The Writer's Poke

For Writers: When you start to go bald, my wife tells me, just shave off your hair. Don't do a comb-over. I have no intention of doing a comb-over, but that's a choice a lot of men make. Don't they know better? They must, but something about vanity blinds them to the fact that they are doing something that most swore they'd never do. Does hair still equal masculinity in our culture? Chest hair is no longer sexy, unless you're David Hasselhoff or Paul Stanley. Leg hair doesn't seem to be important either, although I remember when I was growing up that kids would point out that I didn't have a lot of it, as if not having a sufficient amount of leg hair made me less of a man. I've kept a goatee for years, but that's simply out of convenience. Shaving every day is a drag, as I found out when I experimented with the bald look -- both face and head -- in my early 20s. But assuming I do start going bald like my dad and his dad before him, I have no problem ...

For Writers: Eva Kor decided that she couldn't live with hate any longer; she forgave the human beings that experimented on her and her twin sister; she forgave people involved in a great evil. She forgave people, not the evil. Somehow, she recognized that forgiving the former was possible without also forgiving the latter. People hated her for her willingness to forgive, claiming that she had no right to forgive. But Eva's point was this: forgiveness is the only way to move on. It is the only real path forward. And it's an individual choice. She didn't need anyone to ask for her forgiveness. Forgiveness is something freely offered. Forgiveness is power. Forgiveness is liberation. To forgive is not to forget. How could the Holocaust ever be forgotten? But what purpose is gained by holding on to hate? In what ways have you allowed hate to control you? "You cannot hate other people without hating yourself." -- Oprah Winfrey

"What Was Palin Thinking?" Sure to be a great DVD board game. Look for it at a Walmart near you during the X-mas Season.