Politics
A School Photo Of Me Trying To Cover My Lazy Eye Went Viral
When I posted my eighth-grade school photo on TikTok and Instagram a few weeks ago, I expected to get some laughs out of my family and friends – and maybe even a couple of strangers. I didn’t expect the photo to be shared hundreds of thousands of times or be seen by over 20 million people.
The photo features me in 1989, smiling hopefully at the camera with a curtain of long brown hair covering about a third of my face. I’d practiced the look for weeks in my bedroom mirror with the goal of using my hair to cover my lazy eye in my annual school photo.
I felt like my lazy eye, known medically as amblyopia, completely defined who I was. I thought that if I could hide it just once, maybe people would see me and think of me as something more than just my eye.
When the prints came back a few weeks later, I was devastated. Not only had I failed to cover the eye with my hair, I had covered just enough of it to make it obvious that I was trying to hide it. A portion of the iris peeked out defiantly from behind the drape of hair like it was photobombing my own photo. The boys who bullied me daily saw the photo and flailed about at their desks in fits of laughter.
I showed my mother and she told me I looked beautiful and immediately slid the picture into an 8×10 frame and placed it on the mantle in the dining room. A few days later, I hid it in a drawer and rearranged the photos that had surrounded it. She noticed immediately and asked me why I’d taken it down. I told her I never wanted to see it again.

Last month, I decided to start posting comedy videos to TikTok and Instagram. I had pursued a career in comedy writing and acting a decade ago and fell into a deep depression when I got knocked down by a series of rejections.
When I recently mustered the courage to start posting jokes and sketches to my social media feeds again, I remembered the photo had been a hit with a small theatre audience almost 12 years ago.
I posted it on TikTok with a straightforward caption: “8th grade school photo in 1989 when I tried to hide my lazy eye with my hair and it did not work.” I paired the photo with the song Forever Young by Alphaville – a song frequently played at my junior high school dances, where no one ever asked me to dance.
The reel seemed to quickly get a lot of engagement, but since I was new to posting publicly, I wasn’t sure how to gauge how much attention was normal. When it passed a million views on TikTok, I started to accept that something big was happening. The photo wasn’t just being “liked”, it was being shared over and over again, and people were tagging friends with crying laughing emojis.
I felt powerful for the first time in a long time. Comedy was where I first found my power. The ability to make someone laugh is to disarm and surprise them – to make them let go of whatever they’re holding on to and bring them into the present moment where they can’t help but feel joy. Comedy, for me, is also about finding those universally hilarious moments that people don’t often talk about and dragging them into the spotlight.
I shared the post on my public Instagram profile and the response was even more incredible. Not long after I shared it, my “insights” dashboard revealed that the post had been viewed over 25 million times by more than 16 million people.
Thousands of comments poured in. One woman said she saw the post on a bus ride home and laughed for 10 minutes straight. I felt like people were laughing with me – not at me. In a single frame, I had inadvertently captured the all-too-familiar experience of a teenager trying to hide who she truly was and failing miserably.
Yes, of course, there were some comments from trolls who responded just like the boys in my homeroom class. There were dozens of comments from men comparing me to Steve Buscemi’s “Crazy Eyes” character in the Adam Sandler movie Mr. Deeds.
Others delighted themselves by asking if I’d “gotten kicked by a mule” to straighten my eyes out – a reference to a joke about a crosseyed child character in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
The comments didn’t break me down like they did when I was 13, but they did remind me of how scared I was when I sat down for that photo – and how scared I was all the time at that age.
Every interaction I had with someone was an opportunity for them to comment, criticise or ridicule my appearance. I responded to thousands of comments on my posts, but I ignored the bullies. I felt protected, in a way, by the thousands of other people who were laughing along with me.
There were also the comments from people who had lazy eyes. I repeatedly saw people sharing something I never imagined I’d ever encounter: “I had a lazy eye and did this exact same thing with my hair.”
One woman wrote, “I still do this in my 40s.” This act that I was sure no one else on earth had tried before was a “thing” for people with lazy eyes, I had just never had the chance – or means – to connect with them before.

