Originally, I am from Covington Kentucky up until age 17. Then
over 20 years in the United States Air Force, which led me to Alamogordo area (adjacent to the White Sands Monument)

Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?

New Mexico State University and it was Occupational Business.

What has been your career path from college to your current position at White Sands?

Well, since I did not start college till I retired from the Air Force I was finishing up my degree when I was offered a position at
White Sands as a seasonal employee.

What are your typical duties day-to-day at the White Sands?

Along with being a visitor use assistant - fee collector - I am in charge of the Special Use Program. Permits for weddings, group use area applications, and special events that includes our Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival, Early Easter Sunrise Service, etc.

If you weren’t a national park ranger, what would you be doing?

I would probably be working on the Air Force Base for the government as an aircraft inspector overseeing a civilian contractor working on Air Force airplanes.

How does having an Air Force base right next door to the monument impact it?

Pretty good for us actually, whenever they have some type of event such as Airshow, Octoberfest, Base Open House we get over flow to the Park and our visitation goes up a bit. Although, we have had aircraft crash on our property and it makes for quite a red tape mess.

What is one little known fact about the park that you want visitors and readers to know?

That 3 to 4 inches down in the sand the temperature stays at a pretty constant 57 degrees, no matter how hot or cold it is. You get lost in the cold of the winter at night, then just bury yourself in the sand and you will stay warm till morning. In the summer if it is
115 degrees just bury yourself and you will stay cool till the sun goes down.

Here is a bonus. Eighteen inches down from anywhere on the hardpacked sand or at the bottom of a dune you will reach water. Very salty water but water none the less.

How did the white sands actually form? Are they still forming?

The real short version is that the gypsum is in the mountains and the wind and rain carry it to Lake Lucero twnty miles down the road. When when the lake bed dries up the gypsum chunks break apart and are carried by the wind and replenish the dunes.There is a seventeen minute film on the whole process in our Visitors Centers.

What is your favorite part of the monument?

Two or three miles out from the heart of the dunes on top of a big dune with a cool summer breeze blowing across you as the sun goes down in the fiery sky of southwestern New Mexico.

What are the two biggest challenges that the White Sands monument faces?

Education of a new generation to the enjoyment of all for the National Parks and to the protection of this precious resource we have been entrusted with. Such programs as the Junior Ranger Program and on-site visits to the schools to talk to the kids who will soon enough be responsible for taking care of the Park System.

Is the White Sands featured at all in the new Ken Burns” documentary?

Honestly, I do not know if we are and I have not been following the Ken Burn’s specials.

How many people visit the monument every year?

We get anywhere from 450,000 to 600,000 a year give or take the economy

Has anyone ever got lost and stranded in the monument or died from exposure?

We have numerous people get lost and found every year and we have had one fatality since this place
became a National Monument.

Copyright 2009 DailyInterview.com

I actually did all three of the rifle events.

Which are what?

The air rifle match and then there are two matches in small bore. One is the prone match and then the other is the three position match.

Is it typical for competitors to shoot in all three?

Somewhat. Some of the very top hands specialize in either just air rifle or just small bore and then there are some that only shoot the prone events. But there were quite a few there that shot all three.

Which is your best?

The prone match is probably my best one and it’s actually the one I qualified in to get to get to the Olympics. I qualified in prone but because I was there I was able to shoot the other two matches as well.

Do you actually shoot bullets?

Yeah, it is a 22 caliber small bore rifle and it is a 60 shot match at 50 meters. International matchs are all at 50 meters. Add up the scores and that’s it.

How big is the bull’s eye you are shooting at?

At 50 meters, the bull’s eye, the “10” ring, is probably about the size of a dime.

How many times do you hit that out of 60 shots?

You are looking at least 55 or 56 times to make the finals. There is always someone who hits it 60 out of 60. Using open sights, no telescopic sights.

When you shoot in the Olympics do you take your own rifle or do they issue equipment?

No, no, you have all your own equipment.

How do they know you are not going to gin up your rifle some way to game the competition?

They check it. We go through a fairly strict equipment control at every competition, so we’ll have our jacket checked, our pants, our boots, our rifles and everything is checked and there are obviously specifications.

Do you have to break in a rifle like you have to break in a baseball mitt?

