Speaking of birthdays, our firstborn [recently turned 2]. As parents sometimes fondly do, we reminisced a bit about his early days on earth-the excitement, the wonder, the fears when we brought him home. His every squeak or squawk we were sure heralded some terrible crisis; I tested the warmth of formulas from dusk to dawn, it seemed. We were so germ-conscious my wife even sterilized the skin of the oranges before squeezing them. How firstborns ever survive their parents' attentions is beyond me. However, they do, and he did, and, in spite of our efforts, he turned out to be quite a good guy.

People who can’t see without glasses should wear them.

Trying to impress others does - usually in quite the opposite way.

Since we had nothing to do with our arrival and usually are not consulted about our departure, what makes so many of us think we're entitled to so much while we're here?

Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.

Enlightening editorial writers is even more difficult than educating educators.

When looking back, usually I'm more sorry for the things I didn't do than for the things I shouldn't have done.