The 2-year-olds, Jasmin and Jaida Campbell, were likely dead before their mother, Tenia Campbell, now charged with their murder, was found in Montauk with them strapped in their car seats, Suffolk County police said. 

I always pictured my first trip to Italy as a romantic getaway, maybe to celebrate a milestone anniversary after two children and a certain number of years of marriage.

Cruising west along Highway 80, between Montgomery and Selma, my kids and I sang along loudly to “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” over and over, to get our off-key harmonies right. We were on a weeklong pilgrimage to the holy sites of the civil rights movement.

Dollar, a beautiful white tiger around 2 years old, was serene, lazily lounging on the ground as I stroked her flank and gently rested my head on her 400-pound body, blissed as could be, all senses sharper than at any other time in memory.

Without warning, Dollar lifted her massive head and turned directly around. Eyes locked, our faces inches apart, time, the earth, and my heart stood completely still. We looked into one another’s eyes for a long, long moment. Terrified and exhilarated, I tried to will any lingering fear from my consciousness.