My 500 Words

How much money would have to be at stake before I would go to court against relatives to make sure that I received some share of those assets? Today I read an opinion from my state Supreme Court that reinstated an order declaring a woman to be the common law spouse of her now deceased husband. This decision will affect how the assets of his estate are distributed and will have a negative effect on how much money the other relatives will now receive, if any. Although the opinion provided certain details about the litigation, the justices were careful to protect private information about the size of the assets in the estate in question. I did not recognize the names of the litigants as prominent individuals so I really have no idea whether these people were fighting over tens of thousands or millions of dollars. Because of the wide range of the unknown I found myself looking for a number that would lead me into a court battle against my family over money. But these questions are rarely...

There isn’t much that separates me from the cars when I am traveling down the road, even though most of my route has a dedicated bicycle lane. While that may conjure images of a dedicated and improved trail, it really means that there is a three foot painted path immediately next to the flow of traffic. So one strip of paint is all that protects me from potential collisions. I find a testament to excellent driving by most travelers in the fact that I don’t usually even experience what I would consider close calls during my 1.5 to 2 hours on the road every day. That thin white line seems to do its job and it keeps me safe. Then there are days like today. While pedaling along a stretch of road, I started to coast as I approached a red traffic light. At the same time a car drifted into the bicycle lane and barely missed me. I don’t think the driver even knows what she did because she was busy reading a magazine. Yes, this driver was the poster child of multi-tasking drivers. She pres...

Walking into the jewelry store with my soon-to-be wife, I imagined that we were about to find the perfect engagement ring. I thought that this was going to be a chance to find a ring that would both match her personality and show her and the whole world how excited I was that she had agreed to marry me. We started to look through the display case and my attention was quickly drawn to the largest and most elaborate diamond settings that I could afford, and maybe a little bit more. I recall the salesman mentioning some ratio of how much I was supposed to spend based on my yearly salary. My girlfriend seemed to be listening to the conversation but hadn't shown a lot of interest in any specific ring. I suggested that she try on a few of the larger diamonds. As she put each of them on her finger I was dazzled by the anticipation that soon the two of us would be married. Yet one by one I could see that she wasn't won over by any of the diamonds or the settings. We talked about how ...

I have lived a spoiled and privileged life, almost by accident. At 16, I decided it was time to get a job. But I saw two challenges that limited my prospects.  I didn't have a driver license and I didn't have my own car. Together these issues limited the scope of where I would look for employment. To my teenage mind, my job needed to be close enough to walk. So one Saturday morning my brother dropped me off at the nearest fast food restaurant along a local street lined with Skippers, McDonald's, Wendy's and more. When I walked into the first restaurant I approached the counter and requested a job application. The manager handed me the sheet of paper and invited me to take a seat and fill it out. Only then did I realize that I had nothing with me to actually fill out the document. The man smiled at me and said, "When you come to apply for a job, young man, you need to be prepared. That means bring your own pen."  He invited me to come back as soon as I was re...

When the lock of the third door echoed around me the whole of my being knew that I was in prison. I double and triple checked to make certain that my visitor identification was securely attached as I visualized scenarios that somehow I would be unable to leave. Since that first visit I have entered numerous jails and prisons and, while mitigated, an element of that irrational fear remains. Twice this week I have visited a detention facility and current events caused me to reflect on my perception of a prison. In recent months, my state's government has studied and commented upon potential sites to relocate the principal state prison. The relocation committee has identified numerous communities as possibilities to build this proposed facility. It comes as no surprise that I have yet to see a community speak in favor of having a prison in their neighborhood, city or county. If the commission finds a place in my community that satisfies their requirements for a prison, let me just s...

I was riding toward home on a level surface at a very comfortable pace when my bicycle seat suddenly fell from below me. Had I not been clipped in I suspect my feet would have slipped off the pedals and I would have experienced the harsh road scrape against my vulnerable flesh. With good fortune smiling upon me during this mishap, my legs immediately responded just as though I had stood on my pedals while climbing a hill. I quickly braked and stepped off of my bicycle, relieved that I had suffered absolutely no bodily harm. A quick gasp of nervous laughter escaped as I assessed my seatless bicycle and I imagined the numerous uncomfortable consequences that could have come my way. Instead, I gently lay the wounded bike and searched for the broken parts. I quickly located the saddle and inspected it; to my relief it remained in fine shape. I now needed the assembly that attached the seat to the post. As I searched the gravel strewn roadside, I was only able to locate the bottom part of...

