all that's past is prologue...

After a Facebook post I made yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about how you get an ID card. If I didn’t have one, how would I get one? In order to vote in Minnesota under the new amendment, you need a Minnesota Driver’s license, or state-issued identification card. You cannot vote with a passport, or any other kind of federally-recognized ID. So, you need to get a state card. How do you get such an ID? Here’s a link to the page — I looked for it so you don’t have to, it’s not exactly an intuitive Google search. And here’s the list of approved identification documents. You will need one primary and one secondary document in order to apply for a state-issued ID. The first bullet point is the most commonly stated one — a birth certificate. Do you know where your birth certificate is? I don’t know where mine is; I don’t know if I personally have ever had possession of it. And the hospital where I was born is closed. For Patrick (who does ...

This plant grew spontaneously in the back yard at Summit (and is kind of taking it over). It kind of summarizes our summer — strange, unexpected, kind of beautiful, and overwhelming. But more to the point, does anyone know what it is? (and is it edible?)

It's moving in day at the small liberal arts college down the street. When I drove down to the hardware store this morning I saw groups of students sitting in circles on the lawns, harried-looking parents with maps pulling suitcases, and felt a general current of expectancy in the air. It was pretty idyllic. I often wonder why I look back on college with such nostalgia, and why, 23 years after I have graduated, those moments all remain so vivid to me. I can remember so much from my classes, from the Arena Theatre, from parties, from dining halls and the Quad and the library and dorms and the laundry and our apartment on Belknap Street. This is even more remarkable considering that, like many of my fellow students, I studied abroad my junior year (cue even more memories), and lived off-campus when  I returned. I'm really happy I chose Tufts. It was the ideal school for me — academically rigorous, but with a real-world element that encouraged me to learn and grow; maybe that...