Saturday, November 28, 2009

“Louisville fires former TU coach Steve Kragthorpe - Tulsa World” plus 4 more

“Louisville fires former TU coach Steve Kragthorpe - Tulsa World” plus 4 more

Louisville fires former TU coach Steve Kragthorpe - Tulsa World

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 05:19 PM PST

Sports Editor Mike Strain's blog: Vote on our poll question. Are you glad it didn't work out for Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville?

LOUISVILLE — Louisville fired football coach Steve Kragthorpe after finishing the year at 4-8, the school's worst season in more than a decade.

Athletic director Tom Jurich met with Kragthorpe Saturday morning, hours after the Cardinals finished the season with a 34-14 loss to Rutgers.

"I felt we needed to go in another direction and get this program back on the track," Jurich said Saturday afternoon.

Kragthorpe went 15-21 in three seasons after replacing Bobby Petrino in January 2007. He had two years remaining on a contract that paid him about $1.1 annually. Jurich said Kragthorpe will receive a $2.2 million buyout.

"I was hoping we'd get over the hump this year," Jurich said. "I thought we could get through the year and really build some momentum and obviously that didn't happen."

Jurich said a national search would begin immediately. The list of candidates could include Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer.

Head coaching experience would not be a priority in finding Kragthorpe's replacement, Jurich said.

He added he's looking for someone who can bring energy back to a program that was an emerging

national power when Kragthorpe took over for Petrino fresh off a season in which the Cardinals went 12-1 and won the Big East title and the Orange Bowl.

"I want to get a great leader of men and somebody that will take us to the heights we want to be at," Jurich said.

Kragthorpe was not available for comment Saturday. He is expected to do so Monday, school spokesman Rocco Gasparro said.

Louisville failed to make a bowl game in any of Kragthorpe's three years. The Cardinals went 5-16 in the Big East during his stay while fan support eroded. A crowd of 23,422 turned out for the season-finale against the Scarlet Knights, the second-lowest total in the history of the stadium.

Jurich, who said he came to a decision in the middle of the week, said fan apathy played a role.

"I watched as the whole season progressed and I feel like we needed a change in culture, a change in scenery," Jurich said.

He'd in no rush, however, to find the coach who will start the rebuilding. He needed less than 48 hours to hire Kragthorpe after Petrino's abrupt departure, but said he has no plans to talk to some of the candidates on his list until the end of the regular season.

"I'm not going to intrude on anybody that's playing right now," he said.

Jurich called Kragthorpe "a slam dunk" when he made the hire on Jan. 9, 2007 and acknowledged on Saturday he'd probably hire Kragthorpe if he had to do things over again.

"He was the hottest guy in the country at the time," Jurich said.

Kragthorpe's stock blossomed after he resuscitated Tulsa's moribund program in 2003, turning the Golden Hurricane — who won two games total in the two years before Kragthorpe's arrival — into a perennial bowl contender.

Success proved more elusive at Louisville. His stay began with a top 10 ranking and whispers of a national title shot after Kragthorpe helped persuade star quarterback Brian Brohm to return for his senior season.

Brohm, however, couldn't overcome a porous defense. The Cardinals quickly tumbled from the rankings following a last-second loss to Kentucky in his third game on the job.

Louisville finished 6-6 in 2007, but the Cardinals appeared to get some of their swagger back midway through the 2008 season. They upset South Florida to improve to 5-2 before the bottom fell out. Louisville dropped its final five games, including a 63-14 loss to Rutgers on national television in the season finale.

Kragthorpe came forward the next day pledging to turn things around quickly. Despite the second overhaul of his staff in as many years, it simply didn't happen.

This fall looked a lot like the last two, with Louisville losing close games because of turnovers, penalties and mental errors.

Kragthorpe's players defended him, saying he'd made the locker room a better place when he cleaned house following Petrino's departure. Nearly two dozen players either left or were kicked off the team during Kragthorpe's first 18 months. The coach said the moves were necessary but robbed the Cardinals of depth.

Kragthorpe went through the junior college ranks to fill most of the holes. While there were several success stories — such as linebacker Jon Dempsey — there weren't enough to keep Louisville atop the Big East.

