Two stories. One is about some stretch of whitewater that people really like to float for the risky adventure, relief from their ordinary dull well-cushioned jobs. It seems this year the water is low and so attention has focused on one big old boulder that because of its shape and placement has caused boatloads to capsize and people to drown. There is a move afoot to take...

Ravens have been the subject of myths throughout human history, sometimes pictured with wolves, sometimes just exalted by themselves as wise and mystical.  Looking like five-pound crows, they are generally regarded as the smartest of birds. As I prepare to vote tomorrow, I can’t get a certain raven story out of my mind.   It’s a story told by Berndt Heinrich, probably...