Having a lazy eye left me isolated, anxious, depressed and desperate for connection in high school. It was more than just looking different from others. I couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. Like many people with amblyopia, my eyes did not work together. I could focus one eye (usually the left one) on the person I was speaking to, while the other eye drifted all the way to the right. Even when I was making eye contact with people, it was only with one eye, so they couldn’t tell.
I lived in constant dread. Whenever I attempted eye contact, the person I was speaking to would usually look over their left shoulder to see where my right “lazy” eye was looking. They ignored the eye that was looking at them and focused entirely on the one that was not.
My lazy eye profoundly affected my ability to socialise with others. I tried every tactic I could think of to avoid that humiliating “over the shoulder” look. I often kept my eyes on the floor when I was speaking, hoping people would think I was just shy.
When I saw a TikTok user comment, “I used to look at the floor when I was talking to people,” it took my breath away. It was like I had finally found my people.
It’s estimated that 2-4% of the U.S. population has amblyopia. In 1989, with the country’s population at roughly 247 million, that would have meant about 5 million people living with a lazy eye. With no social media at the time, there was no way for me to find and connect with any of them. 35 years later, I finally can.
While many social media users continued to “like” and share the post with its original comedic intent in mind, more and more people began sharing their own experiences of living with a lazy eye. I was flooded with questions about the treatments and surgeries I had tried. Those who looked at my current profile picture saw that the “laziness” of the eye had been corrected and wanted to know how. I even had a mother ask me how to respond to the bullying that she feared her own child with a lazy eye would face. My heart ached when I responded that I really didn’t have a good answer for her.
Not everyone with a lazy eye wants to treat it. I celebrate anyone and everyone with a lazy eye who is able to accept and embrace their condition with no desire to change it. No one should feel they have to get a medical procedure (let alone six of them like I did) to fulfil any sort of external standard of what supposedly looks “good” or doesn’t.
For me, it was a matter of survival.
I originally had two unsuccessful operations at age three that had been traumatic for my whole family. My mother was terrified of me undergoing another procedure, but as a teenager, I didn’t care about the physical pain or the risks associated with more surgery. The bullying from my peers drove me to thoughts of suicide, and I was ready to try anything.
It took a month to recover from my third surgery, which I had at 14. I immediately wanted to know when I could get another one to improve the results. A year later, I got my fourth eye surgery. Two years later, I got my fifth procedure. Each surgery got the eye closer to being straight, but doctors told me it would always drift a little.
In my late 20s, I noticed the drift more than ever. People were looking over their shoulders again when I spoke to them. For a long time, I made peace with my condition, but when I had my own child at 39, I wanted him to know I was looking at him.
Though friends and family said the drift was barely noticeable, one night a well-meaning waiter approached my table while I was out to dinner with my husband and said, “I saw you looking in my direction. Can I get something for you?”
I politely declined but after he left, I told my husband, “That’s it. I’m getting surgery again.”

My loved ones were used to the way my eye looked. The waiter, a stranger bearing no ill will toward me, was more objective. I made an appointment for surgery, but my fear got the best of me and I cancelled it. I waited over a year before making another appointment and following through with it. At age 42, I opened my eye in the recovery room and saw the surgeon give me a thumbs-up. He told me it was fixed for life.
About a week after the TikTok and Instagram posts went viral, I recorded a video to share my experience of undergoing four surgeries over 35 years. I received many fewer responses to the video than my original posts, but all of them were warm and supportive. People wished me well. People were happy for me. It was a love fest.
Having a lazy eye for 40 years profoundly impacted who I am as a person. My experience has made me fiercely empathetic and unapologetically truthful about the human condition, because I was unable to escape the experience of being misunderstood. It also made me really funny. I can call out an ironic moment like nobody’s business. I can shine a light on an absurdity like a boss. And for that, I’m grateful.
