I walked past a coffee shop last week and through the window I saw a TV screen. Under "breaking news" was this: The New York Times had endorsed Hillary Clinton and John McCain in the presidential primaries.Was this really "breaking news"?Should it be news at all?Once upon a time newspapers and endorsements were like baseball cards and bubble gum. Newspapers were bald-faced about their political views. In some cases, they were little more than the publishing arms of a political party. Those were the old days.These are not those days.
Last week, at age 82, Richard Knerr died. You probably don't recognize his name. You probably can't pronounce it. He wasn't an actor or a war hero. He cured no diseases. Made no scientific breakthroughs.In fact, you could say Richard Knerr was about one thing and one thing only: fun. But if you measure a man by what the world would be like without him, here a few things that, minus Knerr, you would never know:The Hula Hoop.The Frisbee.The SuperBall.Those alone took up a third of my childhood.
Marion Jones is reportedly out of money, out of work, nursing one child and raising another. She lives in a modest house, having sold the others she once owned. She was forced to give back her Olympic medals. She is banned from track and field, her sport. She was charged with crimes, pleaded guilty, and despite her plea for mercy, a judge sentenced her to jail Friday - six months, for lying to federal investigators, mostly about her steroid use.This is more than a "fall from grace," as analysts have called it. This is a cannon shot. This is a sonic boom.
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.
