That Was Then “Mama?” I stood in the doorway of her dark bedroom. Light from the hall spilled around me and onto the bed where she lay, asleep, still in her skirt, blouse, and pantyhose. I crossed the room and stood beside the bed. “Mama?” I touched her shoulder. She jerked awake. “Dinner’s ready,” I said. “Oh.” She blinked in the light from the...

Her red eyes and splotchy face told me all I needed to know. Dad, I didn’t make the team. She had surprised us by expressing a desire to try out for the drill team—she, being our middle daughter who has not taken dance since she was three like some of her peers. We gave our support and prayed for her on the big day. Sometimes the prayers of a righteous...

Jeffrey Wright uses wacky experiments to teach children about the universe, but it is his own personal story that teaches them the true meaning of life.

If you want to improve your mind, take a walk. The medical journal Neurology released a study that shows walking helps delay some of the worst ravages of aging—both for body and mind. Just as important, the study suggests that exercise doesn’t have to be rigorous to be rewarding. Henry David Thoreau said when his legs began to move, his thoughts began...