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Redhead Revealed: Roisin
Submitted: 04/02/05

If you could choose any place in the world to live, where would it be?

I have several, in this order: Scotland, Australia, New Mexico, but I will probably end up living in Pennsylvania, and that would be fine.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Actress, teacher, writer, wife and mother; Nelly Bly mostly...

Your occupation now?

When I first started to answer this interview, I was an office manager and executive assistant. As of two days ago, I am unemployed. We had a corporate lay-off and my entire office was closed and all of us were terminated. The world is now my oyster.

What are some of your interests and hobbies?

Where do I begin? I love to read: great literature, and fun stuff like People mag, Vanity Fair, along with romance, historical novels, mysteries, the classics, and contemporary novels. I read history as a hobby and for edification in my pursuit as a novice re-enactor. This is something that is relatively new to me, but I always wanted to participate, and now I do. It is the greatest fun! I love to garden and miss mine since I moved into an apartment. But I do have the loveliest view of the sky and mountains where I live in West New Jersey. I study Irish Gaelic and French, bought an autoharp and want to learn how to play; I love music of all kinds and listen to my collection as often as possible. I have practiced yoga on and off for 35 years, study herbs and use them as well as essential oils. I am very interested in the Tarot and have studied it for over 35 years. I read professionally for about three years in a café in the town where I used to live. It was really fun and very enlightening. I am learning to make hand-dipped beeswax candles, soap and my own lotions and creams with essential oils and natural oils, such as sweet almond, coconut and cocoa butter. I love to cook and bake. I am so lucky that I have a man in my life who also loves to cook and is an excellent chef. We rarely eat out anymore, something I used to enjoy, but our meals our scrumptious!

I love walking, especially in the evening just before dusk, to watch the sunset. The mountains and the ocean inspire me as well as the stars. I bought a telescope last year and would really like to learn more about astronomy. I wish I had more time! Films are vital. I love movies. I also love NPR.

I have so many interests and not enough time to pursue them, but finally, one thing I want to do is to travel more. I am planning a trip to Scotland. I hope it will be for our honeymoon, but if not, we are still going!

What would you say are your character strengths?

I try to be fearless but not stupid. Because of the losses I have experienced in my life, I understand what my priorities are and what is important in my life. I do not take chances, but I do take risks. This means that I am not going to walk around the middle of a dangerous area of a city any time of the day, or traipse through bear country for that matter (nor would I swim in the ocean at dusk). However, I will go out on a limb for a friend, protect my child no matter what, and stand up for myself under duress. I am clear about my politics and am not afraid to state my feelings about how I feel and in what I believe. I am loyal, a good friend and romantic partner, and most importantly, a great mother to my son.

Weaknesses?

Sometimes I can be very insecure about myself. I think that even though I might not be afraid of the dark, I am often afraid of failure, based upon what I consider important, of course. I have misjudged people sometimes, and am over-cautious about giving my heart away. And then again, I have given it away too quickly and to the wrong person (I am talking about friendship as well as lovers). I hope I am learning from my mistakes in this lifetime. I do not always have enough faith in myself to be "good enough" for others, but oddly, I am secure in so many other ways.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Well, based upon the previous statement, I would love to not feel insecure about ANYTHING.

Do you have any quirks you think are strange or amusing?

Hmmm... you might have to ask those people who know me very well or who lived with or live with me now. I am not so sure I want to know!

Who is/was the most influential person/role model in your life?

Sounds strange, but Kate Hepburn, even though I never met her. I had to pick someone outside of my personal life while growing up, to look up to and she is the one. I love her independence, focus, intelligence and humanity. And she was fearless and so very self-assured.

What are your achievements/accomplishments that you are the most proud of?

My beautiful son is number one. I also managed to rise above circumstances beyond my control, as a child, and still stayed on the straight and narrow.

Are you currently single, involved, or married?

I am involved with a man I hope to marry, and we are living together.

What qualities do you find the most attractive in other people?

Honesty, loyalty, compassion, generosity, and intelligence (not necessarily in that order).

What is one thing you would change about the world?