If you get a new a new barrel, you may have to break it in. It may take three or four thousand rounds until it is really getting some accuracy. It terms of the actual stock, that is something you can use straight away.

So, when you were getting ready to try for the Olympics, how did you practice?

You practice, you just shoot. Same as something like golf. Golfers just hit the driving range and hit ball after ball after ball all day long. It is similar for us. We come into the range and just shoot. Obviously there are a lot of different drills you can do.

Like what?

I may be shooting but working on different exercises. I may do dry firing where I am pulling the trigger but the rifle doesn’t have any bullets in it. I may be doing some stuff with my eyes closed. I may be working on balance.

An former athlete of yours has told me that you do aerobic activity so that you slow your heart rate down.

It’s not so much… yes it is to slow the heart rate down but it’s just for your stamina and health. We do cardio just to be in shape. The best way to describe it is we aren’t weighlifters or football players but if we are going to an international competition and I have been to plenty where it is 80 or 90 degrees and you are shooting a three position match, a three position match will last three, three and a half hours. Prone, standing, and kneeling. In the standing position our rifles weigh up to fourteen, fifteen pounds. In the standing position you are in the free standing position. A normal person will pick up one of our rifles and be pretty tired in five or ten minutes. We are not just only standing there with the rifle. We are standing there trying to hold it exactly still. And then we are doing that for maybe an hour. And you are not only doing that but your brain is working on overtime. Your focus and concentration has to be tops.

Do you run, do you lift weights, do you do yoga?

Pretty much everything. General cardio, you can do anything. There is nothing you have to do. For me personally, I probably do more running than anything

How far would you run in a day?

At the moment, I try to do three days a week, I try to do anywhere from three to five miles. I probably need to start doing longer runs and be running for an hour at a time to build my stamina.

Do you do stretching like yoga?

I actually have never tried yoga but flexibility and balance and core strength is very important. So, I think something like yoga would be an incredibly good thing to do. I have never gotten into it and tried it. We do a lot of core stuff.

Core like sit-ups and squat thrusts?

All the exercises we do combines flexibility and balance, so all your squats. A lot of the exercises we use the balance ball for. Instead of bench press you would do dumbbell press on the balance ball. The team works with the strength and conditioning coaches.

Where are you from?

My parents say I’m from another planet. But my birth certificate says I’m from Miami, Florida. So I’ve been basically living in a state of confusion.

Where did you go to college and what was your major?

I’m a graduate of Cornell University, and according to my father, I majored in “Time and Space.”

I was the political cartoonist for the Cornell Daily Sun and the founding editor of the Cornell Lunatic (the campus humor magazine), and according to the Cornell Alumni Magazine, I was “the university’s most persistent prankster.”

What has been your career path from college to the present?

My career path? I followed the Yellow Brick Road, of course. After college, I wrote for the National Lampoon, got kicked off for writing an article in Rolling Stone on why the National Lampoon wasn’t funny anymore, and continued writing for the Lampoon without their knowledge under the pseudonym of a woman.

I had my first book published at age 24, worked at J. Walter Thompson writing TV commercials for Burger King, backpacked around the world on my honeymoon for two years, and wrote TV commercials for Walt Disney World in Florida.

In 1994, after a few more lousy jobs in advertising, I decided to write books full-time.

How did you get into the business of writing books about off-beat uses of brand-name products? Is the Nestea Ice tea story really true?

Yep, the Nestea story is true. While working at J. Walter Thompson in New York, I was asked into a conference room for a meeting on Nestea and told to generate alternative uses for the ice tea mix. One of the account people in the meeting told us that he was an avid sailor, and that one weekend while on his sailboat, he got badly sunburned.

So he went home, poured an entire jar of Nestea powdered mix into his bathtub, filled the bath with water, and soaked in it. I told him, “That’s not what they meant by ‘Take the Nestea Plunge.’” He said, “No, really, it’s the tannic acid in the tea that relieves sunburn pain. If you’re ever badly sunburned, think of me and do it. You’ll thank me.”

I thought to myself, “This belongs in a book.” So many years later, I went to the grocery store and bought thirty to forty products that we all know and love, contacted the companies, and asked for their secret files. People write in to the companies all the time with their alternative uses for the products, and the companies never publish that information.

I also sequestered myself in the public library and did a lot of research.

