The following was written by an author unknown to me. I pass it along at the end of the year, just for something to think about.

“Men, like nations, think they’re eternal. What man in his 20s or 30s doesn’t believe, at least subconsciously, that he’ll live forever?  In the springtime of youth, an endless summer beckons.  As you pass 70, it’s harder to hide from reality.

Nations also have seasons: Imagine a Roman of the 2nd century contemplating an empire Near East, thinking forever.... Forever was about 500 years, give or take.

France was pivotal in the 17th and 18th centur...