Due to circumstances truly beyond my control, I have started a new tradition for Christmas: I’m not doing it. Not that I won’t enjoy the eggnog, other people’s Christmas cards, trees, wreaths, colored lights — and, especially, partridges in pear trees: Do you have any idea how much those birds will set you back these days, even if you skip the...

My friends are worried about me. They think I’ve gone over the edge because of the current stress in my life. Well, stress does do strange things to a person. You hit the wrong number on your speed dial and insist on talking to the person you thought you had called (Is this the party to whom I am speaking — or what?), you try to make a call with the remote, or...