Author Archives: Kathy

Plastic Progress

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Kathy

I just saw the film Surviving Progress at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, which lays out many dangers to human survival on earth, graphically portraying overpopulation and over-consumption. It makes you want to read the book that inspired it, A Short … Continue reading →

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Truth in Jest

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Kathy

My dad, Martin Miller, wrote a weekly column for the Canton Repository, called “Letters from Max.” Sometimes he commented on news and politics, but other times he shared amusing facts about our household. I remember his commenting, for example, that … Continue reading →

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Measuring Education

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Kathy

I tutor once a week in a GED program in the Kinsman neighborhood of Cleveland, where my church used to be. I’ve been touched, the last two weeks, by my interactions with students. Touched, infuriated, sobered, and enlightened. Last week, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Teaching | 3 Comments

Oh, How I Hate to Get Up

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Kathy

In my childhood, my family owned one ball glove. With three girls, there was little need for more. When I played catch outside with my dad, I’d wear the glove, and he’d risk the softball stinging his fingers. He’d call … Continue reading →

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Small World

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Kathy

My friend Katie sat across from me at our picnic table. She was dropping off some homemade lentil soup and a loaf of bread a couple weeks after the death of Grace, my husband’s stepmother. Grace was memorable—opinionated, funny, and … Continue reading →

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Finally

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Kathy

School’s out. A big perk of college teaching is the early end of the school year. We’ve had beautiful weather this week, and I’ve already planted tomatoes and flowers. I had a good school year with lots of wonderful students … Continue reading →

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The Stress Response

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Kathy

Various therapies preach that “feelings aren’t facts.” This is a useful admonishment inside or outside of therapy. Though our feelings are real, and therefore factual in a sense, the aphorism suggests that our perceptions may depart from objective reality. We … Continue reading →

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In Memoriam

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Kathy

I was rereading Bobbie Ann Mason’s lovely 1988 novel Spence + Lila today when I heard that my mother-in-law, Grace Ewing, had died this morning. I read this passage soon after the news. Sixty-six-year-old Spence is surveying his Kentucky farm. … Continue reading →

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Acts of Kindness

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Kathy

Last week I received an email from a New Yorker named Mark, who had stumbled across my essay about my dad’s acquaintance with Alger Hiss. (Short refresher: At the beginning of the Red Scare, Hiss was accused of committing espionage … Continue reading →

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Best Practices

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Kathy

  David Finch The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch purports to offer marriage advice to people with Asperger syndrome. Finch discovered he had the disorder when his beleagered wife administered an online personality test, on which he scored … Continue reading →

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