What is your favorite book that you have written?

That would be a four-way tie between Selling Out: If Famous Authors Wrote Advertising, The Zen of Oz: Ten Spiritual Lessons from Over the Rainbow, The Jolly President: Letters George W. Bush Never Read, and Marx & Lennon: The Parallel Sayings.

Which book has been your most successful commercially?

Joey Green’s Magic Brands.

What one non-fiction book written by somebody else do you wish you had written?

The Bible. It’s sold more copies than any other book in history. The author must be very rich.

How many of the thousands of suggestions in your books have you actually tried?

2,347.

Why did you decide to start the Cornell Lunatic? Is it still being published?

To make the students, faculty, and employees of Cornell University laugh and stop taking themselves so seriously. The Cornell Lunatic publishes to this very day. It’s now more than 30 years old.

Why did you write the slinky book? Where did the idea come from?

I thought it would be fun. Everyone loves a Slinky. I had come up with a few alternative uses for the Slinky while writing books on offbeat uses for brand-name products, and I thought an entire book focusing on real and ridiculous uses for the Slinky might be fun.

Did you have a slinky when you were growing up?

Yes. As one of four children, we had several. Somehow they all ended up as a big tangled knot of steel coil.

Why does Heinz Apple Cidar Vinegar work to attract and kill bugs?

I’m not a chemist, but my guess is that the sweetness of the apple cider attracts the insects, and then the acetic acid in the vinegar kills them.

Why do you think so many manufacturers are resistant to having their products in your books?

The lawyers in the legal departments of the companies get scared that they’ll be sued and lose their jobs. For instance, Kraft advertises Jell-O gelatin as a dessert, not a hair mousse product. The lawyers are afraid that if someone uses Jell-O as mousse and doesn’t like the result, they’ll sue Kraft.

Ever since that lady spilled McDonald’s coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, many corporate lawyers are easily freaked out. So now there’s a warning on every cup of McDonald’s coffee that says “Warning: Hot.” It should really say: “Please allow this coffee to cool down before pouring it on your crotch.”

Are you legally required to get manufacturer’s permission before you name alternate uses for their products?

No.

Which manufacturer has been most open/friendly/helpful in having their products in your books?

The people who make Kleenex Tissues. They were originally invented solely to remove makeup from the faces of Hollywood stars. But people started writing into the company, raving that the tissues were great as a substitute for a handkerchief.

At first, Kleenex didn’t want people blowing their noses in their product, but then they realizes that there are more people who blow their noses than there are Hollywood stars who need to remove makeup.

So, the company is indebted to the American public for coming up with this alternative use for the tissue. And they gave me a list of alternatives uses for Kleenex Tissues that they had been compiling since 1922.

What advice would you give to someone starting out writing non-fiction?

Use spell-check.

What has been your biggest career mistake?

This interview.

What has been your biggest product alternate use catastrophe?

Surprisingly, I haven’t had one.

What is your best memory working for National Lampoon?

I was there for the premiere of Animal House in the summer of 1978, followed by a party at the Village Gate. The entire cast of the movie was there. It was a blast.

What are your three all-time best/favorite alternate product uses?

My favorites are polishing furniture with Spam, deodorizing smelly feet with Jell-O, and shaving with Jif Peanut Butter.

How do you deal with people who complain that your uses don’t really work and Spam ruined the dining room table?

I ask if they followed the directions properly.

Have you really used M and M’s for fishing bait?

No, I don’t fish. But if I did fish, I would definitely use M&M’s as bait. You can snack on the bait while you’re fishing. That’s not something you can do with worms. Well, you can, but I don’t recommend it.

Copyright 2009 DailyInterview.com

Where are you from?

Aberdeen, Scotland.

Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?

I went to University of Leeds in England and I did a bachelors in earth sciences and geography and then I came over here and did a master’s at WVU in sports management.

How long did it take you to do that?

Essentially I was in school here for two years, but it is a one or two year program. Actually the very first year I was here competing on the rifle team I did athletic coaching and then it was the second year that I moved onto sport management. Some of the classes I did the first year transferred to the second year. So, basically two years.

Were you recruited to come shoot at WVU?

Pretty much. I started the process back home. I started sending emails to different coaches and started the recruiting process. Essentially I came here for the rifle team., but obviously I didn’t want to waste two years and not come away with something.

