The World and Everything in It — August 25, 2020

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The statistics around COVID19 can be confusing. We’ll talk about how to interpret them.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Plus, 30 years ago this month, the beginning of Operation Desert Shield as Americans prepared for the Gulf War.

And commentator Kim Henderson on the love of fathers.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, August 25th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Republicans renominate Trump on day one of convention » Republicans officially renominated President Trump on day-one of the party’s national convention Monday.  

AUDIO: Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the president of the United States of America and our nominee, Donald J. Trump! 

The president made a surprise appearance on the very first day of the convention after the morning roll call. And he addressed a live audience in Charlotte—not the thousands of faces he’d hoped to see, but more than 300 socially distanced delegates cheered him on. 

CROWD: Four more years! Four more years! 

In his remarks, Trump again blasted expanded mail-in balloting in some states and he noted that the economy was booming before the pandemic. 

TRUMP: The best way to bring unity is success. Success brings unity. And we were there, and then we got hit with the plague, but we won’t forget that. 

Among the virtual speakers on Monday were Donald Trump Jr, former NFL star Herschel Walker, and former Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley.  

Senator Tim Scott, who was originally expected to kick off the Monday night slate, instead closed out the evening by video from Washington. Scott said President Trump built what he called “the most inclusive economy ever.”

SCOTT: 7 million jobs created pre-COVID-19, and two-thirds of them went to women, African Americans and Hispanics. 

He also took aim at Trump’s opponent. Scott warned that a Biden White House would pursue socialist “cultural revolution” doomed to fail.  

Tonight’s speakers include Senator Rand Paul, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and first lady Melania Trump.

Conway leaving White House » Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump’s most influential advisers, has announced that she’s leaving the White House at the end of the month. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Conway served as the president’s campaign manager during the stretch run of the 2016 race—making her the first woman to successfully steer a White House bid. She then became a senior counselor to the president. 

In her resignation letter, Conway said she’s stepping aside to spend more time with her four children. Her husband, George, had become an outspoken Trump critic and her family a subject of Washington’s rumor mill.

Kellyanne Conway wrote “We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids.” She added “for now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.”

She is still slated to speak at the Republican National Convention this week. 

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

Postmaster general: Mail delays not political » Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers Monday that recent cutbacks at the Postal Service were not politically motivated or in any way linked to November elections.

DEJOY: I did not direct the removal of blue collection boxes or the removal of mail processing equipment. Second, I did not direct the cutback of hours at any of our post offices.  And finally, I did not direct the elimination or any cutback on overtime. 

But DeJoy said he did step in to suspend those measures to—quote—“remove any misperceptions about our commitment to delivering the nation’s election mail.”

He was testifying for a second day on Capitol Hill, facing tense questions from lawmakers about recent mail delivery delays. 

DeJoy said the president’s repeated attacks on mail-in ballots are “not helpful.” 

And he called election mail his “No. 1 priority.” He said he will authorize expanded employee overtime, extra truck trips, and other measures to deliver ballots on time. 

DeJoy urged voters to request mail-in ballots at least 15 days before the Nov. 3 election so they have enough time to receive their ballot and mail it back in on time. 

Black man in serious condition after police shooting » A 29-year-old black man remains in serious condition after a police officer shot him on Sunday. 

Officers were responding to a “domestic incident” in Kenosha, Wisconsin, about an hour south of Milwaukee. 

Video appears to show Jacob Blake walking away from officers, ignoring their commands. One officer followed him with his gun drawn. Blake walked around his car and opened the driver’s side door. He leaned inside and looked as though he might have been reaching for something as an officer tried to pull him back by his shirt. 

A split-second later, one officer fired seven shots, striking Brooks in the back. 

AUDIO: [Sound of shooting]

Hundreds of protesters later marched to the police station, where they faced off with officers in riot gear. Rioters later looted businesses and set numerous cars and buildings on fire. 

Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers acknowledged in a tweet he didn’t have all the details. But he condemned the shooting and said he stands by those demanding justice.

I’m Kent Covington. 

Straight ahead: a deep dive into COVID-19 statistics.

