It doesn’t matter how talented and intelligent you are if you aren’t around when the opportunities occur.  The opportunities and promotions will go to the people who can be counted on to be there to complete the task.  There are some days that I show up and wonder if my presence has done any good and there are other days when I get a chance to really shine.  I never call be sure which kind of day tomorrow will be.  I come to school every day so I don’t miss out on the great days.

“America the Beautiful” celebrates the ideal of our nation that inspired Heroes “who more than self their country loved.”  A key to bringing our reality close to our ideal is that we good citizen be crowned with brotherhood.

Crowns are usually associated with monarchies, not democracies, so think about checkers, where crowns are earned by good plays.  The crown bestows each king with increased power and flexibi...