PARIS--The upsetting of our way of life, having a drink at the terrasse of a café with someone you love, reading, or watching people go by, to say nothing of taking in a movie at the theater (in a country where Netflix is thriving, theater attendance here remains strong), by the coronavirus pandemic, has been felt painfully. It was only this week when things began looking normal again, with throngs eagerly taking over watering holes and restaurants.

"The mysteries of life. The mystery of everyone who passes us on the street. What is happening in the lives of these people? Sometimes nothing. Perhaps something.”

Strangers walk by one another and might say “hello.” Other times, we glide by, silent and unaware, not knowing what plight others are experiencing. An acknowledgment, a smile, it has importance. It could save a life, even.