Ask Alexandra – September 2009
Question #1:
Alexandra,
This isn’t a question, but wanted to commend you for your work in trying to protect the remaining environmental cars that GM purposely destroyed. I discovered that your letter was written in 2005 and in 2009, GM would get caught for NOT being responsive to the public’s needs and asking for a bail-out for essentially lying and wasting money. I’m an animal advocate and just wanted thank you for standing up for important issues.
Sincerely,
Jill Bosch
p.s. Your brother is MY hero, too! I volunteer at Animal Acres and get emotional and feel thankful every time I go there and see all the wonderful animals. I’m happy to know that these beautiful animals were saved from great cruelty and can live there the rest of their lives.
I know that prison couldn’t be easy for your brother, but I’m proud of your brother’s bravery to stand up for what’s right and END the horrendous cruelty!
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Hi Jill, Thank you for your support and especially for your volunteer work at Animal Acres, a truly wonderful sanctuary for animals. There are free tours on Sundays, if anyone is in area (45 minutes from LA). I just came back from visiting my brother in the Phoenix, Arizona federal prison in which he is incarcerated. We had a very nice time together. The prison had been under lockdown (which means inmates cannot leave their cells) for 11 days due to a riot, but luckily that was lifted last week, so I could see him. He is making the most of his time in there, reading alot and teaching an advanced spinning class and a “boot camp”. We spent 9 hours in the visiting room together and never ran out of things to discuss! If you would like to write a letter of encouragement to Jonathan. please write to: Keep up your work on behalf of animals! Alexandra |
Question #2:
I see that you have been arrested many times and myself want to do the same thing for things I believe in, however I am very self conscious and really dont want to be handcuffed. Was it a very embarrassing experience being in handcuffs or was it not as bad as it was for something you believed in, also were the handcuffs proper metal ones or the ones used at protests, i dont think I would feel as bad in them. Thanks for your reply.
Emma
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Dear Emma, There are many ways to support a cause, and civil disobedience is just one. If you are not comfortable with getting arrested, dont feel bad about that. You can still hold signs, make calls, write letters, educate others, send money, volunteer your time etc! All of these are vital to supporting an issue. I have never been embarrassed by being arrested, as I always I believed I was doing the right thing, and I acted with dignity during each of the 15 or so arrests. No violence, no disrespect towards the arresting officers. During one arrest, when I was vigilling for better AIDS drugs in 1989, the cops put plastic gloves on before they arrested us. Back then there was alot of ignorance and fear about gays and AIDS. But just because someone else acts badly, doesnt mean I have to. I have usually had plastic cuffs put on me, but I think I had metal ones on when I was protesting the Iraq War in 2003. Both metal and plastic keep your hands behind your back just as well, and both can be uncomfortable if they are too tight. They are really the same in the end. Plastic ones are used for big protests as they are much cheaper and lighter than the metal ones, so they can alot of them can be carried by each officer. Remember, you decide what kind of activist you want to be. They are all important – the key is that you are involved in a cause greater than yourself. Thank you for caring about the world, Alexandra |
Question #3:
Hello, Alexandra!
First, thank you for acting in so many films and shows. Now I watch Baywatch, “Someone To Baywatch Over You”. In this episode your character and Raily were sailing around the world. Do you remember it? Lovely episode.
Second, my dream-land is California since Baywatch. I hope, someday I will go to Santa Monica. I really want to see this place. I would like to know which month is better for traveling?
Can you, please, tell me some things about this sunny wonderland?
THANK YOU,
Julia
P.S. Can’t waiting for your new movie “Christmas Crash”.
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Hi Julia,
I am glad you like the episode Someone To Watch Over You. I will tell you a secret: the reason my character sails around the world with Reilly is that I was going off to film a movie with Pierce Brosnan and the producers needed a reason to explain my absence. I had a terrific contract with Baywatch – I was allowed to leave for one month each season to shoot something else if I wanted to. I did that a couple times, but I LOVED doing Baywatch so much I always had mixed feelings about going. Christmas Crash was very fun to shoot. I hope you get to see it in the country in which you live! If you are looking for California beach weather, the best time to visit Los Angeles is August. September or October are usually very warm and sunny too, and the ocean is calm, but we get the Santa Ana Winds at this time, so there is also alot of fire danger, and it is very smoggy in the valley. It may be colder and wet where you are September and October so these might be good months to get away! In June and July, we get something called “June Gloom” which means there is a grey marine layer by the ocean until early afternoon (on Baywatch, when you see a grey day, it is probably part of June Gloom). We hope it rains December – February as this is our chance to fill the rivers and reservoirs, although I have gone swimming on a warm sunny day many a January 1. April can be cold (for Southern California) and off and on rain. I hope you visit Los Angeles at some point. Make sure you have a car, as it is a very spread out city. If you go to the beach, I suggest Manhattan Beach (which is south of Los Angeles about 1/2 hour). Baywatch headquarters is at Will Rogers State Beach at Temescal Canyon Blvd in Pacific Palisades, but our lifeguard station has been torn down. It was built on top of the real lifeguard headquarters, and that building is still there. The Venice Canals and the Venice Boardwalk are a few miles south. Santa Monica, which is a city between Pacific Palisades and Venice, is lovely. I seem to spend most of my time there, even though Ian and I dont live there. Thank you for writing! Alexandra |
