15 minutes of fame
This month, The Dominion Post has taken not to the streets but to the phones and the internet to ask people who might not normally feature in the media a series of random questions.
Andrea (Andy) Lyver talks aliens, adrenaline rushes, and advice for her younger self.
Is there intelligent life on other planets?
I’m not convinced there is – and do we really need to know? Shouldn’t we make the most of all the intelligent life on our own planet before we spend time and money on searching for more?
What animal would you like to be reincarnated as? Why?
Definitely nothing domesticated. I would like to be a wild thing – something like a falcon. As a small child I had frequent vivid dreams of soaring free above the Earth like a bird. If I was a falcon, I could make those dreams come true.
What’s the last thing you did that truly scared you?
I have a long history of doing things that scare me – mainly involving motorbikes and aeroplanes. Just the other day after fresh rain, I lost traction on my dirt bike going down a steep face on the farm and started to slide. I was certain I was destined for disaster. I got off lightly with the help of the fence at the foot of the hill, but it wasn’t pretty.
If you could give your 16-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
At 16 I loved reading, writing and words almost as much as the rural life I had. At 60 I now work from home editing a magazine and home is a large rural property where I often help out. I would tell my teenaged self to trust that becoming a grown up doesn’t have to mean sacrificing those things you hold so dear.
What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, and why?
I have three most beautiful things – those are each of my children when they were born. I’m not at all religious but those freshly minted human beings looked like miracles to me; individual yet so recognisable, and so perfect in every way. What’s your favourite shop and why?
I’m really not a shopper but as a keen hunter of wild game, let me loose in any outdoor shop and I’ll always find something I need. It’s true – camo is the new black.
If you had a choice, how would you like to die?
Suddenly; doing something exciting and/or scary that involves risk or speed, or both. If I know I’m gonna go, I want to make it memorable.
The All Blacks – the pride of NZ or overpaid demigods?
A bit of both. I’m not much of a sports fan and with no TV in the house, rugby culture is somewhat lost on me personally but I do acknowledge that the All Blacks are important to most Kiwis and they have value as role models for young New Zealanders. Not sure it’s necessary to pay them Monopoly money though when other, arguably better, role models in vital fields such as science earn significantly less.
Should NZ double its refugee quota from 1000 to 2000? Why/why not?
Yes, because I believe we Kiwis could afford to share our good fortune with more people in need. Would you donate your body/organs?
Yes, I am registered as an organ donor on my driver’s licence. I would be honoured to help a fellow human being in this way and the thought of living on like this really appeals to me. I even like to imagine that if I donated an organ to someone in need and then when their time came, they gave an organ to another person and so on and so on – in essence I could live forever.
We’re looking for subjects! We have a list of 100 questions, you pick 10, and give us your answers. Nominate yourself or someone you know (with their consent) by emailing capitalday@dompost. co.nz.