the lump in his throat was evidence of how much, in spite of everything, he still loved her

1. What's the most interesting assignment you ever had in school? anything history-related. The first one that came to mind was a project related to the building of the Panama Canal.
2. What's the most interesting thing you ever had to do for work? the job's really not like that
3. Do you feel:
   ...insignificant? gettin' better...
4. ...unable to evoke change? in some ways
5. ...like one person can't change the world? nope
6. ...like one life and one person's suffering doesn't mean very much? no
7. Do you feel like you could contribute as much to society as ____ has?
   ...Albert Einstein could? Sure.
8. ...Abe Lincoln absolutely.
9. ...Franz Kafka definitely.
10. Are you aware that your brain is the same size as Albert Einstein's brain? I'm not sure that's precisely accurate
11. Do you realize that you have the same number of hours in a day as Abraham Lincoln? uh, yeah
12. Did you know that Franz Kafka wrote all of his amazing literature during his lunch breaks at work? I'm not sure that's true, whether the fact as written or the qualitative assessment
13. Do you still believe that you couldn't contribute as much to society as they did? people are people, yes. But there's a lot more to it than that.
14. Is your mind in the gutter? I've definitely spent some time there
15. What do you have to complain about? plenty. At the moment, my lungs don't seem to be working quite right. I think I'll be back to the doctor in the next couple of days.
16. Do you remember rock n' roll radio? sure
17. Is there such a thing as a food that you burn more calories from digesting than you actually absorb from it? it wouldn't qualify as a "food" in that case
18. Hey, if you've gotten this far then you and me go way back. We've been hanging out for a while now and I gotta know...do you like me? probably not
19. What are you doing, Dave? my favorite Dave is probably falling asleep in front of the TV
20. As far as love goes, do you feel it is better to become complete before looking for someone, or find someone who completes you? it really doesn't work that cleanly. What does "become complete" mean, for instance? And if it's so easy to "find someone who completes you," why is anyone alone? Silliness.
21. What attracts you about the opposite sex (or same sex, or both sexes)? quick wit, old eyes, and a desire to be there to see how it turns out
22. Do you need people, or do you not need anyone? good question, and the answer is constantly evolving. At the moment, I need someone, but it's entirely impossible for it to happen. So I'm re-learning how to sort out need from want and wish. And that means I'm probably avoiding all the other people in my life who'd like to be there. These endless, selfish cycles of avoidance and dependence....
23. Is selfishness always bad? no. The alternative to selfishness is sometimes being a doormat, which is awful for all concerned.
24. Is selflessness always good? definitely not. One of my colleagues embodies this notion (in the Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds vein). She's all about giving, to the point that when someone else goes through a bad experience, it becomes all about her inability to do enough to fix it or change it or make them feel better. Everyone around them ends up mopping her tears and trying to resolve her angst about her needs and wishes, to the detriment of the actual person whose issue remains unaddressed. That's not "selflessness," but ego and attention-grabbing with a pretty hat over the top. 
25. Do you feel like your life is being controlled by a power structure? well, I am pretty dependent upon electricity...
26. Can you name three things in society that send the message that being completely yourself and that looking inside yourself and contemplating what's within is a good thing? there are times when reading this meme is actually painful
27. Can you name three things in society that send the message that materialism and the accumulation of stuff is a good thing? sure. Every Sunday newspaper (chock full o' advertising), the Superbowl (it's about some sports thing, but mostly about the ads!), and Christmas. Helllooooo commercialism!
28. What is more important, a picture or its frame? the picture, obviously
29. What is more important, spirituality or religion? spirituality.
30. How many definitions can you come up with for the word 'fuck'? seven
31. Do you rationalize often? every darned day. I think that's another way to describe adulthood.
32. Do you believe that America is an imperialist nation? has been. I'm not sure I'd go along with that as a current definition.
33. Would you agree that:
    ...Hot Topic is the new Abercrombie? in the sense that it's where some of the cool kids shop? Sure.
34. ...pink is the new black? pretty much anything can be termed 'the new black'
35. ...you are the new you? truisms. Sigh.
36. Do you have more Internet or real life friends? some of my best real life friends are primarily Internet friends, so I really don't make the distinction
37. What's an easy way to make money? "work"
38. What's your favorite slang word and what does it mean? impossible question to answer. I've been told that my vocabulary is uncomfortably vast, and that I have almost no ability to recognize when I've gone off the edge of normal 
39. Are you uncomfortable? yep. Sore toes and respiratory distress.
40. Is anything definite besides death and taxes? change
41. Would you rather live fast and die young or live slow and die old? I'm starting to believe that you get what you get, and thinking that you have any grasp of it is the ultimate folly
42. If you could imagine, pure fantasy, any God you could conceive, how would you want God to be? a lot like George Harrison
43. Do you think the Smashing Pumpkins have a strong Christian theme? I don't know enough about them to know, but off the cuff I'm going to guess not
44. Do you think this survey has a strong Christian theme? no
45. Fill in the blank for yourself: Give me ____ or give me death! improved airway
46. Have you ever seen the Neverending Story? Remember when Bastian has to prove his worth by looking in that mirror where you see yourself the way you really are with no pretenses, rationalizations or mental lying? Could you stand yourself if you looked into that mirror? I haven't seen the movie. I think that would be a very difficult thing to see, but inordinately valuable and ultimately beautiful. I would do it.
47. What is soilent green? people
48. What are you proud that you have never done? there are plenty of things, I suppose, when you look at it that way. No out of wedlock kids. No felonies. No making grandmothers cry. 
49. What things are hopeless? balancing my budget, feeling both physically and mentally healthy at once, or getting my romantic ducks in a row
50. What are people for? See #47, above
51. What book do you feel could change someone's life? Jim Kokoris' The Rich Part of Life was pretty revolutionary for me. A cautionary tale, it truly changed my thinking about the many costs of something free. Be careful what you wish for, indeed.
52. How do you take your coffee? as strong, creamy and sweet (and preferably chocolatey) as possible
53. Have you ever played:
    ...paintball? no
54. ...laser tag? no
55. ...which is better? probably paintball. Anything messy has the edge for me.
56. In what ways are you lucky? See #48, above. And I have some mindblowingly wonderful friends, a loyal and loving family, and the opportunity to spend time, now and then, with the very best guy.

[From the 5000-question meme; this is the second half of the twenty-ninth part (questions 2751-2800). The title quotation is by Jonathan Franzen, from Freedom]