It was four years ago this week, June 16, 2015, and a great professional gift was given me. I had just watched Donald Trump’s announcement speech and was pondering its impact. This guy isn’t going to be president; we’ve been reading about his tabloid antics for 30 years. But he’ll have some impact, some support. Who? How much?

At this point my phone rang. It was my elder sister Cookie, formerly of Staten Island, N.Y., now living down South, a person who’s lived a hard life and gotten through it with a spirit she does not...