My mom always got upset when my brother and I fought. “Take it outside!” she would say. One day, as we started to fight, my brother reminded me what she said. So, we calmly walked to the front yard, then we went at it.
Somehow it still didn’t make her happy.










My wife’s last name is not the same as her paternal grandfather, because he criticized the Soviet leadership and was exiled to Siberia. His wife had to change the name of the rest of the family to keep from also being exiled.