Tyrades! Ever Sing the College Brochure Blues?

It has been a bittersweet experience seeing the mailbox flooded with college recruiting brochures addressed to my son Gideon.

Bittersweet because, speaking as a science fiction fan, each “road not taken” represents an alternate timeline involving different friends, different instructors, a different spouse, a different career path, a different city, a different strategy for administrators to hound grads for alumni donations. (“Remember that colorful gluten-free parking sticker we generously provided you with back in ’24? With interest, you probably owe us a new parking garage now, Mr. But-My-K...