Some plants and animals thrive in the heat and light of a blazing summer's sun while others need the relief offered by a more mild climate. The challenge of constant heat becomes unbearable in combination with the associated scarcity of water. But where there is water sufficient to sustain life, the presence of heat and persistent light we will discover a bounteous representation of life in both plant and animal life.  For heat alone fails to overcome the primal drive to survive, diversify and thrive. The powers of nature astound me as I observe simple plants, with stems that I can tear with no effort, break through rocks or cement that I would require a jack hammer to break. Yet somehow, these plants find the smallest of fissures to exploit. Fueled by groundwater, they germinate and sprout while they seek the heat of the sun. Little by little they take full advantage of every weakness. Perhaps several plants die before the one that I can see emerges as the conqueror of mountains...

Our family had fourteen children and our neighbors would end up having nine children. It didn't take much more to make a crowd if we were ever at the same place at the same time. When they first moved in it didn't take long to find out that the dad was a police officer. He was the first lawman that I had ever known. They lived but a few doors down and across the street so as kids we played and just hung out a lot. For a long time I wondered if I was every breaking the law or doing something that would turn out with me sitting in a jail cell. And as a young pre-teen I always wondered whether he carried his gun in some hidden holster when he'd come to church. I think the question helped my general comportment. He was a tall man and he had a really firm grip when he would shake your hand. He always looked me right in the eye and asked, "How are you?" He was one of the few adults who actually waited for an answer. If things were good he'd share in your happiness...

It was a little after noon on a Wednesday and I was getting ready to leave for the week. I double checked with the attorney covering my Thursday morning hearings and I had managed to clear my Friday calendar. It was a long weekend come early and I was looking forward to spending the time with my son on a Scouting camp out. It's worth it to have a job just to be able to relish in the joy of leaving the job behind. All the way home I was figuring out the final plan for the trip. The complication for our activity is that months ago we purchased tickets to the Paul McCartney concert here in Salt Lake City. The show is Thursday night and the camping runs from Wednesday to Saturday. There was never a decision to be made; we would be coming home for the concert. Adam lobbied to just stay home and go up Friday morning but his pleas never had a chance. We needed to go up with the group and get the connections forming. I never like to be the latecomer to the campsite because you miss the...

In the bottom of the ninth we needed three runs to win and advance to the next round of the playoffs. It wasn't going to be easy but the heart of the order was due up to bat and hope was appropriate. After Matt earned a lead-off walk, everyone put on their rally caps and the chatter in the dugout began in earnest. One run wasn't going to help so there was no small-ball calls coming from the coaches. We were going to have to hit our way to this win because their pitcher wasn't about to give up seven walks. After Leroy hit a double to the gap, Matt scored the first run and we felt like the game was there for us to win. Leroy was quick and he stole third without a throw after a pitch in the dirt. The count was 2-2 and from Joe's perspective it was so far inside that he fell back avoiding the pitch. He was shocked when he heard the call for strike three. Our mood went from jubilant to angry but determined in a moment. With one out Gary stepped to the plate and on a 1-2 co...

The other day one of my children referred to someone as a toady and I had no idea what they were talking about. My sons explained that a perfect example of a toady was Grover Dill in one of our favorite holiday movies, "A Christmas Story." We have watched this show at least dozens of times and probably more since we in no way limit its viewing to the Christmas season. None of us could actually remember his name off the top of our heads so we turned to Google, ran a search and quickly had our answer. As I was reading through the post highlights one particular fact jumped out at me; it turns out that the casting company had originally selected the actor who played Grover Dill to be the bully in the movie and Scut Farkus was supposed to be the toady. Apparently on the first day on set, the director took one look at the two boys and immediately switched their roles. Now, few bullies are as well known as Scut Farkus and our family, at least, couldn't come up with the name Gr...

When I returned from Spain I had no money to my name, no car to get around and I really needed a job. I had planned on returning to work with the title company where I was employed before my two year mission abroad. I optimistically assumed that there would be a place for me when I came home. That wasn't the case. I wasn't picky and began networking before I even knew what networking was. I told everybody that I could think of that I was looking for work and I personally contacted anyone who held a hiring position. I had an uncle and a cousin who each owned their own businesses and a neighborhood friend managed a branch of a large regional bank. My brother worked for a restaurant and he set up an interview for me with his boss. Good fortune was on my side. My cousin had a temporary job for a month and a half, through the Christmas season and I had a nearby friend who worked the same shift. That meant that even though I had no car, I had a ride. When I also got the job at the ...

