It wasn’t all bad
■ As the parent of a 4-year-old with autism, Crisann Black noticed that some people judged her son, rather than embracing his differences. The Arizonan wanted to create a space where people with disabilities or special needs, along with their friends and family, could feel welcomed and accepted. She began hosting monthly parties at Club Zeus—named after her son— where adults with disabilities can dance and socialize. “They come in full glam, and they look gorgeous,” Black said. “It’s incredible to see their confidence, and it just all shines.”
■ In the 1960s, Angela Alvarez sent her children to an orphanage in the U.S. to escape the dictatorship in her native Cuba. She joined them two years later in Pueblo, Colo., where she invited other Cuban immigrants to sing traditional music with her family each weekend—while writing some 50 original songs of her own. She sang them for her grandson eight years ago, and he was so moved that he set out to record his grandmother signing alongside a team of professional musicians. Now, with the release of a 15-track album, Alvarez has been nominated for a Latin Grammy for best new artist, at the age of 95. “It was a very big but very beautiful surprise,” she said.
■ Griffin Post recently set out into Antarctica’s Walsh Glacier to look for a long-lost camera left behind by legendary mountaineer Bradford Washburn. His crew searched for nearly a week with no success, but before departing, they tried one last location. Suddenly, they came upon tents, climbing equipment, and even part of a T-bone steak left by Washburn’s team 85 years ago. The crew recovered parts of Washburn’s famed aerial F-8 camera, along with two motionpicture cameras that are now being restored. “You’re kind of in disbelief,” Post said of the discovery. “We were right! This exists!”