William R. Emmons is an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Before participating in a panel on rebuilding neighborhoods after the foreclosure crisis, he sat down in the Zócalo green room to confess that if the Rams were to move back to Los Angeles, he at least wouldn’t miss them all that much.
What dessert are you unable to resist?
Gelato.
Where would you like to travel to next?
My wife and I are in active discussions—I think maybe one of the places that just came up was Berlin.
How would you describe yourself in 140 characters or less?
I don’t know if I could fill up 140 characters! I guess I would say I’m interested in a lot of different things. I’m pretty patient, generally pretty hard-working, and try to be helpful to other people—be aware of what’s interesting and useful to other people as well as to myself. [I think you might have gone over, actually.]
What is your most prized material possession?
I got a new car recently, so I’ll say my car: a Hyundai Elantra.
What’s your favorite foreign currency?
The Canadian dollar. I think they have figured out that you need a coin for the one and two, and you get rid of the paper dollar. And we just can’t figure that out.
If you could have a beer with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?
Maybe my grandfathers, if I could have two.
If the Rams move back to Los Angeles, would you miss them?
Honestly, not that much.
What is the best gift you’ve ever received?
Just family time together.
What’s the first thing you bought with your own money?
Probably a baseball, something like that.
What shouldn’t visitors to St. Louis miss?
Forest Park. It’s larger than Central Park—also designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. It’s our museum district and has the zoo, and it has a couple of golf courses, lots of biking and hiking, and a little place to take a paddleboat. And it’s where the 1904 World’s Fair took place.