The power of encouragement

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the famous 19th-century poet and artist, was once approached by an elderly man.
The old fellow had some sketches and drawings that he wanted Rossetti to look at and tell him if they were any good, or if they at least showed potential talent.

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A warm story to make your day brighter

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called "Smile."  The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reaction. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say, hello-anyway...so, I thought, this would be a piece of cake

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The obstacle in our path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant

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A boy giving his blood

There was a story of a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a disease and needed blood from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,

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To be individual

My happiness is me, not you.
Not only because you may be temporary,
But also because you want me to be what I am not.I cannot be happy when I change
Merely to satisfy your selfishness.
Nor can I feel content when you criticise me
  for not thinking your thoughts,

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Keep your dream

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the

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Forget me not: Two powerful stories of remembrance, hope and courage

Jim May, a storyteller who speaks in a disarmingly simple, matter-of-fact style, tells original stories of growing up in the rural farming, all-white town of Spring Grove, Illinois. His stories, both humorous and touching, range from coming-of-age German-Catholic experiences to horse trading tales and memories of family life. For children, he offers stories from traditional sources and a variety of cultures, in an effort to emphasize the wisdom of great tales that have been handed down from one generation to the next.

That practice of handing down stories from one generation to the next is especially poignant in his stories of John Henry, a former slave who found a welcoming home in a small Illinois town, and Lisa Derman, a resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor.

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