"I invited her to come up with a name for the character, and without hesitating she said 'Madam, '" recalled Mr. Grupper.

WSJ: A Broadway Performer Helps Make Business an Act of Will

With my broken English and a dictionary, I explained the situation, and without hesitating, the man went to the ATM and paid the rest of the money for my family and two other North Koreans to get out of jail.

CNN: Why I fled North Korea

Pushing forward, he seized my hand and without a word led me along the paths, never hesitating in his darkness, to the ruined Buddhist monastery of Mohra Moradu nestling in a gorge between hills, hidden from the wider valley.

BBC: Following the Silk Road to the end of China