The Proust questionnaire

Marcel Proust, a French novelist, essayist, and critic from the early twentieth century, is probably best known for his iconic, massive novel Remembrance of Things Past. The book follows the narrator’s recollection of childhood and his transition into adulthood, pondering the loss of time and the eternal search for meaning. In contemporary times, Proust may be better known for popularizing a common parlor game of the Victorian Age called the confession album, where players answer a series of questions designed to reveal a person’s true nature.

Versions of the questions are now known as the Proust Questionnaire, and they are often used by interviewers. The most well-known example today is probably the profiles featured on the back page of Vanity Fair magazine where celebrities answer variations of the original questionnaire. I’ve always enjoyed reading this feature, and I’ve often used parts of the Proust Questionnaire in my classes. Yet, while I’ve pondered the questions when I read profiles of others, I’ve never taken the time to literally record my thoughts. Until now.

What is your idea of perfect happiness? A quiet Sunday morning with the sun just coming up, a cup of rich dark roast coffee with a splash of heavy cream, a slice of homemade strawberry rhubarb pie, and some cool piano jazz in the background to accompany it all.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Those times I lack kindness and empathy

What is the trait you most deplore in others? A lack of kindness and empathy

Which living person do you most admire? My children are two of the most impressive people I have ever known, and I have endless admiration for how they live their lives. They are both more mature adults at the age of eighteen than I was in my mid-twenties. I’m in awe of their kindness, confidence, compassion, knowledge, talents, and genuine good nature.

What is your greatest extravagance? I never mind paying top prices for exquisite dining, and I also enjoy quality bourbon.

What is your current state of mind? Contentment and joy for how my life is now mixed with subtle but anxious ambition for what comes next

Which living person do you most despise? An old friend of mine once had a bumper sticker on his car that said simply, “Mean People Suck.” I agree with that sentiment.

When and where were you happiest? Summers in Keystone with the family

Which talent would you most like to have? To be a real- ly smooth jazz piano player and musician

What do you consider your greatest achievement? My teaching career

If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? Honestly, I’d like to try this one again.

Where would you most like to live? As my wife and I think of what comes next, we’re tossing a few ideas around. The south of France and northern Italy appeal to us, so the town of Genoa on the border might be the perfect compromise. I am also quite interested in the town of Alton, England, where Jane Austen lived and wrote. Interestingly, I grew up in Alton, Illinois, and never knew of the British counterpart.

Who are your favorite writers? I enjoy columnists like Mike Royko, David Brooks, Robert Fulghum, and I think Mark Kiszla is one of the best sports writers out there.

Who is your hero of fiction? Oh, it has to be Huckleberry Finn.

What is it that you most dislike? As a member of Generation X, I think collectively we most dislike inauthenticity and phoniness.

What is your greatest regret? I believe if we are satisfied with our lives then we should have no regrets about the ups and downs that got us here. How- ever, I was just telling my wife the other night that I wish I’d seen more concerts and shows in my youth. On a more personal level, I do regret any and all the times I’ve senselessly hurt others.

What is your motto? I like Henry Thoreau’s reason for going to Walden – “I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately.”

Self reflection and self examination are valuable parts of the human experience, and it’s helpful to occasionally take the time to think about what we really feel and believe. So, if you have the chance, perhaps sit down with the Proust Questionnaire and record your own “remembrances of things past.”

Michael P. Mazenko is a writer, educator, & school administrator in Greenwood Village. He blogs at A Teacher’s View and can be found on Twitter @mmazenko. You can email him at mmazenko@gmail.com

I departed ranch life after graduating from high school in Craig, Co. to attend Colorado A&M. My goal was to become a veterinarian and return to the ranch life with my father and my four uncles who all had adjoining ranches in rural Moffat County. My dad really liked the concept of me becoming a veterinarian, The local Craig veterinarian was Neal McCandless, a CSU graduate. His father, Ted McCandless, was also a veterinarian and was part-owner of the local newspaper, The Craig Empire-Courier. Neal was a Craig native who graduated from the CSU seven-year vet school program. He was a senior when I arrived in 1955 as a freshman. I enrolled in a pre-vet program that included chemistry, human anatomy, kinesiology, English, and mandatory ROTC training for two-years. The draft was still in progress at that time. We all marched around the campus oval three times a week and attended daily classes. While the curriculums was challenging, I quickly determined that if I wanted a career in medicine, I would rather treat people than animals.

