03.26.09
Monitor writers celebrate ‘unique’ moments
From crawling on the carpet with Ronald Reagan to sipping tea with the Che Guevara of Afghanistan, former staffers recount stories as the Monitor transitions to new formats.
03.26.09
St. Joe teaches Thai orphans ‘to be good’
‘Stay with these poor people if you can,’ urged Mother Teresa – and Father Joseph Maier does.
03.25.09
Surviving Iraq: A US Army grunt’s tale
Spc. Brian Hunsuck is the boy next door on the front lines: He lost a friend, nearly lost a leg, and still acts like Beaver Cleaver.
03.24.09
Great Depression icon meets the great recession
A modern visit to the nonfictional Sallisaw, Okla. – home of the fictional ‘Grapes of Wrath’ Joads
03.23.09
Britons rally to save red phone booths
In the age of the cellphone, the beloved kiosks find new significance as a cultural icon.
03.20.09
Rehearsing to act ‘natural’ on reality TV
A prep school for ‘American Idol’ wannabes coaches them for auditions.
03.19.09
When NYPD wears a Muslim topi
Police chaplaincy lets Khalid Latif embody both Islam and American culture.
03.18.09
The West’s largest Buddhist stupa rises in Spain
Benalmádena’s Enlightenment Stupa is a karmic surprise amid the Moorish minarets and ancient Christian steeples.
03.17.09
An independent bookseller stars in her own fairy tale
Nancy Traversy took on the big chain-store dragons to rule her own realm – Barefoot Books for children.
03.16.09
New online dictionary redefines ‘look it up’
Lexicographer Erin McKean’s interactive ‘Wordnik’ is projected to be the largest online dictionary ever.
03.13.09
Thanks for reading me – and occasionally laughing
I’m turning off the keyboard on my humor dispatches. Remember, I was only trying to summon a wry smile.
03.13.09
The country needs a corrector-general
This czar would force us to fix things in the neighborhood, such as leaky oil pans, broken sprinkler heads that spritz pedestrians, and left-open garage doors.
03.12.09
A grand quest to rid an island of rats
Scientists carrying out the ambitious program on Rat Island hope to return the volcanic outcropping in the Aleutian chain to its original splendor as a seabird paradise.
03.11.09
A mandolin revival creates ‘The Montana Sound’
Strumming up the past in the Rockies – a 1902 photo inspired a revival of an instrument that used to rival the cowboy’s campfire guitar.
03.10.09
Christian outreach moves into the inner city
The New Monastics, young Evangelicals in the mold of early Benedictines, seek to ‘radiate’ their faith by living among and helping the needy.
03.09.09
Charter schools’ biggest crisis: A place to call home
A Georgia public charter school is crammed into a rented church, while a school building nearby stands empty.
03.06.09
‘Apes’ own a piece of the Rock (of Gibraltar)
Wild ‘apes’ stole my snuggly! A macaque on Gibraltar snatches her toddler’s favorite toy and a woman finds out about Europe’s only wild primates.
03.05.09
Expert judgment at the Philadelphia Flower Show
From sweet peas to tactful brotherly love – a judge at the city’s flower show needs a broad eye for detail.
03.04.09
A nightclub for nerds makes science cool in New York
The Secret Science Club meets once a month, drawing lofty speakers and large numbers of young people, who yearn to discuss sci-tech issues in an informal setting.
03.03.09
Soldier’s Afghan dog story comes back to bite
Don’t ask, don’t tell? Pets are forbidden – but the rules are often overlooked in Afghanistan and Iraq.
03.02.09
Homeless people act out realities of life on stage
The Seldom Seen Actors perform plays with a mission - saving others from addictions and a life on the street that they’ve faced themselves.
02.27.09
Don’t tap me for ‘Dancing With the Stars’
I like living anonymously, so no one with a cell phone can inadvertently record me having a nasty encounter with a pet or tap me to be on a TV show.
02.27.09
Why don’t people act their age?
I don’t want to Twitter and Tweet. I want to play bingo and enjoy the early bird special.
02.26.09
In the hands of babes: Thai elephants’ future
A new generation of mahouts – some as young as 7, and as lightweight as 50 pounds – bend the will of the massive beast.
02.25.09
Last of a breed who make boats out of reeds
On the shores of famed Lake Titicaca, Demetrio Limachi and a handful of others toil to preserve the ancient art of creating crescent-shaped craft out of bundles of dried reeds.