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Train Village: The Legend of Buck’s County and the Cave - Herald-Bulletin

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 05:26 PM PST

Published November 28, 2009 07:17 pm - No one really knows what actually happened centuries ago. Documentation was destroyed and it seems that a lot of the facts were missing.

Train Village: The Legend of Buck's County and the Cave

The Legend of Buck's County and the Cave

No one really knows what actually happened centuries ago. Documentation was destroyed and it seems that a lot of the facts were missing. The legend of Buck's County is probably more mythology than historical fact. The following is what was written.

The Nachaka Valley was once the home of a very peaceful tribe of Native Americans, the Nachaka Indians. In the early 1700s the valley was settled by a group of Scotch-Irish immigrants.

The white immigrants settled in the eastern part of the valley. The Indian land was to the far west and was separated by a huge mountainous wooded mound, which sat in the middle of a large swamp. There was an ancient Indian trail that allowed passage from the Indian camp to the new settlement, which later became Anderson City.

It was said that there once lived in this area, a huge man who was never known to laugh or make light of any situation. HE spoke with a brogue that was totally unknown to everyone. Where he came from was a mystery. He was called only by the name of Buck' and some people followed him out of sheer terror.

By the late 1700s, the Native Americans in this area had gotten along well with the white settlers who lived in Buck's County. This was also true of the strange people who dwelled in the secret caverns known only as "Those Who Speak With Their Eyes." The Nachaka People said that the cave dwellers fell to Earth from a world beyond the stars. These alien beings had been trading with the Indians longer than anyone in the tribe could remember.

Buck's power grew as more degenerates joined his group of marauders. He ended up taking over the entire valley. Finally, in the early morning hours, his small army of criminals attacked the Nachaka People in their sleep. They disappeared from the Earth forever. In less than one day, Buck and his men completely destroyed the Indians and took their land. He claimed it for his own, and called his new conquest, Bucktown.

Buck had heard stories of the strange blue beings that lived in caves, which were situated in the middle of a dense swamp. But he dismissed the rumors as old wive's tales and ignorant superstition. Dismissed them, that is, until he was convinced that the cave dwellers really did exist.

There lived in the area at that time, an oracle known as Prann. It was known that she had traded with the Indians and knew their culture and traditions very well. Buck kidnapped the poor woman. He tortured and threatened her until she broke down and gave away the secret to the cave entrance.

When Buck's Marauders attacked Those Who Speak With Their Eyes, a huge explosion killed almost everyone and destroyed everything inside the cave. Buck and a few of his followers somehow managed to escape. Buck was burnt so badly that he was unrecognizable.

Some believed that Prann had cursed him. For Buck no longer looked human. He lost all of his power and never left Bucktown again. For the rest of his years, Buck suffered terribly every day of his long agonizing life. Bucktown never recovered; it has been a poor depleted area since that time.

The Cave sat idle for more than a century and a half. In 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers drained the swamp and cleaned out the cave. It became a huge ammunition dump until after World War II.

In 1948, a wealthy land developer acquired the cave from the U.S. Government and turned it into a cultural center. He simply called it "The Dome." It became the center of attraction for the entire Nachaka Valley.

Written by Larry Davenport

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Hollywood sea of change - Variety

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 04:07 PM PST

A slew of international deals challenge studios' traditional role

Is Hollywood outsourcing its first-look deals?

On Nov. 19, Brad Pitts Plan B shingle signed with Indias megabucks media giant Reliance Big Entertainment to develop the vidgame Dark Void into a film. At the same time, Reliance signed with Imagine Entertainment partners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard in a deal that kicks off with Reliances acquisition of Mofos, a Josh Berghaus/Jay Shore-scripted comedy.

When companies like Imagine and Spyglass, and production shingles of Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Chris Columbus, Julia Roberts and Walter Parkes & Laurie MacDonald have a project, they are as apt to get the greenlight from Asia, India, Europe or the Middle East as they are from a Hollywood studio.

In the past 18 months, five non-U.S. media companies have signed deals with a slew of Hollywood talent, with at least four more major pacts expected within the next few months.

While foreign investment in Hollywood is nothing new recall Vivendi and Matsushitas separate ownership of Universal and Sonys current ownership of Columbia Pictures this new wave in international money appears more targeted and talent-focused. In some instances, they are bypassing the studios and working directly with stars and filmmakers. And they want more than just an onscreen credit and a share in profits: They are asking to be included in the development process.

