The Well Rounded Individual
Well, that is what I aspire to be.
Yes, I was that annoying child who always asked “why”. It did not matter the time nor place, I wanted to know why. I wanted to know more. The seven key questions were a staple of my day and my allies in what would become my quest to become well rounded.
As a child, I was gifted in that my parents were never the type to give me a fluff answer to keep me quiet. I received one of two responses. I would receive the answer, the real answer, to what I was asking. This could lead to long protracted discussions about completely off the wall topics. Because I asked for it. The other response would be a very direct “go look it up”. This lead me to the shelf containing a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica or the shelves right next to them with the reference books, atlases, almanacs, and various other fact books. What I did not know then, and did not realize until much later is what they were doing for me. They made me want to know more. They made research a challenge and fun. They sent me to find one fact and I returned with many more. My parents gave me another gift that contributed to this as well. When we went on vacation, no matter the destination, we would stop at historic sites, museums, or landmarks. When I think back on our summer trips, I have no vivid memories of a beach or hotel. I can recall with some level of detail, the places we stopped on the way. Thank you Mom and Dad.
As an adult I found myself continuing these practices. Whenever a question hits me, I would run to the bookshelf with my own growing reference library. Then with the birth if the internet, slowly in the beginning, all the information I could ever hope to want was now at my fingertips. Most every trip I would take I would try to find something significant to see. Not every business trip allowed time for much, but I would try to see something.
So now here I am, the universe in the palm of my hand, my quest continues. I have my core interests. I continue to search for more and more detail. I have old favorites that I will revisit from time to time. I have new topics that I am just starting to explore. Then I have the little gems. The things I stumble upon or come out of the blue and I just need to know more about them. Do I make a conscious effort to make sure I am venturing into new ground? Not always. However, I do make an effort to branch out into the (my) unknown.
In my current journey, I have a great partner, my wife. She suffers from the same ailment I have, the whys. We make a great pair. We can talk about almost anything. We have debated everything from NASA’s next big mission to what Sci-Fi movie is better. We delve deep into history and discuss the merits of a zone defense versus man to man. We watch every dog show and make our wish list for the next addition to our pack. Heaven help the one of us that incorrectly identifies a song’s artist. The other is always ready to politely and gently (not so much) pounce with the answer. All of it done in fun, but it makes me want to continue to learn and grow my intellect.
What I will be discussing in my blog will be topics that excite me. It may be my ramblings about my latest amateur culinary efforts. I may reminisce about my childhood love for trains, I may rant about certain baseball announcer’s inability to properly explain the infield fly rule. It may just be something new I found while looking for something else. I welcome your respectful input and suggestions. I am always looking for the next fascinating subject that waits around the corner. Because, in the end, they are all flagstones in by path to becoming, The Well Rounded Individual.
The Well Rounded Individual 