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Take Five With Rep. Chellie Pingree

It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for another Take Five, HOH’s chance to get to know a member of Congress a little better by asking five fun questions all relatively unrelated to their legislative work. This week Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, tells us what’s on her playlist and who she’d want to play her in a movie of her life.

Q. We know Maine is famous for its lobster, but have you had any great lobster in Washington, D.C.?

A. I have brought some fresh lobster to my office and made lobster rolls for my team.  That was pretty good.  Other than that, I am kind of timid to eat a lobster that wasn’t harvested in Maine, and I prefer to eat them in Maine.

Q. What’s on your playlist?

A. I’m kind of a sucker for the music of the ’60s — I listen to Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, and EVERYTHING in between.

Q. What are you currently reading — and would you recommend it?

A. I’m reading “Parting the Waters” from a trilogy by Branch Taylor. After joining Rep. John Lewis [D-Ga.] and other colleagues on a pilgrimage to Alabama last month — organized by the group Faith and Politics — I was deeply moved by the people, stories and places. This is a wonderfully detailed history of what we were there to recall and witness and I’m keeping the trip in my mind every day.

Q. If you could have any actress play you in a movie of your life, who would you pick?

A. Glenn Close. She’s a wonderfully talented actress, a Maine resident, a lot of fun to be around and a good friend — although I hope my character would be somewhat more stable than the woman she played in “Fatal Attraction.”

Q. You’re originally from Minnesota. What do you miss about the Gopher State?

A. Hearing all those wonderful people who say “ya-sure, you betch-a” in the perfect Minnesota accent — it brings me right back to being a child at the state fair eating anything and everything on a stick!

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