Introduction: To his credit, Fauci had a great bedside manner. He was gruff in a friendly way, and he spoke with authoritative mien. If someone really wanted to believe that the Men of Science had the situation well in hand, then Fauci knew how to emit just the right kind of reassuring noises. Unfortunately, the …
Bonds and Bond Levies
The school “still looked entirely serviceable, but Cody guessed that an ambitious superintendent had gotten a bond levy passed, and was now tormenting his prisoners at a swankier location”
Ecochondriacs, p. 98
Hey! Good Question!
Spreading It All Around
“‘Um,’ he said, trying to gather up his thoughts, which someone had grabbed and then kicked all over the parking lot. It was probably the devil, and he was doing a lot of kicking”
Ecochondriacs, p. 92
A Triple Whoa
“He kissed her back for about a second and a half, and then jumped the same way he had once jumped when a waiter had dropped a hot bowl of French onion soup in his lap. ‘Whoa,’ he said. Whoa, whoa, whoa. ‘’Yikes,’ he added”
Ecochondriacs, p. 92
Disorderly Wives
Introduction: One of the challenges that comes with getting married is that, barring any high crimes, it is a vocation that comes with tenure. This is why it is so important for courting couples to ...
Turned Up to Eleven
“’Any news?’ he said querulously. It sounded like someone was messing with his tremolo knob”
Ecochondriacs, p. 90
Always Nice to Get a Letter
Letter to the Editor: Yes and amen. So who is Stonewall or who are the Virginians at least? And where are they? And when is it time to cut our losses where we are in order to be where they ...
A Stonewall Moment of Some Sort Is Needed
Introduction: I do understand that the sexual revolution has their very own version of Stonewall, the one that Obama celebrated when he said that the arc of history was turning out to be in sync with ...
Don’t Ever Try to Build on Lies
“Son, I don’t want you to ever apologize to somebody just because they say to. If you owe them one, don’t make them ask. You should be there ahead of them. And if you don’t owe them one, then your apology is not anything with them. It is trying to put things back together on the foundation of a lie. And lies always collapse under any weight you try to put on them”
Ecochondriacs, p. 87