Addressing the Dash

I turned on the radio on my way to the office recently and found myself in the middle of a discussion. It was a familiar discussion. At least, the symbolism was familiar. It was familiar because it reminded me of how I started a book several years ago.

The analogy is of a man looking at a headstone, of how the person memorialized had a starting date and an ending date, with a dash in the middle. Seconds into my visit with this radio program, the question was asked “what are we going to do with the dash?”

Maybe the answer is too many of us have turned the dash into a run, forgetting wher...