Detroit Free Press

WHEN EIGHT’S NOT ENOUGH: OCTOMOM NO CHARITY CASE

WHEN EIGHT’S NOT ENOUGH: OCTOMOM NO CHARITY CASE

It's not this Octomom that scares me.It's the next one.And if you don't think there'll be a new lineup of women having ridiculous numbers of babies in hopes of snagging money, a house and - most of all - national attention, then you haven't been watching. Nadya Suleman, whom many liken to a hypnotized ditz, has nonetheless gotten exactly what she wanted out of America, and maybe more than she dreamed.
PLAYER’S DEATH BOTH SAD – AND INCOMPLETE

PLAYER’S DEATH BOTH SAD – AND INCOMPLETE

And then he's gone.Corey Smith was a professional football player. He played here in Detroit. When journalists entered the locker room after a Lions game, they scattered to get quotes. Now and then they went to Smith. I did it. I did it without thinking. I played my role, Smith played his. A notepad. A question. An answer.And then he's gone.
‘I Was Ashamed‘’ After Years of Abuse, Illiteracy, Demers Confronts His Demons

‘I Was Ashamed‘’ After Years of Abuse, Illiteracy, Demers Confronts His Demons

The beating began when he was 7 years old. His father, a drunk, would whack him with the back of his hand. He would scream insults. "You're no good!""You're stupid!" He would hit the boy's sisters, as well. Worst of all, he would hit their mother, his wife, over and over, night after night. He would split her lip. He would smack her forehead until she bled. She never spoke of it. And so the boy never spoke of it. And the shame began to bubble inside him.
WINGS THROW PENS A ROPE, THEN SINK

WINGS THROW PENS A ROPE, THEN SINK

I had this idea, before the rematch between the Red Wings and Penguins, that Marian Hossa might wait until Sidney Crosby had the puck and was flying down the ice and then he'd yell, "Yo, Sidney, right here!" and out of habit, Crosby would fire the puck to his old teammate."I did that against New Jersey," Hossa told me earlier this week. "Their defenseman (Colin White) was under pressure and I yelled, ‘Whitey, Whitey!' and he sends me the puck behind the net."Really? "Yeah. Right on the tape."
IS THERE A MURDER PLOT IN YOUR CHILD’S HEAD?

IS THERE A MURDER PLOT IN YOUR CHILD’S HEAD?

You give them life, they try to kill you.That sentence should never apply to your children. But it does in the sad case of a Maryland teenager named Cory Ryder, who tried to hire a hit man to kill his parents.According to reports, Ryder, who was 16 at the time, met with a man he believed to be an assassin - but who was actually an undercover police officer - in a hotel room last June. During their conversation, Ryder offered his stepfather's pickup as payment for the kill."Two bullets is all it takes," he allegedly said.
ALL THE YOUNG DUDES CARRY THE WAR NEWS

ALL THE YOUNG DUDES CARRY THE WAR NEWS

FT. BRAGG, N.C. - One by one they approached, polite and smiling. They were so young. I have been on a book tour for weeks, and the bags under my eyes are so noticeable that I have taken to jealously checking the lack of bags under other peoples' eyes. Theirs had none. No crow's-feet around the edges. No wrinkles on their foreheads. They were so young."Thanks for coming," they said."Thanks for having me," I said.Some were holding babies. Some were with pregnant wives. Some were so clean-shaven, they did not appear capable of growing more than a few stray whiskers.
LOOK OVER JORDAN, WHAT DO YOU SEE?

LOOK OVER JORDAN, WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Friday night, at a high school football playoff game, it was damp and cold, and the players bounced on their toes to keep warm. Near the Rochester Adams bench, amidst all these bigger teenagers, stood Jordan Kidder, barely five feet tall, with glasses and braces, a school cap, a jersey, a varsity jacket and a job to do."Watch this for me, Jordan, OK?" a player said, running over."OK," he said."Some water, Jordan," another said."Here," he said, handing over a bottle."How's it going, Jordan?" another said, slapping his hand.

Mitch Albom writes about running an orphanage in impoverished Port-au-Prince, Haiti, his kids, their hardships, laughs and challenges, and the life lessons he’s learned there every day.

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