Fiscal Responsibility

Chris Swann - Page 2

The only problem with his great job is that it's far from home. Chris and his wife Debra live in Paoli, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, along with their daughters Stephanie (19) and Casey (16). Which means a long commute on Amtrak. "It's about a 3-hour commute, all things considered, each way. People are shocked by that but interestingly enough there are a lot of people who do that. Many more are going to New York than Washington. The other thing is that a lot people in the Washington, DC area, particularly on the Virginia side, they have a 2 to 2 1/2-hour commute and they're not more than fifty miles away." The advantage is with the taxpayers who pay his salary. "The train is a great place to work. I once told my division chief: If I were you, I would never want me to move down here because you get more work out of me this way," Chris laughs.

The long commute makes family time precious. "I don't think this would have been possible even a couple of years ago. Now our oldest daughter is in college. The younger one is within months of having her license. The biggest thing is that it would not have been possible if Deb had been working." Up until two years ago, Debra was an executive vice-president for a communications company where she and Chris met before they married in 1985. "She has had a good time frankly, taking a pause. It has refreshed her," says Chris adding, "But she's back in the saddle again, just accepting a VP position at a professional organization."

Cooking during the week is difficult because of his schedule. "When I first got the job I was eating late and I'd get home and... oh God, it was horrible. But I made some adjustments and I'm back down in the suits I was wearing when I first started. It can kill you, the long days and the commute because if you end up eating late you're dead. I try to manage what I'm eating during the course of the day a little better."

The weekends are when Chris can start cooking and drawing on his heritage. "My Italian grandparents came from Sicily and my Greek grandparents emigrated from Greece," says Chris then adds with a laugh, "Between the Greek and the Sicilian, there's an awful lot of olive oil and garlic that runs through these veins. If I don't get a dose now and then, I start to have withdrawals." Being born in St. Louis influenced him as well. "Barbeques have always been big from when I was a kid from the St. Louis connection. You know, barbeque, baseball and beer."

Being in the Midwest exposed him to things other than the three B's. "My grandfather on my stepfather's side had a farm in Illinois. So my grandmother, who I knew very well, brought in the farm element. That's where I got clued into those great green beans with the bacon. There are just some things... the cobblers. That woman would make blackberry cobblers that would knock your socks off."

His main cooking influence comes from his aunt. "Predominantly I learned how to cook from my aunt, who took care of me while my parents worked. I learned to cook from her and do domestic things, which served me well when I got on my own as a bachelor. I always tell guys, listen, if you want to score high with the ladies, a little fettuccine Alfredo and a bottle of wine will score you big points."

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Article:
Harry Zeeve: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
David Walker: Page 1 - Page 2
Alison Acosta Fraser: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
Belle Sawhill: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
Chris Swann: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3
Carl Tannenbaum: Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3

vol3 issue2, 2008

Fiscal Responsibility

Chris Swann - Page 2