Plus, Kim Henderson on sacrifices and Chevy Blazers.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER: It’s Tuesday the 25th of August, 2020. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard. First up: A special report on the numbers behind the pandemic.

Since March, health officials around the world have been talking about COVID-19 statistics. Case counts, hospitalizations, and mortality rates.

EICHER: But all those numbers can be hard to interpret. So we asked two WORLD reporters to help clear up some of the confusion.

ABC: Florida now surpassing 100,000 cases…

GMA: We are up to 14 million cases globally. 

WOLF: There’s been dramatic increase in hospitalizations.. 

SOT: The U.S. has now conducted 28 million COVID-19 tests.

ABC: The United States is reporting the highest number of deaths in a single day… nearly 1,500. 

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: COVID-19 statistics. These are the numbers that inform lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mask policies.

ANNA JOHANSEN, REPORTER: And to debate policies, it’s important to understand where these stats come from and what they mean. 

SCHWEINSBERG: I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

JOHANSEN: And I’m Anna Johansen.

SCHWEINSBERG: Whip out your calculators and buckle your seatbelts, folks, because we’re going to take you through a whole lot of ways to measure a pandemic. 

JOHANSEN: We aren’t going to talk about the numbers themselves. Instead, we’re going to explain where some of those stats come from. So let’s dive into our first set of data: Positive case counts. That’s the number we hear about the most.

SCHWEINSBERG: This is the total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19. As of yesterday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 5-and-a-half million Americans have tested positive for the virus. 

JOHANSEN: So how does the CDC actually track these positive case numbers? 

It starts, as you probably know, with testing. 

There are three types of tests. Two diagnose an active case of COVID-19: Molecular tests and antigen tests. A molecular test is the most precise. It actually identifies the genetic material of COVID-19. It’s hard to fool.

Dr. Dominik Mertz is an infectious disease professor at McMaster University. Here’s how he describes molecular tests.

MERTZ: This is considered the gold standard because it’s the most sensitive test that we have. Sensitive means that it’s most likely to pick up the virus and identify that the virus is there.

SCHWEINSBERG: The second diagnostic test is an antigen test, and it looks for specific proteins on the surface of the virus. It’s also known as a rapid test because you typically get results back within an hour.

But it’s not as accurate as a molecular test. It tends to miss cases it should have caught. 

JOHANSEN: And Dr. Mertz says not even molecular tests, the gold standard, hit the mark every time.

MERTZ: We had quite disappointing numbers early on where this sensitivity was reported to be only about 70 percent. So that will mean you will have missed 30 percent of people who in fact, should have had a positive test. 

Over the past few months, the tests have gotten more precise. Dr. Mertz says the molecular tests are now up to about 90 percent accuracy.

SCHWEINSBERG: The third kind of test isn’t a diagnostic. It’s an antibody test, based on a blood sample, and it checks to see if you’ve had COVID-19 in the past.

But antibody tests aren’t always accurate either. Here’s Dr. Amesh Adalja. He’s a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. 

ADALJA: Some of the early antibody tests had a lot of cross reactivity and false positives. And the antibody test by definition is going to be looking backwards. So it’s not the best way to plan your response or to think about where you are in terms of the pandemic.

JOHANSEN: Now, only molecular and antigen tests are used to log new positive coronavirus cases. That’s because they identify patients who have the virus right now. But at the beginning of the pandemic, some antibody tests were being used to log active cases—even though that’s not what they’re designed for.

SCHWEINSBERG: But Dr. Adalja says early on, health officials also grappled with false negatives from molecular tests…and limited test availability. So he says the over-counting on some fronts and undercounting on others…canceled each other out. 

ADALJA: There is always going to be adjustments up and down during a pandemic, when you look at the way the data is handled from health systems. That’s just that’s just to be expected.

JOHANSEN: The longer the pandemic continues, the more testing capacity states have. Early on, only people with severe symptoms or a recent travel history could get tested. Now, it’s anyone with a mild cough. So, many people wonder, are cases rising because we’re testing more people?

SCHWEINSBERG: We asked a couple of biostatisticians about that. Christopher Lindsell teaches biostatistics at Vanderbilt University. He says yes and no.

