Candy for Mickey Mouse
The Boston Globe has been running some especially strong stories lately. Bob Hohler's "If They Want to Play, They Have to Pay" describes how children sell cookies, hawk candy and shake donation cans in neighborhoods across America so they can gather enough contributions to participate in Pop Warner football championships. These hard-earned coins and dollars, Hohler reveals, ultimately contribute to the Walt Disney Co.'s $3.4 billion annual profits.
Last month the Globe featured a terrific series by Alice Dembner that shows us what it's like to recover from a broken hip. In "After the Fall," Dembner follows the courageous rehabilitation efforts of Angeline Scardino and Rita Erichsen, two of the increasing numbers of seniors who suffer hip fractures. The stories are full of finely written passages such as this one:
Finally in a room at Beth Israel, Angie looked every bit her age. Sunlight from a scorcher of a day beat in, bleaching her white hair and highlighting the weariness in her plump face. She was tethered to the bed by tubes that carried oxygen and fluids and by compression booties that kept blood moving in her legs to avoid clots. When the boots inflated, she said, it felt like her beloved dachshunds, Symantha and Sydney, pawing at her legs. The thought brought an ear-to-ear grin and a momentary sparkle to her eyes.
Bill Greene's photos give Dembner's stories extra power.