My Sophomore year I switched to an interdepartmental major that allowed me to take many elective courses that included philosophy, journalism, and creative writing. The dye was set, and I was into writing; that beginning in junior high school when I was a reporter for the Bullpup Tales, our monthly mimeographed school newspaper. It was my assignment to interview the community concert performers who would visit the school. After the program I would go behind the stage and interview these traveling entertainers, many musicians, some speakers, and magicians, et. al.

So, it was that I drifted to the Collegian student newspaper, writing for a literary magazine called “Prism” and starting a University humor publication “Ramshorn.” The humor magazine was a take-off of the notorious “Picker” published at Colorado School of Mines. While we got summoned to the Dean’s office, to warn us of content, we had a very successful publication. One of my duties, along with writing, was to sell advertising. That put me on the streets of Ft. Collins selling ads. That experience influenced my future career in becoming a career newspaper publisher.

The point of this article is to bring some personal background to this newspaper, so readers have an idea of some of my experiences and philosophy on life and living. There are not many columnists around anymore, and most columns now swirl around sports. If you’re reading this column, you will recognize that we have a stable full of award-winning writers who share these newspaper pages. They are the “best-of-the-best,” and have been judged so by their peers in Colorado Press newspaper competition, last judged by the State of Michigan.

I received an A “Plus” on my CSU report card in Colorado History, a three-hour class instructed by Dr. David Furness.

The final exam was a choice to write about early day mining, or the cattle industry. Bingo, I wrote an essay on the test about the range wars, vast eastern plains cattle barons, and the arrival of homesteaders and barbwire fences. The essay came back with a large A “Plus” in red ink. For my electives I took over 60 hours of history that included English, and art history including a field trip to the Denver Museum of Art. I aced that class, that was full of art majors. To this day, I’m so glad to have some background in the arts.

PUBLISHER

EDITOR

Gerri Sweeney gerri@villagerpublishing.com

PUBLISHER

Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com

CREATIVE MARKETING DIRECTOR

Susan Sweeney Lanam 720-270-2018 susan@villagerpublishing.com

VICE PRESIDENT/MARKETING

Sharon Sweeney sharon@villagerpublishing.com

LEGALS

Becky Osterwald legal@villagerpublishing.com

NEWS EDITOR

Gerri Sweeney 720-313-9751 gerri@villagerpublishing.com

GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER Freda Miklin fmiklin.villager@gmail.com 303-489-4900

REPORTER

Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com

FASHION & LIFESTYLE

Scottie Iverson swan@denverswan.com

DESIGN/PRODUCTION MANAGER

Tom McTighe production@villagerpublishing.com

ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS

Susan Lanam — 720-270-2018 susan@villagerpublishing.com

Sharon Sweeney — 303-503-1388

Gerri Sweeney — 720-313-9751 gerri@villagerpublishing.com

Scottie Iverson swan@denverswan.com

Linda Kehr — 303-881-9469 linda@villagerpublishing.com

Valerie LeVier — 303-773-8313 valerie@villagerpublishing.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Susan 720-270-2018

PHOTOGRAPHER

Stefan Krusze — 303-717-8282 octaviangogoI@aol.com

EDITORIAL COLUMNIST

Robert Sweeney bsween1@aol.com

The Villager is an award-winning, locally owned, independent newspaper. All letters to the editor must be signed. The contributor’s name, hometown and phone number must also accompany all letters to the editor for verification and we reserve the right to edit contributions for space. We attempt to verify all matters of fact but hold contributors liable for the content, accuracy and fairness of their contributions. All submissions become the property of The Villager and may be reused in any medium.

Reverend Martin Niemoller

“In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists and didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak for me!”

2020 Member

Either you run the day or the day runs you.

– Jim Rohn