Relationships and Going Places

"Well, I could see you struggling with your decision to leave Chicago for Los Angeles. I watched you tossing each night, and wrestling with second thoughts. It was painful for me to witness that, so I thought it wise to reappear and help you out. It's called 'separation anxiety. " "It's not really second thoughts," I told her. "I know I want to be closer to my daughters, and it's important to do it now, when I'm untethered and in good health. But after I enjoyed lunches and dinners with close friends, I felt sad, and wondered how I'd get along without these people in my day-to-day life." more »

More than 20 years ago, when Russell Foster was 19 and his girlfriend Amber was 15, Montana's laws tore them apart, sending Russell to prison for four years for having sex with a minor.Hoping to spare other young couples severe consequences, the Fosters pushed for a bill the Montana Legislature passed last month that would reduce the penalties for teens caught engaging in consensual sexual activity. The measure also would expand the age range covered by the state’s existing Romeo and Juliet law. more »

Julia Sneden wrote: The houses in my neighborhood have benefited from the Feng Shui principles, but I'm enough of a chauvinist to feel that there is a certain kind of American Feng Shui which needs no help, and old Southern houses (not mansions, just houses) abound in it. Wide porches; shady settings; big windows; double chimneys; an abundance of shrubs like crape myrtle and azaleas and rhododendrons; large yards and deep set-backs from the streets; basements and attics and wonderful closets; all these and more seem pretty harmonious to me. more »

The United States is considering a $1 trillion budget proposal to update infrastructure, including its crumbling bridges. An obstacle to spending the money wisely is that the current means of assessing bridges may underestimate their vulnerability. Case in point is a bridge along California's iconic Big Sur coast, which collapsed in March, isolating communities and costing local businesses millions of dollars. Although California's recent unprecedented rains were likely to damage infrastructure, standard risk assessments made it hard to identify which bridges were most vulnerable. more »