Relationships and Going Places

Oiled areas should be particularly be avoided by: Young children. People with asthma or other respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema.» People with a compromised immune system.» People with a hypersensitivity to chemicals, particularly hydrocarbons. Pregnant women (some of the chemicals in oil have been linked to miscarriage, preterm birth, and low birth rate). more »

One of the guests sang a song set to the music of Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof but with personal and irreverent lyrics. My aunt laughed. I didn’t get all the references but I laughed, too. I figured that anything outré about my aunt must be true and no doubt funny. more »

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 »

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 »