Wasted Wood

This week Cee asked some interesting questions:

1. If you were having difficulty on an important test and could safely cheat by looking at someone else’s paper, would you do so? —
   No, I wouldn’t. I had a high school teacher who made a regular point of saying that she’d rather have an honest student than a smart one in her classes. The honest students, whether they made good grades or not, were the ones she admired the most for their character and trustworthiness. Her words made a distinct impression on me.
2. Since adolescence, in what three-year period do you feel you experienced the most personal growth and change? — The last three years of college, when I realized that it was most important to listen to yourself and not to others. Advice is often useful, but in the end you must be the one to decide what is right for you.
3. If you could change one thing about your home, what would you like to change? — I would add a wood-burning fireplace. We live on a mountain, surrounded by forests, but the woman who built this house had a gas fireplace installed. We use our dead wood for the fire pit in the yard, but to sit inside on a cold winter night in front of a crackling fire would be so nice.
4. If you were given a yacht today, what would you name it? — I actually wouldn’t name it. I wouldn’t want to get attached to it since I would never keep it. Although I spent time sailing on the Chesapeake Bay with friends’ families when I was young, I never fell in love with being on the water. It was way too much work and stress for the time you spent relaxing. I’d sell the yacht and spend the money on something more meaningful.