I found the Sport management program and it was something that interested me as well. So it was nice to get that out of it as well.

Tell me how you got started in rifle in Scotland. Isn’t the UK supposed to be a non gun country?

Guns are not the most popular but the only thing that are actually banned are handguns of 22 caliber and above. So, shotguns are all legal, rifles are legal, and pistols which are air pistols are legal.

So, in terms of the shooting sports and all the Olympic sports they are all perfectly legal. You do have to hold licenses and be members of gun clubs, so there is strict control over it. But, there are still gun clubs everywhere.

How old were you when you start shooting?

I started when I was nine years old. I started at a small school I went to, a small boarding school in Scotland. The teacher was really keen (on it) and everybody in the school tried it at one point or another and I just got into it from there.

Does anybody in your family shoot?

Not really. After a couple of years and when I joined a local club in Aberdeen my dad picked it up and he has been shooting at the club ever since.

But you shot before your dad?

Yes, we lived in the country but there was no shooting back then.

Did you hunt when you were growing up?

No, not really.

Have you ever hunted?

A couple of times. I have been in West Virginia for six years now. I have gone out with people a couple of times that have gone hunting.

But for me, shooting is very much a sport. I see it as a sport that I do, as a hobby, but I am not gun crazy. I am not desperate to go shoot all different types of guns and go hunting.

How many guns do you have in your house?

None.

Do you own a handgun?

No.

Have you ever owned a handgun?

No.

In the specialty of rifle shooting there are different categories. Which type of rifle did you shoot in the Olympics?

I actually did all three of the rifle events.

Which are what?

The air rifle match and then there are two matches in small bore. One is the prone match and then the other is the three position match.

Is it typical for competitors to shoot in all three?

Somewhat.

I really like Judy Dench. I really like the British actresses because they have such good technique. And they crossover so well. They do all this dialogue work which is really incredible.

They are native British speakers and they get coached and do the research so they can play say a Southern dialect. If you get it wrong it is really noticeable. Heath Ledger did a lot of dialect work in Brokeback Mountain.

Did you think Heath Ledger was believable as a Wyoming cowboy?

Absolutely. I have not seen Dark Knight yet where he used some kind of weird language that was not his dialect. But, Judy Dench, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslett. Some of the Canadian actresses up in Stratford I am just awed by.

Do you go to the theatre much?

I do. There is a lot connected with the theatre department. I go to school with a lot of kids and I want to go see them perform.

What degree are you working on? Are you still in set design?

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. I got training in the actors’ studio in the department. I am a forever student in the Acting department.

When you go see a movie or play, do you get thrown off by critiquing the performance technically?

No, I am simply aware of it. I can tell bad acting or not so great acting as well as the next person. I know why. If I saw someone playing a psychologist or mental health professional, I would know if that would fly.

What did you think of the HBO series In Treatment that was based on a therapist and his clients?

I have only seen one episode… and I really liked it. It happened to be an interesting episode where a pilot was goingto go back to Iraq and try to find the town he blew away and assuage his unacknowledged guilt. I thought it was a really engaging and pretty truthful session.

So, as a therapist you were watching a therapy session and you thought it was realistic?

Yes.

Did you think the acting was good?

Yeah, I thought it was pretty good on that occasion.

What’s your dream role?

When you get in middle age and older, you get to do things like being a crazy mother or an evil mother, a queen, Eleanor Roosevelt. One is cast as a certain type.

I have a sort of queenly demeanor. I am not Estelle Parsons orsomebody like that who was a Golden Girl. I would like to do something that is out of the square for me. We are going to do Hamlet at the University and I have thought about auditioning but I would like to be the gravedigger.

They are going to do Urinetown at the university and it is going to be directed by a guy who has worked on musicals in New York before he came back (to Morgantown) to teach. I would love to do a musical because that would complete my childhood dream. There is dancing and I love dancing and there would be a sense of completion.

Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com

How did you get interested in acting?

I had a friend who I met through a client. This woman was a costumer; she did theatre tech which involves costuming and set design. I have always been redesigning or renovating our farmhouse, which is 130 years old, as a hobby. So I thought I would love to do the set design thing. My husband was so relieved.. that school would be less expensive than renovating.

