Babies are smart. They can tell the difference between a responsive face and a blank face, wiped clean of emotion.

Political success is often dependent on the ability to be heard above the din of controversy and debate and to set a course with one's own compass.

The political environment we create matters because a disturbed person cannot always tell the difference between explosive rhetoric and explosive actions.

I confess to feeling continued ambivalence about political life, aware of its shortcomings and disappointments, but drawn back to it again and again because of its infinite promise. Justice can triumph, wrongs can be righted, and pain can be alleviated, if the right fix is found. The optimistic illusion that one can change the world is difficult to resist, especially when from time to time that illusion is sustained by even a hint of reality. Change does happen in the political process.

When all the world appears to be in a tumult, and nature itself is feeling the assault of climate change, the seasons retain their essential rhythm. Yes, fall gives us a premonition of winter, but then, winter, will be forced to relent, once again, to the new beginnings of soft greens, longer light, and the sweet air of Spring.

A skilled worker, regardless of the job description, remains a treasure.

Children refuse to compromise. Adults learn how.