Pam Houston has
rafted some of the scariest whitewater in the world, traveled
to remote Bhutan and been dog-sledding in Alaska. On a book
tour for A Little More About Me, which includes essays
about weight, her miscarriage and Buddhism, she showed up
at our offices in crushed velvet and lots of silver jewelry.
For the former adrenaline-junkie, adventure has taken a mellow
turn.
Willamette Week: How are your dogs?
Pam Houston: Well, I just saw my dog Dante [a purebred
wolfhound] yesterday. I was in Santa Fe, which is only about
3 1/2 hours from my home, and my housesitter
drove him down to see me. He's very sensitive and misses
me a lot. He's very neurotic. It's really probably me who
misses him more.
Do your pets get much pampering? I've heard a lot lately
about excessive pampering of pets, with things like pet
Prozac and doggy day care....
I don't have any antidepressants for my dogs. They live
on a 120-acre ranch; they don't have much to be depressed
about. I have a live-in house sitter for them, which is
sort of required. I'm not sure if that would be called excessive
pampering. I certainly worry about them excessively and
I take them to the vet if they have a runny nose. But, no,
they're pretty tough dogs. They don't have chiropractors
or anything.
You've said that the home you have now in Colorado will
most likely be your permanent residence. Can you tell us
a little about it?
It's at 9,000 feet; it's got the Continental Divide on
three sides and the Rio Grande headwaters about 15 miles
below on the fourth side. It's near a town called Creed,
which is a town of 300 people. It's very isolated. There
is no sushi or dry cleaners or latte or newspapers or produce.
And if I had to be there 365 days a year, I'd probably lose
my mind. But since I don't, it's an ideal retreat. I was
away from home 236 days last year, which is outrageous.
Have you been accepted into the community?
Not exactly. Yes and no. They don't know quite what to
make of me. I did these pieces on CBS-TV Sunday Morning
and that was when people really--you know, of course, the
books don't really mean anything to most of them--when they
saw me on TV, that freaked them out. And I was going to
be John Denver and I was going to ruin the town. I mean,
there's no chance of that. I always say if four or five
more people moved in we might get lettuce in the grocery
store. And that would be OK with me.
It must be conducive to writing.
It's excellent for writing. Because I don't socialize.
Tell me about some of your heroes.
I had this great babysitter named Martha Washington. (And
she had a brother named George so her family was obviously
having some fun.) She came into my life when I was six days
old and she was about 60. And she stayed around till I was
about 20, and then she died. She was a supply surgeon in
the Army, and she used to say, "I was married once for about
10 minutes. It didn't take." She was this calm, strong,
but very loving contrast to this chaos that was my parents'
house. I think she's the reason I'm as well-adjusted as
I am. She was the one who taught me about words and stories
and all that. The person who made me love the outdoors was
a guy named Col. Bob Miller; there's an essay in my book
about him. I think those two people, more than any other,
made me who I am.
Is there one animal you identify with?
Bears, just because whenever I'm around them, you have
to drag me away. I see a bear and I just want to sit there
and watch it for as long as I can.
Have you ever had much of a fitness regime that's been
consistent?
For me it's just all about where I am. I'm not comfortable
when I'm not using my body. But I've almost never gone to
a gym. I do yoga, and that's the closest thing I've ever
had to a real routine.
With all your traveling, do have any on-plane necessities?
Things that you travel with, no matter what?
My photos of my animals, of my sweetie and my friends.
I carry a huge bag with, like, everything in the world
in it.
Any totems?
I have a rock my therapist gave me a long time ago, when
I was losing it. I have my passport in case I should decide
to go to Bolivia at any moment.
Are you going to spend New Year's Eve at the ranch?
Just in case
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Willamette Week | originally
published November 10,
1999
|
