PsychoJayManFunk

On Thursday my great uncle Sonny flew in, and on Saturday he, my mom, my brother and his wife, and I all went to my great aunt's funeral service. Sonny stayed with us until yesterday. At 85, it's probably the last time I'll see him. He's pretty different from most of my mom's family, and he was able to tell me a lot more about them. Since my life isn't very interesting, I'll share bits of what I've learned about theirs. That side of my family started emigrating from Italy (Sicily/Southern Calabria) around 1880. They came in several waves, like most immigrants of the time, asking for the rest of their family after they had settled and had "go

My dad was an avid reader, and told me on more than one occasion, "You are what you read."  I really do believe that by now.  What you read, and how you read, tells a lot about who you are: your interests and overall world-view; how much you like to interact with the material; how much you like to challenge yourself, and contest your own views with novel or contradictory ideas. The last of these, I think, is the most important.  Take pride in your self-evaluation, and truly challenge yourself to think in new ways.  Gauge your arguments, consider others; develop empathy, live in someone else's shoes, see why they would adhere to this argument