My husband, Peter’s, birthday is this week.
Ihave taught at George Washington University for 35 years, and I always read the anonymous reviews we get from students. This spring, one student wrote that the course I offer in feature writing – really storytelling – was the “hardest and the best” class they’d taken in college.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend and I have been practically brothers for the past 15 years. Being that close, I have spent a lot of time with his family (and vice versa), and in that time, his sister and I have grown fond of each other.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently went to goat yoga, and it was a horrible experience. The goats were going wild and defecating everywhere. I had seen so many cute videos online of people doing yoga with baby goats climbing on their backs, and I thought it would be a fun and relaxing way to spend a Saturday with some friends. Instead, it felt chaotic from the moment we arrived. I feel horrible because I was the one who begged my friends to go with me, and they told me early on that this wasn’t a good idea.
Dear Doctors: You often advise people to consult their doctor, but these days that relationship has been replaced by a nurse practitioner. A discussion with an NP about a condition or whether a certain screening test is appropriate is not the same as with a doctor. So what do we do?
30 YEARS AGO
In 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My father is a little larger and doesn’t properly take care of himself, and I believe it’s starting to affect his health. My family and I tried walking around New York City, and after 15 minutes, we had to stop at a park bench. He was panting, and I genuinely thought he might have been having a heart attack. He has high blood pressure, is prediabetic and drinks at least three Monster energy drinks a day. My mom and I have both tried telling my dad that we’re worried about him and his health, and he brushes it off as a joke. His own mother has tried saying something, and he still refuses to make better life choices. Is there anything else we can do to help him realize he needs to make some health changes, or is that something he’ll have to deal with alone? – Concerned Child DEAR CONCERNED CHILD: You have every reason to be worried while having no power over your father to make him change. You can appeal to his love for you. Be direct with him.
• Did you know you can cook a pot of pasta without even having the stove on the whole time? Try this energy-saving and foolproof cooking tip: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the pasta; cook at a simmer for five minutes, then turn off the stove; cover and let the pasta sit in the hot water for an additional five minutes. Check the pasta: It should be perfectly cooked al dente and ready for your homemade organic pasta sauce. And remember, if you didn’t salt the water, the cooled starchy water can be used to water plants outdoors.
In 1994, a televised police chase ended in the arrest of O.J.