Empty

That's what my blog has been for the past few months: sad, lonely, barren. I would excuse myself on the grounds that I am busy or never seem to get around to it, or something of the sort, but that isn't true. The truth is, I have discovered something that is obvious to most people but had never occurred to me before: words, by themselves, are insufficient. A word that would be real and substantial spoken to friend over a cup of tea becomes pale and wraith-like when isolated in cyberspace. When I write on my blog and read your comments, the sense of distance is such that I only feel more desperately lonely. So, I begin to agree with Dr. Mitchell: community requires physical proximity.

And yet, I am going to give my blog another try. For, inadequate as they are, words are all I have. I have been trying to pretend that I do not need people, that I am not lonely, by ignoring all traces of the community I have lost. And this will not do: one cannot become more real by hiding from reality. Besides, it is terribly selfish to ignore one's friends whenever talking to them would make one feel badly. (Therefore, I do apologize to those of you whose letters and e-mails I have ignored, and promise to answer them soon).

And, since my blog is now resuming, here is a preview of coming attractions:

Notes on Chivalry
Death in Hartford
Adventures in Church-Hunting
Farewell, Wonderboy (tentative, pending Wonderboy's actual departure. You never can tell whether a superhero will return or not.)