And, I decided coincidentally around 2001 I needed to do something else with my life besides just work as a psychologist because I was really getting tired.

So, I checked into set design in the theater department at WVU. As a prerequisite you had to take some kind of introto acting course and an overview of theatre as prerequisites. I got kinda hooked actually by the professor who taught the acting course, who said I should be an actress.

You got into acting through set design?

Yeah, I was going to get a degree in set design.

To get out of psychology?

No, to do both.

So, you took acting 101?

I took it as a summer course for two weeks at the university. And, I had a great time.

Had you done any acting before?

I had in junior high school. I got pulled into it by my mom. I was really shy and I had a lot of performance anxiety. And, I made it into the acting club and that was great until I had a lead role and I totally blanked out and dissociated.I was full of shame and I left the club.

I had grown up as a kid dreaming of musical theatre. I’d sing to musicals and dance and do all that as my solitary play. The middle school experience finished that off.. for about 40 years.

Is anybody in your family an actor?

Nope.

So you have been acting since 2001?

Yeah, I got really small parts in the acting in the productions at the university partly because they have people thirtyand under. Some times they need an older person. I don’t have a lot of competition.

You aren’t going for the ingénue roles?

Ah, no. I think those days are over. I think even having a love interest that is younger than thirty is really over too.

What has been your favorite role?

I think my favorite role was a project that I did with two graduate students from the department. We did it in ourcommunity theatre. We did it in April 2008. It was a Canadian play Elizabeth Rex that was put up initially byStratford up in Ontario. It won the Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer.

It is really interesting. It is about Elizabeth the first in her last yearsof life, the night before her last lover is executed for treason. It is a really smart play. It was really fun. My friend who is an actress, she played the male actor who plays female roles for Shakespeare.

In Elizabethan England they didn’t let women play roles at all. The men played the roles. So, Denise played a guy who played the women. It was wonderful, it was really fun. It was a thrill.

Do you do this professionally?

No. I would be interested in auditioning professionally but there is nothing close and I don’t want to disrupt my life. I have friends here, I have my husband, I have my clients. I am really happy doing community theatre.

So, where do you want to go with your acting?

I take one project at a time.

Do you want to direct?

Yeah, I would feel comfortable now directing. I haven’t directed anything yet but I feel I know enough to start doing it.

Do you write plays?

I have been taking intro to playwriting courses. I have taken two and a friend of mine is a poet. She wrote a series of poems about Sago, the mine disaster in 2006 and we have talked about doing a joint project and I am writing a script for my class and I hope to get at least a reading at the community theatre.

You are both an actor and a psychologist. Do your find that your acting helps you more in doing therapy or does your psychology background help you more in your acting?

At this point, I have had enough training and experience that I can marry them. I think my acting helped my therapywork and some of the things I use in my office from acting school have been really useful.

Like what?

How to properly do breathing to calm yourself. People say they are relaxed but they don’t do it right, they don’t do diaphragmatic breathing. I can reenact for somebody their nonverbal communication. I can say “this is how you said it to her” to a couple. I can play the other partner and show them how they used their tone of voice and inflections and they usually accept that.

I use things about voice and tone of voice - the higher ranges is a social trained and you are not using your natural voice. You are using a tense voice, it is not really grounded.

Copyright 2008 DailyInterview.com

Where are you from?

I was brought up in the Chicago area, in Illinois.

Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?

I went to Stanford and I was a psych major.

And then you got further training? That was your undergraduate major?

That was my undergraduate major. Then I went back to the Chicago area after college and got a master’s in special ed and I was a special ed teacher.

But, I think I always wanted to be a psychologist so I went back to school and came to WVU and got a PhD in clinical psych.

What has been your career path from the end of your training to now? When you did you get your PhD?

In ‘84.

What have you done career-wise from ‘84 to 2008?

I worked at University of Pittsburgh as a researcher in social skills training, developmental stuff. I was beginning a private practice once I got licensed about a year after I graduated.

Then, I did a little bit of private practice floating between Pittsburgh and Morgantown. Then, I stayed in Morgantown. My husband Mike relocated here full-time.

I have always had a couple of contracts. I worked at an adolescent addiction center as a psychologist for about seven years. I worked at an adult addiction center for a couple of years.

