At commencement exercises several decades ago, the speaker droned on about the attributes of a graduate whose mark on the school was incomparable. The crowd hung on his words, uncaring that his extended commentary would throw the ceremony off schedule. So what?A mother--unknowingly standing next to the esteemed graduate’s mom--whispered, “I’d give 20 years of my life to have a son like that.”“You didn’t miss it far,” responded the proud woman, whose only son was at her primary focus since his birth.This memory jarred like bold-face type early on the chilly morning of Tuesday, December 19, 2023, when a phone ...