The newcomers make it clear that theyre not trying to usurp the majors. They want the studios as their partners in financing films, and are also deferential with talent that has existing first-look studio alliances, like the one Parkes-MacDonald has at DreamWorks, Grazer and Howard have at Universal, and Pitt has at Paramount.

The goal goes beyond securing distribution rights in their home territories. Theyre broadening their businesses by controlling content and working within the Hollywood system. And, in many cases, theyre hoping to parlay the imminent deals into co-financing pacts with the majors. In short, theyre becoming genuine global players.

The scale is ambitious. For example, Reliance got the trend rolling when it announced first-look deals in May 2008. Since then, it has acquired some 20 projects, and expects to put two to four films into production next year, aiming to continue that pace for the next several years.

The amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which theyre able to move, says helmer-producer Brett Ratner, for whom Reliance acquired Rob Liefelds superhero graphic novel Youngblood to direct. They also have the ability to partner up or co-finance the film with a studio. It really offers freedom for the talent theyre working with.

Most of these deals have occurred so recently that there is no way to judge the results. But the pacts challenge the accepted definition of what a Hollywood film is even what a Hollywood studio is as these offshore companies gain creative influence and lend their cultural sensibilities to the creative process and play on the broadest global level possible.

A few examples:

• Seoul-based CJ Entertainment, a powerhouse in Asian production and distribution, made a first-look deal with Columbus and his 1492 banner (which is also part of the Reliance roster). The goal of the three-year pact: generate family-friendly global blockbusters that will help CJ broaden its reach. CJ execs say they are open to investing in other filmmakers.

n Imagenation Abu Dhabi last month staked Parkes and MacDonald to a $10 million revolving development fund for their shingle, which is making the Steve Carell starrer Dinner for Schmucks and a third installment of Men in Black.

• Frances Studio Canal just forged production partnerships with Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaums Spyglass Entertainment, Joel Silvers Dark Castle and Neal Moritzs Original Films.

• Gaumonts first-look deal with producer Nick Wechsler, sealed last May, puts the French minimajor in the center of several projects that include the Julian Fellowes-scripted Greek Fire, with Eva Mendes playing Maria Callas in a drama about her affair with Aristotle Onassis, and the Paul Schrader-scripted Dying of the Light, a Nicolas Winding Refn-directed thriller. Gaumont chairman Sidonie Dumas and CEO Christophe Riandee also have an informal arrangement with producers Alexandra Milchan and David Seltzer for English-language projects.

• Reliance has created first-look deals with the production companies of CAA-repped stars and directors, including Nicolas Cage, Brett Ratner, Jay Roach, Jim Carrey, Clooney, Columbus, Hanks, Pitt and Roberts.

To some, this is a big break for filmmakers, since it offers them an alternative to studios, which are increasingly banking on presold brands and effects-heavy pics. In years past, foreign bucks provided a solid resource for art films. But since foreign audiences are increasingly embracing effects-heavy action films 2012 earned $341 million in only 10 days overseas some filmmakers worry that the new investments will begin to favor that genre, at the expense of serious dramatic films.

But at least for now, the deals are extremely attractive. As the majors are gradually retreating from first-look deals, the offshore companies are stepping in, paying overhead and providing coin for their scripts.

Hollywood talent agencies have latched onto the outsourcing trend as a way to find development coin for future projects, since most Hollywood studios arent spending money on such efforts until 2010.

CAA has been at the forefront, but other agencies are following suit. UTA, for instance, recently hired former veteran WMA indie film agent Rena Ronson, and one of her priorities is to scout funding opportunities for clients. The CAA team that put together Reliance and CJ deals expects giant companies in other regions to take part as well. Likely suspects include Germanys Constantin, Frances Metropolitan and the U.K.s Entertainment Films, which all need to replace films once generated through a deal with New Line. As economic conditions improve, talent deals might even be made by companies based in places like Russia and China.

For the past few years, the studios traditional assets notably physical production space such as backlots and soundstages have found themselves competing against much improved facilities and financial incentives across the world. Now with distribution systems in the midst of the digital switchover, and uncertainty prevailing over how to best monetize the online model the international companies are embracing the mantra that content is king.

