| There
has been some debate through out as to the best job versus the worst
job; dangerous versus safe; important versus average; exciting versus
dull. There has been some debate about this concerning my own
job. Up until now it has been both exciting and dull, important and
average, the best job and the worst... but it has never been
particularly dangerous. It has always been a 'safe' profession.
I've always liked that.
One
might think that a dangerous aspect of the job has been my saying the
wrong thing and upsetting my guest... although this is not really a
concern since I carefully research my questions and go over them before
hand to make sure this won't happen. The unknown has always presented
the biggest concern... a rambunctious pet that has decided i might
taste good... or my guest having had a few too many before hand...
THESE have been my biggest concerns saftey wise.
Until now.
When
the story first hit about the 'detectives' at the Chaos
Incorporated investigation firm being 'monster hunters', I was amoung
those who knew it was probably true, but rolled their eyes and thought
the story would never be believed. I have come across many different
types in my line of work and so had prior knowledge that this world we
live in harbors a great many kinds of intelligent beings other
than mere humankind... and that not all of humankind are strictly
'human'. Indeed, I beleive that 'pure' humans are on the rare side, if
they even exist at all, and that the majority of us have some small
amount of 'other' inside us.
But
I have let myself be swayed off track... I was speaking about a story
that should have never been more than a story. A story that was taken
to heart by the general populace and actually believed.
Now, suddenly, the fact that humans were not alone in their daily lives
became common knowlege.. although most still refuse to believe the
extent of it.
The
fact that there were REAL monster hunters right here in Boston, who
made a living hunting REAL mosters... also right here in Boston... had
a rather unforseen effect on my line of work. People began to ask
questions that they wanted ME to find the answers to. And while I
admit, I shared many of those questions myself, I found myself rather
hestitant to find those answers.
After
all... the danger level jumps dramatically from what I'd encounter
during a 'normal' interview... So at first I attempted a few small
forays into the subject with celebrities during scheduled meetings...
with them already being warned about it before hand. These went over
well and I gathered the courage to tackle the one that had been on my
mind to do since the story first broke....
Chaos Incorporated.
At
first, my queries were met with refusal.. then I suggested a round of
questionairs to sort of ease into it.. break the ice so to speak. These
were grudgingly accepted on the condition that they not be made public.
I managed to wiggle into the agreement on this that only the portions
of these that the person agreed to being made public would be. Which,
when all was said and done... was very little of use. But the process
itself was useful, in that I got to meet with several of the employees
and partners and sat with them as they filled out the questionaires...
some I even joked with about the 'silliness' of some of the questions.
Questioniares of this sort are meant as an ice breaker... they're a mix
of real questions and fun little things that help to relax the person
doing them... In this case, they seemed to annoy and irritate many of
them instead... Apparently monster hunters don't have the same sense
of humor as the majority of those out there who take questioniares...
At
any rate... after the 'ice was broken', I finally received permission
to conduct actual interviews... The same condition as with the
questionaires... only those parts that the subject agreed to being made
public would be. This worried me at first, considering how little of
use the questionaires provided, however, I decided as long as I steered
clear of the more personal questions, I should be fine. This isn't as
easy as you might think, considering it's the personal questions that
generally make an interview of interest. I was confident however that I
could balance that line nicely, as I have done countless times before.
After
extensively reviewing the results of the questionaires, I compiled a
list of interviewees and questions for each of them, then researched
some of the various newspaper mentions of them..., the nmore public of
their cases, articles concernign them and court appearances...
Confident that I would provide my viewers and readers with a telling perpective of what it was to be a monster hunter and what it took to be a monster hunter... I headed off to work.
I am Lyle Fredricks, interviewer extrodinaire, and occasional co-host of 'Good Morning Boston'.
And this... this is the job that changed everything for me.  |
