The Story

Veralyn Williams shares her story of frustration with her parents for not sharing the details with her about her legal status in the U.S. She was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in New York City.

When columnist Cathleen Falsani won a trip to Africa in a raffle, she planned to veer off the tourist track, do some writing. She never imagined that a young boy would steal her heart the moment he sat in her lap. Also in this episode: We like to hear remarkable listener stories. Chuck Walkley's neighbor Jennifer heard Chuck's story and she told us, and we persuaded him to come in to the studio.

Lesly Manzanarez grew up in Honduras - and like his older brother, he was flashing gang signs and fighting from the time he was a kid. He took that fighting spirit with him when his family moved to New York City. This summer, Lesly had a chance to turn things around.  He spent six weeks in a poor village in Nicaragua, as a part of a project called Global Potential. As he tells Dick Gordon, Lesly thinks he's changed for good.Also: Estevan Arrellano is a farmer from New Mexico. Water is a precious resource there, and it reaches Estevan’s farm by one of the many ancient irrigation ditches still in use today called acequias.

Bryan Larson will be paying close attention to President Obama's thoughts about the environment tonight. The 18-year-old high school student from upstate New York is already on board with environmental preservation but it didn't come as easily as you might expect. Bryan and his dad Carl Larson live in logging country, where being an "environmentalist" isn't always considered a good thinng.