Crush of the Month: Andrew Davis

If this years unseasonably warm October was our giant flat screen TV, November is the exorbitant bill. Sure things seem unchanged this morning, sun dappled leaves, distant train whistles, drunken neighbors once again hanging their used plastic grocery bags out to dry, but soon well be averaging two hours of daylight and asking trusted friends to check us in to Chicago hotspots so people think we actually leave the house.

Luckily theres a flicker of warmth amidst Novembers creeping chill: Crush of the Month Andrew Davis. Managing editor of The Windy City Times, Davis has seen Chicagos oldest LGBTQ newspaper not only survive the age of the internet but take the shift away from print in stride. While still available weekly on newsstands, The Windy City Times attracts a growing online readership, and Davis continues to edit with aplomb! So come, Chicago, let us warm our hands in Daviss blaze. Try not to actually touch him though; I learned not to the hard way.

Name: Andrew Davis

Hometown: Chesapeake, Va.

Profession: Managing editor, Windy City Times

Hobbies: Working out, exploring

Our Town Originally you moved to Chicago to get a PhD in microbiology. Now youre Managing Editor of The Windy City Times. Is that as big a leap as it seems?

Andrew Davis I don’t know if it’s a jump as much as it is a drive down a very twisted road. However, I view myself as a Renaissance man.

OT What goes into taking WCT to press on a weekly basis?

OT A great team of writers, an incredible art director, our hands-on publisher and a (now-abused) stress ball.

OT Unlike many free papers, WCT has survived despite online medias primacy. To what do you attribute this?

AD Well, to survive in print the sales team needs to do its joband this one’s pretty darn efficient. It also helps, once again, to have some really good writers. It really does take a village.

OT Whats your most fulfilling WCT experience?

AD Some of the most fulfilling experiences have been in putting together human-interest stories. You feel honored that people are willing to let you inside their lives; they sometimes share some pretty grueling and/or intimate details.

OT Obama. Good for the gays?

AD Overall, I would say “yes.” Regarding LGBT-specific issues, he’s been pretty good, including the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” However, sexual orientation and gender identity have yet to be added to federal anti-discrimination laws, and the Defense of Marriage Act needs to be overturned. There’s a long way to go to achieve total equalityalthough we certainly have it better than a slew of other countries.

OT Describe your perfect day.

AD Right now, I would say meeting one or two friends at a restaurant, and then maybe walking along the lakefront (provided the weather cooperates). I’m pretty low-maintenance.

OT Relationship Deal breaker?

AD Smoking, arrogance

OT Who was your first crush?

AD Actually, it was a girl in my kindergarten class who shall remain nameless. She was also my first kiss.

OT Why are you crushworthy?

AD I always love trying new things although I’m also pretty old-school. Plus, I love the art of conversation.

OT Any questions for me?

AD You’re really cute, but could you back away a couple feet? If you got any closer to me, you’d be behind me.

A writer with an MFA in Creative Writing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sarah Terez Rosenblum freelances for a number of web sites and print publications. Her debut novel, Herself When Shes Missing,” is forthcoming from Soft Skull, an imprint of Counterpoint Press. She is also a figure model, Spinning instructor and teacher at Chicagos StoryStudio. Inevitably one day she will find herself lecturing naked on a spinning bike. She’s kind of looking forward to it actually.

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