LINDSELL: When you test more, you will find more cases. But that doesn’t mean that the case rate is going up or going down. We have to look at the numbers as a proportion or as a ratio of the general population.

In other words, positive case count numbers can sound like a state is doing poorly or relatively well until you consider how many people have been tested overall. Positive case counts have to be put into context.

That context is called percentage positivity. It measures the ratio of people who tested positive for COVID-19 compared to the total number of people who were tested. That gives you an idea of what proportion of the population has COVID-19. 

JOHANSEN: So for instance, at the beginning of July, Florida tested about 525,000 people in one week. Out of those, nearly 80,000 were positive. That’s about 15 percent. So in July, Florida had a percentage positivity rate of nearly 15 percent.

Yesterday the state reported its case positivity rate has now dropped to below 5 percent. That means fewer people are actually getting the virus. And when a positivity rate stays below 5 percent for two weeks, health experts consider the virus under control. 

SCHWEINSBERG: OK, we’ve covered where case counts come from—what about COVID-19 deaths? Those numbers come from death certificates. Each one of those lists a primary cause of death and a secondary cause.

The primary cause is the disease or event that directly led to death. The secondary cause is either a complication or a contributing factor. 

And that’s where counting COVID-19 deaths can get murky. What’s the difference between dying with COVID-19 and dying from COVID-19? 

JOHANSEN: Let’s say someone with a pre-existing heart condition has COVID-19 and then dies of a heart attack. Here COVID-19 is listed as a secondary cause of death because it contributed to the heart attack. So Dr. Amesh Adalja from Johns Hopkins says it would be counted as a COVID-19 death. 

ADALJA: So you could have a stroke and that stroke could be caused by COVID-19. Or you could have COVID-19 be on a, be on a ventilator and then die from a bacterial pneumonia, where COVID-19 would be a true cause of death because it contributed to that. So what we do is you have to kind of adjudicate what role COVID-19 played in that person’s death.

SCHWEINSBERG: So when would a medical examiner not list COVID-19 on the death certificate? Say someone dies in a car accident and in the autopsy, the medical examiner discovers the car accident victim also had COVID-19. Well, COVID-19 had nothing to do with the car accident. So it wouldn’t be listed and the person wouldn’t be counted as a COVID-19 casualty. 

JOHANSEN: But wait, doesn’t the federal government reimburse hospitals more money if someone dies of COVID-19? How do we know that doesn’t motivate doctors to wrongly attribute deaths to the coronavirus? There have been stories of families who say their loved ones were counted as COVID-19 victims without a confirmed diagnosis. So are doctors or hospitals inflating the fatalities?

SCHWEINSBERG: Dr. Adalja says it’s unlikely. Why? Because this isn’t the first time the federal government has offered hospitals more money for caring for certain patients.

ADALJA: So this happened with Ebola as well that there often is extra compensation for hospitals. And I don’t think it creates any kind of incentive to over-classify COVID-19 patients because there are strict diagnostic tests and criteria that we use to decide whether that is the case. 

So if there are some gray areas around COVID-19 deaths, how can we be sure the death count is accurate? This is where another statistic can be helpful. It’s called the excess mortality rate. 

JOHANSEN: The excess mortality rate is the difference between the actual number of deaths in a time period and the expected number of deaths in the same time period. So death counts this month are compared with death counts from this month last year. It’s a way to cross check the data.

SCHWEINSBERG: Before 2020, COVID-19 wasn’t on the scene. Dr. Ali Mokdad teaches health metrics and epidemiology at the University of Washington. He says it’s possible to compare this year’s number of deaths to last year and assume that additional deaths this year are mostly a result of the coronavirus.

MOKDAD: We will revise this mortality later on once the data becomes available. And we do this with every other event. We did it with SARS, we did it with MERS. And that’s typically what all countries will do when they revise their estimates up and down.

JOHANSEN: For instance, in New York City, data published earlier this year show just over 25,000 excess deaths between March and June. That number is close to the 24,000 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 deaths in the city so far. 

