Thank goodness we can both have a sense of humor about ourselves, Tom! That, in itself, is a help to survival.

Have I already foisted this James Baldwin quote on you? It’s from his short story about two brothers, “Sonny’s Blues”: “ For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.”

I’ll have to relay your “air of savagery and gloom” to my husband. His word for my style and tastes is “grim.”

Thanks, as always, for reading. I just located your “Survivor” and bookmarked it for tomorrow.