Name: Mr. D
Age: Not 21 anymore!
From: The Great American Midwest!
Lives: New England
Occupation: Civil Servant
Fave Pastime: Gamer extraordinaire!
It's been a little while since we last had a slice of pie with anyone who wasn't Angel Noire, so today it's the turn of Angel's husband Mr. D. Angel felt as they have to be in isolation today, he may as well be put to good use!
Mr. D is every bit as nostalgic as Angel but they definitely fit on different areas on the nostalgia spectrum. Whereas Angel is all about seventies' TV shows; eighties pop music; things your gran had, and cakes your mum used to bake, Mr. D could be described as a 'nostalgia geek' and is very much into old school gadgets; comic books; video and card games; superhero movies, and would go to Comicon every year if he could drag Angel along with him (Fat chance! - Angel.)
Mr. D grew up in Midwestern America but moved to the Pacific North-West, a place he intended to call home... until he met Angel! So he made the leap across the pond and lived in London for four years before settling in jolly New England!
So settle down with a plate of pie and a cup of whatever while Mr. D gets all nostalgic on us!
What flavour pie and what's your beverage?
Chicken pot pie - I really don't like sweet pies. And a coke. No ice!
What was your favourite thing to do as a child?
That would be visiting both sets of grandparents. My maternal grandparents lived in Michigan on a farm, and whenever we stayed there, we would have strawberries, fresh corn on the cob, and maple syrup that they'd collected from their trees, and we'd always have that with our pancakes for breakfast. I learnt a lot about the process and it is pretty time-consuming - but so worth it! How many people get to drench their pancakes with maple syrup that didn't come from the supermarket???
My paternal grandparents retired to Arizona, and I have lots of great memories of going to visit them there. My grandfather was an artist and when he retired, he devoted himself to various local art projects, and it was great to go out there and see what he was working on. I still have many of his paintings around my house. My paternal grandparents were of Italian descent and whenever I went out to Arizona, my grandmother would make huge Italian meals. She made the best gnocchi - it would take pretty much all day to make - and today gnocchi is still one of my favourite dishes.
What was the best thing about growing up in the Midwest?
I loved being in the boys scouts and doing the kind of outdoorsy activities - hiking, camping etc. - that living in a place like the rural Midwest would enable you to do.
What did you want to do when you left school?
Because I loved animals and nature, I did think about becoming a park ranger or a veterinarian. Or maybe a job that involved a lot of travel so I could see a bit of the world. I'm very lucky that the job I currently have enables me to travel. I've seen quite a bit of the US and hopefully I'll be making more international trips.
I know someone who'd love that! You love comic books. Which were your favourite ones and do you still have any?
I loved the Marvel comic books but sadly I no longer have any. I also liked Dragonball Z which is more manga, and I still binge watch the show!
Tell us a bit about your passion for gaming.
I've been playing video games since I was very young - I can't even remember how old I was. It's just something that I've always done. We had a Nintendo and a Sega, but I much preferred the Nintendo. The kind of games I love are strategy games as well as fantasy ones too.
I definitely enjoy the social element of playing games, whether it's online with fellow gamers all over the world, or when your friends come over to your house. It was my favourite thing to do with friends and family when I was a child, and even now as an adult, when my friends come over, you can bet your life there'll be some kind of game being played.
I'm very lucky that where I live there are a few game stores that I like to visit, and one in particular has Magic the Gathering tournaments that my friends and I like to check out. And get free cards!
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What kind of toys and games were you into as a kid?
I really liked Lego and still collect them (yes, he does. Much to my annoyance! - Angel) I was also really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and collected a lot of the merch, which I still have back at my parents' house. I was a big Michaelangelo fan! Also being a huge fan of Star Trek and Star Wars, I collected quite a few of those bits and pieces too.
As for games, I played a lot of Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, and Lord of the Realm II. When I became older, I really got into World of Warcraft. Now I play a whole variety of games depending on what I feel like.
Who was your favourite superhero and why?
That's a good question! Let me see (thinks for a bit) OK, I think Gambit from X Men was one of my favourites when I was a kid. But now, I would have to say that my fave superhero is Deadpool. Why? Er, I just think they're cool!
It's a myth that superheroes are just for kids. There are many adults who are still big superhero fans. Why do you think that is?
Well what's not to like about superheroes? They're just the coolest! There's also that concept of good versus evil, and light overcoming darkness. Kids grow up feeling that the good guy always wins - although when we get to adulthood, we soon learn that that isn't always true!
I think the reason why so many adults are still into superheroes is down to the whole nostalgia factor. People are usually drawn to the good parts of their childhood and for many of us, we love those superhero characters because we grow up with them.
And in any case - superheroes aren't just for kids!
Quite right! Your favourite children's author is Brian Jacques. Tell people who are unfamiliar with this author a little bit about him and his work.
I'm really amazed that more people in Britain don't know about Brian Jacques - pronounced Jakes - because he's British! He's a great storyteller from Liverpool. He wrote the Redwall series of books which is my absolute favourite series in the world. It's about a mouse called Redwall and all his animal friends. There were about twenty two or twenty three books in that series and I loved reading about Redwall. I've always loved animals but I think I loved them even more because of Redwall.
Kids can't wait to grow up. What was your reason for wanting to be an adult the next day?
So I could go out on dates!
This or That?
Thanksgiving or Christmas?
Christmas
Root beer or cream soda?
Root beer of course!
Dr. Seuss or Dr. Who?
Don't really care for either of them!
Sega or Nintendo?
I have to say Sega because they make my Total War games.
Drive-in or Movie theatre? (Cinema to us Brits!)
Drive in
Enid Blyton or Roald Dahl?
Neither - Brian Jacques
Football or Soccer? (Think about it!)
Soccer
DC or Marvel?
Marvel
Frasier or Friends?
Neither. Big Bang Theory.
Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars
And finally...
You're going to the movies. What type of film would you like to see?
Sci-Fi or fantasy
All photos and word cloud by Angel Noire