SCHWEINSBERG: But the excess mortality rate doesn’t take into account additional suicides because of isolation or people who died because they stayed away from hospitals for fear of the virus. 

Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins says death certificates can help identify how many of the excess deaths in the city were a result of these causes and not COVID. 

ADALJA: This has to be part of what we think of when we’re thinking of the total impact of this pandemic.

JOHANSEN: Okay, but what about the people who’ve had COVID-19 and recovered? Why don’t we hear more about them?

SCHWEINSBERG: Well, one reason—in a pandemic, the media and leaders tend to focus on the sick and dying. Not the people out of the woods. And Dr. Adalja says states aren’t actually tracking COVID-19 patients. Thirty days after a positive test, if you haven’t died, states consider you recovered. 

ADALJA: For a state when they talk about recovered patients, what they’re referring to is just a period of time that passes after your positive tests, and then you just move to the recovered column. 

So states don’t really know if people are fully recovered from the virus. Dr. Adalja says that’s why he doesn’t really look at recovery rates. 

ADALJA: It doesn’t really give you any kind of granular look at what’s going on with those people. So a person might have recovered, but they’re still having difficulties with concentrating, maybe they’re still short of breath. So it’s, it’s not a good number just to look at it. 

JOHANSEN: So with all the data points we have, which ones are the most important? 

Well, that depends on who you ask…but all of the experts we spoke with agreed on one thing: It’s never helpful to look at one statistic isolated from the others. Chris Lindsell from Vanderbilt was pretty adamant about that.

LINDSELL: I think just counting the absolute number of positives is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

SCHWEINSBERG: We can’t just say, Florida has 590,000 cases and Illinois only has 214,000, so Illinois must be better than Florida.

Each data point tells only part of the story. 

For instance, Dr. Mertz of McMaster University says it’s important to combine case counts with hospitalization rates and mortality rates.

MERTZ: If those three are aligned, that that’s a very clear picture for you that it’s not only that you increase testing, you, you, you certainly have an increase in your community transmission.

JOHANSEN: There are dozens of other data points and questions to consider. And we don’t have time to get into them all today. But we will circle back to this topic very soon.

SCHWEINSBERG: And we’d love to hear from you. Let us know which questions we cleared up or didn’t…and let us know which questions you’d like us answer next time.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.

JOHANSEN: And I’m Anna Johansen.

NICK EICHER: Thirty miles northwest of Chicago is Long Grove, Illinois. It’s a quaint little town that loves its covered bridge. A hardy bridge that survived more than 100 years of harsh Illinois weather.

But evidently not harsh Illinois drivers. Two years ago, a box-truck plowed into the bridge and caused so much damage that traffic could no longer cross. 

That meant a painstaking two-year repair job, very meticulous.

All culminating in the bridge reopening just a little over a week ago. 

But of course, that’s not the end of the story.

Because not even 24 hours later…

NEUMANN: I heard this crash at 12:22 and I said oh no!

That would be June Neumann—speaking with ABC7 in Chicago—a describing the schoolbus that scraped the bridge and caused some roof damage, though nothing terribly serious. But as she’s describing that in her television interview have a listen.

AUDIO: The bridge was built in 1906. 

Yep, another vehicle struck the bridge. 

The bridge held up again despite the damage. But ABC 7 reports that officials may put up barriers on each side of the bridge to—quote—“idiot proof drivers coming through.”

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER: Today is Tuesday, August 25th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the anniversary of the start of Operation Desert Shield. 

It was 30 years ago this month that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion of tiny Kuwait—Iraq’s oil rich neighbor to the south. 

It sparked a U.S.-led global response. It also marked the beginning of American engagement in the Middle East that has continued to this day.

EICHER: In a moment we’ll meet one of the earliest fighter pilots to arrive in the region, and hear the story of how an accident in the buildup to the Gulf War changed his life. Paul Butler has his story.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: In 1990, Iraq’s president Saddam Hussein controlled the world’s fourth largest standing army. He used that force to invade Kuwait on August 2nd.

