. . .Karen, a 31-year-old single Asian American, arrived home at her one-bedroom, one-bathroom, second-floor east Charlotte (NC, USA) apartment at 5:55 PM. It was a tranquil fall evening, but this particular late October Thursday (2015) had been anything but at her uptown trend-analysis office; she was completely exhausted. She flopped on the couch, flipped on the local news, and exhaled. What a day! Need a glass of Merlot. Sleep is going to feel oh so good. Halfway through the international news, Karen arose and stumbled into her old ottoman. She looked at it. I don’t really use that thing anymore. It’s just in the way. Better put it up before I trip over it and do a nasty faceplant. [frontward fall]. . . Read More