The Significance of the Insignificant: A Memoir

There is a French saying that aptly applies to the intent of this story: l'esprit de l'escalier--"the spirit of the staircase." The significance of the saying is that usually after an evening of entertainment on the second floor of a royal house, as the guests are leaving down the staircase of the establishment, they will inevitably remark to one another, "Oh, gosh darn it, I wish I'd thought about saying this or that" in response to some contested topic.

So it is in our lives. There are so ...