The largest group of native Americans east of the Mississippi is also the most mysterious. They are the Lumbee people of eastern North Carolina. Because they were able to quickly adapt to the white European culture they were neither exterminated nor exiled. They live among others as teachers lawyers, and farmers. They...

The great naturalist John Muir wrote; "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." All of that is probably true. But there are...

The remarkable Redwood tree is not subject to any known plant disease. Insects do not bother it. It can survive being struck by bolts of lightning. If it is cut down the stump produces many sprouts for another tree. If it is blown over it will send up shoots all along its side. By comparison the life of man seems very fragile. It is...

Mt. Rainier in the state of Washington is always an awe-inspiring sight. Its peak is snow-covered all year long. It is visible from a distance of two hundred miles. Native Americans called it Tahoma which means "the mountain that was God." It reminds us of the Greek Mt. Olympus, regarded as the residence of the gods. But we...

Rimsky-Korsakov's fourteenth opera was about the legendary Russian city of Kitezh. The legend is that long ago Tartar invaders were coming to destroy the city. A woman named Fevronia prayed that God would intervene and the city would be spared destruction. Immediately Kitezh became invisible, except for its reflection in...

Near Skagen, Denmark, visitors can see the tower of the Tilsandede Kirke, the Sand Covered Church. The tower is visible because this 14th century church has been buried since the 1700's. Shifting sand from the coast of Jutland has covered much of the surrounding farmland and the church as well. Only the tower is...

Beethoven greatly admired Napoleon, at first. He saw him as a man of the people who had risen to power and fame. So when he was asked to compose some music for Napoleon he gladly agreed. He composed for him his Third Symphony, working five years on it. On the title page he wrote two names. At the top he put...