Stories for March 2006

March 21, 2006

All Smiles in This Family

My daughter’s teeth: before and after braces. “Do my teeth look whiter?” my wife asks, looking at me with a Cheshire grin. Lately, this has become an ongoing question in our relationship. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere she…


March 19, 2006

Banning Sidewalk Smoking

Walking down the street can be hazardous to your health. I do a lot of urban walking. Decent public transportation lets me keep my car at home during the week. This LA kid is proud to say his five…


March 15, 2006

Art is Power

One Challenge to the arts in America is the need to make the arts, especially, the classic masterpieces, accessible and relevant to today’s audience. William Safire Despite the cessation of open hostilities in the Culture Wars of the 1990s,…


March 12, 2006

Explaining Chinese Adoption

I walked into the subway elevator pushing my youngest daughter in her stroller. It was empty except for on older Asian woman who stared at us as we entered. The ride down was a slow one. Very slow. I always…


March 5, 2006

The Status of our Typical American Family

Meet the typical American family. It has about $3,800 in the bank. No one has a retirement account, and the neighbors who do only have about $35,000 in theirs. Mutual funds? Stocks? Bonds? Nope. The house is worth $160,000,…