Archive for June, 2007

In Memory of Georgia Manguso

June 25th, 2007

At thirteen, I was the babysitter for several families. The Adams family with their two affable boys, huge record collection, and never-ending snack supply were my favorites. Chuck Adams, the father, was something of a reformed hippie, mellow and easygoing, the kind of man I wished I had for a dad.  In the spring of [...]

Ayn Rand & the Spirit of Rebellion

June 19th, 2007

They sprawled in couches and chairs at the farthest corner of the Uptown coffee shop, their dyed black hair cut at odd angles or spiked with colored gel. Non-confomists, sharing the same style of clothes, chains, and tattoos. Smoking Camels or Camel Lights that they held between their middle knuckles rather than their fingertips.
I felt [...]

The Unnecessary Humbling of a Genius

June 16th, 2007

The callers were, for the most part, gleefully vicious. Egged on by a radio talk show host with a tendency to overplay the part of incredulous citizen, the callers ripped into the girl and her parents, citing everything from the moral decay of the world to irresponsible parents who raise children with no discipline and [...]