I ate a bug—not just any bug. I ate a roach. The memory still makes me shiver.

My friend, Francis, was one of those people who just never seemed to get a break. When she was young she was taller than the other kids so she slumped and developed humped shoulders. She had crooked teeth that her parents never had the money to fix and she had to wear thick glasses. I don’t think she ever had a date. She lived at home with her parents until she was 40 and she worked as a teller in a bank for 20 years.

Francis was sweet, cheerful and had a big heart and I never knew anyone who didn’t like her. The pr...