Charles GoldbergNewtown Square, Pa.To the Editor:Kudos to David Brooks’s extraordinary lesson on being human. The only missing element was the power of humor, particularly when it is directed at oneself. Burdened by a debilitating stutter in my youth, I learned to laugh at it and myself. I found that self-deprecating jokes disarmed those inclined to ridicule me and invited in the compassionate. Armed with Mr. Brooks’s advice, I will try to devote my remaining years to listening, and speaking, with a human ear.

---

Persons: David Brooks, Brooks, “, Joe Posnanski, ”, Charles Goldberg, David Brooks’s, Tom Wilcox Boca, Robert Judkins Organizations: Concord Academy, Baltimore Community Foundation Locations: Pa, Tom Wilcox Boca Grande, Fla, Tenn