Occupation: I am a history teacher at Norwalk High School. I have taught there for 25 years.

How long have you lived in Newtown? I have lived in Newtown for eight years.

Family: There’s my wife, Tina, my stepson, Kevin Hoyt, and my stepdaughter, Andrea Hoyt. Kevin is 15 and Andrea is 18.

Pets: We have one cat, Kooks. Kooks is 10 years old. He’s a killer —everything that has four legs. We had another cat, Spike, who died this past year, who was 22 years old.

What do you like to do in your free time? Travel. We like to see things.

Where is your favorite travel destination? We travel a bit, not as much as I’d like. I’d say for the family, it’s Europe. Everyone seems to like Europe, especially Italy. For me, East Asia. I’d get over there as often as I could, especially in my single days. I’ve been there three times. I speak Mandarin Chinese. I’m a bit rusty, but it comes back over there. We all have our teacher mentors when we are young; I had a professor at a small college in Boston who spoke so interestingly about his experiences in China, he just hooked me. I took a Chinese philosophy course with him. We were reading a particularly interesting translation, and because translations differed, I asked the professor, “Which is it?” He looked over the original, and then told me the only way to know is to learn it [Chinese language] yourself. So…

If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be? That’s tough. The first one that comes to my mind is a Chinese navigator from the 14th Century, Chen Ho. He managed to influence the royal house of China and they financed a fleet for him. It would really be something to talk to someone who had done something big, like the Europeans, but saw it from a different point of view.

What is the best thing about Newtown? I like the schools in Newtown a lot. The teachers are motivated and enthusiastic and work well together. At least, that has been my experience. I also loved the tercentennial fireworks, that whole event. There were thousands of people out. It was a great community thing.

Do you carry anything interesting in your pockets? Let’s see. I’ve got these nice discount things from Big Y and CVS. And my keys.

What is your philosophy of life? That’s hard. I don’t really have a “philosophy.” But I guess all those things that bring people out and those events that make people come out of themselves. That’s what’s important.

What do you most cherish? My wife. It’s true.

Ted Welsh