Journey

William Henley is carrying a cross for Camden. It is not a small cross. Made of two four-by-fours, it is big enough to hold a man and bound to draw attention. Henley, 36, shouldered the cross for the first time yesterday on a quest he hopes will take him to every street in the state's poorest city. That's a 300-mile journey. The nondenominational minister is doing it for several reasons, not the least of which is his conviction that a city seeking salvation needs a savior.

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" star Brendan Fraser says he loves watching kids at preview screenings reach out to touch the lifelike 3-D images. I report this as a heads-up to fathers who accompany their children to the 3-D "Earth," whose images are indeed convincingly close at hand, lest dad be caught reaching out to touch actress Anita Briem. That could make for a long car ride home. Remember, dad, every journey to the center of the earth has a dinosaur, and also a fox - here, it's Briem as the Icelandic climber who leads scientist Fraser and his surly nephew (Josh Hutcherson)

Vibrant artwork brings to life several stories and poems in four new children's books from Jacaranda Designs of Nairobi, Kenya. In three of the books, a team of Kenyan illustrators and writers takes American children into the daily life of a girl named Mcheshi (pronounced M- che-shee). She lives with her mother, father and younger brother in a rural town outside Nairobi. Mcheshi lives up to her name, which means "playful and fun-loving" in Swahili. While the storylines and full-page pictures on every page are enough to keep readers engrossed, there is a bonus with each book.

LONDON - A British couple's round-the-world cycling odyssey ended in tragedy when both of them were killed in a road accident in Thailand. Peter Root and Mary Thompson, who had been chronicling their journey in a blog, died Wednesday when they were hit by a pickup truck in a province east of Bangkok, Thai police said Monday. The couple, both 34 and from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, left Britain in July 2011 and had cycled through Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and China.

It happened again. Philadelphia gave its heart to a sports team. Then the team went out and lost. Except this time, that sad, familiar tale felt different. If anything, in the way they lost and the way they handled losing, the Hawks of St. Joseph's University gained affection and stature. Sure, a win over Oklahoma State in the NCAA men's basketball tournament Saturday night, followed by a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio, would have been a splendid capstone to the Hawks' special season.

It's a big week for DVD releases, especially if you like action films and USA Network series. Here's what's coming out: Falling Skies: The Complete First Season Grade B: The cable series, based on an idea by writer Robert Rodat and producer Steven Spielberg, is about the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world in ruins. Pockets of survivors band together to wage guerrilla warfare against the invaders and to fight for survival. Noah Wyle ( ER )

Delegates who had been away began returning to Philadelphia yesterday for what many hope will be the final phase of the Federal Convention, which resumes tomorrow after a 10-day recess. The most interesting arrival yesterday was that of Maryland delegate James McHenry, who reached Philadelphia after a two-day journey from Baltimore. Ulster-born McHenry, 34, a surgeon who was a prisoner of the British during the war, was present for the start of the convention May 25, but had to leave three days later to attend a sick brother at home.

They're calling it "Ruby's Walk Across America," but for this morning, let's just call it a stroll along Kelly Drive. That's plenty for now for Ruby Gettinger, star of the Style Network's "Ruby," which is following her every step of a journey that began with her weighing nearly 500 pounds. She's kicking off a multicity set of one-hour walks at 9 this morning at No. 1 Boathouse Row, where she'll be walking and talking with fans of the Comcast-owned cable network's most-watched show in a free event that's scheduled to last until 2 p.m. Since the show premiered last November, she has heard from thousands of people, and some "have been taking road trips to Savannah [where she lives]

When his children were young, Peter Prusinowski walked them in Penn Treaty Park. The place spoke to him. The Polish immigrant was fascinated by what happened there in 1682, the year William Penn and Chief Tamanend of the Leni-Lenape Indians made a pact of peace under a magnificent elm. "It was a treaty based on friendship and love," said Prusinowski, who lives in Fishtown. "The place became sacred to me, and one day, my heart was telling me this is something I needed to do. " That "something" was something indeed - a 2,000-mile, 143-day journey from Philadelphia to Oklahoma - on foot.

Edgar Veevers Sr., 84, an auto mechanic who journeyed to Africa with the well-known explorer Frank Buck and who is credited with constructing the first jeep for the president of Liberia, died Thursday at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden. Born in England, Mr. Veevers came to the United States in 1911. Described by his son Thomas R. Veevers of Cherry Hill as a straight-A student, Mr. Veevers was forced to leave formal education after completing the sixth grade to enter the family trade as a textile weaver.