Obviously, there would be total peace and understanding amongst all peoples and countries, but I would always want cultural and ethnic diversity!

What is your favorite food?

Mexican cuisine.

If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would you choose?

Queen Elizabeth I of England.

If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with the money?

Buy land and build our log home, set up a trust fund for my son, give money to my selected charities and set up scholarship funds for indigent children, invest it so I would never have to work again, set up funds for all my nieces and nephews and my fiancé's children, go back to school and get a Master's in History (American and European); travel the world, start researching and writing the series of young readers historical fiction novels that I am always thinking about, IN EARNEST!

Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

Very much so. I am a practicing Catholic and feel a total connection to nature, which is how I express my spirituality. When an acquaintance of mine asked me what my religion was, I told him I was a Pagan Catholic. He laughed and so did I, but in reality, I suppose that is a good description of me. Celtic Christianity is as close to that description that I can think of, which is more mainstream, but recognizes the sacred in everything and in all that we do.

Is there any particular historical era that you feel drawn to?

18th century America, Tudor England, American Civil War era, medieval Ireland and Scotland, and WWI and WWII. All in that order.

What are your favorite books and authors?

My favorite book is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. Of course I have hundreds of "favorite" books that I have read over the years, and I loved many of them for various reasons. But I read that book when I was about twelve, a most impressionable age for any child, and I related very much to Francie, the main character. She maintained her innocence and belief in the goodness of people and had hope to spare, even when her life was so difficult. My favorite authors: Margaret Atwood, Diana Gabaldon, Anne Lamott, Jane Austen, Alice Hoffman, D.H. Lawrence, John Irving, Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Peters, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edna O'Brien, Steinbeck, Oscar Wilde, Toni Morrison, Yeats, Conan Doyle, Rose Fyleman... lots and lots more.

What are your favorite movies?

The Last of the Mohicans (Mann production with DDLewis); Ben Hur (I was very impressed by this one when I was about nine or so); The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (Ingrid Bergman's character was impressive), The Quiet Man (lovely little Irish fairy tale, nothing like what Ireland is really like, now), Against the Wind (fabulous Australian mini-series from the late 1970's about the founding of Australia in the late 1790's) many, many more.

What is your most prized possession?

My great-grandmother's lovely, little golden and ruby earrings.

What is your favorite color?

Deep Indigo blue and teal.

What are your favorite television shows?

Right now, Joan of Arcadia, Monarch of the Glen, but Northern Exposure is probably my all-time favorite.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Someone who thinks he or she knows EVERYTHING even when he or she has not had the experience... such as giving birth and nursing a baby when you are totally single and have no options of ever having a child. I based this upon real experiences of dealing with people, both men and women who really do think they know it all. Yuck.

What are some of the issues that you are passionate about?

Protecting children from any kind of danger and neglect. Keeping our environment clean and non-toxic and beautiful for posterity. Religious freedom, civil rights for all people everywhere, and education for all.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

I have pierced ears (three holes in each lobe, but I mostly use only one on each ear right now); a Celtic, everlasting life circle tattoo on my right bicep.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish before you die?

Write and publish my novel.

What is something you've always wanted to do/try but haven't yet?

I definitely do not want to swim with the Great Whites but I do want to take a cruise to Alaska and visit that fascinating state.

Where do you see yourself ten years (what are your goals)?

In ten years, I will be sixty-two years old. I hope to be alive and accomplished in ways that I have only thought about recently. I would like to be close to real retirement and fluent in French and Irish. I would like to be able to play the autoharp. Be a grandmother and see my son an accomplished and happy man. Be a happily married woman and healthy with many, many years of life ahead of me. I hope that my future husband and I have our own business based upon our love of 18th century period re-enacting and camping. I would have liked to travel to visit other countries, live in our dream log cabin home, and still in touch with all of my friends and family. Just be healthy, happy and productive for many years to come. And of course, still a redhead!!!!! (Maybe... I am not too crazy about dying my hair at this point in life, so I will probably have gone gracefully white at that point, oh well, I will have my memories!)

What is your favorite quote?

Right now, this very moment: "Arrange what pieces come your way." Virginia Woolf