"During this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness...and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear."

- Byzantine historian Procopius, report on the war with the Vandals, AD 536

"There was a sign from the sun the like of which had never been seen or reported before. The sun became dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months. Each day it shone for about four hours and still, this light was but a feeble shadow. Everyone declared that the sun would never recover its full light again."

- Syrian bishop John of Ephesus, Ecclesiastical History, entry for AD 536.

In the year AD 536...

• Three volcanic eruptions in different parts of the world set off a volcanic winter that lasts for

From a summer job I took, in Building Trades and Arts.

Learn to make cement by hand. Haul cinder blocks around. Learn the Pythagorean Theorem. Learn about geology. Haul rocks around. Learn never to call them just “rocks” in anyone’s hearing. Become less impressed with the Pyramids -- with enough manpower, you can build anything. Learn what “ashlar” means. Learn about how to polish walls. Wash powdered rock out of your hair for several days…

I left here for maybe a decade, just peeking in from time to time. I had tricked myself into thinking it was because there was less activity, or I had lost interest, or whatever other easy lie. The truth is, some of my favorite people were gone. Some of my best friends at the time left and never came back. I never mourned enough. I just rewrote history and tried to move on.

I've been thinking a lot about ephemerality lately. It's terrible and I hate it. My partner believes we'll truly…