Headlines should be straightforward. When they are not, there is work to do. Take these headlines, for example. See if you can untangle their intended meanings. March planned for Next August Farmer Bill Dies in House Stolen Painting Found by Tree Complaints about NBA Referees Growing Ugly 2 Sisters Reunited After 18 Years at Check-Out Counter Man Minus Ear Waives Hearing Grandmother of Eight Makes Hole in One Lingerie Shipment Hijacked—Thief Gives Police the Slip Hospitals Are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim Faith should be straightforward. When it is not, there is work to be done. That is what happens in Stage 5. Now, I would guess that most people, if they reach stage 4, remain there. After all, it is quite an accomplishment. They have defined their faith, left the comforts of their own community and set out on a course of unknown waters

How much are postage stamps these days? My guess is that they cost less than the greatest honor of your life. Let’s go back to 1848. It’s an election year. The issue of slavery is splitting the nation, and everyone is looking for a candidate who will forge a mediating position. Enter Zachary Taylor. Taylor was the perfect choice. He wasn’t a career politician (always a good thing). In fact, he wasn’t even political (even a better thing!). How can I say such a thing? Two reasons. First, he never once voted in any presidential election. That’s not quite true. He voted in one. He voted in 1848 – for himself. Second, any political opinion he did hold was ill-defined and almost incomprehensibly vague.  He was, however, a war hero. And thanks to his exploits in the war with Mexico (a feat that earned him the nickname, “Old Rough and

Let’s play “Famous Firsts”! I’ll give you 10 questions, and you give me 10 (right) answers (or as many as you can!).  Who was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice? Who was the first runner to break the four-minute mile barrier?  Who was the first actor to speak in a “talking picture”?  Who was the first president to appear on TV?  Who was the person who developed the first diesel engine?  Who was the first person to win two Nobel prizes?  What was the first food ever microwaved?  Who was the person who first reached the South Pole AND the North Pole (that’s right, the same person was the first to reach both poles!)?  Who was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest? Who was the first pedestrian hit and killed by a car?* About question 10. . . . You’ll have to excuse me for asking

I’ve never been to Idaho, and I’m not sure I ever want to go to Idaho; but ho-ho-ho, you never know.  That’s what good stories do; they change our perspective! Here’s the story. Back in the day, the territory around Denver (called the Pike’s Peak mining area) wanted to become a state. But before they could do that, it needed a name. Now, not just any name would do. It had to be a state-worthy name with a nice ring to it. Thankfully, the dull boys at Pike’s Peak mining area didn’t have to come up with a name. A Congressional committee would do that for them. After weeks of deliberation, the committee narrowed the future name of the state down to two finalists. A lobbyist named George Willing had suggested an old Indian word, "Idaho," which meant, “Gem of the Mountain”; and someone else had proposed an incredibly dull