The young man asked me to describe something that I had done during the week. “Something unusual that nobody else had done.”

I pondered too long and dismissed everything that came into my head. But then I had it.

“Well, it’s been a Luther Vandross week. I watched a movie-length documentary about him and listened to six of his albums.”

He absorbed what I had said. “That was pretty cool,” he replied, nodding with approval. “But I have one question to ask. Who the fuck is Luther Vandross?”