In the front yard of a house in Mineral Wells, Texas, sits an enormous steel boat that has been under construction since 1987. Its builder, an 86-year-old man named Dale, has spent nearly four decades working toward one dream: sailing his own boat to Alaska. The vessel stretches 62 feet and has four staterooms. Dale … Read more
Scott Jacobs was driving near Spearfish, South Dakota, when he noticed something hanging from a barbed-wire fence beside the road. It looked like a dead hawk, and he mentioned it to his wife, Sharon, as they drove past. Sharon immediately told him to turn around. She’d rescued horses, cats, and dogs before, and she wasn’t … Read more
Every time Kate Fink arrived at Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, there was a good chance she’d run into a man named Jon Avery. He worked outside the main entrance, greeting patients and taking their cars while they went inside for treatment. Kate was battling breast cancer, and those hospital visits had … Read more
David Kraning had finally decided to close his family’s video rental store in Pocatello, Idaho. After more than 30 years in business, Video Stop was losing money, and he couldn’t afford to keep it open any longer. But there was one customer he couldn’t stop thinking about. Her name was Christina Cavanaugh. She was 35 … Read more
On January 14, 2008, 20-year-old Jonny Benjamin was standing on Waterloo Bridge in London, going through one of the worst moments of his life. He had recently been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and he was struggling to see any kind of future for himself. Hundreds of people were making their way across the bridge that … Read more
In 2002, Narayanan Krishnan was preparing for the biggest opportunity of his cooking career. He had already worked as an award-winning chef at a five-star hotel in India and was being considered for a prestigious position in Switzerland. At just 21 years old, he had the kind of future many young chefs dream about. But … Read more
A woman knocked on Jon Potter’s car window while he was filling up at a gas station in Pittsburgh. She needed a ride to a shelter for women escaping abuse, or enough money to take the bus. Jon said no. Almost immediately, he wished he hadn’t. He got out of his car and tried to … Read more
At around 9:30 in the evening, Jorge Muñoz would pull up beneath the elevated train tracks in Jackson Heights, Queens. People were already waiting for his white pickup truck and the home-cooked meals packed inside. Earlier that day, he had been driving a school bus. After finishing his route, he went home and began cooking … Read more