• YOUR TRUE STORIES •

ARCTIC EXPLORERS

Ah, the magical words have been spoken over the radio. SNOW DAY! There was instant electricity in the air. I knew that as soon as I completed my shoveling obligations, I was free! As excited as I was, there was another family member who was even more excited than me. My beloved American Eskimo dog, Sitka, knew that a new adventure with her best friend was just an hour away. Once I finished my shoveling, I stepped through the front door. There, Sitka sat at the top of the stairs with her tail wagging frantically. She knew exactly what came next. I strapped on her harness (which I knew made her feel like a REAL sled dog) and out the door we went. The neighborhood we both grew up in magically transformed into a wonderland of snow and ice. We were no longer boy and dog. We were arctic explorers.

—Michael Roberto Danbury, Connecticut

THE SAVIOR SOLDIER

Nearly 25 years ago, my father told me about his experiences in the Vietnam War. One night, he was stranded in unfamiliar territory with a flat tire and flat spare. Luckily, a fellow soldier came along and gave my father his spare. Now I’m a paramedic, and I recently worked with an older EMT I had never met. At the end of our 12-hour shift, he said, “You know, you look a lot like your father.” He had recognized my last name. I had been paired up with the hero who had saved my father 50 years earlier.

—Albert Thweatt Nashville, Tennessee