NEWS CLIP: By mid-morning, thousands of troops swarmed into the capital, commando units came in by air…

Hussein quickly took control of Kuwait’s oil fields and refineries. The United States and its allies worried that he was preparing to launch a focused attack on Saudi Arabia. If he did, he could conceivably control most of the world’s oil reserves. 

BUSH: With more than 100,000 troops, along with tanks, artillery, and surface-to-surface missiles, Iraq now occupies Kuwait. There is no justification whatsoever for this outrageous and brutal act of aggression…

So President George H. W. Bush responds. He sends U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia as a deterrent and builds an international coalition involving 39 countries. The military action is named: Operation Desert Shield. 

BUSH: At my direction, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division as well as key units of the United States Air Force are arriving today to take up defensive positions in Saudi Arabia…

One of those Air Force pilots is Lieutenant Richie Setser:

RICHIE SETSER: We climbed in our jets, took off, and flew over to the Middle East. Found out en route where we were going to go when we landed there. Happened to be stationed Abu Dhabi, UAE… 

Setser’s part of the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing from Shaw Airforce Base in Sumpter, South Carolina. 

SETSER: For me as a young lieutenant, having been through all this training on one hand, it was an exhilarating thought to actually get to go do what you’re trained to do. But on the other hand, I was scared to death.

Two squadrons of F-16 fighter planes fly non-stop to the Middle East. Once there, Setser and his fellow airmen are on “ground close-air support alert.” So for two weeks they’re “locked and loaded”—ready to be called into action on a moment’s notice.

Once enough other military assets are in place, the F-16 squadrons can begin training sorties—preparing for the inevitable war with Iraq. Setser is glad to be back in the air.

SETSER: On my second sortie, we took off. There’s not a lot of air constraints for the airspace. So we could literally just take off, go to 500 feet, push the throttle up 600 knots going across the desert, you know, four airplanes, just screaming, having a great time…

At 3:51 p.m. Saudi time, Richie Setser’s engine comes apart. The turbine throws a blade…

SETSER: And it was a catastrophic fire. It was just a fireball basically. And so I went from doing, you know, nearly 600 miles an hour down at three or 400 feet, pull the nose up, get away from the ground. 

The flight leader to Setser’s right tells him he’s on fire. His vice-wing commander to the left says the same thing. He has little time to react. 

SETSER: And so I immediately reached between my legs and put my feet where they’re supposed to go and my head back, close my eyes and pull the handle. And so big bang, big flash and huge kick in the pants. 

Richie Setser’s trained for this scenario. He’s gone over it hundreds of times in his mind. But he says nothing prepared him for the reality of it…

SETSER: And this all took 20 seconds. I mean, from the time I’m sitting there having a great time flying an airplane again, till I’m hanging in a parachute was 20 seconds. 

It is the first allied loss in Operation Desert Shield. Setser’s plane is a complete loss. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index dives amid speculation that the Iraqi army might have shot down the plane.

But for Setser, the meaning of the crash was much more personal. 

SETSER: So I basically had two seconds to live is what it means. So had I delayed any, you know, I wouldn’t have survived it. And I just, the Lord just protected me, I guess…

Setser was born in a Christian family. His parents were devout Baptists. 

SETSER: I had professed the gospel and been baptized as a child, but in my time as a high school kid and then a college student, and even into my young fighter pilot days, swaggering around, thought I had the cat by the tail and lived in the world for several years. 

When he arrived in the Middle East, Setser was beginning to reconsider his life choices. 

SETSER: Three days before the flight that I’m describing, I reached a point where I just couldn’t take the pressure anymore. And my mom had given me a little New Testament to take with me. She knew I wasn’t right with the Lord. And she prayed for me constantly. And I reached a point where I just basically was crushed spiritually and I pulled out that little New Testament. 

He didn’t know quite where to begin, but his mother had planned ahead…

SETSER: I was reading scriptures that she had underlined that I actually had memorized. I knew the truth, you know, at least enough to know the way of salvation was through Christ. And I cried out to the Lord that I know I’m not right with you. 

Richie Setzer was 7,000 miles away from home, on constant alert, and very aware that he might not make it back. He begins praying in his quarters:

SETSER: And I’m sorry for my sin. I want to be right with you and I want to live for you. And, again, just this big old, strong swagger and cocky fighter pilot, just humbled, literally to my knees. And so the Lord saved me three days before my ejection. The aftereffect was, I was a changed man and my buddies knew it.

