There is something so settled and stodgy about turning a great romance into next of kin on an emergency room form, and something so soothing and special, too.

Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.

It is hard to find someone who will give your children a feeling of security while it lasts and not wound them too much when it isfinished, who will treat those children as if they were her own, but knows--and never forgets--that they are yours.

So much of what you take for granted is the bedrock of happiness.

The Statue of Liberty is meant to be shorthand for a country so unlike its parts that a trip from California to Indiana should require a passport.

On the other hand, I think that Governor Romney has to worry that his turnout is going to be low, that he is not going to bring out the evangelicals, that he is not going to bring out the Tea Party stalwarts. If he does not, then it's pretty clear that he will lose the election. So I think turnout in key groups is going to be really, really key on Election Day.

Ignorant free speech often works against the speaker. That is one of several reasons why it must be given rein instead of suppressed.