Wedding Preparations(The Nolt/Hixon Wedding) program/Lindsay & Casey/Keith & Andie/Karen & H2O Melon/McKayla & Kristen

"But forgiveness allows us to actually let go of the pain in the memory, and if we let go of the pain in the memory, we can have the memory but it does not control us, and I think it's the fact that when memory controls us, we are then the puppets of the past."
Alexendra Asseily (From the film "The Power of Forgiveness")

Some Interesting Quotes

"Liberalism is not a fixed set of doctrines, but a temper,
a public spirit of openness and generosity."
Forrester Church

"Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence;
Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear."
William Gladstone

"Liberalism, above all, means emancipation--
emancipation from one's fears, his inadequancies,
from prejudice, from discrimination...from poverty."
Hubert Humphrey

"Liberals support the idea that individuals are more important
than corporations, that as long as there are welfare programs for
corporations there should be welfare programs for individuals."
Jan Carroll

"What passes for radical left-wing opinion in America today would
fit comfortably into the platform of any center-right party in Europe."
Phil Freeman

"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be
watered also himself."
Proverbs 11:25

from "The Best Liberal Quotes Ever"
Pages 129-132

"The answer to injustice is not to silence the critic, but to end the injustice."

Paul Robeson

"There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for."

Albert Camus

"You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose."

Mario Cuomo

"The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself."

Robert Ingersoll

Jemma and Marc's Wedding

Jemma and Marc's Wedding

Jemma and Marc's Wedding

The Color Pink: Not Just a Wimpy Shade of Red

What's your favorite color? Mine used to be blue or green. Now I prefer red or something warmer and brighter than the cool colors. Often how well a color looks depends on the setting in which it is seen, or on other adjacent colors. Unlike most men, I like the color pink, but not as much as several other colors and not enough to include it in my purchases, as in clothing, tools, or cars. I'm inclined to believe that men who don't like pink are just insecure with their masculinity, but I might be wrong. Many people shy away from purple also. I wonder how pink ever became the property of females. Is there anything inherently different about pink that automatically designates it as a "female" color? I don't think so. Our association of pink as feminine is likely a learned attitude. Baby girls are identified by wearing pink and baby boys wear blue. But boys gradually disengage themselves from blue as they grow older, sharing it's former distinction with other colors, while many girls hang onto pink and make it a part of their "color"identity as women, perhaps more so than most other colors. Of course there are exceptions. Not all women like pink. I've heard some women express a keen dislike of pink.

What would it be like if people, as is the case with some mammals, could only see in black and white. Living in a colorful world enriches our lives. But what, if anything , are we missing by having the ability to see in color. Is the presence of color distracting us from some other, currently hidden, beauty that would also enrich our lives? How many times do we notice, not just black and white, but also the multitude of subtle shades in between those two opposites. If we lived in a black and white world would one shade of gray be identified as feminine and another as masculine? Would that indicate a greater skill in humans to distinguish the differences in tone, shadows, and shades of gray than we currently possess?

At my place of employment there are two brand new mountain bikes locked together on a table outside the snack room. They're prizes for a fund raising raffle. Both are the same size - 26 inches. Both have nearly alike frame designs and are build by the same company. Both have the same number of gears. There are identical small rectangular reflectors under the rear of each seat. Both have the name NEXT on the side of the frame. However the red one is designated as a boy's bike and the blue one as a girl's. Why? Perhaps the difference would be obvious to a bike connoisseur, but I don't see it. There are only three parts of a bicycle that come in frequent contact with the rider's body: the pedals, the seat, and the hand grips on the handle bar. In these two bikes the seats are identical and the pedals nearly alike. However the girl's bike has a wider hand grip, as if made for a larger hand. And why is the color red assigned to the boy's bike and blue to the girl's? Are women trying to take over another color and make it their own? Let's put a stop to it now. We'll let them keep pink. Pink's OK. It's more than just a wimpy shade of red, but not much more. It's really not THAT great. They can have it. But that's it. No more. The colors, like education, respect, wages, promotions, job opportunities, job descriptions, religious status, and other gifts, blessings, and opportunities in life should be equally available to both sexes..... and if I win the raffle, I promise to accept either bike with equal gratefulness.

NOTICE (again)

I now have, at least temporarily, a new e-mail address which is leonardnolt@aol.com

NOTICE

For those who may try to contact me, as of early this morning (7-26-08), I no longer have an e-mail account. I believe it has been stolen from me from someone who gained access to my password. If you receive an e-mail from my address keep in mind that it's NOT from me, since I no longer have access to my account. I'll let you know as soon as I either retrieve my old account, which may not be possible, or start a new one. Thank you.

