My mother worked in a bra factory. For much of her adult life, she was a pattern marker for Maidenform, the women’s underwear manufacturer, which was (and I believe still is) headquartered in our hometown in …
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When I was a senior in college, my professors nominated me for a Rhodes Scholarship. I was skeptical, to say the least. I was nothing like the Harvard or Yale students who typically win the …
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I was bullied when I was a kid. It wasn’t a “thing” back then – there was no special counseling, no National Bullying Prevention Center, no stopbullying.gov. It wasn’t even really called bullying – at …
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I’m a notebook freak. I buy them whenever I come across them. Spiral-bound or stapled; hardcover or soft; all sizes, shapes, and colors; extra points if the cover makes me laugh. I prefer them with …
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I’m lucky. I can walk to work. I go up the street past two cafés and a bakery, then down a long flight of stairs that cuts through a park built into a hillside; down …
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This is a good time to talk about chaos and order. Chaos because we’re up to our eyeballs in it. Order because it’s never that far off.
By chaos, I don’t mean an imminent apocalypse due …
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Back in high school, my classmates and I were given (more than once, if I’m not mistaken) an “ethical dilemma” to think about and discuss. It went something like this:
A ship is sinking. There are …
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Chances are you’ve heard or read some version of this quote from online marketing guru Seth Godin: “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need …
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The first time I became aware that my body could be broken in a way that left marks was when I was 8.
I was riding a bike that was too big for me. My mother …
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Generally speaking, we are a myopic species, and becoming increasingly so as we evolve. The most recent statistics show that nearsightedness affects 42 % of Americans, 39 % of the French, and up to 80 …
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