We like birthdays because they behave. They sit on the calendar like obedient little fences: before this day you are “a child,” after this day you are “an adult,” and the world can stop thinking too hard. Paperwork smiles. Parents exhale. Governments file you into a drawer. Even you can point to the number and say, “There. That’s the moment I became something different.” It is a comforting story. It … Read the rest
By Eric Le Roy
One of my students put this article under my nose yesterday during a class discussion. He is Swiss, and the original article was in German. So here is a translation of the gist of it:
Germany: In front of a nursing home for people with dementia in Duisburg, a fake bus stop has recently been installed. A fictitious timetable hangs on the typical bus … Read the rest
A man I knew used to carry a small object in his pocket. Not a charm exactly—he would have laughed at that word—but something smooth he could roll between his fingers when he was anxious. He said it helped him focus. It gave his hands something to do while his mind calmed down. Later I saw the same man in a church, doing almost the same thing with a prayer … Read the rest
Some people like loud symbols. Big flags, big slogans, big declarations. Other people prefer quiet ones. A little sign here, a number there, a wink that fits inside a username. Not everyone wants to announce what team they are on. Some prefer to keep it “just a joke,” “just a meme,” “just a detail.”
Which is, in its own way, elegant. It is also convenient.
Because a quiet sign can … Read the rest
I have no interest in mocking anyone’s faith. Not because I am afraid of offending people, but because faith is often where people keep their most tender parts: grief, hope, guilt, gratitude, love. If you kick that door down with sarcasm, you do not prove you are intelligent. You prove you are careless.
And yet, if something is truly sacred, it should be able to breathe in daylight. Questions are … Read the rest
