Questions, Answers, and Other Musings from Inquiring Minds Who Want to Know

In lieu of a chat room, blog site, or other complicated set-up, send your questions,
responses, and other great thoughts to the web master (that would be me:
larryjohnson@wideopenwest.com) and I will post them. 


Older-Than-Dirt History Exam Scores

Janey Campbell Adams submits:

I challenge anyone to better my score on the History exam that I sent to Larry and he forwarded to everyone!

Scoring

17 - 20 correct: You are older than dirt, and obviously gifted with mental abilities.  Now if you could only find your
                       glasses. Definitely someone who should share their wisdom.

12 - 16 correct: Not quite dirt yet, but your mind is getting keen.

  0 - 11 correct: You are not old enough to share the wisdom of your experience/

  Name  

Score on the History Exam
1 Jane Campbell Adams 17
2 Larry Johnson 17
3 Marsha Daugherty Borgeson 19
4 Patty Ackerman Adair 17
5 Sharon Collins Palmer 19
6 Kathryn Lowe Bradford 18
7 Elaine Brown Harris 14
8 Jill Spain Pinkleton 19
9 Pete Hutton 20
10 Jane Bowden Robinson 20
11 Clark Shackelford 19
12 John Blankenship 20
13 Barry Wright 20
14 Carole Lowe Hackney 18
     

Most Influential Teacher

Pete Hutton submits:

Of all the faculty members, who, as it turns out, has had the greatest impact on your life?  I’d have to say Leslie Wyatt. Reason? I submit that since all of us are on line, it is he who certainly impacted me the most. It seems as if it were only yesterday I could hear him say, “Hands on the home row, please…...BEGIN!” And do you remember when the IBM Selectric was brought into the typing lab? Man, that was a big deal!

Larry Johnson replies:

We all have teachers who have become indelibly imprinted on our once impressionable young minds.  Roger Flannery making me take a biology test on a typewriter when I broke my arm (I never had any typing lessons, Pete) or Doug Morris teaching us: "Wir werden Deutschland judenfrei machen" ("We shall make Germany free of Jews" -- this was part of his introduction to German history and culture) on the first day of German class are two teachers that come to mind.  But I would say that Denny Loyd had the greatest impact on me.  I work with a bunch of engineers and scientists, in which a person that can write is like a one-eyed person is a land of the blind.  So, I credit much of what success I have had to the fact that Denny learned me English but good.

Clark Shackelford replies:

Without question, the teacher who had the greatest impact on my life was Denny Loyd.   The first time I saw him after graduation was at my mother's funeral.  I told him that he had inflicted a curse on me  -- an excellent command of the English language which makes me cringe constantly at the abuse of our Mother Tongue.  He said that I was not the first person to make that accusation.  Actually, I have found that being able to write well is probably the biggest single asset one takes into the real world.

Jane Campbell Adams replies:

Pete, I too, have a memory of Wyatt's class, but my story involves Bill Connelly.  Every time we were to "BEGIN!" Bill would start swiftly typing, reach over, and flip my book closed!  Then, I would gasp rather loudly, and we would have to start all over.  I am sure I was one of Leslie's favorite students as I was Lipford's. 
 
I suppose, though, that I have to say that James Vandiver must have influenced my life more than anyone else because of my speaking abilities.  :)

Sharon Collins Palmer replies:

I would have to say that Lois Anderson and Ruth Doran stand out for me.  Mrs. Anderson was so supportive, and Mrs. Doran was so funny, particularly in French class.  I remember that she said she spoke French with a Southern accent.  I would have to agree!!  I also remember Mr. Lipford.  I had occasion to visit with him several years later when I moved to Abilene.  He admitted that he felt much more at home leading Chorus than teaching class.  I also remember that he and his wife were among the chaperones on the Senior trip.  They were the best kind - - we never saw them!!!

Kathryn Lowe Bradford replies:

I, too, was influenced by Mr. (Dr.) Loyd and his ability to read literature...I was transfixed.  He still has the same impact on me today when he reads.  For those of you who will be here on Sunday and wish to see him, he is an elder at Granny White C of C.  Maybe he will read scripture as he frequently does.  He recently had heart by-pass surgery and is doing fine.  Mrs. Sanders is at Granny White also.

Patty Ackerman Adair replies:

my most influential teacher had to have been mr. lipford.  he and jeanette "rescured" me when i needed to be.  he allowed me to blossom as a real person and to believe in my musical ability.  i babysat for them for the time they were here and got to know them not only as mentors but as friends.

Elaine Brown Harris replies:


I'd have to say my favorite teacher was Denny Loyd.  We didn't start out well.  When he was student teaching us in Jr. High, I thought of him as a dictator.  I remember he told me to do something one day and I stood up and saluted him.  That didn't go over well.
 
But in high school I grew to really appreciate him.  He wrote in my senior yearbook:  "To my only senior friend!?!?  Your support has been invaluable.  It kept me from committing suicide often...."  I remember his sense of humor...and one certainly had to have that with our class!

 

Christian Denomination Selector: Truth or Dare

Larry Johnson says:

Here's an interesting web site.  It claims that it is a simple, clear, and accurate way to examine your beliefs and figure out which Christian denomination would be most appropriate for you. But I say do it for fun, like the barkers at the Tennessee State Fair when we were kids: "Guess you age, guess your weight."  Now in this electronic age, it's: "Guess your religion."    Visit this selector and see what it predicts for you at: http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=christiandenom

For those of you in the Madonna "Truth or Dare" mold, take the test and send me your results to post.  Remember, it is not your preference, it is what this program thinks your preference is...and it is just for fun.  I will start it off.

