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Running for Dreams – Monroe Journal – July 27, 2017
2013 – Los Angeles, California: In 2013, Matthew Barnett had chest pains while playing in a church softball game and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. The doctor told him, “You’re going to live, but you will never run a marathon.” This was fine with Barnett...
Miracle on the River Kwai – Monroe Journal – July 20, 2017
May 1943 – Chungkai Prison Camp – Thailand: Scottish Commander Ernest Gordon lay dying in the infamous Japanese prison camp in a Thailand jungle on the bank of the Kwai River. He had been placed next to fellow prisoners of war on the muddy ground next to several...
Mama’s Grit – Monroe Journal – September 9, 2021
1975 – Pelham, Alabama: Young Dabo witnessed things no child should see. Ervil Swinney, his alcoholic father, didn’t always come home at night, and on the nights he did, he often fought with his wife, Carol. Several times the police were called to their home. When...
There She Is – Monroe Journal – September 2, 2021
1964 – Ackerman, Mississippi: Seventeen-year-old Cheryl Prewitt told her father she was thinking about entering the Miss Choctaw County pageant. “No daughter of mine is going to parade herself around on stage in front of a bunch of strangers in a beauty contest. I...
Too Tall to Fly – Monroe Journal – August 25, 2021
November 14, 1965 – Ia Drang River Valley – South Vietnam: Captain Ed Freeman was the flight leader of the 229thAssault Helicopter Battalion, a 16-helicopter unit whose mission was to drop the soldiers and supplies of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment into a...
The Merchant of Death – Monroe Journal – August 19, 2021
1888 – Stockholm Sweden: As was his custom, Alfred Nobel read his newspaper, The Social Demokraten, while eating breakfast. The front-page story, “The Merchant of Death is Dead,” drew his attention. It began, “Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill...
On Top of the World – Monroe Journal – August 12, 2021
August 6, 1996 – El Capitan – Yosemite National Park, California: For three days, Ed Weihenmayer had been following his 28-year-old son Erik’s climb up the 3,000-foot granite wall called El Capitan. Ed sat in a lawn chair with his telescope, craning his neck as Erik...
Finishing – Monroe Journal – August 5, 2021
2005 – Fort Hays State University – Fort Hays, Kansas: Nola Ochs was cleaning out a closet when she discovered a brochure from Fort Hays State University. She sent them an email enquiring about her old transcript. Academic adviser, Joleen Briggs, finally found Och’s...
Big Hearted Bob – Monroe Journal – July 29, 2021
July 1999 – Belleville, Michigan: Tammy and Rusty Stafford had been expecting the letter. The company where Rusty had worked for more than two decades had been sold. Rusty didn’t have a retirement plan, but the big boss, Bob Thompson, had promised that everyone would...
Prisoner or Millionaire – Monroe Journal – July 22, 2021
1965 – Blackheath, England: Richard couldn’t read until he was 8. He found school boring. A high school teacher once wrote on his report card, “Richard tries very hard but has great difficulty in understanding the simplest mathematical process or in retaining any new...
