# Up Beat News



## Shadow Bea

Some positive upbeat news 

Snow Angels


Spider-Man, schmeider-man. In Alaska, the all-girl Dragon Slayers race to the rescue.
"After a bad call, we talk, cry and give a big group hug," says Patty Yaska (left, with harpoon, on the Kuskokwim River with other Dragon Slayers and the novice Lizard Killers). 
(Axel Koester)
At 10:20 a.m. on what passes for a balmy spring day in Aniak, Alaska -- 20 degrees, blinding snow -- Volunteer Fire Chief Pete Brown radios his emergency medical team to meet him at the home of George Peterson, an octogenarian who is struggling for breath. Minutes later, Brown, 57, and his colleagues arrive at Peterson's bedside. "What's wrong with me?" asks the frail man with congestive heart failure. "It hurts." 
"We're going to give you some oxygen," Dione Turner tells him in a soothing voice. "It will make you feel better," promises Patty Yaska, hooking him up to the canister. Soon Peterson feels revived enough to banter with his rescuers and to notice that they are astonishingly young. As Patty and Dione, both 17, depart, he turns to his son Ray, who placed the 911 call, and asks, "Who were those girls?" Replies Ray: "They're the Dragon Slayers." 

A team of seven high school girls, the angels of Aniak provide the only round-the-clock emergency medical care available to 3,000 people in 14 villages across an area the size of Maryland. At an age when many of their peers are obsessing over glitter eye shadow, these volunteer EMTs -- each of whom has 200 hours of medical and fire-safety training under her belt -- respond to 450 calls a year. The youngest Dragon Slayer, 14-year-old Erinn Marteney, pulled a toddler from a burning home the day after Christmas. Mariah Brown, 17 (Pete's daughter), was once bitten by a drunken man as she dressed his wounds. Team members have revived fellow teens who tried to kill themselves and grandmothers in cardiac arrest. They have rescued a villager who fell through ice, snowmobilers injured in collisions and survivors of small-plane crashes. "It really changes how you are as a person," says Erica Kameroff, 16. 

Getting to the victims -- most of whom, like the Dragon Slayers, are Yupik Eskimos and Athabascan Indians -- is a challenge in itself: No roads connect Aniak, 350 miles west of Anchorage and surrounded by rivers, to the rest of Alaska. Through early May the team uses frozen waterways as thoroughfares, traveling in snowmobiles and four-wheel-drive vehicles. In warmer months, when the ice thaws, they often rely on boats.


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## hewee

Thanks for post that bea. It heartwarming to hear we have kids that care for other like that.


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## eggplant43

I read about these young folks in Reader's Digest about 6 months ago. It's heartwarming. These folks are our future 

I like the idea of this thread, thanks for starting it.


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## Shadow Bea

Hi guys,
Thank you both Hewee , Bruce. I too am tired and disheartened listening to, reading and seeing nothing but rape, murder, road rage, madness and war and the atrocities that "human beings" can inflict on others. I want to see positive proactive evidence that the milk of human kindness is not completely sour


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## n2gun

Great article and great idea ie this thread


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## littlemar

Thanks Bea for the uplift. It helps to read some good stuff for a change especially when everything on the news is a downer. I also think it's great that these young people have the maturity and desire to help people. The future leadership in Alaska looks great.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by n2gun:_
> *Great article and great idea ie this thread *


Thanks n2gun  
  is n2 your nickname or do you like to be called by your full name Mr. Gun 
Bea


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by littlemar:_
> *Thanks Bea for the uplift. It helps to read some good stuff for a change especially when everything on the news is a downer. I also think it's great that these young people have the maturity and desire to help people. The future leadership in Alaska looks great.   *


Thanks Mary I feel the same way
We here at TSG of course have not only the milk of human kindness in abundance. but are the cream of the crop   thank you all


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## SyscoKid

Check out the Dragon Slayers Home Page !

There's even a photo gallery!


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## n2gun

Sysco
great link! Thanks for sharing it.


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## SyscoKid

You're welcome!


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## Guest

Hello,

Lovely to read about these people. Why do you think they chose a name involved slaying? when they are so involved with saving life. Slaying problems, do you think?

T2


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by Tuppence2:_
> *Hello,
> 
> Lovely to read about these people. Why do you think they chose a name involved slaying? when they are so involved with saving life. Slaying problems, do you think?
> 
> T2 *


Hi T2
I believe it is because in folk lore dragon slayers were knights in shining armor
and they went out to slay the dragons (metaphorically speaking The bad guys) ?
Bea


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## Mike C UK

Probably goes back to St George! And that was probably based on earlier thoughts and ideas! The dragon has long been seen in many cultures as a synonym for evil in one form or another. 

Just take a look in Google at all the entries related to the fight against one 'evil' or another that you get by searching "slaying the dragon" (include " marks).

Mike


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## Mike C UK

Revellations xii, 9 - Satan as "the great dragon" - often symbolised as such in Christian art.

Psalms xci, 13 - saints "shall trample the dragon under their feet"

Mike


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## Shadow Bea

A Second Wind for Seniors

Millions of seniors confined to nursing homes struggle to keep depression at bay. 80% have no visitors. Imagine a program that asked residents, What would make you happy? and then granted those wishes.

That is the mission of Second Wind Dreams --to inspire nursing homes across the world to create Dream Weavers out of staff members.

Many times a new dress, a radio, a trip to a fishing hole or the ball park is all that is needed to create a connection to their past that gives a feeling of security, peace and happiness. Some dreams cost less than $25.00 but generate truly life-altering experiences. Mae Bailey, 61, is blind and disabled by the ravages of diabetes. Her wish? To relive the excitement she experienced as a youngster riding the seven cyclones at Six Flags Amusement Park. When her Dream Weaver took her to the park, she rode, not one, not two - but all seven of the park's cyclones!

P.K. Beville, PhD, founded the program in 1997 and fulfills her overall intention every day -- to improve the perception of aging. When dreams are fulfilled in any of the 400 participating facilities in 38 states, India and Canada, Beville reports there are profound changes of attitudes in both residents and staff.

In one example many of the women wanted to cook again and, cook FOR someone. So, a long table was set up in December for making holiday cookies for the staff. Magic ensued. The ladies went to work each to their own task. Suddenly, there were no wheelchairs, crippled hands, dementia or tremors. There were women making goodies in kitchens' past with sisters and mothers. And then, from one end of the table a lone voice began to sing, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please to put a penny in the old man's hat. As the song was picked up all around the table, the joy of a caroling session arose. We weren't in a nursing home at all. The power of the dream had transcended reality.

An even more profound wish was that of a 92-year-old woman who had lived her entire life with crossed eyes. Her family, never sympathetic to the disability, even ridiculed her desire to change that upsetting aspect of her appearance. At last, SWD found one eye surgeon who willingly performed the simple surgical procedure and undid what had been the source of a lifetime of despair!

Call 678-624-0500 for info on how to become a Dream Weaver in your town. www.secondwind.org

 Makes me smile Bea


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## Moby

Talking about Dragons, we're not all evil you know.  
Wales 2 Italy 1. hee hee.










We're going to Portugal.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by Moby:_
> *Talking about Dragons, we're not all evil you know.
> Wales 2 Italy 1. hee hee.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We're going to Portugal.
> *


 Well I guess if Vampires can become good guys  
so can dragons  
Bea


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## eggplant43

I appreciate the uplifting tone of this thread. I've been working very hard all day, and have lots more to do so just dropped by for a moment to check in. It was nice finding this beautiful continuation from last night.


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## Guest

Hello there,

Thanks for the info regarding "dragon slayers" 

T2


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## Shadow Bea

Thank you T2 and Bruce
heres another one 
First International Positive Psychology Conference 
Psychologists Herald Ways to Live Happily Ever After 

A group of upstart scientists, scholars and researchers in the field of psychology have decided that it is more important to focus on what is right with people than what is wrong with people. 200 psychologists from 20 countries convened this weekend in Washington, D.C. for their fourth annual summit to exchange research and ideas on such topics as love, flow, wisdom and well-being.

"The world has an appetite for this type of stuff, " declares Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, the self-described cheerleader of the new positive psychology movement. Seligman, a former president of the American Psychological Association, founded the Positive Psychology Network and authored the new book, "Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology To Realize Your Potential For Lasting Fulfillment." He sees the most exciting prospects for this work in simple but dramatic terms. "We can change for the better the total amount of happiness in the world."

But what about today's new world, marked by fears of terrorism and a new anxiety about the future? Since September 11th, Seligman has determined that one of the best ways to help suffering people is to focus on positive things. A parade of studies presented this weekend confirmed the experience that positive emotions, when generated, cause negative emotion to dissipate rapidly. Thus, researchers are hoping to prevent depression before it occurs.

A recent Newsweek magazine cover story on teenage depression underscores the enormous room for improvement in mental health today. Almost 3 million teens struggle with depression, most without help. One of the most effective ways to utilize positive psychology to benefit society is to teach about it in schools. But how to muster the will in schools when SOL test scores have become the all-consuming goal? 

Well, Seligman's group was awarded a $2.8 million grant from the Department of Education to augment a 9th grade language arts curriculum with an emphasis on human strengths and positive emotions contained within the course literature. The grant will fund a long term study to trace the lives of students who took the course, and compare outcomes to those from students who took the same course but without the positive psychology enrichment.


Judging from the research presentations at the summit, adolescents who are taught the tools to well-being will live happier lives than those who are not. For instance, one study asked whether character predicts happiness in adolescence (U. of Penn). The results indicated that, yes, kids with self-described virtues were happier, and that "nice guys DON'T finish last."

What would be the outcome if more psychologists, teachers, therapists, AND parents focused on what people were doing right? The foremost proponent of the movement, Dr. Seligman, believes that, "An era of good feeling literally is possible." (OCT. 6, 2002)

Some Highlights of the 4-day First International Positive Psychology Summit sponsored by
The Gallup Organization:

 Bea


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## Guest

Hello SB,

That's so nice about the 92 year-old and her "uncrossed" eyes.
What a pity she had to wait all that time. I once knew someone with terrible "buck" teeth that were never attended to, it would have made a huge difference it they had been. Self-confidence is affected by these things.

Regarding positive thoughts and actions - There is the old wisdom, "smile even though you don't feel happy, and the act of smiling will help to improve your mood and way of thinking".


T2 
Penny


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## Shadow Bea

Hi T2
I agree with you 100 percent.. I too have known people who's biggest problem was really self confidence, or the lack of confidence! And then there are people who are self conscious about things that really shouldn't matter. It is nice to hear about someone who suffered for so long getting her wish
I've tried that smiling when I don't feel happy thing and you are right it works
Bea


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## eggplant43

I once heard a speaker, the son of an alcoholic, talk about "Positive". His position was that we are all dealt our portion of negativity in life, and it doesn't go away, so the only thing you can do is "dilute" it with "positive. I believe this is the way. In life 10% is what happens to you, and 90% is how you react to it (seen on a poster in the school I was working in this afternoon). Makes sense to me.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *I once heard a speaker, the son of an alcoholic, talk about "Positive". His position was that we are all dealt our portion of negativity in life, and it doesn't go away, so the only thing you can do is "dilute" it with "positive. I believe this is the way. In life 10% is what happens to you, and 90% is how you react to it (seen on a poster in the school I was working in this afternoon). Makes sense to me. *


Bruce
What a nice way of putting it it makes sence to me too.
Bea


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## Shadow Bea

Commentary on Cultivating Positive Emotions to Optimize Health and Well-Being

The Positive Emotion of Elevation 
Jonathan Haidt
University of Virginia

ABSTRACT

The previously unstudied emotion of elevation is described. Elevation appears to be the opposite of social disgust. It is triggered by witnessing acts of human moral beauty or virtue. Elevation involves a warm or glowing feeling in the chest, and it makes people want to become morally better themselves. Because elevation increases ones desire to affiliate with and help others, it provides a clear illustration of Fredricksons (2000) broaden-and-build model of the positive emotions.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jonathan Haidt, Department of Psychology, Gilmer Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4400. 
E-mail: [email protected]

If interest is a positive emotion that makes a person more open to possibilities and more likely to stop and savor a good new idea, then it was clever of Fredrickson to write such an interesting article. Her broaden-and-build model brings pleasing clarity to an otherwise confusing area of emotion research. The functionalist perspective, a powerful tool for understanding the negative emotions, can now be neatly applied to the positive emotions as well. Fredrickson (2000) shows how the positive emotions of joy, interest, and contentment do useful things, not only from an evolutionary point of view but also from a clinical point of view.

This brief essay applies Fredrickson's model to a new positive emotion that has not been described thus far by academic psychologists: elevation. Elevation is a warm, uplifting feeling that people experience when they see unexpected acts of human goodness, kindness, and compassion (Haidt, Algoe, Meijer, Tam, & Chandler, 2000). It makes a person want to help others and to become a better person himself or herself. Elevation makes sense when viewed through Fredrickson's broaden-and-build model.

My prior research with Paul Rozin and Clark McCauley focused on the negative emotion of disgust (Haidt, McCauley, & Rozin, 1994; Rozin, Haidt, & McCauley, 1993). Disgust is a puzzling emotion  a response to elicitors as diverse as cockroaches, incest, and greed. The disgust response to objects that spread bacterial contamination (e.g., feces, cockroaches, corpses) is easy to understand as an evolutionary adaptation for an omnivorous species. But why is disgust so often felt toward social behaviors? So far, the best way to make sense of this extension into social space, which happens across cultures as well (Haidt, Rozin, McCauley, & Imada, 1997), is to posit that human cultures generally order their social space in terms of a vertical dimension, running from God and moral perfection above to demons, devils, and moral evil below. Human beings are generally seen as being precariously suspended somewhere in the middle of this vertical dimension, capable of rising to godly sainthood or falling to bestiality or "subhuman" behavior. The medieval scala natura and the Hindu notion of reincarnation at higher or lower levels, depending on one's actions in life, illustrate this vertical dimension. Social disgust can then be understood as the emotional reaction people have to witnessing others moving "down," or exhibiting their lower, baser, less Godlike nature. Human beings feel revolted by moral depravity, and this revulsion has some overlap, and also some difference, with the revulsion they feel toward rotten food and cockroaches.

But if this powerful negative emotion can be triggered by seeing people move down on the vertical dimension, then what happens when one sees people move "up"? Is there a corresponding positive emotion triggered by seeing people manifesting their higher, better, more saintly nature?

The Emotion of Elevation
Preliminary evidence suggests that there is such an emotion (Haidt et al., 2000). We asked people to write in detail about five situations that seemed likely to produce positive emotions. We then asked specific questions about bodily changes, thoughts, and action tendencies or motivations. In one condition, participants were asked to write about "a specific time when you saw a manifestation of humanity's 'higher' or 'better' nature." The stories told in response were often moving and beautiful. To understand the participants' responses, the same kind of analysis that Fredrickson (2000) applies to joy, interest, and contentment can be applied: it is possible to examine (a) the circumstances that elicit the emotion, (b) the changes in the momentary thoughtaction repertoire, and (c) the consequences or outcomes of these changes.

Circumstances That Cause Elevation
In our research (Haidt et al., 2000), the most commonly cited circumstances that caused elevation involved seeing someone else give help or aid to a person who was poor or sick, or stranded in a difficult situation. A particularly powerful and detailed case captures the flavor of these situations:

Myself and 3 guys from my church were going home from volunteering our services at the salvation army that morning. It had been snowing since the night before and the snow was a thick blanket on the ground. As we were driving through a neighborhood near where I lived I saw an elderly woman with a shovel in her driveway. I did not think much of it, when one of the guys in the back asked the driver to let him off here. The driver had not been paying much attention so he ended up circling back around towards the lady's home. I had assumed that this guy just wanted to save the driver some effort and walk the short distance to his home (although I was clueless as to where he lived). But when I saw him jump out of the back seat and approach the lady, my mouth dropped in shock as I realized that he was offering to shovel her walk for her. 
Changes in the ThoughtAction Repertoire
When participants saw unexpected acts of goodness, they commonly described themselves as being surprised, stunned, and emotionally moved. Their descriptions imply that cognitive structures were changing under the surface  changing their views about humanity in a more optimistic way and triggering more prosocial goals for themselves. When asked "Did the feeling give you any inclination toward doing something?," the most common response was to describe generalized desires to help others and to become a better person. Several participants described the kind of openness and urge to be playful that Fredrickson ascribes to joy. The woman who wrote about the snow-shoveling episode above also wrote,

I felt like jumping out of the car and hugging this guy. I felt like singing and running, or skipping and laughing. Just being active. I felt like saying nice things about people. Writing a beautiful poem or love song. Playing in the snow like a child. Telling everybody about his deed. 
A common theme in most of the narratives is a social focus  a desire to be with, love, and help other people.

Consequences of These Changes
The social and prosocial orientation produced by these feelings appears to have potentially life-altering effects. One participant described how moved he was when so many people came to visit and support his family while his grandfather was dying. He said that he still has these feelings 7 years later and that these feelings influenced his decision to become a doctor. Feelings of elevation seem particularly capable of fostering love, admiration, and a desire for closer affiliation with the doer of the good deed. The woman in the snow-shoveling incident wrote,

My spirit was lifted even higher than it already was. I was joyous, happy, smiling, energized. I went home and gushed about it to my suite-mates, who clutched at their hearts. And, although I have never seen this guy as more than just a friend, I felt a hint of romantic feeling for him at this moment. 
Love and a desire for affiliation appears to be a common human response to witnessing saints and saintly deeds, or even to hearing about them second hand. If disgust is a negative emotion that strengthens ego boundaries and defenses against a morally reprehensible other, then elevation is its opposite  a desire to affiliate with those who are morally admirable.

A second study confirmed this general portrait of elevation (Haidt et al., 2000). This second study induced elevation experiences in the laboratory by showing one group of participants selections from a documentary on the life of Mother Teresa. Control groups were shown other videos, including a comedy and an interesting but nonemotional documentary. Compared to participants who watched the control videos, participants who watched the elevating video clip reported feeling more loving and inspired, they more strongly wanted to perform prosocial and affiliative actions, and they were more likely to actually volunteer to work at a humanitarian charity organization.

Elevation Broadens and Builds
Elevation appears to fit well with Fredrickson's (2000) broaden-and-build model. For an observer, seeing others do unselfish good deeds creates no threat requiring immediate or specific action. Rather, it signals the presence of an altruist, a good candidate for cooperation and affiliation (Frank, 1987). Witnessing good deeds changes the thoughtaction repertoire, triggering love, admiration, and affection for the altruist and making affiliative behavior more likely. Fredrickson describes the benefits to the individual of experiencing positive emotions, and elevation may indeed confer such individual benefits (e.g., the energy and playfulness of the woman in the above example). However, elevation is particularly interesting because of its power to spread, thereby potentially improving entire communities. If elevation increases the likelihood that a witness to good deeds will soon become a doer of good deeds, then elevation sets up the possibility for the same sort of "upward spiral" for a group that Fredrickson (2000) describes for the individual. If frequent bad deeds trigger social disgust, cynicism, and hostility toward one's peers, then frequent good deeds may have a type of social undoing effect, raising the level of compassion, love, and harmony in an entire society. Efforts to promote and publicize altruism may therefore have widespread and cost-effective results.The positive emotions may indeed be powerful and understudied mechanisms for the improvement of human health and well-being. Fredrickson has helped us to see their potential.

References 
Frank, R. (1988). Passions within reason: The strategic role of the emotions. New York: Norton.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2000). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention and Treatment, 3, Article 1. Available on the World Wide Web: http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume3/pre0030001a.html.Haidt, J., Algoe, S., Meijer, Z., Tam, A., & Chandler, E. C. (2000). The elevation-altruism hypothesis: Evidence for a new prosocial emotion. Unpublished manuscript, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.Haidt, J., McCauley, C., & Rozin, P. (1994). Individual differences in sensitivity to disgust: A scale sampling seven domains of disgust elicitors. Personality and Individual Differences, 16, 701713.Haidt, J., Rozin, P., McCauley, C. R., & Imada, S. (1997). Body, psyche, and culture: The relationship between disgust and morality. Psychology and Developing Societies, 9, 107131.Rozin, P., Haidt, J., & McCauley, C. (1993). Disgust. In M. Lewis & J. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 575594). New York: Guilford Press.


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## Guest

Hello,

It's true SB that witnessing an act of kindness brings with it a feeling that there is still good to be found in human nature - This thread helps a lot, because we hear so much about the bad side of humans and too little about the good.

Thanks,
T2
(Penny).


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## eggplant43

Thanks for posting that wonderful article about "elevation". I have experienced elevation many times in my life, both as someone who has experienced/witnessed it, and as someone who has participated in the process.

The act of elevation that immediately came to mind was one that was posted on the Internet several days post 9/11 in NY. A Muslim man was near the Trade Center moving away from the disaster. As the First tower began to fall a Jewish fellow came along, and said "we'd better get going brother" and helped him along. He knew the man was Jewish because he was wearing a religious medallion around his neck, and he was clearly Arab. At that moment, they were truly two brothers helping each other. Their common humanity was what counted at that moment.

I believe one key to elevation is the recognition of our commonality, as opposed to focusing on our differences.


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## Shadow Bea

Quote:Tuppence2
Hello, 

It's true SB that witnessing an act of kindness brings with it a feeling that there is still good to be found in human nature - This thread helps a lot, because we hear so much about the bad side of humans and too little about the good. 

Thanks, 
T2 
(Penny).

Hi Penny
Thanks! I agree .. There is an old saying.. You can feed the good dog or you can feed the bad dog.. obviously which ever one is fed the most grows the biggest.. a lot of people prefer to focus on the negative side of others.. I prefer whenever possible to focus on the positive.. I guess that makes me somewhat of a Pollyanna but oh well
Thanks again Penny,
Bea

Quote: Eggplant
Thanks for posting that wonderful article about "elevation". I have experienced elevation many times in my life, both as someone who has experienced/witnessed it, and as someone who has participated in the process. 

The act of elevation that immediately came to mind was one that was posted on the Internet several days post 9/11 in NY. A Muslim man was near the Trade Center moving away from the disaster. As the First tower began to fall a Jewish fellow came along, and said "we'd better get going brother" and helped him along. He knew the man was Jewish because he was wearing a religious medallion around his neck, and he was clearly Arab. At that moment, they were truly two brothers helping each other. Their common humanity was what counted at that moment. 

I believe one key to elevation is the recognition of our commonality, as opposed to focusing on our differences.

Hi Bruce,
Fancy meeting you here what a great story. Recognition of our commonality is not something that comes easily for some people I know personally that it requires a lot of work.. but it gets easier the more one exercises that particular muscle. It seems that It is more politically correct (popular) these days to put people down, rather than lift them up. A gentle considerate person is sometimes considered a week wimp
Traits that were once considered to be desirable aren't any more. I thank you for being the person that you are.
Bea


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## eggplant43

I'm sure I'm considered a weak wimp by some here. Frankly, I don't care. As I recall, that was exactly the position that Jesus Christ was in when he walked the earth. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and many others of that ilk have also been castigated, tortured, maimed, and killed. Yet they continue to appear in life. Witnesses for an alternative. Some of us simply take the road less traveled 

They're going to have to answer when they get to the Pearly Gates. "Weren't you the one who belittled, made fun of, bullied others?" I plan to be answering a different set of questions


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## RT

SB said at the start


> the milk of human kindness is not completely sour


and sums up my feelings, all I have to to do is look around this wonderful place, only to find :



> I'm sure I'm considered a weak wimp by some here. Frankly, I don't care.


 _gasp!_ (now, leave Mulder's feeling about ya out of this! ) 
It is obvious from your posts, egg, that you DO care - about that which is important to you and important to many others - (uh, careful about the JC comparison, don't "elevate" yourself  - kidding_joshing_ )

you are one of the most level- headed wimps around here...
...and if anyone says otherwise, I'm sorry, but yes I'll consider punching them..in my own wimpy style of course...


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by RT:_
> *SB said at the start
> 
> and sums up my feelings, all I have to to do is look around this wonderful place, only to find :
> 
> gasp! (now, leave Mulder's feeling about ya out of this! )
> It is obvious from your posts, egg, that you DO care - about that which is important to you and important to many others - (uh, careful about the JC comparison, don't "elevate" yourself  - kidding_joshing_ )
> 
> you are one of the most level- headed wimps around here...
> ...and if anyone says otherwise, I'm sorry, but yes I'll consider punching them..in my own wimpy style of course...
> 
> *


 D Wimps of the world unite!! 
"The Meek shall inherit the earth " 
Thanks Bea


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## eggplant43

Glad to see you around. Love your humor. But I'm afraid level headed isn't acceptable to some Not that I care 

I used JC as a model, because that was how he was sent to us. Unfortunately, far too many don't understand, or forgot, or don't care. That's why we keep getting reminders


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## eggplant43

There is an E-zine I subscribe to that some of you may enjoy. It publishes the stories of everyday people, in their own words about acts of kindness they have experienced, and then the readers responses to the stories. It brings positive to my life, and often brings tears to my eyes. Something I do easily when I hear about people caring for one another.

Here is the link: http://www.heroicstories.com/

There is a link for subscribing at the top left.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *Glad to see you around. Love your humor. But I'm afraid level headed isn't acceptable to some Not that I care
> 
> I used JC as a model, because that was how he was sent to us. Unfortunately, far too many don't understand, or forgot, or don't care. That's why we keep getting reminders *


Thank you Bruce,
Not that you care but  Thank's for the link.. I subscribed and look forward to receiving it 
Bea


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *Glad to see you around. Love your humor. But I'm afraid level headed isn't acceptable to some Not that I care
> 
> You are right again Eggplant..
> scatterbrainedfawningblonds a female breed much favored by some
> Bea*


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## Shadow Bea

Volunteer Pilots Fly Patients in Need of Distant Medical Care 
When people with serious medical conditions need to travel to specialized centers for treatment but the cost of transportation is prohibitive, a league of volunteer pilots is ready to help.

Across the country, some 4,000 pilots transport 12,000 patients and their families free of charge every year, according to the Air Care Alliance, an umbrella group of some 40 humanitarian flying organizations.

The main intent is to help people who cannot get to medical facilities otherwise, said Doug Vincent, chairman of the alliance and founder of Angel

Flight of Oklahoma Clients need not be destitute, Vincent said, but they must indicate a compelling need. For people who require medical services far away from home, several times a week, the cost of frequent travel by commercial carrier quickly becomes unaffordable for all but the very wealthy.

Vincent's group flies a large number of cancer patients from the Plains states to specialists in Houston; Rochester, Minn.; and Durham, N. C. Flying is often more comfortable than driving for people undergoing debilitating treatments like chemotherapy and is sometimes essential if their immune system is compromised.

Vincent recalled one young girl with cancer that his group flew from Kansas to a Houston hospital 50 times during a two-year-period. Even on a discount, that's a bunch of money out of your pocket, he said. Sadly, the youngster died, which was hard on the pilot. Some you fly one time and some you really get to know, Vincent said.

Bill Worden, who helped found the association in 1990, said the Angel Flight West group he's affiliated with in California routinely flies farm workers from the Central Valley who are plagued with chemical-related diseases to the medical center at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Maybe they need treatment every other day. It's just impossible for them to do; they just don't have the resources, he noted.So if it weren't for the fact that someone in a private plane could do it, they wouldn't get there.

Patients often hear about the service through hospitals and social workers but alliance officials say many people are still unaware that a network of volunteer pilots exists. A web site with all flying organizations (www.aircareall.org) is an effort to spread the word.

Some of the groups offer specialized services. The Emergency Volunteer Air Corps in Connecticut works with airports in disasters. Mercy MedFlight in Texas provides an all-volunteer air ambulance. Lighthawk in California flies policy makers over forest clear-cuts and other devastated habitats.

While the pilots own the planes and cover the costs of fuel and landing fees themselves, most welcome the chance to do what they love and help others at the same time. The majority are hobbyists looking for an excuse to get off the ground.

Some are commercial pilots who volunteer in their spare time. Others have made enough money to buy a plane and give back to their community at a young age.

Alex Wattles is an equities trader from Pound Ridge, N. Y. At 34, he's done well in the stock market, owns a small jet and since 1993 has flown as often as he can for numerous social service agencies.

Because he's got a bigger plane than most, he can make longer trips. Last year Wattles picked up a young girl in Ogallala, Neb., and took her to New York City for reconstructive surgery.

The nearest airport for them was four hours away and they had no money, Wattles recalled. He was able to pick her up at a nearby community airfield and bring her back.

The fact that small airports can be found in almost every county in the country makes the service possible, Worden said. Sprawl is closing a lot of these airports, however, and humanitarian flights are a good way to get the public interested in saving them, he added.

It really is only in America that the average person can hope to fly, he said. We want to make the opportunity available for the next generation.

© The American News Service

Doug Vincent, Air Care Alliance, Tulsa, Okla., 918-745-0384;
E-mail: [email protected]; web site: www.aircareall.org.

Virginia Internet software billionaire, Michael Saylor, plans to donate at least $100 million to launch a free online university that could reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

The idea is to create a higher learning center of online courses that would include lectures from the world's geniuses and leaders.

The top professors and lecturers in their fields would be invited to be videotaped. Saylor thinks they will jump at the opportunity, It gives a great calculus teacher the chance to teach 100 million people, Saylor envisions his university becoming a cyber Library of Congress.

In the next 9 months Saylor will establish a foundation with a staff consisting of university heads, curriculum experts, writers, marketers and computer experts. A studio will be built for taping the lectures.

The idea for the non-profit online university came to him over the New Year's holiday when he was sailing a yacht off St. Bart's in the Caribbean.

Generosity On the Increase

Giving by the nation's largest foundations jumped by 22.2 percent in the latest year to $9.7 billion, while the number of grants rose 12.8 percent to 97,220.

This unprecedented dramatic growth resulted in increased support benefiting nonprofits in nearly every field and discipline.

_

_

Sick Kids and Their Families Find Comraderie In Online Discussion Groups

SICKKIDS, CARINGPARENTS, and CARINGKIDS are three open, unmoderated online discussion lists for kids and their families who are ill, or know someone who is ill. The lists deal with chronic or potentially fatal illnesses. They can talk about their (or another's) illness, their feelings and frustrations, their families and friends, share poems, tell jokes, and so on - anything to make themselves and others feel better. There is also a team of adult, professionally trained counselors that provide guidance in difficult situations.

To subscribe to SICKKIDS, CARINGPARENTS, or CARINGKIDS send the following command in the BODY of mail to [email protected]
SJUVM.STJOHNS.EDU:

SUB SICKKIDS (or CARINGPARENTS or CARINGKIDS) YourFirstName YourLastName

For example, for SICKKIDS:

SUB SICKKIDS Theodore Roosevelt

The lists are a part of the Caring Family organization. For more information write to the main address with details of your interest: [email protected]
sjuvm.stjohns.edu

Owner: Kevin J. Sinclair <[email protected]>

(Submitted by Bill Asenjo)


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## eggplant43

This is such a great thread. I don't know where you find all this great news, but please keep it coming


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## Shadow Bea

Only the Shadow knows 
Thanks Bruce


----------



## Shadow Bea

Out To Prove That Guys Are Not Idiots! 

Rob Sowell, 17, has always loved children. Even when he was in elementary school, he gave up recesses to watch the smaller kids while their teachers stepped out. But he feels as a teenager that society unfairly views with disfavor the expressing of his love...Rob set out to change things.

When he tried to become a babysitter parents resisted hiring him. One mom confessed to Rob that she didnt like hiring male-sitters. But he was her last resource.

That night while getting Kris, 7, ready for bed he realized that Andrew, 5, was missing.
Rob tells it like this: We couldnt find him so I put a jacket on Kris and brought him outside with me. With a flashlight in one hand and Kris in the other, I looked in every backyard and bush. I went to Andrews school directly behind the house. I saw him walking towards me and I started shouting, ANDREW...but he wouldnt answer. When he got about 5 feet in front of me and I was ready to carry him home, I noticed his eyes were shut.

He recalled his sociology class project about sleep disorders. It cautioned, Never touch or disrupt a person that is sleep-walking as it may cause harm. Direct the person home, not physically but verbally.

So I did, exclaimed Rob, And we were Home Sweet Home again in no time. Later Kris told his parents how his favorite babysitter, as he calls me, was able to handle the situation.
A newspaper article appeared in the Niagara Falls Review interviewing him about the incident. Rob reports, Ever since then, parents in my city trust male-sitters to babysit and I proved the fact that guys could be as responsible with children as girls are.
-Submitted by Rob Sowell, Niagara Falls


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## eggplant43

I posted the original story in a different thread before this one existed. I think this update belongs here, as it is uplifting [/COLOR

Man found adrift at sea gets new boat

October 21, 2002, 5:36 PM EDT

VENTURA, Calif. -- After spending more than three months adrift at sea, Richard Van Pham said he prayed for a quick death. Now, he has much to live for.

Since being rescued last month from his damaged sailboat off the coast of Costa Rica, Pham has received a number of gifts from around the world, including a new 25-foot sloop.

The donor, Erwin Freund, said Pham deserves it.

"He appeals to our alter ego," said Freund, a bioengineer from Camarillo. "I'd like to be carefree and sailing. He's living the way I'd like to."

Public support has not been dampened by revelations of Pham's prior record, which includes arrests for aggravated battery and marijuana possession, although he has never been convicted.

"The arrests don't make me change my mind. He was not prosecuted. He didn't spend a day in jail," said Freund, 49.

Pham's new home occupies a prime slip in Ventura Harbor and has five sails, a radio, flares, television, VCR and small bedroom.

Phillip Nguyen, a loan officer from Tustin, said he wanted to give Pham $1,000 to help him "get on his feet."

"I don't want to dig up his past," he said. "He's not a politician. When someone needs help, you help."

Pham's ocean odyssey began soon after he set sail from Long Beach for Santa Catalina Island when a storm broke his mast and outboard motor and his two-way radio failed. He drifted helplessly for months until he was rescued by the San Diego-based frigate McClusky.

Jerry Pool, owner of Larry Dudley Yacht Sales in Ventura Harbor, is letting Pham keep his boat in his dock for a while.

"I thought this was really bizarre when I heard it," Pool said. "But when you talk to him you realize he doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body."

Pham doesn't know where he will go next, saying he may sail to San Diego or Oceanside.

"If you travel on the sea you love it," he said. "Water, sea and yourself -- that's the best." 
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press


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## Shadow Bea

Thank you Bruce That is a neat story 
(a little fishy but nice 
 Bea


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## Shadow Bea

Random Acts of Kindness Week February 9-16
Hundreds of communities and churches across the country will say they participated in the fourth annual Random Acts of Kindness Week, February 9-16.

You may have seen the bumper stickers...you may have read the book (first published by Conari Press in California) You may even remember an article by Anne Herbert reprinted in the Readers Digest. But what started it all was an inspiration that came to Ms. Herbert in a Sausalito restaurant that caused her to scribble these words on a place mat: practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.

Stanford University studies show that when people are the recipients of kind words or deeds they are significantly more likely to behave kindly toward others than people who are not offered the same treatment. 

Certainly the kindness benefits the recipient, but as the practitioner of the act, you are also rewarded, by a palpable energy surging through you; and you are fairly floating along to your next appointment!

Consider These-
* An unnamed woman reported she carries umbrellas in her car, and if she's ever passing by a victim of a downpour, she presents them with a thing of beauty- an umbrella.
*  A toll booth operator reports a significant increase in cars paying for others behind them. He says sometimes it's a reward for considerate driving.... But paying at random delivers the really delightful feeling.
*  A simple gesture like talking to someone who is alone in line with you is an act of kindness. Be courageous the next time you get an inner nudging voice telling you to speak up. Most people have things in common and this kind of interchange can lead to pure joy or peals of laughter...which others in line wish they were a part of.
* Take a coworker to lunch and pay. Think of how it will enhance the work environment...

Bea


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## n2gun

SB
The one about talking to someone in line is really beneficial to both. Also you never know you may end up with a best friend.


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## Shadow Bea

Thanks Jerry,
you are so right on  this format brings out more of the inner person and for a lot of these kids, it helps them feel like they are not alone in there illness! Many find it easier to actually talk to others this way.. It is less intimidating to reveal yourself in depth to a computer monitor than to a stranger I am new to this type of communication .. but I find it to be a pleasant surprise. I never thought that one could get as strong a sense of peoples personalities, as one does. the internet also opens up the world for kids that are sometimes too sick to do much else.
take care Mr. Gun


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## Shadow Bea

Its my babys birthday


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## Shadow Bea

Subject: Sparrow at Starbucks great story

Sparrow at Starbucks

It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the
Starbucks shop
on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from
Times Square.

For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks
location in
the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can
be substantial
if you play your tunes right.

I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my
friend who also
added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion
instruments. During
our emotional rendition of "If You Don't Know Me by
Now," I noticed
a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across
from me. She was
swaying to the beat and singing along.

After the tune was over, she approached me. "I
apologize for singing
along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked.

"No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins
in. Would you
like to sing up front on the next selection?"

To my delight, she accepted my invitation.

"You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to
sing?"

"Well ... do you know any hymns?"

Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing
with. I
cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was
going to
church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look.
"Name one."

"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You
pick one."

"Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the
Sparrow'?"

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she
fixed her
eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that
one."

She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse,
straightened
her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my
two-bar
setup, she began to sing.

Why should I be discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed.

I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

When the last note was sung, the applause
crescendoed to
a deafening roar. Embarrassed, the woman tried to
shout over
the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't
come in here
to do a concert! I just came in here to get
somethin' to drink,
just like you!"

But the ovation continued. I embraced my new friend.
"You, my
dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"

"It's funny that you picked that particular hymn,"
she said.

"Why is that?"

She hesitated again, "that was my daughter's
favorite song."
She grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had
subsided
and it was business as usual. "She was 16. She died
of a brain
tumor last week."

I said the first thing that found its way through my
silence.
"Are you going to be okay?"

She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my
hands.
"I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting
the Lord and
singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just
fine."

She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then
she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be
singing in
that particular coffee shop on that particular
November night?
Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened
to walk into
that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the
hymns to choose
from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was
the favorite
of her daughter, who had died just the week before?
I refuse to
believe it.

God has been arranging encounters in human history
since the
beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to
imagine that he
could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan
and turn an
ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder
that if we keep
trusting him and singing his songs, everything's
gonna be okay.


----------



## Shadow Bea

This is a true account written by Army Captain John Rasmussen and published by ARMY LINK NEWS on May 22, 2002. 

A real example of the e Rumor as it has appeared on the Internet: 

It was raining "cats and dogs" and I was late for physical training. 
Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky., and was moving way too slowly.
I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient.

The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier's memorial plaque.

My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck, getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time.

All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car in front of me stopped.

A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove.

I couldn't believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking. I waited to see the butt-chewing that I wanted him to get for making me late.

He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDUs were plastered to his frame.
I watched-as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain, and set it upright again.

Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off.
I'll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred books or a thousand lectures.

That simple salute -- that single act of honoring his fallen brother and his flag -- encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me. It said, "I will never forget. I will keep the faith. I will finish the mission. I
a man American soldier."

I thank God for examples like that.

And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them.


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## eggplant43

October 24, 2002 


Boy will get award for saving pups
By JASON SCHULTZ
Sentinel staff writer
A Watsonville boy will be recognized as a hero next week for his smart thinking that saved two puppies.

Isiah Ayala, 9, will receive certificates from Santa Cruz County Animal Control and the Doris Day Animal Foundation. 

It was 90 degrees on Aug. 9 when Ayala was hanging out in front of his house on Menker Street. 

Ayala saw two small puppies nearby in a locked car with the window barely rolled down, so he did what any quick-thinking kid would do. He squeezed the barrel of his Supersoaker water gun through the cracked window and began hosing off the Labrador mix puppies to keep them cool.

When police and animal control arrived Sgt. Bob Montes said Ayala and his water gun were still keeping the puppies cool. Without Ayalas efforts and the cool water, animal control said the puppies probably would have died.

The puppies, taken in by animal control, have both been adopted.

Ayala will be awarded the certificates at the Watsonville Police Department at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Montes hopes to have one of the puppies at the presentation.



Copyright © Santa Cruz Sentinel. All rights reserved.


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## Shadow Bea

Bruce what a nice Story  


The Reprieve 
by Rebekah Van Hansen 
Colorado, USA

Fifteen years ago, while dealing with the heartbreak of my divorce, I
called a professor to tell him I was quitting his class. Really, this
would have led to my quitting graduate school altogether. I didn't want
to talk about my reasons, and what I saw as my "weakness" in not being
able to finish the class. Yet he talked me into coming into his office
to talk the following day anyway.

I went cautiously, not sure of this learned man who was a bit
intimidating in class. But because he called me in, I felt it necessary
to explain why I would not finish the assignment. Without that
assignment, I would ultimately fail his class -- which had led me to
believe I should just quit.

He listened to my sorrow around my recent separation, handed me his
Kleenex box, and said little.

When I finished telling him why I had neither the energy nor the
desire to continue down this path, he told me that he was willing to
work within the timeframe that I needed to heal. He would allow me to
turn in my assignments late, and even take his final the next term, as
long as I would agree to "stick it out" and call upon him when I needed.

He believed I could take the "life lessons" from my divorce, and
apply them to my degree. You see, I was working on getting my Masters in
Social Work, and he didn't want to see me quit on his watch.

This gift of understanding, this reprieve, came from a professor who,
while in class, seemed rigid and unbending around his assignments.

I struggled through that semester, never again needing to call upon
my professor, and finishing my course work. I even graduated with an
MSW. The real lesson from my divorce for me came early, with the
understanding heart and sympathy this professor extended to me when I
was in deep pain. I really was almost too proud to call upon someone for
the sympathy I so needed. He gave me an hour of attention that kept me
on track.

It was such a simple thing, and indeed within the realm of his
vocation, but it impacted me for years. Isn't that often the case, that
what we give so easily, is sometimes the most difficult for someone else
to ask for?

I never thanked him, and can't even now recall his name. But his
kindness lives on, as I extend greater sympathy to those who seem afraid
to ask, to those who need only a little bit of help to make a
difference.


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## eggplant43

The gift of an hours time on the part of one person became the gift of a lifetime for the other. How marvelous!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Hi Bruce
I believe, That is the way it works  if only more people would realize that  
we would be stumbling over random acts of kindness all over the place !   
(Woudn't that be a kicker 
Bea


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## eggplant43

Just plant the seed


----------



## Shadow Bea

Bruce
 We can only try, and hope the soil is fertile.  
B


----------



## Firejay

Fire Truck 
(1997)
by Linda Ellis
My little girl looked startled as a fire engine passed in haste,
And from my rear-view mirror,I saw the expression on her face.
Her eyes were opened wide filled with curiosity and fear.....
She said, "mommy, what is that big truckwith the loud noise that I hear?"
I explained that the "truck" carried men and women who's only aim
was to help someone in danger though they may not know his name.
She said, "mommy, aren't those the ones who wear the shiny hats?"
And I said, "yes honey, that's right....but it means much more than that."
Those people are trained and dedicated and many times have shown....
that to save the life of someone else, they'll often risk their own.
Then my other child joined in with a bright inquisitive stare.
"If the people they help are strangers, then what would make them care?"
Her question made me stop and think, what are the rewards of being "brave?"
Is it the smiles on the faces of the children they may save?
Or the beholden expression of a man standing beside his wife
watching firefighters battling to save the house he'd worked for all his life?
Or pulling someone out of a burning house or car?
There's a memory like that for them behind every burn or scar.
The word "courage" is described as: the strength to withstand fear
and firefighters use that courage many times in their career.
So, to answer her question honestly and explain why they're so "daring,"
I said...."they're very special people with an uncommon sense of caring."


----------



## Shadow Bea

That was terrific FJ, Thank You.
Bea


----------



## Shadow Bea

Tech putting more effort into support 




If there is a bright side to the tech downturn, it has to do with product support. Not only are phone waits on the decline, support personnel are cheerier and more helpful than at any point since the very early days of the personal-computer revolution. 

There was a time, after all, when you could call Microsoft with a question about BASIC and get Bill Gates on the line  with perhaps a little more "support" than you might have bargained for. And in the early days of cable TV, cellular, Internet and other services, support was a high priority as companies jockeyed for customers and market share. 

Two things happened during the 1990s to undermine support services, however. 

Microsoft's dominance marginalized competitors and led computer users to turn to the Redmond giant for solutions, even when third-party developers and vendors were the real culprits. Microsoft support was overwhelmed, and the company did all it could to direct users elsewhere, even when the problem was a Microsoft responsibility. 

Just as inimical to support was the Internet boom. Companies dedicated most service staff to signing up new customers, whom they promptly abandoned once the contract was signed. 

Customers outraged at half-hour waits or faulty advice were free to sign up with another vendor, where any calls for help would fall into the same black hole. Some "solutions" bordered on the absurd, such as the phone company's recorded admonition to log on to the Internet for help  when the problem was connecting to the Internet. 

Support still isn't perfect. Many vendors have decreased the number of voice-mail steps before providing access to a human being, but there are still too many selections to push. 

Too many "help" personnel seem unfamiliar with their own products. And far too much Muzak being played while on hold features songs by the Eagles. 

But during a recent change of location, I had much better luck than I've had in years in reaching actual people who knew what they were doing. And they were friendlier  even the normally grumpy and curt cable-TV salespeople. 

I attribute the change to a couple of things. First, the depressed economy means fewer customers to deal with. Support lines are not overwhelmed with new and confused clientele. 

If fewer customers were the only factor, however, companies would simply cut back personnel and keep making customers endure long waits. 

Instead, the biggest boon to support may be the new competitive landscape. Hard times have companies and end users alike looking closely at how they spend their money and time. Vendors who tend their flocks have a better chance of holding on to customers and gaining new ones. 

Microsoft, Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems must provide better support to compete with the "free" open-source Linux software movement (as well as each other and IBM, which understands the support market better than most companies). Dell Computer has to improve support to make inroads into server and enterprise markets dominated by Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun and others. 

Even telephone and cable companies, competing more with one another as networks and markets evolve with deregulation, face challenges from the new kids on the block: cellular and wireless vendors offering computer services and voice calling. 

With the number of cellphones sold in decline, wireless providers, too, are recognizing the importance of support. 

The gestation and turbulence in technology venues today have elevated support's significance for the bottom line, not only for customers seeking more efficient ways to spend their dollars, but for companies out to hang on to hard-won clients. 

The best way to reduce support would be to enhance the intuitiveness and usability of products. But only in isolated cases have products improved to the point of reducing support needs. The bored Maytag repair guy with time on his hands is not yet a technological phenomenon, and more's the pity. 

Paul Andrews is a free-lance technology writer and co-author of "Gates."


----------



## Shadow Bea

Recently I went to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.,
known as The Wall. Some fellow Vietnam veterans and I had just finished
a healing weekend called the Bamboo Bridge. Those of us who could take
the extra time stayed another day. We went to the memorial to pay our
respects to fallen comrades, to complete our work at this sacred place.

We took letters the group had written to be left at the Wall and
placed in the archives, and we came to visit with the spirits of our
friends and buddies whose names are on the Wall. As we were near the end
of our time there, after we found the names we sought and said the
prayers we needed to say, a woman came up to us. She was a stranger to
us all, but shook the hand of each veteran in our group and said, "Thank
you for your service."

It was 30 years since my tour in Vietnam and 25 years since I left
military service, and this was my third trip to the Wall. But this was
the first time anyone, other than the members of the Bamboo Bridge, ever
thanked me for my service. I don't know if that woman knew anything
about us other than that we were veterans. Several of us were moved to
tears by her act of love and generosity. I can't thank her enough for
that gift.

Once we composed ourselves, we moved away from the memorial and
gathered for a group photo to commemorate our trip. As tourists do the
world over, we asked a stranger to take our picture. Then another woman
came up to us and said, "You guys are my heroes."



