Interview - Kevin McClintic

I always enjoy doing these interviews and this was the case with Kevin. Plus, I just marvel at how God seems to direct me to people. I love it!
I 'discovered' Kevin after finding his photos from the "Redheads And More Redheads Day" event in Sammamish, Washington, in July 2010 (organized to set the Guinness World Record of "largest gathering of people with natural red hair.") A natural redhead himself, he’d posted some great photos of the redheads and seemed to enjoy the event.

Since all my previous interviews had been with females, I’ve really been wanting to interview a redhead guy -- a bit of redhead male perspective, a sort of regular everyday guy’s viewpoint. So, I contacted Kevin and he agreed! I’m thankful for his bravery and willingness to take the plunge and be counted in my Interviews list!

Kevin is married, has had various career paths and traveled a lot, and enjoys photography as a hobby. In the process of corresponding with Kevin, he’s shared some life experiences that I found interesting and hope you do too. One tidbit Kevin had shared with me was about fellow redhead, astronaut John Glenn, and the camera he took on his NASA space flight. (Read more on John Glenn.)

Enough said, grab your coffee -- let’s get on with the interview!

1) Hi Kevin: A special thanks for agreeing to the interview and especially for being my 1st natural redhead male interviewee! Please tell us briefly about yourself and your family, pets included.

Hi Deb. Thank you for inviting me to be interviewed for your web site, and the honor of being your first male interviewee.

I was born and raised in Oregon, growing up in Eugene, Oregon. I originally wanted to be an architect; but, as with many directions life leads us, I ended up answering the call of the open road and spent almost 6 years traveling on darn near every major highway in the lower 48 states as a long haul trucker. Name a town, any town, and chances are good that I have either been to it, through it, or within 50 miles of it. -- French Lick, Indiana; Social Circle, Georgia; and even Dime Box, Texas -- just a few of my favorite names of cities visited.

Since then I have also managed to visit Alaska via a cruise ship, which only leaves Hawaii as the last state on my still left to visit list. [His wife, Tandy, was formerly a travel agent, thus the great cruise opportunity.]

My wife and I met as adults as a result of her father and stepmother moving into the same neighborhood as my parents. They said, "We have 2 daughters" and my parents said, "We have 4 sons." The 2 families had a tradition of sharing Christmas Eve dinner together for a number of years, and that is how my wife Tandy and I originally met.

Then, one weekend Tandy went on a trip from Seattle to Los Angeles to visit her sister. Little did she know that I was headed for Los Angeles too, except my flight left a couple of hours after her flight. What a coincidence - I was already seated at a table in the same restaurant where her sister was taking her for dinner, my face buried in a tall menu I was holding while sweating like a pig in a dark wool suit. "Who’s that old man sitting at our table?" she remarked to her sister as they walked in. Once she realized it was me, the next question was "What are you doing here?" as I began to get down on my knee. And of course the rest is history.

We currently live in West Seattle, which is just southwest of downtown Seattle. Our ‘children’ consist of one of the most stubborn and spoiled Yorkshire Terriers you might ever meet, and an elderly black and white cat that has never missed a meal.

2) So you grew up in Oregon and then moved to the Seattle area in the 80s. (I guess it’s a good climate to avoid getting sunburned!? ) How did you end up there and what do you like about the area?

Eugene, Oregon, has always been a timber town. Timber was once king, and I can remember as a child, seeing logging trucks that sometimes only had ONE log that took up the entire capacity of the trailer. Today, all that has changed. People always thought timber would be king forever. Not so.

I needed to be in a city that offered more opportunities, so I debated between Portland or Seattle. The economy was so bad in the early 80s that almost every business in Eugene had signs in the window stating "NO help wanted." The first thing I noticed in Seattle was the abundance of "Help WANTED" signs. While Seattle used to be quite dependent on Boeing, the city has diversified greatly over the years.

Seattle is also unique in the fact that it is close to everything. The Cascade mountains are just 60 miles to the east and the Olympic mountains are about 50 miles to the west. There is water everywhere. The ocean is just a 2-hour drive. Canada is just a little over 2 hours to the north. The marine climate helps keep things cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. It truly is a great place to live - but you must be able to tolerate lots of gray and rainy days.

