Suprise Me

New Year in Nara by
25
(33 Stories)

/ Stories

From my files: A Japanese ritual: emotion, laughter, love and union.
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Pollution by
200
(302 Stories)

Prompted By Earth Day

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In 1965, Tom Lehrer recorded the song “Pollution,” purporting to give advice to a foreign traveler visiting the US. If you visit American city You will find it very pretty Just two things which you must beware Don’t drink the water and don’t breathe the air. At the time it seemed funny, since usually it…
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No FOMO for me! by
50
(90 Stories)

Prompted By Spring Break

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Back before FOMO was a thing, it never dawned on me to do anything on “spring break.” Now, what do we think about when we think about spring break anyway? Off to the beach or the slopes, depending–right? College or high school kids up to no good, shenanigans and high jinks that these days are…
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My Grandma’s Superstitious Surprise by
200
(298 Stories)

Prompted By Superstition

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Her superstitions were old wives’ tales she brought to America from the old country as a girl.
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The Two Sisters of Antofagasta by
100
(170 Stories)

/ Stories

Antofagasta is a northern port city in Chile.
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Endurance by
200
(359 Stories)

/ Stories

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackelton and his crew sailed The Endurance to the Antarctic. It was crushed in the ice pack and sank in the Weddell Sea but all of her crew survived. Frank Hurley, the photographer onboard, captured incredible photographs of the entire experience. My husband is fascinated by this story and has read…
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A Whiter Shade of Pale by
200
(302 Stories)

Prompted By Summer of Love

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1967. The Summer of Love was the summer between my junior and senior years of high school. I was going to turn sixteen at the end of August — which meant that I had been claiming to be sixteen for months. I thought I was very sophisticated and wise. Retrospect readers may have already seen…
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We’re Doing the Best That We Can by
100
(165 Stories)

/ Stories

On my first day, it was show time. I nervously knocked on the door and entered to find a pleasant young man who listened patiently as I introduced myself in halting Spanish and asked what had brought him to the clinic. 
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Not just the very first customers–we were the only customers! by
50
(77 Stories)

/ Stories

I had learned that as a general rule in France, one could eat breakfast much more economically in a bar—and more swiftly too--than in a bistro, restaurant, or brasserie.
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The Last Time I Got High by
200
(298 Stories)

Prompted By Drugs and Alcohol

/ Stories

Woodstock was truly a film best enjoyed when stoned.
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