I never knew the man. He was a story told by my mother-in-law, a toy soldier moving along the game board of life, one step forward, two steps back, until he was finally cornered and died.

Her father's life seemed distant despite all her tales. He was a tailor, in his mid-30s, the father of five, when he left Scotland to fight the Germans in 1915…

he owl is a little scary-looking. I have to admit this, now that he's sitting in my office, next to my computer. This isn't his permanent home, mind you, just a resting place for this traveler.

He's headed south in a few hours, on a plane, in a trash bag, next to gloves, a face mask, ammonia and a shovel.

Off the store shelf and away from the dozens of other identical plastic…

Someday, we will look back on January 1998 as a time of peace and prosperity, and wonder how we could have been so stupid not to have enjoyed what we had when we had it. Someday we will wonder why on earth, when times were good, we had to wallow in someone else's bad news.

We have already wasted way too much energy, way too many words and brain cells and waking moments, speculating and moralizing about our president's…

The last episode of "Roots" was on television 21 years ago tonight. It was a Sunday, and I watched Part 8 on a small hospital screen, the sound mute. For a whole week, the 12-hour series had riveted me. But it couldn't hold my attention this night, because, just hours before, my daughter Julie had been…

I call Joan to see how she's doing and she says she's okay, but there is no joy in her voice, only sadness.

Her best friend died a month ago. Joan was with her when she died. She moved from Connecticut to be with Grace and seldom left her side during the long, slow month…

"Next to God, he is the most important man in the whole world." That's what Kait says. That's why, when her fourth-grade teacher announced the assignment, to go home and read and research, then write a report about the person you most admire, Kait never hesitated.

She chose President Clinton.

Clinton is her hero. She has a picture of him when he was young…

Brown towels. They're the metaphor this morning. They say it all. Brown towels are what the Boston Public School system gives to its kids.

At the Mattahunt Elementary School in Mattapan, brown towels are actually soaked in water, put in plastic bags, frozen, placed in a dorm-size refrigerator in the nurse's office and called "ice packs."

Necessity truly is the mother of invention…

It's a simple story of simple goodness that won't make Oprah or headlines because these kinds of things never do. People helping people. One ordinary woman making a difference in the lives of thousands.

Ho hum. Pass the clicker and turn…

She slipped them into an envelope and mailed them without a note for no note was necessary. The pictures, photocopies but as clear as the autumn days on which they were taken, arrived brimming with words.

"Mama. Come here! Look at me, Mama…