When Ilia’s steel blade first failed to bite the ice, he performed an unrehearsed butt rotation   and a teeth-sucking sound was heard whirling out chimneys, vents and open windows   after America’s spin king fell two more times, baritone groans became hopeless growls   and he shambled off, head bent, shattered by his complete letdown, tears begging to be free   in sports, failure keeps a ruthless score, no points for expectation or effort, deductions for being too human   but

Dear Gabby:   My one-hundred-year-old friend was feeling despondent and decided to brush his teeth with his left hand, ditto with the cup of morning coffee as he read the morning paper from back to front for a change.  On leaving the house, he left the walker and picked up his cane, and almost danced out the front door, telling me later, everything had shifted.   What do you think about that?   Dodging Depression     Dear Dodging:   That’s brilliant - have ice cream for break

playing with a fly, I wiggle a finger and it lands on the tip of the pen, preens its wings, already glossy in the morning sun   no brain there though it’s showing a unique bravery I mean, could you tell the difference between one of life’s emissaries and a dumb insect?   so I lean closer to read its lips but it flies over, lands on doggie poop, dancing from one nugget to the next, playing with its friends   if that was a secret message from the universe I’ll pass and wait fo