Mark Bertram lost the tips of two fingers at work in 2018 when his hand became trapped in a fan belt. “It’s life-changing but it’s not life-ending,” he says. “Doing work is harder now. Everything is just a little different.”

After two surgeries and occupational therapy, Bertram decided to make light of his condition by asking Eric Catalano，a tattoo（纹身）artist，to create fingernail tattoos. The idea made everyone in the studio laugh—until they saw the final result. “The mood changed,” Catalano recalls from his Eternal Ink Tattoo Studio in Hecker, Illinois.” Everything turned from funny to wow.”

When Catalano posted a photo of the tattoos, a pair of fingernails looking so real that no one could believe their eyes, he had no idea the image would eventually be viewed by millions of people around the world.

The viral photo pushed Catalano, 40, further into the world of paramedical tattooing. Now people with life-altering scars come from as far away as Ireland to visit his shop. Using flesh-toned inks and a needle, Catalano transforms his clients’ view of themselves.

Leslie Pollan, 32, a dog breeder in Oxford, Mississippi, was bitten on the face by a puppy in 2014.After undergoing countless surgeries to correct a scar on her lip but in vain, she ultimately turned to Catalano, who covered her lip scar, giving her back a piece of her confidence. Pollan says,“ It made me have a different outlook on life.”

“Every time I see that emotion from my customers, I’m 100 percent sure this is something that I can’t stop doing.”

Just over six months ago, I saw an advertisement in the Morning Mail for a set of the complete works of William Shakespeare. Your company, Cosmo books Ltd, offered this set (eight books of plays and two books of poetry) at what was claimed (宣称) to be a ‘remarkable’ price: fifteen pounds and fifty pence, including postage and packing. I had wanted a set of Shakespeare’s plays and poems for some time, and these books, in red imitation leather, looked particularly attractive; so I sent for them.

Two weeks later, the books arrived, together with a set of the complete works of Charles Dickens which I had not ordered. So I returned the Dickens books to you, with a cheque (支票) for fifteen pounds and fifty pence for the works of Shakespeare. Two more weeks passed. Then there arrived on my doorstep a second set of the works of Shakespeare, the same set of novels by Dickens and a six book set of the plays of Moliere, in French. Since I do not read French, these were of no use to me at all. However, I could not afford (付得起) to post all these books back to you, so I wrote to you at the end of August of last year, instructing you to come and collect all the books that I did not want, and asking you not to send any other books until further notice.

You did not reply to that letter. Instead you sent me a bill for forty two pounds, and a set of the plays of Shiller, in German. Since then, a new set of books has arrived every two weeks, the works of Goethe, the poems of Milton, the plays of Strindberg; I hardly know what I have. The books are still all in their boxes, in the garage, and my car has to stand in the rain outside. I have no room for any more books, and even if I read from now until the Last Judgment, I should not finish reading all the books that you have sent me.

Please send no more books, send no more bills, send no more angry letters demanding payment. Just send one large lorry and take all the books away, leaving me only with the one set of the complete works of Shakespeare for which I have paid.

Yours faithfully,

SIMON WALKER

Imagine being able to update your wardrobe (衣橱) without spending a dollar. This seemingly too-good-to-be-true idea is entirely possible if you host a clothing swap (交换) party with friends. Here’s how to go about doing it.

Send out an invitation

Invite the right number of people of more than 10 and less than 20. 【小题1】 You can set minimum and maximum numbers of pieces guests need to bring, if you want. Be clear about what makes a piece swap-worthy, i. e. no stains, washed, ironed. 【小题2】 They can be women’s, children’s clothing, footwear, etc. Remind guests to bring a bag or box to carry their new finds home and to wear undergarments that facilitate changing.

Set up your living room for the swap

It’s more fun if the space looks like a store, so group like items with like. Fold jeans in a neat pile, clear a table and make a clothing rack (支架) using a long curtain bar. 【小题3】

Make snacks and cocktails

I recently read about a group of mothers in British Columbia who drink Dirty Momma cocktails while swapping clothing on a regular basis. 【小题4】 But stay away from red wine; you don’t want those stains all over your newfound treasures.

Take turns shopping

【小题5】 Limit the number of items to three per turn to keep it fair and moving fast. Everybody goes home with the same number of items that they brought. If two friends have their eye on the same thing, have a model-off and let the group decide who wears it best. If you’re afraid of hurt feelings, flip a coin instead.