A few of us from our school jazz band put together a combo for the talent show. In this performance we were not just going to stay behind our music stands. Each segment of the song had a soloist while the others maintained the background rhythms and harmony. We were able to run around on stage forming mini-combos as one soloist finished and another began on a different part of the stage. Based on the reactions from our rehearsals we were sure our energy would be contagious with our friends and classmates. One of our good friends, David, was on the stage crew and had synchronized some cool lighting with our music. He also set up all of the spotlights to highlight the soloists and he was prepared to follow our choreographed positions and movements. It might have looked spontaneous but almost every part of the performance was carefully planned. When we came to our final rehearsal David said he had a final surprise for us but he wanted to keep it a secret. He simply insisted that we stay...

Four years ago during the World Cup final the Spanish National team earned the championship trophy after enduring and surmounting a vicious and brutal team from the Netherlands. Ostensibly the 22 men were playing the beautiful game but that was only true in name only. The overt physicality of challenges by the men in orange who were playing out of position, led to dangerous plays that not only threatened, but inflicted injury upon their opponents. When the Spaniards proved triumphant their fans felt that sense of universal justice fulfilled. It doesn't always happen that way but when it does those ebullient yet sublime emotions of ultimate equity simultaneously energize and calm the soul. When right prevails in such an obvious way on such a global scale it's easy to jump to the conclusion that others will see the rewards from fair play and conform their behavior and adopt a just approach to competition. The problem with that conclusion flows from the perceived reality of the ...

I didn't foresee that we were starting a tradition. I thought we were just trying be a little rational during a highly emotional time of our lives. When we decided to get married thirteen days before I entered law school, my wife and I realized that it would be wise to not spend too much money on our honeymoon. We still wanted to start our marriage off right with a trip that we would remember for years to come; we just didn't want to dig ourselves into a deep hole of debt. We investigated options that we would enjoy but wouldn't require us to raid the bank. We opted to stay fairly close to home and avoided expensive fares to Europe. Because we married in early August, the Utah Shakespearean Festival was an easy choice for quality entertainment at a fair charge. And once we were in Cedar City it was natural to add stops in two of the best national parks in the country that are only an hour or so away and right in our home state. The majesty of Zion and the geographic diver...

It wasn't much of a place, but I didn't know any better. The room was cramped and the two queen beds only had 18 inches between them. The floral bedspreads were worn thin and frayed on the edges. The multicolored carpeting made it difficult to determine whether the floor was dirty or if the design was intended. The bathroom functioned, but the only light that worked was the heat lamp and it would only go on if you set it for a minimum of ten minutes. It was better to leave the light off because one look at the shower curtain dissuaded against the choice to clean up; a darkened tub made the morning cleansing bearable. Whatever its shortcomings, I didn't care. This was more than my first visit to any motel, I was on my first trip to Los Angeles and Southern California. It was the middle of December and I was walking about in short sleeves instead of wearing my heavy coat and gloves at home in Salt Lake. I saw palm trees for the first time and our debate coach drove us by th...

Like me, Spain came to the world of cold cereal late in the game. While I was growing up, it was a rare treat to have cold cereal from a box and with ten to twelve children trying to get their share it didn't last very long when we did. I suspect my parents would have gone broke had they tried to feed us prepared breakfast cereals, and certainly our trips to the dentist would be more frequent and likely more expensive. Instead, I become accustomed to a morning diet of oatmeal, cream of wheat or pancakes. If I could go back in time I would do it all again. I was really happy when my mom made oatmeal because she made a few servings extra, which is not an easy task with all of those mouths to feed. I would enjoy my bowl in the morning but I discovered that I liked the dish even better as a leftover after school. Instead of eating it in a bowl with milk, I would fry the cooled mush in butter and sprinkle it with brown sugar; a delicious comfort food if ever there was one. Cream of ...

Though I have seen grand palaces and castles, stood before centuries old art and marveled at architecture that has endured millennia, I have discovered the people I meet make a trip more meaningful than the places I see. Several years ago my brother and I planned a reunion that included a cruise from Long Beach, to Catalina to Ensenada and back. This was not an exotic destination but it remains a favorite trip because of one day in Ensenada. We took the typical tourist trip to the Bufadora, a cove where the tide comes in and the water spouts out of a natural made blow hole. As a family of six we were limited in our taxi choices and weren't able to pair up with anyone else from my sibling group, so we found a driver of a van and made a go of it. I sat in the passenger seat next to the driver. After several minutes, he realized that I could actually speak Spanish and I asked how much he would charge to give us a tour of the city. The price was so reasonable that I didn't even c...

