It's said that it's only through adversity that we grow to new levels, learn new things, find and explore new opportunities; and I believe it. In fact, I would say that I can think of no other attribute of the human condition that I count as more true. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger." There are some kinds of adversity in life that one ought to be left to bear alone, especially in youth, where learning the responsibility of living as in independent human being is paramount. Yet there are other times, when adversity visits others, friends and loved ones, where we ourselves are presented with an opportunity to learn a thing or two about life. My wife Bea got the email hours after it happened on New Year's day. Dave's & Nacy's ranch house had burned to the ground. We were at the cabin (itself damaged in a fire three years ago), in Arnold, four hours away. Details were sketchy, of course, and that was principally due to the email coming from a friend, not Dave & Nancy themselves. They were OK; devastated, but OK. And the news: one of the dogs had been lost. This was...