Passages.

Just before dinner here in Bath, I learned that a dear friend of mine--who is also a dear friend of many of you--lost her father this morning. This loss is one of the most difficult I can imagine, even given many months of advance warning and even given the gratitude she feels that the considerable pain of a long illness has now ended. If you know her, then you also know how to reach her. Even if you don't know her, if you believe that sympathy and strength can be transmitted from well-meaning people to those in emotional need, I'll make a rare request of you: please send some strength and peace in the direction of her and her family. She is such an excellent person that we all have a lot to thank him for.