It was my turn to cook and my companion and I were completely booked. This day, I was going to need all of the two hour siesta to prepare the chicken casserole, bake it in the oven, make the side dishes, eat and then clean up before we were back out to work. I made it as easy as possible by getting up early and cooking the whole chicken so that I could easily remove the meat from the bones. That would save a half hour or more of valuable time. I placed the chicken in a pot and brought the water to a low boil because I didn't want to overcook the bird. Once the chicken was finished I would leave it in the refrigerator so that I could manually shred the cooked meat without getting burned. As I waited for the chicken to finish cooking, I put on my white shirt and tie, brushed my teeth and checked on the chicken that was close to being done to my liking. We had almost twenty minutes before we had to make the seven minute walk to the metro station to reach our first appointment, so ...

When I gaze upon the stars, I am filled with a sense of cosmic truth and connection, I feel that somehow there must be a way to unlock the mysteries that must lie somewhere in space, somewhere out there. I am drawn to the idea that eons ago, perhaps someone just like me was lying on his back looking at the space between the stars and pondering the same questions. Perhaps he looked right where the earth would someday be and thought about what lies beyond and what might someday be. Perhaps he imagined that there would be a kindred spirit who lived  in a distant galaxy and wondered how everything he could see had somehow come to be. It makes intuitive sense that we humans are not the first beings to ask these questions. And if by chance we are, it seems to make even more sense that we will not be the last. I frequently turn to the writings of others who know more about the universe than I do, but I feel limited because I seldom understand the foundations upon which they write. Appar...

There are moments in the middle of the summer when you can hear your body perspire. At night, when the sun has gone down, the atmosphere is supposed to release the excess heat so that in the morning we awake to cool and refreshing air. Yet, from late July to mid-August, Utahns can count on a few days where you will wake up and wonder whether the sun had ever gone down. This claim may seem silly but, there remains no room for doubt when you wake up and have to peel your sheets off of your body, leaving a sweat-stained silhouette on what might someday become an infamous shroud.  The first sign that it is going to be one of those nights has to be the pillow flip. Normally the purpose of the pillow is to provide that perfect blend of comfort and support to facilitate drifting off to sleep and quiet rest. But on those warm summer evenings when your head hits the pillow, you can feel the heat trapped between your cheek and the material. It only takes minutes for the pillow to assume...

I was six or seven the first time I sang a solo. It was long enough ago that I don't quite remember the reason for the occasion but I was chosen to sing the part of the cow in the song about the friendly beasts. A few of my friends and I went to several special practices at the home of our Primary chorister. The song was fun to do and I practiced for hours at home to make sure I did my best. After the performance everyone told all of the children that we had done well and we sounded good. I took the compliment with the understanding that I must have sounded like a really good cow. It was perhaps that moment that I began my fascination with animal sounds. Parents regularly teach their children the sounds that animals make and it's hard to make it through a children's book without a moo or a neigh. But I began to notice that the sounds that people say that animals make rarely sound like the animal, but are at best a weak simplification. So I began to practice actual dog sou...

I prefer to fill out my crossword puzzles with a pen. The permanence of the ink makes the pastime seem more like a craft than a simple diversion. In wood working they say it's best to measure twice and cut but once. Likewise, a beautiful crossword grid will contain no smudges, erasures, deletions or cross outs. Each square will beautifully connect with all the others until its answers and themes lie revealed. Well crafted crossword puzzles hide layers of connectivity that do not resolve until the grid is finished. The New York Times publishes perhaps the best puzzles that demand high standards of creativity and elegant execution. I appreciate the systematic publication decision by the Times to make the Monday puzzle relatively simple and increase the difficulty level each day. It was the Monday offering that persuaded me to use the pen. After brief practice, most people can complete the basic puzzles that are offered on the first day of the week. Many Monday clues come from a lis...

Recently I lost a pair of glasses. I own one pair that I wear most of the time. My wife picked out the frames and they reflect my personality as she sees it. They are black and bold and make some statement, although because I didn't pick them out I'm not sure what that is. Most people like them, which isn't a surprise as I have come to trust my wife's judgment on most things over the years, especially when it comes to what I wear. Because of all of the cycling I do I wanted amore sporty pair of glasses that would change tint with the light. I have a love/hate relationship with these glasses because they are lightweight and comfortable and they protect my eyes from the sun. This is handy because I ride to the east when I go to the office and I return toward the west. Both directions are obviously into the sun. But sometimes I forget that they have transitioned to dark until I see a photograph of myself standing with friends or family and I'm the guy who looks like ...

