Hello Marianne, how are you today?
A little exhausted from working in the darkroom.


Many site visitors may not know much about you. Tell us how you got from Willow Lake to Salt Lake City.
Two days after high school graduation, I carpooled with my sister to Utah and I have been here ever since 2001.

You recently read my Year in Review for 1995. Do you think this was a pretty accurate depiction of the year? What first comes to mind for you when you think of 1995?
Ryan, your accuracy in depicting 1995 was superb. What first comes to mind for me was our puberty talk when they separated the boys from the girls and told us about the change our bodies will go through. Or was that 1994?

Word on the street is that you’ve been married for a while now. Who is this slick young man who swept you off your feet? How did you meet?
The man I married is Bryan Wilson. He and I met on campus at the U of Utah at a computer lab, where he was working at the time. And the rest is history.

Are you all graduated from the U of Utah or are you out in the working world?
What were/are your areas of study? I graduated in May ’06 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree where I studied art and photography.

Does it seem like 5 1/2 years ago since we graduated high school?
To me it seems even longer. It is interesting how I spent almost 19 years in WL and how those years seem like ions ago. So yes, I agree, it does seem longer.

Are there any plans to give birth to babies soon?
No, none of that happening anytime soon.

Who do you think will be the last person in our graduating class to tie the proverbial knot?
I honestly thought Dusty Hovde would be the last person to get married, but he has surprised us all. I guess the runner-up is you, Ryan.

Remember when Brandon Hanson and I stayed with you in your dorm room in Utah that one night in 2003?
I barely remember that because as I recall, you came at around 2 or 3 in the morning and left around 6 or 7 am. Does that sound right? It felt more like a dream.

Have you ever been on the Great Salt Lake, and if so, have you tasted the water?
I have been to the Great Salt Lake and yes I have tasted the water. Think salty.

Being a Mormon, what did you make of that episode of Southpark that explained the Mormon religion? I asked my Mormon manager at work the same question, but he hadn’t seen the episode.
I never saw that episode, either.

Who is your favorite music artist of all-time?
I have four: Bob Dylan, Mates of State, Magnetic Fields and Mr. Johnny Cash

Why didn’t you talk for the first 1 1/2 years that I knew you?
Technically it was the first 2 1/2 years that you knew me that I did not speak. Remember, we were in preschool together with Mrs. Kinder? Ring a bell? I guess people tend to forget the mute they had in class with them. I am always looked over, the story of my life.

How much fun was that movie we filmed junior year, aside from me accidentally groping you and the nail going through your foot and your trip to the ER and the fact that the tape is lost forever?
The film was HILARIOUS! What’s interesting is that because the film has been missing for 7+ years now, it has become this mythical creation; this epic story of the one-armed man, Lucy Nell, and her mother retold through the craft of 5 teenagers. I thought our film was brilliant. We thoroughly explored our character’s identity and transcended our talent as actors to that of a true artist.

Have you met any celebrities?
I have met the ice skater Michelle Kwan, the artist Sally Mann, and the Osmonds.



 

Do you enjoy cooking?
Yes, yes I do.

Do you find it odd that I never knew your brother Jay until he was long gone and moved away and then we started talking online and still keep in touch semi-regularly?
Yes, a little odd. It’s never too late to make an online friend.

Did you consider yourself one of the “cool” kids in the class in high school?
Did we really have those classifications in high school? Hmmm, actually I think we did. Ironically, I never much cared for the “cool” kids who were older than you and I because if being “cool” meant you were to be an asshole to anybody and everybody and you deliberately belittled another person then I did not want to be identified as “cool.” I never understood this arrogance and hierarchy ESPECIALLY in a community and school where we grew up where everybody knew everybody. I just wanted everybody to be nice to one another and treat every human with kindness, respect, and decency for gods sake.

Do you like to brag that you were homecoming queen senior year?
Occasionally. However, it really does not mean anything to anybody else. Being homecoming queen is my claim to fame at WLHS and why couldn’t I keep the tiara?

What advice can you give me about marriage?
Do not fall into gender stereotypical roles.

How many first cousins do you have?
You know, I have never really counted seeing as many of my aunts and uncles have remarried many times over the years.

What memory comes to mind first when recalling our senior trip to Minneapolis?
Giving Dusty Hovde a facial and hearing Brandon Efraimson speak more than 3 sentences.

Do you wear prescription glasses or are they merely a fashion statement?
They are prescription and an expensive fashion statement. I chose my glasses with careful consideration.

Do people find it flabbergasting when you tell them there were only 22 kids in your graduating class? People here think it’s a tad odd that as a senior in high school we could still be found riding the bus with kindergarteners to school.
People do find it astonishing that I came from such a rural community.

Do you currently reside in an apartment or house? Cause I am trying to envision where you will be sitting when responding to this interview.
Bryan and I live in a charming two-bedroom apartment not too far from the U of Utah, about an 8-minute walk uphill. You really should come see it. But we do long for a house. We are waiting patiently for the market to come down.

If I were to visit you in SLC, where would you take me to show me a good time?
One of the many things that is great about SLC is in one direction (east) you have the gorgeous mountains and in the other direction (west) you have the salt flats. So first we would go on a hike, pack a lunch and eat with the elf, rabbits, and other wildlife that might frolic about. Then we would take a drive west to the salt flats and experience the surrealistic nature of the area, where you could scream at the tops of your lungs and no one would here for miles and miles, and also where you must dodge rotting bird carcasses embedded in the flats. I still need to find out why there are so many dead birds out there. Sound fun? And of course, I would treat you to dinner at Blue Plate Diner.

Well thanks so much for your time today, Marianne. Any closing remarks?
I apologize for going off on tangents in some of my remarks. Thank you for the opportunity, Ryan.