Carol Burnett once said that her mother taught her that “tragedy plus time equals comedy.” For me, it has also meant finally feeling “seen” as more than the frightened and ashamed child who was so desperate to hide who she really was.
This piece was previously published on HuffPost and is being reshared again as part of HuffPost Personal’s “Best Of” series.
Liz Brown is a mother, writer, and comedian living in Los Angeles and Northfield, Vermont. She is currently working on a memoir about spending 40 years unable to make eye contact because of her lazy eye. You can follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.
Politics
The Funniest Posts From Parents This Week (April 18-24)
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Kids may say the darndest things, but parentspost about them in the funniest ways.
Every week, we round up the most hilarious quips from parents across social media platforms like X, Threads and Bluesky to spread the joy. Scroll down to read the latest batch.
Politics
Helena Bonham Carter Leaves The White Lotus Season 4
It’s been announced that Helena Bonham Carter will no longer be appearing in the upcoming fourth season of The White Lotus.
However, just over a week after production got underway, US broadcaster HBO announced that Helena would no longer be taking part in the new episodes.
“With filming just underway on Season 4 of The White Lotus, it had become apparent that the character which Mike White created for Helena Bonham Carter did not align once on set,” a spokesperson said.
“The role has subsequently been rethought, is being rewritten and will be recast in the coming weeks.”
“HBO, the producers and Mike White are saddened that they won’t get to work with her, but remain ardent fans and very much hope to work with the legendary actress on another project soon,” the statement concluded.
In their reporting on the matter, Deadline cited undisclosed “sources” who claimed that Helena had already filmed several scenes when The White Lotus creator Mike White – who also writes and directs the show – “felt that her character as originally conceived was not what it should be”.
This isn’t the first time a White Lotus has been recast once production is already up and running.
Early on in the process of making season three, Charlotte Le Bon was brought in to replace Francesca Corney in the role of Chloe.
Francesca had already been flown out to Thailand and had spent time with the rest of the cast, when it was announced that her role was being recast, reportedly due to the fact that producers wanted Chloe to come across as slightly older.
Woody Harrelson was also supposed to play a pivotal role in season three, with reports claiming he pulled out due to a pay dispute.
The three-time Oscar nominee later clarified that he’d actually withdrawn as filming would have clashed with a pre-planned family holiday, which is how he came to be replaced in the project by Sam Rockwell.
Other stars confirmed to be appearing in the fourth season of The White Lotus include Kumail Nanjiani and Black Swan’s Vincent Cassel, Max Greenfield, Heather Graham and Sandra Bernhard.
Mike White previously teased that the new season would be centred around questions about fame, and will be set during the Cannes Film Festival.
Politics
Adopting A Dog? Ask The Shelter These 3 Questions.
You’ve finally saved up a little money. You have a stable living situation. It’s been a long time coming, but you’re finally ready to do the most grown-up thing possible: Take care of someone other than yourself.
The next step is crystal clear. Time to start looking for your dream dog. For many of us, that means heading to the local shelter to rescue a scrappy little companion whose life you can enrich with treats, long evening walks and the most vigorous of belly rubs.
First of all, cheers to you for choosing a shelter over a breeder or pet store. So many experienced pet parents — including us, Raj Punjabi-Johnson and Noah Michelson, co-hosts of HuffPost’s Am I Doing it Wrong? podcast — can attest to the joy of giving a rescue a great home.
And if you have a preference for a certain breed, you’re in luck. Contrary to popular belief, shelters house every kind of dog. “We recently posted a gray poodle named Izzy on our social media, and she has this frou-frou gray hairdo,” said Rachel Ziering, founding executive director of Muddy Paws rescue and pet adoption expert, on this week’s episode. “We get poodles, we get Shih-Tzus, we get maltipoos — and we get puppies. So it might take a little longer [to get] whatever you’re looking for, but we do get all kinds of dogs.”

