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High-school football is one of the deadliest sports in America.

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On a small field outside of Naples, my grandmother, Maria Michele (also known as “Mimi”) was born in 1927 to her loving parents and sister.

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It’s a very weird feeling when you hear news that your childhood bully has passed away.

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Norm, as usual, tugging at my heartstrings.

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For all of us she was Grandma, but for me she was my best friend

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When I was twelve, I found him on a cousin’s bookshelf. I wasn’t much into books.

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What I loved about Clippy was his or her resilience, loyalty, and the fact that s/he didn’t judge me when, early in ninth grade, I typed into the box that said “What can I help you with?” the words “My mom buys my boxers still. Is that OK?”

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I met J at the University of Nevada, outside the English Department on a winter day, the cottonwoods of the quad leafless, as J cupped his palms around his cigarette to light it and I bummed that light off him…