Alva Review-Courier -

CHICAGO (AP) — We meet for a memorial service by video conference because that's how it must be done these days. It feels strange, but there also is comfort as I scan the faces of the many colleagues who've come to celebrate the life of an editor and friend who succumbed to the coronavirus. Among other things, his brother tells us about a magazine Nick created when they were kids. He called it "Ha Ha."

I imagine Nick's wry smile. Sometimes, amid unspeakable sorrow, there are slivers of joy.

I have clung to those moments, however fleeting, as this pandemic continues to test us. A friend, a form...