There are neurotics such and you and me and the guy in the back seat of the bus who keeps blowing his nose. And then there are the Great Neurotics. From all walks of life they come, these Great Neurotics, from history and fiction and the entertainment arts they emerge, marching together, out of step, absorbed in their own thoughts, and in the way the breeze plays through their hair.

Here is today’s entry in this dubious gallery:

Alexander Graham Bell

“I often feel like hiding myself away in a corner out of sight. Whenever I try to say something I stop all conversation.” Not a bad reason for inventing the telephone. Bell, who regularly retired at 4 a.m. and had to be routed out of bed at noon, was known to hide in the attic in order to avoid going to parties. More curiously, he greatly feared having moonlight fall upon him as he slept. On nights of the full moon he walked through the house pulling curtains and placing screens to protect the rest of his family from the hideous light.