I found Natalie to be a warm, lighthearted, open and willing conversationalist. Among the topics we chatted about, Natalie, an Army veteran, talks about her service in the military police and identifies her community as something of a “geek” tribe, including one of Nebraska’s longest running science fiction conventions, WillyCon. Natalie also discusses her film-making ambitions and penchant for the psychologically macabre. Listen to the audio below:
When I conceived the approach to a couple of 830 mile long conversations, I had anticipated setting up a table, a couple of chairs and a canopy in a public space in the towns that I visited and then inviting people to talk with me. It was always apparent, though, that the context of each engagement, the vagaries of the weather and the circumstances of the moment would influence this approach. So it has proven. In Omaha, my set up was outside Millard branch library with the planned arrangement. As I moved into rural Nebraska, however, the heat of the day, the locational footfall or paths people took in their daily lives, and timing all affected the set up of the conversation space. In Pender, the public park was entirely empty, but the pool was full of children. Pender’s Main Street was also quiet and would stay that way until the pizza place and bars got busier in the evening. In Wayne, I was able to set up on Main Street outside a popular retail …
a couple of 830 mile long conversations 