With proven track records in their home countries, these players are hardly starry-eyed. They look at the relatively risky game of staking development as a way to secure commercial product for their own pipelines, and to realize expansion ambitions by co-financing big films with Hollywood studios.

Reliance, for example, is keen to establish itself as a global media giant. Already huge in India, the conglom sees Hollywood as the logical territory for major expansion. The first-look deals complement the companys investment in DreamWorks.

Imagenation, on the other hand, is more of a financial investor, looking for a return on its money as well as helping to build Abu Dhabi into a regional film hub.

For StudioCanal, the forging of its partnerships is directly linked to its multiterritory distribution operations in France, the U.K., Germany and Benelux.

You cant supply three territories just by buying at markets, says Ron Halpern, Studio Canals head of international production and acquisition, who also oversees U.S. productions. A lot of our partnerships have come out of StudioCanal bringing material to producers and the partnerships which weve forged over the years. We need good, ambitious English-language projects. Otherwise theres no benefit to distributing in all these territories.

For Korea-based CJ Entertainment, the allure was expansion into the West, with the secondary benefit of securing Asian distribution for films generated by Columbus. Its the companys biggest Hollywood play since CJ Group chairman Miky Lee became one of the original DreamWorks investors, an arrangement that ended when Paramount bought the studio in 2006.

The company sees itself as a multiplatform consumer lifestyle brand that includes food products and other venues, says Ted Kim, exec veep and head of production for CJ Entertainment America. We see ourselves as a content company with distribution assets, and this was an extraordinary opportunity to work with 1492 at a time when the confluence of studio business and worldwide distribution is changing. CJs long-term goal is to be a gateway between Asia, Hollywood and the West.

Both Kim and CJs senior veep and head of international Michael Suh said they hope 1492 will consider the occasional Asia-oriented storyline and Asian talent, and maybe tell some stories aimed at the Asian market. But they will give Columbus and his 1492 cohorts the kind of creative latitude they show talent at home.

The Korean film environment right now is similar to Hollywood in the 70s, Kim says. It is very much an auteur-driven market, where directors tell stories, and we support the filmmakers. There is incredible freedom, and we did not sit down with Chris and say this is what we want. Its really about, Lets make films that can play around the world.?

The offshore investments arent without risk, though.

Development funding is considered the most speculative, as perhaps two of 10 projects developed get made. India-based UTV has made aggressive moves into Hollywood over the past few years, but a development deal with Will Smith and James Lassiters Overbrook hasnt led to a film yet, and a 50% financing stake in the M. Night Shyamalan film The Happening didnt pay off in a hit.

Still, the development business is less pricey than in past years, because specs, pitches and books are selling for lower sums, and writers are working cheaper. All of the new development arrangements are set up to be lean and mean, and selective in terms of the projects that are acquired. And the construction of the deals calls for the development funding to be recouped when it becomes part of the films budget line.

Ratner is also a creative consultant on Reliances ambitious $30 million Kites, starring Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori, helping the producers re-edit the film and secure domestic distribution.

Thats all part of a strategy of ensuring that these international players arent simply seen as faceless checkbooks.

Were not a purely financial investor. We are a strategic investor, says Reliance topper Amit Khanna. In this new global world, it makes sense for people to work together across many markets. Talent needs to be treated in a certain manner. That was how the studios were initially built by people like Sam Goldwyn.

Producers and talent who have made such deals marvel at the ease of getting approvals to buy projects Khanna has approved purchases in as few as 15 minutes vs. the bureaucracy of major studios. They also dont miss the micromanaging that Hollywood studios are famous for.

The best thing about this is you have a chance to take a project from a nascent stage to finished script with the least amount of notes, other than the ones coming from you and the filmmaker, says producer Wechsler of his Gaumont deal. Because the economics at studios are so big, there are so many other projects that distract the powers that be from focusing on you. In only a few months, we have put together a few great projects. They have very commercial instincts about how a project should be developed, and they are smart. And since I am one of their few partners in this regard, their attention is focused on me and Im not competing with 20 other projects.

And while these companies are under no illusion about what is attracting them to Hollywood talent, these new partnerships are taking place against a backdrop of fundamental shifts in the workings of the global film biz.