I taught psych courses as a contracted adjunct with the psych department at WVU. Now, I am adjunct faculty in Behavioral Medicine. I see residents. In the past I worked a lot with the court system. I did a lot of work with sexually abused kids and adult abuse survivors, which I stopped doing probably seven years ago now, maybe eight.

Then, ’til four years ago I contracted with the public schools in the county south of us working with their special ed kids, which was like doing mental health care with abused kids in the schools.

What is your area of specialty right now?

I am seeing adults. No pure character disorders, rather cases that are not so stressful. I see marital couples. I see men and women with developmental issues or lifespan issues or depression.

I see some adolescents. I see fighting mother daughter pairs; those are some of my favorite cases because they are so flamboyant. I see a few kids but not very many.

There has been some press recently about psychologists taking part in prisoner interrogations at Guantanamo Bay, aiding the military in breaking down prisoners. What’s your take on that?

The American Psych Association sent around a letter about whether as an organization they should endorse it or not. I signed a petition that said absolutely not. It is unethical. It is not for me.

So, you think there should be no psychologists present?

Yes. I mean, I assume they are not there for the benefit of the interviewee.

So, are you supporting the candidate for the APA president whose campaign is centered around prohibiting psychologists from being at the base?

I haven’t sent in my ballot yet because I’ve got other things to do. So, I am going to look at everybody after this current election that is coming up, the bigger one (November 4.). I am spending a lot of time with that.

What are the particular psychology private practice challenges in West Virginia?

There are a lot of uninsured people and there are a lot of people underinsured and there are people who are on Medicaid and Medicare. Finally, many people have accessibility and transportation problems.

I don’t take those clients anymore for a couple of reasons. One of which is I put in a lot of time and they are very stressful cases, you know, a higher percentage of stressful cases.

And, with fewer personal resources, I just had to do that to care of myself. I see some underinsured people for a reduced fee and I have seen clients for free. So, that’s how I try to make up for that. But, it’s an insurance and rural issue.

There was just an article on CNNcom about the difficulty for healthcare practitioners who aren’t from West Virginia coming into West Virginia and being culturally accepted. How the stereotypes probably do exist. There is incest, there is spousal abuse. There is a high level of addiction. Do you find that in your practice?

There is incest, abuse and addiction nationwide. As to being accepted culturally, I think it’s really a matter of approachability as a person. I mean if somebody comes in with a suit and is not willing to talk or listen and there is a certain professional veneer, that’s going to turn people off.

But, if there is sense of humor and a relaxed warmth with people, I haven’t really found there to be a cultural barrier. Now, there are people who don’t want to be in my office. But, that is not a social/cultural issue.

–
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Yes, back to the boat. I did not have a visa to stay in France nor a passport on me!! I understand that channel swimmers are granted permission to stay on French soil for ten minutes without needing any documents.

While planning for the swim it made sense to me to go back to Dover as we - full crew, family and I - were already set up comfortably there. Any subsequent travels could occur post recovery.

How did you celebrate swimming the Channel?

I lifted both arms above my head, i could still do that. No running around the beach at Cap Griz Nez no cartwheels, just lots of real joy.

Also a dinner with family, my cousin, and the whole support crew that night.

Who was in your support boat during your swim?

Two family members. Dad and sister - my wife was on land with 10 month old son -, my coach Daniel Esposito, feeder, support swimmer Ryan Ainley, communication person back to Australia, a CSA qualified referee to ensure the CSA rules are adhered to, boat captain, and two of his crew

What did your support swimmer do?

My support swimmer got in every second hour for one hour at a time after the first four hours for pacing and companionship. Ryan swam around five hours of the total twelve hour thirty minute swim.

Did you take any breaks while you were swimming to eat and/or drink?

Every 40 minutes I was stopping for thirty seconds to sixty seconds to feed. Feeding time should be reduced to a minimun to avoid hypothermia and avoid losing valuable distance due to the action of the tides. Feeds had Gatorade, glucose with water mixture, bannana, jelly beans, vitamin supplement midway and towards the end some chocolate.

Do you think you will ever do it again?

Perhaps the Channel, perhaps another swim, although I need a strong reason.

What is next for your swimming career?

Not sure.

What advice would you give someone who wants to swim the Channel?

