"Honesty and Courage's Offspring"

Last week I made you suffer through a weekly Pep Talk almost double the normal length. To compensate for my exuberant behavior, this encouraging short story will be brief.

I'm riding home with son, good buddy, the good buddy's wife and daughter from a weekend in the mountains. I'm crammed between son and friend's daughter in the sports sedan's backseat. During a lull in the lively conversation, I'm reading more of David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize winning book, Truman.

The author is talking abo...