I talked to someone the other day so convinced of their view of things, the grand sweeping view that melds truthful bits with invention and fantasy, that I left the conversation wishing to run out into the street and stop a passer-by, a dog-walker, an evening routine exercise-taker, anybody, to ask them questions with obvious answers, just to reassure myself I had not slipped and lost my sense of reality.

There is this Mr. Rogers quotation that floats around online whenever there has been a tragic event. Surely almost everyone has heard that phrase, “look to the helpers,” given the number of tragic events that have piled up like rotten fruit. It might be argued that a variation on this theme could apply, for adults, in times of confusion: look to those who are doing good, those who are calm, those who are thoughtful.