The final bell signaled the end of the school year and all of the students hurried out of the building ready to embrace the freedom of summer. Dreams of sleeping in, no homework, lots of baseball, and hanging out with friends created a palpable excitement that every kid intuitively knows. There is nothing like having almost all day to run and play and it seemed like the call to come on home always came a little too soon. The only drawback to summer vacation was missing so many of the dozens of friends beyond the kids in the neighborhood. You spend so much of your time in school that having those people cut out of your life for a few months was really aggravating. I would never have believed it if it hadn't happened, but the cure for missing your school mates is to go back to school in the summer. I never had to makeup classwork during the summer break, but when my mom found out that the junior high school had a marching band, she sent me up to the school a week into summer break....

About the only time I consumed soda as a child was when I was sick. Mom said that the carbonated water could help calm an upset stomach. Because the last thing anyone wants to do is  clean up after someone who got sick after drinking a grape or other colored soda, my mom stuck to the classic 7-Up. For some reason she never bought Sprite and to this day, if I drink Sprite I think it's tasty but a mere whiff of 7-Up will send my stomach on a virtual teacup ride. While it is never fun to be sick, it's not so bad when your mom is there ready to meet all of your needs and most of your wants. When I moved away from home, I was 19 years old and found myself living with five friends in the middle of Madrid, Spain. The adventure was part of a lifelong plan to give missionary service for two years. This meant leaving my home and all that I knew to share with others my beliefs and invite all the people I could to come unto Christ. The work was very simple but it required a lot of legwor...

The wooden racket was marked with multiple dings and scratches. The green stripe running up the handle had faded and the tape was worn with near daily use. The young boy could run for hours, and it was a good thing because the wall never lost. His local park had installed a giant wooden hitting wall along one fence and this made it possible to practice when no one else wanted to play. Little by little he hit the ball harder and more true and gradually his shots landed just above the line that marked where the net would have been. This solo practice paid dividends because others were more willing to play when they knew that they would have a game instead of teaching a little kid how to hit the ball. Few people noticed the boy as they were focused on their own games. It didn't help that he was small, his hair unkempt, and his shoes looked as worn and used as the old wooden racket. But as he improved he found the racket's sweet spot and he could make the tennis ball jump from th...

I seldom miss the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. I can sit down at a computer, input a simple search and immediately receive hundreds of thousands of results as possible answers to my question. With predictive text, sometimes the very result that I am seeking comes up before I have even finished the query. I don't know how Google knew, but while I was watching a DVD of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I was curious whether the producer, Mark Radcliffe, was any relation to Daniel Radcliffe. I had only typed Mark Ra when Mark Radcliffe, Producer appeared in a blue highlighted link that answered my specific question; they are not related. While doing legal research using the Westlaw database, I found thousands of results regarding the requirements for a direct adverse interest between two potential clients. After glancing through several results, I concluded how the conflict question could be resolved. The reach of these databases and the nimbleness of their al...

At the bend of the road in my subdivision, not quite two doors down and nearer the sidewalk than the middle of the road, sat the manhole cover. I knew it better as home plate during the day or the safe zone at night. This was the place that we always gathered to choose our teams or the spot where the person who was it would count while the rest of us scattered around the neighborhood. If the sun was out, we would play baseball or kickball, but when the moon ruled the night we would play hide and seek or kick the can. During summer break there was always a game being played in the middle of the street and you could always join in, even if you missed the start. Games would start when someone went outside and waited by the cover. Within a few minutes one or two friends would always show up and we'd warm up with a catch or a game of hot box. Once five or six kids gathered we'd start up a game. Because we were in the street we would often change to a tennis ball to avoid shatter...

I had never been on a winter camp before and despite some misgivings I went because Ron was bringing his snowmobiles. I had never been on a snowmobile and I didn't know if this chance was going to come again. I woke up early Saturday morning and once the sun was out I got my first ride on a snowmobile. Ron gave me some simple instructions and I hopped on and made my first cuts through the fresh snow. About 200 yards from our campground there lay a quarter to half-mile wide meadow that allowed for fast riding and was perfect for the beginning rider. I learnt how to lean and turn in the direction opposite of what I imagined. Even though it was cold and there was a bite in the air, each time I turned into the sun I beamed with joy and satisfaction. After riding for some time, I was disappointed when I was called back to camp to give someone else a turn. I stopped with the nose of the snowmobile facing up the mountain. Because the next boy hadn't ridden before, Ron asked me to tu...

