Proust Questionnaire. August 23, 2011
Now that I am set to take on a health challenge, what do I do in my routine, what are my jobs, passions, how do I relax? Here, SeizeTheDayMike ruminates on life in a questionnaire unabashedly stolen from the pages of Vanity Fair magazine.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Working in the gardens around our home…absolutely getting lost in the routine and in the planning
What is your greatest fear?
Being disliked intensely…never could get rid of that completely
What historical figure do you most identify with?
Thomas Jefferson. I aspire to be a renaissance man. No boxes, please…maybe Chinese puzzle boxes…
Which living person do you most admire?
Mary Donley Green, wife, friend soulmate for 34 years, but who is counting?
What is the trait that you most deplore in yourself?
Pathological Stubbornness
What is the trait that you most deplore in others?
Misplaced self-esteem
What is your greatest extravagance?
Boy toys like custom motorcycles and Corvettes, but those are limited in the extreme!
What is your favorite journey?
The Frederick Law Olmsted Approach Road wandering 3.5 miles to the esplanade of Biltmore House. It has been a passion for me since I was 13 years old.
On what occasion do you lie?
Pretty rare…usually just a well-focused omission, but would lie when doing so reduces pain or inadequacy.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I’m satisfied with it…wouldn’t mind a GQ wardrobe
Which word or phrases do you most overuse?
Really gotten into expletives when driving the roads and rating others’ driving skills…working on it!
What is your greatest regret?
It hasn’t happened yet
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Mary Donley Green, aforementioned wife, friend soulmate for 34 years
When and where were you happiest?
June 1977 Sea Island, Georgia. The Cloister Hotel, Honeymoon with Mary
What is your current state of mind?
Introspective, reminiscing in the extreme, I’m afraid!
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Immediate grandchildren!
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I influenced lives in my career.
What is your most treasured possession?
My iPad2 right here, right this moment!
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Nothing to read
What is your favorite occupation?
Losing myself in architectural research or in the garden
What is your most marked characteristic?
Focused to the point of obstinacy
What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and love
Who are your favorite writers?
Asked of a former HS English teacher? Dangerous and difficult question…Shakespeare, Faulkner, Twain, Mitchell(alas, only one!), Preston Child
Who are your heroes in real life?
Charlotte Liddell Green, William Perry Green, my parents. New “jobs,” reinvention in their old age, total commitment to getting what needs to be done, done. Role-modeling for their only child after all these years…
What is it that you most dislike?
A certain segment of our population that has chosen to ignore history, ignore the pursuit of truth, embrace mean-spiritedness and create lives of misguided self-importance that ignores those people who need care in this country
How would you like to die?
Talking to my family about my latest “passion” or project
If you were to die and could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A museum curator
What is your motto?
Carpe Diem
seizethedaymike 
Mr. Green, (even though Mrs. Green has been gone from WHS for how many years still can’t call her Mary – therefore can not call you Mike)… I can now say that I regret never having had the opportunity to get to really meet you. She and I talked about a few of your hobbies, but alas I never really met you. Thanks for starting this blog so that I can at least have the opportunity to get a glimpse into the man that I know she adores.
Sounds to me like you are a very “healthy” individual~ As co-chairperson of Cermonies for the Cherokee County Relay For Life event I leave you to ponder the 3 mottos…REMEMBER! FIGHT BACK! CELEBRATE! Can’t wait to see you there next May CELEBRATING!
Luv ya,
R
I am very concerned about your back, Mike. That Brumby will not be enough–but it’s a good start.
I’m retired now–12 days and can’t quite get used to it. I still keep thinking about the Media center. . I enjoyed your profile. I’m having some problems with reading matter. I haven’t read anything but children’s books for years. I have a new Kindle and can’t figure out what to read. What a dilemma! any recommendations!
I have two new reading terms for you: 2 new genres!
–distopian–not Utopian
–steampunk–Sci-fi from the mididle to late 1800’s when the steam engine ruled.
Ponder those!