Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia

Questions That Demanded An Answer

What nickname(s) do you prefer? Why?

I have never been given a nickname by friends or circumstances. I have often chosen to use Gradman as a username on websites. For instance, if you call me on Skype, my Skype address is IAMTHEGRADMAN.

What is your ethnic and/or religious identification? If it is different from the people you grew up with, comment on that experience.

I am a Caucasian. I began my religious experience as a southern Baptist. I played the trumpet in church, sang in the choir and was oh so dogmatic! At age 15, after being adopted I was taken to the Methodist church where I was elected president of the Methodist Youth Council, sang in the choir and was Oh so dogmatic! I was offered a scholarship to Brown University to study theology, but decided to study counseling and human development at three universities in Abilene, Texas instead. My universities were Baptist, Methodist and Church of Christ affiliated. I had mandatory chapel two times per week, Old Testament and New Testament studies as part of the core curriculum. Every professor was a believer in Jesus Christ and subscribed strongly to the Judeo-Christian ethic. We had to perform a missionary duty in some country and I chose Mexico. I preached in Mexico and built various kinds of community buildings for small towns. I was a Chaplain’s Assistant in the USArmy and was schooled in worship procedures for every Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim belief system. Over the last few years I have directed large 500 member church Christmas productions with budgets from $80,000 to $140,000 just for the Christmas show. These are churches that one would see on television with those large buildings and state of the art technology. The last show I directed was made into a DVD that sells for $29.95 in bookstores and churches. After obtaining this graduate degree, I intend to move to Israel where I will earn further credentialing as a Logotherapist. So……………..yea………….I guess I’m religious.

If you have siblings, describe them and your feelings about them.

I am the oldest of four children. My sister, Kay is next in line. She is the mother of two. One is a cheerleader and the other has a scholarship to play football at the Univ. of GA. Next is Chuck. He is a departmental manager at Kubota Manufacturing and also builds decks on homes in his spare time. I love him. Chuck is the father of two also. Next is Micheal. Micheal is a bass player. He is a new father of a baby boy named Kelton. He is a good Dad.

What are the conditions of your life right now-job, living situation, and so forth?

I am a graduate student in counseling and also an internet marketer.  My dwelling is at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and it is beautiful. I am soon going to begin the practicum and internship portion of the degree process. Then I must take the National Counselor Examination. The NCE is full of good questions.

Do you have any recurring dreams/daydreams? What are they?
I have dreams that include large objects falling on people in various ways for some reason. No questions here. I can’t explain it. In my dreams I fly old hay balers that were pulled by horses. I fly airplanes and contraptions that are unexplainable. Once I watched a large cube with many ship’s anchors sticking out of it fall on pedestrians. Ask me some questions and I won’t tell some lies. I like to fly things. What can I say?

I Wonder If These Famous People had to Answer Questions like these?

What men or women of the past and present do you appreciate and admire the most? Why? Who might you consider an ideal role model?

There are so many. JFK, MLK, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Gandhi, Kahlil Gibran, Lord Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branaugh, Robert Kennedy, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, any Rabbi, school teachers whether male or female, and my third grade bus driver. Edwin Elliot was my third grade bus driver. He would make me feel very protected while with him and made me laugh a lot. He would often walk me to the door when he knew my father was being especially crazy that day and stand between my father and me. He was a big, 6.8” man who could bend steel. My father new that. When I went to see him about two months before his death, I was about to knock on his door and from inside the house I heard, “Come on in. you’re at home. You just don’t know it yet.” That’s the way he was. Always caring. He was a mountain of a man, but he wouldn’t have hurt anybody. Someday when I have an office, there will be a door. At that door will be a poster and on that poster will be written, “Come on in. You’re at home. You just don’t know it yet.”

What poems, books, music or other works of art have influenced you the most? When and How?

The Scripture has influenced me the most. I also enjoy Shakespeare, any English Literature writer from the 18th & 19th century. I like Mozart, roc & roll, and messianic Jewish music. I also sing ancient Hebrew songs that come from the Talmud and Tanakh. I am a published poet, so yea, I like poetry. I like what Gibran says about children: This is for all of my readers who are mothers and fathers. I have not experienced that, but this is for you from my memory…………..

Poetry, Not Questions

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
They come through you, but not from you.
And though they are with you, they belong not to you.
You may seek to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward, nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and he bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness.
For even as He loves the arrow that flies.
So He loves also the bow that is stable.
Kahlil Gibran

What frightens you?

George Bush, Barack Obama and any other form of ignorance. I also am not too fond of swimming in ponds. Questions from people chewing tobacco tends to make me doubt the human race.

What events or inner experiences give or have given you the greatest joy?

My greatest joy happens to me every morning. I get to wake up completely restored and realize that Yahweh loves me, the world greets me and I can do anything I put my mind to do.

What events or inner experiences have given you the greatest sorrow?

The death of many profoundly meaningful people in my life has brought me pain. Also, the fact that it doesn’t seem as if the world is ever going to stop warring against each other.

What occupation would interest you the most if you could become whatever you wanted? Why?

A Licensed Professional Counselor.  If it wasn’t this, I could really dig being a tour guide on a camel in the Israeli desert of Golan answering questions from tourists. That would be cool!

What occupation would be the worst possible one for you, something you would just hate to do? Why? I would really hate to be a person who had to put the company logo on every “Best Egg” that went into a carton. That would be misery.

Is there anything about yourself you would like to change? No!

I was asked these questions as a first year graduate student in a master’s in mental health program. They caused me to think about things with a little more effort. Questions are the first step in the Socratic Method. A necessary ingredient to begin the process of self reflection. I hope you found some of these thoughts and questions insightful and meaningful.

Highest Regards!