INKLINGS OF HOPE

Tilly Smith, 10, put her geography lessons to good use last year. By quickly recognizing the warning signs of a tsunami [last December], the British schoolgirl saved about 100 people from almost certain death at a Thai resort. On November 4, she got an award for it. I'd like to see an award named for her, and given regularly to somebody who saves lives by remembering and using something learned in elementary or secondary school. It would be such a refreshing change from the perpetual "English was my worst subject," "I hated math," and, worst of all, "I don't remember anything I learned in high school."
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This has been a wonderful autumn for leaf colors here in Chicago. The weather mavens had predicted the usual around here--overnight, the leaves would all turn brown, and the next night, they would all fall off. Not this year. We have had wild displays of red and orange and yellow and brown and green-gold for the last two weeks, despite several episodes of wind and rain. A lot of leaves have fallen, but there is still a lot of beauty out there.