Word: backgrounders
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...Queen, the famously haughty Marie-Antoinette, as she played at the gambling tables. Alone among the throng at Versailles, she seemed to have little appreciation for the man who, she had been told, had once been "a printer's foreman." As she noted dismissively, a man of that background would never have been able to rise so high in Europe. Franklin would have proudly agreed...
...passionate Miami sports fan--Carole Faria asked the funeral home to re-create a stadium setting with Marlins, Heat and Dolphins paraphernalia. Jack's favorite putter, pool cue and family photos surrounded his coffin. The song As Time Goes By, from his favorite movie, Casablanca, played in the background. "I wanted a huge celebration," says Faria. "After two and a half years of difficulty, I saw the good times. It made me feel like he really did have a great life. I wanted everyone to see that...
...hear kids crying in the background. There's nothing we can do. They're gone." MARGIE VALADEZ, Roto-Rooter dispatcher, on calls from parents whose kids, in the spirit of Finding Nemo, try to send their fish back to the ocean by flushing them down the toilet...
Loners, who are used to having few emotional connections, take longer to crack; so do those with deep beliefs, who can find nobility in suffering. Whatever the background of a detainee, as soon as he capitulates, he is likely to tell all. Says Kutz: "The interrogators can say, 'You're ruined to everyone on the outside. You might as well tell everything and let us help you.'" --By Michele Orecklin
...been a nudist since he was 2, "and now we come out [to the local nudist resort] every Sunday after church." (Gordon and his parents attend a conservative Christian church, and because it's a congregation that may not welcome nudists, we have changed his name.) Despite his religious background--in fact, partly because of it--Gordon sees nothing wrong with nudism. "God created all of us," he says. "He made our bodies, and we shouldn't be ashamed...