Everyday Double-Speak

Sometimes I imagine little cartoon bubbles over people’s heads when they’re speaking. The bubbles indicate what they’re really thinking and feeling—the gritty subtext of their seemingly innocuous statements. Here are four statements I hear a lot, and my translations of what they really mean: “With all due respect…” –         A favorite for commentators and “experts”…

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Life:Beginnings and Endings

Wishing all of you a beautiful Thanksgiving! Holidays invariably put me in a reflective mood. Here’s what was on my mind during my travels yesterday: The train ride between New York and Boston is a mere four hours long, but the distance I travel between my son’s Manhattan household to my mom’s Cambridge apartment seems…

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Giving Up My Flip-Top

My students think it’s hilarious that my ancient phone is a flip-top. I get the feeling they wouldn’t be surprised if I pulled out a Smith Corona typewriter from my book bag.  Clearly, I’m a strange visitor from another planet… or maybe a time traveler who hasn’t yet figured out the ways of the 21st…

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Love Letters

When I first read Gary Chapman’s best-selling The Five Love languages, I was fascinated. He argues that folks have predominant ways of expressing love for their mates: gift giving, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and physical touch. If we can understand our mate’s preferred “love language,” we can do better at appreciating…

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