Setser was back in the air four days later. A little bruised, but back in the saddle. The training sorties paid off. Setser and the 33rd tactical squadron got to lead the first daylight raids into Iraq once the war started in 1991:

SETSER: You know, I didn’t do anything that heroic. Honestly, I didn’t, but I flew with some guys that were. I guess I had my days, but just a tremendous group of men. You know what I mean? There’s just something about that experience. And especially together that it just—the camaraderie, the respect, the admiration, the appreciation, it just can’t be replaced anywhere.

Today, Richie Setser is a pilot with United Airlines and serves as an elder in his church. His time in Iraq has given him a platform to share his testimony with many people—including his buddies in the unit.

SETSER: Interesting thing in our, that at the 25-year anniversary, I sat down and wrote out a one-page letter. And I just noted that we’re all getting older and we’re approaching death. And that, you know, I was convinced of the truth of the scriptures and the reality of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that my prayer for all of them and hope was that they would turn to him. So yeah, it has been a bit of a platform. So, the Lord used it mightily in my life.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

MARY REICHARD: Today is Tuesday, August 25th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Commentator Kim Henderson with a hat-tip for dads.

KIM HENDERSON, COMMENTATOR: In June I looked for it there among the Hallmarks and Daysprings but couldn’t find it. Nope, not in the humorous, the religious, or even the blank section. 

Not surprising, though, when you consider that the Father’s Day card I was seeking was pretty specific—one with a picture of a 1988 Chevrolet Blazer on the front. To be exact, one with a candy-apple red, two-door Blazer on the front. 

Any time I think of one I go back to when my husband and I had just graduated from college and landed jobs. Our first order of business? Replace the aging Monte Carlo sitting in our apartment complex parking space. “We need something more reliable,” we convinced ourselves.  And a bit easier on the eyes, too, if we’d been honest.

My husband headed straight to a hometown dealership where a man named Boochie (I’m not kidding) drew up the papers on a factory-fresh Chevy Blazer boasting cruise control and power windows and doors. It was the stuff of our yuppie dreams, and, unknown to us, the only brand-new vehicle we’d probably ever drive off a lot, thanks to Dave Ramsey. At the time, though, we 20-somethings revelled in the pristine interior, the double-digit odometer reading and, of course, the matchless new car smell.     

But a few flips of calendar pages later, Son No. 1 was on the way. We had to make some tough decisions in order to prepare for life on one paycheck, and my husband’s beloved Blazer (and its accompanying coupon book) would have to go. I do not recall a single complaint.

That first year as a stay-at-home mom held many delights, but some of our best outings, without doubt, involved the city zoo. Baby and I would meet friends for picnics, ride the train, gawk at the giraffes. I loved pushing a stroller, and the baby loved riding in one.

Inevitably, we’d pass by a fence near the zoo’s offices. (Did I mention the zoo director was the one who saw the ad in the paper and was there on our couch when my husband signed over a certain car title?)    

So each time Son No. 1 and I strolled our way past the flamingos, I could look through the fence and see that Chevy Blazer shining red, sitting curbside at the main office. I had a vivid reminder of what my husband gave up so his son could have a full-time mom and I could have the job of my dreams. For me, that Chevy is a symbol of a whole conglomeration of sacrifices my husband has made for his children.

And while many of us can be thankful for what our dads have given us—go-karts, ballet lessons, straight teeth, a college education—it might be good to acknowledge something entirely different—what they’ve given up for us.

So to all you dads who think the sacrifices are worth it, thanks. We owe you more than we’ll probably ever know, and certainly more than any card can express.     

For WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson.

NICK EICHER: Well, last week we talked about the Democrats’ virtual party convention. Tomorrow, Jamie Dean joins us to talk about the Republican one.

And, we’ll introduce you to an international award-winning fiddler.

That and more tomorrow. 

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. 

I hope you’ll have a great rest of the day. We’ll talk to you tomorrow!

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