OK I-Zook fans, I Brent May have called in a favor to my Hollywood pals and gotten an interview with THE COSMO! I know, I know..."You have a Hollywood connection!!!". Well, as a matter of fact... NO, I don't. So maybe it's not THE Cosmo. And so maybe the closest I have ever been to Hollywood was a store in Lexington, KY once...but that's WAY off subject. I did manage to find A Cosmo. Of BBS fame. And I'm sure He's pretty popular with-in his circle of friends. So, sit back and enjoy this month's Hot Seat, and I'll try a little harder for another celebrity interview for next month.

1. What is your full name?
Henry John Bode Jr.

2. Where were you born?
Chicago, Ill. I think it was in Cook County Hospital.

3. How old are you?
35…..will be 36 the day after Christmas.

4. Do you have any brother’s or sister’s?
Two older sisters. I used to hate being the baby (they used to abuse me…steal my lunch money for gas and not even give me a ride to school, etc), but now it is kinda cool not being old like them.

5. Where do you call home?
I live in Blue Springs, Mo., which is right off of I-70 about 20-25 minutes from downtown KC. I grew up in northern AR…moved to St. Louis and lived there for 10 years and then headed to Maryland for a few years until my wife made me move back closer to family.

6. Where do you work?
I work for Carl Zeiss Vision (a newly formed division of Carl Zeiss, who makes binoculars, riflescopes, etc.). We are a wholesale manufacturer of eyewear.

7. What do you do there?
I am the babysitter… ummmm I mean General Manager of the facility.

8. Do you have a nick name that you like to go by?
Kinda… people don’t really call me by it very often, but I use it as a nickname on the internet.

9. Who gave you this name and why?
I was staying in a cabin during hunting season with a bunch of buddies 6 or 7 years ago and we stayed up pretty late pounding a few back one night…the next morning when I got up, my hair was all sticking up and generally looking rough and my buddy Norm said I looked like Kramer on Seinfeld. So then, being the big dope I am, I went back in the bedroom and did the trademark slide through the bedroom door like Kramer used to do on the show.

10. How long have you been into the sport of off-roading?
Since I can remember. I kind of started when I was growing up in Ark. as a kid driving the tractor places I shouldn’t. Got that sucker stuck a few times pretty bad down by the lake. Then when I was 15 I got a 74’ Scout II and I have been doing it ever since. I was never real hard-core, but enjoy a little mud or good trail.

11. Who, or what first got you interested in the sport?
I never really had anyone who influenced me. I pretty much just got into it on my own. After I got my Scout, my buddies started getting trucks too and we had a group thru high school that went to the local 4 wheeling spots on a regular basis.

12. Are you involved in any off-road club’s, and if so, what is the name of your club?
None at the moment, although I was checking out the Kansas City 4 wheel drive association online last night. I would love to be a member, but am afraid I wouldn’t have enough time to really be very involved with all the time I commit to work, family, etc…

13. What is the year, make, and model of your current off-road 4x4?
88.5’ Samurai (and a 98’ Grizzly)

14. How long have you had it?
About a year and a half…

15. Why did you choose this particular 4x4?
I just kind of happened along it in the classifieds one day. I had always thought about getting a Samurai. It was advertised as not running and the guy wanted $500. Turns out it had been sitting for 4-5 years (hadn’t even attempted to start it for well over a year) and the hardtop was cracked from a fallen tree limb and it was pretty dirty and needed some TLC as you might imagine. I was able to look past that stuff (it was pretty nice despite the obvious neglect) and made sure the engine/trans wasn’t locked up and gave they guy $400 for it! I trailered it home and had it running in 10-15 minutes…turned out a vacuum line was pinched under the breather and it would die after starting, but was otherwise ok. New gas and away I went…

16. Is this your first off-road 4x4?
This is my first dedicated off-road rig….But I have had a bunch of DD/4 wheelers. Scout, 2 Jeeps, full sized 77’ Chevy, Toyota truck, Nissan truck…too many more to list. Currently have a HD crewcab Chevy and a Suburban.

