Shockaholic

For Billie and Barack,

who make my world a better place.

Despite the obstacles you’ve had to overcome—whether posed by my antics or the über-unfortunate antics of the Tea Partiers and the rest of their distressing ilk—long may you wave.

There are stars whose radiance is visible on Earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for humankind.

—Hannah Senesh, poet, playwright, and paratrooper (1921–1944)