I have an unfortunate habit of laughing when I’m nervous. I don’t know why. Perhaps it has something to do with the circumstances of my upbringing. Perhaps it is the fault of my parents, although, at twenty-eight, I am almost past the stage where you blame everything on your parents. I say stage and not age because some people come late to the realization that everything is their parents’ fault. You can only hope it comes early enough to be rejected for the simplistic explanation it usually is, that it comes while your parents are still young, or at least while they are still sentient enough to forgive you for forgiving them so late, and still capable of loving you when their conviction has been overturned.