If you decided to forget your clock for a while and climb down off your high-horse long enough to talk to a close friend on his front porch, what would you want to talk about? My guess is, you'd want to recall some pleasant things from your past which give you strength now, some things you worry about in today's world, and about how you could make things better if you were in charge. Well, that's what I've tried to do in this book of essays. Some...