Chapter 3
The Comfort Factor: Exposure Without Feeling Exposed
In the fall of 1980, I learned that The New York Times had decided to buy a personal essay I had written about the challenges and frustrations of college teaching. Before I had more than two minutes to celebrate, the telephone rang again. Someone from the Times’ photography department was on the line.
“We’d like to send out a photographer to take your picture,” he said.
“You’re kidding,” I replied. So focused had I been on polishing the article to please the Times that this possibility hadn’t occurred to me. It dampened my excitement. “Gee, I don’t know if I want to have my picture in The New York Times.”
“Whyever not?”
I wasn’t sure how to explain the reluctance I felt. “I don’t ...

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