The last episode of "Roots" was on television 21 years ago tonight. It was a Sunday, and I watched Part 8 on a small hospital screen, the sound mute. For a whole week, the 12-hour series had riveted me. But it couldn't hold my attention this night, because, just hours before, my daughter Julie had been…

I call Joan to see how she's doing and she says she's okay, but there is no joy in her voice, only sadness.

Her best friend died a month ago. Joan was with her when she died. She moved from Connecticut to be with Grace and seldom left her side during the long, slow month…

"Next to God, he is the most important man in the whole world." That's what Kait says. That's why, when her fourth-grade teacher announced the assignment, to go home and read and research, then write a report about the person you most admire, Kait never hesitated.

She chose President Clinton.

Clinton is her hero. She has a picture of him when he was young…

Brown towels. They're the metaphor this morning. They say it all. Brown towels are what the Boston Public School system gives to its kids.

At the Mattahunt Elementary School in Mattapan, brown towels are actually soaked in water, put in plastic bags, frozen, placed in a dorm-size refrigerator in the nurse's office and called "ice packs."

Necessity truly is the mother of invention…

It's a simple story of simple goodness that won't make Oprah or headlines because these kinds of things never do. People helping people. One ordinary woman making a difference in the lives of thousands.

Ho hum. Pass the clicker and turn…