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Northern Ascendancy: The Moxie of the Imperfect
I crossed a border yesterday. For a passport-toting white woman nowhere near Arizona, this should have been a straightforward endeavor. However, I failed to factor in that the airplane slotted to fly me out of Duluth was to have come from Chicago, and Chicago is windy and foggy and muggy and corrupt. Plus, pilots out of Chicago often…
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The Rare Photo That Captures Perfectly Each Kid’s Personality
One of these kids will grow up to teach in an elementary school classroom, run a human resources office, or become a sociological researcher. The other one will grow up to work as a Lego masterbuilder or–even better–a mad scientist. One of these kids passes spare moments sawing out new tunes on the viola.…
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One of My Favorite ‘It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over’ Examples
While it always saddens me when my virtual life is neglected, I can’t mourn it too much when the neglect stems from a flurry of activity in my here-and-now life. That is to say: we have visitors this weekend, as we did last weekend. This time, our pals Virginia and Kirsten are visiting from southern…
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Just Read the Eudora Welty Story Already
Summer session began last week, and I was immediately reminded that the nub of my job is closing gaps. For everyone, college does some bridging: from past to future; from who one was to who one wants to be; from never having had a beer to imbibing a twelve-pack every Monday (“Rock ON, dudes! Chug for Monday Madness!”). …
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My Breast Hath All Those Pieces Still
A brief summary, in case you’ve been spending so many hours cruising awkwardfamilyphotos.com and bluntcard.com that you were too pressed for time to read the last few posts: So I had a break-up, and it took the stuffing out of me, and I cried a lot; and then I had another break-up, which really…
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Nothing Can to Nothing Fall (Part III of III)
(continued from the last post): Once I was plainly dumped, all the energy that hadn’t known where to land during the course of our relationship stopped spinning around up in the air. It came crashing down, thundering in like a freight train. I couldn’t fall asleep at night; to feel as though I had company,…
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Nothing Can to Nothing Fall (Part II of III)
Continuing where the last post left off: Essential to my ultimate disintegration was the beauty of our beginning. For the next few months, I drove to his house—nearly two hours away—at least once a week. He made me feel doted upon, as though I was the final piece to his life’s puzzle. Simultaneous to…
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Nothing Can to Nothing Fall (Part I of III)
Even as it was happening, I didn’t realize we were breaking up. This time, I missed it because I was too busy cataloguing evidence that we were “together.” Certainly, I had acted the part. I drove once, twice, each week the two hours to his place. Once there, I shared his bed, made meals, answered…
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At One First Blow Did Shiver It As Glass
Even as it was happening, I didn’t know we were breaking up. What I did know was that my guts roiled whenever I thought about him coming home. I’d had four months alone, living in that house, making new friends, starting a new job—while he lived an hour and a half north, living there,…
