Character Questionnaire
Sidney Winkler
Ingenue in Thriller A Bridge to Treachery
• What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Easy. The Nobel Peace Prize. Get serious. I’m a semi-successful habit kicking college dropout. I need to get a job in the worst way. Any ideas for me? My greatest achievement: rolling out of bed most days.
• What is your current state of mind?
Deliriously giddy at being selected from a list of thousands to become the only female soldier of fortune in a gang of bridge hi-jackers. Reason: the organizer of this flash mob says I give credibility to the undertaking. Like, The Weathermen, the Panthers, you name it, all had females. If you have females in your organization, you’re a serious threat. Get it?
• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
What do you say we elevate this discussion a tad? The last thing in the world I need is to dwell on all the little issues I have going on right now. Ask me something elevating.
• What is your motto?
That’s it? I’m getting paid for this gig , right? So, all right. Okay. My motto? Uh, how about: One learns to itch where one can scratch. Don’t laugh. It’s a serious motto from a serious writer, Ernest Bramah. He wrote the Kai Lung series of books with titles like: Kai Lung Unrolls His Mat. He had another motto: “May you come to the attention of those in authority” I seem to have lived that one out. Help!
• What are your favorite names?
Ernest Bramah and Kai Lung. I’m getting into this. Ask me more.
• Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Wonder Woman.
• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Chastity. On Turkey Mountain, after Lou and I had a little spat about who’s in charge of this operation, as a joke (really) I asked: “Do you want to do that make-up sex thing?”
He said: “Are you crazy or just completely friggin’ nuts?”
“You don’t have to be so sarcastic,” I said. Next question.
• What is the quality you most deplore in a man?
Honesty.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Talent. Back on Turkey Mountain, Lou asked me where I went to college.
“ Williams,” I said. ”I’m really into biology and they have a great program.”
“It’s a good school,” he said. He was being nice to me, finally.
“I worked with the professor who was mapping the brains of zebra finches.”
“Wow. How’d he do that?” Lou asked.
“She. Physically how? You don’t want to know,” I said.