In a recent column, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, an assiduous observer of our present plight, wrote that “this is the week when memories rush back from childhood.”

I’ll second that.

A particular memory from my own childhood is that of an oft-told retelling by my grandmother in her role as an observer of another national crisis a century ago. And as you can expect about any crisis, memories of death and dying are long lasting and have a way of sometimes erasing the happy memories of birthday parties, proms, and the like. Here’s my example.

Grandmother […]