[Bookie]

I've been to parties like that, Ima, and they can be fun.

What strikes me about the Joneses is how busy they seem. Their lives are filled with events, acquisitions, excursions and commitments. They schedule their leisure as tightly as they do their working hours. They're forever in touch, on the go, arriving or departing. Their homes are spacious, but when are they home? They glory in having the latest toys, but when do they find time to play? They buy the best for the children they don't have time to parent. They never stop long enough to ask where they think they're going.

I know them, have them as friends (or try to), love some of them, but, ultimately I find them exhausting. What I miss in them is any sense of repose. What I find lacking is any sense of joy. One of my best-kept secrets is the pity with which I regard them, these sadly deluded people who succeed at anything they try and fail at everything that matters.