<![CDATA[Imagine if your car was a clunker, (back in the day, we would've called it a "hooptie") but it was the only car you've ever known.  Both your parents drove that car, practically raised you in that car, before passing it onto you. You drive it all through high school and college, doing your best to…

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<![CDATA[(Author’s note: the following was written as a short story, intended for submission into a competition. At the last minute, I balked, because I didn’t want to pay what I felt was an outrageous entry fee. But I selfishly kept the story to myself. Consider this post an apology.) (Author’s note, redux: this story, by…

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<![CDATA[It’s not like I need anymore reasons. The truth is, I’ve been wanting to return to Japan for about 18 years, which is how long it’s been since I went as a high school exchange student in the summer of ’94. (Thank you, Jim Scott and Catlin Gabel.) That trip was very enlightening, full of…

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