The interview duo from Longview’s Daily News arrived, as expected, right at ten yesterday morning.  I had met both of them before.

Reporter Barbara LaBoe had been in Oysterville one drippy day a year and a half ago, chasing down a story about bears and had asked me a few questions.  On that occasion, both my remarks and a picture of me in my yellow rain hat made the papers from here to Olympia.  I don’t remember who the photographer was that time.

Yesterday, Bill Wagner was the man behind the camera.  Bill has actually ‘eaten on the job’ here at our house.  Years ago, the food editor at the Daily News did a story that involved our traditional Christmas dinner featuring my great-grandmother’s recipe for baked oysters.  That interview revolved around a luncheon of said oysters and yesterday Bill remembered them as the only oysters he has ever really enjoyed!

The subject yesterday, however, wasn’t oysters.  It was, of all things, my blog!  It seems that since her Oysterville bear story, Barbara has kept up with the village and its activities by periodically reading excerpts from my “Oysterville Daybook.”  Apparently, when she pitched the idea of doing a story about it at a Daily News story conference, she got the go-ahead.

In retrospect, I wonder how much information I actually conveyed about the blog.  I don’t think I’m the best interviewee in the world.  I tend to ramble and go on a lot of ‘birdwalks’ instead of sticking to the subject at hand.  Nevertheless, we had a good time – or at least we laughed a lot.  Bill took about a zillion pictures and humored me by focusing away from my injured finger in its shiny metal casing – “like trying to avoid confronting the Tin Man,” he  said.

Barbara took lots of notes and eventually said that she thought I had answered all of her questions.  (I did?  There were questions?  A seamless job, Barbara!)  I flashed back on the last interview I gave.  David Campiche was doing it for the The Daily Astorian and it ended up being more about my uncle Willard Espy than about me.

Barbara’s story should come out sometime before Christmas.  I look forward to reading it and to seeing which photograph will accompany it.