"I wanted to create a new high-definition television that eliminates the need to run cables to and from the television and various devices," said an inventor, from Bronx, N.Y., "so I invented the ...

It’s bordering on parody.

Both events were tragic, but they didn’t ­involve people I was directly connected to. When I was young, my friends and contemporaries were, like me, essentially immortal. Right? Wrong. In the past ...