There are big changes in the ways that films are financed, says Gaumont topper Riandee. This is true in every country. The big TV networks are putting in less money, DVD sales are down and VOD has not replaced the lost DVD revenues. We want to secure the best projects out there, and for English-language projects, you absolutely have to work with an American partner.

As for identifying which projects to move forward with, the usual questions of budget and global appeal are as relevant as finding culturally appropriate material.

Companies such as Imagenation and Reliance are unlikely to want to develop or finance projects likely to offend auds in the Arab world or India. While the potential remains for cross-cultural misunderstanding, U.S. filmmakers and their international partners are more sensitive to each others beliefs and values than ever before.

We havent come across anything so far that were uncomfortable with, Khanna says. A good story is a good story, and we look at each individual project with an open mind. The world has changed and everything has to change with it, including the film industry. Everyone is working with each other across geographical borders. Its the new global order.

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Text-a-Tip programs allow tipsters to help police - NewOrleans.Com

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 04:50 PM PST

Text-a-Tip programs allow tipsters to help police

Written by Associated Press | Saturday, 28 November 2009 09:47 Business News AP

BOSTON (AP) - A mother in Boston tells police her 8-year-old boy was shot to death in their apartment by gunmen in hooded sweatshirts during a home invasion.

Officers later receive a text message from an anonymous tipster that leads them to a much different conclusion: the boy's 7-year-old cousin accidentally shot him while the two boys were playing with a loaded 9 mm handgun.

Meanwhile, authorities in Douglas County, Colo., thwarted a threatened Columbine-style attack after an anonymous text about a student's "kill list" led them to weapons in the child's home.

After struggling for years with an anti-snitching culture that made witnesses too afraid to come forward, police across the country are getting help from text-a-tip programs that allow people to send anonymous, text messages from their cell phones.

In Boston, the first city to heavily promote texting for crime tips, police have received more than 1,000 tips since the program began two years ago. Police credit text tips for providing them with key leads in at least four high-profile killings, including: the accidental shooting of Liquarry Jefferson by his cousin; an arson fire that killed two children; the shooting of a Boston teenager on her 18th birthday; and the fatal stabbing of a man during a bar fight.

Officer Michael Charbonnier, who oversees the program, said people who live in high-crime neighborhoods are often afraid that if they talk to police, they could be hurt or even killed by gang members, drug dealers or other criminals.

"It's either call 911 or live with the bad guy. And if you call, there could be repercussions," Charbonnier said.

"So when they have this option of texting us - knowing no one will know who they are - well, now, people give us license plate numbers, they give us names," he said.

In the past, people feared retaliation for talking to police, but with the texting programs, police never see the tipster's name or telephone number. The text messages are sent to a separate, third-party server, where identifying information is stripped out and they are assigned an encrypted alias before being sent to police.

Texting programs have caught on across the country. The exact number is hard to pinpoint, but Anderson Software, one of the leading providers of technology for text-a-tip programs, has at least 400 law enforcement agencies as clients, including Tucson, Ariz., Savannah, Ga., Hartford, Conn., San Diego, Seattle and Miami.

Company founder Kevin Anderson said text-a-tip programs are rapidly gaining popularity and could soon become as popular as anonymous Web tip programs, which have been around for about five years.

"You want to provide the means of communication people are most comfortable with, and right now, texting is the more comfortable means of communicating for young people," Anderson.

The system allows a tipster to send a text message of up to 160 characters to police, who are then able to send text messages back to the sender to ask follow-up questions. Charbonnier said that because of the two-way communication, Boston police have been able to get the information they need. He said police, who promise tipsters confidentiality and anonymity, have never tried to get a tipster's identity from the third-party company, either by asking for it or through a subpoena.

"The reality is the protection of the tipster is more important than any one case," he said.

Police would not release transcripts of the actual text messages they receive or give specifics on how the tips have led them to suspects, citing the confidentiality they promise tipsters.

Charbonnier said police use the tips as leads and have to corroborate the information given by tipsters, so the tipsters themselves aren't called to court to testify.

Some police departments have heavily promoted the texting service in schools, leading to a flurry of tips about students having drugs and weapons.

In Douglas County, Colo., the sheriff's office got a text message in May from a high school student who said another student had a "kill list." Authorities never found the list but did find weapons in the student's home.