Be prepared. Prepare for the worst but hope for the best. It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. I can talk a lot about the preparation but I refer www.channelcrossingforlife.com for more information and reference sites. There are also lots of good websites connected to the bodies governing Channel crossings (Channel Swimming Association and Channel Swimming and Pilots Federation.)

What did your family think of your swim?

They were very pleased and very relieved with the outcome. My family was so supportive. I would like to thank my wife Svetlana, my parents Dr Said and Armenouhi, my brother Hanna and sister Sherien for their amazing support. I would like to thank God and Christ for their amazing support.

What is your resting heartrate?

50 bpm.

I would train morning at 5 am before work, at lunch while at work, and after work. Then go home to see my wife and 6 month old son at the time.

The most challenging part? I got used to swimming 5 km in morning. Not too tired in morning, but lunch and afternoon swims made it very challenging. My schedule needed to be very fluid to cope with changes in demands from both sides. Just like reporting to two bosses, one of them in my case was a tough and excellent swimming coach.

Back in 2006, I started by training 10 km per week, this quickly built up to 30 km per week. By the time it came to the last few months before the swim I was doing 60-90 km per week depending on the training schedule set by my coach Daniel Esposito.

A number of times, I took weeks off work, spending 35-40 hours in the water training 90 km I was glad to be back at work.

Altogether in the campaign. I (swam) 4500km of intensive training, the equivalent of crossing the Australian continent - Sydney to Perth - and another 400km into the Indian Ocean.

The last two months were very challenging trying to balance work, family, training and fundraising.

Did you do most of your training in a pool?

I trained in differing types of conditions: Pool swimming, ocean swimming, night swims, pre-dawm swims, river swims, cold water swims. It was not pretty.

Before the swim, were you more excited or scared?

It was a great and an amazing day for me. Starting with the confirmation phone call from Andy King the boat pilot at 8pm the night before.

I set my alarm clock for 3am for a 5am swim start time, too excited to sleep. In the morning I had the last breakfast - 6 weetbix -before the swim. Not too nervous yet. I was surprised at how calm I was, perhaps it was all the training, the big help by all around me that gave me extra strength.

What was the actual day of the swim like for you?

Met Andy at 0430 who took me and crew to Shakespeare beach. Stretched and got greased up with channel grease, I did not talk much, tried to maintain full focus. I reached the beach, jumped off the side of the boat, swam to beach waiting for boat horn to signal my start, greeted my family on the beach and all I could say was thanks and in my mind “it was nice to have known you!!”.

Boat horn clearly heard, in I went with no hesitation. I could see the white cliffs of dover stating their beautiful presence behind me. Weather was so great, thanks to God for that.

The white cliffs fell away. I came across the first shipping lane on the UK side. Massive tankers, mini floating cities creating 4-5m waves!!

In the middle of the channel, I saw some jellyfish under the surface, I did not come into contact with any. today I read that Portuguese man o war are around the UK beaches. Thank goodness I did not see them. It was getting difficult then as I did not see land either way at that stage.

I then saw started to see more ships and I knew I was nearing the french coast. Half an hour later I saw the french coast, a boost. An hour later at the 9 hour mark, the coast did not look any closer - a big down, very tired, cold, hungry, all feeling the weight at once, spirit down.

How did you manage to fight through that feeling of discouragement?

Then. I received a message from wife and 10 month old son via my sister who was on the boat. I asked for no messages so I could focus, but this one got through.

The message was that my son was saying “baba go, baba go.” He usually says words like that, but that was so appropriate to the occasion. My coach said that after this I swam faster than the start of the swim. My newfound energy and speed continued for two hours. Wow.

I then started making out objects on the beach, it was now 1-2 km away. My coach said it went well and if I wanted to finish, it is there for the taking, it is up to me.

I was very tired now, arms and legs still moving, not sore amazingly just tired. I then saw some ground through the water, the realization started to hit me, two and a half years of training was coming to an end.

After twelve hours and 32 minutes it was emotional to see ground again. The ground got closer, I then touched the sand on the bottom, sand filtering through my fingers, in the water, this was it, the end.

All I had to do was walk, even crawl onto the beach. I tried to walk, fell two times - my legs were wobbly. I stood up again then walked onto the beach, some surprised beachgoers were gob smacked. Where did this swimmer come from, then they realised, handshakes. The boat horn tooted, celebrations from me, I could lift my arms but not jump up and down, celebrations on the boat.

