FRANK W. OCKENFELS 3
J—When was the last time you cried?
F—When was the last time I cried?
J—This is my personal favorite question. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, I won’t be mad. [pauses] Maybe a little mad.
F—Starting, a physical, actual outburst?
J—Yeah sure. It could be a movie, it could be life, a performance of some sort…
F—Umm, the last serious cry I had was probably my mom’s death. It was the realization, it was weird, you know that outburst where you just uncontrollably cry, which is what that is, and I don’t think I’d done that in years. My mother passed and I hadn’t dealt with it. One of my sons had gone to camp and I looked at my younger son; we were sitting there looking out into the valley at our old house, which used to be up on a hill. I was sitting there with a glass of wine looking out and I was thinking about my mom and looked down to see my son crawl into my wife’s lap in a hammock and it hit me, that my mom was gone. My son walked over and put his hands around me and goes, “It’s okay daddy, you can cry, your mommy’s died.” And I remember, I just sat there when he said that. He just held me, he was holding my head and I was like, “Holy, Christopher.” My wife looked at me and she just kind of like smiled, ‘cause she could see the whole thing happening.
J—That’s a great image. Couldn’t script it better.
F—Oh, it completely was. When you see yourself with your own mother, because he looks just like me when I was a little kid. So beyond that, because I’m silly, I cry at movies and commercials.
J—Yeah, me too. I just saw a band play called Swell Season, have you heard of them?
F—Oh yeah, what’s his name?
J—Not sure? The girl and guy from the movie Once.
F—Yeah, yeah. Once.
J—I was tearing up at the show, and I was like, “What’s happening to me?”
F—That movie made me cry a couple times. I don’t know why. I’m like, “I don’t get it.” Are they supposed to be together? Is he singing about her? Or is he singing about himself?
J—Or have you seen that TV show, Extreme Makeover, Home Edition?
F—Oh my God, yeah!
J—[laughs] At the end of the show when they’re like, “Move that bus,” and you’re like… ”Don’t move the bus!”
F—[laughs] Yeah your’re right! I’ll cry in commercials more, if they hit me right, I’m easy.
J—I am too. Big hearts, I guess. I think that is a great way to end the interview. Thanks again Frank, this has been by far my favorite interview thus far. Thanks for being a part of a project I care dearly about.
F—You’re welcome. Thank you.
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