Sterling Griggs

As I have gotten older I have grown to truly appreciate history. Not that I didn't enjoy history when I was in school, it's just that it didn't click with me as much as it does now. Of particular interest to me is the World War 2 era, probably because my grandfather served on a bomber in the Pacific theater. While he was alive I never heard him speak about  his experiences from the war, and what little I have learned has been from combing through old scrap books that my grandmother made and a small box of memorabilia that I discovered years after his death. Books about the men and women who served during World War 2 absolutely fascinate me. How did we defeat Japan and Germany with little more than nineteen and twenty year old kids serving so selflessly to defend our freedom? Time and again I read of their sacrifice and work ethic and I think, " What in the world is wrong with me ?" Harrowing stories of young marines storming the beaches of remote islands in the...

Once upon a time there was a teacher who didn't want to go to school to teach that day. It wasn't a Monday and she wasn't coming off of a nice vacation. She didn't want to go because she truly believed that the students she was there to teach didn't care.  Day after day she prepared lesson plans and poured her heart and soul into making literature come alive. Yet time and again her students came to class unprepared and she was convinced that almost none actually read the books she assigned - they opted for the Cliffs Notes instead. Yes, there were those bright students who engaged her now and again, but those seemed few and far between.  She didn't want to go to school today because she truly didn't know if she was making a difference. Once upon a time there was a volunteer at an after school program that bused in students after school. This volunteer had been serving at this post for several months now, yet all he could show for it was a pack of rowdy kids ...