We just spent five minutes in the bank. Five While I used the ATM in the lobby, I advised my kid to remain nearby. He was in one of those moods—curious, wiggly, asking questions about everything from ceiling fans to how money “comes out of the wall.” Before I know it, I look back and he’s full-on talking up two California Highway Patrol cops behind a table near the front entrance like they’re his long-lost uncles. At first I worried, prepared to apologize for his troubling them, but before I could even intervene, one of the cops crouched down to…
Author: World Wide
Ham in the oven, pastel eggs all around, and my grandma screaming at folks to “get out of her kitchen if you’re not stirring something,” Easter brunch was already in full swing. Roman then entered. He is five. He was outfitted from head to toe like a scuba diver. Wet suit. Fins. A set of swimming goggles with a snorkel fastened to them. He even had a soda bottle spray-painted silver tied to his back like an oxygen tank. Initially, we all simply sort of looked at him like… what? Then my uncle started to laugh. Then the entire room…
You believe you know your child; then one day you discover something that completely stuns you. When I found this shoebox buried under my son’s bed packed with crumpled dollars, piles of quarters, and a few wrinkled fives all bound together with rubber bands, that is precisely what occurred. Initially, I was perplexed. Every week I had been giving him lunch money, just enough for the rare treat or cafeteria pizza. Perhaps he was saving for some footwear he’d been looking at or a new video game. When I inquired about it, he became silent; eyes racing, unsure whether he…
Raising my boys was never simple, but I always reminded myself it would be worthwhile. From the very beginning, it seemed like there was always something I had to set aside—my profession, my interests, perhaps even my sleep—just to guarantee they had every chance I never had. Years passed when I couldn’t buy new clothes, yet I never skipped a late-night discussion on life’s major issues, a game, or a parent-teacher conference. At times I questioned whether they even saw all those tiny sacrifices. Driving kids to early morning practices before dawn, patching up injured knees, and assisting them with…
In a scandal that humiliated the left, a tech startup founder and frequent Democrat donor has been arrested for cheating multiple investors out of a total of $145 million, leading to the downfall of his “climate-friendly banking” initiative, which reportedly drew funding from the likes of Drake, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Orlando Bloom. For context, Joseph Neal Sanberg, a 45-year-old who once told the press that he was planning on running for president, was arrested on March 5, 2025, after a co-conspirator named Ibrahim Ameen AlHusseini came forward and pled guilty to wire fraud, telling authorities that he had received about…
Underwood and Mike Fisher walked the red carpet together for the first time in two years, making headlines. Since winning American Idol in 2005, Carrie Underwood has become a country music superstar. The Oklahoma singer has won seven Grammys and sold 85 million records worldwide with singles like “Before He Cheats” and “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” From her Calia fitness brand, health app, and American Idol judgeship, Underwood, 42, has developed a successful business. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHbjU7gvJwl/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet Since Randy Travis named her to the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, Underwood has been a tremendous presence on the stage. Her…
The grandparents had been together 62 years. Sixty-two. Three times longer than I’ve lived. However, they’ve lived apart for eight months. Grandpa needs particular care, and no economical place could accept them both. Grandma now sleeps alone every night in a smaller facility across town for the first time in over 60 years. Once, in private, she said, “It’s the loneliness that hurts more than anything.” Grandpa always asks, “Where’s my little mouse?” when we come. His nickname for her. She enters, and his face lights up like he’s seeing her again. However, visiting hours end. She must depart. He…
I saw him enter after replenishing the coffee station, apprehensive, like he expected to be booted out before he got passed the doorway. His clothing were torn, his shoes were wearing off, and his face showed more than just fatigue. He said, “Excuse me, ma’am,” avoiding my gaze. Do you have extra change? Just enough to eat?” I was used to street people begging for money. Some were merely unlucky, while others were excessively dependent. I had been burned before—given food just to see it sold. I posed the familiar inquiry. “Why are you unemployed?” My voice was direct, not…
After my parents divorced and my mom died, I had to move in with my dad, whom she always branded a “hopeless loser.” Living with him was unique. I caught him sneaking away late at night without knowing why. Prom was approaching, but I didn’t care. No date, wheelchair, and feeling trapped in every way—it wasn’t a fun night. Surgery could improve my life, but without money, it was a dream. I recognized that prom wasn’t for me. My dad, whom my mom constantly doubted, suddenly claimed he was taking me. No idea what to anticipate, but that night altered…
