Dear Ms. Goodman: Happy Birthday!

I know you were born in Boston in 1941 and began your career as a researcher and reporter for Newsweek (1963-1965).

You joined the Boston Globe in 1967 and are currently a columnist and associate editor with the newspaper.

You wrote brilliantly about social change in your book Turning Points (1979), your columns have been collected in several books, and your remarkable commentary won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.

I have always enjoyed and respected your syndicated column because your words go beyond "who what when where." You write with honesty and power. Your style and flair inspire both intellectually and emotionally.

Often, when I finish a piece you've written, I think, "thank you, thank you for finding and placing the perfect words on paper."

You once said, "Things keep changing and things keep happening. I never really run out of ideas. I guess as long as I'm interested, I'll be interesting."

Please continue to be interested.

Signed,
A Big Fan.

Life is a growth stage we're all going through.