"Why don't you read the dictionary?" my dad asked. "I can't do that," I said. "Yes you can and I promise you that if you will read one page of the dictionary every single day and choose three words from each page to use during that day, you will have a vocabulary that will allow you to express anything you ever want to say." I'm not sure which dictionary my dad had in mind, but my favorite version was part of the Encyclopedia Britannica that we had in our home. This was a two volume reference set that took me almost four years to finish. Had I followed my dad's advice and only read one page per day, it would have taken nearly twice that long. This collection of words represents the ultimate in Scrabble nightmares because almost every combination of letters spelled out some word. For years, I thought the term obs. for obsolete was the most common word in the English language as I had encountered it in what seemed like every other entry...

American capitalism finds its foundation in advertising. Consumers willingly pay a little bit more than the actual cost of products at the point of sale because almost every product carries a small percentage tied to the manufacturer's marketing expenses. For many years the three primary means of advertising distribution came through radio, television and newspapers. With advancements allowing digital information distribution, it seems that the newspaper industry has taken the biggest hit in the revenue stream from advertising. With the decline in advertisers who are willing to pay for static ads on the printed page, readers have seen a jump in prices for their daily news. But even with the increase costs, decreased subscriptions mean that the fees for a newspaper subscription still come short of paying the production costs and staff salaries leaving a void that monies from advertising has to cover. This is because the smaller subscriber base results in smaller amounts that the n...

I am absolutely certain that one of the reason I enjoy formal education is the regular chance to learn new things, or at least new to me. Five days a week I would go to school and meet with teachers and other students. Early on, lessons might have seemed like simple sessions of memorization. I sat through classes where we reviewed vocabulary words for spelling, repeated simple mathematic steps until I knew addition and subtraction by rote and the teachers recited important historical events and facts. Little by little these experiences added up to a basic set of knowledge and formed a comfortable basis to understand the world around me. With each passing year, most classes came to assume that the students possessed a certain subset of knowledge and the shift from learning facts to understanding how to learn became the purpose of education. Ultimately a post-graduate education requires even more, it demands that you discover things that might be learned and gives you the charge to dis...

Because of all the entertainment that awaits the press of our fingertips, some movies from my early marriage years go unwatched because of the seemingly outdated technology. I still possess a pile of, perhaps, one hundred shows on VHS. I have kid shows that I used to watch with my children and Spanish language versions of some Disney classics. Thanks to Netflix, iPads, and the internet in general, I don't usually expend even the minimal effort required to watch a videocassette. In case you have forgotten, you first have to find the tape, eject the tape that is already in the machine; and when you find that the show you want to watch wasn't rewound, you then have to rewind the tape before you can watch it. I hate to sound like the old guy sitting on my porch yelling at the kids to stay off of my grass, but I remember the days before a VHS. The idea that you could own a movie and watch it at your own leisure didn't arrive to me until high school days. The simply reality mea...

During the summer months, once I am out of bed I want to get on my bike and off to work as soon as possible. I ride toward the east and mountain sunrises seldom disappoint so I gladly adopt a more leisurely pace as I breathe the fresh morning air and take in the wonderful views. I can say that I don't miss the rush hour traffic that rolls along just a little later. Those morning rides are near stress free and infuse a calming perspective that lasts all day. But when the temperature doesn't even drop below 70, it really pays to get out before the sun's heat is ready to beat you up. The afternoon ride is a different story. Riding through a concrete jungle, the sun's heat doesn't just hit you once, no the solar rays find a multiplicity of ways to sap your energy and slow you down. I emerge from the parking tunnel rolling and confident and as long as I am moving the wind on my face repels the debilitating heat. The quality of my entire ride can turn on what happens ne...

I have never been able to watch "Schindler's List" from the beginning until the end in one sitting. I have had to watch the drama five or six times to actually see the entire program. The movie causes such swells of emotion that I simply cannot endure the visual experience that portrays such horrific inhumanity by one group against another. The real capability of humanity to lose sight of every moral compass and wander so far afield frightens me to the point where I am unable to continue to watch and reflect on the hows and whys. Yet, the heart of the story reminds us that there were always some people who were willing to push back against pure evil in an attempt to do some good. I thought of this experience when a friend recommended the documentary "Nicky's Family," which tells the story of an Englishman who helped rescue more than 600 children from Prague at the onset of World War II. It tells the story of what this man did as well as how decades later h...