To the Editor:

When my children were small, they had a toy called Jack-in-the-box. When they turned the handle attached to the box, a melody would begin to play. They continued turning the handle until a clown popped out of the box. Sometimes this happened at the end of the tune; at other times the clown popped out in random fashion. They often would push the clown back in the box and close the lid until they wanted to do it again.

April 23, 2025