17. What's best modification you've done to it so far?
Good set of tires. SPOA… (5.13’s and at least a front locker to come, parts are in the garage already, just need to get em’ in)

18. What's the worst modification you've done so far?
Driveshaft spacers. Need to toss them and get driveshafts lengthened.

19. What’s the scariest moment you’ve ever had off-roading?
Like I said, I have never been real hardcore and am generally a pretty careful person, so I haven’t had many scares. Probably the worst (not scary though) moment was when I got really stuck in my Scout at about 2am and had to walk 6 or 7 miles back to town. Took 3 days to get someone (4 or 5 guys tried) who could finally pull it out! A stock Ford with a 300 6 cylinder finally did it when the other “built” trucks couldn’t.

20. What was the funniest?
Years ago, 3 or 4 of us were out one time and were crossing a creek that was normally pretty mild but was flooded (almost hood deep) because the lake was way up….my buddy in his Scout 800 puked in the middle and had to be pulled out….when we pulled him out the other side he had a carp about 18” long stuck in his front bumper/pushbar. We still talk about bumper fishing to this day.

21. What have you learned from the sport that you can apply to your everyday life?
Not to worry/waste time trying to “keep up with the Joneses”. Someone will always have a cooler truck, etc…..but as long as you are enjoying what ya got, that is all that matters.

22. If you could sit down and talk to anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
Wow… that is a deep question. Probably my Grandpa. He died when I was 19. I would have loved for him to meet my kids, he would have absolutely adored them.

23. What was the name of the last book you read?
With 3 kids, wife, work, dog and two homes….I don’t have much time to read, so it has been a while since I read much of anything. Before life got so busy, I used to read a lot of Stephen King books.

24. What was the last movie that you watched?
Constantine…..it was overrated.

25. What is your favorite style of music?
Rock. I will listen to many different forms of it and even a few other styles of music, but I refuse to listen to country or rap/hip-hop or whatever you call it. Anymore, my 12 year old daughter takes over my car radio anytime we go anywhere so I also know too much of the latest stuff…

26. What do you like to listen to on the trails?
I like something lively. You can’t go wrong with a little older Sammy Hagar or old Van Halen…

27. When you're not off-roading, or working, how do you like to spend your time?
I like to be out on the boat, camping, hunting, atv’ing or something simple and relaxing outdoors. I also enjoy tinkering in the garage. I am somewhat of a vehicle maintenance freak.

28. If I gave you a free ticket to visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Germany/Austria.

29. Name someplace that you have visited in the past that you would love to visit again and why.
I have been around a little…but nowhere that really strikes me as a MUST go there again. I would really like to go to Germany/Austria, Alaska, and New Zealand/Australia some day though.

30. What did you most want to be growing up?
I just wanted to hurry and grow up.

31. Who did you most admire as a kid?
My dad and my grandpa (who lived right next to us from before I can remember, until the day he died)

32. If you could learn to speak any language fluently, what would it be and why?
German

33. What is your best time of the day, morning, noon, or night?
The older I get, the more of a morning person I become. I love to be up early on non-working days, it is so quiet and peaceful.

34. What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Back in high school, this guy and I were playing pool at the bowling alley against another team and they were whipping us….I said to my partner “it ain't over till the fat lady sings” and kinda stopped myself at the end…leaned over and whispered to him “I said that kinda loud, hope that big fat lady sitting over there didn’t hear me” to which he replied, “that big fat lady is my mom” DOH!!!!!

35. Have you ever met anyone famous, and if so, who?
I lived a couple of miles from the band “Black Oak Arkansas” growing up. They actually had a compound surrounded by a tall fence where the band member families all lived. I spent a good chunk of time over there since I went to school with several of the kids….they were pretty wild at times.

36. If you could give any piece of advice to a future off-roader, what would it be?
Enjoy whatever level of rig you have… don’t be distracted by all the high dollar rigs. Also… be decent and respectful to everyone you run across on the trails… and above all… be safe!!