Are you ready to be Duane’s student? Your crash course includes pushing his tricycle for hours, massaging his thin legs to relieve muscle cramps, and getting more oatmeal into his mouth than onto his shirt. It also includes finding that nothing you’ve excelled at till now counts for much here. Best tackle on the field? Meaningless. D needs help simply turning over in bed. Straight-A student? Who cares? D never even graduated from kindergarten. You’re sociable, clever? Useless. Conversations are basically a one-way street.

To crack a cold heart, to train it in love, is the most liberating service any person can do for another.