Leonard Nolt

Personality Quiz

Recently I was made aware of a personality quiz which can be found at www.blogthings.com/whatsyourpersonalitytypequiz/ I find tests or quizzes of any kind interesting, sometimes revealing, or more likely, affirming. The last few years I spent in college which wasn't very long ago despite my age (it was in the 1990s) I loved taking tests ,and because of that probably got higher grades than I deserved. However I think that many quizzes are rapidly put together with little scientific input, and no sense of responsibility or professionalism by the person or persons creating the quiz. This is definitely one of that kind. To demonstrate why I think this is a defective quiz, let's look at the questions.

I immediately see a problem with the fact that each of the forty questions has only two possible responses. Is it possible that only two responses can represent one hundred percent of the population? Not likely.

Question #1. You tend to:
- Act first - then think about what you did
- Think first and then act

The answer to that would depend on the situation. If someone needs CPR you hopefully would act first. If you're facing a tough question in an agebra final exam it might be wise to think first, before answering the question.

Question #2. Its Friday night and your friend just cancelled on you. You:
- Spend some time along instead
- Find new friends to hang out with

Again that would depend on how you were feeling about the cancelled "date." If you were really disappointed and the cancellation was not just a postponement, you might choose to watch TV or take a hot shower and go to bed. On the other hand if you would feel just as happy with another friend, you might choose that option.

Question #3 on whether you get your motivation from within yourself or from outside sources might also be situation specific. The same can be said for questions 11, 12, 15, 16, 21, 28, and 30. In each of these questions both choices could be an option depending on the situation, the degree of urgency, and the importance of the issue. In a few including 21 and 30 both choices could be utilized simultaneously, at least in some situations.

Question #6 is particularly revealing of the defectiveness of the quiz since it's easily possible for a person to have "a ton of friends, acquaintenances and people you know" and at the same time have "a few people who are very dear to you." In fact that probably is the situation for most people I know.

In only five of the questions was I able to confidently select one answer over the other. I prefer interacting in a one-on-one situation (#4); I'm more likely to remember a face than a name(#13); (although now that I'm getting older I'm conveniently forgetting faces also). I like to vary my route when traveling, either short or long distances, although when going home from work I'm more likely to vary my route if I'm walking the 5.5 miles home from work than if I'm driving. I think conflict is a normal part of relationships (#24) although unlike some people, I think conflict needs to be addressed, and dealt with, not ignored and left to simmer. I also like a lot of time to prepare for a trip (#31).

Concerning #7, I've never had a "group job interview" so I might be more nervous with that than an one-on-one interview, but that might simply be because I'm not as familiar with the experience, not necessarily an indication of any particular personality trait. I've had major oral exams in college that included a group of questioners and that went fine.

Most of the questions in this quiz have serious problems. For example #22 asks me if I would rather be a lawyer or a teacher. In what way are those two opposites, if that's what the questioner intended? Why not a lawyer or a plumber; a teacher or an astronaut, or perhaps a farmer or a surgeon? In #24 you can believe that confict in a normal part of relationships and still find it difficult to deal with. In #34 again it depends on the situation. If you're playing basketball you probably are not going to spend a lot of time, after getting the ball, deciding whether to shoot, pass, or dribble. If you snooze, you lose... or end up sitting on the bench. However if you're choosing which college to attend you'll probably take a lot of time making the choice.

The questions in this quiz have a phony ring to them. I feel like I'm being sold a cheap set of goods for an inflated price, or like I'm being taken advantage of, that is, told to take seriously information that has no credibility. For example, what's the answer to #39 for someone who doesn't have a desk, or someone who shares a desk at work with several other employees as I do, and many other people in health care do also.

It's my impression that whoever created this quiz is trying to simplify humans to the point of trivilizing and cheapening their lives and existence. I felt as if I was being manipulated, pigeon-holed into a space that didn't fit. I'd send this quiz straight to the shredder.

Leonard Nolt

"It is a dreadful thing for the inhabitants of a house not to know how it is made."

Ristoro d'Arezzo in 1282

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo - Nolt Family Reunion

2008 Nolt Family Reunion

"But to write a story is to inch backward and forward along a series of planks you are canterlevering out into the darkness, plank by plank, inch by inch, and the best you can hope is that each day you find yourself a little farther out over the abyss."

Anthony Doerr in "Four Seasons in Rome," Page 98

Although "Four Seasons in Rome" is non-fiction, Doerr, in this quote, is talking
about the art of writing fiction. However I think this quote also applies to
those who may be writing "risky" non-fiction, as in telling the story or stories
of difficult or troubling experiences in their lives.

Our lives are connected and change begins with one person. One person can make a difference.

Jane Breskin Zakban

400 C Kentucky St.

Amarillo, TX (2nd floor)

Where Karen and I first

lived after marriage.

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull to not charge because you are a vegetarian"
Dennis Foley