A friend of mine left his wife and three children. Although he knows better—he was a seminary professor—he continues to lie to his family and is filing for divorce. Another friend abuses her family. She wastes their grocery money on her own wants, and then swears and screams when their bank... read more »

My family spent the past week nervously watching the progress of a storm that was predicted to hit our area about the time we planned to leave on vacation. The storm arrived 2 days before we were scheduled to leave, grounding flights and pushing travelers onto already overbooked planes on future... read more »

My 12-year-old son’s teacher asked his class what age they would like to be. Most of his friends shared that they preferred the freedom that came with being older, but my son said he wanted to be 9 again because his classmates were kinder then and swore less. I winced a little for his end of... read more »

Have you noticed how difficult it is for elected officials to break bad news to their citizens? Numerous countries are drowning in debt, yet most leaders refuse to raise taxes or cut benefits. Figuring that bankruptcy will be the next government’s problem, they happily kick the crisis down the... read more »

In The Last Lecture, Professor Randy Pausch described a particularly bad day when his hardnosed football coach yelled at him and made him do push-ups for messing up some moves. Afterward, an assistant coach helped Randy put his bad practice in perspective. “Coach Graham worked you pretty hard,... read more »

Some people develop “catch phrases” that crystallize what matters to them. A news anchor ends every telecast with “And that’s the way it was” to remind viewers that he delivers the important facts of each day. A financial counselor on the radio answers a listener’s question of “How are... read more »

Erik Hatzinger confessed to stealing money from several businesses over many months. He seems to be repentant, for when the judge ordered him to pay $13,000 in restitution, Erik informed the judge that he had stolen more and would like to pay it all back. “That’s the son I raised,” his mother... read more »

My parents called me yesterday with some horrifying news. My second cousin and her husband had been murdered and their bodies dismembered in their home. Their gruesome deaths were particularly horrific because they had been killed by their adopted son. The son obviously suffered from deep... read more »

Try this: Take your friend to a beach or a park, blindfold him, and tell him to walk in a straight line. Nobody can do it, at least not for long. One scientist explains why: “Humans, apparently, slip into circles when we can’t see an external focal point—like a mountaintop, a sun, a moon.... read more »

My wealthy neighbor decided he no longer wanted to pay his mortgage, so he left our neighborhood for a larger home. His former house has gone into foreclosure, which lowers the value of my home, for foreclosed homes normally sell far below what the market is dictating. He also stopped paying his... read more »