taking a social media break after an overstimulated week, but first a quick note about someone important to me. For about a decade when I was a child we lived in Teaneck, NJ. Our next door neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Ford. They were our third set of grandparents - I’ve slept on basically every piece of furniture they’ve ever owned. They’d occasionally come pick me or my brothers up from school or wherever if our parents were tied up. They were family. Mr. Ford had these elaborate gardens in his front and back yard - it was artwork - that he’d spend hours tending. 5-year-old me would follow him around “helping” which really meant I would talk at this man for hours. I would literally wake up, look out my bedroom window, spot him outside, and run down the stairs and out the back door to join him. (the photo here is of my brother Reggie, who also eventually joined in). Mr. Ford always welcomed me. He talked to me like an adult, and listened to me. One of his sons tells the story of his dad telling him all about his new friend Wesley. “Come to find out Wesley was a 5-year-old”. Every once in awhile, while we were in the garden, I’d hear Mrs. Ford yell out from her chair in the kitchen “Tippy!” - that’s what she called him. I’ll never forget the sound. And I’d run inside to see what she needed then run back outside to tell him. Mr. Ford was the mayor of Julia Street. He knew everyone. And listened to everyone. He’d walk up and down the street just chatting with folks. They lived in that house on Julia Street for 50 years. When I got a New York City internship at the Wall Street Journal, I stayed in the apartment that the Fords had set up in the basement. Mr. Ford died last week, and I went back up to NJ tonight for his home going service. To know me, much less to be my friend, is to know I can be a lot - I still can’t stop talking, and still get so frustrated when I feel misunderstood. That was only more intense when I was a child. And so, as I think about Mr. Ford tonight, I’m thinking about how important it was - how it shaped my life - that he was always willing to smile and listen. That he made me feel worthy of being listened to.