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When prejudice is so ordinary, it is unexpected by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Prejudice

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The word “prejudice” derives from the Latin word “Praejudicim” which means “prior judgment”, or a preconceived opinion not based on actual experience. The following is an example of “post-judgment” based on actual experience.
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The Potter’s Wheel by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Ex-Friends

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Karen, seeking a new life, had fled from her family and friends to Kyoto, Japan.  She fell into equally bad relationships in the expat community. I have tried to explain her process of separating from me.  She joined a potter’s commune on the island of Shikoku where she eventuality became a renowned potter. One day,…
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Strangers in the Car by
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(23 Stories)

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Hitch hiking has transformed from adventure to a warning about self preservation.
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The Cacophony for the Carceral State by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Prison

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Overture.  The Middletown Ct. Police Station—Bartok’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion. Before beginning my job as a substitute teacher, I traveled to the police department for a fingerprint security check.  The officer, a large friendly African American interviewed me. “Where will you be teaching?” “Middletown High School.” “Oh,” he warningly replied. “Do you know…
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Marriage by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Marriage

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The “Haven for Newlyweds” Art Park contained more than one hundred sculptures by Korean artists scattered throughout the lush park with its paths in rolling hills and forests.
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New Year’s Eve by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Retirement

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I have spent my retirement digging through the documents of my past, filing through my history. Here’s a poem I found in a box, long forgotten.  Yoishyo—haiyo.  Haiyo-yoishyo Watching the preparation of Omochitsuki (rice cakes for the New Year), Yearning to take hold of the kine  (mallet) to pound into the usu (stamp mill), Swimming…
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A Study Abroad Created a Community by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Community

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Allons! the road is before us! It is safe–I have tried it–my own feet have tried it well–be not detain'd! Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the shelf unopen'd! Walt Whitman.
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Canoeing vacation with an exciting intervening rain by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Rainy Days

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Namekagon river, Wisconsin What could be more glorious than a weekend on the Namakagon River in Wisconsin? A group of female nurses, myself, my 12-year-old daughter and her friend, Emily,  drove under a bright sky across rich agricultural land through the St. Croix river’s national forest finally stopping at a roadside rest over the river.…
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New Year in Nara by
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(23 Stories)

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From my files: A Japanese ritual: emotion, laughter, love and union.
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The Identity Roundabout: The Long Way Home by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Art’s Impact

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With the discovery of Jewish art and culture my heritage became more significant.
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My E.R. Hangout by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By The ER

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Doctors and patients: the body politic.
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To Return by
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(23 Stories)

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Thomas Wolfe wrote You Can’t Go Home Again. What are the frustrations if you try?
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From Strangers to Friends by
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(23 Stories)

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  Solitude liberated me from isolation and mediocrity. For me, isolation results from a feeling of imprisonment.  I have felt physically isolated in a crowd, at a bar, in a faculty meeting or even in the exercise gym where I am the weakest and slowest. For me, solitude is self-chosen: a personal path to exploring…
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Escape from Pimps by
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(23 Stories)

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A snaky escape from forbidden sites in old Taipei.
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Dawn vs. Dawn by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Dawn

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One can either greet the dawn or dread it.
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Viva La Divorce by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Divorce

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Free Spirits in Love
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An antiwar recreant: from pacifism to militancy by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Question Authority

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The summer of 1961, the place—the Federal Justice Building in Connecticut, the courtroom for hearings before the Selective Service hearing officer, me. By refusing to accept the legitimacy of the draft, I received a federal order to appear before a judge who would accept my refusal or punish me with a two-year prison sentence for…
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My Out of Body Experience. by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Aging

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One of my favorite walking activities involves shutting my eyes for as long as I can.  I choose sidewalks with grass on both sides, or smooth trails that are straight with no stones or potholes.  The experience of temporary blindness allows me to enter the environment with no focus, no distractions except for the wind…
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Don’t talk about your family’s history. Don’t invite trouble. by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Mother’s Day

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This was the command from my mother when I was in elementary school. The assignment in class was to speak about our family background. The kids awkwardly told stories about the origins of their grandparents in Ohio or somewhere in California, and then moved to their home in North Hollywood. Their stories were antiseptic, hagiographic,…
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Blasphemous Minister of Education by
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(23 Stories)

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The struggle to teach traditionally vs. the struggle to teach with a different pedagogy
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Yale: Studies, Romances, Escape by
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(23 Stories)

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In the summer of 1961, I left my job in Harlem where I was working with gang members as a community worker, for a student life at Yale that catapulted me from clamorous chaos to hushed academia.
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Three-Dimensional Chess. Players:  Taiwan’s Martial Law, United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Me by
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(23 Stories)

Prompted By Danger

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From 1965-67, I studied Chinese in Taiwan, Republic of China. Although I was a dedicated student, I found myself more involved in human rights opposing martial law.
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A Minnesota Winter Rapture by
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(23 Stories)

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In Minnesota, winter is both a threat and a reward.
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