Even at age 72, I sometimes wake in the night frightened. It happened earlier tonight, around 2am. It’s happened thousands of times, going way back to when I was a little kid. Yet it often still shocks and shakes me, as if it were the first time. For a while I just lie here scared and bewildered, with no idea what to do or how to look after myself. But sooner or later, I remember. I put on some gentle music, reach for my beloved bedside notebook, sit very still and listen. Then … I write.