Beatrice Anderson is the loving owner of an adorable Bolognese dog named Lexus. When I asked Beatrice how she named her dog she said, "Well, I couldn't afford the car, so..."

Call it the Law of Unexpected Utility. By definition, you cannot know when you meet someone today where that person will land tomorrow. If you make every decision by asking "What will I get in return?" you'll miss out on these moments of serendipity.

To millions of beloved readers, Jeff Zaslow was the advice columnist who replaced Ann Landers and the bestselling author who captured our hearts with moving books like The Last Lecture with Randy Pausch. But to me and countless other writers, Jeff was a devoted mentor who gave countless hours of his time and energy to help aspiring authors.

"As a child raised in an alcoholic home," Grace's message began, "I never learned the correct response to certain situations. I would not ask for help, and if offered help would often decline, afraid of the person's motives."

The elephant in the room is our conspicuous reluctance as a society to develop adequate service systems for homeless youth and children. Is the thought of the young people on the street so unsettling and counter to our values that we simply choose to look the other way? Is the reality of trafficking and exploitation so hard to face?