So dream big (literally, if you want a huge dog, please check out Zeiring’s unbearably sweet 162-lb. foster pup Earl, who also made an appearance on this episode). And when you think you’ve found your new bestie, remember to ask these questions to ascertain whether the dog will be a good fit — because the goal, after all, is to gallop off into the sunset together and live slobberly ever after.
Straight out of the gate, Ziering suggested, you should ask about the pup’s temperament. Are they very outgoing or a bit of an introvert? Are they anxious or generally unbothered? These are important personality traits of a pet that will help you decide if they will be able to comfortably acclimate to your lifestyle.
“And then in terms of medical, you’re going to want to make sure the dog has all of its basic vaccines and testing and all of that stuff,” Ziering added, “which any reputable shelter is going to be doing.”
You also want to ask about the dog’s social behaviour around other animals — especially if you live in a city. In this case, she says, you’re really going to need a dog who can kind of tolerate and get around in busy, heavily populated streets. “Have you seen the dog with other dogs? Have you seen the dog with cats?” Ziering prompted. “And usually the answer is no there. But in a foster-based rescue, sometimes the answer is yes.”
In terms of what you should ask yourself before signing those adoption papers, Ziering advises taking into consideration your own social and travel habits to making sure you’re able to really give your new pet the attention and care they require. “If you don’t feel like you’re in a good place to give a dog or cat a forever home, foster,” she added. “It’s beautiful. We need fosters more than anything. We can’t take dogs from shelters unless we know that we have a foster home for them.”
On this episode, we also talk to Ziering about why certain pets end up at shelters to begin with, and all the ways we can help a new pet feel comfortable and safe, so click here to hear the full episode or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Make sure to subscribe to “Am I Doing It Wrong?” on whatever podcast platform you prefer.
For more info about Muddy Paws, head here.
Have a question or need some help with something you’ve been doing wrong? Email us at AmIDoingItWrong@HuffPost.com, and we might investigate the topic in an upcoming episode.
Politics
Simba Hybrid Pillow & Duvet Review 2026: Is The Temperature-Regulating Technology Worth The Price?
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
If you’re anything like us, you’re completely obsessed with sleep RN. And we don’t blame you – life is busy, our brains are constantly wired, and all we want is a good night’s sleep to get us through the week.
Things get even more complicated when we reach the warmer months: waking up with the light, sweating through the night, and having to wash our sheets every few days to make up for it.
If there’s anything that can stop us from running hot at night, we’re all over it.
So when we heard that Simba – the company renowned for its unbeaten mattresses, pillows, and duvets – had launched a fresh bedding collection, we were the first to jump into bed. Yep, Simba didn’t even have to take us out for dinner first!
Intended to ‘redefine the sleep environment’ the launch is made up of six temperature-regulating fabrics, including Tencel, linen, muslin, and cotton (percale, waffle, and Egyptian, don’t you know!).
No matter what kind of texture you’re into, there’s something for everyone – you could even mix and match!
While it might be on the pricier side, each fabric is intended to adapt to different temperatures so you don’t have to keep switching up your bedding with each season (so really you’re saving money).
You can also choose from seven new colours – our faves are the dusty rose and oat cappuccino – to layer for the ultimate cosy cocoon.
Whether you’re looking for fresh pillowcases, sheets, or a new set entirely, this is our pick of Simba’s latest bedding release.
Politics
The Best Kids’ Swimming Costumes To Shop For Bank Holiday Weekend
We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI — prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.
Warm weather is here and, while we can’t promise it’s to stay, the sun has landed just in time for the May Bank Holiday weekend.
You know what that means: three days of figuring out what to do with your little ones, and luckily there’s ample opportunity to be outdoors.
Instead of succumbing to calls to go to the playground, or get ice cream, getting them in the water is, aside from everything else, a surefire way to tire them out.
Whether you’re embarking on a day the sea, making a quick trip to your local pool, or managing to squeeze in a few days a holiday home in the South of France, we’re green with envy.
To live vicariously through you, and to save you hours on last-minute shopping, we’ve rounded up the best swimming costumes, tankinis, wet suits, and towels for kids to shop now.
Politics
Keir Starmers Premiership Hang In The Balance
For Labour, the elections on May 7 have been looming on the horizon like a giant, immovable iceberg for months.
Every opinion poll tells the same story: voters in England, Scotland and Wales are preparing to deliver an unforgiving verdict on Keir Starmer’s first 22 months in power.
Up to 2,000 council seats are set to be lost, while the SNP will romp to another victory at Holyrood and Labour will lose a Welsh election for the first time in the party’s history.
After another hellish week for the prime minister dominated by the latest developments in the Peter Mandelson scandal, many at Westminster now think that the sheer scale of Labour’s humiliation will finally trigger moves to remove Starmer from Downing Street.
“I suspect the people round Keir know it’s coming to an end,” said one senior Labour figure. “He only has a few supporters left – they can surely see the writing on the wall?”
An idea gaining traction in some quarters is that, to end the speculation about his future, Starmer should announce when he plans to stand down.
“Post-May, MPs will start saying Keir has to set out a timetable for going,” said one proponent.
“Labour can’t make the mistakes the Democrats made in America. Joe Biden left it too late to go and helped usher in Trump. Keir is helping to usher in Nigel Farage.
“He should announce he’s going in the next 12 months to allow an orderly transition to a new Labour prime minister.
“He can then focus on legacy issues he cares about for final year. That would allow a new leader to be in place by summer 2027.”
Of course, Starmer would need to be amenable to such a scenario, and there is little sign that a man who came to Westminster relatively late in life has any desire to call it quits less than two years after becoming PM.
HuffPost UK has also learned that Downing Street officials plan to mount an “Operation Save Starmer” in the aftermath of May 7 to try and keep their boss in his job.
Another significant flaw in the plan to oust the PM is that any new leader would be under intense pressure to call an early general election, possibly as soon as next year.
“You couldn’t have a new leader coming in with an entirely different policy prospectus and not go to the country,” said one Labour insider. “The public simply wouldn’t wear it.”
For those Labour MPs who are all-but guaranteed to lose their seats, a general election in 2027 is not an attractive prospect.
Others are less certain of Starmer’s imminent demise, however, pointing to the fact that the PM’s critics cannot agree on his replacement.
“Nothing’s going to happen until the cabinet can agree on who should take over,” said a Labour veteran.
Defence secretary John Healey has his supporters, while foreign secretary Yvette Cooper – who stood for the leadership in 2015 – is said to be taking soundings from Labour MPs.
“Yvette is definitely sniffing around it,” said an insider. “There’s some talk of her doing a deal with Wes [Streeting], which could see him become her chancellor.”
Of course, Streeting has not given up his leadership ambitions, although one party grandee said the health secretary’s own links to Mandelson mean his hopes of becoming PM are now “done”.
Angela Rayner’s ongoing entanglements with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs over her tax affairs would appear to rule out any leadership challenge in the short-term.
Andy Burnham’s enduring popularity with the public – a rarity for a senior Labour politician these days – means he is favoured by many MPs.
“The Burnham train has left the station and everybody will be clambering to get on it,” an MP told HuffPost UK.
But until he can find a way back to Westminster – he is believed to have his eye on Peter Dowd’s Bootle seat – his leadership hopes remain on hold.

