This week marked the first day I returned to the studio at the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Fayetteville to record a vodcast since my father's fatal accident almost a month ago. I didn't feel like going. Death is a thief; it robs you of the person you lose and all the time you thought you still had to love and share life with them. Grief is a thief too. It robs you of caring about work you once loved, of wanting to see and talk to people, of the will to get up, get dressed, and get out of the house. It is good that I have to work to provide for myself and my family, and that work requires me to function as a social being.

I scheduled three people to interview--all in one day--because the studio had the time, and I haven't done it in a month. We needed some episodes. Recording three would save me extra trips and more days of dressing up and wearing make-up and trying to be human when my heart has fallen out of my chest.

I usually don't mind driving by myself. I use the time to listen to podcasts or return phone calls in relative peace and quiet. My favorite pastime on a drive these days is to talk to David, who has mesmerized me with his voice........

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