finding inspiration in the news?

I don't know if I was feeling overly optimistic when I heard these stories, or if they are truly inspiring.

I decided to override the cynic and just go with the feeling.

I was driving when I heard both of these stories, too.  I am not sure if it makes a difference, just pointing it out.

When I heard that they were interviewing the man trying to hold the IRS together, the day before tax day, my first reaction was to shudder.  Of course, I had barely started my own tax return.  But as I listened to this man talk about his job, I kept thinking, he sounds like the kind of guy I would love to work for.  Give it a listen and let me know if the silver lining is sparking or if I should have listened to the cynic.

The very next day, I heard this piece on a grandson of Hugo Black trying to live up to the SC Justice's legacy.   The whole piece was fascinating ... Black is not one of the justices I have ever learned about.  I am sure I have heard his name; I might have been able to recall him for a trivia question.  But, I sure didn't know that he was basically exiled from his home state of Alabama for his part in the Brown vs Board of Education decision.  Let's just say that up to that point it is already worth the time.  But the story continues to how this grandson decided to reclaim Alabama, his grandfather's legacy and make a name for himself.  I might just have to add the University of Alabama's library to my list of places to see. I have been looking for a reason to go to the state as I strive to complete the fifty states.

So, was I overly googly-eyed when I heard these stories, or where you inspired, too?

****This is a late entry - as this piece has been sitting in the draft folder waiting for its appointed day!

It is not often that you see the picture of something delicious, click the link to see how impossibly hard the recipe is, but instead find a jewel of a story.  I am telling you, with or without the recipe, this is a keeper!

Thanks, NYTimes, sometimes I wonder if I should keep my Sunday subscription so I can see the online version with its outrageously long articles. Then I find these can't miss articles, and it is worth all the time and the dollars.