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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>I loved to see that question come up because it made me think (like I don't do enough of that right?)</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>And I realized that the answer for me was often "what day is it?" (or even sometimes what time of the day).</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Because the reason I do what I do often is different depending on what is going on in my life right then. There are times that I love the pure enjoyment of researching and that moment when you find something new or even something that overturns previous thought. Even when what you find is old news but new to you, the moment of finding and knowing that you found it through your own labor is reward in and of itself.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>Then there are the times when everything else seems to be turning against you no matter what you do and in the middle of that turmoil you get the joy of hearing some herald call you up in front of everyone. You approach the thrones on trembling legs, sure that with everything else that has gone wrong lately you are probably about to be publicly drummed out of this group. Then, halfway through the speaking, you realize that you are being recognized for something you would have done anyway but isn't it nice that someone noticed it and that someone else is acknowledging it publicly? Yes, there are times when even I do think of the possibility of recognition while doing something, usually at the times when I most need some little upper in my life.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>And there are also the times when I am doing a thing, often a thing I might not really want to do, because someone needed to do it. Because we all have a responsibility to do the not so fun things in order that the group might be around to support the fun things that we do like to do. Yup, there are times when I do something just because of a "martyr complex". <g></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>And you know something ... there is nothing wrong with any of those reasons. Perhaps the only time any of them would be wrong (and yes, I include doing something for awards) would be if a person ONLY did things for that reason and that one alone.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>I suspect (to refer back to the discussion on peer qualities that started this offshoot) that the real peer quality looked for is one that is not mentioned. That one would be balance. How well do they manage to maintain a balance of all of the other peer qualities? How well do they balance society life and real life? Do they manage to find a balance somewhere between "suck-up" and "stuck-up"? Hmmmm .... maybe we should have an award somewhere either just before or just after peer level whose symbol is just a scale and a few well labeled weights.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff>OK - someone take this darn soapbox away, I could have sworn I chopped it up for firewood a few months ago.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"><B>Lady Constance de la Rose<BR>Barony of Loch Salann<BR>Kingdom of Artemisia<BR><BR>"Never say a thing's impossible,<BR>For chances are you'll rue it.<BR>Because some fool who doesn't know,<BR>Will come along and do it."</B></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>