The 21st Throwback Thursday is my May 2010 lunch at Muriel’s in New Orleans with voodoo queen Mary Millan. A very easygoing and interesting person, she dispelled some myths about the religion of voodoo and also had plenty to say about life in the Big Easy. In addition to my…

Throwback Thursday 20 is the fourth and final interview from a weekend in Providence, Rhode Island, in April 2010. Local photographer Amy Messere reached out to do an interview, saying she wanted to talk about her art but also her work as a waitress in a strip club. Amy was…

Throwback Thursday 19 is the third of four meals with strangers in Providence, Rhode Island back in April 2010. This time it was dinner with local realtor Bob Black at Greek restaurant Andrea’s, talking about his (sadly now defunct) blog extolling the benefits of living in Rhode Island. You know…

The 18th Throwback Thursday is my April 2010 lunch in Providence, Rhode Island, with Mary Ann Sorrentino to talk about her many careers. She’s worked in medical care, been a local radio show host and columnist, and was an abortion rights advocate while serving as head of the state’s Planned…

The 17th Throwback Thursday is one of four dinners from an April 2010 weekend trip to Providence, Rhode Island. The first was at Camille’s Restaurant with Rhode Island School of Design student Robin Tafel, who was pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Looking back at this article, I realize…

The 16th dinner interview was my afternoon tea in December 2009 at Alice’s Tea Cup in Manhattan talking with New Yorker Teresa Suarez, learning about her side career selling sex toys and other adult products — just one of her three jobs. An unlikely setting for an adult-themed conversation, but…

Here’s the 15th Throwback Thursday: Dinner in New York at Tony’s DiNapoli with actor Jack Fry back in December 2009. Before we met, I saw his one-man show “They Call Me Mister Fry” which tells the true story about his first year as a teacher at a high school in…

Throwback Thursday 14 is to one night in November 2009, and dinner in DC at Dupont Circle’s Thaiphoon with Michael Chamberlin. He has two jobs: magician and theater director, including through his own theater company. He spent equal time talking about his love of the stage, including  and about the…

Throwback Thursday 13 (unlucky for some) was the second interview during my August 2009 trip down to New Orleans. I had a fun lunch at the fantastic restaurant Bayona with Buzzy “Beano” Langford, a member of the long-running and popular New Orleans-based cover band The Topcats. He talked about what…

Throwback Thursday 12 is my August 2009 dinner with Jerry Gandolfo, owner of the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, at The Court of Two Sisters in the French Quarter. We had a interesting talk about how Jerry got involved in preserving voodoo’s story, even though he’s not a practicioner. You…