Maralyn's Final Chat
February 12, 2001 11:00 AM PST
CBS Moderator: : Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for this very exciting chat with Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey. As you all know, Maralyn, the dynamic 52-year-old retired police officer from Wakefield, Virginia, was voted out of the tribe by five of the seven remaining Ogakor members. There are many great questions, so let's get started!! To ask Maralyn a question, please type it into the space below and click "Ask the Survivor." We'll get to as many of your questions as we can. Here we go!!
Maralyn Hershey: Hello! This is Mad Dog. Apparently, my bark is stronger than my bite.
Kev: Mad Dog: Why 'Mad Dog'???
Maralyn Hershey: Mad Dog comes from my early patrol days as a patrol officer in the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington D.C. I made more felony arrests than the majority of the male officers that I worked with. Hence, they gave me the nickname of Mad Dog. Woof! Woof!
Bu11etproof: Are you seeing the shows for the first time upon their airing or did the participants get sneak peaks at the edited shows before hand?
Maralyn Hershey: Excellent question! There are no sneak peaks. None of the contestants had any idea what the episodes would show.
Fubu: Maralyn how were you treated when you got home.
Maralyn Hershey: I was treated like Maralyn when I got home. Although, certainly my family, my friends, and the town of Wakefield was very proud of me.
Boooo: If you were to go on another survivor adventure, what item would you take now that you know what to expect?
Maralyn Hershey: Well… we are asked to put down about four of our choices of the items we would like to take. And they (being Survivor Production) make the decision of what item or items of what we can take. In my case--I believe it was last on my list--was a damned tube of lipstick! And that was my luxury item. If I had to do it again, it would be kind of a crapshoot, since they are the ones doing the actual picking.
Kucha_Rules: Do you think you should have been more vocal in defending Kel? How about yourself?
Maralyn Hershey: Wow! Oh, gee. Well, I was plenty vocal in defending Kel. And Kel also received an apology for what the tribe did, by myself, and Keith. That apology wound up on the cutting room floor. And as far as defending myself… although I am certainly no saint, my inclination would be to defend someone else rather than myself.
I_Love_Mad_Dog: Kel says that you and Tina were persuaded by someone else in your group to vote against Kel because that person said he was voting against you. However, this contradicts a claim you made on The Early Show where you said you voted against him to buy more time on the island. Please clarify.
Maralyn Hershey: Well… in a way, I felt it was either going to be me or Kel that was going to get voted off if we lost the next challenge. And there was some talk amongst the tribal members that they were going to vote Kel off. Therefore, in order to buy myself more time, and it wasn't much time (laugh), I voted Kel off along with the rest. And I LOVE YOU too!
P: Maralyn, what did you find the most challenging out there in the Outback?
Maralyn Hershey: Everything! It was total deprivation. And the various physical challenges tested everybody's limits, particularly when we were eating only one half cup of cooked rice a day and water. We were literally running on adrenaline.
Firetrap76: How did you feel when you found out Tina voted for you, since you two were getting to be good friends?
Maralyn Hershey: The first time I learned that Tina had voted against me was when I watched the third episode this past Thursday. I was momentarily shocked and literally crestfallen. But I remembered that it was a game! And she was playing the Survivor game as well.
Gunzlinger: Did you feel that you fit in well with the younger members of Ogakor?
Maralyn Hershey: I immediately bonded primarily with Keith and Tina. And I started bonding more with the younger members later on in the game, but it was too late.
Nova_Scotian: Is Jerri the master manipulator we think she is??
MegH: Was Jerri as annoying in person as she was portrayed on the show?
Maralyn Hershey: Wow! Let's put it like this… based on the three episodes that I saw, she certainly appears to be the big M (for Manipulator)!
Ajsurvivor: Whom do you still talk with from the show?
Maralyn Hershey: Let's see… Kel, Colby, Keith, Tina, Debb, Jeff, Mitch, Kimmi, Alicia, and I just spoke with Rodger the other day.
DC_Chocolate_Ms: On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the worst time and 10 being the best, rate your experience in the Outback.
Maralyn Hershey: A 10! No question! But actually, my experience transcends 10!
Fubu: Maralyn, how would you say this has changed your life?
Maralyn Hershey: Too early to tell! I do not view myself as a star. I do not know what the future holds for me and I hope that whether I become a star or not, it's important that I never view myself that way.
Beth: Do the episodes on TV accurately portray the tribe members?
Maralyn Hershey: Fair enough. But you have to remember that everybody is wearing his or her game face for that show. And I would hope that some of the behaviors exhibited on camera would not be repeated in real life-like going through someone's personal belongings!
Woof: I think that the young are too critical of the old, and tend to vote them off more quickly. Do you agree? (Not that you are old or anything!)
Maralyn Hershey: You have to look at the demographics. Rodger and I were the only two out of sixteen over 40 on the show! So, I don't really think so.
Virus: According to you, who has the best "Survivor Profile"?
Maralyn Hershey: Only time will tell. It is my hope that the person with the most substance and merit will win. Whoever that may be!
Emu: Personally, why did you choose to be a Survivor?
Maralyn Hershey: I did it as a hoot! Never expecting my application or videotape getting any further than my backdoor. Little did I know, that my bluff would be called all the way to Australia… so I had to go, my bluff got called. I never expected to be selected.
Calcat: Maralyn, do you really believe that substance and merit will make a winner? I think it has a lot to do with mind games and manipulation.
Maralyn Hershey: Yes it does! But I tend to be an optimist that the good will prevail. Of course, I might be a little naïve. (Laughs) There are such things as naïve, retired cops.
