“I ask the Lord in Heaven above What is this thing called love?” Romantic love was that sublime thing that Porter wrote more about than anything else. While its mystery sometimes eluded him, his passion for love and his passion for writing songs about love gave him glimpses into some of the workings of the very heavens themselves.

The first time, she’d suddenly, and mysteriously, developed an itchy rash within 20 minutes of my appointment. When I asked why she didn’t call my cell while I was en route—my trip took 20 minutes--she said she was hoping it would disappear as suddenly as it had appeared.

This is the kind of desire that’s critical to awaken in yourself for the duration of the Great Recession that we’ve been living through these past few years.