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War bores at a party
It was just after the eightieth anniversary of the D-Day landings; the flags had barely been lowered, and already the [...]
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Your inner weed
I have been doing a lot of weeding lately. As often happens when doing this kind of mindless chore, my [...]
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Wares to sell
I got the auction bug when I lived in Milan and a friend invited me to join her at a [...]
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Divorce or un-divorce?
An old friend recently filled me in on the details of a circle of friends and acquaintances that goes back [...]
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Try this at home
I have spent the summer in my New England outpost, where it has rained so much that my yard has [...]
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Dad’s heroes
My father was born in 1918. That birthdate put him squarely in what journalist Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation. [...]
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The New Mrs. Malaprop
“And he will avail.” In this sentence about the outcome of a plot, the writer confused “avail” with “prevail.” The [...]
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Two Battles of the Bulge
Going through old letters, columnist Madeleine Johnson encounters her long dead uncle, who was a soldier in his own private battle.
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Bare male flesh
It was not my express intention, but during my travels this summer I saw a lot of naked male flesh. [...]
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Tale of two authors
For a long time I have felt called to write about Jhumpa Lahiri, the London-born author of Indian descent, whose [...]