IsThisThingOn?

Aw. Warmed my heart to see this. Apparently this is still on the blackboard from when I introduced myself to 4-8 year olds when I was teaching cooking classes to them. We made cupcakes, and sandwiches shaped like squirrels (oh yes we did), made bananas into dolphins (holding grapes like a ball in their mouths), etc. More work than it sounds like but we have fun. I really love teaching kids animal rescue and animal appreciation from time to time there as well. Photo by Chris Wren

I was about 16 years old, attending the all-weekend gatherings at the home of Danny Thomas that sprang up every year around the annual St. Jude Children's Research Hospital banquet in LA. I was at a lunch buffet table in their living room stabbing at some sliced tomatoes (amazing what you remember), and felt a warm breeze on my neck. I looked up - no windows were open, even though it was sunny out. It was an ordinary moment, a tiny detail. I felt it again, then again - and then... I became aware of a presence behind me. Naturally I turned around and there was Muhammad Ali, square jawed, close clipped hair, looking down at me with intense dark eyes. Then suddenly, he broke into a huge smile. I remember how broad it was, and that his teeth were brilliantly white. He'd been breathing on my neck - and not what that seems to imply... He was just a prankster. Having seen the way he messed with his opponents in the ring, I realize now it was an honor to be the receiver on the...