“I think the best way to describe the current situation is ‘stuck’,” said one source. “But the election results are going to be disastrous and that could trigger a response – that could be the thing that unsticks it.”
One MP who remains supportive of Starmer said his removal was “not going to happen”.
“There could be a reshuffle, but nothing more,” the MP said. “None of the contenders is able to move right now.”
A cabinet minister conceded “it’s been a bad week” for Starmer, but insisted the speculation about his future was “overdone”.
“It was aways going to be difficult local elections period, but I really don’t think there’s a huge desire for change or a settled view on what any change would be.
“The point of changing is that the person with whom you replace the prime minister is definitely better than him. Who is that person?”
“Biden left it too late to go and helped usher in Trump. Keir is helping usher in Farage”
A government source said the growing campaign to oust the PM could provoke its own backlash.
He said: “I think a lot of MPs will take a dim view of what is a concerted campaign to push out a Labour prime minister, and that could lead to a ‘rally round the flag’ moment.
“If the question is who can best lead this country through a geopolitical crisis and has the gravitas to manage all these conflicts, I think Keir is pretty much the best answer to that question.
“John and Yvette are undoubtedly very capable people, but I think Keir is a better answer that Streeting, Rayner and Burnham.
“Of course it’s been a really difficult week, but I don’t think it’s going to change anything fundamentally.
“I don’t think any of the other candidates can answer the question of would they be better, or how can they manage a transition process to a new PM that doesn’t knock us out of government for a generation.”
Another insider said there was a far more pragmatic reason for the other leadership contenders not to move against Starmer just yet.
“If I was Angie or Wes looking at the economic fallout of the Iran war, I’d think that getting into power this summer looks much less appetising than it did six months ago when we were looking at a growing economy, falling NHS waiting lists and falling inflation,” they said.
“If it were me I’d be thinking ‘do I want to be in charge now’.”
The PM’s spokesman stretched credulity on Friday when he told reporters that his boss will be in charge until the next election and beyond.
“He’s very focused on the job,” the spokesman said. “He will continue to lead the government throughout this parliament and beyond.
“He’s got a huge amount of work to do, the governments got a huge amount of work to do.
“We’ve set out a significant programme of domestic reform, including bringing down NHS waiting lists, tackling the cost of living and investing in security and defence. That’s where the prime minister is fully focused.”
Few truly believe that Starmer will still be prime minister by the time of the next election.
But it is by no means certain that May 7 will trigger an unstoppable chain of events which will see him depart No.10 within weeks.
Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.
Politics
Growing Up With A Dad Old Enough To Be My Grandfather
The first time a kid in my kindergarten class asked, “Is that your grandfather?” when my dad dropped me off at school, embarrassment consumed me.
My dad didn’t look like the other dads; what little hair he had was silvering, and he had deep wrinkles that sank into his face.
I remember the stubborn certainty of being six years old and wanting to blend in.
“I don’t want you to walk me into school anymore,” I told my dad.
I didn’t yet have the language for difference. I only understood sameness, who matched and who didn’t. I just wanted to fit in.
“Please? I’ll walk you to your classroom door quietly,” he asked,
But I was firm, saying: “No. Just wait here. I can go by myself.”
He slid my Little Mermaid backpack onto my tiny shoulders. Just as I reached the front gate, I turned around to see his worn Gucci loafers, thick-rimmed reading glasses and pomaded hair. He blew a kiss in my direction, and I waved to show I’d made it safely – eager to hurry him along.
I’m the only product of my dad’s second marriage (and his second divorce). With two half-siblings 20 years older than me, I grew up as an only child. I vacillated between worshipping him as the creator of all fun (he’d play Talking Heads while I jumped on the bed) to treating him as a humiliating, old appendage. His inevitable extinction was always on the horizon, and it scared me.
Today, walking up the brick staircase of my childhood home, I reach the front door, painted green now instead of red. To my right, under the mail slot, is an opaque garbage bag. I can make out a heap of Depends and baby wipes inside.
As footsteps approached the front door, I brushed the small pearls of sweat gathering at the nape of my neck. Returning home always unsettles me.
“Hi, come on in. He’s just taking a nap,” his caregiver smiles at me.
I spent 18 years in this house, and every college break after, and now it feels like an echo of what it used to be. The dining room is lined with boxes of bottled water and Ensure, and the table is piled high with mail and old newspapers.
As I make my way to the den, I see my father, now 91, lying back in his chair. Our 54-year age difference feels wider than ever. I know he has a feeding tube, though I can’t see it beneath the pile of blankets on his lap.
“Hi, Daddy!” I bellow as I sit beside him. I take his hands in mine and begin to warm them as I try to rouse him from his deep slumber. These were the hands that reached out for me in our pool when he was teaching me how to swim. The hands that once pushed me higher on the yellow Fisher Price swing now seemed tired and weak. His leathery fingers begin to wiggle, and his eyes slowly blink open.
“Hiiiiiiiii,” he croaks.
“Do you know who this is?” his caretaker asks as she begins to lift his recliner.
“A nice lady?” my dad replies through a mouth of decaying yellow teeth. He no longer allows anyone to clean them. As his memory waned, his refusals grew stronger.
I gazed into his hazel eyes. “It’s me, Jordan. Your daughter,” I answer, trying to stay as upbeat as possible while a piece of me disintegrates inside.
This happens every time. The fact that he doesn’t remember me is soul-crushing. How do you introduce yourself to the man who taught you how to play gin rummy? Watching his eyes move across your face as if he’s trying to place you. Realising that the archive of your shared life, birthdays, park adventures and driving lessons, now lives only in you.
It isn’t just that he forgets me. It’s that I remember everything alone.
In 2010, the summer I graduated from college in New York, my father was diagnosed with cancer. He decided to wait until the day after graduation to tell me about his diagnosis so as not to “ruin my big day”.
“The melanoma has spread to a lymph node in my right thigh, so I have to have it removed,” he explained.
“Do you want me to come home for your surgery?” I asked.
“No. I don’t want to disrupt your summer. I’ll be fine,” he replied.
“I really don’t mind. I can take care of you,” I insisted.
“You don’t have to,” he said, and he reached for my hand and held it tightly in his.
Then a familiar feeling swept over me: shame. But this time it was directed not at him, but at myself. I was such an ungrateful daughter. What my dad lacked in youth, he made up for in generous parenting. From crawling around on the floor with me in his dress trousers to doing a one-man singing competition of all the Disney princes, to taking me to see David Bowie in concert, his talents for making me smile were infinite.
And after all the effort and energy he put into my happiness, I’d always wanted to trade him in for a younger model. All I wanted now was to tell him how sorry I was.
“I’ll be there,” I said.
Two weeks later, I was in my childhood kitchen, fixing my dad a plate of egg salad and multigrain toast. Post-surgery, he was on bed rest. During those weeks, I showed him how to reduce his oedema by elevating his legs against the wall (I had just completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training) and brought him green tea. It was the first time I had catered to him since preparing him breakfast-in-bed for Father’s Day in 1995: cottage cheese with half a banana, and coffee with creamer.
During his recovery, I would sit at his bedside and rummage through his keepsake box, pulling out mementos from his past. He would tell me stories of his mother’s victory garden in Boyle Heights and of hiding behind blackout curtains during Japanese bomb scares in World War II.
My father saw The Wizard of Oz when it first came out in theatres and ran out into the lobby, horrified by the Wicked Witch. As a boy, he would listen to Captain Midnight on the radio and flip through Norman Rockwell pictures in the Saturday Evening Post. My father was a rivet in America’s “Golden Years.”

