I thought I'd just share this little bit from the "Ask Clay" thread with you...

Like many other fans, I have really enjoyed reading the responses Clay has given us from the "Ask Clay" thread. However, one answer kind of surprised me: it was in response to one of my questions.

I have asked Clay about 5 questions now, if I'm not mistaken. After the first three went unanswered, I asked a simple one on the 4th: "What is your favorite state on the east coast BESIDES North Carolina?"

To my surprise, he answered it. That said, it wasn't quite the answer I was expecting...not that I had a particular state in mind. Here it is:

"Don't you mean "What's the state on the east coast, north of Connecticut and south of New Hampshire that is my favorite?"

These questions where folks ask me "what's your second favorite food?" or "If you couldn't choose 'BBQ' or 'mac and cheese' or 'hot pockets' what would would be your favorite food" are insane to me. If you want to know an answer and I give it to you... don't keep asking me modified versions of the same question just to get another answer.

(this is not directed to "caraleigh3" ... her question just provided an opportunity for me to say something that I have wanted to for a while.)"

He said "north of CT and south of NH" because that's where I am from (MA). He must've thought I wanted some connection between him and me by saying Massachusetts is his favorite east coast state when not considering NC. That is not what I was looking for at all. I actually was curious to really know which east coast state he thinks would be worth visiting. I do not have many chances to visit the west coast, nor have I, and with him touring so much on the east side of the country, I thought he'd have a good idea which one(s) he likes the most. I'm sure he does too, but instead, he gave me a sarcastic response, and if I look at his response with an open-mind and interpret the question the way he did, I loved his response. It was that classic "snarky Clay".

Of course I consider what he said that this wasn't directed at me, BUT I must've somehow set him off. I think at the time in the thread, he was getting fed up with some questions that broke the guidelines and were ahem questions not worth answering...

But my point for this blog entry is not to say I didn't deserve a response like that. I am actually making light of this response Clay gave me. I found it interesting that at the bottom he said "HER" (referring to me).

I am not saying that I expected him to know I'm a guy. For one, his fanbase heavily consists of women, that's not difficult to figure out. Secondly, with a user name "caraleigh3", he, like almost everyone else, probably thought it said "Cara Leigh" as if it's my name. It really stands for "CA Raleigh". See it? (Clay Aiken/Raleigh, NC).

However, I still find it interesting of the possiblity that when in doubt, he assumes any given fan is female. It doesn't offend me in the least, and he may not assume that. That being said, I laughed when I read that.

This has led me to question: Where are the ClayDawgs? They seemed like a legit fanbase around the time Clay came off American Idol and was releasing his debut album "Measure Of A Man". But nowadays, they are few and far between and hard to come by. A rare find...

If there were ever a battle between the Claymates and Claydawgs, I think we would know the true meaning of "strength in numbers"...the Claymates would woop up on us! If I had to throw out a figure, I'd say the ratio of Claymates to Claydawgs are 100 to 1, and that would be the smallest possible difference. Maybe 1,000 to 1 would be more like it! ; )

Anyway, I figured I'd share that with you. And going back to that "snark" Clay is known for, I decided to give it back just a little, and not to be rude or anything. I respect the man to the utmost, but in my next question, I playfully corrected his reference to me:

"Clay,

When you vote, do you tend to vote on party lines or base it on individuals' qualifications/views?

P.S. dude, i'm a dude (AKA "caraleigh")

Your Massachusetts ClayDawg,

Matt ; )"

And with that, I conclude this entry : )