Zegerman thought that it was imperative to get Arty Groys home, to set him up, with his bad leg and weak heart, in bed or on his sofa, with pillows and remotes and restorative liquids, and to discuss his dietary preferences, so that she would know what to buy at the grocery store.

NEWYORKER: The Valetudinarian

Procrustes was a nasty little fellow from Greek mythology who would invite guests into his home and then either stretch or amputate parts of their legs to make them fit just right in his guest bed.

FORBES: Nassim Taleb's 'Antifragile' Celebrates Randomness In People, Markets

Between classes, on the bus or before going to bed at night, he would type single sentences into his phone's tiny keypad, uploading each one straight to the mobile social networking site Mobage-town.

CNN: Cell phone stories writing new chapter in print publishing

Back home in Illinois, healing in his childhood bed, he dreamed every night that he was in Iraq, unable to save people, or else in mortal peril himself.

NEWYORKER: Betrayed