Relationships and Going Places
A Scrim of Memory; A Meditation on Reunions
It seems these gatherings force an automatic exercise in comparisons. How have I aged in appearance compared with my classmates? Can I match the average for marriage, number of children, implied income, social status, renown? Who will recall my mortifying gaffes and/or minor triumphs? Will old alliances survive? How about old enmities? Above all, what if no one remembers me? more »
What's Going on with Young People Today? The Long and Twisting Path to Adulthood
In the United States, in particular, parents contribute sizable material and emotional support through their children's late twenties and into their early thirties. Such flows are to be expected in more privileged families, but what is now striking are the significant flows — and associated strains — in middle-class families at a time when families themselves have become increasingly stressed or fractured. more »
Travel Notes; Tales to Tell
"Oh, didn’t the guide call you? They have come and gone out on tour." A scary feeling of being left behind in a strange city overtakes me and, trying not to panic, I ask him to call the guide for me on his mobile. more »
Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Unless Everyone Else is Doing it Too:
We also find that popular people are less likely to get divorced, divorcees have denser social networks, and they are much more likely to remarry other divorcees. more »
