Just the best story about Auburn University students answering the phone at the James E. Foy Information Desk in the Melton Student Center. Quote: “He told me that, one night, “this old woman called, and this is the only time I ever talked to her, but she talked for about an hour. She honestly wasn’t asking much of anything. But she told me—and I don’t know how true this is—she told me that one of her friends had recently passed away, and so she was just calling to talk. That felt good just to let her talk to me. I didn’t have to say much. She was just—she needed somebody.” She told Braxton about her grandkids and her house needing repairs and how she was getting them done. Ordinary things…Calls like these don’t come in as often as ones about, say, whether a certain type of rocking chair is on sale at Lowe’s or what the weather will be this weekend in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. But every single one gets the same amount of respect.” (h/t 1440)

Quote from June 7th’s “Letters from an American: “The Declaration of Independence is indeed very special to our country. But it is not a declaration of love and unity. It is the radical declaration of Americans that human beings have the right to throw off a king in order to govern themselves. That story is here, in the first video series of Journey to American Democracy called “Ten Steps to Revolution.”” (from Heather Cox Richardson)

Shanghai Auto Show offers a clear-eyed view of the car industry’s future. For nearly two decades, the Shanghai Auto Show was a showcase for gasoline consumption. No longer. This year, it was wall-to-wall electric vehicles – a shift that comes as the world’s largest oil consumer embraces electrification. The country’s top driller sees oil demand peaking this year, with air travel and petrochemicals now the only growth areas. —Bloomberg (h/t Fix the News)

A fun conversation about the three Star Wars prequels at a distance of twenty years. And I’m sitting here thinking about how many times I went to see Empire at the theater. Ten? Twelve? (Pop Culture Happy Hour)

Quote for the day:

If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. –William Morris

Outro…

Chatter Lagniappe Sunday Fix the News Foy Information Desk free bird Heather Cox Richardson Journey to American Democracy Letters from an American lynyrd skynyrd 50th anniversary shanghai auto show Star Wars William Morris