A very-nearly-middle-aged woman with a sour-by-nature face gets home (to an apartment she shares with no one but her cat, Yellow) from whatever work she does, sits down in her living room and opens up the day's paper. There is a piece of news that catches her eye - one about a doctor, perhaps, who has been awarded a medal for changing the lives of many for the better; or maybe one about a lawyer, who has just won a high-profile case.
Now, her options are:
(a) Stare at the name, then the accompanying picture, and then bite back the feelings of regret and guilt that come up. Crumple up that page of the newspaper, kick the cat to vent her frustation and go to bed in a black mood.
or
(b) Stare at the name, then the accompanying picture. Pick up the mobile phone and dial speed-dial number five. Wait a few minutes until the person on the receiving end picks up, then say, "I saw that article on you in the paper!" and spend the next half an hour on the phone laughing and making plans to go shopping together that weekend.
Now which will be the case?
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