Terry Anderson was held by Islamic militants for 2,454 days

Terry Anderson did plenty afterwards, too. He taught journalism at several universities, and set up a foundation to build schools in Vietnam. He became honorary chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and helped homeless veterans. Other ventures didn’t go so well. He had to close two restaurants and a bar, the Blue Gator in Athens, Ohio, where he hoped to indulge his love of blues. His charter-boat business went bust, and his horse farm had to be sold. He ran for the Ohio Senate, but lost. In 2009 he declared bankruptcy. There were three marriages and three divorces. His weight ballooned. He had to admit he was sometimes a jerk. But had he always been one, or had those seven years made him one? If so, they had also made him a hero and a famous man. He tried not to think about them, but they would not go away.