Habits have never come easy for me. Oh, I have my tics — when I shop for clothes, for example, I always buy multiples, right down to matching colors; and I have been known to eat the same meal at the same restaurant every night for years. But regular tasks — doctor’s appointments, car checkups, [...]

In the late 1970s while I was a graduate student at Columbia and living on the Upper West Side, I helped organize our block association on 101st Street. The invitations for our first meeting went out with my name listed as one of the hosts, and that night I stood on the stoop of Annette’s [...]