  Name  

Best Denomination Match  

C of C Match
1 Larry Johnson Unitarian    # 21
2 Clark Shackelford Liberal Quakerism     # 17
3 Pete Hutton Assembly of God       #   5
4 Sharon Collins Palmer Unity      # 15
5 Mark Tucker Evangelical Lutheran     #   4
6 Jane Campbell Adams Episcopal #   2
7 Ken Hadley Episcopal #   7
8 Jane Bowden Robinson International Church of Christ #   2
9 Jenny Bradford MacDonald International Church of Christ #   2
10 Kathryn Lowe Bradford Church of Christ #   1
11 Carole Lowe Hackney International Church of Christ #   2
12 Patty Ackerman Adair International Church of Christ #   2
13 Barbara Menefee Allison Church of Christ #   1
14 Wayne Dunn Reformed Baptist #   4
15 Marsha Daugherty Borgeson Assembly of God #   5
16 Martha Word Haley Freewill Baptist #   4


General Stuff

Patty Ackerman Adair says:

thanks, guys!!!  this is great!!!  i have really enjoyed reading and "seeing" each bio.  it's interesting to see how much wayne dunn looks like his father, claude.  i wonder if he remembers that his mother and my mother were very good friends as young girls.  life is so neat.  how long it's taken to get us talking to one another, and now we can't stop.  i think it is a blessing.  i forgot to mention in "our" bio that i do stained glass.  i've been doing it for 23 years and have my own business. 
 
the memories just keep flooding back.  as sharon mentioned one of the best is the trip to new orleans.  we thought we were hot stuff in the big easy.

it's also amazed me as to how smart our class was/is.  look at the degrees, the number of docs, teachers, all smart professions.  i'm impressed.  and the sense of humor in our class is wonderful.  i didn't realize we didn't have a class clown, but a class of clowns.

 

Career Planning

Pete Hutton said:

Larry asked me to send a comment, to get the ball rolling, so I'm doing just that. I'm curious who is in an occupation they'd planned for all along? I'm guessing those who fall in this category are Joe Tomlinson (minister), Wayne Dunn (homebuilder), and I'm out of guesses. As for me, well I was headed to become an accountant until I hit DLC and discovered one had to be proficient in math. (What, you mean all those columns have to agree?) So that bubble burst right away. And it's a good thing. I'd have been miserable sitting in an office how about anyone else?
(I think Larry Johnson was originally planning brain surgery!?!)

Larry Johnson replied:

Pete was pretty close. I had planned on being a brain donor, but four years in the military reduced the residual value so much that no one would take it.

Actually, I thought of being a college professor, but wound up doing research. Argonne is managed by the University of Chicago, so I do work for the U of C. Maybe I didn't stray too far from my original goal.

Jane Campbell Adams replied:

Pete, how could you forget that I was always going to become a teacher because of my acting ability!!  I have my 1st graders mesmerized daily as I become character after character....that was until this year with the 2 from ----. 

Kathryn Lowe Bradford replied:

Well Pete, being familiar with dysfunction, I always planned to work in the mental health field and have been doing that as a social worker (except for my 6 week teaching career) since 1967.  It has been a most interesting field and I would not have changed that. 
 
However, in my retirement life I plan to model hats and plant flowers for shut-ins.  Actually, I have had three offers in my life to model.  The first was for a calendar (bikini clad) with the caption "We have more of everything!"  Turned it down flat.  The second was for a nude Rubinesque type creation for an artist friend but, alas, I valued his friendship more than fame so I declined in spite of his tears!!  The third was for a hat model at Catherine's but I was to wear my own clothes and their hats.  I'm holding out for a better deal!  Ideas, anyone?
 
I know, Larry, if one can model surely one can have her picture made.  Remember, I turned them all down!

Nancy Engle Settles replied to Kathryn Lowe Bradford:

Thanks Kathy for holding out with me on not sending a current picture - let them imagine what we look like now. For now, I am just enjoying the memories of how we were then. It sounds like we all turned out pretty well no matter how we look now. Right?

Kathryn replied to Nancy:

Nancy, I believe I would have recognized all who have sent in pictures except those who obviously sent in the pictures of those young hunks and hunkettes that come in new wallets!

Mark Tucker replied:

I am both proud and humbled at the accomplishments of our class.  As I matured, slowly I might add, I planned to do full-time church work (my dad preached for 60+ years) or to teach high school English.  By graduation, I realized that I was not meant for the classroom.  I am deeply impressed by Jane Campbell and the others of you who have answered a high calling, especially in public schools.
 
I decided against church work which seemed fraught with delicate political issues, along with the necessity of being a "public family," an important part of full-time ministry and a matter of personal (and occasionally problematic) experience for me.
 
I needed a role model, one who could illustrate a career path for the use of whatever talents God gave me.  Ed Gleaves became that person for me--he directed the Library at DLC in 1964 and 1965, later directed the School of Library & Information Science at Peabody, and recently retired as Tennessee State Librarian & Archivist.  I needed the role model because, after all, no one really grows up dreaming of becoming a librarian!  But I have practiced academic librarianship since 1968, interacting informally with thousands of students, in a profession that has blessed me many times over.
 
As seniors at DLHS, we took the Kuder Preference Test which showed that I should be an editor or an actor.  The editor role I understand, having done some academic writing/editing.  As far as acting goes, maybe I agree with Shakepeare that "All the world's a stage . . . . "  It seems that I have not outgrown the impluse to crack one-liners, even when they fall flat.