Japan is currently in the midst of the National High School Baseball Championship Tournament, a major annual event. First held in 1915, and—with the exception of a few interruptions (such as during World War II)—it has taken place every year; this year marks the 108th tournament. Qualifying tournaments have been held since June across all 47 of Japan's prefectures (equivalent to the 50 U.S. states)—with a total of 3,363 high schools participating nationwide. The 49 high schoo

In the summer of 2010, while on a road trip around the United States, I stopped in Madison County, Iowa, to see Roseman Bridge, the covered bridge made famous by the novel "The Bridges of Madison County " by Robert James Waller. This is an internationally bestselling novel about the love story between a photographer who comes to Madison County to photograph covered bridges and a local married woman. The 1995 film of the same name based on this novel was also a huge hit, star