Life

James Stum, 69, and William Burden, 87, sit side by side as they eat their breakfast at Ferrell's diner in Madisonville. Both are regulars at the Main Street establishment, which opened in 1929.
   
Rachel Rosenberg, 21, begins her dive as she practices with the Clayton Diving Alliance at the Aquatic Center at Shaw Park. Rosenberg coaches the team while she is on summer break from Yale where she is on the diving team.
  
Joesph Davis shares the stub of his cigarette with his son Joey in their new living room. After being homeless for nearly a year, the family was able to find a small apartment to rent in Akron with the help of the Interfaith Hospitality Network. The organization provided them with their first month's rent.
     
  
Sisters Suzie, 9, and Sarah Shriber, 7, show off the garden tea house in their backyard. Their mom changes the theme of the house to suit their interests.
  
A group of about 20 kids skate to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" at Fairground Park Thursday morning. The skates were provided through the Good Sameritan Community Center's Skate for Health Initiative. Program director Sameritan Jones said the main goal of the program is to fight obesity and encourage the kids to be active. In addition to the skates, breakfast and lunch was provided through the community center and The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. "We have to have fruits and vegetables," Jones said of the meals. "No greasy or fried food."
   
Brent Petrick, 15, Cody Racine, 8, Brandon Petrick, 12, and Bradley Hopkins, 10 pile onto each other at the open fire hydrant near Wirt Park in Hanover. The three brothers and their cousin found the fire hydrant while delivering newspapers and decided to cool down in the gushing water on their way home.
     
  
Fifteen-month-old Lucas Grosswiler helps out his dad with yard work Monday morning at their home in St. Louis. Lucas' father Tim (not pictured) was nearby trimming the lawn. "It's been too hot to do yard work lately so we are trying to get it done early in the morning," Tim said. The lawn mower was not on. "He loves lawnmowers, he has two plastic ones." Tim said of his son.
  
Harold Todd, 76, a retired metal worker, waits for his coffee early Saturday morning at Ferrell's Diner. "I was born and raised in Madisonville," Todd said. "You could say I was hatched here."
   
Left to right, David Fletcher, 6, Hallie Pack, 5, Jack Cannon, 5, and Cooper Terrill, 4, watch as instructor Bess Lillmars demonstrates how to hold your racket during a Pee Wee Tennis class for 4 to 6 year olds at Kirkwood City Park Monday evening. The basic class teaches the kids skills like reaction, balance and control along with serving, forehand and backhand swings.
     
  
Chrissy Williams, 10, of Arnold, struggles to pull on a pair of gloves before stepping up to the ultra sound table at Med Mania night at Camp Rhythm, a week long camp for kids who have had heart surgeries or transplants. The event gives the campers the opportunity to check out medical equipment that is used on them.
   
Left to right, Karcia Rich, Jameela Tidwell, Jaren Harrey, Diamond Dent, and Precious Cannon sing "I will call upon the Lord" during church choir practice at the Christian Activities Center in East St. Louis.
   
Lauron Thompson, a senior alto in the Elite Jazz Show Choir at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, is brought to tears by a compliment by Ana Maria Vigil (not pictured) after their concert at SLU Care Cardiac Rehabiliation annual Christmas party. "It touches me when I know that I'm touching someone else. She told us we should thank God for the gift he gave us."
     
  
Maria Cano cuts clusters of Norton grapes off the vine at the McNamara Vineyard, which is harvested for the Montelle Winery in Augusta Mo
   
Stacey Wright sits with her kids outside Jefferson Elementary School Friday morning as they wait for the doors to open. Her kids from left to right are Doreon Dubose, 5, Diamond Lofton, 8, Ebony Wright and Everest Wright, 12 (sitting on the railing.)Wright is participating in a new program that is offering parents a cash incentive to enroll their children at Jefferson, a St. Louis city school. To get it, the kids must finish this semester with near-perfect attendance and receive no out-of-school suspensions; the parent must attend three PTO meetings. The program is being offered to families in three mixed-income housing complexes surrounding the school, where most of the students live.
   
Mikayla Long waits inside her mother Tammy's truck at the Bonneauville Fire Carnival on her 8th birthday. Long, along with her mother and brother were waiting for the rain to stop so they could set up the climbing wall.
     
  
Dinesh Rai, 11, kicks a ball into the air as he plays soccer in the backyard with his brothers Lachu, 13, left, and Sha, 16, right. Their mother Bhim watches from the window (top right). The Rais are refugees from Bhutan who resettled in St. Louis ten months ago. More than 400 Bhutanese refugees have settled in the St. Louis area since 2008.
   
Crista Griffin Hatcher, 9, holds onto a pink balloon before releasing it during the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration Saturday at the Mississippi River. Angela da Silva, of the National Black Tourism Network and professor of American Studies at Lindenwood University, said the balloon release symbolized the souls of the many slaves who crossed the river to freedom. "We have to remember the past in order to move forward," she said.
   
Barbara Becker and Jutta Brettschneider, both of Washington DC, take a nap near the lavender fields between attending lectures at the Lavender Festival in Fairfield. Brettschneider said they came because she was in the mood for getting out and smelling something good.
     
  
Ray Takmajian watches as his dog Belle, an English Cocker Spaniel, flushes a pigeon during a training session. Takmajian, along with a group of Spaniel owners, is hoping to become the first Spaniel Hunt Test Club in Illinois. They practiced quartering in the field Saturday morning on the property of Danelle and Larry Oliver in Dorsey Ill.
  
"It's coming, its coming" four-year-old Macy Hart yells to her family as she dances with her American flag while waiting for the Honor our Heroes parade in Bethalto.
  
During rest hour at the Missouri Children's Burn Camp Rosalinda Sanchez, 21, combs her hair as fellow camper Chelsea Ricketts, 17, straightens hers. Sanchez, of Peru, was burned by sulphuric acid in December 2009 when she stepped in the middle of a domestic dispute trying to protect a relative. When she returns to Peru, Sanchez faces many more surgeries as well as the stigma of living with scars. At the Missouri Burn Camp Sanchez found acceptance and a new sense of herself. She hopes to bring that back to share with other burn survivors at the burn camp in Peru.
     
  
Dorothy Nilhaus models spring bridal wear during a fashion show at the Bethesda Southgate Skilled Nursing Community Friday afternoon in honor of Valentines day. "It's always fun to do something crazy. If you're going to get a laugh out of it, it's great," she said. Nineteen residents of the community participated in the event. Makeup was donated by Mary Kay Cosmetics and the clothes were donated by Callahan's Tuxedos and Bridal Shop.