My parents chose my husband” — Here’s an interesting story about life in an arranged marriage in the United States. Debie Thomas is an American and was raised evangelical, but at 22 married almost a total stranger.

The first time I met Alex was on my parents’ doorstep, the winter after I graduated from college. He was Prospective Groom No. 3, or 7, or maybe even 12; by the time my parents met him at the bus station and drove him to our house, I had long lost count…. By the time my parents drove Alex back to his Greyhound bus a day later, he was my fiancé.

An open letter to grade school teachers” is a recent post on Calvin’s alumni blog that lays out a helpful metaphor for the importance of early education. We may not remember what we learned in the third grade, but without it we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Check out the “Top 40 Chicago words.” I had no idea these words originated in Chicago, many of them from Tribune writers. Among the words coined in the Windy City: freak, dagnabbit, pipe dream, jungle gym, flea-flicker, rackateer and jazz.

The last two weeks have suffocated my previous optimism about the near future of Egypt. However, this al Jazeera article about Egypt’s fate restored a little comfort. While it leaves the possibility of a failed state — due to the economy — it persuades me that Egypt will probably not devolve into civil war. For all its problems, Egypt will not become a new Syria.

Posted by Griffin Paul Jackson

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