Arthur's 100 Questions

[Arthur Coleman]

(As they come.)

Mandatory Questions
1. What about you is heroic?
“Well I.. I admit that I.. am no superhuman that should be idolized for bravery.. but I.. suppose defending those who I care for is a very heroic effort.”

2. What about you is social?
“I.. am not certain, exactly. I mean of course I.. enjoy the company of others..”

What do you like about people?
“..a willingness to delay judgement. And.. honesty and loyalty, of course.. They are traits that I admire in someone.”

3. Of what benefit could you be to group you're currently affiliated with/intend to be affiliated with?
“With my position, I hope to offer guidance and.. perhaps some insight.”

(Arthur is very well-aware of the fact that he can offer little else, and it gives him all the more reason to try extremely hard to be available for the students.)

4. Why would/did you choose to join this group?
“I felt I could make a difference with the children.. they need familiarity and someone who knows the battles of being different.. a battle I know all too well myself. I want to offer them guidance, to give them comfort in such an estranged country.”

Personal Questions
5. What is your real, birth name? What name do you use?
“My full name is Arthur James Coleman, Arthur after my great-grandfather and James after my grandfather. Ah.. I.. prefer to be referred to as Arthur.”

6. Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it?
*a hesitant look* “Well I.. my brother... Tyler.. he has given me the nickname ‘Artie’. It.. isn’t one I particularly care for, but I know better than to dishearten him. Others have taken to this name as well, but it at least is more informal than Mr. Coleman.”

7. What do you look like?
“...when I was younger.. I was often told, as was my brother, that I beared a striking resemblance to my father. I.. am not so sure how much truth this would hold now.”

(Secretly, Arthur does and doesn’t want to know what he looks like. He fears that he may not like what he sees.. and he tends to avoid things that he knows may or may not ‘look’ unpleasant to his mind’s eye.)

8. How do you dress most of the time?
“I was raised to ah.. give a good impression whenever necessary.. and I generally will wear slacks and a nice shirt, perhaps a tie or sweater depending on the weather..”

9. How do you "dress up?"
“Well as I like to look presentable even casually I.. will wear a suit if the occasion should call for it.”

10. How do you "dress down?"
“I.. am afraid I don’t.. understand the question..”

(Arthur rarely, rarely ‘dresses down’. He has worn jeans perhaps twice since high school, and never a t-shirt. Appearence is something he knows for a fact that he can be judged upon, and while he can only manage his bodily appearence so much, he does what he can with clothes. The day Arthur loungues about in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt is a day one should be extremely worried.)

11. What do you wear when you go to sleep?
“Ah.. well.. I.. I wear pajamas.. as I expect anyone else would..” *he flushes uncertainly*

12. Do you wear any jewelry?
*he appears uncomfortable* “At one point in time I.. I wore a cross given to me by my church when I was baptized, but I feared for it to get broken.. I wear a watch, of course.. but.. ah.. I’m not sure if that would be classified as jewelry per se.”

(Sometimes Arthur fitfully rubs at the base of his ring finger when Jennifer comes to mind.. knowing that there will probably never be a wedding ring there.)

13. In your opinion, what is your best feature?
“As a boy I.. was told that I had very nice eyes; they were hazel.. like my mothers. I.. am not certain what color they are now.”

14. What's your real birth date?
“December 28th.. 1972.”

15. Where do you live?
“I currently reside in a dorm in the institute.”

Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.?
“A sense of order is.. very beneficial, so I believe it is safe to say that my own room is neat and orderly.. though at times my desk is.. ah.. a disaster area, as you might say, especially during final exams.”

16. Do you own a car?
“I.. do not own a car.”

(Actually, Arthur is rather afraid of cars and vehicles of most kinds.. but especially cars. Being in a massive car accident can do that to you.)

17. What is your most prized mundane possession?
“I.. wouldn’t exactly allude to it as.. mundane.. but my most prized possession is my Bible.”

Why do you value it so much?
*a pause* “It.. was a gift given to me by my aunt, a very thoughtful one.. and.. I value it for the memories.. attached to it.”

(This Bible is the same Bible that Jennifer used to inform Arthur that she was leaving him. He refuses to get rid of it.. almost stubbornly certain that he will be able to better understand what went wrong.. what he might have done wrong.)

18. What one word best describes you?
“Profound. ..or that is what my students say. They tell me that I find meaning in everything.. I do not disagree with this, but I speculate they draw on this conclusion from my powers..”

[Arthur Coleman]

Familial Questions
19. What was your family like?
“My family.. when we were all together.. we were very close, very attuned to each other. Nowadays it seems.. we are all driven apart by a common trauma. It.. saddens me.. but the past cannot be changed..”

20. Who was your father, and what was he like?
“My father.. was a very astute man, my own bias aside. He had his medical practice, and the hours were often demanding, emotionally and physically.. but he always found time for my mother.. and for his children. Some for himself, yes.. but he was so selfless. All others would come first before him... and he kept giving until the day he died...”

