In December 2020, 39 year old Jody Murphy passed away suddenly in his sleep.

His partner, Alex Leggatt, was only two months pregnant at the time. The two had known each other their entire lives through family friends. Their relationship started during the Covid lockdown with a first date sharing chicken nuggets in a McDonald's car park. Jody was incredibly excited to become a father and had already filled his flat with toys. Alex felt their baby's first kicks during the eulogies at Jody's funeral. She later gave birth alone. Now, ... to help him build a connection with the father he never met, Alex Leggatt maintains a yearly birthday tradition. Before they visit the cemetery in Lincolnshire, England, she places a wrapped present at the gravesite so Malone can find the gift his dad left for him. Malone brings his own gifts to the grave as well, including flowers and a Spiderman scooter, and he still asks when his daddy is coming back.

Click here to view a video of little Malone's birthday tradition.

I was led to the stairs. I don't think something grabbed my hand, but I was definitely led. There was still danger, so it led me to the stairwell, led me to break through, led me to run through the fire... There was obviously somebody encouraging me. That’s not where you go, you don’t go toward the fire. ⁠

On 9-11, when a plane struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Ron DiFrancesco found himself trapped inside. Confused and fearing for his life, he first headed toward the roof. But panic and second thoughts prevailed, so he decided to turn around and go down — only to find his path blocked by a wall of fire and smoke.

Fearing he'd made the wrong decision, he sensed an unseen presence beside him, and then heard a voice forcefully directing him to "Get up!" and push through the flames. The presence stayed near, guiding and directing him until he was in the clear and able to exit the doomed tower. He was the last person to escape before the South Tower collapsed. ⁠

DiFrancesco is not alone in this seemingly inexplcable experience. Countless others, in similar situations of extreme duress, have reported an unseen presence taking the reins to guide them to safety, comforting, calming, and encouraging all along the way.

Think Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Firey Furnace. 

What DiFrancesco described in his harrowing escape is known as Third Man Syndrome —also known as the Third Man Factor — a fascinating psychological phenomenon where people in extreme, often life-threatening situations report sensing an unseen presence that offers comfort, guidance, or even lifesaving direction.

The term "Third Man Syndrome" comes from a haunting line in T.S. Eliot’s 1922 poem The Waste Land, which was inspired by explorer Ernest Shackleton’s account of his Antarctic expedition. Shackleton described feeling a mysterious presence guiding him and his crew during a grueling trek across South Georgia Island, saying it seemed “we were four, not three.” This invisible companion—neither seen nor heard—felt real enough to offer comfort and direction.

From Elliott's poem:

Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman —
But who is that on the other side of you?

The once-mighty Mississippi River is in crisis.

In recent years, the Mississippi River has experienced severe, months-long droughts that take hold across a vast swathe of America’s Midwest and South, regularly leaving the river at historic lows. 

Forty percent of the continental United States drains into the river. The Mississippi River is far more than just a storied body of water. It is America’s superhighway. Ninety-two percent of all U.S. agricultural exports and 78 percent of the globe’s exported feed grain are transported on the river. From freshly harvested corn shipped all over the world to coffee that’s served in cafes across the Midwest, nearly 500 million tons of goods are shipped up and down the river every year. But today, the growing frequency of droughts is forcing barges to carry fewer goods.

Just a one-foot fall in water level shaves 100,000 bushels of soybeans from a typical 15-barge tow. That’s the equivalent of 2,738 metric tons—enough to overflow an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

A low Mississippi River is not only bad news for Americans, but also for countries as far away as China, Japan, and Indonesia where Midwestern grain and soybeans are essential food sources. In 2022, the low river levels resulted in an estimated $20 billion in lost trade.