I am a sucker for a get-rich-quick scheme (1/3) The stranger made a beeline for my wife and me through the sea of Christmas shoppers, drowning in the desperation to find the perfect last-minute gift in Walnut Creek's open-air mall, Broadway Plaza. "Wow, you have an amazing smile!" He said. "Here ...

My mom’s gift of gab convinced me to wear girly roller skates (3/3)   All adults in the city break away for a few hours at noon to head home for lunch. My mom would make it home for lunch, but we lived on the fourth floor of a four-floor building—the exact floor limit to avoid building an elevato...

My mom’s gift of gab convinced me to wear girly roller skates (1/3) When I was 12, my mom got a pair of roller skates as a gift from a friend who had returned from Miami. The boot was a bright white, two wheels were magenta, and the other two were fuchsia. Rollerblades had been on my list of "Mo...

Or how simple parenting acts can drive you insane (3/3) Eventually, my daughter gave in and let us brush her hair. Instead of the five minutes we thought it would take, it took forty-five minutes. Sure, forty-five minutes is better than sixty minutes, but the fifteen minutes savings came at a co...