One morning recently David, after checking to make sure it was OK, set up a lemonade stand outside the Kidzu Children's Museum on Franklin Street. His mom, Dana McMahan, took him shopping for supplies, and he spent three hours in the sun selling cups of refreshing beverage to passersby.

By the end of his shift, he'd made $41. But his wasn't a for-profit venture; instead, with $40 in matching funds from his mom, David presented museum executive director Cathy Maris with a check for $81 made out to Kidzu Children's Museum.

In an accompanying letter, he wrote that he "wanted to help raise money for the museum because I want kids to have fun and have a great learning experience."

He's already provided one of those.


ROSES to Herbert Walther, who stepped out of retirement to fill in as volunteer pastor at Advent Lutheran Church and immediately had such a profound effect that the congregation asked the Town of Chapel Hill to name a day in his honor.

The town agreed; last Sunday was Herbert Walther Day in Chapel Hill.

What's remarkable is that Walther has earned so much affection, admiration and respect from the community and the congregation in such a short time. He came to Advent less than two years ago, stepping in on a temporary basis after the previous pastor stepped down.

But thanks to a dynamic and compassionate personality, sharp intellect and compelling presence as a speaker, people have flocked to his sermons and to his side.


ROSES to Calvin Kytle, who recently proved to all the would-be novelists out there that it's never too late.

Kytle, a resident of Carolina Meadows, just published his debut novel Ñ at the age of 87.

Kytle isn't exactly a newbie; he's actually published several books of the non-fiction persuasion. But all the while, like many of us, he was certain he had a novel in him.

He finally set about setting it free. He spent two years writing "Like a Tree," which is set in Atlanta during the Great Depression.

The first New York agent he sent it to returned the manuscript, Kytle said, explaining that "there is no market for a literary novel like this one which has so little violence, no gimmicks and no kinky sex."

Happily, a publishing house in Alabama didn't see it that way and accepted the book.


ROSES to the Town of Chapel Hill for inviting the public to go dig up plants before the bulldozers move in on the site of the future Southern Community Park.

With construction set to begin on the work of developing the park, the town announced an open public "plant rescue." Anybody who wanted to was invited to go to the site and dig up native perennials, ferns, saplings and other plants for replanting in home gardens.

It's a great idea, and fun, to boot. As Mark Zimmerman, a horticulturist with UNC, said, "It's a win-win; if plants find a good home and people learn about the plants, then it is a worthwhile cause."