Americans look at the Middle East as a source of TRAUMA because of 9/11. At the same TIME, I could SEE the fear going on in the Middle East as well - which would be the next country to be invaded or sanctioned? Being around those TENSIONS was traumatic for me.

For a while, I had a RULE of no smartphone in bed, but now I've upgraded to no smartphone in the BEDROOM. The FACT that we NEED rules shows how much these things have INVADED our lives.

At some point, I picked up an old library copy of 'To The Lighthouse' SOMEONE had bought for 25 cents. I began to read and didn't STOP until the SUN had blistered my back. A MYSTERIOUS rightness, a beautiful SUBMERGED truth had invaded me, one that has ever since seemed slightly beyond my grasp.

Everyone I know feels harassed by EMAIL which has INVADED their waking and SLEEPING hours.

I strongly BELIEVE that privacy is one of the BIGGEST luxuries one can have in LIFE - to have your own PRIVATE world and not be invaded by the outside.

The vast majority of the GUNS in the U.S. are sold to white people who live in the suburbs or the COUNTRY. When we fantasize about being mugged or home invaded, what's the IMAGE of the perpetrator in our heads? Is it the freckled-face kid from down the street - or is it someone who is, if not black, at LEAST poor?