Interview with Gus LeGarde, of the Legarde Mystery series

Author, Aaron Lazar

I grew up in the fifties and sixties and loved watching The Adventures of Superman on our black and white television. I suppose I ought to admit something right now - just to get it out of the way. It's humiliating, but true:

I used to tie a blue tablecloth around my neck and wear red swim shorts over a discarded pair of my mother's blue leotards in a vain and misguided attempt to become Superman. It made quite the ensemble, especially when paired with my scuffed cowboy boots.

I also wanted to be a cowboy. ;o)

I had a big crush on Lois Lane. She was quite the independent woman of our age, and rather different than most ladies in our small farming community. Her dark hair, blazing eyes, and fiery spirit sent me over the moon. I guess it was the precursor to day I fell for my own dark-haired beauty, my first wife, Elsbeth. And strangely enough, my second and current love, Camille, is also blessed with long dark hair. I wonder if there's a connection?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Great question, because I sure don't feel grown up yet, even though I'm blessed with three grandkids and silver has started to sprout at my temples. I earned every one of these gray hairs over the years, by the way. (If you're interested, Aaron Lazar has documented my life in a series of books found at www.legardemysteries.com) When I was a boy, after my Superman craze, I yearned to become a world famous concert pianist. In the late sixties and early seventies, I studied hard at the New England Conservatory of Music, in Boston. I played Chopin etudes until my fingers cramped and collected records of every glitzy piano concerto ever made.

{Note to younger readers: For those of you who don't know what "records" are, they are black or red vinyl disks that one sets on a turntable with an analog needle.}

When it became apparent that my concert pianist skills were not nearly as pronounced as my wife Elsbeth's, I faced reality and decided to try my hand at teaching. It's a challenge at times - especially when faced with students who are just there for the ride. But once in a while I run into a young man or woman whose lives are changed by the music I play in Music Appreciation 101. And that makes all the difference.

If I could change it all now - I think I'd like to be retired when I grow up. I could spend more time with Camille and the grandkids, out in my garden, on walks through the woods with my dogs, Max and Boris, and cooking feasts for the family. Yes. I definitely want to be retired when I grow up.

How do you spend a rainy day?

I love the rain. Especially after last summer, when we experienced the worst forest fires known to upstate NY after a freakishly dry season. It led to some amazing discoveries in my neck of the woods related to the Underground Railroad… but, I digress.

{Firesong: an unholy grave is the fifth book Lazar wrote which addresses these events.}

Sometimes I go outside to the flowerbeds in the warm rain and just weed. I pull at those slippery stems and they slide right out of the mud. I picture my first wife, Elsbeth, smiling down on me. She started these gardens and Camille and I try to keep them up in her honor.

And I love the rainy Sunday mornings when all three of my grandchildren climb into my bed. We watch Disney videos until the aroma of blueberry pancakes rouses us out of our warm cocoon. My favorite is The Little Mermaid, which was my daughter's favorite, too. I relate to Sebastian, the crab whose always trying to keep Ariel out of trouble.

And there's nothing quite like playing a Chopin Mazurka on a rainy day when the house is empty and despondency settles like a warm blanket. With the fire crackling in the background, my fingers fly over the keys and bits and pieces of my life dance before my eyes to the sounds of Slavic harmony. I think about those I've loved and lost. Elsbeth. My parents. My grandparents. And in a strange way, it's cathartic.

I do love rainy days...

Tell us about the lake where you spent the summer in your childhood?

My grandparents owned a rustic fishing resort in Maine, on the Belgrade Lakes. The place was called Loon Harbor, and the sounds of those lovely birds filled the dark nights, rippling over the waves with their haunting "tremolo." Most of my childhood summers were spent there, many in the company of my two best friends, Elsbeth and Siegfried Marggrander. We played in the tall pines and cool water with such freedom that I almost shudder now to think of it. Back then, children were given free reign to roam - probably because we didn't have cable and the Internet to scare the hell out of our parents. But it was a magical time, nonetheless, filled with trips to the corner store to buy penny candy and comic, a boatload of chores, flights of imagination that entertained us from dawn to dusk, and yes...a certain element of danger.

The camp has been willed to me, but we don't get up there often enough. It's a very long drive. With kids and dogs, it takes almost 12 hours.

What childhood event stands out the most to you?

My best friend in the world is my behemoth brother-in-law, Siegfried Marggrander, who stands at six feet eight and wears his long blond hair in a ponytail. I met Sig and his twin sister, Elsbeth, when they were four and I was five. Since then, we've been inseparable, and his life has been wound around mine in every respect. As you may already know, I married his sister at the age of 19. Many years later, when she contracted cancer and subsequently died, it tore both of us apart. Siegfried, because she was his fraternal twin and kindred spirit, and me, because I'd found and lost my better half.

The most important event from my childhood, however, has to be the boating accident that rendered Siegfried mildly challenged. It happened in 1966, at my grandparents' camp. The twins had been arguing as the sun set over the western horizon, over who could actually swim across the lake to a nearby island. They bickered frequently, but were fiercely loyal to each other in all other regards. Before we could stop him, Siegfried plunged into the lake and began to stroke toward the island. He made it, and had headed back when Mr. Baker's fishing boat appeared. The strong setting sun blinded Mr. Baker, and the boat plowed into the boy. Mr. Baker saved Siegfried, but it took years for him to recover a portion of his lost faculties.

Before the accident, at the age of twelve, Siegfried had been planning to register for some college math courses. Afterwards, he could barely remember the English language and with intensive help finally graduated from high school at the age of 21.

However, the damage to Siegfried's brain didn't render him less valuable, by any means. He possesses a singularly amazing sense of bravery and honor. He's a staunch family supporter, and incredibly gentle with children and the animals. He works wonders at my daughter's veterinary clinic. And he's still the best friend a fellow could ask for.

If granted one wish, what would it be?

That's a tough one, Kim. There are so many things that happened over the course of my life that I wish I could change. And so many people I love, for whom I'd like to wish good health and happiness.

Although I'm crazy in love with my wife, Camille, and wouldn't want to change the awful history that precipitated our union, I do wish I could have prevented the physical and mental abuse she suffered at the hands of her former spouse, Greg. After an incident that left their only daughter hospitalized for years, he started drinking. The guilt devoured him, and each time he faced his demons, he turned on Camille. I wish I could have been there to support them at the time of their crisis, to get him to an AA meeting, or to bring him to a minister for counseling. Perhaps it would have spared her the years of agony she endured. But, then again, she might have been a different person. And we surely wouldn't have met. That's a tough one to ponder.

I shouldn't end this interview on such a glum note. Perhaps I should add that Camille channeled her own pain into a career that helps teens deal with their own crises. In her job as social worker, she counsels high school kids every day, making a difference in their lives. I'm very proud of her, and know given the choice, she wouldn't change a moment of the difficult history that transformed her into the woman she is today.

Kim, the beef stew is starting to boil over on the stove. I'd best run. Thanks for taking an interest in my life, and good luck in your writing career. I'm glad you and Aaron joined forces with SW Vaughn and Marta Stephens on the **Murder by 4** website. Finis