Heroes! In a matter of minutes, I received two gifts beyond price. An
American thanked me for my service in that dirty war of my youth, and
another American called me a hero. As a Vietnam veteran, I have been
called many things -- but never a hero.

This second woman asked if she could have her picture taken with us.
She called us heroes, and wanted her picture taken with us! I'll bet
she's never been surrounded by so many crying men in her life. I feel as
if I have finally been welcomed home with honor from the Vietnam War,
and I think every man and woman in our group felt the same way.


----------



## eggplant43

www.suntimes.com
Back to regular view
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-wallets03x.html

What would you do if you found a wallet with $20?

November 3, 2002

BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN CONSUMER REPORTER

You find a wallet on the sidewalk. It is full of personal stuff--baby pictures, a grocery list, a love note, a prayer card from a grandmother's funeral, an ATM card, coupons, an ID card and $20.

What would you do?

You would return the wallet, of course. You are a Chicagoan, and Chicagoans are honest.

About this we have no doubt.

But just to make sure, the Chicago Sun-Times recently dropped 20 such wallets all over the Chicago metropolitan area--in places where Chicagoans travel, work and play.

We left them in public bathrooms, restaurants, at a library and at a playground.

We dropped one on the seat of a train and another on the floor of a cab.

We lost them in a crowded mall and a deserted parking garage.

HOW WE DID THE TEST

The 20 black, rectangular billfold-style wallets had to look authentic, so we filled them with lots of good stuff:

$20 cash

CTA fare cards

ATM cards, donated by Harris Bank, for half of the wallets

A sappy love note

A grocery list and coupons

A prayer card from a pretend grandma's funeral

Cute baby pictures

Lots of cash receipts

A laminated identification card, with phone number and address

Then we left the wallets in various city and suburban locations and waited for altruistic citizens to call. Most of those found were returned within a few days.

For locations that might have a lost-and-found, we followed up with phone calls three weeks later.

And in the four weeks since then, 11 of the 20 have been returned to us, recovered by honest Chicagoans, only one of whom helped himself to the cash.

A 12th wallet is on its way--at least we hope it is--found by a man at Holy Name Cathedral who called a Sun-Times reporter saying he intended to return it.

'It's not mine'

Lynn Costello, who works at the Cook County State's Attorney's office at 26th and California, found one of the wallets in the stairwell of a nearby parking garage, and called the phone number on the identification card within moments. It never occurred to her to do otherwise.

Costello said she imagined that the wallet's owner might be a single mom just like her and that maybe the $20 was her "squirreled- away money" to go out with the girls that night.

"People have done good things for me," Costello explained, "so you just put the chain out there, and it keeps going and going."

Chicago cabdriver Kamara Mamadou, an immigrant from Ivory Coast, West Africa, called us the day after a wallet was "lost" on the floor of the back seat of his cab as he drove down Michigan Avenue. He apologized that it took him so long to find it.

Asked if he's always been so honest, Mamadou laughed and said, "I think so." Two weeks earlier, he said, he'd turned in a satchel he found in his cab.

Other wallets returned included those lost at Nordstrom in Old Orchard Mall, at McMahon's Steak House in Glenview, on a CTA Blue Line train racing to O'Hare, in a Jewel shopping cart in Buffalo Grove, and in the Tribune Tower, where our competitors returned a wallet left in the gift shop (darn it). Wallets were returned--and not returned--from both wealthy and poor parts of town.

Carol Collins of Wayland, Mass., found a wallet on the floor at Wheaton College's Armerding Hall during last month's alumni weekend and promptly turned it in.

"It's not mine," she said matter-of-factly. "If there's a name attached to it, it's returnable."

We got a call about a wallet left on a table in the Woodson Regional Library, 95th and Halsted, only 40 minutes after it was dropped. A friendly employee said it was waiting at the circulation desk.

"I'm proud of my staff and my community," said library Director Emily Guss.

BEST GUESSES ON HONESTY RATE

Before we even obtained the results of our lost wallets test, we started placing friendly bets around the newsroom as to how many of the 20 would be returned. Our guesses ranged from 5 to 13.

So then we asked the two leading candidates for governor--Rod Blagojevich and Jim Ryan--to hazard a guess. Both expressed great faith in the honesty of the

average Joe.

Rod Blagojevich:

"I'm going to say 16 get returned, and 12 get returned with money."

What do you base that on?

"The essential goodness of people. Do you like it? Good. JIm Ryan will say two come back."

Jim Ryan:

"Out of 20? I'd say more like 15. I think most people are honest. I think most people would call and return the money."

Still missing

But still missing are wallets that were left in the sumptuous 12th-floor ladies lounge at the Ritz-Carlton; on a windowsill at a McDonald's in Oak Lawn; at the bottom of a slide at a Tinley Park playground; at the Ramada Inn-Lakeshore in Hyde Park; at a Citgo gas station on the West Side, and in Daley Plaza in the shadow of the Picasso sculpture.

A wallet left in the high-end 500 block of North Michigan Avenue lay in a torrential downpour for about 40 minutes on Oct. 4 before a young man, dressed in a tie and business-casual clothes, scooped it up and dashed into a cab. The wallet remains missing.

A Sun-Times photographer shot a picture of a man at Navy Pier finding one of the lost wallets Oct. 4 near a bench, leafing through it and then talking to a Navy Pier employee. Two days later, the security desk called to say our wallet had been turned in--without its money or CTA fare card. Whether the man who found the wallet took the $20 or somebody after him did, we have no idea.

Another photographer caught a group of boys finding a wallet left at Naperville's Riverwalk Park. Their eyes lit up as they riffled through the cash, receipts and other goodies.

We haven't heard from them yet.

We laid on the guilt

We tried to make the owner of the wallet look like a really nice person, with the baby pictures, the prayer card and all. The love note read, "Steph, You make my world a better place. Love, Daniel. P.S. Have fun tonite!"

How could you not return that wallet?

Some people mentioned the baby pictures as one reason they called to return a wallet.

When Cornelia Heins found a wallet in the ladies' room on the eighth floor of City Hall, where she works in the buildings department, she saw the baby photos, the ATM card, the cash and the CTA card and she thought about the pouring rain outside.

"I saw those kids, and I wondered, I hope she can get home, she's got those kids," said Heins, a mother of two grown children. "I really was worried."

Heins called twice on the Friday she found it, hoping to find the owner before the weekend.

Are others more honest?

Her efforts don't surprise Professor Gary Albrecht, a sociologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago who focuses on public health and disabilities.

In the late 1970s, when Albrecht was at Northwestern University, he did a study in which people in wheelchairs pretended to be stranded in the Loop. His team observed a wide variety of reactions from Chicagoans, from the truly altruistic to the cluelessly demeaning to the downright nasty.

Albrecht says that if a person can identify with a stranger somehow--either in the way they act or through the things they keep in their wallet--they're more likely to help.

"We're in a funny society now . . . People are very lonely, with cell phones and TV and commute times," he said. Finding a stranger's wallet "gives them a shock. It grabs them. . . . You're vulnerable, and you're asking people to do you a favor."

In big-city, modern life there are fewer strict codes of behavior, so people can rationalize all sorts of choices they make about a lost wallet, adds sociologist Bernard Beck of Northwestern University. "The fact that 12 of 20 came back--I don't know if that's a lot or a little," he said, "but it's more than none."

As for the wallet finders who said they identified with a mom and her kids, Beck said: "At a time when people say the social glue of our country is falling apart, that might be good news."

The Sun-Times findings are similar to results in a larger, five-year test conducted by Reader's Digest magazine in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America and North America. Testers intentionally lost more than 1,100 wallets, each containing the local equivalent of $50, plus identification, phone numbers and family photos.

The most honest places: Oslo, Norway; Odense, Denmark; Moncton, Canada, and Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, where 10 of 10 wallets were returned. Close behind were Seattle, Singapore and Wellington, New Zealand, where nine of 10 wallets came back. (Chicago wasn't tested.)

The worst place to lose your wallet: San Cristobal, Mexico, where none of the 10 wallets were returned.

So, should all of the wallets we dropped around the Chicago area have come back?

Or is it OK to play "finders keepers"?

"All other things being equal, the responsibility is to return it," said Chris Gamwell, a religious ethics professor at the University of Chicago's Divinity School. The only acceptable excuse for not doing so, he said, would be if the finder had extremely pressing business to attend to, such as a gravely sick relative.

Why? Because our society depends on its citizens feeling connected. Because it's the Golden Rule. Because thou shalt not steal.

Heins has a similar philosophy.

"In all honesty, I believe that if you do a good deed, a good deed will come back upon you," she says.

"If I lost something, I would hope that somebody would do the same thing for me."

Good deeds by the busload

A saxophone, a child's suitcase, a diabetic testing kit, a set of X-rays--all were turned in by honest people riding Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains, much to the relief of those who lost them.

One man, a World War II veteran attending a reunion of war buddies, called the CTA, distraught, because he had left his digital camera with all his photos on a CTA train.

"As it turned out," said CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney, "he got it back immediately."

When an item lost on a CTA bus or train is turned in, it is sent to the bus garage or rail office at the end of that line, Gaffney said. The most common lost items are cellular phones, laptop computers, books and purses.

Lots of wallets, purses and keys wind up at the U.S. Postal Service. Some people accidentally drop them in mail boxes with their mail. Other people drop items they find in the mail and expect the postal service to locate the owners. When possible, postal officials return the items, said Judy Winiarz, spokeswoman for the postal service in Chicago.

As for the honest deeds of CTA riders, Gaffney says she isn't surprised. "We provide 1-1/2 million rides a day, and a lot of our customers are regulars," she said. "I think in general, Chicago is a very down-to-earth place with decent people."

Stephanie Zimmermann

THE GREAT CHICAGO WALLET DROP

1. Wheaton College, Armerding Hall

Dropped: 11:35 a.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 11 a.m. Oct. 7
Returned with money intact

2. Jim McMahon's Steak House and Quarterback Club
3315 N. Milwaukee Ave., Glenview

Dropped: 8 p.m., Oct. 6
Reported found: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 6
Returned with money intact

3. Parking garage, Criminal Courts Building
26th and California, Chicago

Dropped: 1:55 p.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 5:10 p.m. Oct. 4
Returned with money intact

4. Navy Pier, West end

Dropped: 1:15 p.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 8 p.m. Oct. 6
Returned without money

5. Jewel
Lake-Cook and McHenry, Buffalo Grove

Dropped: 6:45 p.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 7:50 p.m. Oct. 7
Mailed to Sun-Times with money intact

6. McDonald's
6034 W. 95th, Oak Lawn

Dropped: 4:40 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

7. Floor of taxi
Southbound, 400 block of North Michigan, Chicago

Dropped: 10:30 a.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 2:10 p.m. Oct. 5
Returned with money intact

8. Holy Name Cathedral
735 N. State, Chicago

Dropped: 12:45 p.m. Oct. 4 
Reported found: 11:10 p.m. Oct. 7
Caller left message saying he wanted to return it, but reporter unable to reach him.

9. Playground
Oketo and 174th, Tinley Park

Dropped: 5:15 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

10. Chicago City Hall
Eighth-floor ladies room

Dropped: 11:25 a.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 11:40 a.m. Oct. 4
Returned with money intact

11. Ritz-Carlton 12th-floor ladies room,
160 E. Pearson, Chicago

Dropped: 10:20 a.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

12. Ramada Inn Lakeshore
4900 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago

Dropped: 2:45 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

13. Citgo gas station
4800 block of West Fullerton

Dropped: 1:10 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

14. Daley Plaza
Southwest corner

Dropped: 5 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

15. CTA Blue Line
Westbound train leaving Rosemont

Dropped: 8:05 a.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 11 a.m. Oct. 4
Returned with money intact

16. Nordstrom
Old Orchard Mall, Skokie

Dropped: 11:10 a.m., Oct. 4
Reported found: 4:30 p.m. Oct. 9
Returned with money intact

17. Woodson Regional Library
95th and Halsted, Chicago

Dropped: 3:50 p.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 4:30 p.m. Oct. 4
Returned with money intact

18. Tribune Tower
Gift shop, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Dropped: 10:35 a.m. Oct. 4
Reported found: 10:50 a.m. Oct. 4
Returned with money intact

19. Sidewalk
539 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago

Dropped: 12:10 p.m. Oct. 4
Still missing

20. Naperville Riverwalk
Near Jackson Avenue and Eagle Street

Dropped: 3:40 p.m., Oct. 4
Still missing


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## Tipacanoe

A little music with your colonoscopy 
Aug. 6, 2002 
Provided by: Sun Media 
Written by: Dr. Gifford-Jones 

Do you listen to western music, jazz or Mozart? It doesn't matter which type because any can save lives. So why isn't music a part of all medical procedures?

Every year, thousands of people die from colon cancer. The majority could have been saved by regular examination of the large bowel. Yet many people refuse this procedure because of its indignity and discomfort.

But researchers report to The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons that music therapy during colonoscopy reduces psychological and physical stress.

In a study conducted in Bethesda, Md., 50 patients scheduled for colonoscopy were divided into two groups by the flip of a coin. One group received music therapy and listened to their favourite music during the procedure.

The result? Those who listened to music showed decreased anxiety and there was no increase in blood pressure or heart rate.

The positive effect of music should not come as a surprise. We know that music has always inspired the soul. Consider soldiers who have gone into battle emboldened by music. And it's been used in labour rooms for years to ease the pain of childbirth.

But how does music decrease pain? It appears that sound stimuli can increase blood levels of endorphins, morphine-like substances.

During my long medical career I've seen many people die needlessly from cancer of the colon. But patients often say about colonoscopy, "I'll never let a doctor do that to me." Even when experiencing rectal bleeding, some have sought out quacks rather than face the proven, life-saving, medical procedure -- colonoscopy.

FIFTEEN MINUTES OF MILD DISCOMFORT

What a tragic error! In 15 minutes of mild discomfort, eased by sedation, colon polyps can be detected and removed in a doctor's office and lives saved. In effect, you do not develop cancer of the large bowel unless you first grow a polyp.

These fleshy growths arise on the inside lining of the bowel. It's estimated that about one person in three over the age of 50 has one or more colon polyps. A report from The Mayo Clinic shows that after 20 years, 24% become malignant.

How can you decrease the risk of this common cancer? Some authorities believe that eating less fat may help to avoid this malignancy.

We know that colon cancer is rare in Uganda. These people consume huge amounts of fibre which make stools soft and prevent constipation.

Some studies also indicate that ample amounts of calcium may decrease the risk of colon cancer. And milk is still the best way to obtain adequate amounts of calcium. Unfortunately, there's an anti-milk crowd that for irrational reasons damns the advantages of milk. Don't believe them. Ignoring the multiple health benefits of milk is dangerous for both children and adults.

Aspirin, which for good reason has been labelled the wonder drug of the century, fights colon cancer. Today, many people associate the daily use of Aspirin with lowering the risk of heart attack. But a large-scale study by the American Cancer Society shows that Aspirin decreased the death rate from colon cancer by an astonishing 40%.

My advice is for everybody to ask their doctor whether it's prudent to take a daily Aspirin. Particularly, if they have a higher risk of developing colon cancer. For instance, if one of their parents, siblings or children has had bowel cancer. Or if they've had a colon polyp or inflammatory bowel disease.

Obviously the best way to prevent this malignancy is to have colon polyps removed. So if you live in an area where it's available, consider yourself lucky. Pick out your favourite tunes and take them to your favourite colonoscopist.


----------



## eggplant43

He's a 'normal' 10-year-old with particular musical gifts 
Dave Ford, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 4, 2002 
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. 




When it comes to early influences on composing classical music, pianist Kit Armstrong says it's really all about his pet chickens. 

"I used to be very inspired by my chickens," he says in advance of his sold- out performance at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium on Sunday. "So this piece that I'm going to be playing there is called 'Chicken Sonata.' " 

Those chickens, named after elements in the chemist's Periodic Table of the Elements, also inspired the compositions "Hydrogen Sleeping" and "Helium Dances to Heaven." He named his current chickens Nitrogen and Carbon. 

If this all seems like the whimsy of a highly developed mind, well, it is. Kit Armstrong has been blessed with rather staggering mental and creative capacities. Which can tend to make him stand out, given that he is 10. 

He is, in fact, a multiple-award-winning child prodigy who has performed from California to Vermont. Last year, he was awarded a $10,000 Davidson Fellow scholarship from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a Nevada nonprofit that nurtures gifted young people. 

All of this creates a challenge for his mother, May, who struggles to maintain ordinariness in Kit's private and increasingly public life. 

"He's just a normal kid," she says by phone from the house she and Kit share in a small Utah college town, where Kit is a university sophomore. (Citing safety concerns, she withholds the school's name.) 

"He loves to laugh, likes to bike and go very fast," she says. "This talent is something extra. It doesn't make him a strange person." 

But it does make him a remarkable one, especially on paper. Growing up in Anaheim, Kit entered middle school at 6. He entered Los Alamitos High School, in Los Alamitos, at 7, and was ranked first in a class of 700 students. 

In March 2000, his Symphony No. 1 in F Major had its premiere with the Orange County High School of the Arts Chamber Orchestra, and that year the Chapman University Chamber of Music of the 20th Century premiered his "Piano Quartet for the Millennium." In October of that year, he performed Bach's Concerto in D Minor with the Long Beach Bach Festival Orchestra. 

He was 8. 

He began university at 9, where his interests are music, mathematics and the sciences. He is fluent in English, Chinese and Russian. He says his current scientific research involves writing code for a computer program to use the patterns of pressure within leaves to create music. 

"So, it is plant music," he says with apparent satisfaction. "(The leaf is) going to compose music by itself." 

He cites Mozart as a chief musical influence: "It's not a particular thing. Sometimes it feels happy, sometimes sad." 

He practices for an hour and a half daily. He warms up for 10 minutes, then works on his compositions, which are "tonal, but sort of impressionistic." He wakes up with music in his head; indeed, he says it's there all the time. Does it drive him crazy? 

"No, it drives me to heaven," he says. 

And what is heaven? "I think it's sort of a hypothetical thing. I don't think it exists. I think it's sort of a mythological thing." 

He says he'd be bored if he was not able to compose or play piano. And the music in his head? 

"It would disappear," he says. 

So he composes yet more in his spare time, when he's not designing paper airplanes and building robots from Legos. 

That Kit was, from an early age, a self-starter convinced May she could both work and care for him. The single mother helped found a Southern California stock brokerage house five years ago. But she sold it two years later to tend to Kit full time. 

"It's a lot of responsibility and a lot of work," she says. "Now I'm sort of resigned to the fact that I have to be with him for a while. When he was 3 or 4 I was hoping I could carve something out for me." 

Though not musical herself, she reads musicians' biographies and books about piano technique -- when she's not planning ahead a year or two for Kit's schooling and welfare. 

That sometimes means dealing with recalcitrant educational institutions. May says Kit's Southern California high school refused to provide security for him. (She would sit in her car in the parking lot while he was in class.) 

And many of the country's top universities have told May that, although Kit is intellectually capable of attending, they want students to live on campus and have a full college experience. 

"They say, 'Come back when he's older,' " she says. "And what should I do in between? I think many, many parents would want to be in my position. I have this privilege, so I try to do it. But sometimes it's frustrating to deal with the institutions." 

May says she also tries to ensure that Kit has a range of experiences to balance his natural tendency to focus intensely on his school and musical projects. 

"You can't specialize at age 10," she says. "If you do, how can you become a normal person when you're 40 years old? I do not consider success at a young age to be indicative of success when someone is older." 

As for Kit's prodigy status, May is adamant that he be seen as what he is: a normal child with particular gifts. 

"He doesn't have two heads," she says. "He's just a normal human being, and should be treated as such." 

For Kit, these considerations are, if you will, academic. He's more concerned with his forthcoming Stanford performance. When he's playing, "I do experience that I'm in sort of another world, the world the composer was in -- the inside." 

Which is easy, because, he says, performing publicly doesn't faze him a bit. 

"I think it's very enjoyable because I communicate what I'm feeling to the audience," he says. "And for me, that's where the satisfaction comes."


----------



## Shadow Bea

What a great story Bruce 
Bea


----------



## eggplant43

Young offender collects £9.7m on lotto 
Rebecca Allison
Tuesday November 5, 2002
The Guardian

A convicted young offender was yesterday celebrating his beginner's luck after scooping £9.7m on the lottery. 

Michael Carroll, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, appeared at a press conference to talk about his win still in the tag he was ordered to wear by magistrates. The 19-year-old was tagged for two months for being drunk and disorderly and resisting arrest. 

Speaking at a hotel in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, he explained how he bought two lucky dips in Saturday's rollover draw - the first time he had ever played the lotto. 

"My aunt Kelly checked the winning numbers on Teletext as I called my numbers out. She really thought I was joking when I read out the same six numbers as they appeared on the screen. I had to give the ticket to my uncle Stephen to finally confirm that I had won," he said. 

Carroll, whose girlfriend Sandra Aiken, also 19, is pregnant, won £9,736,131. 

"I have to say I was completely speechless and was so happy I couldn't help but cry. Kelly called Sandra as I couldn't put the words together," he said. 

"My aunt and uncle then set about calling all the other members of the family to let them know the good news. I went and hid the ticket in a cabinet just to make sure I didn't lose it," he added. 

Carroll, who is unemployed and lives with his aunt and uncle, said the first thing he wanted to do was to buy a house for himself and his girlfriend because their baby is due to be born on Christmas Day. 

When asked if his fortune will make him keep out of trouble he replied: "Absolutely yes." He is due to be freed from his tag early next month. 

Asked about his past Carroll said: "I've lost count of the times I've been in court. I was like any normal teenager and made a few mistakes. 

"But that's all changed now, it won't happen again." 

Carroll credited his uncle Stephen Muncaster, who was with him at the press conference, and his aunt Kelly, for helping him when he got into trouble. 

He said: "They gave me a good talking to and helped me sort my life out." 

The teenager had previously been in a young offenders' institution for two months. When he reappeared in court he was given the option of being tagged or returning to custody and chose the first option.


----------



## Tipacanoe

On October 18th Chuck Berry Celebrated his 76th Birthday.

They were rockin' in St Louis!

www.palmsradio.com/ram


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## Shadow Bea

Cool, Tipacanoe 

I for one am an old style Rock and Roll Fan.. Love Chuck Berry


Bea


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## Shadow Bea

More than a Mere Coupon 
by Marilda Mel White 
California, USA

There was nothing in the house to eat and I was hungry. I was also
downright grouchy because I had to go to the store before I could have
breakfast. I don't much like starting a day like that.

Adding to my frustration, by the time I got to the market I couldn't
remember anything else I needed. I wandered around and finally picked up
a 40-pound bag of dog food and a few other things and headed for the
checkout. There were only three checkers working and every one of them
had a long line, further fueling my bad mood.

Then I really picked the wrong line. The people in front of me had
two carts full, and as the checker started ringing them up, they worried
out loud that they might not have enough money for everything. They
started sorting things into "must have" and "maybe" piles and checking
the sub-total after every beep.

I understood their situation (I've been there too), but they were
going to take forever and I just wanted to get home to eat my donuts.
Then it hit me -- I'd forgotten to pick up the donuts for my breakfast!

I left to get the things that had brought me to the store in the
first place, and back at the check stand a few moments later, crankier
than ever, I picked a different line. The woman ahead of me there looked
at my cart and said, "I think I have a coupon for that."

"What?" I said, rather stupidly. I was so sure that every minute of
the day was going to be rotten that I didn't realize yet that my fortune
was turning. "The dog food," she said, going through an envelope. "I'm
sure I have a coupon for that."

She found it and handed it to me. I noticed then that she had the
same brand of dog food in her cart, so I suggested she might want to
save the coupon for herself. "Oh no," she said, "I have plenty of these.
You're welcome to it."

I took it and thanked her profusely. The woman probably thought I was
overdoing it with my many thanks for a $3.00 coupon, but then again, I
wasn't just thanking her for a mere coupon.

I was thanking her for reminding me that sometimes when I least
expect it (and least deserve it), some small, kind act by a stranger can
hit me smack dab between the eyes and turn my whole day around.


----------



## Shadow Bea

The Bargain 
By Rose Williamson 
North Carolina, USA

In 1970, when I went to nursing school, it was like academic boot
camp. We were either in class every day from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or
at the hospital providing patient care. The requirements were strict,
the level of performance required was not negotiable and it was this
little country girl's first time away from home and living in a dorm. I
was lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling very much out of my league.

For three months, I struggled with anatomy, pharmacology, chemistry,
and clinical practice classes. I had always had a fairly easy time in
high school and consequently had never developed very good study habits.
Naturally, this was reflected on my test scores.

About three months into my first year, I felt like I couldn't go on
with nursing school, but I also felt too ashamed to go home. This was a
gut wrenching decision, because my mother had not completed high school
and her dream was for me to have an education.

With a heavy heart, I began calling the want ads, thinking that if I
could find a job, get an apartment and have a plan, my mother would be
more likely to accept my decision without too much fuss. I made a number
of calls and spoke with folks who were quick to realize that I had very
little to offer. I was feeling even worse when I happened to call an
employment agency where a kind female voice began to question me about
my situation.

After a conversation of 10 or 15 minutes, she calmly urged me to keep
on until the end of the first semester. She promised that at the end of
the semester I could call her back and she would help me find a job if I
still wanted one. She said everyone has scary times in their life but
that most worked out if we let them. She didn't criticize or make light
of my fears. She offered kind words, encouragement and made a bargain
with me. I agreed to try.

I have been a nurse for 30 years. She was right. Give it some time,
do your best and it will work out. Often when I sign R.N. after my name
I think of her. She figured out the right things to say at just the
right time to a scared child. My Mom never knew about this because
another "Mom" filled in for her at just the right time.


----------



## Guest

Hello,

I'm really pleased I called by to read here. Thanks.

T2


----------



## Tipacanoe

Everyone needs calm, reassuring words once in a while, don't they. And, the thing is, one never knows. It takes a good listener to figure it out.


----------



## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by Tuppence2:_
> *Hello,
> 
> I'm really pleased I called by to read here. Thanks.
> 
> T2 *


I'm Glad you did too, Penny



> [ i]Originally posted byTipacanoe
> Everyone needs calm, reassuring words once in a while, don't they. And, the thing is, one never knows. It takes a good listener to figure it out.
> 
> These days it is harder and harder to find the good news..
> Thank you for reading it
> 
> Bea


----------



## Shadow Bea

Honk Three Times 
by Janet Williams 
Arizona, USA

I was in Texas in December of 1982, 29, newly divorced and far from
my California family. I wanted to go home. I hooked our car to a huge
rented van, loaded up my 9-year-old daughter, two cats, a guinea pig,
and four hermit crabs, and started across the country.

They provided a stick-shift truck, not my request, as I'd never
driven a truck. Intense rain poured as we left Austin. I was in a
20-foot truck, car in tow, with a 9-year-old asking if we were there
yet. It was extremely nerve-wracking driving over mountains, through
cities and down long highways.

The rain turned to light snow, yet at dark I saw no headlights. I
pulled over and turned the truck off -- all the lights came on. I
started the engine and the lights went off. I wanted to cry, but didn't
want to scare my daughter.

With just an occasional 18-wheeler on the road, I started driving
five miles an hour in the dark, letting the right tire ride the road's
edge like Braille. Soon a big truck came up behind, went by fast, hit
his brakes, then sped off. I said my thanks and edged back onto the
shoulder.

Soon another truck came up fast, nearly stopped right beside me,
laid on his horn, then moved into the left lane, so I moved into the
right lane.

He drove alongside letting me use his headlights to see, then
suddenly honked three times and sped off. As I crept back to the
shoulder, another truck came up behind me. When near he honked three
times and moved over.

Incredible! Truck after truck, one stayed beside me until another
was close enough to take over. They took me all the way to Fort
Stockton, hours and hours of truckers slowing down enough to pull me
along.

At Fort Stockton the last truck honked goodbye and I drove into the
outskirts of town. Then a Highway patrol flashed his lights at me. I
didn't know how to get the truck fixed, it was 3:00 a.m., I was cold
and tired, and now I had a ticket for no lights.

The officer said, "I've been waiting for you." Why, I asked. His
beautiful Texas accent replied, "Aren't you the truck with no lights?
We've heard about you for hours." I burst into tears. He told me,
"Don't worry, we called the guy who repairs these trucks and told him
to arrive early for you," and he escorted me to a nearby motel.

We broke down in every state. Austin to Los Angeles took three and a
half days, and we only stayed in a motel that night. But I never got
scared again like I had been that first part of the trip, because each
of those truckers gave me courage and strength for the rest of the
trip.


----------



## eggplant43

Beagle saved with Heimlich Manuever. Includes audio and video on RealPlayer:

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/1796563/detail.html


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## eggplant43

washingtonpost.com 
Student's Generosity Awes GMU Classmates

By Leef Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 3, 2002; Page B01

The buzz on George Mason University's law school campus was anxious. University trustees had approved a $192 tuition increase to offset a steep reduction in state funding, and many students were struggling to figure out how to make ends meet come spring.

One first-year law student heard the talk and knew exactly what he would do.

He opened his wallet and made a $19,200 anonymous donation earmarked to cover the fees for 100 of his neediest classmates.

"It was clear there were some students that this [fee increase] would be a great hardship to," said the donor, who agreed to be interviewed only if his identity were withheld. "Many of them are just starting out in life. They don't have much money. . . . It seemed that maybe they could use the help."

School officials said yesterday that act of goodwill has already expanded. As word of the donation spread before Thanksgiving, another first-year law student gave the school $1,000 for the same purpose. Since then, more than 30 law school alumni have pledged $11,000 to help cover the $192 fee.

"It's brought a lot of goodwill," said Anne Richard, assistant dean and director of admissions at the law school. "It's stirred giving."

Law school Dean Mark F. Grady said the donor met with him last month with one thing on his mind -- a desire to help.

"This is a pure act of generosity on his part," Grady said. "He's a student here, and it could create an unwelcome situation for him to become a celebrity [on campus]. He's not looking for that role. He just wants to be generous."

That generosity was met warmly by students still reeling from statewide education belt-tightening and a 25 percent tuition increase just months ago. Earlier this year, GMU officials said they would be leaving 150 faculty positions unfilled. The impact of state cuts would be far worse, they said, without the $192 surcharge, which will help cover a third of the latest $10 million cut in state funding.

"The schools are definitely belt-tightening," said Fran Bradford, spokeswoman for the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. "Some are closing class sections. Some are increasing class sizes. Some are cutting back on library hours. . . . Certainly the students are most affected by the tuition increases."

Eligibility for the money among Mason's 800 law students will be based on need and who applies first, school officials said.

Harish Ruchandani, 24, is putting himself through his first year of law at Mason and was quick to put his name on the list after he heard about the available money.

"I was shocked," Ruchandani said. "I said, 'Are you serious? Where do I apply?' "

The money, Ruchandani said, would mean a small but significant savings, perhaps the difference between bringing lunch to school every day and being able to go to a campus eatery once in a while.

"It's really generous," Ruchandani said. "It really creates good spirit all the way around. Knowing that someone was there to help me get through my education, if I'm in that position one day, it makes me want to give back, too."

Anne Mitchell, 28, graduates in May and has every intention of paying the donated "loan" back to the school.

"I wasn't sure if I should put myself on the list," Mitchell said. "I'm not starving to death or eating ramen noodles every night, but that's $200 that can go toward books next semester. . . . When I graduate and have a job, I can give that back. It's not like it's a handout. It's something to help tide you over."

No one is asking for the money back, certainly not the donor, who said he gives regularly to charity, churches and museums. He said he simply saw a need and knew he could help.

"I honestly believe there are a lot of people who would help if they knew it was needed," he said. "Let's hope it causes more people to do it. That would be neat."


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## Shadow Bea

Love stories like that incognito random acts of kindness 
Thanks


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## eggplant43

Miracle Rescue In W. Virginia
DUNNEL, W.Va., Dec. 10, 2002


Freezing and hobbled by a broken hip, Robert Ward burned paper for warmth and melted snow to drink. His only food was what he could get out of an old peanut butter jar and sauce packets from Taco Bell. 

For more than six days, the 32-year-old coal mine security guard survived in below-freezing temperatures in his wrecked car after it plunged 150 feet into a ravine. 

He may have been about to lose his survival battle Sunday when he was finally rescued. 

"I don't think he would have made it through the night," said Terry Likens, captain of the fire department where Ward is a volunteer emergency medical technician. "He thought he would be going to sleep for the last time." 

Ward was in serious condition after surgery Sunday at a hospital in Huntington. Both of his feet were frostbitten. 

"He was in pretty serious condition," Likens told CBS Radio News. "He'd been out in the cold weather for almost six days with very little to eat or drink. He was severely dehydrated, a lot of bruises on him from the wreck. He had a pretty serious hip injury; he wasn't able to move." 

On Dec. 2, Ward's car went off the road, falling 150 feet and hitting a tree that destroyed the vehicle's headlights and horn. 

A few days later, the season's first snowstorm struck and temperatures plunged below freezing for several days. 

To stay warm, Ward ripped the lining from the car's roof and used it as a blanket, Likens said. 

"He melted snow to get a little bit of water and he burned some stuff in his car, made little fires to try to keep warm," Likens said. 

Taco sauce and peanut butter provided his only nourishment. There were two soft drink cans in the front seat, but Ward could not reach them until Saturday. 

"It's a bachelor vehicle. It catches a little bit of everything," Likens said. 

Searchers from two volunteer fire departments, law enforcement agencies, state natural resource and forestry workers and coal mine employees scoured the area. A coal company donated a helicopter for the search. 

As Likens and a companion searched the ravine with binoculars, Ward heard their car and voices and started hollering. 

"He asked us to pinch him so he knew he wasn't dreaming," Likens said. "He said he had a lot of weird dreams while he was down there. He dreamed two or three times when people would come by and didn't get him out."


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## THoey

Not sure if this fits here as it isn't an article, but I didn't want to start a new thread for it...

GOSH--How Did We Do it??? Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have... As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. 

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. 

We played dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight... We were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this? 

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cellular phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms... We had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it? 

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment... Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade... Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. 

Are you ONE of that generation? If so, Congratulations... Maybe the "right things" from that era can return.


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## eggplant43

www.sfgate.com 
Double lottery winners beat odds of 1 in 24,000,000,000,000 
Belmont couple spends $124,000 -- $20 a day for 17 years -- then hits jackpot twice in one day 
Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, December 12, 2002 
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

Belmont -- It had to happen sooner or later for Angelo and Maria Gallina, who figure they have spent $124,000 over the years on lottery tickets.

What happened was that they won the jackpot -- not once, but twice, on the same day. An hour after winning $126,000 in the Fantasy Five game, they won $17 million in SuperLotto Plus.

That's never been done before, lottery officials said Wednesday, maybe because the odds of its happening are 1 in 24 trillion -- which is a 24 followed by 12 zeros.

And maybe because there have never been lottery players like the Gallinas.

Angelo Gallina, a 78-year-old retired railroad machinist from Belmont, cheerfully admitted he has bought $20 worth of lottery tickets every day since the lottery started in 1985.

For the SuperLotto Plus drawings, he and his 65-year-old wife choose their numbers by shaking a $10 plastic gadget they purchased years ago at a local drugstore. The gadget is full of tiny numbered balls that fall into slots, providing lottery players with lucky numbers to bet on.

And year after year, the Gallinas said, the gadget failed, until Maria Gallina was just about to toss it into the garbage.

"I said I was going to throw it away, I was so disgusted," she said Wednesday. "But he didn't want me to."

So the Gallinas shook it up one more time, last month, and out came 10, 41, 7, 47, 21 and mega 4. That was the winning combination for the Nov. 20 draw.

Meanwhile, their Fantasy Five combination of 15, 18, 26, 35 and 37 came in, too.

FILL-UP AND A TRIM
Angelo Gallina, a man who does not excite easily, said he celebrated their twin killing by filling their car with gas and getting a haircut.

The Gallinas, who have been multimillionaires for more than three weeks, have not exactly lavished money on themselves. When they showed up at a press conference at lottery headquarters in South San Francisco on Wednesday, they were driving their 1986 Cadillac with ripped upholstery and leaking window seals. Angelo was wearing a pair of broken eyeglasses.

"That's our new car," Angelo said. The couple also owns a 1965 Chevrolet.

Since winning, about the only thing the Gallinas have spent money on is more lottery tickets. They were holding $20 worth for another SuperLotto Plus draw this week.

"Sure hope I win," said Angelo.

VACATION OBLIGATION
The Gallinas, who say the lottery is their primary form of recreation, are planning a trip -- primarily, it seems, because planning a trip seems required of lottery winners and the Gallinas want to be good sports.

"We'll go to Oakland, maybe," said Angelo, smiling.

"Or maybe we'll go to Italy," said his wife, who comes from Bari, Italy.

"Easy, easy," replied her husband, putting a fiscally responsible hand on her arm.

Maria says she wants to buy a new house. Angelo says he isn't so sure. About the only thing they agreed on was that they would be sitting in front of the TV this week as always, holding hands and watching the numbered balls shoot from the lottery machine.

For the record, the odds of winning the SuperLotto Plus are 1 in 41.4 million and the odds of winning the Fantasy Five are 1 in 576,000. Multiplying those numbers yields 1 in 24 trillion.

And multiplying $20 of losing tickets a day by 17 years yields $124,000 in losses.

Put another way, it was a good thing that the Gallinas won the second jackpot of $17 million, because winning the first jackpot of $126,000 would not have allowed them, after taxes, to break even.

The Gallinas say they hope all the money will not change their lives, except to make it easier to buy more lottery tickets. They also hope it will not generate the sudden appearance of long-lost relatives and best friends.

"We won't tell anybody," Angelo said, staring straight into a bank of cameras, "and maybe they won't find out."

Then Angelo gave his plastic gizmo a shake, to demonstrate how it works. His wife no longer wants to get rid of it, he said.

'HARD LABOR' REWARDED
Shaking the gadget over and over, week after week, and copying down the numbers was not easy, he said. He credited his windfall to "hard labor."

In the back of the room stood the couple's accountant, Mark Vranes, who said that spending $124,000 on lottery tickets was OK for the Gallinas because it has "added meaning to their lives."

The accountant added that he had never bought a lottery ticket himself.

"My wife would kill me," he explained.

Also standing by was lottery manager Dolores Walton, who said the Gallinas were good customers and that spending $20 a day on lottery tickets was not unreasonable. For the past five years, the lottery has been ordered by the Legislature to print the words "Play Responsibly" and the phone number of a problem gamblers' counseling service on its tickets.

"I suppose this is playing responsibly," Walton said. "It paid off, didn't it?"


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## eggplant43

Mother who lost son works on forgiving drunken driver

SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) - The mother of one of eight University of Wyoming athletes killed in a head-on crash says she is trying to forgive admitted drunken driver Clint Haskins.

"I don't think you can say, 'I forgive you,' and then it's all over," McLeland said. "Something like this takes work. There has been anger, but I know for myself I can't live my life in an angry mode. It's important for me to work on that forgiveness."

McLeland and a couple who lost a daughter to a drunken driver will be part of a panel discussion Wednesday at Sheridan College. The discussion is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the C-TEL Auditorium.

"When I do go through those stages of anger, I try to do something positive. I have found that talking about it is something positive," McLeland told the Sheridan Press on Tuesday.

She said Haskins has accepted her invitation to participate in public presentations by video or possibly while on special release from prison.

"For young people and older people too, having him as part of the presentation would be extremely powerful," McLeland said.

A supporter of the idea is professional counselor Geral Blanchard, of Sheridan, who is helping organize the program.

"Restorative justice is a victim-driven program," Blanchard said.

"When people are hurt, even in extreme cases of injustice, there is still an opportunity for healing. We have seen restorative justice work in the most extreme forms of interpersonal violence."

McLeland said she visited briefly with Haskins at two of his court appearances.

"It was a very hard thing, but it wasn't anger coming out. When you look at Clint, you see a young man who's like many other young men, but now his life has been irreparably changed," she said.

Haskins is serving 14 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in February to eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.

He admitted his drunken driving caused a wreck on Sept. 16, 2001, that killed eight University of Wyoming cross-country runners, including Morgan McLeland, 21, son of Debbie and Jim.

"Jim had just told me that someone called to say there was a bad accident south of Laramie, and the doorbell rang. When we opened the door, two policemen were standing there. It was terrifying, absolutely disbelief," she said.

McLeland said she has gone through many stages since then: anger, denial, loss, disbelief, sorrow.

"Initially, it was heartbreaking sadness," she said. "It was about having an incredible sense of loss. We have poured our soul into all of our kids. The fact we have two other children has helped me move on. They need us, they need to know they have their lives ahead of them," she said.

"It's easy to get trapped in loss without realizing you still have a lot there. Right now I am in a bargaining stage, working on accepting the accident and dealing with it."

She said she hopes her talks make a difference.

"With this particular tragedy, losing eight very bright young people became an issue people wanted to listen to. Before that, talking about drinking and driving was like pushing a boulder uphill, that things like this really couldn't happen," she said.

"But it was the scope of this accident, the sheer numbers of young people who died, that made people aware and willing to address this problem."


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## eggplant43

Student gets 'A' for hacking school computer
By Jeordan Legon
CNN


(CNN) --It was a breeze for 15-year-old Reid Ellison to hack into his high school's computer grading system. But what to do once he broke in took a bit more ingenuity.

You see, Reid already has a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Anzar High School in San Juan Bautista, California. So to leave his mark, he decided to lower his grades to a 1.9 GPA -- a meager D+.

"I couldn't do what most people would want to do when they hack into the school's computer," Reid said. "So I thought it would be funny to do the opposite."

The hacking project, which was sanctioned by the school, left administrators so impressed they gave him a perfect score. The school is now working on fixing the security holes.

"I'm helping them with it," said Reid, who's been tinkering with computers since he was in second grade and wants to be an engineer. "I basically came up with three pages to improve the security of the network in general."

Getting the password
Reid's project was part of Anzar's "exhibition" requirement. To graduate, each student must complete six exhibitions -- written and oral presentations in history, science, math and language arts.

It took three hacking programs less than a second -- 200 milliseconds to be exact -- to find the password to the school's computer, Reid said. It was the school secretary's name: Silvia.

The school has since changed the password and Reid doesn't know it, but that doesn't stop the jokes from students asking their classmate for hacking help.

"If he didn't have such high moral fiber, he could probably make a lot of money off his abilities," said Wayne Norton, Reid's adviser.

Getting perfect grades back
Reid, who skipped part of the eighth grade, said he's setting his sights on college, not hacking. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the California Institute of Technology to be exact.

After his hacking session was documented, Reid kept a close eye on the return of his hard-earned A's.

"I made sure it was really easy for them to change it back," he said.


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## eggplant43

Quiet housekeeper leaves a $250,000 surprise

By DON RUANE, [email protected]

A Fort Myers woman who worked for 40 years as a housekeeper also cleaned up in the stock market by the time she died in June at age 83.

Edna M. Swain left her small house and at least $250,000 from her investments for scholarships for the members of the Mount Olive AME Church in Fort Myers.

The scholarship fund was announced Wednesday by the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

She was a widow and had no children.

Mount Olives families have low to middle incomes, so the gift will help a lot, pastor Alan Stockton said. About $9,000 should be available this year.

I had no idea this was coming, Stockton said.

Swain never talked to him about leaving money for the church, Stockton said. She was a quiet woman who sang in the choir and helped younger women learn to do things for the church, he said.

The fortune grew from a gift of Barnett Bank stock given to her by A. Donald Bass, her employer.

He was a cattleman who married Louise Miles, the daughter of Dr. Frank Miles, founder of Miles Laboratories and the maker of Alka-Seltzer. Later, she worked for their daughter, Sidney Bass Brinson, and her husband, Mel Brinson.

She mainly just raised the children, baby-sat and things like that, Mel Brinson recalled. She was paid the going wage for a housekeeper at the time, probably $50 to $60 per week, he said.

The Brinsons children helped Swain with her investment. They introduced her to a financial adviser who raised her return from about $3,000 per year to about $15,000, Brinson said.

She was very reluctant to spend money. She didnt have a lot of needs, Brinson said.

Church trustees will decide what to do with the house, which was built in 1925.

Her friend, Ida Wells, said Swain hoped the house will help the church move from its Orange Street home, a block from Swains house, to Ortiz Avenue.

The house at 1969 Palm Ave., is valued at $24,850 by the Lee County property appraiser. Exemptions reduced its taxable value to zero, but she was billed $4.55 this year for hyacinth and mosquito control.


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## Shadow Bea

Bruce 
Love reading the stories you find.


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## eggplant43

I'm just glad they're out there to find on the net, and then share


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## n2gun

Christmas in jail a blessing in disguise
December 22, 2002 12:00 am


LARRY EVANS
The Free Lance-Star

Last Christmas, Julian Brooks woke up in a cell at the Rappahannock Juvenile Center. He was given a candy bar and a cup of hot chocolate from the staff; that was all. It was not a merry Christmas.
A year later, he looks back at his 20 days in juvenile jail as a gift.

If I had been locked up at any other time of year, it might not have had much effect, he says. Getting locked up last year was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Brooks, who was 17, missed his family even more than he missed the drugs and alcohol to which he was addicted. He did a lot of thinking during those three weeks, andfor the first time in his lifea lot of praying.

Each day, his mind became clearer as the effects of marijuana wore off.

He was coming off cocaine in jail, too. That was hard, he says, because he had been using it almost every day.

While locked up, he also perspired profusely as the synthetic drug Ecstasy seeped from his pores along with the two glasses of milk he was given at every meal. A year later, he grimaces at the thought of how bad he smelled. The one three-minute shower allowed each day did little to make him feel clean. 

Brooks decided he never wanted to spend another Christmas Dayor any dayin jail. But he knew he would be back in jail, or worse, if he did not seek help and summon up a considerable amount of self-discipline.

Brooks told court authorities he would appreciate an opportunity to go to Juvenile Drug Court. The courts staff conducted an interview, examined his string of alcohol and drug charges and discussed his situation. He was accepted into the program.

When he left the juvenile jail, he became one of about 30 people between the ages of 13 and 17 enrolled in Drug Court during 2002. Drug Courts participants come from families that reflect a socioeconomic cross section of the community.

Aside from their age, substance abuse and legal troubles are the main thing participants have in common.

With Brooks, the staff faced the difficult task of changing the behavior of a 17-year-old who started drinking alcohol at the age of 10, smoking marijuana at 11 and then, as a teenager, adding Ecstasy, LSD and cocaine to the mix.

LSD was the only drug I ever quit on my own, he says now. 

I had some bad trips.

"Ive been in a bunch of programs, but this was the first time Ive come out of a program sober and want to stay sober, Brooks tells me.

Brooks had spent 11 months clearing a succession of hurdles that included three-times-a-week Drug Court meetings; periodic and random urine tests; individual therapy sessions; family and group counseling; house arrest; community-service jobs; a paid, supervised job; and regular court appearances.

Along the way, he turned 18 and graduated with his class at Stafford High School. 

He was a great participant right from the beginning, a counselor said during the Drug Courts Dec. 12 graduation ceremony in the courtroom of the Fredericksburg Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Brooks tells me he could not have gotten to where he is nowclean for a yearwithout the help of the Drug Court staff, his family and his girlfriend. I couldnt have done it by myself.


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## eggplant43

Thanks for the story, that's a nice way to start the day


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## n2gun

SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT. 


GOD BLESS AMERICA!!! 

There are a few things that those who have 
recently come to our country, and apparently some 
native Americans, need to understand. 

First of all, it is not our responsibility to 
continually try not to offend you in any way. This 
idea of America being a multi cultural community has 
served only to dilute our sovereignty and our 
national identity. 

