ROCHESTER -- When I first met the Laundry Goddess, I was unaware of the depth of her wisdom, genius and skill. We had just moved to the neighborhood, and she was welcoming and kind. Our families ...

I arrived home late, weary of a day loading and unloading my 500-pound suitcase. I walked in the door, thankful to be there, and wheeled my new ultra-lite spinner — that suddenly didn’t feel so light ...

Right after I reached the age of 16 in 1961, I got my first paying summer job. I had seen it advertised in my hometown newspaper in Laconia, N.H. Lionel Corno, an incorrigibly upbeat French Canadian, ...