A whole new vista, unexpected but clear, opened up as I sat next to and conversed with Dr. Wisdom on a border-crossing shuttle, going from Alabama to Georgia the first weekend in November. There we were, sitting side by side as we pulled out of Auburn heading for Atlanta to get to our northern flights on time, one going to the Midwest and the other heading East.

Transition was in the air. The calendar had shifted; so had the hour. Daylight was ebbing and January was waiting in the wings. Thanksgiving was just a heart-beat away, and a time of renewal, adjustment, and change was in the ascendant, which meant the death and demise of another year.