Wavy Gravy: Saint Misbehavin
"I was asked, in the mid-seventies, to go the Children's Hospital in Oakland and cheer up kids. On the way out the door of my house, someone handed me a red, rubber nose. I discovered it enabled me to get out of myself and be entertaining to the kids. After awhile, I began to paint my face up as a clown. I worked with kids almost every day for about seven years. I had to go to a political rally at... posted on May 18 2013, 1,341 reads

What My Mother Gave Me
"Mother's Day is this Sunday. While some people are racking their brains to think of the perfect way to show their love and appreciation for Mom, a group of distinguished women recently flipped that script and wrote about the most profound gift their own moms gave to them. Their essays are collected in the new book What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-One Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most." This art... posted on May 11 2013, 5,900 reads

The Gangster Gardener of LA
South Central Los Angeles is a food desert - an area filled with liquor stores, fast food chains and vacant lots. Tired of driving 45 minutes to buy food that is not chemically treated, Ron Finley decided to turn some of those unused plots, starting with the patch in front of his house, into a food forest. With obesity rates 5X higher in South Central than in Beverly Hills, a neighborhood only 8 t... posted on May 02 2013, 3,676 reads

Owner of the World's Friendliest Restaurant
"As anyone who's ever made a habit of eating out can tell you, restaurant service can be unpredictable, unnerving and off-putting. The food can be late. Servers can be rude and management can sometimes seem indifferent to your complaints and needs. This isn't the case at Tim's Place in Albuquerque, N.M., where every meal is accompanied by a hug from owner Tim Harris, who has Down syndrome.At Tim's... posted on Apr 27 2013, 3,703 reads

The Revolutionary Cardboard Bicycle
"Izhar Gafni smiles and shakes his head in wonder when asked about the whirlwind of events that have taken place since news of his revolutionary cardboard bicycle first made international headlines..."It's all happened so fast, and we did not expect it at all," exclaims Mr. Gafni, a heavyset man who displays all the qualities of an archetypal inventor -- a rapid, if somewhat erratic thought proces... posted on Apr 26 2013, 5,223 reads

7 People Under 30 Changing Our World
"Members of the Millennial Generation are predisposed to start organizations and businesses, with 15% doing so right out of college, an increase of 300% from 20 years ago. Here are the stories of seven people under 30 who are making this kind of impact from Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World." This Fast Company article shares more.... posted on Apr 20 2013, 6,084 reads

Jessica Cox: The World's First Arm-less Pilot
Jessica Cox is the world's first licensed arm-less pilot. Born without arms, she has never let this obstacle stand in her way. With a dauntless spirit and valiant creativity, she not only drives and plays piano but has also become the first arm-less black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association. Her story reminds us of the infinite capacities of the human spirit, and what we can do when we make... posted on Apr 18 2013, 3,943 reads

Hitting Rock Bottom & Learning to Truly Live
"Have you ever thought to yourself how amazing it is the way we control our body? We don't even have to think about it, we just do it. On the other hand, what if things were different? Imagine not being able to take a step, let alone stand." Vik Shivdasani has done more than just imagine that reality. At 22, a tragic fall from a third-floor balcony left him paralyzed waist down. For years he strug... posted on Apr 15 2013, 6,297 reads

L'Equip Petit: The Little Team
"Zero. We always end at zero," muses Haritz, goalkeeper of the very special football team profiled in this delightful video."We haven't scored a goal yet, but we've almost scored them," reports Ruth with a wistful hopefulness. The other teams do substantially better. Always. But the lopsided scoreboard tallies have hardly dimmed their passion for the game. "We don't even care if we don't score bec... posted on Apr 11 2013, 2,190 reads

Maya Angelou: Still I Rise
From the moment it was published in 1978, "Still I Rise" has been one of Maya Angelou's best-loved and most influential poems. It has inspired figures as diverse as Bill Clinton and Tupac Shakur and has become a staple in the canon of American poetry. Dr. Angelou's directness and candor affirms the power of individual strength over collective history, as well as to the power of individual lives to... posted on Apr 06 2013, 6,496 reads