Q&A
How Well Do You Know Club Member Ben King?
Name the foreign countries you've been to and which did you like the most? Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Cayman Islands territory. Being from Texas, I consider the rest of the United States a foreign country as well. I don’t like any of them better than Texas; although Mexico, the Bahamas, and Cayman has better beaches than Texas.
What are your pet peeves? Blatant lies.
What are your favorite foods? I love Mexican food, which is one reason why it will be great when King’s Kourt wins the Table Tango to Zapata’s competition.
How is your house decorated? That depends. Just about every time I come home from an extended business trip my wife has either painted a room, moved furniture around, or added to the decor. It is always evolving, but I think it always looks great when she is finished.
What is a funny incident or awkward situation that has happened to you? Lets just say that when you are texting your wife, before hitting send you should double and triple check to make sure she is indeed the recipient of the text.
What are your hobbies/interests? My wife says that my civic involvement is my hobby and I am not allowed to add any more. I try to sneak in some golf from time to time.
What are your favorite sports or sports teams? My favorite sport is football. My favorite sports teams are any team representing the Fightin’ Texas Aggies. — from our National Champion Equestrian team, to our National Champion Track teams, to our National Champion Golf Team, to our National Champion Women’s Basketball team, to our soon to be National Champion Football team. I love them all.
Do/did you play any sports? I used to play basketball in high school, and played intramural basketball at A&M. Interestingly, when describing my basketball skills, nobody ever described me as a great scorer or dribbler, but they often said “he plays with a lot of heart.” I guess that is the equivalent of “he has a great personality.” I have recently taken up golf on the advice of Jeff Prieskorn. I played in a golf tournament with Jeff a few months ago. By the end of the day, Jeff was so taken aback by my unprecedented approach to the game that he was asking me for pointers, and he must have felt so inadequate that he left half way through the round.
If you could become your partner for a day, what would you do? My wife, Ashly, is such a great mom and wife. She is a stay at home mom, and I consider her the COO of the King Household. It is not possible for me to do what she does as well as she does it.
What is your favorite season and why? I love the fall because it means its time for some Fightin’ Texas Aggie Football.
Describe your closet. Everything is in groups. Work jeans/dress jeans/slacks organized separately (rear of pants out, and legs folded to the right). Suits arranged by colors. Long sleeve shirts, arranged by color. Short sleeve shirts arranged by color. I prefer white metal hangers for my shirts.
Beach or mountains? I used to vacation with my dad every summer just outside of Yellowstone. When I got married we started going to the beach in Destin (which is where Ashly’s family always went). I really like both, but there is something about sitting on the beach and doing absolutely nothing that I find appealing.
Have you been told you look like anyone famous, and if so, who? I am constantly confused for George Clooney, Adam Levine, and any number of good looking famous people.
What is the best museum/gig/play/game you've ever been to? 2010 Texas A&M v. Nebraska football game at Kyle Field. The Aggies won a defensive thriller 9-6 (my kind of football game). Von Miller sealed the win for the Ags with a sack near the end of the game. Over 90,000 people attended the game, which, at the time, was the largest crowd in Kyle Field history. A buddy and I bought tickets that were in the student section, so we had the privilege of standing the entire game. Before the game we were talking about the last time Nebraska came to A&M, which was when we were freshmen in college, and the Aggies won 28-21. As we were recounting the game, one of the young ladies sitting next to us said, “I was in fourth grade when that happened.” That made us feel really good about ourselves!
Which person in your life do you most admire (or has had the greatest impact on you) and why? My three kids (Grant, Samuel, and Noelle) have had the greatest impact on my life. They have truly changed my outlook on life and caused me to focus more on things that really matter.
What are a few of your favorite movies? I love Major League. For some reason the so called “experts” never put it in their top 10 all time great movie lists. If I am channel surfing and Shawshank Redemption is on then I’m watching it. When I was growing up, I would watch the Disney Robin Hood cartoon constantly.
What is the most outlandish thing you've ever done? I’m waiting for the stature of limitations to run before disclosing any details.
If you could be mayor, what would you change or implement? I have spoken to my wife about this. She says I don’t get to run for political office any time soon, so everyone will have to wait to hear my full platform.
Do you have any phobias? Snakes. I am scared to death of snakes.