21. Who was your mother, and what was she like?
*a sad smile* “She.. was a beautiful woman, unlike any other I’d ever seen as a child. There was just a radiance about her..” *he trails and stops suddenly*

22. What was your parents marriage like?
“I had never seen two more agreeable people in a relationship..”

Were they married?
“Yes.. for fourteen years.” *almost sadly* “They would have been married for forty one years this October.”

Did they remain
married?
“Ah.. well.. I believe I have answered that question..”

23. What were your siblings names? What were they like?
“I have but one brother.. Tyler. In the simplest way of speaking.. he is everything that I am not, and in turn I am everything that he lacks. Together.. you could say.. we become a whole person. At times I wish we were.. the miles between us seem to always grow, and then I can’t feel him there.”

24. What's the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you?
*a hesitant smile* “Tyler had always been a brash boy.. testing his own limits and growing short when others did not. He saw more to me than anyone else after I became blind, adamant on destroying the protection my aunt and uncle gave me. Many times.. he would walk with me, side by side, and would offer no helping hand to find a way back when he wandered. I had always thought he was being cruel.. angry each time he looked at me.. knowing that in me he saw himself, touched by the hand of death but not taken like our mother and father. It took me years to realize he would have not left me alone if he had not believed for a second that I would have become lost. And for that.. I thank him.”

What's the worst thing you've done to one of your siblings?
“I shut him out of my life when my own became unbearable. I was selfish.. and I didn’t want him to worry. I know how much it hurt him.. and it hurt me just knowing it. I don’t want to shun him anymore.. but at times it feels so much easier to spare him. There’s so much life left in him, and I don’t want to take him away from any of it from pain that isn’t his own...”

25. When's the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now?
“Well ah.. using the term ‘saw’ as a relatively loose term.. I was last in the company of my brother. He is traveling now, as it is the high point of summer. When I last talked to him, he mentioned something about wind surfing. I only hope that he is careful.”

26. Did you ever meet any other family members? Who were they? What did you think of them?
“I have met many distant relatives time and time again, my Great Aunt Edith for example, but those visits are few and far between.. generally on the occasion of a funeral. Each time I have met another member of my family, they have been gracious and welcoming, warm and open..”

[Arthur Coleman]

Childhood Questions
27. What is your first memory?
“I remember that I was very small at the time.. in my mother’s arms--and she smiled. I don’t remember why.. but only that she smiled. It is one of the only memories I can can recall completely in vivid detail..”

28. What was your favorite toy?
*a fleeting expression of amusement* “Books were always my favorite childhood plaything.. although I suppose they would not necessarily count. I would have to say then my favorite toy was a recorder my grandfather gave to me one Christmas many years ago. I couldn’t play it for the life of me, goodness no, but that is when I discovered the joy in producing music.”

29. What was your favorite game?
“Games do not bear as much significance now, or at least the majority of those that require eyes to see them. But I had always loved checkers.. at best I was a worthy opponent for five years old, but my father always let me win to see that I was happy.”

30. Any non-family member adults stick out in your mind? Who were they, and how did you know them?
“The only significant adult that I can recall in my mind other than my parents would have to be my piano teacher, Mrs. Paula Lynn. Every Tuesday and Thursday at promptly five o’ clock I was scheduled for a lesson with her.”

Why do they stick out?
“It was undoubtedly a significant change to teach a boy who could not see the keys, the same--” *a sheepish smile* “--who would give up time and time again after particularly difficult pieces. She was very patient, perhaps the most patient woman God has ever created.. In her I was inspired to teach.”

31. Who was your best friend when you were growing up?
“My closest childhood friend was Chris Newman.. an adventurous, meddlesome child that in many ways was a mirror image of Tyler. Perhaps that is why I found solace in him when Tyler and I did not see eye to eye. But as children tend to do.. we grew up and grew apart. At times I wonder where he is and how he fairs, but calling him to fill in the past years seems more painful than necessary. ...I fear I shall never understand why..”

32. What is your fondest, childhood memory?
“I was.. perhaps five or six years old, and on a rainy day my brother and I set up a.. ah.. ‘fort’ of some variety in the living room with the couch cushions and my mother’s best linens. Because we.. didn’t want to strip the beds of the sheets and have to put them all back..” *a soft smile* “We had a flashlight.. and Tyler constructed a.. very obscure story about monsters and wicked demons. The story grew into something of an.. Odyssey if you will.. as he dictated it for hours.” *he shakes his head* “I.. can’t remember the story now.. only that it was truely a creation by him. ..I wonder if he remembers the world he created that day..”

33. What is your worst childhood memory?
“I..I believe that goes without saying. It’s.. something I don’t talk about.. I.. hope you will forgive me in refraining from answering. What is your next question..?”

(Obviously, Arthur’s worst memory is witnessing the death of his parents. It would have not been so bad if it had not been the last thing he saw, all faces around him transfixed in terror.