DANCING AROUND PINKIES

My brother called me last night.

I do enjoy hearing from him - he's my only brother, and both of our parents have passed away.

But after an hour and a half of musical narratives and then thirty minutes with a monologue on the creation of his latest composition...

I must admit to being more than a little relieved when I can politely end the oration ("Oh, yeah, the spacecraft just landed, gotten get thru customs at Mars, I'll catch you later, okay?").

A huge part of it is my brother's incapacity to allow the normal give-and-take of a conversation.

But it's also almost impossible to hurt his feelings. In any way, shape, or form.

And that is incredibly refreshing.