I have 2 friends from college who completely did a 180 after they got married. We were party animals in college. Every day revolved around alcohol on some form or fashion. It literally was like the movie Animal House Now these 2 friends (let's call them Bill and Ted) were a little dorky compared to the rest of the other guys. We all played sports in high school and college and they were more like bookworms. Borderline alcoholics but bookworms. They were really awkward around girls but funny as hell around guys. Long story short. Both of them got involved into serious relationships after college and ended up marrying these girls. One girl was this born again Christian who vowed to cleanse Bill from his evil ways. Bill was so far removed from his friends (the wolfpack!) that he didn't even invite us to his wedding. It's been maybe 14-15 yrs now and I have no clue what he's doing. I think one of my friends did attend the wedding but it was only because they desperately needed a groomsmen. Ted married this girl who seemed cool at first but after marriage, he stopped coming to any and all get togethers. He always had an excuse. He ended up moving a few hrs away and eventually just stopped responding to us. He did show up to a mutual friend's wedding maybe 3 yrs ago. He has a baby now but he's alot different than how he used to be. Other than Bill and Ted, all my other friends got married and have pretty normal marriages. Meaning that family is priority but if you got some free time, go enjoy yourself. So we still get together a couple times a year (some more than others) and have a good time. At the end of the passage, they are - alone - not very sociable - still friends with a few couples - not enough information
still friends with a few couples

Last month we spent a few wonderful days visiting our friends Rosa and Massimo who live just outside of Trento. It was our third visit to the area (on one of them I snapped up this recipe for persimmon cake), so I feel it's about time to share some our favourite things that we've been shown by locals. Trento is only a four hour drive from Florence passing Bologna and Verona on the way, which could make very good pit stops if you feel the need to, FYI yet it feels a world away in terms of the landscape and the food, from the golden, rolling hills of Tuscany. Cue towering mountains harbouring mushrooms and berries, lush valleys and turquoise lakes, vines grown on pergolas, enormous plates of sauerkraut and polenta in abundant portions, delicious wines and rustic cakes with German names. Trento is the capital of Trentino, an unusual region of Italy because its official languages are Italian and German and it is actually made up of two self-governing provinces and is known as Trentino-Alto Adige or Trentino-Sudtirol. Confused? Since the eighth century, it has been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and only a century ago did it become Italian. It is squeezed between Lombardy and the Veneto to the west and southeast and to the north lies Austria and Switzerland. So it is no surprise that many of the food influences come from its neighbours particularly the northern ones. Eating in the region means eating heartily, even in the summer sunshine, we enjoyed abundant portions of canederli (large rustic dumplings made of bread, herbs and meat, ham or cheese in broth), masses of soft, creamy polenta with thinly sliced roast pork or sausage ragu and slow-cooked beans or thick venison steaks, sauerkraut and gnocchi (sometimes made of out of polenta). I think one waiter was highly disappointed that we weren't able to finish our gargantuan plates one hot day on a mountain with a view of the Dolomites. Somehow there was always room for dessert, though adopted from German and Austrian specialties, you can find cakes... After the end of the story, the author will probably: - return to Trento - not enough information - never return to Trento - not leave his house again
return to Trento

(Question)
So many kids, so many stories. Parents die, leaving kids devastated and unable to speak for days. Parents get deported, leaving kids despondent and hopeless. Children endure emotional, sexual, physical abuse. And more. The saddest story I ever heard was from the kid in my AP Lit class who had taken her senior year to accept invitations from education reform groups to speak around the country, which she did, without doing any of her homework. She waited until after grades were turned in at the end of the year to contest the "D" on her report card because it meant not going to UC Berkeley. She brought her mother with her, and her two sisters. After going around and around for a while with me and the principal, her mother said that her divorce had really affected this girl, and she had been fighting so hard all her life to get into Berkeley, and what did I have against her daughter? She deserved to go to Cal! They were all in tears. The principal found a way to change her 64% to a 70.01%, and off she went. This young woman full of potential and energy, learned from her mother and my boss, that excuses rule the day. She appears to think that "social justice" means fighting to get your way because the deck is stacked against you, instead of doing the right thing. This is sad. I know this isn't what you were after, and that this memory says more about me than it does about her. Many other kids I have counseled, who are getting through something life-changing, seem to understand that life is in session, there will always be challenges to rise above, and that focusing in the classroom is a great way to get one's mind off one's troubles, if the environment is supportive and the spirit is willing. The girl in the class probably believes: - that her mother doesn't care about her at all - that she actually deserved more than a D for the class - not enough information - that the teacher doesn't want her to go to college
(Answer)
that she actually deserved more than a D for the class