May 3, 2006

Jeff Golden plays with his dog Katie in his back yard after a walk Photos by Orville Hector

12 Golden questions

A talk with JPR radio personality, author, former county commissioner ...

take a breath ... and oh yeah, he acts too, Jeff Golden

Jeff Golden is host of "The Jefferson Exchange," a two-hour interview and call-in program heard weekday mornings on Jefferson Public Radio. The show is known for its civility, even when dealing with hot-button issues. Golden is a mediator, author and former Jackson County Commissioner. He lives in Ashland.

Q. You sound unflappable during your show. How do you stay calm on the air?

A: Pretty much the same way I stay calm with people in my private life. As long as I show up and listen hard, as long as I'm not trying to jive anyone or hide my inevitable mistakes, there's really not much to get agitated about, is there?

Q. What do you enjoy most about your work? What's most difficult

A: The best are those moments when callers shift from "somebody ought to do something about XYZ" to deciding they're going to be "somebody." The hardest is when a caller is so enmeshed in ain't-it-awful that he or she can't imagine taking any step whatsoever towards positive change. I can feel my breakfast sour when that happens.

Q. What is something about you that might surprise most people?

A: I'm 11 years old.

Q. Lately you've started acting in local theater. What appeals to you about that?

A: A couple of years ago I promised that I was done turning down fun stuff out of fear of looking foolish. "Zorba" was one of the first chances to keep the promise. The best surprise was the quality of community the cast becomes over the run of a play.You're very clear that your success depends directly on everyone else's. It's a good way to live.

Golden and Katie

Q. What was the best book you've read lately?

A: I'd put Eckhardt Tolle's "The Power of Now" and Paul Loeb's "The Impossible Will Take a Little While" way up there.

Q. You recently wrote a book (As If We Were Grownups) that envisions a new kind of political speech. Would you want to hold public office again?

A: Moi? It does strike me sometimes [that] it's easy and a little weak to stand outside the circle throwing rocks in, that stepping inside to make things happen is a higher and more courageous calling. But for now I feel satisfied and blessed with exactly what I'm doing.

Q. What would you most like to change about our city or region?

A: I'd like anyone who works hard and wants to contribute to community to be able to afford to live here.And a whole lot of us could come down a notch from the notion that we live in the most conscious, hip, politically astute and energetically radiant spot on the planet.

Q. Who inspires you?

A Daniel and Sarah [his son and daughter, ages 22 and 20] inspire me. Courageously relentless people like Pete Seeger, Dennis Weaver, Cindy Sheehan, David Brower, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Connie Saldana and Rich Rohde inspire me.

Q. Who was your favorite interview in the past year or two?

A. The list is way too long to print. Reading "The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering" on the air along with author Sharon Mehdi was great fun.Gangaji entrances and Jean Houston astonishes whenever they sit down with me. And interviewing Senator Paul Simon days before his unexpected death felt like a deep blessing.

Q. When and where have you been happiest in your life?

A: There've been so many good times. Up near the top would be learning to live on the land outside Gold Hill in the early '70s, and then living in a collective of zany river guides in the Sierra foothills. The greatest gift has been watching Daniel and Sarah grow from sweet little bundles to strong, funny, committed and compassionate grownups.

Q. What would you like to find yourself doing in ten years?

A: Floating down more rivers, playing more guitar, laughing more, mentoring fierce young world-shakers, talking less and saying more.

Q. Do you consider yourself an optimist?

A: Yes. None of us knows how this little voyage will turn out. What's clear to me is that optimists have a better ride along the way than pessimists do. I want the best ride I can get.