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Defense Lawyer, Alan Jackson: “Was the defendant gesticulating?” Katie McLaughlin, a firefighter and paramedic: “I don’t know what that means?” Alan Jackson: “Gesticulating?” McLaughlin: “Yes. I don’t know what that means.” Alan Jackson: “Was the defendant waving her arms?” __Testimony during the re-trial of Karen Read, Mass. vs. Read, May 2025. I was fortunate. The…
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My MFA graduation lecture at Bennington College was titled “Class Anxiety in Literature and Writing.” This morning, I was reminded that I am a creature of habit. Before we bought our current home, we rented a small house nearby. On most early mornings, you could see me on my lawn, fussing with plants and the…
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I think this iceberg image is a fine way to understand people and characters. After many years, for instance, I am reading a book written by someone whose ideas I still value, but nonetheless, he is an asshole, who years ago chose someone, allowed her to jump the velvet rope, because she gave him so…
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My husband and I have a problem where we live: our accents. We can’t hide the fact that we are from the North. We have another problem: unlike most of the other residents in North Carolina, we are bleeding-heart liberal Democrats. In a town as small as ours, as soon as Trump was re-elected, we…
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I have been a member of Interfolio since graduate school. I still use it whenever I am looking for a job. Current students should get an account now. Once you become a member, you can ask your teachers, professors for confidential letters of recommendation now, near the end of the semester, NOT years later. Waiting…
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BEING FEMALE AND HAVING TEETH Last week, my cracked two front teeth were finally corrected. Nothing made me more insecure than being close to someone and wondering if the person I was talking to could see them and judge me. In the photos, you can see how I tucked my top lip inside my bottom…
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Right now, the aroma wafting from our kitchen is the chocolate chunk Mandel Bread baking in our oven for our celebration of Hanukkah. We are celebrating Hanukkah and our love for the Jewish community. My husband’s father is full-blooded Italian, and we know his family enjoyed the same cookie, but they called it Biscotti. I remind…
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This morning, I saw an aerial shot of Columbus Circle, which reminded me of our first time living in Manhattan in the 1990s. In traffic, I used to roller skate from our West Side apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, weaving between cars and running red lights, all the way to Central Park, skate the entire big…
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My husband and I haven’t drank alcohol in many decades. Teetotalism. That’s where the details stop. Most people don’t care to hear about it. A prurient interest is a big red flag for us. (Maybe the asker should quit, too. Maybe that’s why she’s trying to embarrass me.) I don’t have to explain anything. For…
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Mary Louise Penaz 