Generation Vexed

October, 1999

I was a skinny and unfashionable 14-year-old from Chicago when I arrived at an exclusive all-male prep school on the East Coast. As I wolfed down ham and eggs my first morning there, I looked up to find the entire dining room staring at me with contempt. They had expected me to exhibit graciousness and good table manners, and evidently I had disappointed them.How did I react? Pugnaciously, of course. I stared back and asked loudly, "What's your fucking problem?" No one said a word, nor...