Death.

Found out this morning that a theater friend in Cedar Rapids lost her father last night. He had suffered a stroke two years prior. They celebrated Thanksgiving together...that was nice. It's very difficult. What do you say? Nothing seems poignant at the time. I want to help her but what can I really do?

"Soon the ice will melt, and the blackbirds singalong the river which he frequented, as pleasantly as ever.The same everlasting serenity will appear in this face of God,and we will not be sorrowful, if he is not."

- Henry David Thoreau, from a letter to Lucy Brown dated March 2, 1842, following the death of Thoreau's brother