One positive trait I acquired during the pandemic was ultra-cleanliness. I bathe lots more, and yesterday I washed my hands 19 times, not including the time I spilled sanitizer on my hairbrush. My knuckles look like walnuts...very clean walnuts.

Which leads me to ask: What really terrifies you? Have you noticed that what frightens you as an adult is different from what scared you as a child?

My first childhood fear was about an 18-foot python who escaped from our zoo. It never occurred to me that -- because it’s three times the size of a man -- it could not hide easily behind our backyard...