Photo Courtesy Of Jordan Ashley
Last year, I had important news to share with him. “Look, Daddy, this is my ring. I’m getting married in just a few months,” I projected as I flicked my wrist back and forth to show him my diamond.
“Wow, congratulations, honey,” he exclaimed as drool began to seep down his chin.
I quickly grabbed one of the many washcloths, the same ones he used to clean me with during bath time, now withered and tattered, just like he was. Through his rosy cheeks and rotting smile, a genuine sweetness radiated.
“Do you want me to read you a story?” I asked.
Going into my childhood bedroom, still filled with my picture books and stuffed animals, but now also lined with his folded laundry, diapers and medicinal lotions. Grabbing Goodnight Moon off the shelf, I thought of how he used to always read it to me.
Now living in London, I come home at least three times a year to see my dad. Sitting for 10.5 hours to fly across the world, I always remind myself that I don’t want any regrets.
As I opened the first page, I looked at him, and the same twinge of bitterness ran through me. A feeling that I always carried. This isn’t fair. Two of my best friends had married just months before, and their fathers walked them down the aisle. That was never in the cards for me.
“OK, here we go,” I said as I opened the first page.
“In the great green room,
“Goodnight stars, goodnight air…”
The lines hung between us, small and delicate, stretching across the decades that separated my father and me. I brushed a kiss over his bald head, feeling the weight of years that we never had together and the fullness of all the ways he had shown up anyway. In the quiet of that moment, I understood how much love can compress a lifetime, even when time itself is limited.
“Goodnight noises everywhere, Dad.”
Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.
Politics
Will Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Get A Season 2? Everything We Know
For some fans, it already feels like a lifetime ago since Netflix closed the book on Stranger Things with a fifth and final season so divisive fans even concocted a theory about a secret final, final episode.
One antidote to the turmoil of the cult show wrapping up after almost 10 years, was the promise of spin-offs, the first being an animated series shaped by original creators the Duffer brothers.
Tales From ’85 arrived on Netflix this week, and although it may have received mixed reviews from the critics, plenty of fans have been won over by the fresh invention, while others are left wondering about future instalments in the sc-fi saga outside the animated series.
Here’s everything we know about the future of Stranger Things…
Will there be a Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season 2?

