I’m sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park, reading a book next to Sandra and enjoying a rare errand-free afternoon in the heart of East Village. Across from us, speakers are playing 70s throwback songs–Boogie Shoes, Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting, Beethoven mashups. Dancing along to the tunes are a woman in hot pink shoes, light pink shorts, and a polka-dotted fuchsia shirt and a man in Elvis bellbottoms and a Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet. Passersby pause to soak in the

. . . to share some interesting words I’ve overheard these past couple of weeks. “I know this is going to sound weird, but please laugh for me, preferably out loud and very hard . . . There is nothing worse in this world than having to listen to the same joke twice—except maybe having to be that guy who forces you to listen to the same joke twice and asks you to laugh just as hard.” – John Oliver, Last Week Tonight (live) “Students need a chance to fail.” “If kids don’t have