to stop by my room to see who's actually been confirmed. If you think you'd want to talk to an author, the next step is to read his/her book. I always have lots of copies from my interview authors, so you should be able to start reading about spaceships, lasers, swords or druids right away.
Here are a few of the books we've read and a few of the authors we've talked to in the last two years:
17. Mr. Hepworth, you gonna go see Star Wars: The Last Jedi?
Answer: Yes, like a million times. Yes, I loved the Force Awakens. No, Rey is not a Mary Sue. Yes, she is secretly going to be my wife (Sorry, Catherine). Yes, Star-Killer Base is pretty dumb. No, The Force Awakens is not too much like A New Hope. Yes, Kylo Ren is an awesome villain. No, Rey is not going to be Luke Skywalker's daughter, I'm calling it right now. Yes, Rogue One is brilliant. No, I'm not super pumped for the Han Solo movie. Yes, I'll still see it like a million times in the theater. No, Luke is not going to survive to the end of the movie. Yes, I cried when I heard that Carrie Fisher died.
Answer: Yes, like a million times. Yes, I loved the Force Awakens. No, Rey is not a Mary Sue. Yes, she is secretly going to be my wife (Sorry, Catherine). Yes, Star-Killer Base is pretty dumb. No, The Force Awakens is not too much like A New Hope. Yes, Kylo Ren is an awesome villain. No, Rey is not going to be Luke Skywalker's daughter, I'm calling it right now. Yes, Rogue One is brilliant. No, I'm not super pumped for the Han Solo movie. Yes, I'll still see it like a million times in the theater. No, Luke is not going to survive to the end of the movie. Yes, I cried when I heard that Carrie Fisher died.