From The Time We're Born, Our Brothers

The Golden Child May Be The Oldest One, Unless It's The Youngest. It May Be The Toughest One, Unless It's The Most Sensitive. It's Not Even Necessary That Mom And Dad Have The Same Favorite - And Typically They Don't.

Never Mind What You've Heard. Halle Berry Was Not The First Black Woman To Win An Academy Award For Best Actress. She Was Actually The 74th White One. And Never Mind All This Talk About America Electing Its First Black President; Barack Obama Is Actually The 44th White Man To Hold The Job.

Spare A Thought For The Poor Introverts Among Us. In A World Of Party Animals And Glad-handers, They're The Ones Who Stand By The Punch Bowl. In A World Of Mixers And Pub Crawls, They Prefer To Stay Home With A Book. Everywhere Around Them, Cell Phones Ring And E-mails Chime And They Just Want A Little Quiet.

Your Parents Leave You Too Soon And Your Kids And Spouse Come Along Late, But Your Siblings Know You When You Are In Your Most Inchoate Form.

It's Not Mere Extremism That Makes Folks At The Fringes So Troubling; It's Extremism Wedded To False Beliefs. Humans Have Long Been Dupes, Easily Gulled By Rumors And Flat-out Lies.