Lifestyle

FICTION

PHILADELPHIA — Forget red states and blue states.

Correlation does not prove causation, drummed my grad school statistics professor. For example, a rise in the rate of American children who regularly consume lox and a concurrent rise in Type 2 diabetes among American children does not, in and of itself, prove lox consumption increases the risk of diabetes. Proving the contention would require a control group. Nonetheless, a correlation hints at the possibility of cause-and-effect and is grounds for further study.

Whenever a baseball or softball player gets to first base, the first-base coach slides over toward the player and offers some information and guidance. The player responds with some additional thoughts.

“The Church of Baseball: The Making of ‘Bull Durham’: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings and a Hit” by Ron Shelton (Knopf)

If the size of an individually wrapped Starburst is a little small for your taste (as in, you want more than one but they take so long to unwrap!), these new Starburst Swirlers are for you. A swirl of cherry-lemon, strawberry-orange or cherry-strawberry mix together in a stick that’s about 5 inches long (also individually wrapped). And at only 40 calories a stick, they are just the right bit of tangy sweetness for a treat.

Shoppers, welcome to the good side of supply chain disruptions.

PHILADELPHIA — From a warehouse in Pennsauken, Rick Forman built the Forman Mills discount retail chain into a 36-store network, then sold it to private equity investors in 2016.

Dear Answer Angel Ellen: I recently received an email from a company where I’ve bought jeans and casual wear many times (it’s the Gap) with a headline that grabbed my attention: “This bra = your summer top.” So, I clicked on it and found a “ribbed bralette,” which the ad boasts, “You made it your favorite crop top ever” (gap.com, $24.99 on sale). The model looks great, but she looks like she’s wearing just a bra with her jeans. If you have a good figure, is it OK to practically wear your underwear out on the street?

Q. My ex is always making plans for our child on my time, particularly when there is a holiday that requires some creativity to navigate. He looks for loopholes in the custody order to keep our son longer than he is supposed to. When I tell him to bring our son home, he gets angry and says, “He IS home!” then calls law enforcement, hoping the police will read the custody order as he does. My ex treats this like a game. He wins, I lose. It’s exhausting and scaring our son. What’s good ex-etiquette?