Weight Loss Surgery

Katy St. Clair - larger >> (photo by Paul Trapani)

The number of people undergoing weight loss surgery skyrocketed by more than 600% between 1992 - 2005. And that number continues to soar. Katy St. Clair is one person who's had such surgery.

At one point, Katy weighed more than 350 pounds. But she was actually comfortable in her own skin. In fact, she performed at peep shows featuring large women. It was other people who had a problem with her size.

Yet Katy eventually made the decision to have gastric bypass surgery. She tells Dick Gordon how that decision changed her outlook on life and herself.

• Read Katy's column about her experience and see photos of her.
  

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Plastic Ocean

Captain Charles Moore

Captain Charles Moore was sailing the Pacific in 1997 when he came across a large patch of plastic trash. His discovery shocked him, and compelled him to do research on the amount of trash in the ocean.

His recent findings are alarming: much of of the world's plastic waste has ended up off the western coast of the United States and the eastern coast of the Philippines. One floating garbage heap contains 3.5 million tons of junk, 80 percent of which is plastic.

Captain Moore talks to Dick about the problems plastic waste causes for marine and plant life, and why it's crucial to change the way we use plastic now.

• See photos of the kinds of trash Capt. Moore finds in his research
• Visit the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, where Captain Moore works
• Watch a video clip explaining why plastic in the ocean is a problem

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Kite Gang

Patrick McGrann

While working for the U.N., Patrick McGrann observed how bureaucracy and distance make it difficult to help people in troubled countries. He decided that in addition to needing jobs and stability, people in war-torn and poor areas also need to have fun.

On one of his trips home, Patrick met someone who had a great passion for kites. That meeting led to the founding of the Kite Gang. He tells Dick Gordon that children in refugee camps and their families face constricted opportunities; teaching them how to make kites can earn them some money and allow them to have fun at the same time.

• Learn more about the Kite Gang
• See photos of the Kite Gang

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Jackie and Me

Ron Rabinovitz (photo: Star-Tribune) - larger >>

April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day, a celebration of the player who broke the color barrier and ended nearly 80 years of segregation in baseball.

When Ron Rabinovitz was a boy, he wrote a fan letter to Jackie Robinson. Then in the spring of 1954, "Ronnie" got the chance to meet Jackie, and his idol actually remembered getting the letter.

It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Ron talks to Dick about the softer side of a man who faced tremendous bigotry, and how Jackie Robinson taught him what it truly means to be a man.

• Read an article about Ronnie and Jack's relationship
• Read an article about Ron's visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Music heard in this story: Take Me Out to the Ballgame performed by Pascal Bonniere for the album Wood Wind and Steel

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A Light Love Story

Charles and Sarah Lume - larger >>

Artist Charles Matson Lume and his fiancé decided to do something a little different when they got married. Sarah didn't want to become Mrs. Charles Matson, and Charles didn't want to hyphenate his last name. So they decided to create a new name altogether. Charles tells Dick how they chose the name Lume, and how adding the name has changed his artwork.

• See some of Charles' artwork

Music heard in this story: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: II. Minuet & Musette performed by Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Celia Nicklin & Sir Neville Marriner for the album Masters of the Oboe

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An Orphan in History

Jeff Weinstock

Jeff Weinstock knew that his grandfather was from Latvia, but he didn't know much else about his family's past.

So he began searching for his roots on both sides of his family, and eventually located the small town that his grandfather left before World War II. Then came a shocking discovery: many of his relatives had been victims of the Nazi regime. Jeff talks with Dick about his search through his past and how what he found has changed him.

• See photos of Jeff's family

Music heard in this story: Remembrances by Itzhak Perlman for the album Schindler's List (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)

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