Boyhood

In the middle of "Act of Honor," a History Channel documentary on the bravery of Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, a fellow Marine remembers seeing Peralta during the battle for Fallouja in late 2004. "He still had that wild look in his eye -- fresh out of a fight," says Sgt. Catcher Cuts the Rope, a Native American. "But he wasn't scared or anything like that."

Inside his shop of horrors, not far from three naked, bloated bodies propped against the wall, Todd Masters proudly displays his latest creation: an impaled head. For a scene in the upcoming horror flick "Snakes on a Plane," Masters and his colleagues have rigged the silicone head with a giant syringe that will pump a blood-like corn syrup mixture through the ear canal.

FOR the last couple of generations, all U.S. presidents -- even the ones who don't move the needle on the greatness scale -- end up with grand libraries and museums. But for 140 years, Abraham Lincoln, the man many consider the greatest U.S. president, lacked even a modest edifice that chronicled the leadership that led to freedom for millions -- and, ultimately, to his death.

Beatles star John Lennon collected stamps as a schoolboy -- and the public will soon have a chance to see them. The Smithsonian Institution's National Postal Museum announced it had acquired Lennon's stamp album from a British stamp dealer and planned to display it in October. The album contains more than 550 stamps from around the world including many from former British colonies.

The boyhood home of legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix was saved, once again, from the wrecking ball on Friday as supporters rushed to Seattle City Hall with a last-ditch plan to move the house and convert it into a museum and youth center. City officials, who had said the house would be demolished if it was not moved by noon Friday, acquiesced and gave its owners until Aug.

John Pollack, a former speechwriter, foreign correspondent and strolling violinist, fulfilled a childhood dream when he and friend Garth Goldstein constructed a boat made entirely of wine corks. Pollack and Goldstein launched the 22-foot craft on her maiden voyage on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., and then transported her to the Douro River in Barca de Alva, Portugal (above), for a real voyage.

Emigdio Vasquez's roots go deep into Orange's Cypress Street neighborhood. As a boy, he roamed the streets next to the railroad tracks and the orange packing plant. He was a skinny, dark-haired youth who loved to scribble cartoons. The area fueled his passion for art and helped him become one of Orange County's pioneers in Chicano art and murals. Today at 65, he no longer takes on the demanding task of painting murals.

The house in Hope, Ark., where Bill Clinton lived for three years, starting when he was about 5, is up for sale on eBay, with the bidding in one week rising from $45,000 to $105,000. The home's owner, now married, is looking for a bigger place. The auction will close April 7. Gary Johnson and his mother, Elaine, have lived in the "little bitty house" at 321 E. 13th St. for about 10 years. Johnson said he decided to post the house on eBay to tap into the online auctioneer's global reach.

Two alleged victims in one of the nation's biggest child molestation investigations from the 1980s took the stand Monday and tearfully said the grotesque abuse stories they told two decades ago were lies.

The guerrilla swung the boy up on his shoulders in the cold mountain air. "Come on," he said, looking up at the child. "There's a big animal in the woods that gives presents to children." Then the guerrilla and 3-year-old Oscar Ricaurte disappeared into the fog. The boy's mother, Leticia, could not speak. She could not move. Her arms hung limp. When will I next hold my son? she thought. A female guerrilla commander barked an order: "It's time to go. Move it." Leticia climbed in the back of a four-wheel-drive jeep.