As Americans, we have our own culture, our own 
society, our own language, and our own lifestyle. 
This culture, called the "American Way" has been 
developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and 
victories by millions of men and women who have 
sought freedom. 

Our forefathers fought, bled, and died at 
places such as Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo 
Jima, Normandy, Korea, Vietnam... 

We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, 
Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. 
Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society 
- learn our language!" 

In God We Trust" is our national motto. This 
is not some off-the-wall, Christian, Right Wing, 
political slogan - it is our national motto. It is 
engraved in stone in the House of Representatives in 
our Capitol and it is printed on our currency. We 
adopted this motto because Christian men and women, 
on Christian principles, founded this nation and 
this is clearly documented throughout our 
history. If it is appropriate for our motto to be 
inscribed in the halls of our highest level of 
Government, then it is certainly appropriate to 
display it on the walls of our schools. 

God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, 
nearly every patriotic song, and in our founding 
documents. We honor His birth, death, and 
resurrection as holidays, and we turn to Him in 
prayer in times of crisis. If God offends you, then 
I suggest you consider another part of the world as 
your new home, because God is part of our culture 
and we are proud to have Him. 

We are proud of our heritage and those who 
have so honorably defended our freedoms. We 
celebrate Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans 
Day, and Flag Day. We have parades, picnics, and 
barbecues where we proudly wave our flag. 

As an American, I have the right to wave my 
flag, sing my national anthem, quote my national 
motto, and cite my pledge whenever and wherever I 
choose. If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you 
don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously 
consider a move to another part of this planet. 

The American culture is our way of life, our 
heritage, and we are proud of it. We are happy with 
our culture and have no desire to change, and we 
really don't care how you did things where you came 
from. Like it or not, this is our country, our 
land, and our lifestyle. 

Our First Amendment gives every citizen the 
right to express his 
opinion about our government, culture, or 
society, and we will allow you every opportunity to 
do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, 
and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national 
motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you 
take advantage of one other great American freedom: 

THE RIGHT TO LEAVE! 

Another thing: To those who do complain about 
the usage of words like 'God' and 'American' and 
speaking the language of our great nation, TRY GOING 
TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND SPEAK AGAINST WHAT YOU DON'T 
LIKE. YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY END UP JAILED OR 
EVEN KILLED. 

In America, you take your right to complain 
for granted. The more patriotism that is removed 
from where our children are taught, the less our 
children will learn about what it is to be an 
American and our nation's spirit will slowly be 
taken away.


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## eggplant43

I question your placement of "Somebody Finally Said It" in this thread. I find it both political, and negative which I don't think is consistent with the rest of the posts in this thread. All the rest of the posts I believe to be positive stories about people doing positive things. Do you see it a different way?


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## n2gun

New Jersey Says Reindeer Are Welcome 



Children, don't fear: State officials won't block Santa Claus and his reindeer from flying over New Jersey on Christmas Eve.

State Environmental Commissioner Bradley Campbell issued the edict last week after several first-graders at the High Bridge Elementary School sent letters to his office, concerned that the state's ban on the importation of deer and elk would be applied to reindeer.

The students feared that the ban, which was designed to guard against the spread of chronic wasting disease, would force Santa to bypass the state and, therefore, force Christmas to be canceled.

When their teacher, Lynn Hickey, could not ease their concerns, she urged them to seek a special reindeer dispensation from the state. She thought it would show her young charges that they have a political voice.

Campbell's decision was swift and direct.

"I have good news," Campbell wrote in a letter that Hickey read to her class. "The rules you were worried about only apply to reindeer on the ground. We made the rule to keep the reindeer that live in New Jersey from getting sick. But flying reindeer are just fine and are always welcome in New Jersey."

The pupils' response was also swift and direct.

"They all cheered when I read the letter," said Hickey.
Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002


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## eggplant43

Great one, Jerry!


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## eggplant43

Livewire: Web Sites Help Cash-Crunched Get Medicine
Wed Dec 25, 9:30 AM ET Add Technology - Reuters Internet Report to My Yahoo!

By Lisa Baertlein

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Guided by a patient in her ward, nurse Beckie Osburn found a Web site that gave her the tools to help her adult son get the medicine he needs but cannot afford.

"I've always had insurance, so I didn't have to worry about it," said Osburn, an oncology nurse in Santa Cruz, California, who had been paying for her uninsured son's prescriptions until a cancer patient told her about NeedyMeds.com.

Health-conscious consumers have long used the Internet to find information on treatments, but little-known Web sites like http://www.NeedyMeds.com cater to millions of people seeking free or low-cost drugs because they are not insured or have limited finances.

NeedyMeds is a free site that was launched in 1997 by a home health social worker and a doctor. The site provides up-to-date information on 177 drug company-sponsored programs that help people get medication for little or no money, and has links to application forms for many of those same programs.

As a result of the tip, Osburn and her 25-year-old son are now in the process of applying for access to low-price medication through one of two patient assistance programs run by GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK.L) http://www.ipp.gsk.com/

Osburn said the medicine, which costs $98 for 30 pills that last about a week, would cost between $5 and $10 for a 90-day supply under the drug maker's patient assistance program.

Osburn is now also using NeedyMeds' resources to help her father-in-law get his expensive prescriptions filled.

WORKING, BUT UNINSURED

Osburn's son currently is not employed. His wife has a job, but makes too little to afford the $800 a month that insurance would cost. And, he is not eligible for Medi-Cal, California's health care insurance for disabled, elderly and low-income individuals. As a result, Osburn has been helping to pick up the cost of his doctor's bills and medications.

GlaxoSmithKline is developing a new indigent patient program, but in the interim continues to run the one Osburn is tapping.

Eligibility for the current programs depend on the patient's household size, income and medical expenses. The company also requires that a doctor, nurse or nurse practitioner act as patient advocate. Patients must re-enroll on a regular basis and advocates must call the pharmacy before each refill.

"They don't want you selling the drug," Osburn said.

WIDESPREAD AND GETTING KNOWN

Almost every pharmaceutical manufacturer has some sort of patient assistance program, also known as a "prescription drug assistance program" or "indigent patient program."

Hundreds of drugs are available through the programs, including chemotherapy agents like Xeloda and Gemzar, acne drug Accutane, antibiotic Cipro and anti-impotence drug Viagra.

Drug makers don't advertise the programs and many doctors aren't aware of them, so lots of patients still go without the medicine they need.

Participation in the programs also takes commitment.

The required paperwork can get unwieldy, as patients must enroll and frequently renew with each company from which they receive drugs. Many programs also require that the patient work closely with a doctor, nurse or social worker.

Nevertheless, more and more people are using the programs as an avenue to needed drugs they otherwise couldn't afford.

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, an industry group known as PhRMA, estimates that during 2002 its members will have provided 14.1 million prescriptions with a wholesale value of $2.3 billion through their patient assistance programs. That's up from 8 million prescriptions valued at $1.1 billion in 2000, PhRMA said.

LAUNCHING POINTS

PhRMA's own site, at http://www.phrma.org/pap/, includes a directory of patient assistance programs from members like Pfizer Inc.(NYSEFE - news), Bristol-Myers Squibb(NYSE:BMY - news) and Wyeth(NYSE:WYE - news).

People who receive Medicare -- government-sponsored health coverage for senior citizens and people who are disabled -- can start by visiting http://www.medicare.gov/Prescription/home.asp.

That site allows users to conduct regionalized searches based on medications or conditions. It also links to pages sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS (news - web sites) Research, www.amfar.org, and PhRMA.

On other fronts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation targets health care providers with its Web site, http://www.rxassist.org.

Anne Paschke, spokeswoman for Richmond, Virginia-based United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) said transplant drugs can run "tens of thousands of dollars a year." Her group's Web site, http://www.unos.org, carries information about prescription drug assistance programs.

While PhRMA and its members support the programs, they said they are not a fix to this country's prescription-drug ills.

"While patient assistance programs are essential, they're not a substitute for expanded public access to life-saving, cost-effective medicines, particularly for seniors," PhRMA said on its Web site.

Among other things, PhRMA's members back prescription drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries.


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## n2gun

eggie
that one is great. it is something that could be passed on to people who could use it.


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## n2gun

City officers play 
December 26, 2002 1:07 am

By EDIE GROSS
The Free Lance-Star

HE DAY started badly for Octavia Shields.

She had to explain to her boys that money was tight and Christmas would probably be light on gifts this year.

Her 10-year-old got upset. And the more upset he got, the louder he got, prompting a neighbor to call the police.

And then Fredericksburg police Officer Julie Keene showed up.

"I was in tears," Shields recalled.

Keene said the family's apartment was quiet by the time she arrived, but their plight stuck with her.

"I went out and called one of the girls at the office and said, 'I feel like crying. The kids don't have anything,'" said Keene, a city officer for 15 years. "I said to myself, 'If I could do something little for these kids, I think it could make a big difference.'"

It was only 10 days before Christmas, and Keene didn't have much time. While the Police Department couldn't sponsor the family, Keene's co-workers and friends pooled money from their own pockets to make Christmas happen for the family.

With Octavia Shields' permission, Keene stocked up on heavy-duty winter shoes, fleece jackets, books, games and action figures for the boys. She recruited two dispatchers who have kids of their own to help her pick out the goodies.

"They were so helpful," said Keene, who does not have children. "I didn't know what the heck I was doing at all."

By Christmas Eve, Keene's living room was crowded with gifts for Larry, 14, and Mark, 10. While she treated them to a movie, fellow Officer Kevin Capach and Sgt. Paul Peterson picked up the packages at Keene's home and delivered them to the Shields' apartment.

While "It's a Wonderful Life" played on the television set, the officers set up a small Christmas tree in the family room and hemmed it in with gifts.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Shields. "I am really overwhelmed."

Her boys, she said, knew nothing of the gifts. They were just excited about seeing "Lord of the Rings" with Keene.

"Julie has been great. She's been awesome," said Shields. "They'd been kind of glum. But since she's come by some days to check on them, I've really seen a change in them."

About 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Keene and the boys strolled in to find the apartment overflowing with gifts.

"Thank you," Larry said softly, not sure if he should disrupt the pile.

Mark pulled his jacket up around his eyes before squeezing into a corner near the small tree. With a little prodding from Keene, he began opening presents, soon disappearing into a small mountain of wrapping paper.

"With Mark, you've got to look at his eyes," said Shields, who is visually impaired. "His eyes tell the whole story."

Sure enough, Mark's eyes sparkled as he opened packages of Dragon Ball Z action figures. Larry, who likes to read and play basketball, got an entire set of J.R.R. Tolkien books and size-12 Faded Glory shoes.

Even mom ended up with some surprises: black gloves and a hat to match her winter coat.

Shields said she's trying to get her family on its feet again. After falling and injuring herself on the job at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, several years ago, Shields said she has had trouble finding a full-time job. She has a bachelor's degree in math and computer science from Hampton University, and she plans to take graduate courses at Strayer University in the coming months.

"I think by me going back [to school], it'll be an incentive to the boys," she said. "They'll see me studying."

Larry is already a James Farmer Scholar at James Monroe High school who talks about going to college, and Mark made the honor roll at Walker-Grant Middle School, Shields said.

She and her sons hope to return Keene's generosity, perhaps in the form of volunteer service to the community, Shields said.

"Any kind of volunteer anything, we'll sign up," she said.

By 11:30 p.m., the family's apartment was littered with empty boxes and wadded-up balls of Christmas wrap. It was time for Keene to go home.

"Yeah," she said, pumping her fist after leaving the Shields home. "It makes me feel so good to be able to do something."


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## eggplant43

What a great story Jerry. Thanks for sharing it with us. I can't get enough of this kind of stuff.


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## n2gun

eggie
That was in Fredericksburg Va just to my north and it is good to see there are still good hearted people out there. I commend her and the officers that helped her.


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## Shadow Bea

Jerry, love stories like that .. thank you.. hope you are having a great holiday season 
Bea


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## eggplant43

Yes, West Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

HURRICANE, West Virginia (CNN) --Andrew "Jack" Whittaker, a 55-year-old grandfather and owner of several construction companies will take home $111.7 million in cash for winning Wednesday night's Powerball lottery drawing.

Whittaker, from Scott Depot, West Virginia, is the largest single-ticket winner in international lottery history. He said Thursday that his first three checks will be written to three church pastors. As a member of the Church of God, he said he wants to tithe 10 percent before he spends any of the money.

"I'm very blessed. I've been blessed my whole life," Whittaker said. "It's really going to excite my daughter and granddaughter. They're going to be spending the money."

The advertised jackpot amount was $314.9 million but Whittaker chose the cash payout instead of annual payments.

The lump sum is more than $170 million before federal and state taxes are taken out. He received a $10 million check Thursday and will receive the balance of his winnings -- $101.7 million -- in two weeks, as required by Multi-State Lottery rules.

"I just want to thank God for letting the machine pick the right numbers," Whittaker said.

Whittaker is already a self-made millionaire. His construction companies generate $17 million a year in revenue, he said.

"I'm going to take care of my family and I'm going to expand my business," he said. Whittaker recently laid off 25 employees because of slow business but he said he will bid on more jobs to put those employees back to work.

He's leaving for New York on Thursday and will appear on several television talk shows Friday morning, he said. He may move to a gated community for privacy but hopes to keep his life the same.

The winning numbers for the Christmas drawing were 53, 14, 5, 16 and 29, with a Powerball number of 7.


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## Shadow Bea

That is some story Bruce... not exactly rags to riches, but he will be able to give some people their jobs back.. cool. 
Bea

Half a Sandwich 
by Clair Smith 
West Yorkshire, England

As the run up to Christmas 2002 continued I found it difficult to
get into the season's festive mood. At 19 and being a university
student, I can't afford to buy people all that I would like. That, plus
the bustling crowds and the whole commercialism of Christmas were
getting to me.

I'm a first year student at a university in England, and whenever I
go in to the town centre I am confronted by numerous people begging or
asking for money. I always feel terrible but tend to just scuttle by
with a muttered "sorry".

I have been told various times that often the money given to people
in the streets is spent on drugs and alcohol and doesn't help anybody.
I don't believe this is true for the most part, but understand why
giving the equivalent money to charity instead is a good idea. However,
like many people, I have taken to giving food to people on the street,
maybe the leftover pizza from a meal or some fruit. Not much, but
something.

I went in to town a couple of weeks ago to brave the crowds in the
search for Christmas presents for family and friends. As I got close to
town, I saw a man, only a couple of years older than me, sitting on the
pavement. He was very scruffy and if I'm honest, I felt a little
intimidated by him. He was eating a burger faster than I had ever seen
someone eat before.

As I approached, I saw him look at his half-finished burger,
inwardly debating; he then stood up and crossed the road.

On the other side of the street was another man, older this time,
but just as scruffy. Into his hands was pushed the half-eaten snack.
The look of surprise and gratitude was overwhelming. Then without
exchange of words the man returned. He obviously felt the other man's
need was greater than his own.

In a rush, I walked on, smiling. His actions had reconfirmed my
faith in people. Suddenly I had found my Christmas spirit. As I
returned from town a few hours later I hoped to pass the man, to wish
him a good Christmas and gave him a cup of tea I had bought for him.

He wasn't there, nor was his friend. I gave the tea to a lady I
passed on my way home, she looked quite grateful -- maybe more for the
few brief words than the drink itself.

I was able to share with her because of the man I saw on the street.
He rekindled in my mind the understanding that it is not the size of
the gift, but the sentiment behind it which really counts.


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## eggplant43

"He rekindled in my mind the understanding that it is not the size of the gift, but the sentiment behind it which really counts." 

This statement really puts it into perspective, doesn't it?


Thanks for sharing. Let's all have more of these moments in our lives


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## Shadow Bea

I could live with that  
Bea


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## eggplant43

When 2 groups marginalized by society get together, the result is good for all

One Montreal service is Meals on Wheels with a youthful edge,
ANDRÉ PICARD writes; its punkish, pierced, teenaged volunteers
bring food and friendship to needy seniors
With a photo essay by JOHN MORSTAD


By ANDRé PICARD


Friday, December 27, 2002  Page A12 


It's early evening when the knock on the door distracts Helen Gross from her knitting. The 91-year-old peers through the peephole to see a tattooed, pierced teenager, her cap adorned with spikes and coat opened just enough to reveal the words on the T-shirt: "I am part of the axis of evil."

The 91-year-old, her hands trembling, slides off the chain, fumbles with the deadbolt, and eases the door open.

"Hello, dear," Mrs. Gross says with a big smile.

Phoebe-Morgana Tallman, 17, responds in kind. Then she wipes her feet, and accepts the offer to come in. Despite her punkish look, the teenager is polite and charming, making small talk as she unzips her bag and extracts a freshly cooked delicious-smelling supper.

Ms. Tallman is a volunteer with Santropol Roulant, a youth-run Meals-on-Wheels service in Montreal. She will deliver a dozen or more meals daily, travelling by bicycle, bus or car, and shattering all kinds of stereotypes along the way.

"Appearance-wise, I can be a bit threatening, I guess. But I'm not really a horrible person," she says sardonically. "My world doesn't revolve around drugs or hooliganism or shopping or TV, but there's no way of really finding that out unless you actually talk to me."

Mrs. Gross does so routinely. In fact, for a frail senior who doesn't get out much, particularly in the wintry holiday season, Santropol Roulant volunteers are her main connection to the outside world. They deliver not only food, but friendship.

"We read all kinds of ridiculous things in the newspaper about young people in the newspaper and they're not true. These kids are involved in everything. If you sit down and talk to them you realize they're wonderful," she says.

Ms. Tallman is equally charmed by the grandmotherly Mrs. Gross. "Helen is very cool," she says, admiring the older woman's vast knowledge and her fierce sense of independence. Inspired by her clients, and the way they have overcome adversity, Ms. Tallman wants to attend medical school, and work with an international aid group such as Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

Vanessa Reid, the ebullient executive director of Santropol Roulant, marvels constantly at the burgeoning of these unlikely relationships between young volunteers and old clients. "Our belief is that a social service -- in this case delivery of food -- can be more than a service, it can build community and be a catalyst for social change."

Ms. Reid says that, as society becomes more urbanized and traditional family ties break down, people are looking to create new forms of community that make them feel connected. "These relationships that develop are real, they are non-obligatory; there is no financial or familial obligation but people still open their doors to people they would not otherwise know," she says. "We are creating another kind of family."

That applies equally to volunteers and clients who, interestingly, are both marginalized. Santropol Roulant appeals to volunteers, such as Ms. Tallman, who want to get involved but feel spurned by traditional charities. And it caters to people such as Mrs. Gross, who live on the margins of the health- and social-services safety net: Too well to need care, just well-off enough to not need a food bank, but nonetheless isolated.

Clients of Santropol Roulant pay $3.50 a meal, and the meals are delivered up to six days a week. The food is made fresh daily in the group's kitchen. On this day, the cooking and packaging of 80 meals of pineapple ham, potatoes, salad and apple crisp (with fruit salad and spanakopita for diabetics and vegetarians) is being overseen by Nadira Ramharry. At 23, she already has six years of experience as a volunteer, and keeps coming back because, she says, the energetic atmosphere is addictive.

"This is real life. This is what we should all be doing to make our communities better places to live," Ms. Ramharry says.

An hour after she has put the finishing touches on the last meal, Joyce Smith McCoy is sliding it into her oven to reheat. While she is doing so, Ms. Tallman is standing on a chair, changing a light bulb and fielding a barrage of questions.

Ms. McCoy, a schizophrenic who also suffers from diabetes and has trouble seeing because she is awaiting cataract surgery, says that without the daily food delivery, she probably wouldn't eat at all.

"To shop, to prepare it, to cook, it's all too much for me," she says. "Thank God for these kids. They're so full of life."

Santropol Roulant's offices are always bursting with activity, much of it related to making ends meet. The group has an annual budget of about $400,000 but no permanent funding. It cobbles together the money from a combination of government grants (most related to job training for young people), handouts from charitable foundations and fundraising events such as bazaars and sidewalk sales.

"A lot of charitable groups do their fundraising in the shadows, but we do it right here in the front room," says Brian McFarlane, the director of fundraising and one of only four employees. "Like everything else Santropol Roulant does, fundraising is a way of community-building, not just a way of raising money."

A recent fondue dinner was modelled after the wacky TV program The Gong Show. There was an intergenerational, multicultural picnic in the park near the offices, a sidewalk sale and a bazaar. There are also T-shirts and cookbooks for sale, and people who see the Santropol Roulant bikes in the neighbourhood sometimes drop in with a cheque.

Mr. McFarlane says that, contrary to popular belief, young people are very generous with their money and their time. The other knock against youth-oriented charities is that they are transient, but after seven years and almost 200,000 meals delivered, Santropol Roulant has defied that stereotype too.

For George Jeary, a long-time client of Santropol Roulant, none of that matters. Racked by emphysema and left breathless by a short walk to the door, he says the bittersweet daily delivery of food has become his only connection to the outside world.

"This is all I have left," he says without a hint of rancour. "I'm all by my lonesome. If it wasn't for these kids . . . ."


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## eggplant43

Elderly golf cart driver wanders onto I-75
Drivers form a convoy to keep the man's slow-moving cart in the emergency lane until deputies arrive to stop it. 
By KEVIN GRAHAM

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 27, 2002 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUN CITY CENTER -- Donna Kelly was stunned by the sight of the elderly man in the golf cart puttering along the on-ramp to Interstate 75. 

He was at least a mile from any of the golf cart paths common in this south Hillsborough retirement community. 

Kelly and other motorists hit their car horns to get his attention, "but he was just smiling and happy and kept right on driving." 

Before he was stopped Thursday, the 85-year-old man drove his golf cart 5 miles on I-75, never exceeding 20 mph. 

The unusual sight generated at least 15 calls to law enforcement agencies. It also attracted a convoy of good Samaritans, who surrounded the golf cart, protecting the driver from other motorists and keeping him in the emergency lane. 

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies caught up with the group about 11:15 a.m. as it approached I-75 and Big Bend Road. They stopped the convoy and gently helped the man out of the cart. 

"By the time I got there he was sitting in the back of the police car," said Linda Zimmer, a co-worker of Kelly's in a south Hillsborough doctor's office. 

"This is definitely a first," said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Rod Reder. 

Though driving a golf cart on the interstate is against the law, deputies did not issue a citation. They also declined to identify the man. 

"We just did it as a citizen call," said Deputy Matthew Resch, who drove the man home. 

Authorities said the man is a resident of Sun City Center, where paths built specifically for golf carts run along most major roads. Resch said the man was heading home from a doctor's appointment in the community when he got lost. 

He eventually made his way to the interstate entrance off State Road 674, or College Avenue. 

Despite warnings from other motorists, "he took a wrong turn and tried to merge at 20 mph onto I-75," Resch said. "That's not a good thing to do." 

Once the man was safely at home, deputies still had to deal with the golf cart, which remained on the side of the interstate. 

They finally decided to repeat the man's journey in reverse. 

One cruiser escorted the golf cart from the front and another from the rear. But in the driver's seat this time was a uniformed sheriff's deputy.


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## n2gun

Ore. Officer Catches One That Got Away 



Being remembered on Christmas wasn't so great for Chandler Charles Field. He was arrested by the same police officer from whom he allegedly escaped not quite four years earlier.

Officer Mike Basket, who suffered good-natured ribbing from his colleagues over the escape, decided that his best shot at nabbing the fugitive would be when he was visiting his parents for the holiday.

"I figured that was the one day of the year I'd be able to find him," Basket said. "I asked for his parents. He started to close the door, and I said, 'No, no,' and I put my foot in the door."

Basket had arrested Field on Dec. 26, 1998, on charges of leaving a diner without paying. While in Basket's patrol car, Field cracked the back window as two other suspects distracted the officer. Field, in handcuffs, slipped out the window and fled.

"I always had that file in my bag because I always wanted to get him," Basket said.

Field, 30, who had fled to California, was charged with resisting arrest, escape and theft, and was wanted on several outstanding warrants. He was being held on $33,500 bail.
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2002


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## eggplant43

Merry Christmas, Ho Ho Ho


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## Shadow Bea

A Gesture of Confidence 
by Ted Edinger 
Louisiana, USA

I grew up a small North Dakota town back in the 50s and 60s. My
brother-in-law was a farmer, so we kids were taught at an early age to
drive tractors and other vehicles. I started driving tractor for my
brother-in-law during the summer of my 11th birthday.

One summer day near that time my dad's pickup needed to be moved, so
he told me to back it up. Unfortunately, I backed into our swing set,
bending the A-frame but not damaging the pickup. I was scared because I
wasn't sure how Dad would react. Dad wasn't mad, but came over and moved
the pickup himself.

As a teenager I worked for Jim Seitz during the summer on his farm.
Jim had a self-propelled windrower that we used for cutting hay during
the summer and grain during fall harvest. I loved to drive the windrower
that cut the grain and laid it in rows so the combine could come along
to pick it up and harvest the grain.

One day, I drove the windrower to get gas from the big farmyard fuel
tank. The fuel tank was mounted on a big metal frame 12 feet high. I ran
into the frame, breaking one of the machine's wooden slats.

I stopped the machine and got off. I assumed Jim would back it up for
me, as my father had. To my surprise, Jim said, "Get back up on that
machine -- you can do it." And I did! Talk about a confidence builder --
my self-confidence went sky high that day.

During harvest, Jim had me do custom windrowing with that same
machine, which pushed my confidence level up several more notches. I
would take off the drive chains, bolt on a special hitch, then hitch it
to a pickup truck and pull the windrower backward down country roads to
whatever fields needed to be cut that day.

Many other little gestures of confidence -- plus the "can do"
attitude Jim had toward me -- carried me through some hard times.

In particular, he helped me get through my army basic training. One
day my actions weren't to our Drill Sergeant's satisfaction. He made me
stand next to a wall and beat my head against it while repeating, "I'm a
dud, I'm a dud, I'm a dud." While I was doing this, the image of that
summer day on the farm and Jim telling me "Get back up there, you can do
it!" came flooding back to my mind. I knew the words the sergeant was
making me say weren't true; he didn't break my spirit!

Jim's "can do" attitude helped me through basic training, advanced
individual training, and jump school. From that training, I became an
airborne military policeman with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina. It just goes to show what a huge impact can be
created by small gestures of faith and confidence in a person.


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## Shadow Bea

Little Story from the Big Apple 
by Lindalee Brownstein 
Ohio, USA

In 1995 my husband, son Daniel, and I were on Ellis Island viewing
immigrant photos and hearing their stories. We saw teenagers traveling
alone across the ocean, heading for their hopes as everything they'd
known faded behind them. We saw parents waiting to hear if they would
be admitted to the USA to build a good life; if not for themselves, at
least for the child holding their hand and the baby in the blanket.

Eyes looking out from the sepia photographs sometimes appeared
frightened, but, no matter, they had done what they thought needed
doing.

Visiting Ellis Island was an opportunity for our 14-year-old Daniel,
who'd grown up in the 1990s, to see real courage and character. Too
often, we felt, he was subjected to disappointing stories of his fellow
man -- in the land that these people had risked all to join.

It was now time to take the ferry back, head for the New York
airport, and return to Ohio. On the subway I had my camera, my carry-on
bag, and my ...ahhh, my PURSE was still on the ferry!

I glanced at my husband. This would not be easy.

After my confession, we decided we had no time to turn back. We'd
continue to the airport and catch our flight. Phoning the ferry
confirmed that the purse hadn't been turned in: "If it turns up, we'll
let you know."

Back in Ohio, I was told repeatedly that purses lost in New York
don't get returned. Everyone agreed that New Yorkers don't care, the
crime rate is high, and you're more likely to have a purse *snatched*
than returned.

I was resigned to getting a new driver's license, keys, photos, etc.

That was before the UPS driver dropped off the package with my purse
and all of its contents, including a substantial amount of cash, still
in it. It was turned in by an anonymous ferry passenger, and shipped by
an anonymous ferry service employee. Two people just doing the right
thing in the Big Apple, for someone they would never meet.

My son had assumed that someone would take the money and throw away
everything else. He was surprised that someone used their own money to
mail it, and recalls that this incident proved to him that good, honest
people exist today.

Seven years later, Daniel, now 21 and finishing college, found a
wallet in a deli in our home town. After eyeing the thick wad of bills
it contained -- a fortune to a college student like himself -- he
turned it in.

Perhaps the anonymous ferry passenger and employee showed the way
for Daniel to overcome temptation and do the right thing. And perhaps
the owner of this wallet, or their child, will one day be faced with
the same choice. Perhaps they will follow the example set by an
anonymous person who did the right thing in Ohio in 2002.


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## n2gun

Alleged Thief Leaves Wallet at Scene 



It didn't take long to crack this case.

Detectives say a forgetful thief left his wallet behind when he pulled a gas station stickup.

Authorities said Alfonso Valbuena, 22, opened his wallet and asked a gas station clerk for change. He then allegedly set his wallet on the counter and pulled a gun.

Valbuena robbed the store of about $200 and fled, deputies said. The clerk wasn't hurt.

When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the wallet still on the counter. They used several traffic citations inside to find owner's car, along with Valbuena, in an apartment complex.

Deputies recovered the weapon used in the robbery and the money. He was being held in the county jail without bond on an armed robbery charge.
Friday, Jan. 3, 2003 

***************************************************

Saved detectives some work


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## Shadow Bea

LOL Jerry


----------



## eggplant43

Angela's Angel

MADISON, Wis., Jan. 3, 2003


It started with a few little words in a local Illinois paper ... 

"4-year-old girl in desperate need of kidney transplant." 

... little words that spoke volumes to 38-year-old David Harper of nearby Mount Morris, Ill. 

"I don't think I could live with myself if something happened and I didn't do it," said the modern-day good Samaritan. 

On Friday, as CBS News Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports, Harper did just that in a 2-hour surgery in a hospital in Madison, Wis. Harper gave one of his kidneys to Angela Rushford -- a little girl he did not know. Both were in good condition Friday night. 

"He's my hero ... when I was a kid, it was Spiderman ... now it's David Harper," said Angela's father, Tony Rushford. 

Angela had been diagnosed with a rare kidney disorder and was declining fast. She'd been on a kidney donor list for months and was facing kidney failure and a lifetime of dialysis. The want ad was her parent's most public prayer. 

"It's like a miracle ... a dream come true,'' said Tony Rushford. 

It may, in fact, be a miracle of sorts. David Harper had never even picked up a copy of the Rock River Times before the day he read Angela's ad. He was a perfect match and thought it was meant to be.


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## n2gun

Eggie
Very touching. Shows there are still a lot of good people out there. Thanks for the post


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## eggplant43

Jerry......

Stories like that help me to believe in those around me. This wonderful man simply felt compelled to do the right thing, he's a hero in my book as well.


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## n2gun

Eggie
I heard one on tv the other day and tried to find the story on the net. zilch.

A house was on fire a a man was trapped on the second floor. Another man found a ladder and helped him out and down before the fire department got there. The man removed the ladder and then just left without anyone knowing who he was.


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## eggplant43

The Star - Tribune

Blooms of winter

It's hard to explain why 72-year-old Ruthie Knutson Komma and 73-year-old Cecil Pitts hadn't gotten together before now.

It's hard to picture them together as fourth-graders at McKinley School some 63 years ago, but there they were -- Cecil, the son of a pump-station operator and Ruthie, the daughter of a carpenter, their families living across the North Platte River from one another.

It's hard to understand how they could've sat across from one another at all those Natrona County High School reunions, their respective spouses at their sides, with so much left unsaid and unrealized.

In the days and weeks and months leading up to their wedding last weekend at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Ruthie and Cecil have tried to find the words and answers to resolve those questions.

Back in 1951, Cecil Pitts came back from the war in Korea with a head full of anguish he couldn't share. Back then they called it "combat fatigue."

Upon his return to Casper, he visited Ruth, and found comfort in his childhood friend and occasional high school sweetheart.

"We decided we would be together, and he was going to send me a ring for Valentine's Day," she remembers.

But the ring never came, and neither did an explanation. And by the summer, Ruthie was married to Walter Komma and Cecil was discharged from the Marines, married his first wife and was living in Denver. They saw each other next at high school reunions, and subsequent events, and that was pretty much the end of it.

Ruthie is adamant that she hadn't carried a torch for Cecil all those years, either. She stayed happily married to Walter for 49 and a half years, she said, until his death in September 2000. They raised three children.

"At that point, I was planning on being alone forever," she says. Except for Wednesday mornings at Hardee's on First Street, the weekly meeting of Ruthie's coffee klatch.

"That looks like Cecil," Ruthie thought when Cecil walked past that day in September 2001.

But Cecil, who was living in Wheatland, didn't recognize Ruthie, who had shed 150 pounds through gastric bypass surgery. His brother, Bud, attending a coffee klatch of Amoco retirees, had to point Ruthie out to Cecil.

They ended up sitting together and talking for the next three hours, and made plans to meet again the next day. That date began with a five-hour conversation at Hardee's and soup at Wendy's. The conversations continued on the telephone and via e-mail, and with letters and cards.

"We have a lot to talk about," Ruthie says. "We have a past -- we have a common past. 'Do you remember whens' are important, and we realize they're important to both of our lives."

They also found out how bored they'd become, living alone.

''The more we talked, the more we talked about, 'Why should we be bored?'" Cecil asked.

So as lovers of all ages do, they hooked up, surprising themselves and each other with a powerful rush of new-found emotions they didn't know they still could feel.

"We're like teenagers," Ruthie says.

"You don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow -- if we're going to make it until next year," Cecil says. "We don't worry about it -- when the Lord calls us home, he calls us home. Whatever happens, happens."

A wedding of two older people puts a special meaning on the phrase "til death do us part."

That phrase resounded in the minds of those who attended the couple's wedding Dec. 28, as well as the couple who got married.

"I was engrossed in the renewal of the vows," said Ruthie's friend Ramel Lawyer, 65. "It's kind of like you think, 'That's forever.' And at this age, what's forever?"

Ruthie and Cecil stood before Pastor Todd vonGunten, Ruthie having been walked down the aisle by her son, Jim, and attended by her daughter, Karynne McLennan. Ruthie's other son, Jerry, was Cecil's best man.

It was hard not to think about Ruthie's late husband, Walter, particularly when vonGunten made reference to "all the relationships that have come before this."

"My eyes teared up," Ruthie said. "I was thinking, 'What am I doing here?' and 'Is this the right thing to do?'"

Her friend Ruby Carney, 75, whose husband died 19 years ago, understood Ruthie's conflict.

"That's bound to happen," she said. "But that doesn't mean that (Walter's) being replaced."

Added Lawyer: "He's probably grinning down at her."

Carney made Ruthie and Cecil's wedding cake, using the same bride-and-groom fixtures that were on her own cake so many decades before. She painted the groom's hair white to match Cecil's coiffure, and painted the blonde bride's dress the same color blue Ruthie wore.

But her participation -- vicarious or otherwise -- stopped there, she said. At no time during the exchange of vows did Carney wish she were up there herself, getting married.

"That is a definite no," she said. "I thoroughly enjoy living by myself and couldn't handle anybody in the house 24 hours a day."


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## Guest

Now here's a thread for ya! *bump*


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## Shadow Bea

cool Jonesiegirl


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## valley




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## Guest

Hiya Bea!


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## valley

today is a new day


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## eggplant43

*bump*


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## Shadow Bea

LONDON (Jan. 10) - Police appear to have recovered about 500 original Beatles tapes that were stolen in the 1970s, including some never-released tracks, during raids Friday on members of a piracy racket in England and the Netherlands.

British police said the tapes were ''priceless.'' Dutch police, who found the tapes in the Netherlands, agreed, but said analysis of the material was ongoing.

''We're investigating whether they really are the originals, but it appears to be so,'' prosecutor spokesman Robert Meulenbroek said in Amsterdam. ''There are about 500 tapes, so there's quite a bit to research.''

The tapes soon will be turned over to British authorities, he said.

Police arrested five people in raids in England and in Holland, following an investigation that began about a year ago. The suspects' names were not immediately released.

The tapes contain songs, including ''Get Back,'' for an album the Beatles planned in 1969. The project was shelved, and some of the songs instead became part of the ''Let It Be'' album. The rest of the tapes disappeared.

In 1970, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr broke up, disappointing millions of people around the world.

That's one reason that for many devoted fans and collectors, the original reel-to-reel tapes would be a valuable recovery by Apple, the Beatles' record company.

''We applaud this exemplary police operation, which reflects the extraordinary level of international coordination that is needed to tackle the sophisticated cross-border strategies of today's organized music pirates,'' said Jay Berman, chairman of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which led the investigation with help from London detectives.

The federation and London police first identified suspects who were thought to have been involved in the theft and handling of the tapes. Further inquiries across Europe led to the joint operation by British and Dutch police.

Two British men were arrested in west London, and two Dutch men and a British man were arrested south of Amsterdam, where Dutch and British police were working together.

''This is a good example of how an international multiagency approach by both the private sector and police agencies can combat offenses of this nature,'' Detective Inspector Paul Johnston said in London.

The material disappeared shortly after the 1969 Beatles sessions which attempted a more back-to-basics approach to recording after the tensions of the 1968 ''White Album.''

They met in the Twickenham area of London to rehearse, rather than Abbey Road, where they usually recorded. Continued problems within the band saw Harrison briefly quit during that period.

The recovered reels are believed to contain dozens of entire songs, as well as snippets of tracks the band attempted, then abandoned. Along with new songs, the Beatles ran through earlier tracks for old time's sake.

''Get Back'' originally was written to satirize negative attitudes toward immigration in Britain in the late 1960s. In early versions, it was referred to as the ''Commonwealth Song'' and ''No Pakistanis.''

AP-NY-01-10-03 1732EST

The Associated Press.


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## Moby

That's an interesting article Bea. I love all things Beatles. I also 
think they were underated, could have been big!


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by Moby:_
> *That's an interesting article Bea. I love all things Beatles. I also
> think they were underated, could have been big!
> *


 Thanks Moby
isn't a shame how some people fail to live up to their potential!


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## eggplant43

Ah, the Beatles. I was stationed in Europe from 1965-1968. I'm not good with languages, but I can usually understand generally what's being said. However, there was one universal language "Beatles". Everyone knew the lyrics to every Beatle song.

I remember one memorable occasion in Sitges, Spain (just South of Barcelona) where I went to a barbecue. There were people from all over the world, and we didn't speak each others language, but managed to sing song after song while enjoying barbecued chicken, and swilling Sangria. I remember that event, and the warmth of our sharing all these years later with great fondness


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## eggplant43

Oakland Tribune


Separated twins leave UCLA hospital 
Formerly conjoined girls welcomed back to Guatemala by first lady, U.S. ambassador
By Andrew Bridges
Associated Press 


Tuesday, January 14, 2003 - LOS ANGELES -- Guatemalan twin girls, born joined at the skull and separated in a marathon surgery last summer, finally left the hospital Monday and returned home. 

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez and her sister Maria de Jesus emerged in the sunlight at 8:45 a.m. as doctors, nurses and hospital staff of the Mattel Children's Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles, bid the 17-month-old girls farewell. 

The girls wore feather boas and princess tiaras atop their bandaged heads as their parents pushed them out of the hospital in matching strollers. 

Alba Leticia Alvarez and Wenceslao Quiej Lopez, who are in their early 20s, and the twins then departed California on a five-hour flight to Guatemala City aboard a FedEx corporate jet. 

They were greeted by first lady Evelyn de Portillo and U.S. Ambassador John Hamilton as they were carried off the plane in Guatemala City. 

"I am very grateful to all the staff," Lopez said before departing. "We also want to thank FedEx, who is going to take us back to Guatemala, and everyone in the infirmary who took care of the girls while they were here." 

The father, who previously worked as a banana packer, earning the equivalent of just $64 a week, said he was especially grateful to a charitable group that has been building a new home for the family in their village in Guatemala. 

The girls were separated Aug. 6 in a 23-hour surgery. 

At first, their return home was delayed to give them time to recover from follow-up surgeries. 

It was delayed again at the request of Guatemalan health authorities, who needed more time to prepare for their arrival. 

"This morning, the Guatemalan twins -- Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus -- depart for home and a fresh start after approximately eight months at UCLA," said Dr. Gerald Levy, who added that the effort by doctors showed "the impossible is possible." 

The cost of the twins' surgery and medical care totaled $2 million, said UCLA spokesman Dan Page. 

Of that amount, $470,000 was defrayed by donations -- most of it granted in a single, anonymous $450,000 gift. 

Pediatric nurse Gayane Minanian said the twins' departure was bittersweet. 

"We are happy to see them go, but it is sad for us because we are losing them," Minanian said. 

In Guatemala City the girls will undergo physical and occupational therapy at a private hospital to improve their motor skills and help them overcome developmental delays. 

The twins will also face years of follow-up surgeries, including the removal of skin grafts that cover their scalps, to allow them to grow full heads of hair. 

Maria Teresa, whom doctors recently fitted with a hearing aid, has lagged behind her sister in development. Both girls have yet to learn to walk or begin talking. 

Dr. Henry Kawamoto, lead plastic surgeon on the twins' medical team, said he expected the girls to "catch up." 

"All pun intended, two heads are better than one," Kawamoto said.


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## Deke40

Evertime I set down to eat I will be thinking of this:

The Fork 

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly. "What's that?" came the pastor's reply. "This is very important," the young woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."
The pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor. The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story. I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of
encouragement. In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming... like
velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and with substance!' So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder "What's with the fork?" Then I want you to tell them: 

"Keep your fork ... the best is yet to come."

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and
knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming. At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled.
During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably
would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you ever so gently, that the best is yet to come. 

Friends are a very are jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.
Cherish the time you have, and the memories you share ... being friends with someone is not an opportunity but a sweet responsibility.


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## eggplant43

Dog rescued at Great Falls
Monday, January 13, 2003

By JOHN CICHOWSKI
Staff Writer

The dog, a 50-pound male brindle pit bull mix, was hoisted to safety from a rocky spot below the Great Falls. (DANIELLE P. RICHARDS/THE RECORD)

PATERSON - Pit bulls have a nasty reputation, but a shivering, 50-pound pooch showered his rescuers with tail-wagging, tongue-licking affection Sunday night as they yanked him from a tiny, barely accessible patch of riverbank beneath the towering cliffs of the Great Falls.

"Somebody threw him in the river," said John DeCando, the city's animal control officer, after three cops in a yellow rubber boat paddled against the current to the rescue.

An unidentified caller phoned police shortly before 4 p.m. to report the stranded dog on the desolate, icy riverbank about 50 yards from the thundering falls.

Soon, more than 20 rescue workers from the Paterson police and fire departments and the Passaic County Sheriff's Department swung into action. As night fell, they set up lights to keep tabs on the animal from a bridge 75 feet above and anchored ropes for rappelling if the river rescue failed.

"If we wait till tomorrow, he'll be dead," DeCando said as rescue workers watched the dog shiver and pace along the rocky strip.

DeCando gave the rescue team a drug to knock out the dog if he became unruly. The precaution proved unnecessary. By 6 p.m., the animal had stopped moving and some thought he might have succumbed to the cold.

But as the rescue boat led by Paterson Police Sgt. Troy Oswald anchored the craft at the riverbank, the dog ran from beneath a small bush to meet them, nearly knocking Oswald down.

The cop and team members Scott Hokwit and Andy Rivers of the Sheriff's Department rubbed him down and called for a net, which was lowered from a bridge.

Police and firemen hoisted him into DeCando's waiting arms. The dog's collar contained no identifying marks.

The animal never barked throughout the ordeal, but "he's going to be OK," DeCando said.

The dog is being kept at the Passaic County Pet Adoption Center pending adoption. DeCando "guaranteed" he would be adopted.

"Everybody wants to save a dog like this," he said. "That's why we're here."

In 25 years, DeCando said he has supervised saves of six stranded animals from the river near the falls - five dogs and a deer.

"Every rescue succeeded," he said.

John Cichowski's e-mail address is [email protected]

6287096

Copyright © 2003 North Jersey Media Group Inc.


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## Firejay

Seven Wonders of the World. 
***************************

A group of Geography students studied the Seven 
Wonders of the World. At the end of that section, the 
students were asked to list what they thought were 
considered to be the present Seven Wonders of the 
World. 

Though there was some disagreement, the following got 
the most votes: 

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids, 
2. Taj Mahal, 
3. Grand Canyon, 
4. Panama Canal, 
5. Empire State Building, 
6. St. Peter's Basilica, 
7. China's Great Wall. 

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one 
student, a quiet girl, hadn't turned in her paper yet. So 
she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. 
The quiet girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make 
up my mind because there were so many." 
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe 
we can help." 

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven Wonders 
of the World are: 
1. To touch 
2. To taste 
3. To see 
4. To hear 
She hesitated a little, and then 
5. To feel 
6. To laugh 
7. And to love 
Then the room became so full of silence it was deafening! 
It is far too easy for us to look at the exploits of man and refer 
to them as "wonders" while we over look all God has done for 
us regarding them as merely "ordinary". 

May you be reminded today of those things which are truly 
wondrous!


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## eggplant43

San Mateo County Times


Vallejo couple claims $85 million ticket 
By FROM STAFF REPORTS 


Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO -- In the California Lottery's version of "What's My Line?," the real owner of the winning $85 million ticket stood up late Monday morning. 

Guillermo Sanchez, 50, accompanied by his wife, Bertha, 42, smiled nervously and answered questions from the media at the lottery's regional office after the Vallejo couple walked in clutching the coveted ticket from the Jan. 29 drawing. 

"We haven't slept in four days," Bertha Sanchez said. 

"I've never been in a situation like this," her husband said. 

Guillermo Sanchez bought the ticket at the Quik Stop Market at 1921 Springs Road and knew something was happening when he returned the day after to see a flood of television cameras. 

Both Sanchez and his wife were born in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking couple answered questions through translator and lottery employee Luis Rios. 

Yes, Sanchez said, he was aware that a Benicia woman was rumored to have a winning ticket that she couldn't find. 

I heard that she didn't want the money, Sanchez said. I couldn't believe that nobody would want the money. 

Sanchez, for one, said he definitely wanted the prize. He said he would buy homes for his three adult children from a previous relationship and the couple's three daughters, who are 15, 14, and 8, can rest assured they will go to whatever university they wish. 

I want to buy a van, Sanchez said. I've always wanted one and I've never had a van. 

Taking the jackpot in a lump sum, the winners will get a check for $46,571,101 less federal tax withholding of about 27 percent. The total purse should be about $33 million, which should be in the couple's hands within four weeks, a lottery spokesman said. 

The most I've ever won was $68, Sanchez said. 

Not only did the couple wait until Monday to notify the lottery regional headquarters, they hadn't told any relatives, including his parents in Sunnyvale, of their good fortune. 

Sanchez said he was too nervous to let even his closest friends know. 

When we discovered we won, I started crying and thanking God, he said. I couldn't sleep. 

He said he'll continue to work for now at a company that makes conveyor belt rollers in Benicia. His wife said she plans to keep her job at a Vallejo convalescent hospital. 

It's like a dream, Guillermo said. 

Despite winning the huge jackpot, the merry couple will continue to play. 

Now, even more, said Bertha Sanchez. 

What were they going to do to celebrate their first press conference? 

I'm going to have some tequila, Guillermo Sanchez said. 

Meanwhile in Benicia, Carole and Steve Warner said they planned to go home, have a good cry and then, hopefully, resume their normal lives. 

The couple, who have been at the center of a media storm since last week, said they were both relieved and disappointed to learn they weren't the Super Lotto winners. 

I knew I'd bought the ticket from that (Quik Stop on Springs Road) on the way home from work Wednesday, and I thought, when I saw the numbers on television, that they were the ones I'd picked. But when I looked at the table where I'd put the ticket, it wasn't there, Carole Warner said. 

