Community Involvement

What do you do to be involved in the community? During my academic career my community involvement happened through my campus. I provided entertainment for the area through my theatre productions, and occasionally ventured out into schools to talk about career-oriented topics. For the most part though, my involvement was extremely limited (partially limited byContinue reading “Community Involvement”

Job? What Job?

What’s a job you would like to do for just one day? I recently retired from academia after 31 years of teaching. I found my life as a university professor fulfilling overall, with minor exceptions for policy changes that entered into the equation over the years, and for a decline in both enrollments and studentContinue reading “Job? What Job?”

Brand Me!

What are your favorite brands and why? My first reaction to this prompt was: well, I’m not really that brand conscious And yet, most of the products I buy do have a real brand attached to them. I do not mean “Great Value,” either, which is often misleading on a number of levels. One mustContinue reading “Brand Me!”

Advice?

List the people you admire and look to for advice… This is a difficult prompt. “List the people you admire and look to for advice?” Well… That seems to be two different categories. There are a lot of people I admire, but I don’t have access for communication. Many are dead; Charlie Chaplin, Joseph Campbell,Continue reading “Advice?”

I Vote Yes! Or, I Vote, Yes!

Do you vote in political elections? I was an apathetic young person who didn’t think my vote mattered. So I never voted in any elections—until 1980 , when my college roommate, Peter Velz of Poughkeepsie, NY, turned me on to John Anderson. I became very excited by this independent’s candidacy. As I would later discover,Continue reading “I Vote Yes! Or, I Vote, Yes!”

One Way? Yield!

What gives you direction in life? The title of this post comes from a joke I used to tell; someone asks me my sign, and I waggle my eyebrows and say flirtatiously: “Yield…” As for what gives me direction in life, it’s my artistic projects. Working on plays as a director, writing plays or films,Continue reading “One Way? Yield!”

Quote Me!

Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often? Thinking about quotations I live by, I come up with three: from Goethe, from life, and from me. The first comes from Goethe’s Faust. I’ve often commented on how I find that work inspiring. Even in retirement, I find myself unableContinue reading “Quote Me!”

Favorite Holiday?

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite? I’m not a big holiday person. If you check out my YouTube channel (stephenschrum) you’ll see several videos of anti-Christmas songs. While buying flowers I (secretly and silently) agree that Valentine’s Day is a holiday created by retailers for profit. And most other holidays, whichContinue reading “Favorite Holiday?”

Camping?!

Have you ever been camping? The word “camping” elicits two responses from me: 1) Drag queens frolicking on a stage. Or is that campy? 2) Being outside in an uncontrolled temperature environment, sleeping on hard ground in a tent while being eaten alive by insects. Since I assume #2 is what the prompt is referringContinue reading “Camping?!”

Most Productive Time

When do you feel most productive? Alone, in late morning, when I’ve gotten up, had a a shower and coffee, and have some alone time to bang out some things from my to-do list. I can grab a few minutes here and there sometimes later, but that initial time is the best time. And IContinue reading “Most Productive Time”