The Wheeler family purchased a property of several acres, but the land hadn’t been put to much use by previous owners. After they moved in, the first thing Mr. Wheeler set about to do was build some wooden fencing to enclose the backyard. A fence would separate the family’s recreational activities from other functions the property would serve. The project would make a good learning opportunity for his teenage son, Erik.

He drew a diagram on a sheet of paper and reviewed the process with Erik to give him a vision of the end product. Then they began the first step.

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Valerie stormed into her ground-floor apartment, dropped her bag, and threw herself onto the couch. For a time, she was aware of nothing but her own sobbing into her arms.

How can everything be so unfair? she shrieked silently after a time. Everyone is against me!

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Parker was still a youth when he decided what he wanted to be when he grew up. After some time using some fun apps on his smartphone, it had all become clear to him. He proudly told everyone who asked. He had no doubt what he was going to do with his life.

But it was kind of frustrating when “social media influencer” wasn’t in the career interest tests he took in school as a teenager.

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By David Armstrong

Read Part 1.

When Jack and Francine arrived at the real estate office on their first day, the agent was waiting for them. He dispatched Jack to a homeless shelter across town, and he sent Francine to pick up laundry from an elderly lady just a few blocks away and gave her a stack of quarters to take the clothes to a nearby laundromat.

Day after day the couple reported in the morning to the agent’s office, and each day they received instructions for their tasks. The jobs varied from one day to the next, but the agent always gave them the same final instruction—they were to tell the proprietor or person they worked with that they were there as representatives of the agent’s corporation and to leave a business card.

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By David Armstrong

Jack and Francine wanted to buy a house. More than anything in the world, they wanted to own property and have a place to raise their children.

They engaged a real estate agent whose advertising promised “the deal of a lifetime.” The couple asked their new agent to find them properties in an upscale neighborhood near the center of town. They were sure this was the perfect place for them to put down roots and raise a family. The agent showed them several lovely homes, but the couple quickly discovered that they could not qualify for a home in the target price range.

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