Last week two of my writer friends zeroed in on the same piece in the New York Times at the same moment from different vantage points. They both referred it to me, although once I’d read it I decided it may have been for different reasons. It was titled ‘The Art of Listening’ and if… Continue Reading
From Generation to Generation
by Sidney S. Stark Thanksgiving is often the favorite holiday of choice to celebrate. I’ve heard people say that’s because it has no religious or specifically personal connotations for them; ‘though if that’s so I’m not sure who they think is responsible for the bounty being appreciated. But I see the point of having a… Continue Reading
Ask of Someone
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