When I was still in school I had two roommates. One week one of them (we'll call him Rod) attended a fancy auction in New York where he bid on various high-priced tchotchkes such as a golden snow globe, a pocket watch and a gumball machine. The auction itself was bustling and chaotic while in contrast my roommate was (and is) a vortex of elegance and calm composure. As it turned out his friend actually once owned that snow globe or perhaps one identical to it. He later returned to our stark white apartment, adrift in a sea of melancholia, and sat himself down on the floor. Meanwhile, my other roommate (we'll call him Thomas), in spite of being exhausted and visibly pale, visited a young girl who was having a birthday and helped her blow out the candles on the birthday cake. The birthday girl had an injured leg and left the apartment with Thomas but not before Thomas got hopelessly caught in a revolving door. The girl later tossed aside her crutches and hopped her...