Seattle is a great place to live as a redhead. Our summers are fairly short and normally quite pleasant. Personally, fall, winter, and spring are my favorite seasons. Being a redhead, I spend a lot of time inside during the summer and actually prefer our frequent gray and rainy days. Strange as it might sound, I find summer rather boring.

Speaking of mountains, this reminds me of a side story. Did you ever hear the one about the redhead [Kevin] who was buying pantyhose for his ten-ton ‘girlfriend’? [his diesel truck]
During my tenure as a long haul trucker, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State. The word on the CB radio was that if you were traveling to Washington, you should buy several pairs of pantyhose to use as a filter to protect the diesel engine air intake from the abrasive volcanic ash. I had a trip to Washington and heeded the advice and stopped at the nearest shopping center as I entered the state. Having never purchased pantyhose before, I spent a long time spinning the rack looking for the perfect pair of hosiery for my girl. Fish net? Nope. Control top? Hmm, I doubt that will help. Large, or extra large?
I made my selection and nervously approached the check out counter. "Uh, umm, uh, uh these aren’t for me," I managed to stammer as I placed my purchase on the counter in front of the middle aged female clerk. I’m sure my face was about as red as my hair was back then. Her answer was priceless --- "That’s quite alright young man," she re-assured me. "I have never in my life seen so many MEN buying pantyhose."

3) In looking at photos you had sent me, I noticed the amber cross in lights on the front of your diesel rig. Can you tell me the story behind it? Were you raised in church?

As for the Cross on the front of the truck - yes I'm a Christian. Originally raised as a Presbyterian, I later started attending Four Square Gospel churches as a young adult.

During the time I was on the road, it was quite common to see illuminated crosses on the front of trucks. Drivers would often flash their crosses on and off a few times when meeting another oncoming trucker with a cross on the front of their rig. My cross was custom made by a local truck repair shop in Eugene, which was owned by a Christian truck mechanic. I still have the cross down in my basement.

There were also quite a few "mobile chapels" on the road back then. Traveling ministries on wheels -- a semi truck pulling a 40-foot trailer converted into a mobile chapel. I met "Bunnie" and "Blonnie" Gregory many years ago. They were probably in their 30s when I first met them, and from the looks of their website, it appears that they are still out there. Check out their website 'TruckingforJesus'. There's a great website multimedia story about them also. A much larger ministry is Transport for Christ. They too, have been around for a long time, and have a small fleet of chapels.

Also worthy of note is that there are quite a few truck stops around the country featuring prayer and meditation rooms. I have heard of other truck stops that sometimes offer prayer services usually hosted by a local church pastor. There were also a couple of monthly Christian Trucker newspapers that could be often be found at certain truck stops.

4) Now, onto my ‘redhead’ questions --
Being a natural redhead, you attended the July 2010 "Redheads and More Redheads Day" in Sammamish, Washington. It must feel awesome to be with so many fellow redheads and I enjoyed seeing your photos of the event on your blog. -- So, why did you decide to go? What was your favorite thing about the Redhead Day event?

Deb, this was quite a unique experience. I have never given much thought to being with that many other redheads, but found it to be a real thrill to look around and see that everyone else had red hair. I chose to go because Anne Lindsay, the photographer/organizer, had placed a notice on the popular web site "craigslist" inviting folks to come and help set a record. So basically two reasons, to help set a record, and also experience the event.

[Deb's Note: The redhead record is official. Sammamish, Washington, photographer Anne Lindsay has received a letter from Guinness World Records confirming that she organized the "largest gathering of people with natural red hair." -- set on July 17, 2010, officially counting 890 redheads. Read the Issaquah Press article...]

Even though I used a quarter bottle of Bullfrog SPF-50 sunscreen and kept my head covered, the one mistake I did make was NOT bringing any sunglasses. I think my eyes got sun burned, because by the end of the event they hurt so much that I could hardly keep them open for the drive home.

5) I understand there were approximately 900 redheads there! Can you tell us about 1 or 2 interesting redheads you met there at Redhead Day and where they were from?

Redheads taking pictures of each other, comparing redhead notes, and meeting new friends. Redheads sharing their sunscreen with redheads who forgot theirs.

One woman came all the way from California on the train. I met some folks from Portland, and even eastern Washington. One couple I met came from Centralia, WA - both are redheads and have been going together for about a year. I asked them how that is working out? Do they ever have any really bad fights? They replied NO, but the young man did mention that he is into GUNS, but was quick to add that she is a better shot :) There was even one person who was originally from Ireland.

