And there are others that need more context to appreciate their beauty. In this case, a bolt of sunlight was beaming through the hotel window onto a full glass of blue liquid sitting on the table next to my bed. The glass was not inherently beautiful, of course, but to me it represented a whole universe of pain and agony I would not be experiencing today because I had fallen asleep before quaffing it. In the right context, a vision like that can be more wonderful than Niagara Falls. It was just after seven o'clock, meaning I had probably been sleeping nearly eleven hours. Apart from being parched and a little foggy, I actually felt pretty good. Feeling good and looking good are two separate things, though, and the escaped mental patient who greeted me in the mirror was a strange and scary preview of what I would probably look like in a decade. After a long, hot shower and loads of cream and makeup, I felt ready to face Mike, and the world at-large. The funeral wasn't until eleven, so I still had plenty of time.
