Perhaps We Are On An

I Can't Help But Think That It's An Unfortunate Custom To Name Children After People Who Come To Sticky Ends. Even If They Are Fictional Characters, It Doesn't Bode Well For The Poor Things. There Are Too Many Judes And Tesses And Clarissas And Cordelias Around. If We Must Name Our Children After Literary Figures Then We Should Search Out Happy Ones, Although It's True They Are Much Harder To Find.

Patricia Embraces Me On The Station Platform. 'the Past Is What You Leave Behind In Life, Ruby,' She Says With The Smile Of A Reincarnated Lama. 'nonsense, Patricia,' I Tell Her As I Climb On Board My Train. 'the Past's What You Take With You.

(although Anyone With Half A Brain Must Surely Be Mired In Existential Gloom All The Time)

You Must Never Believe Everything They Say About A Person. Generally Speaking, Most Of It Will Be Lies, Half-truths At Best.

I've Always Loved Mysteries, The Something There That You Didn't Know, And With 'case Histories' I Just Decide To Make That More Up-front.