Tag: love
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Dad
He entered the hospital on his seventy-fifth birthday and never came out. On the way to the house that was now just Mom’s, I tried to pretend this was expected, and tried to sort out how Dad would want me to feel. That part was hard. This was the guy who didn’t talk about his…
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Fearitself
Her mother had been raised in a house of false modesty, which really drove her crazy. Every Christmas and every birthday, the routine was predictable, as her mother verbally insisted no one make a fuss, all with body language that clearly suggested life was going to be pretty miserable if Queen Elizabeth got better treatment…
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Hastensandchastens
For reasons that defy geography, Detroit is in the Eastern time zone, which is great in the summer, with our 10 PM sunsets. But darkness often descends around 3:30 in the winter, and we’re all wishing we were home in front of a fireplace, not at the office in front of spreadsheets. This was the…
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Drummer
It is the summer of 1970, and I have been involuntarily enrolled in what turns out to be the world‘s worst summer camp. Its only enduring quality was that it was near beautiful Lake Michigan, and my two-week stint was bathed in perfect temperatures, sunny skies, and frequent trips to the shore. It was there…
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Dadswork
My father’s work was a bit of a mystery when I was young. Returning home from a World War II stint in the islands of the Atlantic (no, really—Rhode Island, Coney Island, and the Battle of the Black Fly on Martha’s Vineyard), he followed his father’s footsteps as a phone company lineman. A summer or…
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Thistle
I was raised in a neighborhood in Northwest Detroit where the houses were far apart enough for a very tight driveway, and that was about it. Combined with the neighborhood’s median income— not room for a lot of dining out or movie-going— this close proximity meant a good deal of interaction with immediate neighbors, especially…
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Collegeholidays
Completing college applications can be hard work, work that often runs through the holiday season. Since everyone else is taking some time off, this would seem to be the perfect opportunity to hang out with your family, especially since this could be your last Thanksgiving/New Year/Kwanzmasakah as a full-time occupant of your parents’ home. How…
Six O'Clock Sky 