If you are seen with an umbrella in Seattle in the rain, it is an immediate tip-off that you are a tourist. Real Seattleites only use umbrellas in the worst of rain storms. What was odd to see at the Redhead gathering was the number of umbrellas in use on a bright sunny day with temperatures above 70 degrees.

6) As a redhead guy, did you have to deal with teasing, bullying, or negative comments growing up, and even now as an adult? If so, did it affect your self-esteem?

All the time while growing up. As an adult, I might hear a "Hi, Red" or perhaps a "Hey Red" once in a great while. Names? -- "Red, torch, flame, rusty, carrot top," to name a few. I think I have heard them all.

I was kind of small growing up, and I did get bullied from time to time. In all honesty though, I was always real good at ‘stirring the pot’ -- something that redheads seem to be noted for in addition to their reputation for having tempers. Many sources dispute the fact that redheads always have tempers. I think it depends on the individual.

7) Do you feel that the redhead freckled guys have an easier or harder time than redhead girls growing up in regard to being noticed, picked on, etc.,?

That is a tough question to answer. I think that redhead males might endure more teasing and bullying. I can see where redhead females might feel more self-conscious about their appearance, especially while growing up.

8) What advice can you offer to other redhead males, especially the youngsters out there, in dealing with being a redhead and people’s comments, good or bad?

• Always remember that you are unique! Only 2% to 5% of the population has red hair. Get your picture taken as often as possible. In future years you will look back and say WOW, my hair sure was red back then. Unlike others with dark hair, you will never have to worry about getting gray hair. Red hair will fade over time, and tends to slowly change from red to yellow. Freckles seem to last forever.

• Accept the fact that you will likely be teased, and don’t take it personally. Tough advice to follow when you are young.

• And lastly, take care of yourself! Protect your skin. Keep covered as much as possible and don’t forget your sun screen.

9) Are there other redheads in your family? And, what’s your heritage, as your name sounds a bit Scottish?

I’m the eldest of four brothers, and my second brother and I both share red hair which came from our father. The other two younger brothers are more blonde.

I would consider myself a mix of Scottish and Irish. Many folks will pronounce my last name as McClintock instead of McClintic. I always tell folks that the ‘tic’ comes before the ‘tock.’ :)

10) Natural redheads often deal with stereotypes about them. Do you feel your own temperament is any different because of your red hair?

Many would say that I have a short temper at times, although I consider myself a type "A" personality and do not necessarily feel that is a result of just being a redhead.

On a different note, there is a certain amount of research that suggests that redheads require more pain relief than other folks. I had a kidney stone one time, and they were giving me morphine for the pain. The nurse commented that she was surprised I was not even slurring my words considering the amount she was giving me.

11) You’ve had a varied career path -- being a long haul trucker, helping build fishing boats used in Alaska, a 20-year career in computer IT industry, plus doing some photography. So what’s next for you? Also, will you be visiting any other ‘Redhead Day’ events in the States or overseas?

Good question. At the present time, I have decided to make yet another career change and start a career in business-to-business sales -- most likely some sort of industrial or computer equipment sales based on my previous experience. Photography is a hobby, although I sometimes think about perhaps shooting a wedding or hanging some art photographs in a coffee house. Both are activities that I have yet to experience.

I don’t know about attending an overseas redhead gathering, but I definitely plan on attending future local gatherings. Anne Lindsay is already planning to have another event next year.

And finally....
Well, it has been a pleasure sharing with you and your readers. I wish you the best with your Raising-Redheads.com site. Oh, and do continue to balance it out with more of the male perspective.

Interviewing Kevin again got me thinking about how and why people's paths cross -- only God knows. And, I'm glad I 'stumbled' into Kevin's path! :) -- Plus, I enjoyed reading how he met his wife, the Pacific Northwest, his life experiences, and his insight from a ‘redhead guy’ perspective! And, I admit reading his trucker stories was very interesting and new to me. I don't think the average American has an understanding of how hard truckers work and how important they are to us, hauling everything imaginable from one end of America to another! -- I didn't. God bless each one and I pray for safe travel for them and the ones ministering to them.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the interview and maybe learned something new. Again, my big thanks to Kevin (and his wife Tandy)!!

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