In the Easy Chair with...Michael "Skip" McKinley

Photo Credit: Harold Hanka/The Westerly Sun

Architect Michael McKinley shares his influences, inspiration and a few little know facts about himself in this Westerly Sun article entitled: "In the Easy Chair with...Michael "Skip" McKinley."

AGE: 63 years and 14 months.

OCCUPATION: Architect.

RESIDENCE: Stonington.

RIGHT NOW I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF: Recording a new album with some great musicians; dealing with four under-construction residences; paying college tuition; and preparing for a March 19 concert with The Executive Session at the La Grua Center, where I will be playing the ebony wood flute with Glenn Hardy on grand piano and Mance Grady on the bodhran. I seem to be in the middle of everything, which is much better than being at the end of everything.

BORN, RAISED & GREW UP IN: I was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and moved to Nashville in my late teens.

FAVORITE WAY TO SPEND MY TIME: Playing music to my wife, Kathy, and lecturing my daughters.

PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Anna, 17, and Kat, 19.

I’D LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED FOR: Bringing inspiration.

TOP ON MY BUCKET LIST: I don’t have a bucket.

ALWAYS IN MY POCKET: My pockets are usually empty.

WHAT I WANTED TO BE WHEN I GREW UP: An architect or engineer ... I didn’t know the difference.

EXPERIENCE THAT HAS INFLUENCED ME THE MOST: An education in fine arts and architecture.

FAVORITE AUTHOR: I would start with Kurt Vonnegut then, unfortunately, leap over fiction altogether to arrive at historian Gordon Wood at Brown University.

I AM READING: “The Writing Life,” by Annie Dillard (I am so happy not to be a writer), and “The Social Conquest of Earth,” by E.O. Wilson, a multidisciplinary study in human evolution (I would not inflict this pain on anyone).

I AM LISTENING TO: I’m mostly playing rather than listening, but these come to mind: Howard Fishman ... self taught composer, singer and guitarist who recently played the On Stage Series at Conn College; WCRI Classical; Punch Brothers.

LAST MOVIE WATCHED: “Brooklyn.”

FAVORITE TV SHOW: “Hell on Wheels.”

FAVORITE PET: Chippy, the chipmunk outside my kitchen window who is fascinated with my flute playing. I have not seen him recently and fear he may have been eaten.

FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD: Potato leek soup and shepherd’s pie. I’ve been eating these for centuries.

AMOUNT OF TIME I SPEND ON FACEBOOK: Very minimal. No politics and no bad karma, but I get excited about having meaningful chats and I like to share music on Facebook.

TRAIT I MOST ADMIRE: Nonlinear humor.

PET PEEVE: Don’t have one.

FAVORITE QUOTATION: “All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” — Mark Twain

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT OUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD: Not much traffic or lines at the store.

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: Noah’s Restaurant.

LTTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I worked in the Yucatan for eight months with the National Geographic Society.

BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED: “Just marry Kathy and stop thinking about it.”

ADVICE I BEST LIKE TO GIVE: Be true to your dreams.

IF I RULED THE WORLD I WOULD: Make music a required course of study for all students from grade school forward.

IF I WON THE LOTTERY, THE FIRST THING I WOULD DO IS: Beautify Route 1.

I DRIVE A: White 2013 Volvo XC70.

I WISH I DROVE A: Jet helicopter.

ALWAYS IN MY FRIDGE: Capers, horseradish and other dated condiments I have to sniff first.

IF I COULD CHOOSE ONE PERSON TO HAVE DINNER AND A CONVERSATION WITH ANYONE I WOULD CHOOSE: Barack Obama.

— Interview arranged and edited by Nancy Burns-­Fusaro

Reprinted with permission from the Westerly Sun.