The story is told of a man who was so humble that his city council decided to honor him with a medallion for his humility. A week after the award ceremony, the award had to be withdrawn. Much to the embarrassment of the council, the man had brashly worn the medallion everywhere he went. This... read more »

For 25 years, Irmela Mensah-Schramm has walked the streets of Berlin, Germany, cleaning away the racist propaganda of neo-Nazi groups. Since 1986, Irmela has painted over graffiti and scratched away stickers (36,000 in the past 4 years). She believes she can overcome neo-Nazi ideology one street at... read more »

During the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, Al Michaels covered the hockey venue for ABC Sports. The network could have used other broadcasters, but Michaels got the nod because he was the only announcer on staff who had experience calling a hockey game. Michaels had called one game 8 years earlier. His... read more »

I’m an exhibitionist,” said the surrealist artist Salvador Dali. “Life is too short to remain unnoticed.” And actress Marlene Dietrich once released an album made entirely of the applause recorded at her cabarets—which she frequently played for her friends. The desire for praise is never... 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 »

Ben Zimmer, linguist, lexicographer, and language columnist for The New York Times, recently wrote an article about how incorrect the autocorrect text feature on our smart phones can be. He told how Hannah had received a text message from her father, which read: “Your mother and I are going to... read more »

Invictus, a film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and set in South Africa at apartheid’s end, tells the story of Nelson Mandela’s inaugural years as South Africa’s first black president. The opening scenes are grim, showing blacks playing soccer in a dumpy, dusty field, while whites,... read more »

Theodore Roosevelt got things done. He was the driving force behind the completion of the ambitious Panama Canal project, won the Nobel Peace Prize, and served as Assistant Secretary of the US Navy. Oh, and he also became the 26th president of the United States (jump-starting his country’s... read more »

Wildlife officials in my town tried in vain to save a duck that had an arrow sticking through its breast. She flew away whenever their nets came close. It’s hard to blame the frightened fowl. She didn’t understand that the same self-reliance that normally kept her alive was now preventing her... read more »

2 Timothy 3:1-6: You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will... read more »