Netflix is yet to make an official announcement on that front. However, based on what the cast and creators are saying, it hasn’t been ruled out.
What we do know is that showrunner Eric Robles is interested in exploring those characters further in the future, and making sure it ties in cleanly with the rest of the Stranger Things universe.
“The hopes are, if we continue with the series, we’ll make sure that we kind of tie it right back to the beginning of season three,” he told the Radio Times, referring to Tales From ’85 and its taking place between the events of season two and three of the original Netflix series.
Meanwhile Brooklyn Davey Norstedt – who voices Eleven in the series, taking over from Millie Bobby Brown – is also keen for a fresh run of episodes.
“That would be amazing,” she enthused when asked about a second season. “I know they definitely have ideas,.
“I think, right now, they’re really focused on the launch of season one,” Brooklyn added. “I think it’s going to be a great one for families to see together. We’re just all very pumped for the first season, and if anything else comes from it, that would be great.”

What could Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 season 2 be about?
Whether or not it comes to fruition, it looks like Tales From ’85 has been left in such a way that a second season would be an easy pick-up.
As well as finishing on a cliffhanger, there are some characters still knocking around at the end of the series that we know don’t exist in the original Stranger Things universe, such as Marty Supreme star Odessa A’zion’s character, Nikki.
With showrunner Robles already saying he hopes to bring Tales From ’85 right back round to where season three of the original Netflix show begins, that means there’s some loose ends (and characters) to tie up.
Could a new season of regular Stranger Things be in the works?
Sadly, there’s no way back for the Stranger Things we know and love.
Making the wise decision to quit while they’re ahead and dodge any “gross cash grabs”, the Duffer brothers have remained firm in their stance that season five was the final chapter for the existing cast and the world they inhabited.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter shortly after season five finished, Matt Duffer explained: “Mike’s closing the basement door. We’re closing the door on the story.”
“That’s one reason we had the closing credits the way we did, because it was a way of saying: ‘This is finite. This is the end of their story. It’s the end of the story of Mike and Eleven and Joyce and Hopper’.” he added.
“So, no, there’s no plan or intention to tell the story because it’s a coming-of age story. Ultimately, that’s what it’s supposed to be. That’s what the show always was. When he closes the door to the basement, he’s closing the door on his childhood and he’s moving onto adulthood.”
We won’t hold our breath, then.

What about other Stranger Things spin-offs?
While it’s the end of live-action Stranger Things in its original format, the Duffer brothers have teased an intriguing addition to the universe.
“It’s early days but we’re excited about it,” Matt Duffer told the BBC back in November. “It’s new characters and a new mystery, so it’s different, but it will be in the same world as Stranger Things.”
One person who’s clued up on the spin-off is Finn Wolfhard aka Mike, who accidentally guessed the plot of the series and confirmed that, unlike Stranger Things, the new project wouldn’t be set in the 1980s.
Finn previously spoke to Variety about that prediction, saying it would be “like David Lynch’s Twin Peaks” and “sort of an anthology” with “different tones” but a “similar” or “same universe”.
Of course, there’s also still the chance to see the Stranger Things play on both the West End and Broadway

Stage show Stranger Things: The First Shadow is booking in London until 6 September 2026, or if you fancy a trip across the pond you can also see it on Broadway.
The First Shadow show is set in Hawkins, 1959 “before the world turned upside down” and is based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers.
It also features well-known characters like Joyce, Jim Hopper and Dr Brenner played by stage actors and has picked up five-star reviews for its “truly dark” take on the franchise.
Earlier this year, it was also reported that the Broadway play had been recorded for a rumoured Netflix special.
Stranger Things and season one of Tales From ’85 are both streaming now on Netflix.
Politics
Half Man Cast: Where You’ve Seen The Stars Of Richard Gadd’s New Drama Before
The more emotionally robust among us might have already plunged straight into Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd’s new series Half Man. To those people we say congratulations – and can we maybe have the number for your therapist?
Already hoovering up praise and criticism alike for its “emotionally shattering” depiction of two brothers and the fragility of male relationships, the BBC is perhaps wisely drip-feeding one new episode of Half Man every Friday, rather than releasing the whole series at once.
Meanwhile, if you’re a regular TV viewer, you’ll likely have seen more than a few members of the cast – led by Richard and co-star Jamie Bell – before.
Here’s why the stars of Half Man might look familiar…
Richard Gadd

Comedian, actor and writer Richard made his major breakthrough with the six-time Emmy-winning Netflix series Baby Reindeer, an adaptation of his one-man comedy show about his own experiences of sexual violence and being stalked.
If you don’t recognise him from that, or his irreverent stand-up comedy career, you might have seen him in the 2022 Disney+ action comedy series Wedding Season, where he had a recurring role as Conrad.
Richard has also appeared opposite Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays in cop comedy Code 404 as well as appearing in the likes of Clique, Urban Myths, Humans and Outlander.
Jamie Bell

Tiger Aspect Pics/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jamie Bell burst onto the scene as a child actor, playing unlikely ballet dancer Billy Elliot in the 2000 film of the same name, which made him the youngest person to win a Bafta for Best Actor, aged just 14.
Since then, he’s appeared as The Thing in Marvel’s Fantastic Four, as well as films as varied as The Adventures of Tintin, All Of Us Strangers (as Andrew Scott’s dad, no less), Rocketman, Nymphomaniac, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool and Jane Eyre.
On the small screen, Jamie most recently starred as serial killer Harper Curtis in Apple TV+ sci-fi series Shining Girls, alongside Elisabeth Moss.
He also portrayed real-life spy Abraham Woodhull in the historical drama series Turn: Washington’s Spies, and was recently announced to be taking over from Cillian Murphy as the lead in the new Peaky Blinders spin-off.
Neve McIntosh