Norma Minas, a state lottery spokesperson, said rumors of false wins are not unusual. And the Warners weren't the only ones claiming this jackpot. 

Harbhajan S. Kahlon and Jasbir Kaur, owners of the Quik Stop store where the winning ticket was purchased, said that one of their regular customers came in over the weekend claiming to have the winning ticket.


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## eggplant43

A heart warming story with pictures

http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2003/02/05/TampaBay/Puppy_receives_a_new_.shtml


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## Guest

What a GREAT story Bruce...


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *A heart warming story with pictures
> 
> http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2003/02/05/TampaBay/Puppy_receives_a_new_.shtml *


heart warming and tear jerking!  what a great story Bruce.
I havn't had time to respond to much the past few days but I loved that story Bruce, Thank You!
Bea


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## eggplant43

Glad you liked that story. Puppy dogs can always do that to us. I can just imagine him propelling his "chariot" while wagging his tail 

Missed you, was getting ready to send out ther search party!


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## eggplant43

New Hope church's plate runneth over
Chuck Haga, Star Tribune 

Published March 6, 2003 COIN06 


When Melvin Doyle told his priest that he'd like to donate his coin collection to St. Joseph's Catholic Church in New Hope/Plymouth, the Rev. Bob Hazel imagined a few glass cases and cardboard binders.

Then Doyle, 89, had Hazel over to check out his collection and arrange to have it moved.

"Took three pickup trucks and 12 men," Doyle said proudly. "I'm not a numismatist. I'm a hoarder."

Many people do it: empty their pockets at day's end and toss the loose change into a jar or a cigar box. "College for the kids," they think. Trouble is, most people raid the coin stash every week or so for laundry money or bus fare.

Not Mel Doyle. He pretty much let his coins be. They filled and then spilled from jugs, buckets, jars and bags that accumulated in his Plymouth basement and made his wife nervous.


Melvin Doyle 

David Brewster 
Star Tribune 
"If you die before me, I'm putting all those coins in your casket with you," Marge told him more than once. "I don't want somebody breaking in here for them."

Mel, who will turn 90 in May, is in good health. The coins wouldn't fit in his coffin anyway.

The quarters filled 26 5-gallon containers, and that's just since the end of silver. There was a keg of pre-1965 silver quarters, 3,500 silver dimes and sacks bulging with hundreds of silver dollars.

There were commemorative sets of fine silver coins celebrating presidents, railroads, explorers and generals, and there was gold, including a complete 18-coin set of $2 1/2 gold pieces -- though two of those coins turned out to be counterfeit.

And there were 1,340 pounds of pennies -- worth maybe $2,000.

"The mint will be able to shut down for a couple days when we turn those in," Doyle said.

Hazel recruited young people from the church to sort and count (or weigh) the coins. The circulated coins, those with no collector value, totaled about $41,000.

A New York auction house is evaluating hundreds of older rare coins to determine their value, but Doyle's total gift to St. Joseph's is likely to top $75,000, the priest said.

"That's a lot of loose change," he said.

The money will go toward a $5 million expansion and remodeling of the church's worship areas.

"I like to say that one of the purposes of the church is to help people spend their money wisely," Hazel said. "That's the idea of stewardship, and that's been the story of Mel's life. What he's got, he shares."

Save those half-dimes 

The collecting began in 1918, when Doyle was 5 and spending time at his grandfather's north Minneapolis confectionery.

"My parents were separated, and he was like a dad to me," he said. "He started me out with the coins. 'Look, Melvin, here's a two-cent piece. You should hold onto it; they don't make 'em anymore. And here's a half-dime; they don't mint those anymore either.'

"He would pull me in a little red wagon all the way down to the courthouse to pay his gas and electric bill, just to save a nickel on the streetcar."

The lesson was clear: a nickel was worth saving.

On one wagon ride, Doyle's grandfather stopped at a cigar store downtown so the boy could watch the work going on there. The shop had a machine that cut wood for cigar boxes, and there was a byproduct: long, thin strips of excess wood.

"I said, 'Grandpa, do you think those men would let me have some of those sticks? They'd be perfect for kites.' "

The workmen gave him the sticks. He made and sold kites, his first business.

Later Doyle worked for an auto parts store, then a biscuit company. After service with the Navy during World War II (he was recalled to duty during the Korean War), he and a brother operated gas stations, hardware stores and other businesses in north Minneapolis. He bought rental properties, which he later gave to a social service agency that works with at-risk families.

And he saved his change.

He came home and dropped the Indian head pennies in one bucket, the "wheaties" in another and the steel 1943 pennies -- copper was needed for the war effort -- in yet another. He rolled dimes and nickels by mint year -- a $5 roll of 1950 dimes, a $2 roll of 1957 nickels.

"It was exciting to go through them," he said, fidgeting a little with his hands.

Does he miss them?

"In a sense, I feel relieved," he said. "And Marge feels safer."


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## Shadow Bea

Great Wooden nickels! Eggplant!

*or was that a Batman and Robin line*

Thanks for dredging up the thread   
Bea


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## eggplant43

Monday » March 10 » 2003

'Cool, collected' four-year-old left in locked daycare dials his way out

Chris Wattie 
National Post, with files from Florence Loyie, CanWest News Service

Saturday, March 08, 2003

CREDIT: CanWest News Service

Police had to break the front glass door of The Children's Playce daycare to rescue the boy.

Police had to break into an Edmonton daycare to rescue a four-year-old who had fallen asleep and woken up alone and locked inside the darkened centre.

The boy was taking a nap when staff at the Children's Playce Childcare Centre and Out-of-School Care left for the day at about 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The child's mother and babysitter had each thought the other was picking him up and when the boy awoke half an hour after the centre closed, he realized he had been left behind.

He then began dialing the centre's telephone at random until he reached a man, a complete stranger in another part of the city, who realized what had happened and called police.

Constable Sheila Dow said when the officers arrived at the daycare, the boy was calmly waiting for them.

"This little guy was quite calm, cool and collected: He was just looking at the officers through the glass [door]," she said.

"They tried to get him to open the door, but apparently he couldn't release the latch. So they motioned for him to get back and broke a window to get in."

"He was very upset about that: He told them they were in trouble for breaking it. He was more worried about that than anything."

The boy had managed to unlock one door inside the daycare, but the lock on the front door was too high for him to reach, so police used a nearby fire extinguisher to break in the glass door.

Const. Dow said the boy's mother arrived at about the same time as the officers, having realized her son was missing. "She was pretty glad to see him safe and sound, needless to say."

Police were not releasing the name of the boy or his mother.

Const. Dow said much of the credit for the boy's rescue belongs to the unidentified man who was called by the child and realized that he was in trouble.

She said authorities are considering about "some kind of citation" for him.

"He deserves a lot of credit ... He got the call and it was obviously a little guy, but instead of just hanging up he called us," Const. Dow said.

"He just thought it was too strange ... and too late in the day."

The man had call display, which helped police track down the location from which the call had come.

"He just had the number [the child had called from] -- he didn't know it was a daycare. He called us and we found out where the call came from and sent the officers."

"It's a good thing he did, too ... if the mother had gone out for the evening, [the boy] could have been stuck there all night."

Bill Meade, of Alberta Children and Family Services, said yesterday the regional authority's licensing division is investigating how the boy was overlooked by staff.

The authority has standards for dropping off and picking up children, and Mr. Meade said he will review whether those standards were followed by the daycare staff.

"We treat these things very seriously," he said. "I can't imagine how that poor young one felt when he woke up and found himself alone in a dark place."

Staff answering the daycare's telephone yesterday said no one there would comment on the incident.

© Copyright 2003 National Post


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## eggplant43

Cabbie takes high road with found $6,300

By B. Scott Bortnick

Special to The Denver Post 


Tuesday, April 29, 2003 - Boulder cabdriver Mike Brundage could have pocketed the tip of a lifetime when a forgetful passenger left $6,300 inside the taxi. 

Instead, the father of three became a good Samaritan and turned in 63 $100 bills at the end of his shift early Sunday.

"I honestly struggled," Brundage, 52, said Monday. "I have a kid in college, and I could have made people happy by keeping it. I have lots of bills, but I know that turning it in was the right thing to do."

Brundage's bosses at Yellow Cab of Boulder handed the cash to police Sunday morning. The money's rightful owner, identified by the taxi company as Alexander Quinn, contacted police later Sunday.

Quinn could not be reached for comment Monday, but he is expected to retrieve the cash today.

Police tracked the money back to Quinn when they found a credit-card receipt with his name on it in the backpack that contained the cash, city spokeswoman Jodie Carroll said.

She said police did not ask Quinn why he was carrying so much cash with him, nor are they suspicious.

Brundage said the passenger has not thanked him for the good deed.

"We did not have a good relationship," Brundage recalled of the 12:30 a.m. trip. "He wanted to go to Louisville. He said he did not have a lot of money and told me not to jack him around by taking a long route. I did not like him questioning my honesty."

Quinn gave Brundage a $4 tip on the $20 fare. But he left a backpack stashed in the taxi's back seat. Another passenger noticed the bag an hour later and handed it to Brundage.

The cabbie searched for some identification and found only a small pouch filled with $100 bills.

Brundage said he had no idea where the pack came from. And he had hours to go before the shift ended.

"I had about four hours to think about it (the money) before I got back to the shop," Brundage said. "Those were four agonizing hours. But my bosses are real happy. They made me employee of the month."

The title includes a $100 award and a write-up in the company newsletter.

Brundage works part time for the cab company. He makes about $150 a shift and said it is common for passengers to forget valuable stuff. He has found cellphones, computers and cameras over the years. All of it, he said, gets turned in at the end of the night.

Brundage typifies the local profession, said Debra Britt, fleet manager for Boulder Yellow Cab.

"I like to think this is normal," she said. "I like to think our drivers are honest."

Though short on cash, Brundage has earned a greater reward.

"My wife and kids are real proud of me," he said. "That's the payoff."


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## Shadow Bea

Love it Bruce! Thanks for posting it!


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## gotrootdude

Simply awe inspiring.


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## eggplant43

It's nice to be able to honor human decency isn't it?


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## gotrootdude

To bad there's not more info on the driver, I wouldn't mind taking up a collection to reward his honesty.


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## LANMaster

The cabbie did what any self respecting person would do.
Though I am glad that some publicity came from this, I find it disturbing that this kind of act has become the exception rather than the rule.

If it happened to me, I would be thinking about the poor sap who might not be able to pay his child's tuition because of my own greed. Of course I would turn the money in to the proper authorities.


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## eggplant43

For Spanaway grandmother, luck's been a lady  3 times 

By Nancy Bartley 

Seattle Times staff reporter 

SPANAWAY, Pierce County  "I'm not a gambler," Monika Culbertson said as she perched on the white-floral sofa in her comfortable suburban home. "There really isn't any way to explain it." 

For the past 10 years, Culbertson, 58, has spent $20 a week on lottery tickets, buying them at 2:30 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at different stores. 

Last Saturday, she won money for the third time, having the winning numbers for the $50,000 Lucky for Life drawing. In October 2001, she won $1,000 in Quinto, and in 1997 she won the $4 million jackpot, which she is receiving in $200,000-a-year payments. 

There was only one other multiple winner in the history of the state lottery, which began in 1982. 

That was William Dopp of Idaho who won the $1.1 million jackpot in 1985 and won about $179,000 a year later. 

Washington State Lottery spokesman Eric Jones said the odds of Culbertson winning the jackpot in 1997 were 1 in 7 million and the odds of winning the 2001 Quinto were 1 in 11,000, but he had no idea what the odds were for her to win a third time. 

As for Culbertson, life is much like it's always been. Having grown up one of eight children in Germany, she says she knows how to stretch a dollar, "and that's not going to change." 

After her first win, she bought a new house  in Spanaway, a few blocks from her old house  and went to Hawaii with Bill Culbertson, her husband of 37 years. She bought bicycles, PlayStations, clothes and other things for her four grandchildren and bought a second home, where her daughter June now lives with two of the children. 

On Sunday, Culbertson called the lottery's toll-free phone number to get the winning numbers. 

She had just made coffee and quietly sat down to check the numbers on her ticket. They matched. She said she was almost embarrassed to tell anyone. 

Finally, she called her husband and asked him to compare her ticket with the winning numbers. 

He was floored and shouted, "You did it again!" 

But several days passed before she told her three children. When she did, they screamed on the phone. 

"I felt bad because they didn't win," she said. 

Culbertson plans to put her most recent win  $36,500 after taxes  in the bank, just as she's done with the majority of her winnings. 

"I'm not a spender," she said. Her husband continues to work as a truck driver. She had just quit her job at a nursing home when she won the jackpot in 1997 and now spends her days at home living simply  sewing, gardening and occasionally taking care of her grandchildren. 

"Day by day I enjoy my life, and that's what's important," she said. 

But as for the lottery, today she'll buy her tickets once again.


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## Shadow Bea

Isn't that something  she must be carrying a leprechaun on her shoulder lol! Thanks Bruce

*the only thing I win on, most of the time.. are those scratch off tickets games etc  almost always get my money back at least*


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## eggplant43

By Meg McSherry Breslin
Tribune staff reporter

May 1, 2003

Some said that at 9 years old, Sho Yano was too young for college. Then he graduated in three years. Summa cum laude. This June, the shy 12-year-old, who speaks barely above a whisper, will defy the skeptics once again when he becomes perhaps the youngest student to enroll in a medical school. He has been awarded a full scholarship to the University of Chicago.

The pudgy cheeks of his freshman year at Loyola University are gone, but there's still plenty of growing to do. He stands 5 feet 5 inches tall, his voice hasn't yet changed and his parents rarely allow movies that aren't rated G.

His application raised red flags at some of the nation's top medical schools, a fact that perplexes Sho.

"They said I was just too young," Sho said. "One person said he thought patients would be shocked."

University of Chicago medical school officials had similar concerns but overcame them after meeting what they saw as an amazing, gentle prodigy who answered tough questions with maturity and thoughtfulness. Sho will enter one of U. of C.'s most competitive programs, the medical scientist in-training program leading to both an MD and a PhD.

There have been reports of students as young as 14 entering medical school, but no high-profile cases of 12-year-olds. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, less than 1 percent of medical school students are under 18.

Sho had perfect scores in the quantitative and analytical sections of the graduate school admissions test. His Medical College Admissions Test scores--at 13 or 14 out of 15 for each of the sections--make him among the best of the best.

But at the California school interviews--his mother prefers not to identify the school--one medical school administrator accused Sho's mom of using her son to set a world record.

After years raising an exceptional son, Kyung Yano is used to accusations that she's a pushy mom. Even if it was always Sho asking to advance, some outsiders figured mom was behind it all.

"From the beginning, some psychologists said he would be miserable all through his life," she said. "They'll say again how much he'll suffer."

The U. of C. admissions team had some of the same reservations about Sho that Loyola faced three years ago.

Could he handle the intellectual demands, the lack of sleep? Would he be ostracized by a group of students twice his age? Would he miss out on the normal pleasures of a 12-year-old's life?

Because of those concerns, Sho met with triple the number of U. of C. professors and students compared with typical applicants. The university's acclaimed child psychiatrist, Dr. Bennett Leventhal, evaluated him.

Medical school professors asked Sho a number of questions about working with patients. In each case, his answers showed a remarkable sense of empathy for patients and their families, said Dr. Lawrence Wood, dean of students and medical education at U. of C.

For example, they asked Sho what he would say to a severely ill mother who had just delivered newborn twins?

Sho paused for a long while, which is his style. The first words out of his mouth convinced Wood this demure child had the right stuff.

"She must be very scared," Sho told Wood that day.

The overwhelming feeling was that Sho should be welcomed, that U. of C. had a shot at enrolling a budding scientist with great potential.

But U. of C. also made some accommodations. Sho will earn his doctorate first, then complete medical school, not having regular interaction with patients until he's 17 or 18. The family will also move to Hyde Park.

Sho has read the Bible several times and talks about how his decision to enter medicine comes from a desire to help people.

He rarely watches television and has never played a Nintendo video game. There are no Britney Spears posters on the bedroom wall in his home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Glenview. Instead, there were only yellowed newspaper articles on genetics research.

Early achievements

A music prodigy who was playing entire Mozart pieces and composing his own music by 4, Sho spends most of his free time at the piano. He also finds time, though, for swimming and tae kwon do (he's a black belt).

Sho whizzed through Loyola, studying over the summers and earning a 3.9 grade point average. (He says he didn't deserve the one B, but doesn't want to get into the details.) After spending hours in a biology laboratory studying retroviruses in soybean plants, he presents research papers at campus symposiums with such titles as: "Structural and Functional Components of Putative Plant Retrotransposon Diaspora."

"We have to appreciate that he's 12 years old and he has completed college," said Michelle LeBeau, a U. of C. professor of medicine who leads the cancer biology program in which Sho hopes to study. "He's ready to move on to the next step of his education. It's not practical for him to stay at home. What do we expect him to do?"

That's the main question Sho's parents have been asking for years.

The Yanos are highly educated and bright. His mother is a Korean immigrant with a master's degree in art history. Sho's father, Katsura, is a U.S. business executive for a Japanese company who was a stellar student in his native Japan. But neither of his parents' talents ever matched their son's, nor those of their 6-year-old daughter, who seems to be on the same track as Sho.

As a small child, Sho's IQ measured around 200, well above the range for geniuses. Some elite primary schools said he was too bright for them. He spent several years at a California gifted school, but his mother often supplemented with lessons at home when he still soared beyond his peers.

Bigger challenges

By 9, Sho craved bigger challenges. He desperately wanted a university education.

"I just wanted to learn at my own pace," he said in his family living room as he chased his pet rabbit. "I don't see why I have to be held back."

Although Sho had the support of top leadership at Loyola, his family saw right away how the campus was divided over his admission.

"It was rocky, rocky, rocky," Sho's mom said of his first year.

Then a 4-foot-7-inch undergraduate who needed a stool to reach the laboratory microscopes, Sho was ridiculed by some students and faculty who thought he was too young for university life.

There was also a deluge of media coverage, including a front-page story in the Chicago Tribune followed by a feature on "60 Minutes II." He wrote a book for a Japanese publisher, an account of his first year at Loyola titled "The Diary of a Wonder Boy."

"People said it was a media circus and that we were trying to make a show," his mother said. Sho's mom was frustrated by the critics because she carefully limited the interviews, turning down many requests.

Over time, Sho's cadre of friends and supporters grew.

Many were impressed not only with his intellect, but with his ability to move quickly from a child's awkward concerns to the demands of university work.

"Socially, we treated him like a little brother," said classmate Erich Gerhardt. "But academically, he was above us."

Sho doesn't speak a lot. He seems to prefer more formal communication, and leans toward e-mails over phone conversations.

"Sho is remarkably thoughtful and mature in his thinking. That's the key," said Loyola classical studies professor Gregory Dobrov. "He regularly can produce reflections on questions that you'd expect to only make sense to a middle-aged person or a fully-formed adult."

Sho is disciplined and diligent--he read an entire 800-page genetics textbook before the course even started. He says he never procrastinates. But he doesn't need to study much.

"People think I study all the time," Sho wrote in an e-mail, "but I sleep 9-10 hours a day and sometimes my mother and my little sister consider me too lazy."

Still a kid

Sho's brilliance makes it easy to forget he's still a kid, said Howard Laten, a biology professor and adviser to Sho.

But there were funny reminders. Sho grew impatient with fellow students, grabbing papers out of their hands when he wanted to move quicker. He sometimes left his work area a mess. His sweet-faced little sister, Sayuri, is known to frustrate him too, especially after she colored all the rabbits in his biology textbook in pink permanent marker. Sho worried classmates might think he colored the book, so he folded over the colored parts.

Laten also saw the ugly side to what Sho experienced at Loyola, especially in his first months. As Sho applied to medical school, Laten worried about attitudes he would confront there as well.

"It was really clear to me that wherever he went, the university should take it on as a personal responsibility and help him succeed," Laten said. "These issues will come up in spades. It's the nature of the medical profession."

Yet the boy himself doesn't see a need for special treatment. He would rather just dive in and ignore all the attention.

"People just need to know my talent is from God," he said in his quiet tone one day on campus, "and I will use it for other people as much as I can."

Then with his mom and sister by his side, he walked on in his determined way, his head held down.


Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune


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## LANMaster

Nice one, Eggplant


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## gotrootdude

Tried to make my children geniuses, don't know if I succeeded or not. 

One's 12 rebelled and has done poorly in school. Even though she was talking in complete sentences at 6 months, understood calculus at age 2! Understands my conversations on nuclear physics! She still has no goals and has a doesn't care attitude. Doesn't do anything unless you make her. Constantly makes F's unless you watch over her shoulder all the time. We still love her, of course.

One's 6 and speaks Japanese better than I do, has loved chess since age 4, excels at math, even calculus, but has no desire to do anything but play games on the computers, he has problems with reading, although, always get's A's in spelling (go figure). His infatuation with computers is severely imparing him, and educational software bores him, in fact everything bores him except computers. He beats me all the time at playing games.

One's 12 makes straight A's is in gifted program in top 1% of nation and wants to be a lawyer, but is extremely babyish and immature for her age, by about 3 years, and I'm scared she'll never grow up.

One's 6 and speaks 3 different languages (only one in family that speaks italian), is in gifted program , excels at everything but is hooked on finding a boyfriend and getting married as soon as possible.  


You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. Wonder what this child's parents secret is.


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## eggplant43

> One's 12 makes straight A's is in gifted program in top 1% of nation and wants to be a lawyer, but is extremely babyish and immature for her age, by about 3 years, and I'm scared she'll never grow up.


Sounds eerily familiar


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## eggplant43

Caped Crusader Saves the Day in English Town 


May 6, 10:06 am ET 

LONDON (Reuters) - A masked and caped do-gooder has been sweeping through an English town, performing good deeds and scattering terrified bad guys, a local newspaper reported.
The Kent and Sussex Courier said Friday it had received letters from "stunned residents" of the town of Tunbridge Wells, southeast of London, who saw the man in a brown mask and cape scare off hooligans and return a woman's dropped purse.

"To my great surprise," the paper quoted 21-year-old psychology student Ellen Neville as saying, "a masked man wearing a brown cape rushed past me to assist a woman who was having a bother with a group of youths.

"He swept in, broke up the commotion and ran off, leaving myself and the woman in a state of shock," she said.

A man wrote to say he was being chased by some youths when the hero appeared and "shocked the gang so much they ran off."

Another woman wrote to say the crusader had tapped her on her shoulder to return her purse.

"If only there were more people around with this kind-hearted spirit," she said.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *Caped Crusader Saves the Day in English Town
> 
> May 6, 10:06 am ET
> 
> LONDON (Reuters) - A masked and caped do-gooder has been sweeping through an English town, performing good deeds and scattering terrified bad guys, a local newspaper reported.
> The Kent and Sussex Courier said Friday it had received letters from "stunned residents" of the town of Tunbridge Wells, southeast of London, who saw the man in a brown mask and cape scare off hooligans and return a woman's dropped purse.
> 
> "To my great surprise," the paper quoted 21-year-old psychology student Ellen Neville as saying, "a masked man wearing a brown cape rushed past me to assist a woman who was having a bother with a group of youths.
> 
> "He swept in, broke up the commotion and ran off, leaving myself and the woman in a state of shock," she said.
> 
> A man wrote to say he was being chased by some youths when the hero appeared and "shocked the gang so much they ran off."
> 
> Another woman wrote to say the crusader had tapped her on her shoulder to return her purse.
> 
> "If only there were more people around with this kind-hearted spirit," she said. *


That Had to be Moby!


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## eggplant43

He Knows The Best Policy
Supermarket Worker Finds, Returns Handbag Containing $40,000
ADVERTISERS 





By CHARLES STANNARD
Courant Staff Writer

May 22 2003

DEEP RIVER -- Matt Doyle did what was expected of him when he found a brown leather handbag in a shopping cart in the parking lot of the A&P Super Foodmart in Old Lyme Saturday afternoon.

"I brought it to the office for someone to claim it," said Matt, 15, a part-time worker at the supermarket. "That's company policy."

Doyle had done this once before, last fall when he found a wallet containing nearly $1,000 cash and received a $20 reward from the owner. But the woman's handbag he found Saturday contained $40,000 folded in several bank envelopes.

The handbag and cash belonged to a woman named Patricia, whose name and address have not been released by the store or Old Lyme police. One published report said a list in the bag indicated the money was earmarked for the woman's burial plot and funeral expenses.

An identification card in the handbag belonged to the woman's daughter, who called the store a few hours after the handbag was found. The purse was turned over to state police, who returned it to Patricia. 

Matt, who works at the store on Saturdays, said Wednesday he never learned the woman's name and was not aware of the amount of cash when he brought the bag to the store's office. He said Patricia had not called him to express gratitude. 

But store managers, including the assistant manager, Matt's father Dennis, have praised the teen for his actions. 

"They were real proud of me and they said it was real honest of me to turn it in," he said. "I couldn't keep that kind of money because it wasn't mine."

Dennis Doyle, who was working Saturday when Matt found the bag, said he told his son how proud of him he was as they drove back to their home on Westbrook Road at the end of the day's shift.

"I said `Matt, how did it feel to hold $40,000?" Doyle said. "He said `Dad, I didn't know it was in there."'

Joyce Doyle, Matt's mother, said she is "extremely proud" of her son. "I was speechless when they came home and told me how much money was in there," she said.

Joyce Doyle, who works at the A&P Super Foodmart in Branford, said she is not troubled that the woman who lost the bag has not contacted Matt to say thank you. 

"I can understand her wanting to remain anonymous," she said. 

Copyright 2003, Hartford Courant


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## Shadow Bea

Thumbs up to that kid!!   Hooray for Matt!! It is an encouragement to me to know that there are kids out there with that kind of moral strength.. to not even look in the bag... just do the right thing.
Thanks for posting it Bruce.


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## eggplant43

Cop Stops Runaway Train

BOISE, Idaho, June 6, 2003 


It was an adventure worthy of an old time western movie, reports CBS' Sandra Hughes. A state police motorcycle officer jumped aboard a runaway locomotive Thursday afternoon and helped bring it safely to a halt. 

No one was hurt as the locomotive rolled through rural neighborhoods, with officers racing from railroad crossing to railroad crossing to block traffic. 

Eventually, Cpl. Duane Prescott managed to jump aboard the 400,000-pound Union Pacific locomotive, then pushed and pulled every control he could find. 

"One of the handles said reverse so I grabbed it and shoved it into reverse and the train kind of slowed and started going the other way," Prescott said. "So I tried pushing it the other way to get it to jam up." 

The engine started to back up, and railroad employees stopped it by placing ties across the tracks. 

Police said the locomotive was reported loose and rolling downhill at about 40 mph in west Boise. Near Nampa, about 25 miles west of Boise, Prescott tried twice to jump aboard, making it the second time after the locomotive had slowed considerably. 

The locomotive was halted in time to prevent it from crashing into another engine sitting on the tracks farther ahead. 

Police are investigating how the engine broke loose. 

After the ordeal, the corporal reluctantly sat down with reporters who wondered why he tried such a crazy stunt. 

"My thought was that if this thing keeps going somebody's going to get a car in front of this train," he said. 

But jumping a moving train isn't something officers learn at the police academy. 

"Unorthodox. Brave. It was nevertheless courageous to say the least. I have nothing but praise for his actions," said Sgt. J.R. Jensen. 

Now, everyone's calling Corporal Prescott a hero except Corporal Prescott. 

"I was just the one who was lucky enough to be in the position to do it," said. "But I believe that every one of the other officers if they would have been in the same position would have done exactly what I did." 

All in day's work for the humble lawman who rode off before anyone could even say thanks.


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## Shadow Bea

What a story Bruce  thanks for posting it!


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## eggplant43

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-lottery0702,0,7672247.story?coll=bal-home-headlines

Lottery winner comes forward

Baldwin woman, 54, takes cash option -- $112 million; Part-time letter carrier to work 'one job instead of four'

By SunSpot Staff

July 2, 2003, 3:44 PM EDT

The winner of Maryland's largest lottery payout came forward today -- a 54-year-old single woman who plays slot machines and who has worked four part-time jobs to buy the Baldwin house in which she lives.

Bernadette "Bernie" Gietka received a check for $112 million at a news conference in Annapolis attended by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., Maryland State Lottery Agency Director Buddy Roogow and other officials.

"I'm just enjoying telling everyone the story and trying to figure out what to do with it," Gietka said. "I looked at a Corvette Anniversary Edition, which I never thought I'd want, but I sat in it."

She opted for the lump-sum cash option for her winnings, for a final payment of $76.1 million after taxes. The June 20 Mega Millions drawing had an annuity worth $138 million.

Gietka, who beat out odds 135 million-to-1, allowed a computer at a Middle River grocery store to choose her numbers for the 10-state drawing. She was the sole ticket holder of the winning numbers, which were 01, 02, 03, 12, 37 and gold Mega Ball 35.

A Maryland native, Gietka works as a part-time letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, where she has been employed for 12 years. She also holds three other part-time jobs -- "elder care, pet-sitting, whatever."

Gietka said she waited to reveal she had the winning ticket because she had just asked the Post Office for additional hours and felt obligated to take the extra routes she was given. But she said now she plans to work 'one job instead of four.'

She said her winning ticket was among four that she bought at Geresbeck's Bi-Rite, a grocery store in a strip mall along Eastern Boulevard in Middle River. She said that when she saw that one of her computer picks began with the digits 1, 2, 3, she reasoned it wasn't a likely winner.

Gietka said she learned about midnight that she had the winning ticket. She had been carrying it with her that day.

"It was strange," she said. "It certainly didn't register at that point. Your stomach turns a bit."

Gietka also carried the ticket with her to work after the drawing.

"I had a very strange feeling going back to work," she said. "You want to tell them, but you don't."

Gietka said she intends to contribute some of her winnings to two churches with which she is affiliated -- "and, of course, investments, which I've talked about all week."

She plays slot machines -- and, in fact, was supposed to travel to Delaware and Atlantic City that weekend to play them with her grandmother.

Gietka once worked for the former Montgomery Ward Co. store in which the Lottery now is headquartered.

Roogow said this is by far the biggest jackpot won in Maryland and believes it is the second-largest won by a single ticket holder in the history of the multistate game. Maryland, which sells just 5 percent of Mega Millions tickets, has claimed two of the last three jackpots.

Geresbeck's owner, Carl Greeley, as well as the clerk who sold Gietka the winning ticket, Alicia Sanders, were at the news conference. The store will receive $25,000 for selling the winning ticket. The state's portion from the drawing is about $8.4 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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## Shadow Bea

:up: :up: I Like that one Bruce!!


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## eggplant43

Man Awakes After 19 Years In Coma
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Ark., July 9, 2003


A man regained consciousness after spending 19 years in a coma as the result of a car crash, greeting his mother who was waiting at his bedside. 

"He started out with 'Mom' and surprised her and then it was 'Pepsi' and then it was 'milk.' And now it's anything he wants to say," Stone County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center social director Alesha Badgley said Tuesday. 

Terry Wallis, 39, had been at the center since the July 1984 crash. 

His father, Jerry Wallis, said his son uttered his first word June 12, was able to talk a little a day later and has improved ever since. 

Terry Wallis' wife, Sandi, said her husband was riding with a friend when their car left the road and plunged into a creek. Wallis and his friend were found the next day underneath a bridge. The friend was dead and Wallis was comatose. 

"It's been hard dealing with it, it's been hard realizing the man I married can't be there," Sandi Wallis said. "We all, the whole family, missed out on his company." 

Wallis' daughter, Amber, was born shortly before the accident. She is now 19 and Wallis has said he wants to walk again, for her. He is a quadriplegic as a result of the crash. 

His mother, Angilee Wallis, called her son's return to consciousness a miracle. 

"I couldn't tell you my first thought, I just fell over on the floor," she said. 

Wallis has spent most of his time at the rehabilitation center, but his family took him out for weekends and special occasions. 

"The doctor said that's why he remembers things; we might have kept his mind going," Sandi Wallis said.


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## Shadow Bea

Bruce,:up: 
that is the kind of story that makes a movie of the week 
thanks for posting it


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## eggplant43

http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/30/Hillsborough/Birthday_surprise__a_.shtml


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## eggplant43

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Friday, November 14, 2003 · Last updated 6:42 p.m. PT

Revived girl baffles medical experts

By CHELSEA J. CARTER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

FULLERTON, Calif. -- Detective Mike Kendrick began photographing the body of a little girl on an emergency room table for an investigation of a drowning.

Then, through the lens, he saw her chest move. Just spasms, he thought. Then he saw it move again. And again.

"Am I seeing things? Does she look like she's breathing?" Kendrick asked his partner.

Less than an hour earlier, Kendrick had broken the news to the girl's mother that she had been pronounced dead by doctors. Minutes earlier, he stood by as the mother said goodbye to her daughter.

But 20-month-old Mackayala Jespersen was indeed alive. On Friday, she was in serious condition at Children's Hospital of Orange County, where she was transferred after being revived.

Her case has baffled hospital and emergency workers. They had struggled to revive her with CPR, breathing tubes, a heated blanket. How could they have missed the fact that the toddler was alive?

The Medical Board of California has launched an inquiry into whether physician error played a role, although the state Department of Health Services already has found that Anaheim Memorial Hospital followed proper protocol.

The girl's family declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press.

On Friday, the girl was breathing without a ventilator but was not fully alert. She was moving her eyes and her body somewhat, hospital spokeswoman Denise Almazan said. Earlier in the week, one of the girl's doctors said brain scans showed no serious brain damage.

Mackayala slipped out the back door of her family's home in Fullerton, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles, on Nov. 7. A family member found the girl floating face-down in the 52-degree water of the swimming pool shortly after 9 a.m., according to police reports and emergency workers.

The girl's mother, Melissa Jespersen, placed a frantic 911 call. Minutes later, two police officers arrived and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

"We did CPR for six or seven minutes. It seemed like a million years," said one of the officers, Steve Rubio.

At one point, Mackayala spit up water, or perhaps it was forced from her lungs by the chest compressions.

Paramedics arrived and took Mackayala by ambulance to the hospital.

Kendrick and his partner, Detective Brent Rebert, were driving to the Jespersen home when they got word that Mackayala had been pronounced dead at 10:06 a.m.

At the home, Kendrick took the mother into her daughter's bedroom, sat her on the bed and told her the news. She went limp, fell to the floor and curled into a fetal position.

"The look on this mom's face was absolute horror and disbelief," he said.

The two detectives put her in their car. "All the way to the hospital, she kept saying, `This isn't true. God wouldn't take her at this age,'" Kendrick said.

At Anaheim Memorial, the detectives escorted her into a room off the ER to say farewell to her daughter. A few minutes later, they began the routine of photographing the body and making notes.

The heart monitor had a flat line. Her breathing tube had been disconnected. Her body was still wrapped in a heating blanket that had apparently been used to try to raise her body temperature. By all appearances, Mackayala was dead.

Then, at 10:45 a.m. - 39 minutes after she had been pronounced dead - her chest appeared to spasm. At first, the detectives thought it was releasing gas - a natural process after death. But the spasms continued and became longer.

"It looks like she's breathing," Kendrick told his partner. "Go and get somebody."

Rebert returned with a nurse, who put a stethoscope to the girl's chest. Doctors raced in. Machines were turned back on. Mackayala had a pulse. The two police officers shook their heads in disbelief.

Kendrick had the job of telling Mackayala's mother that her daughter was alive. This time, she fell to her knees and thanked God.

Three days later, Kendrick and another officer stopped by the hospital to visit Mackayala. "We were a little bit worried about how they would react to us. But we couldn't stay away," he said.

He got a hug from Mackayala's mother.

"She asked if I would come back and visit Mackayala when she comes home," Kendrick said. "I said sure."


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## Shadow Bea

Wow Bruce! What an increadable story! What Joy must be in that family now!


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## eggplant43

It's nice to know that in a world full of threat, vitriol, and fear that good things, very good things, happen as well.


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## Shadow Bea

> _Originally posted by eggplant43:_
> *It's nice to know that in a world full of threat, vitriol, and fear that good things, very good things, happen as well. *


Bruce  I can always count on you to be one of the other people who sees it


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## angelize56

*Sniff* *Sniff* What a lovely story!  Take care. angel

Dad In From Iraq Surprises Daughter At Wedding
Dad Tells Stand-In, 'I'll Take It From Here'

POSTED: 6:36 a.m. EST November 18, 2003

LEHI, Utah -- Something borrowed, something blue. Something old, something flown back from Iraq. 

Tessa Flitton received an unexpected wedding present Saturday. 

Just as the procession started, her father, David Flitton, a Utah National Guard member on duty in Iraq since January, stepped in to escort her down the aisle. 

"I think I'll take it from here," David Flitton told his brother and stand-in, Lawrence. 

The astonished bride gasped, put her hand to her mouth to suppress a scream and started crying. Father and daughter embraced. Neither knew what to do next. 

"Take your dad's arm," her mom, Renee Flitton, coaxed. 

Wearing a dark green class A uniform with a white shirt, black bow tie and a huge grin, Staff Sgt. David Flitton walked his happily sobbing daughter to the front of the hall where she and Brandon McClellan were married. 

"It was the last thing I ever thought would happen. I wanted him here so bad," she said. 

So did Renee Flitton, who with help from her friends and co-workers, brought her husband home and kept him stashed away for four days. 

"He needed to be here for his one and only daughter," she said.


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## eggplant43

Now that's really special. A memory both will hold in their hearts for eternity.:up:


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## angelize56

Oh Bruce.....*sniff* What a lovely story!! I detest anyone who makes fun of someone with ANY handicap! It's the only time I'll open my mouth in public and give taunters and teasers my two cents! Thanks for a lovely story! :up:


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## eggplant43

*I love stories like this, and wanted to share it with you. If you haven't taken the time to get to know a Steve, it's your loss.*

I wasn't sure how my Customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome.

I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ"; the pairs of white shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would,be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks.

I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot.

After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties.

Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table.

Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration.

He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met.

Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their Social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work.

He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs syndrome often had heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months.

A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine.

Frannie, headwaitress, let out a war hoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Belle Ringer, one of our regular truckercustomers, stared at the sight of the 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look.

He grinned. "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?" he asked.
We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay."

"I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?" Frannie quickly told Belle Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed:

"Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK" she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they'rebarely getting by as it is."

Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do.

After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I didn't get that table where Belle Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off," she said. "This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup." She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie."

"Pony Pete asked me what that was all about," she said, "so I toldabout Stevie and his Mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this." She handed me another paper napkin that had "Something For Stevie" scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds.

Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: "truckers."

That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work, met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back.

Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting.

"Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast," I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. "Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!" I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins.

"First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said. I tried to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table.

Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother.

"There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on that table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems. "Happy Thanksgiving,"

Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table. Best worker I ever hired.

Plant a seed and watch it grow. At this point, you can bury this inspirational message or forward it fulfilling the need! If you shed a tear, hug yourself because you are a compassionate person.


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## Shadow Bea

Oh My Bruce ..I've got tears running down my face! That story is especially heart wrenching as I think I've told you.. My mother took in a downs syndrome child..his name was Tim.. He had possibly the most loving spirit I have ever encountered in any one.. He was a joy to be around we loved him dearly. His personality and way of being was very much like the Steve in your story. He too had heart problems. he died at the age of 21 ..
10 years ago.


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## eggplant43

I had a friend here, he was a twin, had a sister. He died when he was 25. I still think of him foundly. I think God puts these people on the earth to remind us how it could be.


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## angelize56

Now this is a case of a child listening to a parent's advice! :up:  I used the same system when my son was younger just in case! Take care. angel

Code Word Wards Off Potential Kidnapper

POSTED: 10:37 a.m. EST November 21, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY -- Credit a young Utah boy with listening to his mom.

Police say a man approached 7-year-old Anthony Gettler and his 6-year-old sister this week and asked if they wanted to get in his van. When the boy said no, the man offered them cotton candy and a new bike. 

But Anthony didn't budge, and asked the man if he knew the "code word" -- which his mom had told him to use if confronted by somebody he didn't know. 

The man didn't know it, and Anthony and his sister ran for help. Police said the family's plan worked perfectly.


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## eggplant43

That's inspiring. So glad the family had a plan.:up:


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## Shadow Bea

They should call it the amber alert prevention plan! :up: 
good story


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## angelize56

3,000-Plus Get Families On National Adoption Day :up: 
Courthouses Open Just For Event

POSTED: 4:11 p.m. EST November 22, 2003

NEW YORK -- Thousands of children have something new to be thankful for this Thanksgiving -- they're now part of a family. 

The children are being adopted in ceremonies across the country marking National Adoption Day. Courthouses opened Saturday just to finalize their adoptions. 

Adoption day organizers say more than 3,000 children are being adopted Saturday. 

One new mom in Queens, N.Y., says it took three years to adopt her two young nieces, but it was worth it. And the girls say they're excited too -- and they say their aunt is also a great mother.


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## Shadow Bea

Now, THAT is wonderful! ^


*GBY*


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## angelize56

Thanks Bea!  *GBY* too! Go get your pm!


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## Shadow Bea

got it lol now it's your turn  ^


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## angelize56

Sent it back!


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## Shadow Bea

OK, I sent them,


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## angelize56

Headed there now! Thanks Bea!  *GBY*


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## eggplant43

www.suntimes.com

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-lottery26.html

Credit garbage strike for $10.5 mil. lottery win

November 26, 2003

BY LUCIO GUERRERO Staff Reporter

It appears that stinky, pesky garbage strike last month wasn't so bad for everyone.

For one Chicago family the strike was worth $10.5 million --thanks to a misplaced lottery ticket and the piling-up garbage.

Lottery officials said they will announce today that the winners of the Oct. 4 drawing -- a brother and sister from Chicago -- almost lost their ticket when they accidentally tossed it into the trash. Lucky for them, their mother found the ticket in the garbage, still uncollected thanks to the strike.

Garbage workers in Chicago and the suburbs were on the picket line for almost two weeks in early October trying to settle a contract for 3,300 striking workers. For many people it meant watching garbage pile up while negotiators sat at the bargaining table trying to cut a deal.

And for this lucky Chicago family -- lottery officials won't release the name until today -- it could have meant having to sift through old milk cartons, fruit peels and leftovers to find their golden ticket.

A spokeswoman for the lottery said the pair planned to do some traveling and Hawaii was going to be one of the destinations.

The winning lottery ticket -- the only one to match all six numbers -- was sold at the Golf Mill Shopping Mall.

Until the family came forward, the prize was the largest unclaimed jackpot in the state.

Copyright © The Sun-Times Company
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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## eggplant43

From my favorite E-zine:

http://www.heroicstories.com/453.html


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## angelize56

Ferry casualty vows to walk again
Saturday, November 29, 2003 Posted: 11:32 PM EST (0432 GMT)

NEW YORK, New York (AP) -- Paul Esposito lost both legs in the deadly crash last month of a Staten Island ferry, but he is determined to walk again -- on limbs programmed by computer to take him into his new life.

Since his above-the-knee amputations, he's discovered much about himself. "I had no idea I was this strong," the 24-year-old said in an interview with The Associated Press.

A New York-based firm, Arimed, will design his new legs, constructed from titanium -- a strong, light metal developed for space travel -- and a high-strength material called carbon acrylic.

This so-called C-Leg system is fitted with knees that hold computer microprocessors programmed from a laptop computer. Each hydraulic knee "reads" a person's spontaneous motions 50 times a second and responds accordingly, activating the limbs. The knees flex or stiffen, switching when a human hand taps the leg and following a gait programmed for, say, walking up and down stairs or on rough outdoor terrain.

*The company is donating the limbs, which cost about $100,000*. :up: 

Esposito expects to be fitted with a training set of the legs in February, returning to Staten Island University Hospital for at least a month to learn to use them before he gets his custom-designed pair.

The young man was returning home to Staten Island October 15 from his Manhattan job as a waiter when the ferry crashed into a concrete maintenance pier, killing 10 people and wounding dozens of passengers. Investigators have identified human error as the likely cause of the crash; a criminal probe is looking into whether the crew acted properly.

As Esposito lay with both legs crushed beneath a metal pole, British tourist Kerry Griffiths, a nurse, tied a belt around his legs to try to stop the bleeding. Minutes later, Esposito was rushed to a hospital for surgery that saved his life.

Since then, Esposito has received medical care costing thousands of dollars a day.

His restaurant job did not provide health insurance, *but his family is being spared the huge bills thanks to contributions from the public*. :up: 

Next Thursday, he plans to leave the hospital and move back into the home he shared with his parents and siblings before the accident. His bedroom has been moved to the ground floor and the hallways enlarged so he can wheel himself around until he's fitted for the computerized prosthetic legs.

The last 20 of 200 staples have been removed from his amputated legs, putting his recovery ahead of schedule. But he has no illusions about the long, difficult road he faces.

Hours of daily therapy include exercises to strengthen his pelvis and thigh muscles.

"That will help me stand up. But it's hard to get the lower body in shape when you don't have legs," he said.

Esposito can now lift himself out of a wheelchair and slide onto regular chairs. Therapy includes moments of throbbing pain and muscle fatigue, Esposito said, "but I'm not going to give up."

Much of his resilience is derived from the support of his parents, brothers and sister. Said his father, Michael Esposito: "He knows that he's not alone in this. No matter what, we're going to be there for him."

In his hospital room, Paul Esposito has been busy sketching plans to further restructure their home for his new life. *The Atlas Foundation and the Kiwanis Club have come forward to finance an architect and contractors*. :up: 

Plans include converting the garage into a living room for Esposito with an accessible bathroom, and transforming an adjoining dining room into a bedroom.

His growing physical strength is fueling his dreams of going to college. He had been working as a waiter to save money for a business education, but the accident has inspired him to consider a different path.

"I'm debating on changing my major to interior design or architecture -- maybe drawing up home plans for handicapped use."

He said that since the amputations, he has received calls from other handicapped people. "I told one man who lost his legs and was at the end of his rope, 'Hey, there are always alternatives to the life you had. ... This is your second chance. Enjoy it.'"


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## eggplant43

I loved this story, and especially the part where he said he din't know he had this kind of strength. If i recall correctly, this is the man who was literally saved by a visiting English nurse, and things have gone uphill from there:up:


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## angelize56

Bruce: Yes he is the one saved by the nurse! :up: I hope he learns to walk on those artificial legs and gets to college and makes something of himself! Sometimes people have to live through trials such as these to really focus on their life. I know not being able to walk much anymore has changed my focus! Things I used to take for granted....such as walking, standing, being able to do things for myself are not being taken for granted anymore! You just never know what you can lose in life that could change it forever! Take care. angel


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## eggplant43

of 30 lost $100 bills returned to owner

Last Updated: Dec. 4, 2003


Jim Stingl



Thirty $100 bills fell out of Jennifer Walterscheit's purse the other day, and they were blowing all over Greendale's village center.

Kiss that $3,000 goodbye, right?

Not even close. As of Thursday, all but one of the bills had been returned to her. At least five honest people stepped forward with money they found.

"Doesn't that blow your mind?" Jennifer said.

"I have to tell you," she admitted, "if I found a $100 bill on the ground, my first thought would not be, 'I should take this to the police station.' "

Larry Glines understands that impulse. He was walking out of Great Harvest in Greendale when he saw some serious bread on the ground - Ben Franklin staring back at him from a greenback, or I guess that would be the green front.

"You kind of get this good angel and this bad angel on your shoulders," said Larry, a father of three who lives in Franklin (which is named for Ben Franklin, by the way) and works for ExxonMobil Corp.

Then he saw other bills tumbling in the wind. He picked up eight in all. For a second he wondered if this was a gag.

"I was waiting for somebody to start pulling on the string and I'd be chasing the $100 down the sidewalk," he said.

He noticed a jewelry store, Unique Designs, and figured someone with that kind of money might be one of their customers. He gave owner Lorraine Paradinovich his name and phone number and went home with the cash.

