During this pandemic, I keep reflecting on the opening lines of Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times and the worst of times.  The words suggest that fate has a fickle side.  For example, thieves might be happy that wearing a mask in public is acceptable.

Many times I’ve noted a large gap exists between what our brain tells us about the world and truth. My novel Trompe l’Oeil is a study of that gap – the difference between appearance and reality. Even so, we infinitely small creatures of a small planet among billions of galaxies

I’ve said nothing about the tragedy unfolding in the Middle East and the refugees who are fleeing from almost certain death.   What have I to contribute to the discussion?  Failed solutions of the past are already being revisited.  We can harden our hearts to the misery, as Isra