“A Convention to Remember”
Chicago Tribune, 8/30/12
It’s not my Republican Party anymore. This is a sad thing for me to have to admit as I watch the happy people in Tampa, Fla. On my TV screen…
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“David R. Hughes, Family Hero”
Newsweek, 12/14/99
Our eleven-year-old son Davy Hughes is our family hero. Over the years, he has summoned forth every bit of courage and humor he has to respond to his big brother’s situation. To us, he is Winston Churchill and Mel Brooks rolled into one character…
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“Our Pop Culture Can Be Foreign”
Chicago Tribune, 5/13/07
When I started teaching freshman writing to immigrant students at Truman College in the late 1970s, I would naively give them standard topics for essays: What’s your favorite movie? What’s your favorite TV show? How did you spend summer vacation? What’s your favorite restaurant? Hands would go up. “My religion forbids going to movies.” “Don’t own a TV, teacher.” “What is vacation?” “I can’t afford to eat in restaurants.”
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“Killer Questions”
Chicago Tribune Magazine, 6/9/96
“Dad, is that man dying?” my 7-year-old son asked, pointing to a giant Calvin Klein billboard ad. This one portrayed a gaunt guy in a twisting sort of stance who is lost in a rapture of pleasure or pain, whichever the viewer prefers…
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