Lorraine was already starting to think the money belonged to Jennifer, one of her customers. She had been in the store that day.

So Lorraine had her son call Jennifer, who lives in Poynette but was in Milwaukee to take her mother to the airport.

"I thought he was kidding," Jennifer said, when she heard him ask if she had lost the money. "I swear," he said, "there are $100 bills blowing all over the parking lot."

She grabbed her purse and was horrified to find that the bank envelope containing the money that she had intended to pay someone was indeed gone. She figures it flew out of the pocket of her purse when she flung it from her shoulder into her car.

Jennifer called Larry and contacted Greendale Police, who told her that other people had been turning in money.

"You get some faith back in humanity," said police Lt. Randy Pruss.

Police gave $2,600 to Jennifer, and Lorraine's husband, Jim, gave her $300 that he personally had retrieved near the store. One woman in her car who saw someone retrieving money asked what was going on. She then handed over $100 that she had picked up.

An off-duty police officer turned in money, and so did a woman who found $1,300 that had remained in the envelope, which had no identifying information on it that could have led to Jennifer.

Somewhere out there is one undiscovered $100 bill, or a person who found that bill and stuffed it in a pocket. If you're reading this, it belongs to Jennifer Walterscheit. Just so you know.

Jennifer was raised in a small town where you could leave your bicycle on the front lawn all night. At the other extreme, she later lived in Los Angeles. She had her wallet stolen out there and never saw it again.

Now she finds herself offering rewards to Wisconsin's finders-but-not-keepers. That could be tricky. Larry told her no thanks when she told him to keep one of the bills.

"It's a nice gesture, but not necessary," he said. "You kind of hope goodness comes back to you in some way."


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## n2gun

Eggie
The world may have some hope yet. Proves there are still some out there that care.


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## angelize56

:up: A very nice gift at a very nice time of the year! 

Cancer research center receives $10M gift
Sunday, December 7, 2003 Posted: 9:49 AM EST (1449 GMT)

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has received a $10 million donation from the chief executive officer of a California software company. 

The gift from Don Listwin, CEO of Openwave Systems and head of the Listwin Family Foundation, was the center's largest ever and will be used to develop systems for early diagnosis and prevention of cancer, the center said Saturday. 

Listwin said one in four deaths is from cancer. 

Based in Redwood City, California, Openwave Systems Inc. provides software for Internet-surfing cell phones. 

The Seattle center is known worldwide for treatments and research on cancer.


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## eggplant43

Last $100 bill completes tale of honest citizens
Last Updated: Dec. 5, 2003


Jim Stingl



Thirty for thirty.

The last one of the 30 $100 bills lost by a woman visiting the Milwaukee area was turned over to Greendale police on Friday by the honest family who found it.

It's a remarkable and faith-restoring ending to a story told in this column on Friday.



Stingl: 29 of 30 lost $100 bills returned to owner (12/4/03)



Jennifer Walterscheit, who lives in Poynette and runs an archery pro shop, had the $3,000 in an envelope in her purse because she intended to use it to make a purchase. But it somehow fell out without her noticing it. As she drove off, the envelope opened and the money caught a breeze and scattered all over the village center.

As of Thursday, we knew that all but one of the bills had been found and turned in by various people who discovered them. In this case, the question was blowing in the wind. Would Jennifer ever see the money again? The answer, 29 out of 30 bills turned in, was worthy of the honesty hall of fame if there were such a thing.

But on Friday, Donna Roche of Cedarburg drove to the Greendale Police Department and handed over the final bill. Before she did so, she left a voice mail for me after seeing my column.

"That undiscovered $100 bill is in our safe in our house," her message said. "My son found the money. He's 13 years old."

That would be Colin Roche. He and his mom and brother were in Greendale last week visiting grandparents. After getting a bite to eat, they noticed what appeared to be people in the shopping area looking for something.

"I think I see something," Colin yelled as they drove along Broad St. Donna pulled over and Colin jumped out of the car and returned with a $100 bill that he found in the gutter. They noticed a man with other bills, but they didn't know who he was or whether the money was his, so they drove off without speaking to him.

We'll watch the newspaper, Donna told her son, and see if there's a story about who lost the money. It has to go back to its owner, she said. (I can feel Colin's pain. I found tons of S&H Green Stamps - remember those? - lying in the street when I was a kid, and my parents made some calls and returned them to the business that lost them. But the lesson in honesty was well worth it.)

"That's the right thing to do, Mom," Colin told her.

Who doesn't need extra money this time of year?

"You can't keep it," Donna told me. "It's not right, and it would come back to haunt you."

Let me tell you about two e-mails I received Friday. One was from a man from Hayward who offered to send Jennifer a check for $25 to cover part of the $100 that it appeared she would lose. He's probably not rich; he works at Hayward High School. "Merry Christmas from another small town," he said.

And this came from Kathleen McGowan, who left Milwaukee with her husband in 1996 in pursuit of career advancement and now lives in Olympia, Wash. Your article, she wrote, "made me realize why I am homesick for Milwaukee."


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## angelize56

That was great Bruce!! :up: 

Soldier's Dad Goes To Bat For Overseas Troops
Over 40 Boxes Of Sports Equipment Shipped To Soldiers

POSTED: 12:09 p.m. EST December 10, 2003
UPDATED: 12:11 p.m. EST December 10, 2003

NEW REIGEL, Ohio -- A northwest Ohio man is sending the national pastime to American troops in Iraq. 

Dan Borer was busy over the last month boxing up baseballs, bats and gloves and shipping them overseas. 

He's sent about 40 boxes filled with sports equipment. Much of it has been donated by sports stores, schools, neighbors and even the Detroit Tigers. 

Borer said he wants to show the troops that people back home appreciate their efforts. 

His son is stationed with the Fourth Infantry Division in Tikrit. 

Borer said he's not looking for any more donations, but he's urging people to take a little time and do something for someone in the military.


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## eggplant43

Great idea, great action!:up:


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## angelize56

Here's another good kid Bruce!  :up:

Girl sends cuddly gifts to foster children
Thursday, December 11, 2003 Posted: 2:57 PM EST (1957 GMT)

BOWIE, Maryland (AP) -- More than 28,000 foster children have received the note, a duffel bag and the cuddly friend. :up: 

"I want you to always know that you are loved, especially by me," the letter says. "And always remember to be positive, polite and never give up. Love Your Friend, Makenzie." 

The writer is 13-year-old Makenzie Snyder, who has been sending duffel bags and stuffed animals to foster children since she was 7. Her mission: comfort neglected children who often are shuttled between temporary homes. 

"I like to cheer up foster kids who have no real family," the Bowie girl says. "They are important, but no one cares for them. They are mostly forgotten." 

Makenzie recently won a national award from the Caring Institute, which was founded in 1985 to honor and promote public service. Some other award recipients this year were Nebraska Congressman Tom Osborne and retired Vice Adm. William Lawrence, a former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. 

For Makenzie, the idea to help foster children came to her when she was 7. She and her two older brothers had won an essay contest on the topic "How to Change the World." Makenzie had been working with her brothers to raise money for firefighters since she was 4. 

The prize was a trip to Paris to take part in the World Children's Summit. There, Makenzie met two children who had been wards of the state. She soon learned that many foster children end up with nothing but a garbage bag to carry their belongings to temporary homes. 

So she decided to collect duffel bags to send through social workers. 

"Then I thought about how I love to cuddle with a stuffed animal when I'm sad or lonely or missing my family, if they went away on a trip," Makenzie said in a recent interview from her backyard office, which is now filled with thousands of stuffed animals. 

She called her project Children to Children and started out shopping at yard sales throughout Maryland for the items she needed. But that took time. 

It wasn't long before the Freddie Mac Foundation heard about Makenzie. 

Makenzie soon found herself sitting at a large conference table with Freddie Mac officials, answering questions about her project. They liked it, and gave her $15,000. The Washington Council of Governments kept the books for her and helped coordinate with regional foster care agencies. 

Shawn Flaherty, a spokeswoman for Freddie Mac who recalled meeting Makenzie when she came to the office in 1999, described her as "very poised for someone so little." 

"She's just a neat girl who is beyond her years in terms of being able to see a problem and start addressing it," Flaherty said. 

Since then, Makenzie has raised about $50,000 in contributions. Makenzie also has collected thousands of duffel bags and stuffed animals from donors, including talk show hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah Winfrey. 

Home Depot and Southern Management Companies built her backyard office. That's where she stores a large zoo of stuffed animals and prepares the bags, sometimes with the help of friends and family who take an assembly line approach. 

Makenzie estimates she has reached about 28,000 children in six years. There are an estimated 530,000 foster children in the United States. 

Makenzie occasionally runs into supply lulls. While she usually has plenty of stuffed animals, Makenzie said her supply of duffel bags has ebbed recently. When she received her Caring Institute award, a donor gave her $5,000. At $10 a bag, that will bring her supply to 500 -- a nice boost. 

"But it would be really cool if someone would match that, so I could get 500 more," she said. 

Ginny Grunley, a court appointed special advocate for foster children in Montgomery County, said Makenzie has excelled at a project that is desperately needed. 

"A lot of times these kids don't have anything new to their name so it really makes them feel good," Grunley said. 

Makenzie doesn't get to meet the children, because of confidentiality rules. Still, she said her project makes her feel good that she's helping others. 

"I actually want to do it forever, until I help all the 530,000 foster care children in the whole United States," Makenzie said. :up: :up:


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## angelize56

I'd give these kids some extra credit on their finals! :up: 

High School Students Stop Knife Attack On Teacher

POSTED: 6:34 a.m. EST December 18, 2003

CONYERS, Ga. -- A high school Spanish teacher in suburban Atlanta said some of the students there are her heroes. 

Authorities said Debbie Shultz's estranged husband burst into her classroom during a final exam yesterday and tried to stab her. That's when some students tackled the man and pinned him to the floor. :up:

Shultz suffered cuts on her hand and leg. The teacher said she's in the final stages of a divorce and had a restraining order against her husband, who's now in jail. 

Nimesh Patel, 17, said he was napping after finishing his final when he heard screaming and saw his teacher trying to fight off an attacker. 

He said he and a couple of other students grabbed the man and threw him to the ground, adding they "basically sat on him until the cops came." :up: The school was also the site of a 1999 shooting in which a student opened fire on classmates, injuring six.


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## angelize56

Father, son reunite for Christmas after 58 years apart  :up:
Thursday, December 25, 2003 Posted: 7:53 AM EST (1253 GMT)

LEADWOOD, Missouri (AP) -- The father kept the photos of his son tucked in a drawer, fading reminders of the smiling baby he last held in his arms nearly 60 years ago. 

Bill Iahn had few memories of his only child besides the pictures: one showed him as a young soldier with a dimple-chinned baby in a high chair, another was a portrait of his son on a rocking horse with the inscription, "To My Daddy, December 25, 1945." 

The little boy had been spirited away by his mother when the couple divorced soon after that and she had pledged he'd never see his son again. 

Iahn tried to prove her wrong. Many times. 

Over the decades, his family made calls, pored over phone books and scoured the Internet for clues that would lead him to his son. Nothing panned out. 

At age 87, Iahn had given up on seeing his son's face again. 

Then one day this fall, Iahn's great-nephew, Denny Huff, was chatting with a friend in this tiny town where secrets are as rare as strangers. He mentioned his Uncle Bill's long-lost son. 

The friend happened to be a genealogy buff and with some surprisingly quick research on the Internet, she produced a name and phone number in Arizona, where Iahn's son had been born. 

Huff looked at the name and it wasn't familiar, but all the details seemed to fit. Amazed and excited, he rushed over to Iahn's house. 

"Uncle Bill, guess what?" he said, clutching the papers. 

"I think we found Billy." 

The father couldn't believe it. 

"When you wait that long -- 58 years -- you just don't think it's going to happen," Iahn says, his raspy voice still filled with wonder. 

A lifetime had passed since he was the young soldier in the Army's horse cavalry when he met his first wife, Thelma, in Phoenix, Arizona. Iahn was dispatched to Europe during World War II and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. 

He and his wife divorced around war's end. Iahn says he doesn't remember precisely what stirred her angry, unforgettable pronouncement: 

"Take a good look," he remembers her saying about their son. "It'll be the last time you ever see him." 

Iahn remarried and worked construction in the St. Louis area most of his life. After he retired, he and his second wife, Dot, moved 60 miles south to Leadwood, an old mining town (population 1,160) where he had grown up. 

He never forgot his son and wistfully mentioned him to relatives. 

"He'd have this sad look on his face," says Betty Iahn, his niece. "He'd say, 'I wish I knew where Billy was.' He wanted to see his Billy ... before he died." 

Betty Iahn tried to help, checking out phone books and trolling the Internet for anyone named Bloom -- Thelma's surname from a first marriage. 

"I hunted. I called. I e-mailed people," she says. "I didn't get anywhere." 

Other relatives pitched in as well as an Arizona state trooper who was Iahn's friend long ago. 

But the search went nowhere until the day Huff was chatting with Sharon Hackworth, Leadwood's water clerk, about Dot Iahn, who was hospitalized at the time with heart problems. 

"It's a shame they never had kids. They're so good with him," Hackworth said. 

"He had a son," Huff said, and told her about the family's futile efforts to find him -- including searching the Internet as late as 1999. 

Hackworth had traced her husband's descendants to the 1700s but she knew family trees could be tricky. She had relatives she had never been able to find. 

She typed the name William Iahn in ancestry.com. Under Iahn's file was his marriage to Thelma Theodosia Harold and her death in 1984. Beneath it was an intriguing line: 

Child of William IAHN and Thelma Theodosia HAROLD is ... Living TREACY. 

Hackworth looked up Thelma's name. Sure enough, it listed her marriage to a man named Bloom. And again, Iahn and their child, with a Treacy surname. 

It just had to be his Billy. 

Hackworth noticed the Web site had been updated in 2001 -- two years after the Iahn family's last Internet search. And she provided one more clue. Knowing Iahn's ex-wife had lived in Phoenix, she found a phone list of 10 Treacys in Arizona. 

The last one: William Treacy of Phoenix. 

The Iahns now had a name and number, but the next step was a giant one. 

Iahn is in poor health and depends on oxygen -- he also uses a walking cane -- and his family didn't want him to call himself. They feared he'd be rebuffed. 

"He might not want to talk to you. He might say, 'You're a stranger. I don't know you,' " Huff gently warned his uncle. 

Iahn's reply: "I'll accept that if that's what happens." 

Another nephew, Jimmy, also worried Iahn's son might have been told his father was dead and wouldn't believe an out-of-the-blue call. 

"I was skeptical," he says. "It was 58 years. I didn't want to ruin his life." 

Eventually, another relative in Colorado reached out first, dialing the William Treacy in the phone directory. 

The man on the other end wasn't Iahn's son but his grandson. At first, he thought the call was a prank, then became convinced it was real. 

He provided his father's unlisted number and called him with the thrilling news. 

"Dad," he said, "I've got a grandpa!" 

His father was puzzled. 

"Your dad's alive," the 30-year-old son declared. 

William Treacy, the long-lost son, stared at his wife, Lydia, in disbelief. 

Not long before, they'd been thumbing through a three-inch thick photo album including his baby pictures. (He'd also kept a baby book listing presents he had been given, including two from his father: $4.50 in pennies and two $2 bills.) 

"Wouldn't it be nice," Lydia had said, "to know what happened to your dad?" 

"Then, two weeks later, boom! God gave us an answer," she says now. 

When Iahn's nephew, Jack, placed the momentous call to Arizona soon afterward, the first words were as simple as they come: 

"Hello, son." 

"Hello, Dad." 

There was no way to make up for lost time. But there was much to say. 

William Treacy revealed he's the father of four and grandfather of seven. 

Iahn told him about family he never knew he had. 

Treacy, a machinist who had taken the surname of a stepfather, had presumed his biological father was dead: He had once heard Iahn had been killed in a car accident (he was seriously injured in one). 

Treacy had been raised by his grandmother and mother -- who split from her husband -- and even now, he remembers moments as a boy when he longed for his father. 

"Growing up ... not knowing that he was on this earth, and not having him around when I used to play ball...," he says, groping for the right words. "It's sad to me." 

When he questioned his mother about his father, "she would say, 'Don't ask me,' " he said. 

So he stopped asking. 

The father-son call led to an invitation to Leadwood, but Treacy worried his newly discovered family might wonder why he hadn't done more to find Iahn. 

"I don't know how you all will feel," he confided to his cousin, Betty. 

"We all love Bill and we'll love you, too," she reassured him. 

Treacy had already won over Dot Iahn, a spry woman who loves animals (her menagerie includes a dog, turkey and miniature 26-inch-high horse) and dolls (she has 780 lining almost every room of her house.) 

"He said, 'Do you mind if I call you Mom?' " she recalls. 

"Eighty-one years old and to be called Mom for the first time in your life?" she says, her face beaming. "Gosh." 

This fall, when Treacy and his wife, Lydia, arrived at the airport in St. Louis, he held a paper sign with "Treacy" and "Iahn" written on it. 

He needn't have bothered. Family members recognized him immediately. There were hugs and kisses all around. 

"Uncle Bill doesn't show a lot of emotion, but he was smiling," says his nephew, Jimmy Iahn, who drove them to the airport. 

No one saw Iahn shed a tear, and yet he confesses: "I might have when nobody could see me." 

Iahn has never been one to talk much, but friends say he's clearly a changed man. 

"He's just got a twinkle in his eye he didn't have before," says Hackworth, whose research reunited father and son. 

In their time together, the two men watched westerns, toured the St. Louis arch, visited Iahn's sister in a nursing home, looked at old photos and joined nearly 70 other family members for a reunion at a nearby VFW Hall. 

"His family grew by tenfold," Jimmy Iahn says. "It's pretty wild." 

And father and son got along famously. "It was like we had known each other a long time," Treacy says. 

Family members noticed similarities between father and son: Both are Army veterans, wear their watches on their left hand over their shirts and walk the same way. 

Two of Treacy's grandchildren are redheads -- just as Iahn was when he was young. 

Iahn teases his son, calling him old man. Treacy sticks with "Dad" for his father. 

Though Treacy -- who turned 60 on December 16 -- says he still feels "a gap of not having him around all these years," he doesn't dwell on that. 

"It's like being in a dim room ... and now everything's bright," he says. "There's a big ole light in my life." 

The baby pictures tucked away all these years now sit on a living room shelf, along with a new photo -- son and father, their arms draped around one another, with their wives. 

Treacy is spending Christmas in Missouri with his father. 

A few years ago, Dot Iahn had lost interest in holiday celebrations, so she gave away her lights and decorations. But with her new son, she's enthused again and started planning Christmas dinner -- turkey, roast beef, mashed potatoes -- in early November. 

She has a Christmas stocking for Treacy and among his gifts: a pillow embroidered with the word "son." 

In a way, Treacy's life has started over. 

"My mom says this is our first Christmas," he says. "I guess I'll be a 60-year-old kid." 

And a content one, at that. 

"I've got him and he's got me," he says, "and that's all there is."


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## eggplant43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meet The Lemons
CHICAGO, Dec. 25, 2003


In an ordinary American neighborhood in a typical American house, a family like no other celebrates Christmas, reports CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella. 

They're the Lemons: 10 girls and 11 boys, toddlers to teenagers, all growing up under one roof; an instant family forged from tragedy and because of a promise. 

"I didn't hesitate, my husband didn't hesitate, my children didn't hesitate," says Debra Lemon, to triple the size an already large family overnight. 

A year ago, Debra Lemon's gravely ill sister made one final request: that Debra take in her 13 children and two grandchildren. The answer would change her family's life in ways they couldn't imagine. 

But for Debra, husband Lamont and their six kids it was simple  it was family. 

"There would have been doubt and fear if they hadn't been with me," Debra Lemon says. "It would have been like double jeopardy. I would have lost my sister and my nieces and nephews all over again. I didn't want to go through that again." 

This extraordinary family lived quietly, out of the public eye for nearly a year after welcoming in their 15 new kids. That all changed when word got out they might be evicted from their three-bedroom apartment. 

Help started to pour in. Their church found them a new, much bigger house. And Wednesday night, a Christmas Eve present no one expected: $10,000 donated for a down payment on a permanent place for the Lemons to grow together. 

"We don't see them as nieces and nephews we just see them as sons and daughters," says Lamont Lemon. "Just family." 

But maybe not the one they planned. 

A year later, though, Debra Lemon has no regrets. 

"I can't imagine going back and not having them," she says. "To me it's a gain and you have to lose something to gain what's better." 

And to remember what this Christmas is all about.


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## Shadow Bea

Wow what a story!
:up::up::up::up:Whatever they get or are given they deserve in spades and then some! Can many of us even imagine being *that* magnanimous?


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## eggplant43

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-bravo14feb14.story

He's Got 7 Million Ways to Tell Her 'I Love You'

In his wife's card is a copy of a $7-million check -- compensation for three lost years.

By Monte Morin

Times Staff Writer

February 14, 2004

Talk about a Valentine.

When Mark Bravo set out with his wife, Rosanne, on Friday for a weekend in Las Vegas, he carried with him a love note she is not likely to forget.

This morning, the 45-year-old Diamond Bar resident will give his wife a Valentine's card in which is tucked a copy of a $7-million check he received Friday.

The money is compensation for the three years Bravo was imprisoned by the state of California for a rape he did not commit.

"Rosanne never lost faith in her husband for the whole time," said his attorney, Hermez Moreno. "That's a lot of money, but she's not even going to look at the numbers. She doesn't really care about the money. She's concerned about him."

Bravo, a registered nurse who worked at Metropolitan State Hospital, was convicted in 1990 of raping a female patient.

In 1993, the Innocence Project took an interest in Bravo's case and initiated DNA testing on the alleged victim's panties, a sheet and a blanket, Moreno said. The victim had recanted her testimony several times after Bravo was convicted.

The DNA tests "proved, not only that the materials tested did not match [Bravo], but did not even match the alleged victim," Moreno said.

A state appeals court awarded Bravo $5.3 million for the wrongful conviction, plus $2 million in interest, said Hallye Jordan, spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office.

The money was included in a Senate appropriations bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger several weeks ago. The check Bravo got Friday totaled $7,075,367.82.

Moreno said that, after fighting for years, it was a bit of a shock to receive the check. As he and Bravo went to the bank to deposit it, Bravo confided to his lawyer that he had not told his wife the news, because he couldn't believe it until the check actually cleared. Instead, he made a copy and decided to give it to her during their trip to Las Vegas this weekend.

"We really didn't expect to see a check for another four to six weeks," Moreno said. "This has been the only thing that the state has done efficiently. In that sense, it's been most shocking."

Moreno said he would receive "more than 30%, but less than 50%" of the $7 million as his fee.

Bravo now works at the California Youth Authority reception center in Norwalk, next door to the hospital where he was accused of rape.

Since leaving prison in 1994, he has put himself through law school and is now pursuing a master's degree in nursing. He and his wife, also a registered nurse, have a son in his 20s training to become a firefighter.

*

Associated Press contributed to this report.


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## eggplant43

Father, son find $6,000, return it to charity



msgjac

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) - Dan Chapdelaine and his son, Wyatt, often play a game of spotting discarded items alongside the road, but they hardly could have guessed the value of a bag they picked up along U.S. 89 recently.

It contained $6,000 cash.

Wyatt, 10, wasn't tempted to keep the cash. ''He basically said, 'We've got to figure out whose it is,''' Chapdelaine said.

As it turned out, they found the money just a few minutes after Joni and Rob Weed lost it. It was part of nearly $14,000 generated by the Shrine Club over a weekend of Calcutta betting on chariot racing.

The proceeds are donated to Salt Lake Shrine Hospital, which offers free orthopedic care for children.

The Weeds believe they left the bag on top of their car while they drove to the races Feb. 15.

While they were on the road, Rob Weed heard a rattling noise on the roof and stopped - finding an empty cash drawer. They fruitlessly searched the car for the deposit bag and concluded that it had been on top of the drawer.

''The only thing in the whole car that was of any value was that deposit bag and that's what we lost,'' Joni Weed said. ''Of course, I didn't expect in 100 million years that anyone would turn it in.''

The Weeds told Sheriff Bob Zimmer, who is the Shrine Club president, what happened. She said they were ready to reimburse the club.

They issued a press release describing the bag.

Beth Chapdelaine heard a radio broadcast about the missing bag Monday morning. ''I called dispatch and said, I think I have something you are looking for,'' she said.

A deputy was sent to retrieve the money.

The couple originally thought the money had less-than-charitable origins. ''We thought it was dirty money - there was no question about that,'' Beth Chapdelaine said. ''There was nothing in it but greenbacks.''


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## Shadow Bea

What a great Story Bruce


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## angelize56

I hope the daughter can feel comfortable when she is returned to her real Mom! It must be a hard adjustment after 6 years! What a miracle that Mom recognized her daughter! :up: Take care! angel 

Mom finds kidnapped daughter six years later
Philadelphia officials had ruled infant died in 1997 fire
Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 8:19 AM EST (1319 GMT)

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A fire that authorities six years ago thought killed a 10-day-old girl was a ruse to kidnap the infant, Philadelphia police said Monday. 

The baby, Delimar Vera, was sleeping in the upstairs front bedroom when a fire broke out at her family's two-story row house in north Philadelphia on December 15, 1997. 

Luz Cuevas, her mother, could not find Delimar when she ran into the room. She eventually ran out of the house, overcome by smoke and burned on her face. Her two other children also survived, police said. 

Remains of the infant's body were never found, and police concluded they had been incinerated in the flames. 

The official cause of the fire was listed as an overheated extension cord attached to a space heater. 

But Cuevas never fully believed her daughter died in the fire. 

In January, she attended a birthday party for the child of an acquaintance and was struck by the resemblance of a 6-year-old girl to herself and her other children. 

Telling the girl she had bubble gum in her hair, Cuevas was able to take strands of her hair in hopes a DNA test would prove she was right, according to Philadelphia police Lt. Michael Boyle of the special victims unit. 

Luz Cuevas never fully believed her daughter died in the fire. 
A state legislator helped put Cuevas in touch with police, who launched an investigation and had DNA tests performed that confirmed the girl is her daughter. 

Police say Carolyn Correa, 41, a resident of Willingboro, New Jersey, a Philadelphia suburb, started the fire and kidnapped Delimar, whom she passed off as her own daughter. 

Before the results of the DNA tests were in, officials placed the child in New Jersey state custody. 

When police returned to Correa's home to confront her about the DNA results, she had fled, leaving behind three other children. 

She remains a fugitive from multiple arrest warrants on charges that include arson, kidnapping and concealing the whereabouts of a child. 

Lt. Thomas McDevitt of the special victims unit said Cuevas told police that Correa was a distant friend of a cousin of the baby's father, from whom she has separated. 

Cuevas had met Correa the day before the fire, McDevitt said. Correa returned December 15, saying she had left her purse upstairs, he said. 

The fire was discovered shortly after Correa left the house, McDevitt said. 

It has not yet been determined when Delimar will be reunited with Cuevas. 

Boyle said that when police told Cuevas about the DNA test results Saturday night she was "overwhelmed with joy." 

"She sat there and shook and cried and kept saying, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Boyle said. 

Police say they cannot fully explain why Delimar was declared killed. 

Officers at the time found bone fragments they thought were the baby's remains, but tests later showed them to be nonhuman, McDevitt said. 

When investigators returned to the scene, firemen had already dumped several hundred pounds of debris from the gutted bedroom in the back yard, McDevitt said. 

The officers sifted through the debris but found mostly dry wool particles, which they were told resemble human ashes, but only those burned at 1,000 degrees for an hour or longer, McDevitt said. 

The fire, which was confined to the bedroom, lasted only about 15 minutes and was nowhere near 1,000 degrees, McDevitt said. 

McDevitt admitted this scenario is an explanation only "up to a point." On the other hand, officers had no reason to suspect arson or a kidnapping, he said.


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## eggplant43

I'd have to say, a mother always knows. I just feel so sorry for this child, and hope everything works out.


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## eggplant43

Prosecutor: Kidnap suspect tried to tamper with girl's DNA test





March 4, 2004, 8:39 AM EST

With BC-NJ--Kidnapping-Arson 

PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ A woman who allegedly kidnapped a 10-day-old baby and set a fire to hide the crime tried to tamper with the recent DNA test authorities gave the girl, a prosecutor charged. 

Carolyn Correa sprayed an unidentified substance in the now 6-year-old girl's mouth as authorities came to take a swab, Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney Leslie Gomez said at Correa's bail hearing Wednesday. 

Correa told Delimar Vera _ whom she was raising as Aliyah Hernandez _ "Goodbye, this is the last time you're going to see Mommy. You're not going to see Mommy anymore," according to Gomez. 

Jeffrey C. Zucker, Correa's attorney, called the tampering allegation absurd. 

"She's been nothing but cooperative," said Zucker, who accompanied Correa when she surrendered to police on Tuesday. 

Correa, 42, of Willingboro, N.J., remained in jail Thursday, unable to post the $1 million bond set for arson, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges lodged against her. 

Correa _ who was either pregnant or claiming to be pregnant in 1997, acquaintances said _ is charged with taking the baby from a Philadelphia row house on Dec. 15, 1997. 

That night, she brought a baby to her then-boyfriend's mother's house, saying she had given birth three days earlier, the boyfriend said. 

"There is no doubt that she was carrying a baby," said Andre Moore, who dated Correa in 1997, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I saw her belly. I saw her naked. I saw her late in her term and she was pregnant." 

Moore, like others, wants to know what happened to that baby. 

"If Aliyah is not my sister, where's my sister?" Angelica Correa, Correa's 17-year-old daughter, said to the Philadelphia Daily News. 

Correa had gone to the baby's house the day of the fire to ask Pedro Vera, a relative by marriage, to help fix her car. She mentioned to Luzaida Cuevas, the newborn's mother, that she had also given birth recently, Cuevas said. 

Correa later went upstairs to retrieve her purse, giving her the opportunity to move the baby closer to a window, police said in an affidavit obtained by KYW-TV. 

Despite the recent DNA test that links Delimar to Cuevas, Correa continues to believe the girl is her daughter, Zucker said. 

He wants to have his client's mental health evaluated, and may consider an insanity defense. 

Meanwhile, Cuevas and Pedro Vera _ who had a son together after Delimar disappeared but then separated _ are at odds. 

Pedro Vera has hired an attorney to represent his interests, saying he's been left out of plans to reunite with the girl. 

"Doesn't the father have equal rights here?" his attorney, Michael Luber, asked at a news conference. 

The 31-year-old Cuevas, holding up Delimar's birth certificate Wednesday, said Pedro Vera refused to sign it in 1997 because he did not believe he was the father. 


Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press


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## angelize56

From Eggy's article: "There is no doubt that she was carrying a baby," said Andre Moore, who dated Correa in 1997, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I saw her belly. I saw her naked. I saw her late in her term and she was pregnant." 

 Now there's a frightening thought! Where IS her baby if she was truly pregnant!


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## eggplant43

My speculation: She lost the baby, so went to get another. Psychotic, or just selfish beyond belief. Who knows?


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## THoey

I am just wondering how this ended up in "Up beat news"??? 

Maybe I should go to sleep now...


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## eggplant43

Angel posted, we responded. This isn't the first thread to go a little off-topic It is essentially and upbeat story, with some negative elements.


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## eggplant43

Laid-off factory worker wins $89 million lottery


- - - - - - - - - - - -




March 15, 2004 | INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- A man who was laid off last week from his job at a tractor factory claimed a $89 million Powerball prize Monday with the sole winning ticket. 

Tim Rivers said he and his wife, Pam, plan to buy a new house and move out of their mobile home in the town of Salem in southern Indiana. 

The couple, who are both 24 and have two young children, opted for the cash option and will receive $49.9 million before taxes, a Hoosier Lottery spokeswoman said. 

"Winning that much money terrified me," Tim Rivers said, adding that when he realized Saturday he had a winning ticket he immediately called a financial planner. 

Pam Rivers, who works at a daycare center, said both she and her husband plan to return to school and she hopes to become a nurse. 

They have a 6-month-old son, and a daughter, 4. 

The winning numbers for Saturday night's drawing were: 11, 44, 45, 48, 50 and Powerball 2. 


- - - - - - - - - - - -


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## eggplant43

The richest man in town

At 84, Tom White has achieved his life's goal. He's given away his entire fortune.

By Bella English, Globe Staff, 3/23/2004

There's a popular bumper sticker that says: "He who dies with the most toys wins." Tom White's bumper sticker would read: "He who gives it all away wins."

It looks as if White will get his wish. At 84, the construction millionaire has given away his fortune. If he has his way, he'll be down to his last quarter when he draws his last breath.

"Give me three good reasons why I shouldn't," he says. Then he proceeds to list three reasons he should. "I can't take it with me, my kids are OK, and my wife's taken care of."

He gave away his first chunk of money after World War II,
when an Army buddy needed some cash. White gave him $200. Since then, he estimates he has given away $75 million, pretty much all of his assets. He has supported more than 100 causes over the years, but his biggest gift by far has gone to Partners in Health, the program made famous last year with the publication of Tracy Kidder's book "Mountains Beyond Mountains." The book details the work done in Haiti and other Third World countries by Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor and infectious-disease specialist whose work on AIDS and tuberculosis for the world's poorest has been hailed as groundbreaking. White put up the initial money for the program and has steadily funneled tens of millions of dollars
into it. It all began with a bread oven. A 1983 meeting in Haiti would change both men's lives, as well as the way the medical world would treat poor people with AIDS and drug-resistant tuberculosis. Then a Harvard medical student working in Haiti, Farmer was dispatched to the Port-au-Prince airport to fetch White, a successful businessman on an errand.

White was 64, 40 years older than the brash young student who viewed the capitalist with more than a grain of skepticism. "He was wearing bright checkered golf pants, red and other offensive colors, and some sort of golf shirt, and he had on a hat," Farmer says.

It was White's first trip to Haiti; he had been asked by Project Bread, one of his charities, to build a community oven in Cange, a rural slum, so women would not have to walk 10 miles each way to buy bread. "It was a no-brainer," says White, who was president of J.F. White Contracting Co., a business started by his father. "So I went over, and who did I meet but Paul? What a piece of work." White chuckles. "He'd hardly give me the time of day because he thought I was a member of the establishment."

On the long, dusty ride to Cange, Farmer, who had asked Project Bread for the oven, baited White: How do you feel about unions? Who did you support in the last presidential election? ("All sorts of inappropriate questions that a 24-year-old should not be asking a potential donor," Farmer says today.)

To Farmer's surprise, White replied that he was in favor of unions and that he had voted against Ronald Reagan. Farmer was impressed not only by White's answers but by his emotional reaction to the suffering he saw in Haiti. "That made a big difference to me," says Farmer, to whom Haiti has become a second home. "The inspiration for Partners in Health was born right then and there." In 1987 it was established, with a $1 million donation from White, who sits on the group's advisory board.

"He said yes, and he has continued to say yes," is the way Farmer describes White's contribution to Partners in Health. "He has the gift of empathy. He's probably the greatest man I've ever met." It's high praise coming from a man who has himself been called a saint.

A quiet force On a recent day, White is relaxing in his two-bedroom condo overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge. It is a nice place, but hardly a millionaire's digs, with its galley kitchen and combination living/dining area. He's forthright about his life, warts and all, and quick with a laugh. But his eyes flash at the mention of certain subjects, particularly Haiti. He thinks the Bush administration's policy toward former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide has been devastating to both democracy and the poor. Aristide recently fled Haiti as rebels overtook the capital.

"Bush hates Aristide because he won't be a toady," says White, who "goes looking" for Aristide whenever he's in Haiti. "I often find him at his orphanage in Port-au-Prince. He's going to do what he thinks is best for the poor people. . . . Aristide has had nothing to work with." Under Bush, the United States has helped block $500 million in aid to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, ravaging its economy and basic services. "People are literally starving, especially children. It's unbelievable," White says.

White has long been a quiet force in Boston. His company built Foxboro Stadium, the Charles River dam, part of the subway system, the Park Plaza Hotel, and the underground garage at Post Office Square. White was a confidante of Cardinal Cushing and served as the New England fund-raiser for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. He has been on the boards of the Harvard Divinity School, Boston College, the New England Patriots, and the JFK Library. And for decades he has quietly been giving away money to various causes, especially those dealing with the poor. He put up seed money to help start Nativity Preparatory School in Roxbury, which offers children from impoverished homes a prep-school education.

"I kept going to the bottom tier, which is Haiti," is the way White describes his charitable causes. Whenever his alma mater, Harvard, would call looking for money, he'd say, "For God's sake, you've got $15 billion over there, and I've got people over here starving to death. You tell me what I should do." Recounting this, White chuckles and adds, "I still give $1,000 a year so my classmates will talk to me."

There's no doubt that, given the choice, he'd rather have a cement-block building in Haiti named after him than a Harvard library. Actually, he'd rather not have either. But in 1999, the board of Partners in Health decided to name a treatment center at their headquarters in Haiti the Thomas J. White Center. Across central Haiti, patients talk of going to "the Tom White" to get help.

Last year, when Farmer and White were in Haiti, patients asked to meet this Tom White who had funded the facility where they were being treated. Farmer was the translator, speaking Creole. But when it came to relaying the message from the patients' spokesman to their benefactor, Farmer could barely continue. "I had more than a lump in my throat," he says. He was in tears.

The message: "In the name of the Tom White patients, we'd like to welcome you to the Tom White pavilion." White, too, was teary-eyed, but he thanked the patients, said they were models for other places with similar problems, and told them it was their job to get well and help other patients.

"He has basically given away his wealth," Farmer says. "I've never seen it before, have you? I've read about it in the Bible."

Fighting battles From Irish Catholic kid to major philanthropist, it was not a smooth road for White. The son of an alcoholic with a nasty temper, he says he grew up in Cambridge with poor self-esteem. White's mother, overwhelmed with six children, wasn't much help. "If you came in with a bloody nose, she'd say, `You have to fight your own battles.' " he recalls. When young Tom brought home all A's, it still "wasn't good enough" for his parents.

"I think the suffering in my own family made me want to help others," White says. His father proved successful in real estate, fuel, and construction. But the Depression wiped him out. Though the family was comfortable -- "we had the only single-family home on Ellery Street," White says -- his father was cheap. "He would never buy us a bike, and I remember stuffing paper in my shoes," says White, who made do with hand-me-downs.

Attending Harvard on an ROTC grant, he graduated on June 6, 1942. Two days later, he was at Fort Bragg in California, volunteering as a paratrooper. He jumped into Normandy the night before D-Day, returning home with Silver and Bronze stars. In 1947, he took over his father's construction business with a couple of old coal trucks and $20,000. He didn't know anything about building, but it turns out he did know something about making money.

Once White got a glimpse of Haiti, that was it; he decided there could be no better use for his money. "I was angry," he says. "You see the kids with red hair and distended bellies," signs of severe malnutrition. During one trip to Partners in Health's clinic in Cange, White told Farmer and his colleagues to outfit the village's shanties with cement floors and tin roofs -- and send him the bill. More than 100 huts were fixed.

"The floors were dirt, and when it rained, people would sleep in the mud," he says. He is proud of the food program at Cange -- "the kids get two meals a day." Today, Partners in Health runs a full-service hospital, AIDS and tuberculosis treatment clinics, a women's health center, and several cottage industries in Haiti. It has also launched programs in Peru, Siberia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Boston.

"They would call me and say, `We have 10 cases of drug-resistant TB,' and at that time it cost $25,000 a patient," White says. "They kept calling: `We've identified 20 more,' and then 20 more." White never said no.

"Finally, about four or five years ago, it just got beyond me," he says. "I don't have money like Bill Gates. What I gave away was all I have, but it wasn't all that much." He says that he still has "a few hundred thousand bucks" in a charitable gift fund. As for Partners in Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has become a major donor.

Motivated to help White's giving comes from the heart, not the ego. When Time magazine named him "best philanthropist" in 2001, he said: "You've got the wrong man." He says he loathes stories about "self-made men," particularly from politicians. "All these guys brag that they did it all themselves. It's a lot of baloney. Everyone gets breaks. Along the way, I've had a lot of breaks."

Although he is one of them, he doesn't particularly care for wealthy people. "With them, it's all about me, me, me," he says. "All they talk about is their golf scores and the big new house they're going to build." Though he used to belong to prestigious private clubs, White stopped going and no longer hobnobs with the rich. About 10 years ago, his wife told him: "You finally did it. No one has invited us anywhere this year."

Not that she minds. Lois White has been married to Tom for 30 years; between the two of them, they have 13 children -- six of hers, seven of his. There are 37 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She has accompanied her husband to Haiti on several occasions and is thrilled with the center there. "It's like an oasis in the middle of a desert," she says. "They have people coming from 30 to 40 miles away, walking two or three days for treatment."

Five years ago, Tom White sold the big house on Cape Cod that he bought cheap and redid himself, but he and Lois still have a small home in Osterville and an apartment in Jupiter, Fla. They don't travel the way they used to, and when they do, they stay in budget places.

"But we're not wearing hair shirts," he says. "I don't collect art and wine. If I want a beer, I have a beer. I have everything I need."

White says that people in trouble gravitate toward him. But maybe it's the other way around. His wife says he can't go into Harvard Square without emptying his wallet.

"Did he tell you about the red-wagon lady?" Lois asks, and then proceeds to tell the story. For years, Tom has given money to a homeless woman who collects bottles and cans in the square and redeems them. One day, he asked her what else he could do to help her. "What I would really like is a red wagon because then I could pick up more bottles and take them to the store," she replied. When he got home, he went to Sears and picked up a red wagon. "The next morning, he goes pulling the wagon up to Harvard Square," says Lois, chuckling at the memory. "When she saw him coming, she burst into tears."

Asked about it, White is dismissive. "I got a bigger kick out of it than she did."

A trip to McDonald's typically costs him a hundred bucks. He'll search out the janitors and hand over $20 bills. "The woman cleaning the toilet can't speak English, she has nothing, and no one gives her anything," he explains. He also supports Sojourner House, a homeless shelter in Roxbury; Odwin Learning Center in Dorchester, which helps adults get into college; and afterschool and summer programs for poor kids in Roxbury.

Ask him why, and White, who attends Mass daily, replies: "I'm motivated a lot by what Jesus wants me to do, or what I think he wants me to do. And I think he wants me to help make the world a better place."

His family, he says, is taken care of; he gave his children stock in his company "way back, when it was so cheap." His oldest son now runs the company, and his youngest son works there. His daughter, Linda Fiske, says she and her siblings were brought up to believe that all people are equal and that "we're all in this together."

"We marvel at our father because he's so darn intelligent and so compassionate," says Fiske, 50, a preschool teacher who lives in Hingham. "He's been a tremendous role model. Some people might feel that as a child, you're entitled [to an inheritance]. But why should you be? I feel if your parents raised you, and put in so much time and energy, they don't owe you. . . . He has been so incredibly generous over the years that none of us feels deprived. None of us are the type to go out and buy yachts and take trips around the world."

As for Tom White, he says he has but one regret: "I'm sorry I don't have more money to give away."

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.


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## eggplant43

Va. Trucker Hauls In $239M 
RICHMOND, Va., April 1, 2004


A retired truck driver claimed a $239 million Mega Millions jackpot Thursday, calling the second-largest lottery payout in history "no big thing to me." 

J.R. Triplett of Winchester said he bought five tickets at a store a few miles from his home and told his wife, Peggy, the day after the Feb. 20 drawing, "Sweetheart, I've got those numbers. 

"Then she got down on her knees and thanked the Lord," Triplett said in a statement issued by the Virginia Lottery. 

A Virginia Lottery official said the winning April Fool's Day claim had been verified. 

"The ticket is good. Everything is cool," Ed Scarborough said. 

Despite his wife's excitement, Triplett said in his statement that "It didn't excite me all that much. It's no big thing to me." 

He even went to work on the Monday following his lottery win, hauling paint to Pennsylvania, the Winchester Star reported. 

The $239 million jackpot is the world's second-largest single-ticket lottery win. Jack Whittaker of Scott Depot, W.Va., won a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002. 

"All I wanted to win was $100,000," Triplett told the Star. Instead, he'll take the lump sum payout of about $141.5 million, before the $40 million in taxes. 

Mega Millions is played in Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state. 

Triplett purchased the ticket at the Red Apple Country Store in Stephens City, about 80 miles west of Washington. The numbers drawn were 1-13-20-21-30 with Mega Ball number 24. The odds of winning were one in more than 135 million. 

He told the paper that buying lottery tickets in various states is a "trucker thing," and he spends $3,500 to $5,000 a year on them, and he will continue playing. 

"At a store, if the bill came to $7, Id give them $10 and say, Give me the rest in Lotto tickets,'" he said. 

The delay in claiming the prize had led to speculation that the ticket might have been lost or discarded. The deadline for submitting the winning ticket was Aug. 18. 

The Tripletts consulted lawyers and financial planners, and got their affairs in order. 

"I knew I got 180 days to collect it. I wasnt in no hurry," he said. 

Buying tickets in his hometown of Winchester a few weeks ago, the clerk told him to be careful and not lose the tickets, as the Mega Millions jackpot winner had. 

"I told him, 'Well young man, you never know. I have a feeling hell show up one of these days,'" Triplett said, with a smile. 



©MMIV CBS Broadcasting Inc.


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## eggplant43

Panicked Parasailors Rescued

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla., April 9, 2004


Two girls escaped injury after an entire Florida beach full of people pooled their efforts to save them after their parasail cord snapped. 

It happened Thursday at Madeira Beach, near St. Petersburg. 

Beachgoers grabbed hold of a snapped parasail cord and reeled them in. It took as many as 100 people about 30 minutes to pull 16-year-olds Chelsea Waddell and Theresa Blaneford down to the beach against strong winds. 

"Didn't have a scratch on 'em or anything," said beachgoer Chris Dean. "So they were fine." 

Waddell is the daughter of Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell. 

"We were on top of a bunch of buildings, over streets and roads, and it was really freaky," she told a local TV station. 

When the Get Wet Parasail company's boat stalled on its way toward the Gulf of Mexico, the tow line attached to the parasail's passenger seat snapped. The wind immediately carried them across the beach and over a line of condominiums and hotels. 

Parasail boats and operators are inspected and regulated by the Coast Guard, but there are no inspection requirements for parasail equipment such as harnesses and tow lines. 

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area has seen parasailing tragedies: In December 1990, a man died when the boat operator cut his tow line because the winds were too high. He eventually fell head first onto a tennis court. In 2001, a 13-year-old girl and her mother were killed when a parasail harness broke, dropping them more than 20 stories. 

Cheryl Waddell noted the high winds when she dropped her daughter and Blaneford off at the parasailing business. She told the St. Petersburg Times she repeatedly asked company employees whether it was safe, and was told it was. 

"The pressure of the air in the sail was tremendous," Scott Eagers said. "It was awesome seeing the whole beach react. Everybody didn't even think, they just ran down, grabbed the rope, and started hauling those girls down." 

"There were some people out in the water holding on to the rope, and then by that time a bunch of us had got on the shore and started pulling it in, too. And we just started pulling 'em in," Randy Miller said. 

Thank God for all those people," Chelsea said. "Thank God for them." 

Don Waddell had arrived in town for a Thrashers game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday. 

"We are so lucky, so very lucky that people responded and helped," he said of the rescue. 

He said employees of the parasail company did not apologize to the family or explain what happened. A woman who answered the telephone at the business said no one was available to talk, but instructors would probably issue a statement later in the week. 

The girls, who are both from Atlanta, vow never to parasail again. 



©MMIV CBS Broadcasting Inc


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## eggplant43

Blind Grandpa Finishes College With 4.0 

Mon May 17, 1:04 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! 


