hell! the alumni association had to send me a newsletter and smack in the middle of it is charlesvandersee's photo, along with some spiel about the echols program and sofka's picture took up the other half of the page.

i miss charles vandersee, and can do with some of his life counsel now.

thinking about giving up the years of your life. kundera and jaromil and life is elsewhere. i always wonder about that arrogance ofbelieving in immortality of which the young so frequently are accused, but which seems in particular lacking for our group. and thinking last night, while talking to various people, how so many of us believe we will die young, or soon enough - and that again isn't just the morbidity of the young (possible precisely because of that secret belief in immortality), but has to do with the peculiar readiness not to continue. and talking to minyin (who has just come out of her psychiatry rotation) about the rationale and rationality of suicide and sufficient cause.