"Dolphin Michael, 61, who retired from the Detroit fire department after 38 years, said he saw it coming, and took action. 'A couple weeks ago, I withdrew all my pension money and put it into a private account,' he said."

"Now, do we look suspicious?"

"Scrabble isn’t a marketing or earnings-report star. It can’t be hyped with an online vote resulting in a cat’s replacing an iron."

"Why are white people so mean?"

"Ask this man to deliver a wedding-reception toast at your peril. He’ll burst through the door on your second anniversary, brimming with quips he wishes he’d made about the bridesmaids’ outfits."

"Wyoming is a place with two escalators; it probably shouldn’t get two senators."

"Why so much parking smack-dab in the middle of Chicago’s Loop, a walkable area that’s well-served by heavy-rail transit and many buses? The culprit is a regulatory scourge."

"If your FAVORITE book is a glorified television show about a boy wizard written for 5-year-olds I’m going to wonder if you know where Afghanistan is.

"The men who participated in this behavior were no more sexist then the men I know now. But they lacked power."

The whole room is silent. The manager, also busted during OWS, says: ‘Sir, if that behavior is repeated here, we’re going to have to ask you not to come in.’”

"Luckily, there is an antidote to the women’s story. It is the story of a woman."

“Do-over! I’m not asking for a pass because I haven’t slept in eight months and I just grew a whole person in my body. It’s all about the music!

"No, I shouldn’t be or have to be a pastor to my family.  But right now, the people I love most in the world are drowning in the greatest darkness we have ever experienced."

Steve Thorngate

The Century managing editor is also a church musician and songwriter.

All articles »