True, Babysteps, you're not alone here. I believe you when you talk of your insecurities and loneliness. I believe you too, Alaskan, concerning your isolation. And it makes me sad. You and many others here are so full of love and care, yet an illness has piled a mountain of debris against the door of living relationships.

I feel grateful, though, I've gotten a glimpse of you all through this electronic keyhole. What I see is at once beautiful and terrible - people of paradise living in hell.

Were I a superhero, I'd scatter that mountain and open the door. But I'm not.