Suspicious minds: Paranoia, prejudice and common sense

“Why do women carry their keys as weapons as a matter of course? Why was I afraid of the black man in the parking garage? In part, it’s because we’ve been conditioned to expect an attack, to view the unexpected or the “other” with suspicion. And in the process, we create doubt and fear, manufacturing imaginary offenses that may never actually happen.”

The stair mistress: Enchantmen­t at my Local YMCA

COMMENTARY: My first few trips to the gym were myopic; I was unable to examine the landscape and so did not notice the StairMaster in its elevated position there in the front corner. But all that changed the day after Halloween. I settled into my favorite machine, had my Spotify set to the Dixie Chicks and was “ready, ready ready, to run” when I felt a change in the air.