By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer 

ST. LOUIS - The fact Bob Brophy never made it through high school makes him all the more proud he's now got a college degree. How he did that  with perfect grades  has his grandson and class in awe. 



"It takes a lot to get a 4.0 in college; I'm sure it's even tougher when you're 72 and blind," 21-year-old Jason White said Saturday, hours after graduating with his grandpa from Jefferson College in Hillsboro, south of St. Louis. "I'm really proud of him, so proud of him." 


Decked out in his graduate's robe, Brophy got a standing ovation from the college's 300 or so new graduates as he worked his way across the stage to collect his degrees. His cane and grandson guided him each step. 


"It was just a wonderful feeling. It makes all the hard work worthwhile," Brophy said. "I was excited, naturally. I achieved something I wanted to do all my life." 


He embraced hearing the traditional "Pomp and Circumstance," notable given the circumstances he overcame to get there. 


Brophy was about 10 when his vision first began failing him. Within years, a juvenile form of macular degeneration  one of the top causes of adult blindness  had stolen his eyesight, prompting him to abandon high school after his sophomore year. 


With nothing more than just bits of peripheral vision, Brophy still saw firsthand what college life was about. For 35 years, he managed Jefferson College's cafeteria by contract and found that "the kids kept me young." 


Still, Brophy  always interested "in just about every subject" and current events  was restless and unfulfilled, until technology came calling. 


Years ago, he found computer software that could read back words he typed, "giving me access to all printed materials I didn't have before." Another program read back pages he scanned into the computer. 


All of it, he exclaimed, "opened up all the libraries of the world." 


"You don't get many chances in life," he said. "I had to take advantage of that. I didn't want to retire and just sit around." 


Hello, college. 


His first semester's class load included music appreciation, a computer class and political science. He aced them all. 


"I just loved it," he said. "Students there accepted me as one of their own. It was the most enjoyable time of my life." 


Taking tests with his disability were never a problem. In most cases, the questions were verbally asked to Brophy, whose replies were written down for him. 


He took honors classes in biology, English and ethics and loved the smaller, more-intimate feel of those sessions. 


"It gives students a better opportunity to debate each other, to express each other, to listen," he said. 


He aced those, too. 

"It was a lot of work," he says. "I was up until midnight many a night, like many a college student. But I enjoyed it." 

So on Saturday, Brophy reaped the rewards. He got an associates degree in liberal arts and a degree for his honors work. During the ceremony, he sat in the front row with the 13 classmates who also graduated summa cum laude, with a perfect grade-point average. 

When it comes to grades, White says he got schooled by his grandpa. 

"He made me look ridiculous," White laughed, saying he expects his final GPA to be about 3.0. 

Brophy's quest now? Chase a bachelor's degree in behavioral science from St. Louis' Missouri Baptist University, with hopes of becoming a counselor. 

He knows it's doable. After all, "I've been able to do about everything I wanted to do." 

___


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## Shadow Bea

Woman Keeps Promise to Put Class Through College
By MICHELLE LOCKE, AP

HAYWARD, Calif. (June 14) - Michael Tatmon stood on the stage of the community college, a brand-new diploma in his hand, his eyes raking the crowd. Standing at the front of the audience, an elegantly dressed woman waved madly. "Yeah!" Oral Lee Brown yelled to Tatmon.

The hundreds of people sitting in the wind-swept courtyard of Chabot College didn't know they were watching a dream come true - for both Tatmon, the student, and Brown, his benefactor.

It was 17 years ago when their paths first crossed.

Tatmon was a student at an inner-city Oakland elementary school with some of the lowest test scores in the district, living in a neighborhood beset by temptation and transgression.

Tatmon, now 23, only vaguely remembers the day Brown walked in and told his first-grade class she would pay for them to go to college - if they got that far.

It wasn't until much later that he realized what that meant.

"I just know a lady came and said that she was going to end up paying for us to go to school," he says. "In high school, it started to come to reality. I started really understanding more."

Brown, a real estate agent, had been moved to make her unusual promise after a chance encounter with a hungry little girl skipping school. At the time, 1987, she was making about $45,000 a year and the idea that she could set aside $10,000 a year in a trust fund as promised seemed about as far-fetched as the hope the children would be able to live up to their part of the bargain.

Still, Brookfield Elementary officials were soon won over as Brown became a fixture, meeting with children, meeting with parents, drumming home her message: You can do better.

"It has been a job," Brown says simply. "It's something I have to do as long as I am able to do it."

Brown wasn't the first to shepherd strangers to college. In 1981, businessman Gene Lang was moved to guarantee college funding when he gave a speech at his old elementary in New York City's Harlem neighborhood.

Today, The "I Have a Dream" Foundation founded by Lang has seen 180 projects in 27 states and has served more than 13,000 students, says Marina Winton, president of the organization.

Though not all the sponsors are wildly rich, the endeavor does require a significant financial commitment. And just telling a child that college is an option isn't enough. The key is daily contact and mentoring by a caring adult, either the sponsor or a hired project coordinator, Winton says.

"Essentially, we're taking kids where they're typically graduating at a rate of 20 to 40 percent and we're converting those rates to 60 to 100 percent," Winton says.

Over the years, Brown has become an established fund-raiser, creating the Oral Lee Brown Foundation and holding an annual dinner that has helped swell the college fund to about $375,000. She keeps the money in a trust - "I can't afford to put the kids' future on Wall Street."

Brown saw three of her Brookfield students graduate college last year - "They've reached the mountain," she says - and this year three more are graduating.

Meanwhile, she is sponsoring 89 new students from Oakland schools, selecting them by soliciting applications districtwide two years ago from grades 5 and 7. "The need is still there," she says.

When she meets a new group of students, she asks them the same thing she asked Tatmon and his classmates: "What are your dreams? Do you want to go to college?"

Typically, every little hand goes up - so Brown tries to explain what it's going to take.

They have to get up every morning excited to go to school. They have to ask questions and not be afraid if they don't understand something. Ask, it's OK. You won't feel like a dummy, and even if you do, so what? Dummies need answers, too.

Of the original 23 Brookfield students, 19 went to college and many are taking longer than four years to finish, often because they must take care of turmoil at home.

Some decided to take a different path, which Brown doesn't count as a failure; she's proud of the young man who dropped out of college to follow his dream of becoming a firefighter.

Some have fallen along the way. Tracy Easterling was shot as she walked down a street in Oakland. She was 21 years old.

"That was real hard," Tatmon said. "That took a toll out on everybody."

But there were triumphs, too, like the girl who was temporarily sidelined by an unexpected pregnancy but is now finishing college and taking care of her 6-year-old.

"That's life," Brown says. "If they had been angels and perfect little kids they would have never needed Ms. Brown anyway."

On the Net:

http://www.oralleebrownfoundation.org


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## eggplant43

A Great true story. Her promise is doing so much good, because she gave these kids hope when they may have not had much reason to have hope.


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## Shadow Bea

Hi Bruce  I know.. I have kind of been following the story for years now! Love what she is doing!


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## eggplant43

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/miami/sfl-dfairy15jul15,0,5352343.story?coll=sfla-news-miami

'Parking meter fairy' is a dream come true in Coconut Grove

By Eppie Vega

Miami Bureau

July 15, 2004

As the man in a pink curly wig, a lavender tutu and diaphanous angel wings skated along the streets of Miami's trendy Coconut Grove area, a woman sitting at a table asked him if he was a fairy of some sort.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm the parking meter fairy."

"Thank you," said a man at the same table, before giving the fairy a cigarette in appreciation for his kindness.

The fairy chatted briefly with them while taking a few puffs. Then he was off on his appointed rounds -- putting quarters in parking meters about to expire. As he was leaving, the man at the table said, "Long live the meter fairy."

Hired to skate around the Grove adding 15 minutes to a visitor's time at the curb, Xavier Cortes is a popular figure. He provides relief from the pesky parking tickets that threatened to discourage patrons from returning to restaurants and shops.

His job was created when a business owner in Coconut Grove grew tired of getting parking tickets for missing the meter by a minute or two. Cynthia Bettner, publisher of Best Tourist Publications Inc., advertised in the Miami New Times for a "colorful one-of-a-kind extrovert who looks good in tulle."

Bettner wasn't necessarily looking for a male fairy, just someone who could skate and would not be afraid to dress like a fairy.

Cortes found the job interesting enough to call.

"At first I thought it was almost humorous, like something with good intention that I would want to be a part of," he said.

When Cortes answered the ad, however, he first wanted to make sure it wasn't a joke. Convinced that it wasn't, he applied.

"Xavier was perfect. He's an artist, someone who likes to be dressed in this bizarre outfit to help educate people about the parking tickets," Bettner said. "Tourists stop him."

Every time he works, a different merchant sponsors Cortes. Storeowners pay him $10 an hour for a five-hour day. He gets $40 in quarters and a $25 parking card for the parking meters.

People don't get a free ride. They simply get a chance to avoid getting a ticket.

The job comes naturally to Cortes, an artist with a theater background whose works have been featured in galleries, music album covers and local newspapers.

"I've done Che Guevara, who is a communist, so this is just another performance," Cortes said. "I'm out skating, and I'm getting paid for doing somebody a favor."

Visitors and locals are happy he's on the job, and many thank him for his work. Children look at him in awe.

"He's our favorite fairy," said Kathleen Brennan, a Grove resident.

But not everyone admires his work. On a recent day, while Cortes skated around the Grove, two teenage boys laughed at him. But this did not bother him.

"My dad was my biggest worry," Cortes said. "He knows where I stand in my sexuality."

Surprisingly, Cortes gets along with all the parking meter officers.

"Meter maids have been nothing but nice to me," he said. "I've had a secret fear that they'd be antagonistic."

Jill Swerdlow, a business owner who has sponsored Cortes more than once, said he is a goodwill ambassador.

"I'm a big fan," Swerdlow said. " I think it really captures what the Grove is about."

After saying hello, Cortes quickly moves on. With more meters to fill, he fixes his lavender tutu, makes sure his wings are on straight and waves goodbye as he skates away.

Eppie Vega can be reached at [email protected] com or 305-810-5001. 
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel


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## Shadow Bea

That is tutu much


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## eggplant43

Double dose of perfection

Twin brothers both get a flawless 1600 on the SAT, but Long Beach seniors simply take it in stride

BY CYNTHIA DANIELS

STAFF WRITER

October 27, 2004

It seems like the kind of SAT question custom-made for Dillon and Jesse Smith of Long Beach: If one out of every 1,511 students taking the SAT will get a perfect score, what are the odds that twin brothers will both ace the test?

Answer: No one knows for sure. Nevertheless, that's what the Smith twins have done.

Both Dillon and Jesse Smith, 16-year-old fraternal twins, achieved the elusive top score of 1600, a number most high school seniors dream about seeing on their SAT score report.

"I was very, very happy," said Dillon, describing the moment he realized that both he and his brother received the top score on the aptitude test. "I've been hoping for it since we started."

It was a rare thing to hope for. Of the 1.4 million high school seniors who took the test in 2004, only 939 scored a 1600, according to the College Board, which administers the test. With those numbers, the odds of any two people getting that score would be almost 1 in 2.3 million -- and that doesn't even take into account whether those two people are related, never mind twins.

"It's a very low probability that any one person would get it [a 1600]," said Nancy Mendell, professor of applied math and statistics at Stony Brook University. "And it's even lower that both would."

The boys, seniors at Long Beach High School, are both among the school's top 20 academic achieving students -- Jesse ranks No. 3 and Dillon 16. Although the twins say they set high standards for themselves, they don't put pressure on themselves to meet those goals. In fact, the twins took no SAT preparation courses, studied from borrowed library books and quizzed each other with vocabulary words.

"I don't see the SAT as that big of a deal," Jesse said. "It's a test testing how well you can take a test. I don't think it really says how smart you are."

The boys, who don't favor only one school, said the scores don't mean they can go to any college they want. Dillon plans to major in engineering and will apply to Columbia University, New York University and The Cooper Union. Jesse, who wants to become an English teacher, said his top four schools are Brown University, Boston University, Wesleyan University and Bates College.

The boys were the only seniors in their high school to get the top score.

"For many of these kids, 1600 is like a dream that would just never happen," said Long Beach High School principal Nicholas Restivo.

The scores did not surprise Diane Smith, the boys' mother. After all, last year Dillon received a 1600 on his PSAT, and earlier this year, Dillon scored a 1520 on the SAT and Jesse received a 1530.

"I expected it," said Smith, 44, a physical education teacher at I.S. 143 in Washington Heights. "They have the potential to do even better -- maybe even write the tests ."

Long Beach High School staff say the twins take as many advanced placement courses as they can, including a calculus course that they take on the Internet because the high school does not offer it.

Teacher Harry Witkin, chairman of Long Beach High School's math department, said the boys have an uncanny talent for picking things up very quickly. "They have just such great recognition of things and critical thinking skills; they pick things up quickly, it's amazing," Witkin said. "You rarely have to explain things twice to them."

Added to the boys' smarts are their extracurricular activities. Both belong to the school's debate club, the foreign language honor society and the trivia club. They also volunteer as counselors at an after-school program.

The boys just like being regular students -- they listen to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, play video games on their Nintendo Game Cube and read.

Their advice to other students preparing for the test is simple.

"The important part is not getting yourself worked up over the whole idea of it," Jesse said. "It's important, but it's not going to determine your entire future."

Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.


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## Shadow Bea

That's terrific! :up:


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## n2gun

Washington Dog Phones 911 for Fallen Owner 
The Associated Press
RICHLAND, Wash. 



Faith the service dog phoned 911 when her owner fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help. Then the 4-year-old Rottweiler unlocked the front door so the responding police officer could come in.

"I sensed there was a problem on the other end of the 911 call," said dispatcher Jenny Buchanan, who answered the call from Faith.

"The dog was too persistent in barking directly into the phone receiver," Buchanan said at Benton County's Southeast Communications Center. "I knew she was trying to tell me something."

Faith is trained to summon help by pushing a speed-dial button on the phone with her nose after taking the receiver off the hook, said her owner Leana Beasley, 45, who suffers grand mal seizures.

Guided by experts at the Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, Beasley helped train Faith herself.

"She's a real trooper," Beasley said Thursday.

The day of the fall, Faith "had been acting very clingy, wanting to be touching me all day long," Beasley said.

The dog, whose sensitive nose can detect changes in Beasley's body chemistry, is trained to alert her owner to impending seizures before they happen.

But that wasn't what was happening on Sept. 7, and Faith apparently wasn't sure how to communicate the problem. During Beasley's subsequent three-week hospital stay, doctors determined her liver was not properly processing her medication for the seizures.

"So my whole system was not working right," she said.

Faith "was just very concerned," Beasley recalled. "She wouldn't let me out of her sight. She wanted to be touchy-feely."

After her adult son left for the graveyard shift, Beasley tried to go to sleep. But Faith kept jumping up on the bed, which is off limits.

"It's kind of hard to sleep when you've got an 80-pound dog running around in circles on your bed," she said.

So Beasley got up and checked to make sure all the doors were locked and that there was no one outside. She made another attempt at sleep, but Faith would have none of it. "Within five minutes she was doing the same thing all over again."

So Beasley got up again and decided to make some hot chocolate.

The last thing she remembers is reaching for the tea kettle.

"I didn't feel anything," she said. "I just went unconscious."

After the call from Faith, Buchanan dispatched Richland police Cpl. Scott Morrell. He arrived to see Faith and her predecessor, now-retired service dog Bronson, peering at him from Beasley's front window.

Morrell knocked, and then realized the door was unlocked.

"Faith had already opened the door for him," Beasley said. The dog has been trained to recognize police officers, firefighters and medical personnel as "special friends with cookies."

Inside, Morrell found Beasley on the kitchen floor _ unconscious after striking her head in the fall and suffering a seizure _ and called for medical assistance.

Faith watched intently while a paramedic tended Beasley and at one point tried to tell him that another seizure was imminent. He didn't recognize the signal, but minutes later, "Boom, I went into another seizure," Beasley said.

She woke up in the hospital several days later. Faith joined her after her transfer to the Veterans Administration hospital in Walla Walla.

Authorities learned about Faith's intervention when Beasley stopped by to thank Buchanan and Morrell after her release from the hospital.

A Benton County Emergency Services news conference Thursday put Faith and her owner in the limelight.

:up:


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## eggplant43

Thanks for helping to make my day :up: :up: :up:


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## Shadow Bea

I think that's Amazing!! Wonderful dog!


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## Guest

What an inspiring story! :up: Way to go Faith!


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## eggplant43

www.suntimes.com
Back to regular view
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-honest01.html

Print this page

Woman returns $1,100 in real thrift store find

November 1, 2004

BY STEPHANIE ZIMMERMANN Staff Reporter

Yvette Heelan thought she got a great deal when she bought a white fleece jacket at a consignment store for just $8.95.

That was before she looked in the pocket. Tucked inside were 11 crisp hundred dollar bills.

"I was like, 'Oh, my god! . . . I found $1,100," said Heelan, a south suburban resident who owns a pet sitting service.

Heelan quickly called Lee Harrison, who had coordinated the Oct. 15 clothing sale at the Attic Door in Tinley Park as a fund-raiser for Illinois Vest-a-Dog, a nonprofit group that raises money for bullet and stab resistant vests for police dogs. The women got the consignment store owner to call the family that had brought in the jacket.

For three days, Heelan waited for a call back. Finally, she called the shop again and urged them again to try to reach the jacket's original owner. When the woman finally called Heelan, she didn't seem to remember losing any money. She was in her 30s and had "six or seven" kids, Heelan said.

"I think maybe she was distracted," Heelan said.

At last, the realization sunk in and the woman described the lost money to Heelan. She said her husband had taken the coat to the shop without realizing that her emergency "stash" was hidden in the pocket, Heelan said.

Harrison, who also works as a support staffer for the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, said the woman who lost the money didn't want to be interviewed. "She's mortified," Harrison said.

Heelan got a $100 reward for her trouble. She says the decision to return the money was a no-brainer.

"I would have wanted someone to do that for me," she said.

Copyright © The Sun-Times Company


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## Shadow Bea

Good for her!


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## angelize56

I like Up*bea*t News! :up:


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## Shadow Bea

You Are too funny LOL ^


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## eggplant43

Nurse Marlene strikes, once again.


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## angelize56

Thanks Bea and Bruce! It comes so easily to me!


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## Shadow Bea

I know  It's scary LOL


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## eggplant43

Posted on Tue, Nov. 09, 2004 



Dying Laurens man gets wish granted; cancer patient meets rescuer who saved him from burning car

By Wayne Crenshaw

Telegraph Staff Writer

EAST DUBLIN - For nearly a year, Teresa Woodard searched for a hero, and Monday night she finally met the man who pulled her father from a burning car.

Thursday, Larry Andrews picked up The Telegraph and read a story about how Woodard wanted to find the unidentified man who saved her father, Joe Chapman. Andrews, who lives in Johnson County, immediately realized he was that man, called Woodard and left a message on her answering machine.

"He said, 'I believe I met your dad the day of the wreck. Call me back,' " Woodard recalled. "I was absolutely amazed I found him."

Andrews came to Chapman's home Monday, as friends, family and media packed into the family's small living room to witness the tearful reunion.

Dec. 8, 2003, Andrews and his wife were driving in Treutlen County when they came upon a serious two-car wreck. Chapman, 66, and a passenger were trapped in a car that was smoking. Andrews, a retired paramedic and firefighter, knew what to do. He pulled Chapman and the passenger, a friend, from the car before it was engulfed in flames.

"Do you remember what I told you?" Andrews asked Chapman as he sat next to him. "I said, 'We've got to get the hell out of here.' "

Chapman suffered serious injuries, including a fractured spine, but during his treatment doctors learned he had terminal lung cancer. He isn't expected to survive until Christmas, and his dying wish was to meet the man who gave him at least another year of life.

"He was my guardian angel, that's for sure," Chapman said.

Choking back tears, he added, "I want to thank you for saving me."

Andrews, 50, and his wife, Pat, left the scene before anyone could get his name. Woodard had always wondered why Andrews left so quickly, and Monday he gave her a good answer.

"We were late for a dentist appointment," he said. "You know how hard it is to get a dentist appointment."

Until he read the story last week, Andrews didn't know that Chapman had survived the wreck. He and his wife thought Chapman had surely died. They checked the news for a few days after the wreck, but never saw a report about it.

"I didn't know they were looking for me," Andrews said.

As it turns out, he wasn't far away. Originally from Sarasota, Fla., Andrews had worked as a paramedic and firefighter there for 27 years before retiring to Johnson County in 1998. He has saved lives before and usually never even got a thank-you. Sometimes the people he saved would even try to find fault with his actions. He certainly had never been thanked as vigorously as he was Monday night.

"I'm really surprised at the effort they put forth to find me," he said. "That's another difference between central Georgia and south Florida."

Woodard handed out plaques of appreciation to Andrews and two others who helped that day, Gary Stanford and Gary Coleman, or "the two Garys," as Woodard calls them. Coleman couldn't make it Monday, but Stanford was there and recalled how he and Coleman went to retrieve a fire extinguisher when they saw the car smoking. When they returned, it was in flames, and Andrews had pulled Chapman and his passenger out.

"It would have been bad," Stanford said, when asked what would have happened if Andrews had not come to Chapman's rescue.

Andrews shunned any references to him as a hero. He was quick to spread the credit to Stanford, Coleman and others who helped.

"It was a team effort," Andrews said.

To Woodard, a plaque and "thank you" wasn't good enough.

"If I could give him a million dollars, I would," she said.




© 2004 Macon Telegraph and wire service sources.


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## Shadow Bea

What a wonderful poignant story Bruce!!


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## eggplant43

Pooch pounces on its master to alert him to fire

Joseph Favre and Gizmo have a love-hate relationship, which Favre concedes has been improved by the animal's saving his life.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer

Published November 10, 2004




LARGO - The first time the dog jumped on his chest Tuesday, Joseph Favre tossed the tiny pooch across the room and went back to sleep.

But Gizmo would not give up. He jumped on Favre's chest again, barking and scratching at his face. Favre cocked his arm for another toss, then inhaled a noseful of smoke.

His mobile home was on fire, the kitchen engulfed in flames and smoke thickening across the living room ceiling.

With Gizmo at his feet, Favre made for the door, dashed outside and called 911. Within seconds, his Largo mobile home was awash in fire. The blaze gutted the home and destroyed everything inside.

But Favre, who said he's a heavy sleeper, felt lucky to be alive Tuesday afternoon and had Gizmo to thank for that.

"This is my hero right here," Favre, 28, said of the mix. "If the dog wouldn't have woken me up, I would have been crisp."

Favre and Gizmo have not, over the years, exactly been fast friends.

Gizmo belongs to Favre's fiancee, Wendy Smith, who shares the mobile home off Belcher Road with him, the dog and their three children.

Gizmo and Favre got along fine when he and Smith first started dating. But Favre thought the dog had too-frequent accidents in the house. He also trained the dog to be protective of Smith and the kids.

The result was a love-hate relationship between man and dog. Though Gizmo sleeps with Favre, he also frequently growls at him and even bites. In fact, Gizmo, who is about 8 years old, only has three teeth left in his mouth. The rest have come out from biting Favre.

"They've all been imprinted in my hand," he said. "He hates me, but we have an unconditional love."

As a result, Gizmo, who weighs just 3 pounds, is especially brave and lively. He stands up to cars on the road. He barks like crazy when anyone knocks on the door. And he snarls if anyone comes near Smith or the kids.

With a day off work Tuesday, Favre, who lays fiber-optic line for a living, decided to take a snooze on the sofa. He was the only person home at the time.

He said Gizmo normally stays away from his face, but persistently jumped on him Tuesday after the fire started.

"It was like he was talking to me," said Favre, who claims Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre as his third cousin.

When he woke and smelled the smoke, Favre said he bounded off the couch and ran for the door, accidentally stepping on Gizmo on the way out, causing the dog to squeal. They both emerged safe, though Gizmo's snow-white coat was colored a smoky gray.

Investigators said they still were trying to find the cause of the fire Tuesday afternoon, but confirmed it started in the kitchen.

Favre said the Fire Department was on the scene quickly, but flames had already gutted the home.

The American Red Cross was assisting Favre and his family with a place to stay and supplies. Though all his possessions were destroyed, Favre said he feels grateful to be alive.

"This dog, he's going to get a filet mignon tonight," Favre said as he stroked Gizmo outside the burned home Tuesday afternoon. As usual, the dog growled at him. Favre looked at the dog's mouth and added, "He's only got three teeth left. I'm going to have to blend it."

© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times


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## Shadow Bea

Animals are wonderful friends.. Good story Bruce


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## eggplant43

I absolutely know that if something was wrong during the night while I was asleep, Cosmo (my cat) would make sure I was awake, and if I refused, he'd put his paw in my mouth, which is guaranteed to get a rise out of me


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## Shadow Bea

I know what you mean LOL Shadow my cat would probably try to drag us out with his teeth  (he doesn't know he is not a lion)


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## eggplant43

LOL


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## DiSaidSo

What a great thread! How have I missed it all this time?


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## Shadow Bea

Why thank you Di, Welcome to positive people inc.


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## eggplant43

We haven't met yet, but I've read you, smiled, or laughed. So welcome from me. Isn't it nice that Bea designed a little corner "for the good stuff"  ?


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## Shadow Bea

Awwwww







..Thank You Bruce!


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## Shadow Bea

:up: Stephani Victor is a recent honors graduate and the first woman to successfully complete two degree programs from the University of Southern California's highly competitive film school. Miss Victor's talent as a young film maker was further recognized when she was one of four individuals chosen out of hundreds of applicants to direct a "480" (USC thesis) film project. Miss Victor was also the founding president of the national chapter of Sigma Kappa Sororities. After graduation, Miss Victor dedicated her tremendous drive to pursue her acting career and is represented by the prestigious William Morris Agency. 

Not content to wait for the phone to ring, Miss Victor contributed a great deal in support of her community. She walked for AIDS Walk Los Angeles. She performed in a touring play, "Rations", sponsored by the non-profit L.I.F.E. (Love Is Feeding Everyone) to educate youth on the homeless issues facing our cities. 

Just before her accident, Miss Victor worked for United Friends of the Children, a non-profit organization for children in foster care, while continuing to act in theater, film and television. She is a lifetime member of the American Renegade Theater. 

Since her accident in December 1995, Miss Victor has become even more committed to making a difference in the film business as an innovative film maker and actress. Just two short weeks following her accident, she had a video camera brought into the hospital so that she could videotape her rehabilitation for a future documentary. Much has happened in the two years since she began documenting her challenging road to recovery. 

She underwent a painful bone lengthening procedure that has never been accomplished to such a degree on an amputation as severe as Miss Victor's. The procedure required her to temporarily relocate to Baltimore, Maryland, where she endured numerous hospital stays and five surgeries. She has made world history by re-growing her bones longer then anyone thought possible. 

During the 7 months of this lengthening process, Miss Victor found more opportunities to reach out to people in the realm of public speaking. She was also the 1996 recipient of the challenged Athletes Award and appeared on the cover of Competitor Magazine. 

The ABC news magazine show 20/20 produced a detailed story of Miss Victor's triumphant rehabilitation and her drive to make a documentary film in the process. The German television equal to 20/20, called SAM, also covered her story, taking her uplifting spirit and positive message to an international level. 

As a special guest of Utah State Senator Orrin Hatch, Miss Victor spoke to over 2,000 women at the 13th Annual Women's Conference in Salt Lake City. During her visit to Utah she was also the special guest on the television show, Utah '97, hosted by Chris Vanocur. At the Utah State Capital, she spoke to over 500 student members of the Utah State Advisory Committee. 

In December 1997, Miss Victor returned to the screen as an actress in the television movie "Target Earth". E! Entertainment Television went on location with Miss Victor in North Carolina to cover her much awaited return to acting. She has continued to exercise her craft by working with "A Shakespeare Group", led by Martin Sheen. 

She has also appeared on the hit daytime show The View, hosted by Meredith Viera, and has been a special guest on the television show Northwest Afternoon in Seattle. 

Whether Stephani Victor is speaking to inner city schools or the Utah State Advisory Committee, or appearing on national and international television, audiences realize something quite extraordinary is happening. Stephani Victor is someone who possesses the rarest of gifts: the ability to positively inspire, motivate and lead. And perhaps change a few lives along the way.


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## Shadow Bea

Bevery Hills, CA - It's near midnight on Rodeo Drive, one of the most famous and elegant streets in the world. A small group of graffiti bandits and taggers apply their trade on the construction frontage of a world-famous design shop. Vandalsim? Graffiti? Hardly. The work is a commisioned piece and the "vandals" are all are former graffiti outlaws who have pooled their talents to from ICU -- In Creative Unity, a mobile artists colony that creates wonderous spray paint murals for business and communities.

In Creative Unity is the brain child of Stash Maleski, a former graffit outlaw himself. The group was formed a year after the L.A. riots as a colloborative focal point for artists, curators and organizations dedicated to bringing graffiti art to a new level.



The mural on Rodeo Drive was commissioned by a famous retailer. ICU was recommended to the client by the Beverly Hills Arts Commission who have lavished high praise on ICU's work. The art must work late at night when the shops are closed; but traffic on onlookers still stream by.
ICU artists conceived the concept, sketched the design, and executed the work. They use refined and modified versions of standard spray paint cans. By using special techniques these skilled artisans show their true talents, and stay away from trouble. 



VYAL started tagging at age 13, and then graduated to more advanced forms of graffiti art. The life of an outlaw graffiti artist is not an easy one. In addition to the ever-present threat of arrest there are also the hazards of stepping on the toes of other taggers as well as the gangs which protect their turf, and their graffiiti spots, to the death. VYAL: "I never imagined I'd ever being doing murals on Rodeo Drive!"


ICU artist Mear began his career in the 9th grade. He sees ICU as a way to legitimze his artisitc passion, and to be able to work with and learn from other artists. "ICU has brought creative, diverse individuals together. On your own, you lose insprination, in a group its a good thing; you do better work, ICUmakes us stirve harder instead of being used to the norm," says Mear


ICU focuses on construction murals to raise money. The money is used to fund exhibitions for displaying the individual members as well as the group's art. ICU plans to have exhibitions coming in Los Angeles, as well as exhibitions in Europe and Japan.


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## eggplant43

When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade! How neat. :up:


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## Shadow Bea

I always loved that saying  leaves a tart taste just thinkhearing it!


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## Shadow Bea

"Attitude Is Everything".........By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz :up: 

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" 

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed Him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry Was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life." "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. 

Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. 

- - -

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" 

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man. " 

I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' 

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.


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## eggplant43

Love it, and thanks Bea and Jerry. :up:


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## Shadow Bea

I thought it was a cool story  thanks Bruce!


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## Shadow Bea

"Keeping the Peace"Summary by Michael Schwartz 

Hawthorne, CA - As Noah protected the animals through rough waters in his ark, Carol Adams sails a 'ship' of her own, The Peacekeeper's Ark -- an organization she founded. "Its devoted to teaching kids the ways of peaceful conflict resolution, and practicing it. A.R.K. stands for 'Acknowledge and Reward Kids; its a great system that shifts the focus to good behavior," says Carol.

Carol's efforts began after her involvement in the relief effort following the 1992 LA Riots. She has made the Peacekeeper's Ark her personal mission, marked by the fact that her daughter lives in south central Los Angeles, the very core area she targets with her mission of peace.

When she visited the elementary schools she discovered children who were becoming completely desensitized to violence, and had come to accept violence as a norm. It is Carol's resolve to change this disturbing trend.

Today over 400 children take part in this program designed to teach them the skills necessary to resolve conflicts with talking rather than with violence. Ron Roebuck, mediation advisor to Peacekeeper's Ark, explains that kids take part in a six step program that demonstrates ways of alternative conflict resolution. Not only do they learn the skills but they also pass them onto other children.


As rewards for their good behavior, the kids are given a variety of incentives ranging from trips backstage at Laker's games to shopping sprees at major clothing stores. Now, the future is brighter for the Peacekeeper's ARK and our children, thanks to Carol Adams.


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## Shadow Bea

*"Amazing Gracie"  *

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever been rock climbing, played basketball, or gone skiing? Many people might take for granted their ability to enjoy these activities -- but not Gracie Rosenberger. She has a fantastic outlook on life, and used that optimism and driving spirit to overcome what many would call a tragedy. UpBeat discovered Gracie through our Website and now would like to share her story with you...

At seventeen, I thought as most do, that I was immortal and life would mold itself to my plans. Nature gave me a fierce drive and a love for adventure, so I approached every activity with a 'mission.' Life had not been easy for me. I was born with severe eye problems that led to five surgeries by the time I was six years old. When I started school, my eyes caused me to have a reading disability that went undiagnosed for some time. My teachers felt I needed to be in remedial or special education classes. Fortunately, one progressive teacher, and my determined mother, helped me find the correct path and I graduated from high school a year early with a 4.0 GPA. That tenacity showed itself in every aspect of my life. I lived 'to conquer' and up to that point, I had been successful. My constant striving to push myself faced a seemingly immovable obstacle at the end of my seventeenth year.

On November 18, 1983, while a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, I had a devastating car accident. Over fifty bones were broken, and most were crushed. Medical personnel were surprised that I even lived. I lost all control over my highly disciplined life. Worse yet, my own body was unable to respond to the simplest commands without protesting with searing pain. All the lofty goals I had set for my life vanished only to be replaced with the goal of survival. Everything seemed unattainable, the simplest task, such as feeding myself, or sitting up in bed. A hope of walking again appeared bleak To the amazement of many (including me) I did improve. I pushed myself to the limits during physical therapy, and I willed myself to walk. Eventually though, the damage in my legs won out and I lost my right leg in 1991, and the left in 1995.

I no longer 'live to conquer'. I conquer life by simply 'living'!

Fourteen years later, over fifty operations, and two amputations, I have learned to set new goals and dreams. Never again will I be able to ski down a slope as fast as I can to be first, but I can ski. Now the thrill of being the fastest or the first has been replaced with the joy of being able to reach the bottom of the run at all. (Although, I train every Winter with the goal of 'down-hill' racing!) I don't run up stairs or jog three miles a day anymore, but I can walk to the mail box, play basketball with my children, and even walk out stage to sing for an hour concert. However, I will not EVER give up on the possibility of running up stairs or jogging again! To me, that would be just like giving up on myself, because those things are apart of who I am.

Understandably, each step I take and each activity I try with these state of the art prosthetics, IS A THRILL, not only for me, but also for my husband and two sons! Just over two years have passed since I became a double amputee, and I am still pushing myself. However, I no longer 'live to conquer'. I conquer life by simply 'living'! I "live" by savoring the experience of such things as racing an ATV on remote mountain trails. I "live" by drinking in the freedom of being on a snow mobile in the cold mountain air, or skiing downhill, feeling the exhilaration of doing something that few people ever thought would be possible for me to do.

Recently, I have even taken on a new challenge--something I have ALWAYS wanted to do, but since my accident was reluctant to mention to anyone rock climbing! People ask me "why on earth would you even WANT to rock-climb? My reply is simple, 'Why not?!" Fighting against that incredible obstacle, going against gravity; I feel as if the rock itself represents everything in my life I was either told I SHOULD NOT do, or I WOULD NEVER be able TO DO. I actually climb all by myself. The guys who are helping to train me are at this place called 'Classic Rock'. They bole me loosely so that I am doing the climbing, NOT the rope. The entire time I am climbing, I keep saying to myself, 'I WILL DO THIS, I WILL DO THIS!' Then eventually, everything in me starts shouting 'I CAN DO THIS, I CAN DO THIS!" I am and have always been a "fighter", in the figurative sense of the word. When I climb, I am fighting to conquer so much more than just a mountain or rock. I'm fighting to conquer all the fears I have ever had about being truly ALIVE again.

"why on earth would you even WANT to rock-climb? My reply is simple, 'Why not?!"

As I drink in every moment that air is pumping through this body, I am "living" in present time not looking down the road and "wishing" I could, but experiencing the exhilaration of exceeding "surviving"- right now! One of the guys at 'Classic Rock' talks about THE rock you get to right before reaching the top of a climb: it's that "thank you God rock" you grab hold of when you realize "THIS IS IT! I'm one rock away from victory - I have reached the top, after all the sweaty, grueling work, and I HAVE DONE IT!' My doctor recently told me, 'If there was one activity I would have bet that you could never do, it would have been rock climbing.' There are no words to describe the feeling of proving your doctor wrong! I am doing it! I'm climbing that immovable rock, and I'm reaching the TOP by conquering the option of quitting.

Who on Earth knows what other things are on the horizon for me to tackle? Every moment is precious! It sounds like a nursery cliche, and maybe even trite, but when you have literally looked into the abyss of death and known it was NOT your time "to look"; it becomes neither a cliché or trite, it becomes truth! Whether I'm walking out on stage with my husband to perform an hour concert, snow skiing, playing basketball with my sons, coaching first base at little league games, or even rock climbing, the feeling is always the same gratefulness! Because of technology and these wonderful prosthetic legs, I can participate in so many activities previously unavailable for me to even contemplate attempting. Because of perspective, I can unabashedly appreciate them!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

*UpBeat News salutes Grace for her amazing courage and triumphant spirit!* :up:


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## Shadow Bea

This is a link to Give.ORG a charity monitoring organization that will give you the scoop on any charity you are thinking of contributing to this holiday season.

http://www.give.org/inquire/index.asp


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## eggplant43

What a wonderful, timely idea. Here is a site that helps you evaluate the efficiency of the use of your funds. Some charities are little more than scams, and some are very efficient at making sure the majority of your funds actually goes to do what you want it to do:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/2/cpid/182.htm


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## Shadow Bea

Thanks,that's why I was so glad I found this site  Nothing worse IMO then the misuse or abuse of something that comes from the heart!


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## eggplant43

Shadow Bea said:


> Thanks,that's why I was so glad I found this site  Nothing worse IMO then the misuse or abuse of something that comes from the heart!


My apologies, I worded my response poorly. Rather than supporting you, it came out like a competition, which was not my intent. I simply wanted to support your post, and expand on it by presenting another reference resource. Good thing we're friends


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> My apologies, I worded my response poorly. Rather than supporting you, it came out like a competition, which was not my intent. I simply wanted to support your post, and expand on it by presenting another reference resource. Good thing we're friends


I never for a single instant took it that way LOL ..the more the merrier IMO.
and yes I'd say it's a good thing we are friends LOL! :up:


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## angelize56

*Community Helping Boy Who Fell From Horse* :up:

Nov 19, 2004 3:15 pm US/Mountain

STRASBURG, Colo. (News 4) A family in Strasburg needs help paying their son's medical bills.

John Rieb, 10, is recovering at Children's Hospital from a horse riding accident that happened in October.

*Rieb's injuries include a broken femur and a crushed pelvis, and his medical bills could add up to more than $1 million*. 

Rieb said he doesn't remember the incident, but he's had the story told to him enough that he now knows exactly what happened.

"The horse started galloping away with me on and I fell off," he said. "My hand got caught in the rope, and I was getting dragged on the ground by the horse, and I got kicked and stepped on."  

Hundreds of people attended a funraising dinner at Strasburg Elementary Thursday night. They raised an estimated $4,000 for Rieb's medical bills. :up: 

There is also a blood drive being held in Littleton this coming Wednesday in his honor.


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## Shadow Bea

:up: I love it when a community rallies!

**Now I wonder if the surgeon is doing it pro-bono?**

Good morning Marlene  *GBY*


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## eggplant43

When I first moved to this town, one of the nurses from the hospital was in big trouble. Her name was Sally Becker, and she was very sick with diabetes. her only hope was a new experimental operation called a kidney transplant.

The community rallied, and I do mean rallied. She was one of the first people to receive a new kidney.She got her new kidney, recovered, and 25 years later is still one of the primary ICU nurses at the hospital. A real testament to what a small community can do. If I recall correctly, we raised over $400,000 for her, not a small sum for a community of 4,000 souls 25 years ago.


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## Shadow Bea

:up: :up: :up:


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## eggplant43

Janitor's Will Is $2.3M Surprise

GREAT FALLS, Mont., Nov. 22, 2004


When Genesio Morlacci left $2.3 million to a small college here, many people were astonished at the wealth amassed by a man who operated a dry-cleaning shop and later worked as a part-time janitor in retirement.

But to those who knew Morlacci well, his bequest came as no surprise.

"He was a fellow who felt that if you didn't need it, you shouldn't buy it," said Joe Marra, his former attorney. "Gene," as he was known, wanted to help others obtain the formal education he never had, Marra added.

Morlacci died last month at age 102. The University of Great Falls has announced that his endowment will generate roughly $100,000 a year for scholarships at the Roman Catholic school, a quiet campus with about 800 students.

"He worked very hard for this, 18- and 20-hour days, and during each of those working hours, he was doing something good for a student he will never meet," university president Eugene McAllister said.

Morlacci, a widower, did not have any children. He gave the college nearly all he saved through work, investments and old-fashioned thrift - he was known to remove worn collars from his shirts, then sew them back on, with the frayed side down.

On the rare occasion when a story like Morlacci's pops up, people find it inspiring, explained Michael Solomon of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

In 1995, offers of matching funds came into the University of Southern Mississippi after an elderly laundry woman - Oseola McCarty - announced she was giving $150,000 for scholarships.

Attorney Warren Wenz, who handled Morlacci's affairs after Marra retired, said he asked his client if he wished to meet with officials at the University of Great Falls, but Morlacci declined.

He avoided anything that could be construed as putting on a show, Wenz said.

Morlacci believed the government and too many people spend beyond their means, Marra noted. "He was quite critical of the young people who needed, in his eyes, instant gratification," Marra said.

Long days were the rule when Morlacci, an Italian immigrant, established Sun Cleaners in the late 1940s and operated it until the early '60s.

In retirement, he briefly held a part-time janitorial job, but left when the university decided it needed full-time help, longtime friend Bill Foy said.

He remembers Morlacci as a man who enjoyed asking friends how many "miles" of spaghetti they wanted as dinner guests at his home. He loved tending roses and tomatoes in the yard of the simple house he bought after he sold the cleaners.

On the rare occasions he and his wife, Lucille, dined out, they chose budget restaurants, Foy said. Their one luxury was a couple of trips to Italy, he said.

Foy remembers Morlacci donating money to various causes, including the campaign to restore the Ellis Island immigration depot in New York, through which a 19-year-old "Genesio Morl Acci" passed in 1921. His father operated a bar in a small town southeast of Great Falls, and Morlacci later went to California, where he learned dry cleaning.

As his wealth grew - investment adviser Tom Horton remembers a fondness for tax-free municipal bonds - Morlacci made loans to people in Great Falls, for homes and college.

In his six-page will he also left $5,000 to Our Lady of Lourdes School, and $500 to Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

His interests remained simple, however. Morlacci's obituary noted the 46-year duration of his marriage, his love of gardening and "a passion for education."

As a widower, Morlacci lived in a retirement home that charged about $500 a month for meals, a room and housekeeping, choosing that over an upscale senior complex. Later, suffering Alzheimer's disease, he moved to the nursing home where he died.


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## eggplant43

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - A pod of dolphins circled protectively round a group of New Zealand swimmers to fend off an attack by a great white shark, media reported on Tuesday.

Lifesavers Rob Howes, his 15-year-old daughter Niccy, Karina Cooper and Helen Slade were swimming 300 feet off Ocean Beach near Whangarei on New Zealand's North Island when the dolphins herded them -- apparently to protect them from a shark.

"They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us," Howes told the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA).

Howes tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back just as he spotted a nine-foot great white shark swimming toward the group.

"I just recoiled. It was only about 2 meters away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face," Howes said, referring to a distance of six feet.

"They had corralled us up to protect us," he said.

The lifesavers spent the next 40 minutes surrounded by the dolphins before they could safely swim back to shore. The incident happened on October 30, but the lifesavers kept the story to themselves until now.

Environment group Orca Research said dolphins attacked sharks to protect themselves and their young, so their actions in protecting the lifesavers was understandable.

"They could have sensed the danger to the swimmers and taken action to protect them," Orca's Ingrid Visser told NZPA.


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## n2gun

Good one eggie !!


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## eggplant43

For an animal, and in this case a pod (or whatever they are called) to place itself between extreme danger and humans is just awesome, IMO. :up:


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## Shadow Bea

They don't call dolphins angels for nothing Awesome story!  :up:


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## lisaa7002

ANGEL DECOY
These are photos of an Air Force C-130 releasing flares to repel heat seeking Missiles. The pattern formed by these "decoys" are how they got their name . . . . . Angel decoy. It's absolutely awesome!
Maneuvers are usually in remote areas and over water, therefore the general public does not get to view these exercises. 

(sorry guys- this would be much more dramatic is I had ever figured out the image thing.... ) 

I just thought this was SO COOL. Hats off to all our Vets & service men as usual! :up:


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## eggplant43

Geisha Girl:

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/11/23/community.20041123-sbt-MICH-E1-Mothering.sto


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## Shadow Bea

Love It  thanks for that Bruce! Happy Thanksgiving!!


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## angelize56

Bea: Remember Geisha-Bea from my Halloween thread!  

Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to Bea and Bruce and everyone else!  *GBY*


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## Shadow Bea

He.. he ..  LOL You too Marlene!


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## eggplant43

Jackson restaurant readies for its annual free Thanksgiving dinner

By WHITNEY ROYSTER

Star-Tribune staff writer

WHITNEY ROYSTER/Star-Tribune

Jackie Bates checks on a carved turkey at the Teton Steakhouse in Jackson on Wednesday. The restaurant will be serving 35 turkeys in its annual free Thanksgiving dinner.

JACKSON -- There are turkeys and pies in every corner of the Teton Steakhouse.

Literally.

But there should be. The family-owned restaurant is gearing up for its 18th annual free Thanksgiving dinner, and nearly 500 people are expected.

"We just do it to say thanks to everybody for helping us," owner Ann Bates said. "We want to help you, and give back to the community."

So Ann, 63, along with husband Jan, 66, and their children and grandchildren, open the doors to the Teton Steakhouse from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today to feed anyone who would like a meal.

The tradition was started 18 years ago when former owner John Price, now of Casper, invited homeless people for a Thanksgiving dinner.

"We just opened it up and said, 'There's a lot of people that have to stay here and work, or can't go home,"' Bates said. "A lot of hunters come, too."

And single people, and families, and friends and neighbors come, too. When Bates opens the door at 11 a.m. today, she is sure there will be a line.

"Last year we had 465 people in just three hours," she said.

Jackie Bates, Jan and Ann's daughter-in-law, was busy in the kitchen Wednesday working on turkeys.

"I love it because it's for everybody to come and eat and enjoy," she said. "My mother-in-law is very happy. (She's) been teaching me for three years. I know all the recipes by heart."

Although the dinner is free, donations are accepted, and the donations have been the subject of many Jackson stories.

Bates said one couple came a few years ago dressed in elegant clothing. They stayed, ate, then left leaving a $500 donation in the basket.

"They said, 'This is the neatest thing that you do,"' Bates remembered. Donations of $100 are not uncommon for the meal that features turkey, ham, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes and scores of pies.

But the Bates' don't do it for the money. In fact, even the publicity of being in the newspaper isn't something they particularly enjoy.

"People like it because it's not a paid thing," she said. "People are doing it out of love and not for money."

Bates laughed that if there weren't any publicity for the event, "What would we do with 35 turkeys?"

The publicity is something she teases her husband about, too.

"He always gets on the radio talking about the cornbread, so I have to make the cornbread!" she said laughing.

She said some people give her money outside the restaurant and say, "Here, put this in your donation bowl."

"That makes you feel good," Bates said.

The dinner is a buffet and includes 10 10-pound hams, 35 15- to 25-pound turkeys, pounds of yams and mashed potatoes.

And of course, pies.

