Bird Song
Why do birds sing? Birds sing “because they can and because they must,” says David Rothenberg, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. “Songs are used to attract mates and defend territories, but the form is much more than function. Nature is full of beauty, and of music.”
Ghost Town
A gold rush that began in the 1970s made Boa Vista, Brazil, a boomtown on the edge of one of the world’s richest gold fields. That changed when the gold mines were shut down. Government officials say the miners were destroying the rain forest, dumping mercury into the rivers, and bringing guns and diseases that killed thousands of local residents. Today Boa Vista is a “town of lost souls and frustrated adventurers too poor to return to their bleak beginnings.”
Juneteenth
On June 19, 1865, over 2 years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and read General Order Number 3: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” For the first time, slaves in Texas learned that they were already free. Some were shocked; many others celebrated. June 19 soon became known as “Juneteenth.”
An Invitation To Friendship
I grew up in a home with lots of wall plaques. One had a quotation by poet Claude Mermet that stands out in my mind: “Friends are like melons; let me tell you why: To find a good one, you must one hundred try!”
Captain Thunderbolt
When an English robber called Captain Thunderbolt escaped the law and moved to the eastern US in 1818, he began practicing medicine. He took on the name Dr. John Wilson. Often he wore three suits of clothes to escape recognition by making himself look larger and covering up a deformed leg.
Strings, Rings, Troublesome Things
Ray Bethell is a world champion kite flyer. He can make multiple kites twist and turn in such precision that they behave as if they are one. As I watched an amazing video of Ray and his three synchronized kites, I recalled a poem I had read many years ago.
A Perfect Father
My father once admitted to me, “When you were growing up, I was gone a lot.”
For Those Who Serve
When my son Steve walks into a room, he often gets immediate respect. People want to shake his hand. They smile. They congratulate him. They thank him.
For Such A Time As This
When Sha’Ri Eggum was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, doctors told her that only a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative could save her life. Complicating matters, Eggum, 32, was adopted and didn’t know anything about her biological family. But a private investigator tracked down her brother, Mike Ford, who was a perfect match. Today, Eggum’s leukemia is in remission. Ford was the right person for the right moment.
