The Joys of Summer

The Joys of Summer

Go ahead, kids. Lie in the grass. Study the clouds. Daydream. Be lazy. You have our permission. I feel sorry for today’s kids. Summer comes, they’re finally free from school—and bang!Band camp. Science seminars. Internships. Instead of downtime, it’s get-up-and-go...
The Joys of Summer

Making the Skies a Bit Friendlier

Hello, this is your captain speaking.Okay, I lied. I don’t sit in the cockpit. I sit where you sit. And I fly a lot (over 100,000 miles a year). So I would like to suggest ways the airlines could treat us better this year.But why bother?Any business that will soon be...
The Joys of Summer

Mr. Smith Flees Washington

Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak got fed up with the mean-spiritedness of D.C. The elections are over. Bart Stupak did not run. After nine terms in Congress, the Democratic representative from Michigan’s 1st District is walking away to the winter of his discontent, sadly...
The Joys of Summer

Finding His Beat

In rap music, “def” is what you want to be. “Deaf” is another matter. Sean Forbes is both. As an infant, Sean lost nearly all his hearing. He grew up in suburban Detroit the way many deaf children do. Special classes. Sign language. Constant tussles with kids making...
The Joys of Summer

The Lost Art of Building With Your Hands

William Kamkwamba of Malawi built a windmill from trash. The kid had an idea. He didn’t have money. He didn’t have supplies. All he had was a book with pictures. He went to a junkyard, found a bicycle rim, PVC pipe, an old tractor fan. And he did something many of us...
The Joys of Summer

‘Dreams Do Come True!’

His feet, he says, were numb. His hands were shaking. His wife was petrified. He stepped forward and rolled the ball. This is a story about doing what you have to do—to survive, to endure, to thrive. Tom Smallwood comes from a place and a life as Middle American as...
The Joys of Summer

Finding The Silver Lining

Rain falls on the church roof. It pours through a gaping hole and splashes onto the pews. Against the plop, plop, plop of gathering water, a pastor urges nearly 100 weary men to believe in the future. They wear old jackets or sweatshirts. They line up for chili and...
The Joys of Summer

How I Got Young Again

We were never very good, and it never really mattered. Eight high school guys in a band. Guitar, piano, sax, bass, and drums. Three of us didn’t even play an instrument, just stood around singing, “Shoo-bop, shoo-bop.” We went by nicknames—“Rico,” “Greaso,” “Ace”—and...
The Joys of Summer

The Heart of the Games

If you want to find the best stories at the Olympics, look in the corners, away from the spotlight. For me, in covering the Olympics over the last 24 years, the lesser-lit places have been where the most memorable moments took place. Sure, TV always hypes the...