On Saturday afternoon, when I first heard that Stephen Sondheim had died, my mind curiously went back to an anecdote from many years ago that had nothing to do with him.

The story as heard it involved a remark made by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in the days following John F. Kennedy’s assassination. When a grieving friend remarked to Moynihan that they “would never laugh again,” his response was, “Oh, we will laugh again—but we’ll never be young again.”

Though this anecdote resonates deeply for me, it needs some perspective. Sondheim was 91 years old, and as close to universally canonized as any theater artist has ever been. And I am 65, and even in my most self-deluded moments, I recognize that for me, being young again was an impossibility long before the 20th Century ended.

And yet, as I say—it resonates…

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