His love of children has prompted him to donate his time to students who enjoy listening to him read their favorite stories -- including "Curious George" or "Clifford the Big Red Dog."
Glendale News-Press News Assistant Ani Amirkhanian sat down with Scott and asked him a few questions.
Why do you want to go skydiving?
It's something I've thought about for a lot of years. When you fly, you look out this little window, and I've wondered what it looks like at 13,000 feet and what it's like.
How did your family react when you told them you were going to skydive?
I told them almost a year ago. I said to my son, "Do you know what I want to do for my birthday?" He said, "What's that dad?" "I want to go skydive." He said he would go with me.
Have you been training to prepare for your jump?
No. I'm not going to be the one to open the chute. I'll be tied on to a parachutist. You have to be qualified to do tandem skydiving.
Do you feel anxious jumping out of a plane or are you confident in yourself?
I don't have any fears, not yet. They may have to push me out of the door, I don't know. You know, I have a very strong faith and I don't call myself a religious person, but I do go to church every Sunday and I feel confident for that reason.
What do you enjoy about reading to children?
Just being with them. The first thing I see is that they all look happy. And I say when you look happy, I feel happy. It's a great feeling to be with the children.
What is your favorite book to read?
I have two books that I really like, but "The Valentine Bears" is probably my favorite, because they talk about love. It's a cute story.
Whenever I read the story, I buy all candy Kisses and I give each one of them two, and I say "Give one to your teacher and give her a hug."
Do you read books with a moral on purpose?
Every story has a moral in it that can apply to children. I have quite a few [books] that do, but not necessarily. There are two things I like about "Curious George." First, he is very curious so I emphasize it's good to be curious, but lots of times you won't know what someone has said to you so you should ask them.
Second, he gets into trouble but he always helps somebody. I emphasize helping people and being kind to each other. 20060118it9gfqnc(LA)
