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Human Force Fields
Recently, an employee with a company closely related to mine retired and I kid you not, we all felt as if we’d taken off a shoe that was two sizes too small. The man was toxic, hostile, anal, and completely evil. I’ve never in my life met anyone who was so universally disliked. The day…
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Counting Our Blessings Writ Large: A List of Human Achievement
I’ve always felt kind of selfish when counting my blessings, because doing so always shines a big old ugly spotlight on the fact that there are countless others who do not have these blessings. But when I’m feeling cynical and bitter about the world, or finding it hard to locate even the sticky residue left…
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How to Drive Yourself Crazy
From a recent conversation with a friend: Friend: Do you think I’m a selfish person? Me: Not at all. In fact, I find you to be compassionate, supportive, generous, and a good listener. Why? Friend: Well…It occurred to me the other day that if I were selfish, I’d never know, would I? Because I’d be…
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The Black Sheep in the Family
Every family has one. A relative who refuses to play by the rules. Someone who causes unbelievable heartache, unspeakable scandal, and enormous amounts of frustration. Someone who generates really, really interesting family stories. In my family that was Uncle Dave, my mother’s little brother. When my mom was young, she was bedridden with whooping cough,…