I’m guessing that when many of you saw the “Other Stuff” button, you thought it might lead you to news that my wife Sharon Fiffer is writing her ninth Jane Wheel mystery. After all, each of the first eight novels in the series have “Stuff” in their titles.  Alas, Sharon has not embarked upon Number Nine, but she will be writing regularly about stuff here over the coming weeks, as will I.  

We’ll tell more stories about our own cherished objects, link to interesting articles on the subject, and, on occasion, provide more information about one or more of the posts on the “Stories” page.  This week, for example, we want to tell you a little more about Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Dr. C.T. Vivian and his post.

Dr. Vivian is a civil rights icon whom I interviewed for my 2015 book co-written with Adar Cohen, Jimmie Lee and James: Two Lives, Two Deaths and the Movement that Changed America.  I then helped Dr. Vivian, who will turn 96 this July, with his memoir that spans a childhood in Macomb, IL; 1940s activism in Peoria; integrating Nashville in 1960 with John Lewis, Diane Nash, and others; the Freedom Rides; Birmingham; Selma; and beyond. 

Dr. Vivian worked with Dr. King to achieve the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.  His confrontation with Sheriff Jim Clark in Selma was a seminal moment in the struggle, and we offer a one-minute video of it here. 

In his post on our Stories page, here, Dr. Vivian describes the family crest on his ring.  The crest also exists on this plaque and can be appreciated more fully.  It provokes the question: if you were designing your family crest, what would you include?