The surgeon general declared that the US suffers from an epidemic of loneliness. Our society’s emphasis on self-sufficiency and rugged individualism certainly place us at risk for alienation. A growing body of literature has emerged suggesting that the connections that determine whether an individual feels isolated or enmeshed with their community comes not only from the deep social contacts, but …
From Fear To Calm
[This piece was written some time ago. Publication was held until after the trial concluded.] I began this week with a fear of the unknown. I am going to trial for the first time in my career. The weird part is that it is for the legacy of a career I’d already left behind. Nearly three years ago, I made …
Eye Contact
Long ago, I dated a woman with an unusual family custom. She and her family were privately nudists at home – parents and multiple siblings hung out together in the buff. While I don’t quite come from Puritan stock, it was a very foreign experience to hear her accounts of her upbringing (I never witnessed it, and can’t say if …