By Sidney S. Stark “I don’t understand what the problem is.” The manager shakes his head and looks around the conference table with an implicit call for help in his shrugged shoulders. “I’d never ask someone to do anything I wouldn’t ask of myself.” He shrugs again as if a solution to the problem would… Continue Reading
Give and Take
by Sidney S. Stark The intent of that phrase has always been clear to me; or so I thought. It seemed to imply a non-specific amount of sharing, whether in an athletic endeavor, a business negotiation or even an argument. But it wasn’t until recently that I really examined the idea of giving and taking… Continue Reading
Mind How You Go
by Sidney S. Stark In doing some research for my novel recently I came across an aphorism that made me stop and think. Ordinarily that would be an oxymoron in its own right. Isn’t the whole point of an aphorism to supply the requisite comment without any conscious effort? The recipient of the remark is… Continue Reading
Somebody Else’s Shoes
By Sidney S. Stark Can you put yourself in somebody else’s shoes? I’ve never doubted for a moment that I could until last year after I’d been to a lecture given by Elizabeth Strout on the subject of how she structures her novels. In the process of explaining her approach to the start of her… Continue Reading
The Public Clock … The First Time
Where, I wonder, is the civility of the public clock that once dominated the town square, the schoolhouse wall, the railroad station? Try to find time displayed, digital or analog, in an airport, on the street, in an office building. If existing by some chance, the timepiece has stopped running or is, at best, inaccurate.… Continue Reading
Vacation Magic!
By Sidney S. Stark Childhood fantasies are important ways we have of communicating with ourselves. Sometimes vacations taken decades later can cause flashbacks that remind us of some of our most significant imaginings. For example, a writer friend of mine always wanted to be a Texas Ranger when he was a child. As a city… Continue Reading