I then had to swim back to the boat, 200 m away (the boat could not moor at beach), I did not want to swim 200 m more. I had already swum 50 km!!!

They sent through the attached life boat They had Australian flag with them. This was the flag which was given to CCFL, the flag that flew on the Australian federal parliament on 4 June 2008. That was an amazing moment for me and all involved, I was so exhausted yet so exhilarated.

Twelve hours and thirty minutes.

Where are you from?

I am a resident of Sydney, Australia.

Originally born in London, England, lived in Amman Jordan for ten years before travelling down under to Australia. We love it here. It is a great place to live and enjoy opportunities that life can offer.

My parents are of Iraqi descent, we are Assyrians - the Christian minority of Iraq.

Where did you go to college and what was your academic major?

I went to college (University) in Macquarie University graduating with a Bachelor of Economics with Honors majoring in Actuarial Studies.

What has been your career path from college to now?

I worked in a number of general insurance firms in Australia over a ten year period, until settling with Munich Reinsurance. I have been with Munich Reinsurance for seven years now and my current role is the Appointed Actuary for Australia and New Zealand.

When did you start swimming?

I started swimming when my mum put me in the water at the age of six months in England. I started training for swimming from the age of seven in Jordan. Continued to swim in Australia.

Did you have a competitive swimming career?

Yes and no. Although, I participated in a number of swimming competitions in Jordan (National team) and Australia (NSW state competititions), I never turned into a professional full time swimmer. I was not fast enough, although I did notice that I had good endurance!!

Do you come from a family of swimmers?

No. Neither of my parents were competitive swimmers, although their love of water and swimming for the health and other benefits had an impact on me.

When did you decide to swim the English Channel?

In late 2005, my twelve year old cousin Mark was diagnosed with leukemia and was treated with Ccemotherapy at Sydney’s Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW).

At the time when I was visiting him, I saw life and death ebb and flow and I witnessed his courage in the face of suffering. I also saw other kids and families.

Lastly, I witnessed the great love and support from the doctors and nurses. That was it, I decided to dedicate something very big towards this circumstance.

I decided to swim the English Channel - the Everest of swimming - and dedicate that to Mark, other kids in his circumstance, and to fundraise for CHW cancer research team.

Forty years ago, only one in four kids survived cancer. Now, it is three in four, thanks to research. So, I thought if I can raise more funds and help research we can increase that even more, save that one more child.

Did you think about starting out with a smaller, more manageable swim?

The English Channel, representing a 35km stretch - 50km with tides - in 15C temperature water, with an expected 12-15 hours of nonstop swimming and one of busiest shipping lanes in the world, (with) jellyfish and sewage sounded scary, but that was not going to stop me.

When did you actually start to train for the Channel swim?

So God help me, I started my journey. I started to wake up at 4:30 am every day for two and a half years for daily intensive training before work, lunch swims, afternoon swims, weekend swims. In the pool, ocean and rivers. During winter for cold water training. During night time for dark training.

It was such a challenge to balance swimming, work, family - including a ten month old son. It was a daily test for me for two and a half years, I did not break. A parallel fight to my cousin’s.

Did you use some of the funds raised through your charity to meet your training and travel expenses?

Channel Crossing For Life (CCFL) as it came to be called became an official fundraising campaign of the Children’s Hospital at Westmead with full tax deductibility status. All funds raised dollar for dollar went to the hospital. I met all admin and logistical costs of this attempt.

We have raised to date $130,000 in under 12 months, aim to raise $200,000 so CHW can start its 2-3 year research project. So, the first physical and mental battle may have been won, but I cannot rest for too long as the funds still need to be raised till we reach our target.

How long did it take you to swim across the English Channel?

July 13, 2008 was the day of the attempt. I made it in 12 hours and 30 minutes .

Aren’t there easier and less personally strenuous ways to raise money in the fight against pediatric cancer?

I could have chosen to fundraise for cancer research in other ways, although, this was a vow. I intended it to be a parallel fight.

In the same way that my cousin was undergoing a challenge in life and trying to fight with his will and thoughts through the chemotherapy treatment, I was to struggle for two and a half years in preparing for this “Everest” of swimming and face my fears and challenges on the day of the swim itself.

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