Detroit Free Press

AN ARGUMENT. A GUN. AND ANNETTE TOWNS LOSES HER 15-YEAR-OLD SON FOR NO REASON

AN ARGUMENT. A GUN. AND ANNETTE TOWNS LOSES HER 15-YEAR-OLD SON FOR NO REASON

The first thing Darryl Towns did, after he was shot, was stagger toward his mother's bedroom. She wasn't home. He knew that. But bleeding from the chest, the life oozing out of him, he retreated to the safest place he could think of: Mama's room.He had always been his mother's son. How many times, as a little boy, had he tiptoed down this same short hallway, curled up at the foot of her bed, and watched TV with the volume low until she woke up?
OLD LAWS WON’T SAVE US FROM OURSELVES

OLD LAWS WON’T SAVE US FROM OURSELVES

You're out for a family canoe trip. You have your two young children with you. You come around a bend, and there, in the water, is a soaking wet man who has just fallen out of his canoe. He is screaming mad. He is cursing. He uses the F-word, and he uses it again and again. You paddle past quickly, trying to cover your children's ears.You're upset. You worry for your kids.But do you have a lawsuit?
THE YOUNG SHALL INHERIT THE WORLD OF PRO GOLF

THE YOUNG SHALL INHERIT THE WORLD OF PRO GOLF

THE U.S. OPEN, IN THE YEAR 2009 -- "Well, Jim, as we begin today's final round, this golf championship has certainly lived up to its billing.""It sure has, Ben. The leader board says it all. A challenge between the old guard and the new.""Speaking of that old guard, here's the ageless Tiger Woods ready to tee off. He's tied for the lead, and, man, he's like Father Time, isn't he? He just keeps going.""Look at that tee shot. Remarkable, for a man in his 30s.""Wait, Jim, he's gonna ...yes, he's gonna walk rather than take the cart! Wow! What conditioning!"
BASEBALL MUST REALIZE THAT ALL IS NOT FORGIVEN

BASEBALL MUST REALIZE THAT ALL IS NOT FORGIVEN

SEATTLE -- You want an Opening Day? Take your kids to the park, pitch them a few balls, cook some hot dogs and go home. Trust me, that's all we have left of the spirit of this thing.Smiling? Who's smiling this morning? Just because a court injunction has sent the game back to work? Just because the major leaguers will soon be in Florida and Arizona, doing in April what they should have done in February? Big deal. Nothing has been solved. Nothing has changed. They are still disgraceful, both sides, without shame. Unworthy of our cheers. Undeserving of a smile.
LIFE NEVER IS FAIR, SO WE HOPE AND PRAY

LIFE NEVER IS FAIR, SO WE HOPE AND PRAY

And still, the sun shone brightly. How could this be? Shouldn't there have been clouds and rain? How could hockey fans reconcile an absolutely perfect weather Father's Day with the image of Vladimir Konstantinov lying motionless in a hospital bed, breathing through a respirator, a brain monitor in his head?

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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