Kit Carson met his own myth. It’s a strange but true story. In 1849 Kit Carson, the famous army scout, was chasing a group of renegade Apaches. When he finally caught up with them, he discovered that one of the Apaches had a book—a dime novel featuring Kit Carson as the main character. Carson was not familiar with the book, so, on the way back to the fort, he had the Apache, now his prisoner, read it to him. (Carson never learned to read)...

  On my father’s side of the family, I have an uncle who tells one story about his mother whenever the family gets together. Same story. Every time. When he was in the second grade, he had an accident at school and was sent home early. When he got there, the house was locked, and he couldn’t find his mother. Because he didn’t want anyone to see his wet pants, he hid on the porch for what seemed a very long time. Turns out that his mother...