"Good words to live by, those." He raises his glass as if in a toast and knocks it back in one swallow.

He clears his throat and rasps the back of his hand across his stubbly chin after that last shot. "Kids are healthy. My youngest wasn't talking for a while, but she's finding her voice again. If she grows up to be anything like her mother, she'll be a force to be reckoned with.

"My son's finding a place for himself, trying to do some good in the world. Been helping him with that -- best I can, anyway -- but we still get into spats. More often than not, he's getting after me about drinking."

One shaggy eyebrow raises. "Did you have any family before this zed stuff, or is that a sore topic?"