Rough Waters

Ed's tugboat - larger >>

Captain Ed Montgomery had his first bout with cancer in the spring of 2005, and as an ex-fighter and a tugboat captain, he was never one to show much emotion.

But being diagnosed with cancer three times has changed the way Ed feels about life. As his battle raged into the winter of 2006, his wife Jeannie became the tough one. Ed was most shocked, though, by how one friend in particular really came through during the dark times. "Big Butch" works closely with Ed on the docks. Butch checked in regularly with Ed, and even came to the hospital to keep Ed up to date on the shipping news.

Ed Montgomery

Ed is now in remission. Both Butch and Ed talk with Dick about how guys relate to other guys during times of crisis.

• Read the e-mail Ed wrote to friends that inspired this story
• Read a poem Ed wrote about his experience
  

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Reading the Rocks

Jerry Spangler - more >>

Jerry Spangler spent years working as a journalist, and he has now turned his investigative skills towards a very personal quest: Jerry is trying to save archeological sites that are threatened by the production of oil and natural gas in Utah.

The land around Nine Mile Canyon and Range Creek in Utah is rocky and rugged, and it is full of petroglyphs and pictographs. Jerry first visited the sites as a college student, where he discovered cliffs covered in hundreds of thousands of images.

Dick Gordon talks with Jerry about what he has seen in the rocks, and what he is doing to preserve them now that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has given natural gas companies permission to drill.

• See Jerry's photos
  
• Learn about the organization Jerry works with.

Music heard in this story: Voices of the Ancient Ones and Walking In Two Worlds by Nancy Rumbel for the album Southwest

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Your Story - Richard Simmons and Me

Richard Simmons and Devin Singley - more >>

Devin Singley was visiting his sister in Italy with his mom one spring break when they ran into none other than Richard Simmons. Devin's mom walked right up to him and began talking to Simmons as though they were old friends. At 17, Devin wasn't quite sure what to make of the aging exercise star, especially after they bumped into him later that day and Simmons insisted on buying them coffee.

The story doesn't end there, though. Devin and Richard Simmons met up again in the United States some time later, and Devin got an autographed copy of his picture with Richard Simmons - and another "squeeze-the-life-out-of-you" hug.

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Living with Loans

On Friday, Congress gave final approval to legislation that will overhaul the federal student loan program. That's welcome news to many students and graduates who have been frustrated by unfair practices in the student loan industry. Earlier this year, it came to light that several student lenders were offering perks and kickbacks to colleges and alumni associations in return for being included on preferred lender lists.

Jason graduated from college in 2004 and now works for a large financial institution. He says he was sold on the dream that going to college would give him a middle class lifestyle, with a house and a white picket fence. Instead, he's living with his mother and working to pay off $30,000 in debt. Jason says when he was choosing a loan company to help pay for college, he selected from a preferred lender lists provided by his university's financial aid office. The loan he picked turned out to be a very bad deal.

Jason talks with Dick Gordon about what he wishes he had known sooner - and what it's like to work in the very industry that he thinks contributed towards his spiral into debt. He asked us not to use his last name so he could protect his job.

• Read a book that features the stories of Jason and other young people like him
  

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Living with Tics

Campbell Johnson

Tom Johnson wrote to The Story to tell us that it is at this time of the year - the start of the school year - that he is most in awe of his son, Campbell.

Campbell Johnson is a 12-year-old kid who attends middle school, plays in the band, enjoys soccer, and is active in his local church youth group - just like anyone else his age. Yet Campbell has incorporated into his life a neurological disorder that can be difficult to control and is often misunderstood: Tourette Syndrome.

The Johnson Family - larger >>

Campbell talks to Dick about what it's like to have Tourettte's, and how he explains it to adults and other kids. His parents, Tom and Stephanie, talk about the roller coaster of discovering Campbell's Tourette's, and how they have learned to appreciate it.

• Learn about Tourette Syndrome
  

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The Gift of Goats

Tom Currie - larger >>

Tom Currie was out in the yard on the night of an eclipse, shooting the breeze with his neighbor, when the discussion turned to his neighbor's work with animals. Tom had a flash of inspiration - he didn't have enough space for cows, but he was going to try to raise goats. Tom then got involved with Heifer International, an organization that gives away animals to families in need. Tom talks with Dick about how raising and giving away goats has changed his life.

• Learn more about Heifer International

Music heard in this story: I Love My Goats by Caliche Con Carne for the album Goat Songs 2 the Flesh

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