As with most of these essays, the germ of this one sprouted from an email from a friend. Diana Duncan, president of SLO Volunteers For Animals, wanted to know if I was interested in doing a column on a service cat.

Eight young men between the ages of 15 and 18 linked arms and intoned: “Truly, in the flow of human development, our community is a river and we who call ourselves people of humanity are standing deep in its water. And with amazing grace, we are beginning to recognize the ancient flow of human wisdom, as well as the indelible marks of human development.”

The desecrated grave markers in San Luis Cemetery are back on their plinths. As yet, though, the boneheads who must have thought it cute to knock over the monuments haven’t been found. They had no idea who they were messin' with.

On the eve of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month — the original timing for Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day — I offer a column that I wrote a couple of years ago that’s obviously near and dear to my heart. I beg your forbearance.

Marilyn Monroe once said that the three men with whom she’d most like to be stranded on a desert island were Joe DiMaggio (no surprise), Albert Einstein (surprise!) and Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg — yes, the same Vandenberg whose name graces the Air Force base in Lompoc.

The Native American is looking up. A great blue heron wraps itself around the man’s right side; a bear cuddles up on his left side. His arms are outstretched.

This is a story about a 71-year-old man who was born, raised and educated in Nigeria; a man who founded and built a K-12 school and was its principal for 30 years as it grew to 800 students; a man who lived through three years of deadly civil war in his country.

Zaf Iqbal is busy cleaning a wooden louvered door with a rag that had seen better days as a towel. Other than having some grime that had hardened over time, the door is in excellent shape and should easily fetch some income for San Luis Obispo’s ReStore, one of two county-based retail outlets that help finance construction of new homes for Habitat for Humanity.

Ahmad Nooristani probably didn’t realize the wall he’d hit in creating a free health clinic in San Luis Obispo. Yet, three years after putting his shoulder to the task, he’s pulled down the wall one stumbling block at a time. His dream is now reality as the Noor Free Clinic has its grand opening today at 9:30 a.m.

Dear Madden, it’s been two years and a day since you came into the world Oct. 5, 2009, at 8:36 p.m. Who knew that such a compact mass of humanity could have such a profound effect on your PawPaw and those who love you?