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Some of Us Don’t
After taking a semester of one-on-one guitar lessons many years ago, my instructor decided to be brutally honest with me. He said, “Barb, some of us have it, and some of us don’t. And you don’t.” When I tell that story, a lot of people are outraged at that teacher, but actually I appreciated his…
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What Does Stupid Feel Like?
I know a girl who is, as the saying goes, as thick as two planks. She herself will admit it. But I’m not even sure she’s smart enough to grasp how tragic that is. She hums along, flying extremely close to the ground, utterly unaware that the majority of things go completely over her head.…
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Things I Hope I Never Forget
The shock of having the person I loved most in the world die unexpectedly two weeks ago has taught me much. Life is as fragile as a soap bubble. It could pop at any moment and that’s it. You’re done. Because life is so fragile, it’s precious. You only get a little bit of it,…
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Just Keep Swimming
My grandfather was old school. Part of his ability to thrive in America after coming over from Denmark stemmed from his philosophy of wasting neither money nor time. So when the day came to teach his kids to swim there were no lessons at the YMCA for his children. Oh no. He just picked them…
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My Recipe for Peace on Earth
Have you ever noticed that the most prejudiced, judgmental, belligerent people are often the very ones who have had little or no exposure to the groups that they are complaining about? Many years ago I decided to travel to Puerto Rico with my boyfriend at the time. Upon hearing of our plans, his mother completely…