A Sad Return

It has been a long time since I could bear to look at my blog without being overcome by sadness and grief, as I miss my friend a great deal. I could not bear to write anything and let the note I had posted the day after she died in my arms slide down the page like just another ephemeral comment on politics. My friendly webmaster and his colleagues have created a place where I can keep my thoughts on her on the page. (See the upper right.)

I have worked a great deal since losing her, despite having been both very sad and quite ill for some time from pertussis (aka whooping cough), parasites, and a thankfully brief viral liver infection. During that time I have traveled and worked in thirteen countries (plus various cities in the US) and gotten some things done, in addition to reading several stacks of books. I’ll report on some of the books later, including my readings on the rather surprising intellectual roots of neoconservatism, on economic history, on the philosophical case for “redistribution,” on ancient and contemporary Chinese history, on Central European literature, and on various other topics. I’ll also try to find the time to organize the notes I have been setting aside for a short essay on friendship occasioned by some of the things I learned from the best friend I have ever had. This year has been a very bad year for me, but I will try to make the next one better.