"We did believe it was a credible threat," said Phyllis Harvey, who administers the Text-A-Tip program for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

"Did we prevent something? Maybe, maybe not. We don't know if the student was actually going to go through with the threats that he was making, but we would like to hope that we did prevent something."

In Springfield, Mass., the texting program was just days old last month when police received a tip about a crack house. Police raided the house, made eight arrests and shut down the headquarters of a crack distribution ring, said Sgt. John Delaney.

"People don't want to be labeled as a rat," Delaney said. "This is breaking the barriers down."

At the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, campus police have promoted the text-a-tip service as a way to keep rowdy football fans under control during games.

"We get tips like 'three guys who are non-students are being rude and obnoxious behind us,' 'someone is cutting in line at the student gate,'" said Carey Drayton, chief of USC's Department of Public Safety.

"Those are things that could turn into fights. We are trying to stop things before they get too big," he said.

Boston police say the anonymous nature of the text-a-tip service, combined with police foot and bicycle patrols in violent neighborhoods, has helped them build trust with people and put a dent in the anti-snitching attitude that was prevalent for years. Five years ago, some court spectators even wore "Stop Snitchin'" T-shirts to the trial of two men charged in the shooting death of a 10-year-old girl.

"We've made a significant amount of progress in connecting with the community," said Police Commissioner Ed Davis. "That makes a big difference when you're dealing with the whole snitching situation."



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MY MOST BLESSED THANKSGIVING - MichNews.com

Posted: 28 Nov 2009 04:58 PM PST

Jesus tells His children of grace to forgive. Jesus makes it serious business.  He gives us this counsel in what has been called The Lord's Prayer.

Yet forgiveness is hard at times.  There is so much injustice in our spiritually fallen world. However, God's grace can see it through.

This reminds me of a Thanksgiving season when my family was swindled out of thousands of dollars by a first-class con artist who was dying of a slow-moving cancer. I befriended this young, skinny fellow as he lay in a hospital bed with tubes in his arms.

"If I could only have a piece of homemade apple pie," he said one morning when I made a pastoral call.  It was in short order that John had his apple pie--the whole pie.

And so it was that over months of visiting him that he and I became fast friends--more glued than I had wished later.  Nevertheless, in naivete over time I handed over monies for investments to this self-proclaimed financial wizard. 

He claimed to have all sorts of money connections. But that was all a lie.

It turned out to be a very long and sad story. Near to the close of our friendship, he was placed in my home for several days' stay in order for him to relocate for further rehabilitation before he breathed his last. 

It was then in the middle of one awfully dark sleepless night that it came to mind that several factors related to me by John simply did not add up. 

The next morning, I confronted John with my quizzing regarding this and that. In an instant, he turned into a bizarre creature--fierce and unbridled. Then I knew that I had been had--royally.

I gave John his breakfast, then told him I would be back at the house within minutes.  I had an errand to run at the church nearby.

I phoned the police.  In minutes, a plainclothesman was in my living room, questioning a bathrobed John seated on my sofa.  By noon, John was behind bars.  But I was out of my money.

My mind was reeling.  My body was numb.  My family was taken aback at what we faced come Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.  How could all of this have happened to us when simply going out of our ways to minister to a young fellow dying of cancer? 

But it did happen.

Then came Thanksgiving Day itself.  As I thought of our own festivities--the comforts, luxuries of our culture, food upon food platters to satisfy the most hungry, relatives and friends gathering for celebrations--I thought of John in the county jail.

"John," I greeted him.

In shock, he lifted his head, looking into my face as if in unbelief.  "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I thought that I would visit you today. You know--have some prayer and then read some from the Psalms--like before.  After all, today is Thanksgiving and you have no one to be with you for this special day."

To my amazement I discovered a new part to my heart.  There was simply no rancor present. None.

"I will be praying for you, John, whether I see you again or not."  And with that, I waved him good-bye.

Within days, he was moved out of state.

Yet to this day, I must admit that that Thanksgiving has become the most remembered one in all my life.  I don't try to figure out the reasons for that, except to start to understand that it was the opening up of a new room in my heart.  Really.

With that, I learned also that it is a healing which flows in two directions--to the one forgiven and to the one who extends the forgiveness.

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