In the kitchen of the Teton Steakhouse on Wednesday, pumpkin and apple pies were cooling on racks, on counters and nearly everywhere you looked.

In every oven was a golden turkey, with some cooking across the street at a neighboring hotel.

About 50 volunteers come to the Steakhouse on Thanksgiving Day to help serve the feast, with some returning year after year.

Bates remembered one year when a couple came to volunteer during the clean up.

"They were so funny because she was bossing him around and he was bossing her around," she said. "And he said, 'We just got married this morning!' And I said, 'And you're already fighting?!'"

The Bates moved to Jackson from Casper in 1987, where they both worked in the restaurant business.

The free Thanksgiving dinner is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. No reservations are needed.


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## Shadow Bea

Such a wonderful story  :up:


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## Shadow Bea

Stray Dog With Broken Leg Finds Medical Friend
Orthopedic Surgeon Lends A Hand

POSTED: 4:56 pm EST November 26, 2004
UPDATED: 8:08 pm EST November 26, 2004

ATLANTA, Ga. -- A little stray dog with a broken leg landed in the lap of compassionate strangers and a kind medical man. 

The dog was found by the side of the road and taken to a neighbor, who just happens to be an orthopedic surgeon. 


Dr. Darren Newfield and a doctor friend performed emergency surgery on the dog's leg. A veterinarian volunteered her services and a medical equipment company donated the hardware. 

They named the little fuzzball Tripod. 

Two months after Newfield had to re-break Tripod's leg to set and pin the bones in place, the X-rays looked good. 


"You can see that the fracture site is almost completely filled in with new bone," Newfield said. 

Though it is not fully healed, the bone is stable enough to no longer need the brace and pins. But will Tripod be able to use the leg? 

"With this type of injury, a lot of the time, dogs won't recover. They actually have a lot of atrophy to the point where they won't start using the leg," 

Next door to Newfield's office, physical therapist Jerri Cable is anxious to get into the new field of canine rehabilitation. 

"She came over and she told me she hadn't had a dog to do therapy on, and I said, here is your perfect chance to try it out," Newfield said. 

Cable designed play exercises that force Tripod to work his hind legs. Newfield will work with Tripod at home, too. The healing may be working two ways. 

"A lot of people say that he's changed me. That I've kind of softened up a little bit. I don't know, but that's what they say," Newfield said. 

Tripod's leg is expected to be 100 percent soon. All of the Atlanta area doctors who helped to heal him said that they don't endorse using human medicine on animals, that's what veterinarians are for. But they said that Tripod was pretty lucky to find so many people who cared to help him get back on all four feet.


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## eggplant43

Great story! We humans seem to get it right every once in a while


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## Shadow Bea

Yes we do


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## Shadow Bea

Volunteers Put Final Touches To Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner 
25,000 Expected For Annual Holiday Feast :up: :up: 

UPDATED: 3:07 pm CST November 24, 2004

SAN ANTONIO -- Hundreds of volunteers Wednesday were putting together the final touches for the 25th annual Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner. 



Volunteers decorated tables, deboned turkeys and made other preparations for the annual feast at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center that's expected to feed 25,000 people. 

Family members of the dinner's founder, who passed away a few years ago, said they are proud to make sure his legacy will continue. 

"It's really a rememberance of him and the great things he was trying to do in the community," said Jessica Jimenez, the founder's granddaughter. "It means a lot to our family." 

Raul Jimenez founded the free holiday dinner for elderly people who had no one to spend Thanksgiving with.


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## Sooky 47

These stories are the true meaning of "Community" :up: :up: 

Thanks for sharing!


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## angelize56

I love hearing stories like this!  Money going to deserving people...what goes around comes around! :up:

*Child Advocates Win $27M Calif. Lottery* :up: 

Tue Dec 7,11:23 AM ET

CALIMESA, Calif. - *A couple who provide funerals for dead abandoned babies and helped inspire a law to save unwanted newborns have won a $27 million jackpot in the California lottery*.

Debi Faris-Cifelli and her husband, Steve, won the jackpot last Wednesday and *plan to use the winnings to continue their advocacy work, possibly by starting a college scholarship fund*. :up:

"We can do some good with the money," Steve Cifelli, a high school guidance counselor, told television station KABC on Monday. "Now we're going to be able to do some things that'll last lifetimes, generations."

The couple plan to take their winnings in a lump sum and will get a little less than $9 million after taxes, lottery officials said.

*Debi Faris-Cifelli, a former stay-at-home mom who now runs a cemetery for abandoned infants, lobbied strongly for a state law passed in 2001 that allows mothers to leave their unwanted newborns at hospitals and other designated sites without fear of criminal prosecution*.

She plans to put some money into promoting the "safe haven" law.

The couple spent $20 to buy the winning ticket. It was only the third time they had played the lottery together.


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## angelize56

Here's one more article on the above! :up:

*Child Advocates Win $27M Calif. Lottery*

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - *All too often, the ring of Debi Faris-Cifelli's cell phone means there is another abandoned newborn at the morgue, another forsaken child for her to name and bury in a shoebox-size coffin under a white cross in the California desert*. 

Last week, though, Faris-Cifelli  *who has had to rely on donations, grants and fund-raisers to give babies a decent burial*  got a very different call. She had won the California lottery; the jackpot: $27 million. :up:

"*Maybe it's the children saying, `Thank you' for taking care of them when nobody else would," Faris-Cifelli said, bubbling with laughter. "It's a gift and one for which we feel an awesome responsibility*." :up:

The money could not come at a better time for *Faris-Cifelli and her Garden of Angels, the tiny cemetery in the town of Calimesa where she has buried dozens of tiny children whose mothers didn't hear  or didn't care  about California's safe-haven law*. 

Under the 2001 law, parents have three days to abandon infants without fear of prosecution. California is one of 46 states with such a law.

*Faris-Cifelli helped win passage of the law and has made it her life's work to spread the word that scared and confused parents should drop their newborns at firehouses and hospitals  not in trash cans and alleys*. She lobbies in states without such laws, talks to teens and police and has attended 12 trials of mothers accused of abandoning their infants. She also lays the dead to rest.

Faris-Cifelli, 49, does all that with just a three-person staff and $172,000 annual budget covered by donations, grants, car washes and bake sales.

*Now the deeply religious mother and her high school counselor husband, Steve, will receive an after-tax lump sum of nearly $9 million. Some of the winnings will go to the couple's seven children, most to her crusade*.

It was only the third time she and her husband had played the lottery.

*Since the safe-haven law went into effect four years ago, only 67 babies have been safely surrendered in California. Faris-Cifelli has buried 70 babies since she began in 1996. Since the law was enacted, she has buried fewer each year  though no one knows how many have died*.

"This law does work, but it works when there is some kind of campaign going along with it," Faris-Cifelli said. "*It just hurts me that we don't talk about it until there's a baby who's lost its life*."

The state budgets about $1.5 million for advertising  not enough to buy even one statewide TV spot, according to Andrew Roth, spokesman for the California Department of Social Services.

*When someone finds a dead baby in a three-county area around Los Angeles, the morgue knows to call Faris-Cifelli. Faris-Cifelli goes into the autopsy room alone, where she wraps each infant in a homemade quilt, cradles it and prays over it. She gives each baby a first name that is engraved on the cross. At the gravesite, she releases dozens of doves under the shade of a mulberry tree*.  (What a wonderful, precious woman she is!! God bless her and her "babies"!  )

Babies whose remains go unclaimed are cremated, and their ashes placed in a small cardboard box and saved for three years before being put in an unmarked grave with other John and Jane Does.  (How sad.....)

*Faris-Cifelli and her husband are full of ideas of how to spend their new fortune: 140 annual scholarships named after abandoned babies, more efforts to educate the public, and possibly a shelter for pregnant teens*. :up:

"*If the little kids up there are dancing in heaven and are happy for us, then that's the way it should be," Steve Cifelli said. "They're saying, `We want you to do more,' and we're going to do it*." :up:

Karen Moan of Victorville, who adopted one of the first babies surrendered under the safe-haven law, sees more than coincidence in her friend's good fortune.

"*Everybody wants to win the lottery, but she truly deserves to win," Moan said. "It seems like it was meant to be*."


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## Shadow Bea

God Bless Her!


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## Sooky 47

What wonderful souls they are!


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## DiSaidSo

This story uh...caught my attention when I heard it on the news. I think Ms. St James had a good time coming up with new euphemisms for testicles.  I thought this was uplifting because you always hear a lot about breast cancer, but the only time you hear about testicular cancer is when Lance Armstrong is around. I think the article title says it all...



> *'Team Nuts' brings humor to unfunny subject  *
> 
> 01:59 AM CST on Thursday, December 9, 2004
> 
> By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV
> 
> It's a difficult subject no man likes to talk about: male cancer.
> 
> It affects more than 200,000 of them each year. To make it all more palatable, a Dallas group is using a unique sense of humor to deal with a very serious subject.
> 
> *Team Nuts*
> 
> For five years they've been running races in the area under the name "Team Nuts" - and not because they're crazy. The choice of that name by the group of testicular and prostate cancer survivors to make it easier to talk about problems in what is often a very private part of the body.
> 
> "(We) lighten it up a little bit, because cancer is really a dark, deep subject," said testicular cancer survivor John Huff.
> 
> Since 1999, Team Nuts has been involved in running as a way to show the only thing they lost to cancer was, in some cases, the family jewels.
> 
> "It was, you know, let guys get back out and do something manly ... let's go accomplish something," Huff said.
> 
> The White Rock Marathon on Sunday is their next accomplishment: about 200 male cancer survivors are expected to run for their lives. They hope by wearing a couple of walnuts on their shirts that other guys will strike up a conversation.
> 
> "If you can have a conversation to your mom and your grandmother about going to the sperm bank, then you can talk about testicular cancer," said testicular cancer survivor Bryce Benson.
> 
> Benson, diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago at age 26, is expecting his first child in May.
> 
> Testicular cancer is in fact a young man's disease, often striking between the ages of 15 to 40. After that, it's prostate cancer - a bullet Chock Bailey didn't dodge despite never thinking it could happen to him.
> 
> "Can't be me ... I'm bulletproof," he recalled thinking.
> 
> So now, Bailey is fighting cancer on the run with Team Nuts, hoping the bravery it takes to speak out brings more attention to a sensitive subject.


Link to story

Link to "Team Nuts"


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## Shadow Bea

DiSaidSo said:


> Benson, diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago at age 26, is expecting his first child in May.


 :up: good story Di


----------



## eggplant43

At Miss Cass Pageant,
Disabled Contestants
Bask in the Spotlight
Knock-Knock Jokes, Songs
And a Tiara in Detroit;
'They Live for This Day'

By JEFFREY ZASLOW
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 17, 2004; Page A1

DETROIT -- At a beauty pageant last week, one contestant's talent was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Though she mistakenly placed her left hand over her right side, she got a standing ovation when she ad-libbed, "God bless the soldiers!"

Another contestant handled the crucial interview segment with aplomb. She was asked: "Whom do you love or like?" She thought for a long moment, smiled broadly and replied, "My family!" The crowd erupted in applause.

The annual Miss Cass Pageant is unlike any other beauty contest most people have ever seen. A competition for women with developmental disabilities, it's an event that makes some outsiders ill at ease. But organizers deeply believe it is uplifting and empowering for these women of all ages who have spent much of their lives in state hospitals or group homes.

"All the things we use to mark our lives, they don't have," says Faith Fowler, pastor at Cass Community United Methodist Church, who oversees the nine-year-old pageant. These mentally challenged women are unlikely to ever marry or have children, to wear a prom dress, to get a job or retire from it, she says. "They live for this day when all eyes are on them."
[Miss Cass 2003, Carla Patrick, left, and Betty Fiero, who won this year's crown]
Miss Cass 2003, Carla Patrick, left, and Betty Fiero, who won this year's crown

Each year, the pageant's audience is effusively supportive, though the crowd can't help but giggle as the contestants, ages 21 to 75, sing off-key or struggle through halting knock-knock jokes. The interview portion is simple. One contestant last year was asked, "What is your favorite color?" She responded, "chicken," and everyone laughed.

Many attendees are family members or caregivers, and they are comfortable with such laughter, which they say is loving. They see the pageant as a way to help everyone, including contestants, confront their assumptions about talent, beauty and brainpower. For those whose impulses might be to patronize or pity, the pageant shows that the contestants "are people with feelings, desires and ambitions, just like us," says caregiver Stacy Leigh. "Maybe you're embarrassed to make eye contact when you see them at the mall. This is an opportunity to take a good look."

The pageant is a project of Cass Community Social Services, also headed by Ms. Fowler, which serves residents in the area around Detroit's Cass Avenue. Known as "the Cass Corridor," it is one of the nation's most impoverished neighborhoods.

Some national advocacy groups for the mentally challenged say the Miss Cass Pageant needs to walk a fine line. There is concern that the laughter be supportive, not mocking, says Steve Eidelman, executive director of the Arc (formerly the Association for Retarded Citizens). Peter Kinzler, a vice president of Voice of the Retarded, says contestants' time might be better spent learning job skills than dance routines. Many of them do get job-training at Cass.

Louise Travis, a member of the church here and a pageant supporter, says she has friends who consider the event exploitative. She keeps telling them, "I can't explain it. You've just got to come."

Over the years, as more believers drag somewhat uneasy newcomers to see the pageant, the audience has grown from a couple dozen to a full house of 300 in the church's sanctuary. What attendees saw this year was a spectacle of high drama and strong emotions, especially from the reigning queen, Carla Patrick.

Ms. Patrick, who is 23, won last year after enthusiastically dancing to the Britney Spears song "Baby One More Time." Educationally, she functions at about age 6. Her developmental problems most likely resulted because her mother used drugs while pregnant, her caregivers say. Her mother was murdered in 1996.

"Now she thinks she's real beautiful and smart and special," says Willie Mae Connor, who lives in a group home with Ms. Patrick. "I've seen her wearing the crown at home."

Reigning queens have an adjustment to make when successors are named, and Ms. Patrick admitted she was sad as this year's pageant got under way. She said she wanted to hug her mom.

As Ms. Patrick sat on her throne, this year's 20 contestants kicked off the pageant by dancing to the song "Be Our Guest" from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," along with tuxedo-clad male clients of Cass. The dance was uncomplicated -- delivered with big smiles and a few awkward Rockettes-style kicks -- but Cass caregivers were floored by the performance.

Ms. Leigh says that many of the people she works with can take many months to learn new skills, even simple things like tying shoes. But, she says, "they learned this dance in a month, because their motivation was so high about the pageant. It shows that if we raise expectations, they can meet them." Ms. Fowler, 45, applies this same philosophy to other creative Cass programs, such as a choir of formerly homeless men that travels the state.

Though the pageant doesn't have a swimsuit segment, there is an evening-gown competition, with contestants wearing donated prom and bridesmaids' dresses. For the pageant's talent portion this year, one woman sang a version of "Kumbaya" that went on far longer than anyone had expected. Another danced to "Come See About Me," snapping her fingers, swinging her ponytail and ending with a crowd-pleasing shimmy.

The loudest competitor offered a rendition of "Jesus Loves Me." Another contestant did the electric slide by concentrating on the footsteps of a Cass staffer who danced at her side.

Betty Fiero, 69, sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in a strong voice that soared through the church. Suffering from schizophrenia, she lived in a state mental institution until it closed in the 1980s. She ended up homeless, and in 1995, Cass workers finally coaxed her in to bathe her and give her fresh clothing. Always cradling a stuffed animal, she is known as "Teddy Bear Betty."

She was named a top-10 finalist. During the interview segment, she was asked to name her favorite restaurant. "McDonald's," she said.

Geraldine Green, 59, had to tell the audience her favorite activity at Cass. She replied, "Helping other people."

"That's a Miss America answer!" said the emcee.

When it was time for Ms. Patrick to deliver her last words as Miss Cass, she froze at the microphone. After a long pause, she said only, "I'm glad to be Miss Cass," then she stepped away, overcome with emotion.

"She represented us very well," Ms. Fowler told the crowd.

The judges' scores were finally tabulated. The winner: Betty Fiero.

As always, some also-rans cried, but that was OK with Ms. Fowler, who disagrees with suggestions that all contestants win the title. She likes the life lessons that come from losing and trying again next year.

Ms. Patrick, though, was very reticent about giving up her crown, and ended up sobbing in Ms. Fowler's arms. She explained that she no longer felt special. "It hurts," she said.

At the reception after the pageant, with the Miss Cass tiara on her head, Ms. Fiero put her arm around the outgoing beauty queen.

"I like sharing our lives together," she said to Ms. Patrick. "You're still famous and you're still my friend."

Write to Jeffrey Zaslow at [email protected]1
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110325356650103093,00.html


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## Shadow Bea

My Mother took care of kids with developmental disabilities for many years .. well they weren't really kids they were between 19 and 70  
Downs syndrome kids are some of the most uncomplicated truly loving people on the face of the earth! We should all have what they have in terms of spirit.. Love the story Bruce! :up: :up:


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## eggplant43

If you ever want to be uplifted, go spend some time with some of these "kids". I have the privilege of knowing some as friends. If you don't know any, make a point of meeting some, you won't be disappointed. they were simply born without a "mean" gene. :up:


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## Shadow Bea

I know I have spent time with them  talk about uplifting!! 



.


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## angelize56

Last year this same couple gave *EVERY* child in their town $20 for Christmas! :up:  What a blessing to still have nice people around! 

Posted 12/21/2004 8:09 AM

*Iowa couple pays electric bills for entire town* :up: 

ANTHON, Iowa (AP)  Home and business owners in this northwest Iowa town of 650 people were a little shocked at the Christmas gift they got from retired farmer Richard Hamann and his wife, Donna.

*The Hamanns doled out $25,000 to pay the town's electricity bills  all due on Dec. 25*. :up:

Hamann, 75, sees the gift as returning a good deed.

"*The Lord has been very good to us and so have the people of this community, so I always thought we ought to be doing something in return if we could*," he said Monday.

Residents said they were surprised and grateful.

"I just thought it was great," said Beulah Sands, 64, a clerk at a local convenience store. "I haven't talked to anyone who didn't appreciate it. It was a wonderful thing for him to do."

Sands said the Hamanns' gift saved her more than $50.

A stack of thank you cards and letters sits in a bundle on Richard Hamann's desk in an office at his home.

One letter came from Joyce Sevening, who wrote that her sister, Fay Miller, is an Anthon resident who has been in poor health in recent months. She said news of the gift brought a tear to her eye.

"*It makes me proud that such people as you exist in small towns in Iowa," wrote Sevening, who provided no return address. "It makes me feel good that someone would go out of their way to help another in any way possible*."


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## eggplant43

Brought tears to my eyes, I'm a sucker for these kind of stories. This morning I took a large spiral cut ham (honey cured), and homemade rumballs to a new to town family who just moved here this spring, have had some hard times, and have lots of grandkids. I've felt great all day.  :up:


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## Shadow Bea

Brought tears to my eyes too!


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## eggplant43

Guess we're just a couple of softies


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## THoey

I usually blame it on allergies. I'm allergic to stories like this.

Keep them coming...


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## eggplant43

THoey said:


> I usually blame it on allergies. I'm allergic to stories like this.
> 
> Keep them coming...


  :up:


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## angelize56

I join you in the "Cryer's Club"!


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## angelize56

This is the most wonderful news and such a gift for these beautiful twin's parents!  :up: I got a little emotional knowing some mothers have abortions at 26 weeks...but let's focus on the happy story here!

*World's tiniest baby doing well in Chicago* :up: 
Posted by Ryan L

Dec 22, 04 10:10 pm

*A premature infant believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive was called "a great blessing" Tuesday by her mother, who is preparing to take the little girl and her twin sister home from the hospital*. (Thank you God!) 

The baby, named Rumaisa, *weighed 8.6 ounces less than a can of soda* when she was delivered by Caesarean section Sept. 19 at Loyola University Medical Center. That is 1.3 ounces smaller than the previous record holder, who was born at the same the hospital in 1989, according to hospital spokeswoman Sandra Martinez.

Rumaisa, her twin, Hiba, and their parents were introduced Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital in suburban Maywood. The girls were bundled in identical striped blankets.

Their mother, Mahajabeen Shaik, said she didn't "have the words to say how thankful I was" when she first got to hold her children in their second month.

"*It's a blessing, it's a great blessing*," she said.

Hospital officials said they are doing so well that *Hiba, who weighed 1 pound and 4 ounces at birth, could be released from the hospital by the end of this month, with Rumaisa following as early as the first week of January*.

Rumaisa now weighs 2 pounds, 10 ounces. Her twin weighs 5 pounds.

"*They're maintaining their temperature; they don't need an incubator. They're taking their bottles," said Dr. William MacMillan. "They're normal babies*." :up: 

Shaik, 23, developed pre-eclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure and other problems, during pregnancy. *The condition endangered Rumaisa and her mother, prompting a C-section at 26 weeks*. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.

Dr. Jonathan Muraskas, a professor of neonatal-perinatal medicine, said several factors may have improved the babies' chances of survival. Babies born before 23 weeks do not have fully developed lungs and are usually not viable, but those born afterward can survive.

*Muraskas said girls are also more likely to survive than boys when born at less than 13 ounces, and the twins could have been helped by their mother's health problems. "Sometimes, when babies are stressed in utero, that can accelerate maturity*," he said.

Muraskas said the twins were placed on ventilators for a few weeks and fed intravenously for a week or two until nurses could give them breast milk through feeding tubes. They were able to start drinking from bottles after about 10 weeks.

*Ultrasound tests have shown no bleeding in Rumaisa's brain, a common complication in premature babies that can raise the risk of cerebral palsy. Both girls also underwent laser surgery to correct vision problems common in preemies*.

Shaik and her husband, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, 32, said they are looking forward to bringing their children home. The couple, originally from Hyderabad, India, live in the suburb of Hanover Park.

"*We want them to be good human beings, good citizens, and she wants them to be doctors*," said Rahman, looking at his wife. 

"Doctors. Yes, of course, of course," she said, laughing.

*Madeline Mann, the previous record holder as smallest known surviving preemie, returned to Loyola Hospital earlier this year for a celebration. Now 15, she was described as a lively honor student, though small for her age, at 4-feet-7*.

According to the hospital, more than 1,700 newborns weighing less than 2 pounds have been cared for there in the past 20 years.

Stephen Davidow, a hospital spokesman, said a routine delivery costs about $6,000, while caring for a premature baby costs about $5,000 a day. Rumaisa, who has been in the hospital 90 days, is covered by Medicaid, hospital officials said.

******

In the photo below Neonatalogist Dr. Jonathan Muraskas places his hand next to Rumaisa Rahman, known to be the smallest baby in the world to survive birth, in this file photo taken three weeks after birth, at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. Rahman weighed 8.6 ounces at birth, about the size of a cellular phone.


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## angelize56

*Student raises $30,000 for orphans in Uganda* :up: :up: 
Thursday, December 23, 2004 Posted: 9:31 AM EST (1431 GMT)

NORFOLK, Virginia (AP) -- *George Srour was visiting an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda, this summer when he turned a corner and was swarmed by a group of "double orphans" -- children who lost both parents to AIDS and were infected themselves*. 

All they wanted was to shake his hand.

"*I couldn't stop smiling, but at the same time I felt really awful because I had my hand out and ... I didn't have anything to give them*," recalled Srour, a 21-year-old senior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

On Christmas morning, he plans to return to the Meeting Point Kampala orphanage with two friends from campus. And this time he won't show up empty-handed.

*Srour will surprise the children with gifts and school supplies bought with some of the more than $30,000 collected through a fund-raising project he created, Christmas in Kampala*.

*All of the 950 children, many of whom are double-orphans, also will get a holiday dinner complete with Coca-Cola, a luxury there*.

About *$8,000 will be used to put up a concrete building to replace the orphanage's bamboo schoolhouse, which has to be rebuilt several times a year because it gets eaten away by ants. If any money is left over, Srour hopes to set up a trust to take care of the orphanage's future needs*. :up: 

Srour initially visited the orphanage through an internship with the United Nations World Food Programme, which fights global hunger. He spent four weeks at the humanitarian agency's headquarters in Rome, then went to Uganda for two weeks.

*When he went to Meeting Point Kampala and was ambushed by the kids, they took him to the schoolhouse and sang for him. Srour asked the headmaster how much it would cost to build a school out of durable materials. When she told him $8,000, he thought, "That's easy. I'm doing it. There's got to be a way*."

When he returned to campus this fall, he approached the school about raising money for the orphanage. A Web site explaining the project went up November 1, through the Dog Street Journal, an online college newspaper Srour founded. *Donors were asked to contribute $5 to "adopt" an orphan*.

Donors include William and Mary students, faculty and staff and members of Srour's church in his hometown of Indianapolis. His former co-workers in Rome raised more than $4,000, with many giving money they had intended to use to buy Christmas presents.

*Key Club International, a service program for high school students, donated $10,000 collected from its members. That included $500 from a Key Club in Jamaica, which was hit hard by hurricanes this year*. :up:

"*It's awesome to know that people who could use the money themselves were more than willing to raise the money for us*," Srour said.


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## angelize56

*A MOTHER'S GIFT OF LIFE*

Soon to be a grandmother, a 55-year-old is pregnant with her daughter's triplets :up:

BY MELODIE N. MARTIN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 26, 2004

*She's been pregnant with triplets for eight months now. She's 55 years old*. (AWESOME MOM!!!!) 

Shifting her weight in her chair, the University of Richmond administrator insists that while she is acting as the surrogate for her oldest daughter and son-in-law, she has no intention of raising the triplets. Cade already has sent her own three children to college.

"There is no confusion. These are their babies. I am simply an incubator, a caring incubator," Cade said recently. "I'm not interested in being a mommy anymore. I'm ready to be a grandmother."

Despite her unwieldy shape, Cade remains poised, gesturing gracefully. During the conversation at her Midlothian home, she discreetly checks to see if the buttons on her pink blouse are still fastened around her protruding belly.

She shares the same soft, gentle smile as her daughter, Camille Hammond.

Since marrying four years ago, Hammond and her husband, Jason, both resident physicians in Baltimore, have tried repeatedly to have children. As a teenager, Hammond, 29, was diagnosed with endometriosis, which affects the lining of the uterus and can make it difficult to get pregnant.

Asked how badly she wanted her own children, Hammond, curled up in an armchair, grew quiet and cast a long glance out her mother's living room window.

"*I really felt being a mother was one of the main reasons I was put on this earth," Hammond said, "and to not be able to do that was devastating*."

Her husband sighed deeply, recalling half a dozen failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization.

"It was really tough to go through these cycles," Jason Hammond said. "Each time it just hurt a little bit more and more. Even though we wanted to have children really badly, we felt it was out of our reach."

More than a year ago, Cade and her husband, Ronald, began wondering if she could carry her daughter's children. It was an idea they first considered 10 years earlier when they first learned that Hammond had endometriosis.

"We felt perhaps we could offer an option they hadn't even thought about," Cade said. "This was something we were very comfortable doing. We felt this was God-driven and that we weren't acting in isolation, that it would work out."

Camille Hammond said she never considered asking her mother, who is postmenopausal, to have her children.

"*I would have never even thought of asking my mom to make the sacrifice," she said. "We were very reluctant given her age, even though she was healthy*."

Last winter, mother and daughter weighed the risks and agreed to proceed. Cade underwent a battery of tests and began hormone-replacement therapy.

In midspring, she joined the young couple in Baltimore, where the in-vitro fertilization was performed.

Three embryos formed from Hammond's eggs and her husband's sperm were implanted in Cade. The family hoped at least one would take.

But at her next doctor's visit, Cade's hormone levels were "through the roof," suggesting a problem with the pregnancy or the possibility of multiple children. Another test revealed that Cade was having triplets.

"*We didn't plan for triplets. I thought we would be blessed with one," Cade said. "It was quite a surprise*."

Her daughter agreed. "I think that's the understatement of the year."

Several teams of doctors have been following Cade's progress at Hammond's insistence.

"*She's getting wonderful care," Hammond said. "She has just done an amazing job and is giving us an amazing gift*."

Cade plans to deliver the babies by Caesarian section. She said the hardest part of the pregnancy is not knowing what to expect.

Laborlike pains two weeks ago turned out to be a false alarm. She has avoided morning sickness, but she suffers from back pain, leg cramps, sleepless nights and a shortage of maternity clothing that fits. Her husband, a dentist, has lovingly stood by her side.

"*There is nothing about this that even remotely experiences my pregnancy with any of my other children," Cade said. "Yet, if we got this miracle, then it was intended to be*."

This month the Hammonds finished preparing the nursery in their Ellicott City home, painting the nursery lavender and decorating it with a Noah's Ark theme. Three cribs and a stroller with "stadium seating" are ready, but the couple still need to buy a minivan that can hold everybody.

Hammond is completing a residency in preventive medicine at Johns Hopkins University while her husband focuses on orthopedic surgery. They are unfazed by the notion of losing sleep with three newborns.

"We're residents. Come on now - sleep deprivation? We laugh in the face of sleep deprivation," Camille Hammond joked.

*At last check, each triplet's weight was above the average for a single baby. The family knows the sex of the triplets but want to keep it a secret until they are born*.

Cade, who continues to show signs of good health, said she feels the babies moving all the time. At her daughter's suggestion, *Cade tried playing classical music for them.

"I thought it was a major party going on in my stomach after they heard that music. I dare think what they would have done with heavy metal*."


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## eggplant43

From Capitol Hill Blue

Just for the Hell of It
And a Big Salute To...
By Scripps Howard
Dec 27, 2004, 01:45

At this time of year, we pause to hail the men and women whose selfless acts of courage, integrity and generosity made the world a brighter and safer place in 2004.

Some of them you may have heard of; others will be strangers. But they are your neighbors and fellow citizens who went the extra mile for others and so deserve the most heartfelt of holiday thanks.



Peaceful, silent nights for the 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for the 100,000 other GIs away from home this holiday season. Tidings of comfort for those wounded in war, and sweet solace for the families and friends of the 1,300 American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who gave their lives in service to our country.



Garlands to the hundreds of groups nationwide who have mobilized to send an abundance of care packages and other goodies to the troops. And tons of tinsel to Bonnie Buckley, a Merrimac, Mass., volunteer who has moved mountains _ often at great personal expense _ to help U.S. soldiers bring home with them their beloved adopted Iraqi dogs.



A cup of eggnog, or at least a bowl of dog chow, to Gizmo, a tiny mixed pooch credited with saving the life of his owner, Joseph Favre of Largo, Fla., whose mobile home was destroyed by fire. Gizmo woke Favre from his slumber by jumping on his chest, then barking and scratching at his face. The fire gutted the home and destroyed everything inside, but Gizmo and Favre made it out safely with just minutes to spare.



A holiday huzzah to Ken Jennings, the 30-year-old software engineer from Utah who made bookish little boys and grown-up nerds fashionable again by winning a record $2.5 million on "Jeopardy."



A sparkling star for Jordan Zamora, 11, of Corpus Christi, Texas, who saved the lives of his younger two cousins and little sister in February when a fire ravaged the family's second-story apartment. Jordan stayed in the burning residence until adults arrived, then dropped the children one by one from a window into the arms of strangers, burning his own arms and legs as he did.



A wag of Rudolph's tail to Sawake Pinsinchai, commander of Thailand's forestry police, who was credited by the Animal Welfare Institute with leading successful raids against illegal dealers in tigers, orangutans and other endangered species.



Megabytes of ho-ho-hos to PC Santa _ aka Scott Marshall, a Grove City, Ohio, techie who collects, reprograms and donates used computers to folks who otherwise can't afford them.



An extra candle on the stollen for founder Bill Shore and the clan at Share Our Strength, which has raised $180 million over 20 years for its pioneering effort to mobilize citizens and corporations around the country to fight hunger and poverty.



A tip of Santa's hat to Uceba Babson, who finally graduated from high school at the age of 90. Up at 4 a.m. to put water bottles on her arthritic knees to get them working, the grandmother and great-grandmother of 81 drove herself to school in West Palm Beach, Fla., and never missed a class as she reached the dream of a diploma that she gave up seven decades ago to marry a vegetable farmer.



Cheers and a well-deserved holiday off to the folks at America's Second Harvest, the Chicago-based national network of more than 200 food banks that provide more than $2.3 billion in food and grocery products to 94,000 food banks and pantries.



An angel's trumpet for Laurel Barchas, a Truckee, Calif., teenager, who started a free after-school music program _ complete with donated instruments _ for elementary school students who could not afford music lessons.



Hail to the "Hurricane Hunters" _ the Air Force Reservists and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration pilots and weather specialists who flew more than 145 risky missions during this year's deadly hurricane season. A special salute to NOAA meteorologist and flight director Jack Parrish who flew for four straight days, leaving behind a wife on chemo for cancer and his kids in storm-tossed Florida.



Extra mincemeat pie for Victoria Kendra, the cafeteria manager at Boynton Beach (Fla.) High School, who stayed on duty four straight days to distribute food to hurricane victims seeking shelter in the school. Armed only with a cell phone, a flashlight and a car, she rounded up donations from local restaurants to feed people at the school, which was without power



Pretty poinsettias to Margie Richard, a retired schoolteacher from dirt poor Norco, La., who campaigned for 13 years to get an oil company to clean up its nearby refinery and relocate 1,500 residents after an unusual number of rare and life-threatening illnesses cropped up there.



Candy canes to government whistleblowers everywhere, such as researcher David Graham, who told the Senate that his bosses at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were allowing dangerous drugs such as acne drug Accutane an painkiller Vioxx to be sold, and Dr. Jonathan Fishbein, who blew the whistle on senior government officials who altered the conclusions of an audit of an AIDS clinical trial.



Evergreen laurels to North Port, Fla., residents Marsha Gambill, 36, and her oldest son, Brian, 14, both of whom died in September after they ran to help a motorcyclist who'd just been struck by a vehicle, only to be hit and killed by a van that ran into them. Gambill's friends said she always stressed to her children the importance of helping others.



Holly wreaths to Tommie Lindsey, a 2004 MacArthur award winner, who teaches public speaking and coaches an award-winning debate team at Logan High School in Union City, Calif., where 90 percent of his students go on to college _ compared to 60 percent of Logan's students overall.



A nip and tuck salute to Red Sox doc Bill Morgan, who practiced on a cadaver to make sure he got it right before stitching together Curt Shilling's ankle tendon to keep him pitching through the playoffs and World Series, only to get sacked in the offseason.

© Copyright 2004 Capitol Hill Blue


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## Shadow Bea

Nice summery of the year Bruce 

Good story Marlene! :up:


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## DiSaidSo

angelize56 said:


> *A MOTHER'S GIFT OF LIFE*
> 
> Soon to be a grandmother, a 55-year-old is pregnant with her daughter's triplets :up:
> 
> BY MELODIE N. MARTIN
> TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Dec 26, 2004
> 
> *She's been pregnant with triplets for eight months now. She's 55 years old*. (AWESOME MOM!!!!)


An update!!! YAY!!!!

Woman, 55, delivers triplets for daughter
Wednesday, December 29, 2004 Posted: 10:24 AM EST (1524 GMT)

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- A 55-year-old woman who gave birth to triplets for a daughter who was medically unable to conceive said Wednesday she was "a caring incubator" and was awe-struck when she learned she was carrying three children.

Full Story

YAY!!!  :up:


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## Shadow Bea

Miracle baby found alive on floating mattress 28/12/2004 - 07:48:12
:up: :up: 
A 20-day-old baby was found alive floating on a mattress in her parents damaged restaurant in northern Malaysia after the region was slammed by tidal waves, it was reported today.

S Tulasi was sleeping in a room at the restaurant when the huge waves struck on Sunday in the holiday resort of Penang. The swirling waters swept her parents out of the restaurant.

Luckily, her parents later managed to claw their way back to the badly-damaged building.

Thank God the mattress was floating in about five-foot deep water and my baby was crying, the babys father, A Suppiah, told the national news agency Bernama.


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## n2gun

Vet: Dog Survives Snatch by Eagle, Cold 

A dog survived a flight in an eagle's claws then endured a week of sometimes subfreezing weather before finding its way home, a veterinarian said Wednesday.

"He was chilled, but he seemed to be able to walk," John McIlhattan said, referring to Freddie, a 13-year-old Pekingese mix. "He seemed remarkably chipper for what he'd gone through."

Earlier in the day, Freddie showed up at home weighing about 3 pounds less than he did when he was last seen in a neighbor's driveway on Dec. 29.

"We're all just amazed," said Jill Slevin, who said she hadn't found a way to tell her three children that Freddie probably wouldn't come back. "He's our miracle."

Slevin, who was alerted to Freddie's return by the barking of her other dogs, said she put him on a blanket and carried him to McIlhattan. The veterinarian said he surmised Freddie had been snatched by an eagle after examining cuts around the dog's neck.

Freddie had also suffered an eye injury and was covered by ice and insect bites. McIlhattan said the dog probably found a warm shelter, but had to share it with pests.

"He's a pretty lucky dog to be getting home in this kind of weather," he said.


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## n2gun

Abducted 10-year-old Maryland girl found in Stafford after alert issued

By ROB DAVIS


Date published: 1/6/2005 

Police find missing girl, arrest uncle 

On his way to work early yesterday afternoon, Prince William County police Officer Josh Wehmeyer merged onto Interstate 95 near Falmouth and got behind a green Cadillac Seville.

An Amber Alert came over his FM radio. Authorities were were looking for Dejavu Cottman, a 10-year-old Baltimore girl believed to have been abducted from her home yesterday morning. Police were looking for a green Cadillac Seville.

Wehmeyer called Virginia State Police, and asked whether they had a tag number. They did. He checked it against the Cadillac in front of him. It matched.

At about the same time, three more phone calls came to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office, reporting sightings of the green car.

While callers tracked the Cadillac, Stafford sheriff's deputies moved into position at interstate exits just after 12:30 p.m.

Deputies boxed in the vehicle and slowed it to a stop about a mile from the Garrisonville Road exit, Sheriff Charles Jett said.

They arrested the girl's uncle, Mark Kendell Cottman, and found Dejavu unharmed in the front seat.

Dejavu was missing from her bed when her parents awoke yesterday morning, Baltimore City Police spokeswoman Nicole Monroe said. 

Her parents feared she was in danger, Monroe said, because her uncle suffers from some form of mental illness. What kind of illness was not known yesterday, she said.

Baltimore City Police issued an Amber Alert, which allows law enforcement to quickly notify the media of a child abduction. Frequent reports about the child and possible abductors are broadcast on television and radio, and posted on highway message boards.

Baltimore police had not filed charges against Cottman as of yesterday afternoon.

"It appears it was not for ransom or anything that would turn it into a federal offense," Monroe said. "His mental health will definitely be a determining factor."

The Amber Alert--named for a Texas girl who was abducted and killed, but also an acronym for America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response--has been used a number of times in the Fredericksburg region. Though the program was created in 1996, Virginia did not participate until July 2003.

In August, an alert reported the abduction of a Barboursville infant. The suspect in that case turned himself in.

In November 2003, a baby described as abducted from Stafford was found near Williamsburg after a woman heard an Amber Alert on a local radio station.

In June 2003, a nationwide alert was broadcast to find a 14-year-old Stafford girl. Police tracked her down in Indiana and charged a man they say she left with.

:up:


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## Shadow Bea

Thank God! :up: :up: 



.


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## n2gun

Pa. Boy, 13, Scores Perfect 1600 on SAT 
The Associated Press
MECHANICSBURG, Pa.

A 13-year-old boy has scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT, a standardized test usually given to college-bound high school seniors.

"I was pretty surprised and happy," said Lee Kennedy-Shaffer, an eighth-grader at Mechanicsburg Middle School. "I did not think I would score that high."

He got the perfect score for a test he took in December as part of a program for gifted children.

He wasn't the first in his family to get a perfect score, but he was the first to do so at such a young age.

In June 2003 his brother Ross scored 1600 on the SAT as a junior at Mechanicsburg High School. The oldest brother, Alan, had 1520 on the exam.

"When your mother is a high school math teacher and your father is a history professor ... doing well in school is expected," Alan Kennedy-Shaffer said. :up:

*Not bad for a kid from ******* country* No flames please thats a joke


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## DiSaidSo

Sorry, couldn't resist.


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## Shadow Bea

What ??


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## eggplant43

She posted a flame


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## Shadow Bea

Oh  Thanks


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## angelize56

I just found this to be adorable!! 

*Stocking stuffers

Newborns from left, Karen Granados, 4 days old; Kennedy Mae O'Neill, 3 days old; Diego Novoa, 1 day old; Victoria Irizarry, 1 day old; Luke Harrison Insana, 3 days old; Spencer Bennett Kerr, 1 day old; and Trinity Belle Analambidakis, 4 days old, are photographed at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.*


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## Shadow Bea

Priceless!!^  


.


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## eggplant43

Secure in her skin
By RACHEL PETERSON
Gillette News-Record

GILLETTE (AP) -- Melissa Cawley knew her life was forever changed by burn scars she acquired in a Gillette fire in 1993.

But she has decided to use them to benefit others -- as a nurse.

After all, she has already spent years in hospitals and burn centers during recovery. Now it's time to give back, she said.

"I don't think I'd be in nursing today if it hadn't been for situations that happened," she said. "I've been there and spent a lot of time in the hospital as a patient, and I think I have empathy. I can relate to people on a different level."

Cawley can recall one of her nurses who'd been burned by a fire and helped to put the then-13-year-old Cawley at ease.

"She could just talk to you candidly because she's already been there," Cawley said.

Now 24, Cawley hopes she can do the same for her patients, as she works toward becoming a registered nurse at Kennewick General Hospital in Washington.

What Cawley didn't realize as she left Gillette to embark on a new life was that nursing would help her to come to terms with herself. She thought she had done that before graduating from Campbell County High School in 1998, she said.

"It wasn't a thing here," she said of her burn scars that cover most of her body.

The story was so well known in Gillette, people mostly looked past it.

Cawley was baby-sitting on Dec. 21 when candles ignited a Christmas tree and spread throughout the apartment.

Firefighter Dave Mansur was nearby and the first to arrive on scene. He wasn't in a flame-retardant suit, but heard Cawley from inside and rescued her.

If it weren't for Mansur risking his own life, Cawley would have died -- something Cawley and her co-workers are eternally grateful for.

"They said to tell Dave thank you," she said.

Mansur said he hasn't had a day like that one since, but always uses that experience to prepare himself when approaching a fire.

"I don't really think of the incident, but I think of Melissa," he said.

After the fire, the community really came together to support Cawley and her mother, both socially and financially, as the family didn't have health insurance. Cawley sped through her recovery and was able to keep up with her studies and graduate with her class, and hasn't slowed down on life too much since. In 2000, she even decided to stop skin grafts, which she felt she was getting only for vanity reasons.

"I just wanted to live my life and not have to go through all the surgery and healing," she said. "But moving away to a different community, nobody knows what happened. I realized maybe I wasn't as OK with it."

She answers questions on a daily basis about what happened, she said. And on a trip to California, she was confronted with some rude and closed-minded people.

Cawley said the experiences were trying, but she feels more secure in her skin now than ever -- though she's still a little concerned about it. She was in a car wreck last year, and made sure to cover her face with her arms as the car rolled.

"Good thing," she told Mansur as they met recently. She showed him the scar on her arm from broken glass and gravel. Had she not covered her face, it would have scarred a small section of her left cheek that hadn't been burned.

But the scars -- new and old -- and people's comments are just facts of life, Cawley said, and she's not going to let them stop her from her passions: helping people and traveling.

Cawley has lived in Kennewick for about two years while working toward her nursing certification. Her plan is to be a traveling nurse.

"I don't like to be in the same place for too long," she said.

She's grateful for the life she has and wants to see and do as much as she can.

Mansur said that's Melissa's spirit.

"I think she's just awesome," he said. "No matter what Cawley puts her mind to, she'll be good."

All Cawley knows is there's one thing she'll never do:

"I couldn't handle being a fireman," Cawley said. "That's a really courageous job."

She'll leave that one to Mansur.


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## ymfoster

Medics save foot in womb
NEWS.com.au, Australia - 22 hours ago
... Australia - was yesterday declared a success, with baby Ella Grace ... on January 2, able to move her foot and toes ... tissue had broken away from the womb lining and tangled around the foetus's left leg, cutting blood supply ...

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11906258%5E421,00.html

See photo at this site ...

http://news.google.com.au/news?q=%22News%22+%2B+baby's+foot+in+womb&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr


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## ymfoster

eggplant43 said:


> Secure in her skin
> By RACHEL PETERSON
> Gillette News-Record
> 
> GILLETTE (AP) -- Melissa Cawley knew her life was forever changed by burn scars she acquired in a Gillette fire in 1993.


That's a truly inspiring story of courage & determination Bruce, thanks for sharing it :up:


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## eggplant43

It sure shows "it's all about attitude", doesn't it?


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## Shadow Bea

Two great stories Thanks Bruce and Yvonne 

.


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## angelize56

*130,000 wishes come true
All the the teen wanted for Christmas* :up: 
Tuesday, January 11, 2005 Posted: 3:54 PM EST (2054 GMT)

CANTON, Georgia (AP) -- Christmas is still going strong for 14-year-old Nick Waters.

*When the boy's church asked what he wanted for Christmas, Nick, who cannot talk and was born with no arms, slowly typed his reply with his feet: Lots of Christmas cards. Ten thousand of them*.

More than two weeks after Christmas, *he has more than 130,000 cards -- and they are still coming. They line the halls at his home, along with the living room, and the kitchen, and every other room in the house*. :up:

"To see him the month of December, it was like a different child. His color looks good. It was the best Christmas ever," said Nick's mother, Penny Waters.

*Nick has Holt-Oram syndrome, a rare, inherited disorder that causes heart abnormalities and birth defects of the hands and arms. This was the first Christmas in several years that Nick did not spend in a hospital, and no one in his family wants the season to end*.

Friends and church members help handle all the mail. Each day, they form a circle in the living room with Nick in the middle, taking delight as envelopes are opened and each card is read.

*Unopened cards are stacked waist-high in postal bins in the dining room, a closet and the garage*.

*White House, NBA, Miss Utah and Elvis*

As the cards poured in, Nick's family -- including father, Charles, and sisters Tabitha, 19, and Kasey, 13 -- filled in a map, marking each state where a card had been mailed from. South Dakota and Alaska were the last postmarks to pass through the door.

Cards also have come from Ethiopia, Israel, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Ireland, Australia and Canada.

*Nick also received a package from the Secret Service, with photos of President Bush, Air Force One and White House pets Barney and Willie. He has cards from the Wake Forest basketball team, the NBA's Orlando Magic, the University of Georgia, Miss Utah and Elvis, who confided to Nick he is still alive and in hiding*.

"He's probably touched more lives in a month than we'll touch in a lifetime," said Darrell Cheek, a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Woodstock who helped organized the effort along with members of Faith Baptist in nearby Ball Ground.

Church groups spread word of Nick's request through the Internet.

"He could have asked for anything," his mother said. "He could have asked for a swimming pool. He just wanted cards and mail."

Those close to Nick say the cards helped ease his pain. Nick has spent other recent Christmas seasons in the hospital, fighting infections and complications following spinal surgery in 2000.

"*This is probably the happiest I've seen him in four years," said Debbie Brineman, a specialist who has worked with Nick for seven years*.


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## Shadow Bea

That is a great story Marlene!


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## ymfoster

eggplant43 said:


> It sure shows "it's all about attitude", doesn't it?


It sure does, you have to think outwardly & not bottle things up also. :up:

Thanks Bea 

That's a lovely story Marlene :up:


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## eggplant43

70 years together, and only 1 fight
Couple celebrate anniversary of a long and loving marriage
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
BY DEBRA MASSIC
For The Patriot-News

The traditional 25th wedding anniversary gift is silver. The 50th is gold. Harold and Ruth Weigard are approaching an anniversary milestone that has no widely known tradition.

