Tag: American Essence

Up in the Trees

The Nepalese poet Santosh Kalwar once wrote that “all our wisdom is stored in the trees.” If it takes climbing to the top of a sequoia to be wise, many of us would swiftly accept a life of oblivion instead. Isn’t it peculiar how humans tend not to think of gravity until we’re farther off…


A Historian of the Wild West

Flying into Cody, Wyoming, a glance out the window of the airplane reveals nothing but mountains as far as the eye can see. It’s rough yet majestic, desolate yet delightful. This least populous state may look uncharted from above, but once on land, the history and heritage of the West stand proud. In this part…


To the Stars

Dr. Lee Moradi is a humble man, one of those who would rather not receive attention. He is of medium build, with vigorous intensity hiding behind a thin veil of Persian alacrity. Moradi has worked with NASA since the 1980s—but he is not a rocket scientist. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, he is…


Tightknit Immigrant Brothers Open Mexican Restaurant Rooted in Love

His smile used to light up the room, and his laughter was contagious. He was happy and gregarious, always laughing, always welcoming. His eyes shone with a light that comes from within, the one that puts people at ease. Ultimately, he loved to make his guests feel at home when they dined at his restaurant,…


Nurturing Love From Pain

In her late 40s, Judy Crotchett would pick up a teenager named Richard from a group home in Kansas City, Missouri, on the weekends. This relationship with the troubled youth changed the direction of his life—and hers. Nearly 30 years later, and still mentoring Richard—who now has a family of his own—Crotchett has signed up…


Twirling on Ice

Oona Brown, 17, and her brother Gage Brown, 19, are on Team USA for U.S. Figure Skating. Although their lifetimes are short thus far, those lifetimes have been spent mostly on the ice. Their story begins in 2008, when Oona was 4 and Gage was 6. Gage and his older siblings were being homeschooled by…


Raising Puppies for the Blind

When Jeff and Cindy Scharfen’s daughter Misa was 10 years old, she wanted a puppy. What could be more normal? But sometimes, even with puppies, “Man plans, God laughs,” as the Yiddish proverb states. Cindy’s parents had recently received a non-qualifying, “career changed” guide dog as a gift from a friend, and when Misa, her…


Reawakening the Artist Within

Carmen Gloria Perez always dreamed about traveling the world. Then, when she was just 10 years old, her parents split up, and her mother took her from New York to Puerto Rico in hopes of starting fresh. Life was difficult, and her family had to rely on government assistance to get by. “When I was…


The Oldest Revolutionary War Hero

“Old Sam” Whittemore was about 80 when he encountered a British army of about 1,700. If a standard retirement age or the right to claim disability had existed in colonial America, Samuel Whittemore would probably not have felt these things were right for him. He was just one of the many minutemen who dropped his…


A Grand Move

Mike Marsh moves pianos for a living. Mike Marsh also drag races a Chevy Camaro. Two completely opposite interests, but those two are Mike Marsh’s job and hobby. “I got into drag racing because it was the farthest from what I did for a living,” Marsh said during a recent interview conducted while he was…