But we made our own fun, mostly. I recall a time, many years later, when American children seemed unable to amuse themselves without a fortune in electrical and electronic equipment. We had no fancy equipment and did not miss it.

Stuart must have sensed my despair from the way I began lightly banging my forehead on the table.

I'm Keith," he said, "and you're . . . clearly mad, but what's your name?

The kids I talk to are readers, and the craziest, the most dedicated readers you will ever see.

Sometimes I even felt like he dated me as part of his plan, like they were going to have a checklist on the application, and one of the things to tick off was going to be, "Do you have a reasonably intelligent girlfriend who shares your aspirations, and who is fully prepared to accept your limited availability?

You can never visit the same place twice. Each time, it's a different story. By the very act of coming back, you wipe out what came before.

Walk really, really carefully. It's not complicated, but if you mess up, you'll die, so pay attention.