The Story

Dick speaks to William Hubbard, 78, works with a chain saw in his hands, and rope tied around his waist.

This is another in our series of favorite stories, and it comes from our partnership with Salon.com. When Michael Humphrey was growing up, he would sometimes hear his father telling strangers a story about how the Beatles stole the composition for “Lady Madonna” from him. Eventually, he looked into his father’s story himself.

In 2008, a tornado swept through Tom Cook’s home, killing his wife. Distraught, he moved with his daughter to Joplin, Mo., where he bought a new house – and a steel shelter. When a tornado came three years later, they were prepared.

John Kamm was a longtime businessman based in Hong Kong. One day he stood to make a toast to Chinese officials and ended up asking for the release of a political prisoner.