We had been working on this for several years, and Barbara came in and simplified the process. She spent hours and hours working out the details. Her determination, creativity and installation of the program was so smooth. We haven't had to make any changes except in raising the enrollment fees.

That race is our way to honor the memory of Bob. On this day, preference is given to horses who race at Delaware Park. The purses increase by 50 percent. It's like a reward system for owners and trainers who have raced here.

Several horsemen have told me that we have the best horsemen's office they have seen in the country.

Writing really evokes empathy in a way very few things can do.

The stories my pupils told me were astonishing. One told how he had witnessed his cousin being shot in the back five times; another how his parents had died of AIDS. Another said that he'd probably been to more funerals than parties in his young life. For me - someone who had had an idyllic, happy childhood - this was staggering.

I realized if you can change a classroom, you can change a community, and if you change enough communities you can change the world.