Tom is probably the nicest man I have ever met.
Sat down one day, requested a tune, and got to know the guy. After a short introduction, we went straight into a jam session with him rocking his piccolo, and me attempting to follow on the mini piano he had sitting next to him.
After my inability to keep up with his sick flow, the steezy jam sesh came to an end and I asked if he would be willing to be interviewed for the blog. This is what i got...
Me: So where are you from originally?
Tom: I grew up in sterling Illinois, to the extent that I grew up.
Me: When did you first come to Madison?
Tom: I first set foot in Madison in the summer of 1990.
Me: For what reason did you come here?
Tom: Well at the time I was a full time undergrad, and I came here for the summer.
Me: Oh ya? Nice. So tell me about that world naked bike ride that you are trying to start up this summer? (obviously from our initial conversation and introduction earlier)
Tom: It has occurred in many cities around the world starting in the year 2004. More cities participate each year and this year we are adding Madison to that list.
Me: Nice, What’s the date of that?
Tom: That would be Saturday, June 19th.
Me: Have you had a pretty good response to that so far?
Tom: Ya, I have a yahoo group set up and also have a facebook group set up as well. There’s a lot of people signed up.
Me: How would you find that if you were the average facebook or yahoo user?
Tom: Search world naked bike ride in Madison Wisconsin…
Me: Sounds good, well back to the piccolo. Where did you learn to play that?
Tom: Well I took music lessons from the time I was about 10 years old. I started on clarinet, and after a few years took up sax, then flute, and eventually piccolo.
Me: Nice, well you obviously have quite a large repertoire, what’s your favorite genre to play?
Tom: Jazz.
Me: Have you ever seen Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgundy?
Tom: No.
Me: Oh, he plays the jazz flute in that, it's pretty funny.
Tom: Ok.
Me: You should watch it sometime.
Tom: That’s Will Ferrell right?
Me: Umm yes, that’s Will Ferrell, correct. Well, beside the world naked bike ride, what are your summer plans, now that it’s starting to get nice out?
Tom: Well, Kurt (his buddy that was sitting next to him) and I are both members of the unplanned activities commission.
Me: Ya? Is that a legitimate commission or are you two the only members?
Kurt: Oh, there’s a lot of members.
Me: Could I maybe become a member in the near future?
Kurt: Of course, you just need to show up to one of the events.
Me: So there’s no strict application process, I just need to be there?
Tom: Well you can’t plan anything, that’s the premise of the committee.
Me: Fair enough, I like that idea.
My recording for some reason stopped here. I continued conversation by asking about his orange hair. He explained that he had died it that morning. I followed up with asking if that was unplanned and his response was no, it was a planned one. The conversation picks up half way through him telling me that he has performed in churches before, where I eventually ask…
Me: Are you a religious man?
Tom: No.
Me: So you would only perform in church, you wouldn’t regularly attend?
Tom: No I would not.
Me: Well I look forward to seeing you this summer on June 19th. That will be a good time. What’s the planned route?
Tom: Its not quite firmed up yet, but it will include places in the downtown area where there will be people out and about. Farmer’s market for sure.
Me: What are your plans if the police do break it up?
Tom: Uh go to jail, I guess. I don’t know. Uh, actually we have conferred with the police a few times. They have been reasonably supportive.
Me: Really, surprising. Umm (I then search for a new topic) Well what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Tom: (Tom laughs) boy I don’t know.
Me: Well what’s a crazy thing you’ve done, off the top of your head?
Tom: Well I rode in the world naked bike ride in Chicago. I also did live in the back of a U-Haul truck once (Tom laughs).
The conversation sadly comes to an end, and I realize I have class in five minutes…
Me: Well, thank you for your time. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully we can connect on facebook and you can check out my blog.
Tom: Ya, that would be nice.
Me: It was great meeting you Tom. I will see you around.
Tom: Nice meeting you too…
I went into this interview not expecting much, and learned a ton. The conversation may have seemed all over the place, however, there was much more to it than a wild convo. I quickly realized that behind the orange jumpsuit, and freshly died hair, Tom was a normal guy with a normal story. He came to Madison with the same intent as the rest of us undergrads, seeking an education.
I would argue that he eventually found much more than that. He's a musically gifted man who enjoys a simple life, full of unplanned activities as well as an occasional naked bike ride. He sits in library mall with a piccolo, an orange jumpsuit, and a care free attitude. Tom may not know what the next day will bring, but he simply doesn't care.
I guess that's all life should be, unplanned events, right? Life is too short to stress about where your gonna be in 5 years. I still don't know where happiness comes from, but it seems like Tom has found it.....
Unplanned activities commission, sign me up.
-StallB
