We are pleased to interview OldGuy today.
Our goal is to get to know our friends and active members a little better. You are invited to ask additional questions, but will only receive answers if the questions are not too personal.
(Disclaimer: My entry is only provided as an example. I am not eligible to win this contest. I will say it was easy to go beyond 15 answers. I could have gone on with more but enough is enough.)
Q: What name do you prefer to use?
A: Dave
Q: How old are you?
A: I am as old as my tongue and a lot older than my teeth.
Q: Your birthdate? (Month and Day)
A: August 30
Q: Are you male, female, or other?
A: Male
Q: Married or single? (How long? Anniversary date?)
A: Single, although I had 4 close calls.
Q: Do you have children? (how many? Boys? Girls? Adopted?, etc)
A: None that I know of.
Q: Are you a student or adult beyond school?
A: It has been well beyond a half century since I attended any schools.
Q: Who was your favorite school teacher, and why?
A: Grace Graham, High School Audio Visual Adviser. She was always very interested in helping students learn new things. As an active member of the audio visual group, I learned how to operate every piece of audio visual equipment the school owned by the end of the tenth grade, and went on to teach and even substitute for the group adviser when she took time off. Most of my favorite memories from those days involved activity with this group. My last visit with her was in a nursing home 25 years after school.
Q: Where do you live? [just what country]
A: I currently live in North Carolina USA. I have always lived in the US. Over the years, I have established residences in 6 different states and have lived (at least remained alive) during travel visits to 27 other states, Mexico and Canada.
Q: Do you practice any religion? [and if so, describe]
A: I consider myself a Christian. I believe there is a significant difference between true Christianity and any religion. There are no protestants or catholics in heaven. No such thing as a mormon, jehovah's witness, muslim, buddhist or any other religious moniker. Religion is man's attempt to reach up to a supreme being, no matter what you call it. Christianity comes from God reaching down to man. They are absolute opposites. I follow scriptural teachings, not man's interpretations.
Q: Do you have a sense of humor? [and if so, describe. Tell your favorite joke]
A: I have an odd sense of humor. I smile a lot as I think of funny things and stories from the past. People have even commented that they wonder what I am up to because I am always smiling. Key words that come up in conversations remind me of some joke that relates and I blurt it out. Most people who talk with me end up laughing. I've often been told I am easy or even fun to talk with.
One of my favorite jokes: Mixed Emotions … when your mother in law is driving your brand new car and goes over a cliff ... My car!
Q: Do you have any hobbies? [and if so, describe]
A: My all time favorite hobby is what I call Angel Duty. I love to just happen to be where I am needed so I can give a hand to someone in some emergency. It might only take a few minutes or it might take all day, but it is a pleasure to help and then vanish as quickly as I showed up, leaving them wondering where that came from. No charge or compensation and they usually never even learn my name. The anonymous hand is part of the pleasure. Nothing else leaves me floating in bliss for hours after the event and hundreds of such memories carry me through every day.
Q: What kind of vehicle do you own and use?
A: I drive a 13 year old Toyota/Scion XB. It has been a very reliable vehicle. Other than regular maintenance, the only repairs have been new tires and a recent air/fuel regulator replacement.
Q: Do you use your vehicle just for work or errands, or do you like to travel?
A: Now that I am long past retirement, most of my driving is just for errands, and that is not much. I filled the tank in December, then the end of February, April and am about to get it filled in August.
Q: Do you like to fly, go by train, boat, etc, or do you prefer to drive your own vehicle?
A: If I travel anywhere, I prefer to drive. Although I have traveled by air, bus, train and boat over the years, I had the experience of a near disaster with a plane trip and with that experience, I refuse to travel by air. At least in a car accident, it happens first and you deal with it. With an air disaster, you have the incident and wait in terror until the inevitable end.
Q: Do you socialize in person, strictly online or a mixture?
A: Other than my exchanges here on FC, I prefer face time with all social activity. I am not a member of any social media site and don't even like to use texting. If I am going to spend social time, it has to be in person to have any meaning for me.
Q: Do you consider your online activity more as entertainment or more as work?
A: My online activity is more therapy than entertainment or work. I have this thing called asperger syndrome that drives me to study some obscure topic to depths that would drive anyone else nuts. Studying site statistics fills the inexplicable drive. For me, it is more like a personal video game. The more obscure detail I can document the higher the game level.
Q: Do you rely on your online revenue, or is it just extra play money?
A: I don't rely on online earnings at all. The only way I have found to use my earnings here is to develop awards to other members discovered while playing my stats game.
Q: Do you keep up with current fashions, or prefer to wear your old comfortable garments?
A: I have no interest in fashion. I don't know anything about famous designers or their wares. I buy cheap stuff that covers the need and wear it until it becomes very religious (holy). I still have and wear stuff that I bought in the 70s.
Q: What is your greatest accomplishment in life?
A: I suppose my single biggest feat was starting and running our high school alumni association for more than 20 years. It grew from just my own high school to including our cross town rival, all cross referenced to additional connections we all had from our 3 local junior high/middle schools, 5 local parochial schools and specialized cross referenced directories for more than 40 extra curricular and city wide groups, even a local motorcycle gang from the 60s.
I single handedly maintained the entire program, including updating an average of 3000 addresses each year. I had located more than 95% of the entire history of all schools, including all high school staff and a growing list in a deceased memorial. It was like maintaining a 5 generation genealogy study of the entire community, with all family connections identified for each member listed. (Another result of my asperger syndrome) Although it included a huge website with all directories secured for members only, the advent of Facebook brought an end to the entire program.
