A new reader of my blog, a teenager, emailed me the following questions this morning. His instructions: “While abstract, please don’t play guessing games with the questions. However, do question, do analyze, and do be as sure as possible.” Here are his questions and the answers I gave him.

1. What is your favorite color?

Purple.

2. How often do you sing out loud? (appropriate adjective)

At least once a week. I sing in a chorus. Outside of chorus, probably every other day or so.

3. What is your favorite time of day?

Late at night. But when I don’t have to go to work, I enjoy the early morning.

4. Do you enjoy snow?

I do, particularly since I’m a city guy and don’t have a car and therefore don’t have to drive in it. I love being inside and watching the snow fall. I love the still and quiet that comes after a snowstorm.

5. Do you like pets?

I love dogs. We had a dog when I was growing up. Someday I want a dog of my own.

6. Who has been most influential in your life?

My parents, since they were the first people I ever knew and I therefore looked to them for cues about how to perceive the world around me, for better and for worse.

7. When do you normally shower?

In the morning.

8. Where is the place most comfortable for you?

In bed.

9. With whom have most of your memorable moments in life been spent?

Wow, this is a tough one. I would say my friends – high school friends, college friends, post-college friends. But I could also say the fellow members of my college men’s chorus.

10. What do you think of pain?

Pain sucks. But you can learn a lot from it.

I’m a strong believer in the subconscious, and I think the threat of emotional pain is often what often drives us subconsciously. The subconscious tries to protect you from most forms of pain (but sometimes tries to make you confront it). Unfortunately, the subconscious sometimes can be overly protective.

You can learn a lot from pain, too. Once you’ve confronted something painful and survived, you’re stronger for it. That’s true of physical pain as well, I think.

11. Is patience a virtue?

Totally. Patience, delayed gratification, persistence, perseverence – all good. Things in life don’t happen as quickly as we want them to, but they do happen. You need patience to get through it all. Up to a point. But it’s hard to tell when it’s time to stop being patient.

12. Do people live forever?

No, unfortunately – except in the memory of others, and in what we leave behind.

13. Does psychology work for you?

Very much. I think it explains a hell of a lot about people. And I’ve benefited from a couple of great therapists.

14. Do you consider yourself disciplined?

Not as much as I’d like to be, but more than lots of other people. If I were as disciplined as I’d like to be, maybe I could write the novel or play I’ve always wanted to write.

15. How faithful are you?

If you mean faith as a form of belief, I don’t really believe in God, except perhaps as some sort of Prime Mover that set off the Big Bang. I have faith in the laws of science, but I think there’s so much that humans can never know. The universe wasn’t created for our pleasure or enlightenment; we’re the ones who are incidental to things, and it’s doubtful that the arbitrarily-evolved human brain (or at least the part we’ve figured out how to use) is the most appropriate organ for figuring out the grand scheme of things – particularly the whys. But as for the whats and hows, we’ve come pretty damn far since caveman days.

If you mean faithful as in loyal, I try to be loyal to my friends and loved ones. If I promise to do something, I make my best efforts to do it. Basically, I try to treat other people how I’d like to be treated.

16. Will people make good use of the portions of their minds which are not in use in this age?

Maybe so, as we continue to evolve. And I hope humanity survives long enough to continue evolving.

17. Are dandelions beautiful?

I’m not really fond of them. But they do make me think of childhood.