It’s Armistice Day, November 11th, in thenation's capital. It is a brisk day at Arlington National Cemetery. Dignitaries stand silently on the third anniversaryof the ending of World War I, watching as a single white casket is lowered into a marbledtomb. In attendance is President Calvin Coolidge,former President Woodrow Wilson, Supreme Court Justice (as well as former President) WilliamHoward Taft, Chief Plenty Coups, and hundreds of dedicated United States servicemen. As the casket settles on its final restingplace in the tomb, upon a thin layer of French soil, three salvos are fired. A bugler plays taps and, with the final note,comes a 21 gun salute. The smoke clears and eyes dry as the UnknownSoldier from World War I is laid to rest; the first unknown soldier to be officiallyhonored in this manner in American history. The United States’ allies in World War I,France and Britain, were the first countries to practice the concept of burying an “unknownsoldier.” World W...
So, I'll start with this: a coupleyears ago, an event planner called me because I was goingto do a speaking event. And she called, and she said, "I'm really struggling with howto write about you on the little flyer." And I thought,"Well, what's the struggle?" And she said, "Well, I saw you speak, and I'm going to call youa researcher, I think, but I'm afraid if I call youa researcher, no one will come, because they'll thinkyou're boring and irrelevant." (Laughter) And I was like, "Okay." And she said, "But the thingI liked about your talk is you're a storyteller. So I think what I'll dois just call you a storyteller." And of course, the academic,insecure part of me was like, "You're goingto call me a what?" And she said, "I'm goingto call you a storyteller." And I was like, "Why not 'magic pixie'?" (Laughter) I was like, "Let me thinkabout this for a...