Did it really make all the difference?
Suppose, just suppose, one of the most famous quotes in poetry didn't mean what many readers -- and countless posters, coffee cups and other slogan-adorned merchandise -- think it does. That may well be the case with Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." You know the lines -- Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- / I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference. We view those lines, most often out of context, as being an inspirational reflection on forging our own paths, eschewing the way of the masses to find something better, probably, overlooked by the crowds who prefer the comfortable, well known routines that dominate daily life. Take a chance, the lines seem to cry out, and you'll find serendipity that will completely change your life. Surely this is the case sometimes. We discover new music, new art, new food, new relationships that we gratefully recognize as being so much more interesting and challenging than the beaten paths we ha...