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The Last of the Wasps

In an excerpt from Tad Friend’s new memoir, Cheerful Money, he explains the proper way to say “tomato,” where his family’s money went, and what makes him a Wasp.

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Tomatoes

When I graduated from Shipley, a small prep school in Bryn Mawr, my father’s mother, Grandma Jess, wrote to congratulate me on my academic record: “A truly tremendous achievement—but then I could expect nothing less due to your marvelous background—Robinson, Pierson, Holton, Friend!” I remember scowling at her airy blue...

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