Years ago, when 20th Century Fox advertised in the New York papers to fill a vacancy in its sales force, one applicant replied: "I am at present selling furniture at the address below. You may judge my ability as a salesman if you will stop in to see me at anytime,...

The black man standing in the arena was an affront to Der Fuehrer's authority. The scene was the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, Germany. The black man was Jesse Owens of The Ohio State University representing the USA. He was aptly called "the fastest human alive."...

Antonio Stradivari was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1644. Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky, he did not pass the audition for the Cremona Boys’ Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbors persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted...

In April, 1988 the evening news reported the sad story of a photographer who was also a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with several other skydivers and filmed the group as they individually dove out of the plane and opened their parachutes. As the video...

A man, returning from a business trip, was met at the airport gate by his wife. They walked from the gate together and were standing waiting for the baggage to be unloaded. An extremely attractive stewardess walked by. Suddenly, the man came to life. Beaming, he said...

There is a legend handed down from the early Church about John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Of the twelve original apostles, only John lived to a ripe old age. In his later years, not only his body but also his eyesight and his mind began to fail him. Eventually,...

Last year St. Joachim parish Fall Festival was organized for two days in front of the Parish Hall. The Knights of Columbus were in charge of the festival and put in a lot of hard work to make it a success. Their hard work brought in $14,071 to the parish fund....

At the end of World War II, the Russian head-of-state gave an elaborate banquet to honor the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Russians arrived in their best formal wear -- military dress uniforms -- but their honored guest did not. Churchill arrived...

There was a legend, well-known in New Testament times, that in the building of God’s Temple by Solomon most of the stones were of the same size and shape. One stone arrived, however, that was different from the others. The builders took one look at it and said, "This...

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss the pay check, but he needed to retire. They could get...

There is a story about Simon Peter and Dismas, the repentant thief on the cross. Simon Peter, the big disciple, and Dismas, the thief on the cross, both died and went up to Heaven. They both knocked on the door, and they both got into Heaven. But, up in Heaven, Simon...

Once upon a time two brothers, who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a conflict. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It...