Because I grew up in a rational, orderly household with dinner at six-thirty, laundry done on Saturday mornings, cars washed, yards mowed, house painted… furniture waxed and polished. I ironed the linen. My father’s handkerchiefs, the heavy tablecloths, curtains. Every item reduced to rectangles or squares. Flat, starched, blazing white. Orderly. As I became more responsible, I ironed dress shirts. Chinese laundry style. Collar, cuffs, back seam, shoulder… arms, front, back pleat. Starched, folded, orderly and flat… square. ... read more

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