ultimately, the demystification of the world was the biggest fairy tale of all. a child's magical thinking more powerful than any statistic, any empirical value. a counting rhyme suddenly came true, a crack in the pavement held unspeakable horrors, and anyone who stepped on it was irretrievably lost. against myth you could only lose. true, miracles weren't out of the question, but they couldn't be taken for granted. cause and effect were easily confused. what was desire, what was will, what merely a bodily function? become a vessel. give up calculating, acknowledge something bigger than existence. something like mercy. something like humility. one long humiliation.

judith schalansky                               an inventory of losses