In the National Park, Marie and I stumbled across a mushroom hiding beneath the abundant foliage of a shrub. It was only our devotion to our cause that gave us the persistence to seek out these hidden brides. This mushroom looked like the top half of a moldy hamburger bun. When we pulled aside the veil of leaves, exposing her completely, she cried out in distress, "Leave me be."

We had no choice but to obey her. It's sad to find people who are so ashamed of themselves that they whittle their lives away in a lonely and demented isolation. But what can you do? We didn't make the rules of the universe; we only play by them.