It wasn’t all bad
■ DonnaJean Wilde, a 58-year-old Canadian retired high school vice principal, recently set a new world record for planking—holding the rigid position for 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 11 seconds. Wilde, a mother of five and grandmother of 12, started planking 12 years ago, after a wrist injury left her in a cast, making her regular exercise routine impossible. She completed the feat at the high school where she used to work. After the first two hours, her elbow started to hurt intensely. Thinking of her grandchildren helped her persevere. “It feels like a dream,” she said of her feat.
■ In 1982, West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt gave thenPresident Ronald Reagan a unique gift: a bald eagle named Captain. The bird went to a breeding sanctuary in Valley Park, Mo., and became part of a successful initiative to revive the species. Captain fathered six eaglets that were released into the wild—plus Clark, whose foot deformity meant he could not survive on his own. Clark became an ambassador for the formerly endangered species. He now takes about six flights a year, touring the country with his handler, Daniel Cone, for demonstrations that include flying between two trainers to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Clark has “got such a big personality,” Cone said. “He’s curious; he can be sassy.”
■ Harrison Johnson, an 11-year-old from North Carolina, has collected over $92,000 for Pacific Historic Parks, a nonprofit organization that supports sites like the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Johnson learned about the attack after working on a project when he was in third grade, and during his research, he visited the Pearl Harbor memorial on Oahu with his mother. The boy soon embarked on a mission to get $100,000 to promote Pearl Harbor awareness. His success has stunned adults. “You don’t see children these days who are that engaged and passionate about history,” said Aileen Utterdyke, CEO of Pacific Historic Parks.