Neve McIntosh most recently appeared as Miss Harbottle in the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great & Small, but she had a string of TV and film appearances under her belt long before that.
You might have also seen Neve in Doctor Who, where she’s appeared as three different characters – silurian sisters Alaya and Restac as well as Madame Vastra.
Her other TV credits include Gormenghast, Doc Martin, The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Bodies, Single Father, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Shetland and Tin Star.
Theatre-goers, meanwhile, might have seen her in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations in 2006.
Charlie De Melo

Soap devotees will know Charlie De Melo for his role as Coronation Street’s Imran Habeeb, which he played between 2017 and 2022.
As well as doing the soap rounds (he’s also appeared in Eastenders, Doctors and Casualty) Charlie has also appeared in The Interceptor, Still Up, Doctor Who and Ellis.
He also played Malhar Verma in three episodes of Disney+’s wildly-popular Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals.
Bilal Hasna

Bilal Hasna made his Bafta-nominated breakthrough in the superhero comedy series Extraordinary, where he played time manipulator Kash.
He also had a lead role in Prime Video comedy thriller Dead Hot, while Black Mirror aficionados might also have clocked Bilal in season seven finale USS Callister: Into Infinity.
Over on the big screen, Bilal played the titular British-Palestinian drag queen in Layla, and more recently appeared in the Bollywood-meets-Dickens festive film Christmas Karma.
Amy Manson

As well as playing Alice Guppy in Torchwood, Amy Manson has had TV roles in everything from Casualty to Desperate Romantics, Being Human, Outcasts, The Nevers and Once Upon A Time.
Most recently, she’s appeared as Giselle in Netflix’s The Diplomat as well as Paramount+ series The Chemistry Of Death, Bodies (along with Half Man co-star Neve) and the BBC’s Scottish crime drama Rebus.
Our favourite role of hers, though, has to be when she appeared as the hallucinated Anne Boleyn in the Princess Diana drama Spencer, appearing opposite Kristen Stewart.
Stuart McQuarrie

Stuart McQuarrie has had some punchy film roles to date, appearing in 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, Blood, Mr Turner and The Nest to name a few.
On TV, you might have seen him in Taggart, Silent Witness, Foundation, The Tower, Shetland, Life Begins or The Crown, where he played British politician George Thomson.
More recently, he’s appeared in The Rig as Colin Murchison opposite Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire, Martin Compston and Mark Bonnar.
Tim Downie

Comedy fans will likely recognise Tim Downie from his appearances in classic series like Peep Show (where he played Mark Corrigan’s dodgy literary agent), as well as Toast Of London, Miranda, Heading Out, Upstart Crow, Chewing Gum and Hapless.
Tim’s also cropped up in drama series like Nicola Coughlan’s Big Mood, Jekyll & Hyde and Skins.
Film buffs might recognise him from his roles in The King’s Speech, Les Misérables, Paddington, War Machine and The Mercy.
Episode one of Half Man is streaming on BBC iPlayer now, with new instalments every Friday.
Politics
Why You Should Never Use Cooking Sprays On Nonstick Pans
We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how olive oil might not be the best choice for roasting spuds.
It turns out the kind of oil you use for nonstick pans matters no matter what you’re cooking in them, too.
According to cookware brand Circulon, “there are several reasons to avoid using cooking sprays on your nonstick cookware”.
Why are cooking sprays so bad for nonstick pans?
Speaking to the New York Times’ Wirecutter, Fran Groesbeck, a managing director of the Cookware and Bakeware Alliance trade association, said that – ironically – some non-stick sprays can ruin the coating on your pans.
They can leave a thin film behind after use, she said, and it’s especially hard to spot on nonstick pans.
“You can’t necessarily see that residue, because nonstick coatings are all black, but if you don’t properly clean it off after you’re done cooking, then your food will start to stick.”
This film is made up of ingredients not usually seen in non-spray oils, like soy lecithin. As they linger on an often-reheated pan, they polymerise, becoming next-to-impossible to remove.
But that’s not the only unwanted side effect. Because these sprays typically have a lower smoke point than many other oils, they begin to burn on your pan – corroding the nonstick surface further.
Speaking to EatingWell, cookware company Our Place’s associate director of product development, Stephanie Hong, said: “Many spray oils also contain chemical propellants, which are prone to breaking down under high heat. This instability can lead to scorching, residue buildup and long-term damage to the nonstick surface, ultimately causing the very sticking you were trying to avoid.”
What should I use instead?
If you want to use less oil, try wiping your nonstick pan with a paper towel dipped in your usual oil, Circulon shared.
Alternatively, you could place regular oils in a mister bottle, though Hong warns this could carry its own risks.
“The ultra-fine oil particles (even from pure oil options or refillable oil-misters) can burn and carbonise during cooking, leaving behind a stubborn residue that bonds to the pan’s surface and gradually impacts the pan’s nonstick performance,” she told EatingWell.
She added, “To preserve the quality and lifespan of your nonstick pans, skip aerosol sprays” altogether.
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