Tag: writing
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Simplyred
As the eldest (and, for a while, the only) son, one of his jobs was to escort his father to the urban version of felling the family Christmas tree—picking one out at the empty lot next to the hardware store. This trek often occurred on Christmas Eve, the strategy being sellers would gladly take what…
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Tabletop
It was the Grand Canyon of basements, making you wonder just how it held the two floors above it level. There was ample room for a seating area of castaways from former iterations of the upstairs living room, a fully (and I mean fully) stocked bar hand built by Dad (an icon, it turns out,…
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Capitolcapital
Washington DC is one of my favorite cities, even though most of the town has nothing to do with reality. Its resources for history are greater than any other, its restaurants and cultural resources are only exceeded in the US by New York, and the architecture, in general, is inspiring and gorgeous. It’s also the…
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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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Forthestudent…
Who turned down admission at an Ivy League college, when their response to the student’s desire to build their own path was met with a chuckle, and “Yes, well, we’ve been doing this for a very long time.” Who walked into my office the day after graduation to say “I know we talked about college, but…
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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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DoorDashDonors
Dear DoorDash: Thank you for the credit I received last week for the salad that was uncharacteristically spoiled. The last time I was able to smell food through layers of plastic was when I bought 75 cent submarine sandwiches at Kresge’s, which had red onions grown from stones. I write today to ask you to…
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Eirerate
If you haven’t seen Brooklyn, you should. Saoirse Ronan is the actress of her generation, and her portrayal of an Irish immigrant torn between two countries and two families is something to behold. The scene with her Italian soon-to-be in-laws is also precious, and Jim Broadbent’s performance as an Irish priest is an homage to every…
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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…
Six O'Clock Sky 