Excerpts
| On Family | ||
| Deaf Girl Provides Lesson in Courage Caitlin Reel was just six months old when her mother knew something was wrong. The baby did not respond to voices or sounds, not even a loud clap of the hands. The doctors told Luann Reel not to worry. Her baby was fine. But the mother persisted, and when doctors finally tested Caitlin’s hearing a year later, they confirmed her fears. More |
Speeder Dad Learns an Important Lesson It was one of those amazing spring days that demand a drive in the country. The sun was brilliant, the sky a cloudless blue, the earth’s awakening smell sweet on the air. “Hop in,” I told the kids. “We’re taking a ride.” More |
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| On Animals | ||
| A Feline Air Traveler Lost in Philadelphia Felix is MIA. Missing in action, not on a battlefield in the Iraqi desert, but somewhere in the cavernous bowels in Philadelphia International Airport. Felix is a cat. The black feline with the white patch on his chest disappeared March 4 during a plane change in Philadelphia while en route from Baltimore to London to join his owners. More |
Zoo Hysteria High as Elephant’s Eye It might be easy to write off as a nutty extremist Marianne Bessey, the animal-rights activist who has been banned from the Philadelphia Zoo. Easy, that is, until you look into the eyes of the giant, majestic beasts she so zealously—some might say hysterically— champions. Until you look into the eyes of a captive elephant. More |
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| On Life | ||
| Let No Chip Put This Vow Asunder I waited until the kids were on the school bus before I confronted my wife by the coffeemaker and said: “Honey, I have a confession to make.” She looked at me with that nervous grin she gets when bracing for the worst. “I cheated,” I said. More |
When Music Died, Words Were Born Do you remember what you were doing when John Lennon was shot? I don’t, but I do remember, with a searing clarity, the moment 25 years ago this morning when I belatedly heard the news. More |
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