My Impromptus today features some of my favorite people — and favorite ideas and favorite qualities. I begin with Oswaldo Payá, the great Cuban democrat, the spearhead of the Varela Project, who was murdered in 2012. An investigation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has reached just that conclusion: The Cuban state murdered Payá. They specialize in that sort of thing.

“I have known Payá’s daughter, Rosa María, for years,” I say in my column. “She is a chip off the old block: a very brave campaigner for freedom and democracy.”

Anyway, there’s a lot more, and you may be interested in it: here.

One of the themes of my column over the past few years has been umping — or, more broadly, officiating in youth sports. The public has taken a nasty, nasty turn. Fewer and fewer people are willing to officiate, because, frankly, who needs it?

In recent days, I have had a column here and some reader mail here and here. Well, I thought you might enjoying seeing a sign — I sure did. It comes from Wisconsin. A reader sent it in. And I say: That’s the spirit.

Yesterday, I published a photo — an alluring iris — from our Molly Powell, who lives in New England. A reader in Chicagoland writes,

Mr. Nordlinger,

Your friend’s iris pic has impelled me to send this one along. This is a snap my lovely bride took last week of the first coneflower bloom of the season.

I think it is a nice overall composition. We’ll call it ‘Study in Green and Purple.’

Thank you, and to one and all.