Jermone: Please tell Maralyn she has great style and an awesome haircut!!!
Maralyn Hershey: Thank you! That's the Mad Dog do!
Kangarooboy: If you watched the first "Survivor" Series, who do you most identify with from that group?
Maralyn Hershey: Kind of a composite of Rudy, Sue, and Gretchen.
Hotwire: I'm looking at you and I see Sonja, Rudy, and Gretchen rolled up into one. Whom else were you compared to once you left the game?
Maralyn Hershey: Basically, Gretchen, Rudy, and Sue! But, I guess, we're all kind of unique in our own respects.
Rusty: Would you have any suggestions, about how to become a participant if they do another Survivor?
Maralyn Hershey: Number 1: Fill out a very detailed application and submit an eye-catching, creative video. And be yourself!
Survivorfan11114: Did you notice any alliances forming when you were there?
Maralyn Hershey: Well… a little too late. The young crocks got their act together before I could get my act together. And they got me in their jaws!
Rusty: Please explain eye-catching video, what did you do?
Maralyn Hershey: First, I presented a brief summary of my background. Then, I surprised them by emerging from a dumpster, saying "If I could survive 7 weeks in a dumpster, I can certainly survive in the Outback standing on my head!"
Kat: What about all the animals and bugs, were they as bad as they depict?
Maralyn Hershey: Um… in our tribe, there were a few run-ins with a snake and several spiders had to be avoided. In general, we were pretty careful and avoided mishaps in our tribe… at least the time I was there.
Yoohoo: What was your favorite challenge?
Maralyn Hershey: Well, it sure wasn't the obstacle course! Jumping off the cliff!
Rickko: In the opening show, it said you had little contact with other members of your tribe before you arrived on location. When did you know who was in your tribe and what impressions were you forming as you flew to the drop-off point after meeting them?
Maralyn Hershey: It looked like a good bunch of folks to me!
JF: How did you compare being a woman police officer in the 70s and being the eldest in your tribe? In both cases you have to prove yourself in the face of prejudices…
Maralyn Hershey: OK-I did the best that I could. I gave it my all! And since I didn't win the money, I hope I at least won respect.
Wendy35: Maralyn, do you see yourself as a role model for women over 40, in that you are strong, vocal and independent?
Maralyn Hershey: Yes, probably all three of those attributes are true. But hey, the older you get, you realize how short life can be and how important it is to live each day as fully as you can. And in the outback, I never felt so alive! What a gift it was! Even though it was short… it was still a great gift!
Dar: Was being a Survivor harder than being a cop?
Maralyn Hershey: Well.. basically, I had nine days of deprivation and challenges. Certainly that was a very intense period. But I was a cop along with all the other cops facing danger every day... and in my case for 26 years. You do the math! (laughs!) In other words, I don't want to come across snippy. But you can't compare a brief experience on Survivor with an entire police career.
Mad-dog: Do you think anybody can survive in the Outback or does it take a certain kind of person?
Maralyn Hershey: Not just anybody can survive that experience. It takes people with a particular mental make-up, strength of character, personality, high tolerance for pain, mental toughness, as well as a certain degree of physical fitness. You know you don't have to be a bodybuilder to survive in the Outback.
Susan: What did you learn most about yourself during your time in the Outback?
Maralyn Hershey: Well, you know, it wasn't so much what I learned as what I felt. And I never felt so alive! I was in a situation, environment, and circumstance that I had never been in before. I felt totally stimulated. And I had done things I had never done before or dreamed of doing! It was magic for me! And the only regret that I had when I was voted off was that I wish I could have been there much longer. And not necessarily for the money. Just to stay there…and be with my tribe.
Aflac_goose: Does the camera crew eat in front of the starving Survivors? Do they ever toss you scraps?
Maralyn Hershey: Yuck-yuck.
Maralyn_Fan_#1: Do you think that Kel actually had beef jerky? P.S. luv ya!
Maralyn Hershey: No way! That was a crock!
Murphy: So, Maralyn, what are your plans now? You should come back to DC and run for mayor!
Maralyn Hershey: Thank you but I hate politics
I_Love_Mad_Dog: Did you quit smoking after that long in the Outback?
Maralyn Hershey: I'm sorry to report that after I received the boot, I picked the habit up again but at some point in time, I hope to be able to quit for good! Wish me luck! It's one of the worst things you can do to your body.
Kentucky_Jared: So, Maralyn, how are you occupying your post-Survivor time?
Maralyn Hershey: Taking care of my small farm-taking care and loving my donkey "Cappuccino" and my two goats "Harley" and "Boomerang," my hound dog "Eunice," riding my horse "G-Man," and playing my didgeridoo!
Giselle: Maddog, you are a very spirited, fascinating character. Have you been approached to do any promos or shows since the show aired?
Maralyn Hershey: You haven't seen the last of "Mad Dog."
Dingobaby: Love ya Mad Dog…Woof! Woof!
Yoohoo: Bye Mad Dog! Luv ya!
Limo: Good luck Mad Dog...we'll be looking for great things from you!
Murphy89: Keep smiling mad dog…good luck!
Ajsurvivor: Good luck in the future mad dog!
Jusbecuz: You go girl!
Colby_is_hot: Everyone loves you mad dog!
CBS Moderator: Thanks everyone for joining us! Tune in to an all-new Survivor, Thursday at 8:00pm ET/PT. And after Survivor, check out America's number-one new drama, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation at 9:00pm ET/PT!
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