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155 Mother’s Day. “The holidays have since elementary school days meant appreciation of the suffering my presence in the world brought those to whom I owe more than my puny powers and monstrous incapacities would ever allow me to produce in compensation. My holiday craft projects prepared amidst the construction paper, glue and confusion that along with baseball and square dancing made school hateful to me were concretions of ineptitude. Giving them was like having a severe stutter and being forced to say I am s-orry I s-s-tutututer.”74 74 Joel, Mother’s Day card to me, May 10, 1987. ...

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