The Weigards plan to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary today.

Their secret?

Said he: "I had a good cook."

Said she: "We always got along good. We had our ups and downs, but no major fights."

Harold, 89, and Ruth, 88, married on Jan. 12, 1935. The minister and his wife were in attendance. Ruth wore a brown skirt, jacket and hat. Harold wore a blue suit. The two have been together ever since.

The only time the York County, couple were apart was when Harold fell through a roof in 1974 and was hospitalized for a few days. Arguments have scarcely been a part of the relationship.

"We never really put on our boxing gloves," Ruth said. "We've always been there for each other."

Their worst disagreement was when Ruth kicked the bucket. Harold was picking cherries and said something to her that upset her. She became angry and kicked over his bucket of cherries.

Neither can remember exactly what was said.

"Two people have to work together to make a marriage last," Harold said. "That's the way we were brought up and that's what we taught our children. Today, people have a lot more distractions. Not like when we started out."

Harold and Ruth met in Dillsburg. He was fortunate to have a 1931 Chevy roadster. The black car with orange wheels, chrome doors and a rumble seat caught the attention of Ruth, her sister and a girlfriend.

Ruth hopped in the rumble seat with Harold's friend; her girlfriend sat next to Harold. The evening ended with a bang when Harold hit a culvert, and his car remained in the garage for months.

Harold and Ruth went on their first date about five months later, on May 22, 1933, right after Ruth graduated from high school. The two dated for close to two years. "We had no dates with anyone else in those two years," Ruth said.

With jobs scarce, money was an issue. Harold worked for $1.25 a day at Mussleman's Apple Factory. Ruth went to work at a sewing factory in Dover.

Ruth eventually found work as a maid. Harold became gardener, butler and chauffeur for a wealthy Baltimore family. They each earned $15 a month.

Ruth's mother wouldn't allow her daughter to move until she got married. Pennsylvania had a three-day waiting period, but their jobs started in three days. Under Maryland law, a man had to be at least 20 years old to receive a marriage license. Harold was 19 at the time and Ruth, 18.

"We didn't have the money for a big wedding," Harold said. "We were just anxious to get it over with."

Harold told a small fib: He put down he was 20.

With their two children, Carol Kline and Eileen Conley, in tow, the Weigards moved back to Pennsylvania. Harold became a carpenter and built three houses for the family over several years. Every day, Ruth, a homemaker, made Harold's lunch at the sound of the noon whistle and had dinner on the table when he walked in the door.

"She was always there for us girls and dad," said Conley, their daughter. "There's a lot of love there. You can tell they have a really nice relationship just by the way they look at each other."

"They are two of the most unselfish people we know," said grandson Richard Conley. "They would do anything for anybody."

In 1978, when Harold retired, the Weigards moved to Florida. He continued to build furniture for friends and his church. After 17 years, they moved to Wellsvillle. They and their cat, Fuzzy, share an apartment above Richard Conley's garage. The couple have three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

"Keeping busy helps a relationship," Ruth said. "He was always working, and I helped out with the family chores. There wasn't any money. We didn't spend time running around."

Ruth still cooks for Harold. Her apple dumplings are among his favorites, but he loves just about everything she makes. He is still handy with a hammer. The two attend church every Sunday.

Over the years, their love and family have grown -- and some things have changed.

Said Harold: "She used to say she was taller than me. But I think she's shrunk a little now."


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## Shadow Bea

awww Now that is NICE!  :up:

.


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## eggplant43

Boy finds $9,000, does the right thing
By Susan Dibble Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted 1/16/2005

Andrew Gieseler, 12, of Naperville had read about people finding money before, but not as much as this.

At 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Andrew saw a clear, plastic bag about 20 feet from the entrance of the Super Target store at Winfield and Diehl roads in Warrenville. The cash -- which ultimately added up to $9,000 -- was clearly visible in the bag.

"I just noticed the bag and picked it up," Andrew said. "You could see the money inside. I was just amazed."

Andrew, who was with his mother, Mary, and younger brother, Peter, didn't hesitate a moment.

"I walked in and the first thing I went to was customer service and dropped it right there," he said.

Target store manager Dave Thman said the money was dropped by United Armored Services, which had made a stop at the store. "They came back and picked up the bag," he said. "It wasn't our money."

Andrew, a seventh-grader at Hill Middle School in Naperville, said he didn't even think of keeping the money.

"It would leave a tarnish on your conscience the rest of your life," he said.

However at the request of Andrew's mother, Mary Gieseler, she and Peter, 8, did get to hold the bag of money a few moments after Andrew turned it in.

"I was impressed he knew what to do and did it without any question," his mother said. "It was interesting because Andrew and I had been having a conversation on the way to Target about honesty."

Gieseler said someone suggested that Andrew should get a reward. While it would be nice, neither she nor Andrew thought it necessary, she said.

United Armored Services was not available for comment Saturday night.


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## Shadow Bea

Love it!  :up:

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## eggplant43

If you have an interest in *VOLUNTEERING* , take a look at this site:

http://volunteermatch.org/


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## eggplant43

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-et-twins28jan28.story
STYLE & CULTURE
Pillars of strength
Wheelchair-bound couple draw on faith and a positive outlook in raising twins.
By Valerie Reitman
Times Staff Writer

January 28, 2005

Spend a few days with Stuart and Rebecca Klein  he's quadriplegic, she's paraplegic  and they'll nearly have you convinced that their biggest challenge as parents of infant twins will be reducing the speed on their motorized wheelchairs, as they have vowed to each other they will, once the boys start to crawl.

"The speed of the wheelchair will be on low always," promises Stuart. "If we want to back up, we'll have to call out to each other and ask [where the twins are]."

The notion that they might have to slow themselves down a bit  they're practicing now to get used to the idea  reflects the Kleins' world view. They take their challenges in stride, despite the hurdles they face just getting up and dressed, let alone taking care of their fraternal twins Yaakov Aryeh and Yosef Netanel born in July.

Call Rebecca, 27, on the phone and suggest "You must be busy," and she replies, "Yes, thank God."

Press a bit and Stuart, 42, tears up for a moment when he mentions his sadness at seeing other fathers cuddling their newborns  the "holding and the bonding" that he couldn't do  but then his mood quickly rebounds as he notes that other things can compensate.

"You talk to them, you tell them how much you'll love them throughout their lives and that you'll be there for them," he says, his blue eyes beaming at Yaakov as Rebecca gives him a bottle. "And you know that right from the beginning, they're hearing you somehow."

The Kleins are Orthodox Jews and their strong religious faith provides an anchor and inspiration for their lives. They get plenty of support from family, friends and strangers who lend a hand, whether it's chipping in to buy the baby paraphernalia they need in duplicate or their 10-year-old neighbor's dropping by at dinner to play with the twins.

But their challenges run beyond the physical. They struggle financially and must brave suggestions that they're not up to the task of parenting. People on the street occasionally make disparaging comments when they see the Kleins rolling down the sidewalk in their wheelchairs, she holding the babies in both arms or now, as they're getting bigger, pushing their double stroller with a specially equipped side handle.

Some strangers have told them that having the twins  whom the couple say were conceived naturally, not in vitro as most people assume  was not responsible. "They say, 'These are your kids? How do you plan to raise them?' " Rebecca says. "We say, 'Just like you do. God forbid you'd lose your balance and fall down.' I learned in life that whoever has a negative comment, to feel sorry for them. Why do I need to remember what they said? They don't even know me or my husband."

Indeed, studies have shown that children of those with paralyzing disabilities do as well as children of able-bodied people, says Scott Richards, a University of Alabama psychology professor who works with paralyzed people. "It makes it more difficult to physically manage being a parent, but there's nothing else that should be a hindrance."

Now that the twins are getting more expressive and bigger  at nearly 20 pounds apiece  people on the street "ooh and ah" at blond-and-roly-poly "serious" Yaakov or darker and "more flirty" (his mother's words) Yosef. But several can't resist adding, "you're going to have your hands full," or "it's going to get really hard when they're older"  comments that perplex Stuart.

"Why say how hard it's going to be?" Stuart says. "What's the point? If they say it in a certain way, and then say, 'OK, we'll come over and help you out,' that's one thing, but otherwise, . what are they suggesting?" Then he adds a characteristic joke, "Should we put them up on EBay now or wait till they're older?"

*

Special accommodations

The Kleins rely on government assistance to pay many of their bills. Stuart tutors schoolchildren as much as he can in the afternoon and evening. A part-time aide comes to get Stuart up, washed and dressed each morning, then returns in the evening to help him back to bed. A live-in nanny helps Rebecca do the housekeeping and care for the babies six days a week.

Now that they're a foursome with a live-in nanny, they are bursting out of their $1,600-a-month apartment in the Pico-Robertson area. The Kleins sleep in the master bedroom, giving their nanny, Hilda Gudiel, the other bedroom. The living room couch and computer desk now fight for breathing space with the two specially designed cribs that open from the side (enabling those in wheelchairs easier access to the babies); a play mat atop what once was an exercise mat for Stuart; a double stroller and assorted other gear, along with another set of manual wheelchairs for the Sabbath, when mechanized equipment is not supposed to be used.

Rebecca, who in the Orthodox Jewish tradition keeps her hair covered at home and tops it with a wig when outside, drives the family around in a specially equipped van that her father bought a few years ago. Stuart, who can move his wrists and hands slightly, manipulates the lever on his electric wheelchair and backs it up into the van, maneuvering it into a wheelchair anchor on the floor where the passenger seat would normally be. Then Rebecca rolls in, using her arm strength to hoist herself into the driver's seat. Even with a cushion, her tiny legs (she's about 4 feet 11) dangle only halfway to the floor.

The couple finally persuaded the city to designate a space in front of their apartment building for the disabled; however, they often return home to find other cars parked there, a big problem because their building's elevator doesn't descend to the garage level. If they opt to park in the garage, they face a steep climb up a ramp.

When possible, they prefer to roll to places themselves. When premature labor put Rebecca into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for two weeks before the twins' birth (by Caesarian section), Stuart would ride over from the Fairfax district (where they were temporarily staying with Rebecca's parents) every day in his wheelchair, each day trying to find the fastest and least-bumpy sidewalk routes. He brags about trimming his one-way time from 35 minutes to 20. That beat taking the government-funded van for the disabled, which requires advance booking and has little flexibility if doctors or appointments run late.

Those who know the couple well say they've rarely, if ever, seen the Kleins' optimism waver. Neighbor Dave Jaffe, 75, who has known Stuart for 15 years and attends the same synagogue, notes, "If I were in his shoes, I think I'd be a lousy guy. But on the outside, at least, he's a super guy. I struggle more than he does, I think, as far as attitude."

*

Blessed, in their own way

Stuart was paralyzed in a bizarre fall  from a couch  as a senior in college 20 years ago while on a ski trip. Ask how he dealt with it and he'll note that he "obviously wasn't a happy camper" initially, but then adds how "fantastic" it was to regain sensation after some bone chips were removed a few months later, describing the "incredible blessing" of being able to feel a touch as well as pain "down to my toes."

Though his wrist movement is very limited, Stuart can still type about 30 to 40 words per minute (with one finger), using a sort of rubber-tipped pen attached to a brace. He can use a computer mouse and crudely manipulate a fork or spoon between his first two fingers to eat. He keeps a cordless phone on his lap, hooked to a headset.

Rebecca's bout with polio as a toddler in Jerusalem (because of a skin condition that persists today, doctors thought it better not to immunize her) left her mostly immobilized from the waist down. She compensates by using her arms and upper-body strength to do daily activities like bathing and cooking; she's able to lift, change, dress and feed the babies. In the kitchen, she typically switches over to a more bulky wheelchair that can thrust her up high enough to reach the stove, countertop and sink. She keeps food and often-used dishes in the lower cabinets for easier access.

Stuart and Rebecca sometimes get calls out of the blue, a sort of "dial-an-inspiration." Karen Liebman, Stuart's sister, who lives on Long Island, recalls overhearing her brother a few years ago telling a caller about being strong when life gives you challenges. When Stuart hung up, she asked him who it was. "I'm not really sure," he replied, telling her the man was despondent and about to enter the hospital. "A friend of a friend suggested he call me."

The couple so inspires Aaron Nourollah, owner of the nearby Glatt Mart, a kosher Middle Eastern emporium full of exotic fruits, vegetables and flatbreads around the corner on Pico, that when he learned Rebecca had given birth to twin boys, he offered to pay for the bris. The Kleins didn't know what to expect; they didn't know Nourollah well, although Stuart tutors his nephew. The couple accepted, but privately worried that there might not be enough food to go around, because the ceremony is open to anyone, and after all, these were twin boys born to unusual parents.

The Kleins were delighted  and very touched  when Nourollah laid out an elaborate feast of bagels, assorted fish, salads, danish and cake for the 200 people gathered at the nearby synagogue hall (where his brother Moshe is the rabbi, and which the Nourollahs had also decked out with blue balloons).

"They are a very lovely couple," says Aaron Nourollah, who notes that the Kleins are in marked contrast to the many couples that bickered their way through his grocery aisles, before the store burned down in a fire on Dec. 27.

"All the couples, with all their health, are not as happy as they are," he says. "I watched the way they appreciate each other and they talk to each other. other couples come in and the husband doesn't trust the wife even enough to pick the wine and vice versa and sometimes they end up with one bottle for each of them."

*

A blind date

Although they seem to finish each other's sentences now, it wasn't love at first sight for the pair, who met on a blind date, arranged by friends, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. She worried about their 15-year age difference but recalls how inspired she was on their second date by how Stuart was able to manipulate his fork while eating dinner at the kosher Milk 'n Honey restaurant  something he learned at a rehab institute in Hungary.

"I saw his disability and I was in awe," Rebecca recalls. "When I came home, I had tears in my eyes because I never appreciated how much I had."

Though she had dated able-bodied men, when she went with dates or friends to Disneyland or Universal Studios she would be left behind when they went on rides. And she started to think it might be better to date someone else with a disability so she'd have company. She's glad now, she says, because when the twins are older and friends take them on hikes and the like, Stuart can remain with her on easier turf, and together they can look at photos of the twins' "firsts" that they can't witness firsthand.

They kept in touch by phone and e-mail and had occasional dates  to the Grove, to Starbucks or just out for drives  over the subsequent months. Stuart proposed seven months after they met, while they sat in the van by the Santa Monica pier; he read a favorite poem and they listened to the waves breaking. Six weeks later, dressed in an elaborate wedding gown and in front of about 400 guests, Rebecca rode up to the chuppah in the wheelchair that pushes her body upright, accompanied by her parents, who had moved to the U.S. when she was 3 to get better medical care for her.

After being married a year and making visits to Florida and to Stuart's family in New York, they began trying to have kids (she warned him that twins ran in her family). When she started eating a jar of pickles a day, they knew. Soon thereafter, the doctor detected two heartbeats. Says Rebecca, "God said, 'OK, you want a family, so let's get going.' "

Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times


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## Shadow Bea

Good Story Bruce!


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## eggplant43

Masked man helps neighbors dig out
By Elizabeth Malloy/ [email protected]
Wednesday, February 2, 2005

While the relentless snowfall last week made life difficult for residents all over eastern Massachusetts, the residents of Chandler Drive have a hero whom neighbors say is helping them get through.

A mysterious "masked shovelor" went through nearly the entire street on Sunday, Jan. 23, helping people dig out after a weekend blizzard dumped nearly two feet on snow on the town.
"He did every single house, it was so nice," said neighbor Erin O'Brien.

Last week, O'Brien woke up Monday and shoveled out her own driveway then made her way across town to shovel out her mother. When she returned, a plow had dumped more snow from the street in her driveway.

Too tired to shovel again, O'Brien parked her car in the street and went inside to take a shower. When she got out, a man in a ski mask was three quarters of the way through shoveling her driveway and had already done her front walk.

"I brought hot chocolate out to him to say thank you and he turned it down," O'Brien said. "I asked him who he was and he said, 'Just a neighbor.'"

Curious as to who the mysterious stranger with the shovel and small snow blower was, O'Brien even tried to pull down his ski mask, but like a true superhero, he resisted.

"He kind of pulled away when I tried to pull his mask off, it was like Clark Kent, he didn't want his identity known," she said.

O'Brien then watched the man go across the street and begin digging out another neighbor.
"I guess he just went down the street seeing driveways and walkways that needed shoveling and did them," she said.

Determined to find out who the man was, both to thank him and satisfy her curiosity, O'Brien watched him make his way down the street and finally saw him go into a house. She cooked some sticky buns as a gift and went to the house, where she met the man's girlfriend. However, the girlfriend said he didn't want any recognition.

O'Brien discovered that the shovelor is Marshfield man Rob Carlson, who is known around town for his rasta-man dreadlocks and for playing in a local band, but Carlson didn't respond to requests for comments. His father, Robert Sr., who lives next door to his son, said, "He doesn't really like attention for things like that."

While he may shy away from attention, Carlson is continuing to help people dig out. After more snow fell Wednesday and Thursday of last week, he was out helping people dig out again.

"It was like one of those 'pass it forward' things," O'Brien said, referencing the 2000 film Pay it Forward, where people do good deeds for one another and ask for more good deeds to be done as payment. "It was a good deed, hopefully recognized."


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## Shadow Bea

That is so cool  a man after my heart!



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## eggplant43

What a world it would be, if each of us had a little of this in our hearts.


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> What a world it would be, if each of us had a little of this in our hearts.


And what would it be.... if each of us had... a lot.

.


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## angelize56

*Girl uses birthday party to help animals* :up:  
By JOHN RICHMEIER, Times Staff Writer

*Doggie treats and cat food may sound like a strange choice of gifts for a girl on her ninth birthday. But that's what she asked for on her party invitations*. 

Julie Jansen donated the items to Leavenworth Animal Control.

The Fort Leavenworth girl turned 9 on Jan. 10.

Julie visited the Animal Control Center with her parents on Wednesday to accept a certificate of appreciation from Leavenworth Police Chief Lee Doehring.

"*You can be very, very proud of what you've done*," Doehring told the girl as he presented the certificate.

Julie said she asked classmates to donate dog and cat food and animal treats instead of presents because she wanted to help.

"She's got a pretty good heart for animals," said Julie's mother, Mary.

The family said they have a rescued husky.

The girl's parents said they weren't sure of the value of the donated items, but Doehring estimated the total was around $100.

After presenting the certificate, Doehring led the girl and her parents on a tour of center.

"Well now you see where all of your hard work is going," he told the girl.


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## eggplant43

Now that's sweet.  :up:


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## Shadow Bea

Great story Marlene  :up: :up: to Julie!

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## eggplant43

Brain-Damaged Woman Talks After 20 Years


Feb 13, 8:31 AM (ET)

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

(AP) Sarah Scantlin, left, sits beside her mother Betsy and father James, right, during a reception for...
Full Image

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin has been mostly oblivious to the world around her - the victim of a drunken driver who struck her down as she walked to her car. Today, after a remarkable recovery, she can talk again.

Scantlin's father knows she will never fully recover, but her newfound ability to speak and her returning memories have given him his daughter back. For years, she could only blink her eyes - one blink for "no," two blinks for "yes" - to respond to questions that no one knew for sure she understood.

"I am astonished how primal communication is. It is a key element of humanity," Jim Scantlin said, blinking back tears.

Sarah Scantlin was an 18-year-old college freshman on Sept. 22, 1984, when she was hit by a drunk driver as she walked to her car after celebrating with friends at a teen club. That week, she had been hired at an upscale clothing store and won a spot on the drill team at Hutchinson Community College.

After two decades of silence, she began talking last month. Doctors are not sure why. On Saturday, Scantlin's parents hosted an open house at her nursing home to introduce her to friends, family members and reporters.

A week ago, her parents got a call from Jennifer Trammell, a licensed nurse at the Golden Plains Health Care Center. She asked Betsy Scantlin if she was sitting down, told her someone wanted to talk to her and switched the phone to speaker mode:

"Hi, Mom."

"Sarah, is that you?" her mother asked.

"Yes," came the throaty reply.

(AP) Sarah Scantlin, left, looks up at her mother Betsy Scantlin during a reception for Sarah at Golden...
Full Image
"How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Do you need anything," her mother asked her later.

"More makeup."

"Did she just say more makeup?" the mother asked the nurse.

Scantlin still suffers constantly from the effects of the accident. She habitually crosses her arms across her chest, her fists clenched under her chin. Her legs constantly spasm and thrash. Her right foot is so twisted it is almost reversed. Her neck muscles are so constricted she cannot swallow to eat.

The driver who struck Scantlin served six months in jail for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Scantlin started talking in mid-January but asked staff members not to tell her parents until Valentine's Day to surprise them, Trammell said. But last week she could not wait any longer to talk to them.

"I didn't think it would ever happen, it had been so long," Betsy Scantlin said.

Scantlin's doctor, Bradley Scheel, said physicians are not sure why she suddenly began talking but believe critical pathways in the brain may have regenerated.

"It is extremely unusual to see something like this happen," Scheel said.

The breakthrough came when the nursing home's activity director, Pat Rincon, was working with Scantlin and a small group of other patients, trying to get them to speak.

Rincon had her back to Scantlin while she worked with another resident. She had just gotten that resident to reply "OK," when she suddenly heard Sarah behind her also repeat the words: "OK. OK."

Staff members brought in a speech therapist and intensified their work with Sarah. They did not want to get her parents' hopes up until they were sure Sarah would not relapse, Trammell said.

On Saturday, Scantlin seemed at times overwhelmed by the attention. Dressed in a blue warm-up suit, she spoke little, mostly answering questions in a single word.

Is she happy she can talk? "Yeah," she replied.

What does she tell her parents when they leave? "I love you," she said.

Family members say Scantlin's understanding of the outside world comes mostly from news and soap operas that played on the television in her room.

On Saturday, her brother asked whether she knew what a CD was. Sarah said she did, and she knew it had music on it.

But when he asked her how old she was, Sarah guessed she was 22. When her brother gently told her she was 38 years old now, she just stared silently back at him. The nurses say she thinks it is still the 1980s.

Her father, Jim Scantlin, understands that Sarah will probably never leave the health care center, but he is grateful for her improvement.

"This place is her home ... They have given me my daughter back," he said.


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## Shadow Bea

Thanks for the encouraging word Bruce 

Don't work TOOOO hard!! 

.


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## eggplant43

Headed for work soon  

I'll be sure to mix in some fun as well


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> Headed for work soon
> 
> I'll be sure to mix in some fun as well


Take it with you  

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## eggplant43

Making use of refuse
By ANNA KOCH
Star-Tribune correspondent

LUSK -- Growing up during the Great Depression on his family's ranch east of town, Noal Larson was taught never to throw away anything that might have potential use.

"On a ranch, there were many occasions when we had to improvise, using items we saved," the 87-year-old Larson said. "Trying to find a use for items that might otherwise be discarded just became a habit with me."

A few years after Larson and his wife, Evelyn, retired and turned their ranch interests over to other family members, Noal began suffering with breathing problems. The years of dealing with dust as he sheared sheep and fed hay to his livestock had taken their toll. Doctors at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Hot Springs, S.D., recommended that Larson go on oxygen full time.

The oxygen unit is supplied by a Torrington supplier, Home Oxygen, whose parent company is Rotech Health Co. Director of the business is Cindy Schilreff, who visits Larson on a regular basis.

"Having a large home oxygen unit requires considerable space," she said. "We change the soft, flexible, latex-free 3/8-inch tubing regularly. Therefore, the amount of tubing used by just one patient builds up."

Noal and Evelyn weren't sure what to do with the replaced tubing, but the creative Noal thought there should be some good use for it.

"I stored it in our basement for a long time," he recalled. "Then, one day I was resting in my chair and began playing with the tubing. I sort of got it all tangled up. Suddenly the idea came to me that perhaps I could braid it."

The first braided item was a picket rope Noal made for his granddaughter, Dena Retzlaff. Dena is a dyed-in-the-wool horse enthusiast and told her grandfather she would give the 19-foot-long soft rope a try.

"She was so pleased with it that she suggested I try something else. The next project was a couple of lead ropes," Larson said.

Children have always been important in the Larsons' lives, so Noal braided some of the tubes for neighborhood children to use as jump ropes.

"I guess we made quite a few kids happy, because I braided a lot," he said.

The tubes come in two colors: clear and green, a good color combination for children, according to Schilreff.

Larson's next project was a hackamore bridle for his horse-loving family members.

"Many years ago, I made a hackamore of rawhide and leather, so I couldn't see why the soft tubing wouldn't work as well," Noal said. "I'm working on more of those to give to friends and neighbors. It keeps me busy, and I don't get bored being dependent on the oxygen unit."

Other items he has made are hobbles, which twist easily around a horse's legs; plant hangers similar to macramé types; small hackamores from the smallest tubing used near a patient's face and meant to hang over a rear-view mirror as a decorative unit; and several quirts, or riding whips.

"One individual to whom I gave a quirt puts its usage in these terms: 'The horses don't care much for them, but the rider sure likes them,'" Larson said.

Larson has no plans to ever charge for the items he makes from the braided tubing, but he regularly donates items to charitable groups to sell for fund-raisers.

One hackamore he gave to a Wyoming relative holds a place of honor between two large horse pictures in that family's western room.

Perhaps the most outstanding project Noal completed recently was when he threaded patriotic red, white and blue yarn through tubing, braided the tubing and made a frame for the Wyoming state flag.

Schilreff says Larson's work is impressive.

"Oxygen-dependent patients often suffer from a type of depression," she said. "They feel like they're in a prison among the hoses. I try to tell them the oxygen is not the enemy, but sometimes they don't really absorb my remarks."

Since Larson started putting his tubing to use, Schilreff has told his story to a number of her other patients.

"One rather grumpy former rancher in Nebraska decided he'd try some hackamore braiding, and having something to do, all the while utilizing the accumulated tubing, has totally changed his attitude," she said.

Schilreff said that as far as she knows, Larson is the first person in the country to put the hoses to use in such a manner.

"Noal is an amazing person, as is his wife," she said. "He always makes a good situation out of what otherwise would be a difficult scenario."


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## Shadow Bea

I'm big on reperposing good story! :up:

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## Shadow Bea

Boy Who Named Brain Tumor 'Frank' Now Cancer-Free
By HEATHER GREENFIELD, AP


WASHINGTON (Feb. 15) - A 9-year-old boy who nicknamed his brain tumor "Frank'' - that's short for Frankenstein - is celebrating the intruder's departure.


"Frank is now dead and gone and never to return,'' David Dingman-Grover said Tuesday. He was wearing a black T-shirt that read, "Cancer is not who I am.''

Frank the Tumor gained national attention when David's mother created "Frank Must Die'' bumper stickers, which the family auctioned on eBay to defray the costs of surgery.

Biopsy results Tuesday showed the tumor was no longer cancerous.

When the boy from Sterling, Va., outside Washington was diagnosed with a grapefruit-sized tumor in 2003, the family was told the size and location in the center of his skull made it difficult - perhaps impossible - to remove.

Doctors used chemotherapy and radiation to shrink the tumor to the size of a peach pit. That alleviated the child's headaches and temporary blindness, but doctors still needed to remove the tumor.

Traditional brain surgery, called craniotomy, involves cutting through the patient's face and skull. The parents agreed to the operation, but it never occurred - too risky. The tumor was surrounded by three arteries responsible for supplying blood flow to the brain.

David's mother used the Internet to find out about an alternative procedure.

Dr. Hrayr Shahinian of the Skull Base Institute in Los Angeles used fiber-optic instruments to remove the tumor through the child's nose in a 1 1/2-hour operation Feb. 2 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"There were no cuts on his face,'' Shahinian said.

"David would have most likely died if we had done the surgery the other way,'' said Tiffani Dingman-Grover. "I'm just so grateful that I have the chance to continue to be David's mother.''

David will be 10 on March 1 and said he had no doubts he would see this birthday.

"I knew the Lord would guide me through this,'' he said. "I'm very happy. I just want to go home and live a normal life again.'' He will spend the coming months recovering from chemotherapy and radiation which has left his immune system low and his muscles weak.

The surgeon did not charge for the procedure, :up: which normally would cost about $100,000 including hospital fees and anesthesiologists. The family has donated $20,000 they received to a charity to help other children with pediatric cancers. :up: 

Asked why he did the surgery for free, the doctor showed reporters a pebble the boy gave him which he now carries in his wallet. On it is the word "courage.''



Associated Press Writer Kristen Gelineau in Richmond, Va., contributed to this story.


02/15/05 20:23 EST

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.


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## angelize56

What a truly lovely outcome for this little boy's life...and how precious Darlene is to adopt him!! 

*Abandoned Boy Goes From Rags To Riches
Adoption To Be Finalized In Six Months* :up: :up: 

POSTED: 11:00 am EST February 16, 2005
UPDATED: 11:27 am EST February 16, 2005

A boy who was suddenly abandoned by his parents has found a new place to call home, Local 4's Marc Santia reported.

Just four days before Christmas, 3-year-old Jaden was taken on a mysterious drive to a place he had never visited.

This 28-pound boy was left with a cardboard box and a single toy. 

Jaden and his parents entered the office of a stranger, Michael Smith, an attorney specializing in adoptions.

"They wanted to drop this child off," Smith said.

*Smith, who had never met the family before, said he assumed they came to his office with interest in adopting the boy. He soon learned the man and woman were Jaden's birth parents, wanting to part ways with their child*.

"I had tears in my eyes when I heard about that. I was speechless," Smith said.

*Jaden's parents told Smith that they have nine other children and wanted to give the boy up for adoption*. (I truly think in their circumstances they made the right choice!)

"*The natural mother indicated that she never bonded with the child when the child was born. She never hugged the child. She never told the child that she loved him*  ," Smith said. "The natural father had stayed with Jaden for about five months and he came out, he had some tears in his eyes."

The mother and father then left and Smith had to decide what to do with the child in his office.

Jaden weighed only 28 pounds and his only possession was a cardboard box with one item in it.

"*There were no clothes. There was just one toy," Smith said. "I wanted to make sure that his life would be better than he could ever dream* :up: ," Smith said.

Smith worked to find a home with for Jaden and decided that a woman named Darlene might be a good fit.

"He understood that wishes dreams and fairytales, they do come true," Darlene said.

*Darlene is a single, middle-aged, hearing-impaired woman whose been trying to adopt a child for years. Just weeks ago, she didn't know Jaden existed, but said she had a feeling something good was about to happen*. 

The day Darlene heard about Jaden, her guide dog, Jasmine, spent the entire day sitting in the nursery its owner was desperately trying to fill. 

*Jaden will someday become the sole heir to the fortune of his soon-to-be adoptive mother*. :up: :up:

"I was asked if I would like a 3 ½-year-old boy, and right away I knew the boy was for me," she said. "He's just adorable -- the best present I've ever had in my life."

*Darlene learned of Jaden just in time to spend Christmas together.

"He was up before I was at 2 in the morning, and he opened everything by himself," she said. "He was a gift to me and I'm a gift that was given to him*."

About two months later, the two spent another holiday, Valentine's Day, in court, where a judge decided to place the boy into the care of Darlene.

Darlene and Jaden celebrated outside by releasing some red and white, helium-filled balloons, symbolizing their new life together.

*Darlene said Jaden has given her new life after the deaths of her mother, father and sister.

"After my mom died, I kind of died, too. So, this little boy means a lot to me*," she said.

Jaden, who was left with nothing, will someday become the sole heir to Darlene's fortune, Local 4 reported.

"*Jaden will inherit her wealth, in which she has inherited from her family," Smith said. "It is a rags to riches story. No doubt about it*." (Thank God! :up: )

*Everyone involved in the adoption process said they have the utmost respect for Jaden's birth parents, Local 4 reported. They know it was a courageous act to leave the boy with the chance for a better life*. :up:

Jaden and Darlene will return to court in six months to make the adoption final.


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## eggplant43

What a wonderful story. I wonder if it is too late for me to be adopted by an heiress?


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## angelize56

Probably Bruce!  I guess that leaves me out..I'm far from a heiress!


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> What a wonderful story. I wonder if it is too late for me to be adopted by an heiress?


I'm no heiress  but if I were Bruce I'd adopt you in a heartbeat!


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## eggplant43

I can just imagine being someones newly adopted 61 year old son


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> I can just imagine being someones newly adopted 61 year old son


There is that  and Some people might think it somewhat odd that you were older than your mother  but Oh well.. that wouldn't bother me!
 LOL.

.


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## angelize56

Bea: Looks like we'll have to take this to court...since we both want to adopt Bruce!


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## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Bea: Looks like we'll have to take this to court...since we both want to adopt Bruce!


Tell you what Mar  you can have him durring all his school holidays 

.


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## angelize56

I want weekends!


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## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> I want weekends!


Well  OK  he might be a little hard to explain to Ben too 

.


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## eggplant43

You two are too silly


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## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> You two are too silly


Hey  show a little respect fo yo mama 

.


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## eggplant43

Like I said...............


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## angelize56

*Nurse Donates Kidney To Her Dialysis Patient* :up: 

POSTED: 8:48 am EST March 18, 2005

ST. LOUIS -- Dialysis center nurse Kay Plozizka said it was hard to see her patients suffering when she was blessed with such good health.

So the Litchfield, Ill., resident offered one of her kidneys to a patient.

Joe Cline, 58, accepted and the transplant surgery was done March 8. Both patients are doing well. Cline's wife said right after surgery he already "looked perkier."

Plozizka said she was driven by the desire to offer the gift of renewed health. She said the fact that she's a religious person also had a role in her decision.

Doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, one of the leading kidney transplant centers in the country, say living donor transplants hold the future of kidney donation. The need for kidneys far exceeds the supply of cadaver donations.


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## eggplant43

I hope she actually donated just one kidney, not kidneys.


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## Shadow Bea

Good Story Marlene! :up:


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## angelize56

Altohugh this is upbeat news...I don't think I'd personally want to go to a blind Dr....especially if I was seriously ill.  But I hope he succeeds!

*Blind student earns M.D.*

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/02/seeing.no.limits.ap/index.html


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## eggplant43

I wouldn't hesitate to go to this doctor. It would be nice to go to a doctor that is actually listening to you.


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## angelize56

Never thought of it that way Bruce!


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## angelize56

I had an upbeat experience with Pizza Hut last night! :up:  My son had ordered two stuffed crust Super Supreme pizzas, two Pepsi Wild Cherry and a large order of cinnamon stix with extra icing! The order arrived and it was two *regular* pizzas, two *regular Pepsi* and *no extra icing* we had paid $1 extra for!   I called the nice manager *Carrie* and she apologized and sent us the *exact order* we had originally wanted for *FREE*....and let us keep the *original wrong order* we had paid for too! :up: Wasn't that nice!


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## angelize56

Sad for one Mom and happy for the other.....although I know the Mom of the surviving baby feels grief for the Mom who lost her baby...

*One Baby's Tragedy Saves Another*

UPDATED: 3:41 pm EDT April 13, 2005

Something as commonplace as organ donation brought together two families who lived thousands of miles apart.

It was a dream come true for Jeff and Sadaf Trimarchi of New York when they welcomed their first child into the world last January, a baby boy named Jordan.

"He looked great. He looked beautiful," Sadaf Trimarchi said.

A thousand miles away, another young mother is crazy in love with her new baby. Her name is Breanna, and she's 2½ months old, reported WNBC-TV in New York.

"She was just such a happy little baby. She'd smile when you talked to her, start cooing. She was everything you could ask for," Breanna's mother, Nikki Barton, said.

But for both of these parents, their joy was overshadowed. Both Breanna and Jordan were dying.

"One of the nurses noticed he was breathing a little rapidly," Sadaf Trimarchi said.

"They did a chest X-ray, and he came back and told us his heart looked very large," Jeff Trimarchi said.

*Jordan had a very rare tumor growing around his heart. Doctors removed part of it, but a heart-lung machine was the only thing keeping him alive -- and only for a few more days. Jordan's only chance was a heart transplant, but finding a heart for a newborn is extremely rare.*

"In the last three years, we've only had seven pediatric donors under the age of 1 in our region," said Elaine Berg, of the New York Organ Donor Network.

At the very same time that Jordan was fighting for his life, *Breanna was losing hers. It started when Barton took Breanna with her to the store, and noticed her daughter just didn't look right.

"She just started looking sicker and sicker -- just in her face, and she didn't look too good*," Barton said.

In fact, she looked bad enough that Barton took her to the hospital, but Breanna was deteriorating fast. Doctors took her immediately to the pediatric intensive care unit. A few hours later, Barton got two pieces of incomprehensibly bad news.

"*The doctor came out and told me that she was in very critical condition, and that she was diagnosed with the shaken baby syndrome,"  Barton said. "They didn't know if she would make it through*."

Not only was *Breanna critically injured, it was her own father who was suspected of harming her*. 

For these two families, their desire for life, their determination to find good even in tragedy, led them to cross paths.

Breanna fought to stay alive, with her mother constantly at her bedside.

"I held her for 12 hours straight the first time they let me hold her," Barton said. "I didn't move for 12 hours. I got to hold her for the next couple days and I had noticed, on Tuesday morning, that her eye movement had stopped."

Breanna's tiny grasp on life had slipped away. She was brain dead.

A doctor approached Barton about organ donation, and even in the midst of her own pain, Barton realized it was the right thing to do.

"*I couldn't see not helping another little baby out if you can't save your own," Barton said. "Of course, I would love to have Breanna here with me, but it never, never crossed my mind not to help other little babies out*."

Barton said she told Breanna that she would "always love her, and she would always be with me. That I was so sorry, and that I just wished she could come home."

Within hours, *Breanna's heart was being transplanted into baby Jordan's tiny chest. Barton didn't know whose life she had saved. She only knew that there was a terrible emptiness in her life*.

"I couldn't believe that she was gone. I kept thinking I kept hearing her cry," Barton said. 

Back in New York, the Trimarchis thanked everyone who had supported them through their ordeal at a news conference at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

"*I wouldn't know where to begin to thank the parents of the donor of Jordan's heart," Jeff Trimarchi said.

"To be able to give the gift of life in time of such tragedy is really such an inspiration to me, and I really hope their child rests in peace*," Sadaf Trimarchi said.

"*It doesn't take the suffering or grief away, but I think it helps knowing that baby Jordan is doing well*," Barton said.

Barton has some good days and many painful days, but she's comforted by her 6-year-old son, Brandon.

"He said, 'Do you miss Breanna?' I said, 'Yes I do.' He said, 'Me too. I just want to bring her home with us.' I said, 'Mommy does, too. She is with God right now, and she is in heaven,' and he said, 'Yeah, her spirit is,'" Barton said of a conversation with Brandon.


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## angelize56

What a blessing! :up: 

*Surrogate Mom Carrying Quints for Couple*

Wed Apr 13,11:27 AM ET U.S. National - AP

PHOENIX - *A woman who agreed to be a surrogate mother for a childless couple is pregnant with quintuplets, all boys, and she's decided not to accept any money because of the expense the parents are facing*. :up: :up: 

Teresa Anderson, who has four children of her own, expected that being a surrogate for Luisa Gonzalez and her husband, Enrique Moreno, would be equally simple.

"But it's really five times the swelling, five times the mood swings," she told The Arizona Republic. "It's very different. You're a lot weaker and more vulnerable to the symptoms (of pregnancy). My uterus is huge, just huge."

She is in the 31st week of her pregnancy.

"Basically at this point everything is uncomfortable. They are just very heavy," she said Wednesday on NBC's "Today." "My back is strained. It's hard to walk. It's hard to bend down, bend over because you always have to do that. Breathing is even a problem at this point."

Five embryos were implanted to increase the chance that one would result in a successful pregnancy, she and her obstetrician, Dr. John Elliott, said on "Today" and on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Doctors hope she can carry the fetuses 34 weeks before they are delivered by Caesarean section.

*One fetus has a heart defect that will require immediate surgery*  , but other than that, "they're doing actually incredibly well," Elliott told the Republic. He said he had not found another instance of a surrogate mother carrying quintuplets.

Anderson, 25, and her husband, Gerard, initially thought they could earn $15,000 for carrying what they thought would be one child, but they've decided not to take any money. :up:

"It was pretty easy decision, considering everything involved and how many children that they're going to be responsible for now," Anderson said on "Good Morning America."


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## DiSaidSo

Wow! Great story, Angel! :up:


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## eggplant43

Original URL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/apr05/318226.asp

Goodwill good guy
Man finds $2,000 in shirt, turns it in
By TOM KERTSCHER
[email protected]
Posted: April 13, 2005

West Bend - When Larry Hoffman went shopping at the Goodwill store in West Bend on April Fools' Day, he was looking for a bargain, not a treasure.

Its a habit of mine ... to peruse for bargains, Larry Hoffman says. The West Bend man found $2,000 in a shirt he bought from the local Goodwill.

The money ... belonged to somebody else. That person was certainly on my mind more than me.

There was treasure, though, in the bargain that he found: $2,000 in cash inside the pocket of a secondhand shirt.

No one would have ever known if Hoffman had kept the money. But he gave it back.

No fooling.

"If there's a one-tenth of 1 percent chance that somebody's going to claim it," Hoffman said Wednesday, "they should have that opportunity."

The rightful owner has 90 days to claim the money. After that, Hoffman can claim it.

Hoffman, 69, a former sales engineer who lives in West Bend, said he's a regular customer at the Goodwill store in town. "Being retired, it's a habit of mine to stop in and peruse for bargains," he said.

Hoffman bought the shirt on April 1 and tried it on when he got home. Wouldn't you know, it was too small. Then he found the cash stuffed in the pocket.

Hoffman said he returned to the store later that day, not fretting long about what to do.

"The money certainly wasn't mine. It belonged to somebody else, obviously," he said. "That person was certainly on my mind more than me."

Customers have returned small amounts of money they have found in clothing in the past, "but nothing on this scale," said Rebecca Johnson, who has managed the Goodwill store for six years.

Goodwill has no way to trace where the shirt came from, so a few days after Hoffman returned the money, Johnson called West Bend police, who took a report on April 5.

On Wednesday, officers said they wouldn't describe the shirt or the denominations of the bills that were found, but are ready to talk to anyone who can rightly claim the money.

Hoffman said his wife, Charlotte, didn't learn about the entire episode until hearing a telephone message from a reporter who had seen the police report. He said she agreed with his decision, and there wasn't really any reason to tell her - unless he had found money that he would keep.

That's still a possibility in the case of the $2,000. If no one claims the money after 90 days, Hoffman can claim it - otherwise, it goes to the city.

Hoffman said he'll worry about that decision if and when he has to make it. In the meantime, he's comfortable with what he's done so far.

"When we were kids, it was always 'finders keepers, losers weepers,' " Hoffman said. "But that's not really the case. You've got to keep the losers from weeping too much."

From the April 14, 2005, editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


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## Shadow Bea

Cool! ^ :up: :up:


----------



## eggplant43

Hidden Treasure
Date: Friday, April 15 @ 00:00:57

Not too many people happen upon $10,000 cash -- particularly in their own home.

But when Katsumasa Hibino, 35, had a cable modem installed two weeks ago in the home he recently purchased in Orem, he discovered a metal box hidden behind a vent between the living room and kitchen.
It was stuffed with money.

"It was kind of scary ... to find that much money," he said. "I thought, 'Who is the owner?' "

Hibino said the thought of keeping the money never entered his mind. Instead he spoke with his employer John Farley about what to do. Farley advised him to call the Orem Department of Public Safety.

Sgt. Bill Young met with Hibino and took the money into police custody until the rightful owner could be determined. During the investigation to locate the owner, Young said the cable installer wanted to keep the money, but Hibino wouldn't hear it.

"That's another thing about his integrity," Young said.

Lt. Doug Edwards, Orem Department of Public Safety spokesman, said the home's previous owners had lived there from 1986 until 2003, when the husband died.

"The most recent series amongst the bills found was 1998, which suggested that it was hidden away during the time the elderly couple lived in the home," Edwards said. "After speaking with the wife, it was determined that her husband had indeed hidden the money Mr. (Hibino) found."

Young said he was already "99-percent sure" the money belonged to the couple, but also did a handwriting analysis by using a note found with the money that tracked contributions against a sample of the husband's handwriting.

"It was his," he said. "Beyond a doubt it's their money."

Police said the nest egg has since been returned to the wife.

Venna Williams currently resides in a local senior community and said she simply forgot about the money from the shock of her husband, Cleon, dying.

She said Hibino seemed like "a nice man" when she showed him their home.

"I wasn't surprised he returned the money," Williams said, insisting he be praised for his honesty.

Hibino said he his decision was based on his own values and principles.

"I didn't have any option but to give it to the owner," he said. "They were obviously trying to save the money and worked hard to get it."

Farley said he isn't surprised at all by Hibino's honesty.

"He's that kind of person," he said.

Farley, who served an LDS Church mission in Japan, said he's been teasing his employee, who is Japanese, since he found the money.

"His name in English means 'kind winner'," he said. "I was joking him that his name would be 'poor loser' rather than 'kind winner' if he had kept the money."

Sgt. Young said the $10,000 is the largest sum of money he's seen found and returned in his 30-year law enforcement career.

"That's the kind of thing that makes society wonderful," he said. "If (Hibino) hadn't said anything, nobody would have ever known. ... Fortunately for Mrs. Williams, the person who found it had outstanding integrity."

Michael Rigert can be reached at 344-2548 or [email protected].

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.
This article comes from The Daily Herald
http://www.newutah.com/


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## angelize56

Lucky person in my hometown of Port Huron today! :up: Please let it be a family member or friend of mine! 

*Winning Mega Millions ticket sold in Port Huron* :up:

April 23, 2005, 7:46 AM

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan player has won the $205 million grand prize from the latest Mega Millions lotto drawing.

Michigan Lottery officials said the winning ticket from Friday night's drawing was sold shortly before 5:30 p.m. EDT Friday at the River District Supermarket in Port Huron.

"I'm pleased that a Michigan man or woman is going to be our next Mega Millions millionaire," lottery commissioner Gary Peters said in a news release. The winner must contact Michigan Lottery officials and will have to go to Lansing to get his or her winnings.

If the winner chooses to take a lump sum, the prize will equal $122.6 million before taxes, lottery officials said. If the winner chooses the 26-year annuity option, yearly payments will be $7.9 million before taxes.

In addition to the grand prize winner, 25 players -- none from Michigan -- matched all five numbers but not the Mega Ball number. They will receive second prizes of $175,000 each.

Another 137 players, including 21 from Michigan, matched four numbers, plus the Mega Ball number -- good for third prizes of $5,000 each.

The winning numbers from Friday night's drawing were: 23, 25, 43, 46 and 49. The Mega Ball number was 26.


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## angelize56

^ The lucky person still hasn't come forward....I wish my legs felt better!  

*UPDATE*

*Surrogate Mom Gives Birth To Quints*

POSTED: 5:26 pm EDT April 26, 2005
UPDATED: 5:48 pm EDT April 26, 2005

PHOENIX -- *Doctors in Phoenix say "everything went perfectly" for a surrogate mother who has given birth to five baby boys for a childless couple*.

One of the boys was taken to another hospital with heart problems, but doctors said they're "pleased" with how he's doing.

Teresa Anderson's obstetrician said he doesn't know of any other case of a surrogate mother carrying five babies.

Anderson had agreed to have a baby for Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno for $15,000, but after finding out she was carrying five of them, Anderson refused to accept any money -- figuring the couple faced a lot more expenses.

Gonzalez said Anderson has given him his dream. :up:


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## angelize56

The lucky couple finally came forward!  Lucky boogers!

*Port Huron Family Claims $208 Million Jackpot
Prize Is Third Largest In Mega Millions History*

POSTED: 4:02 pm EDT April 29, 2005
UPDATED: 4:16 pm EDT April 29, 2005

The winners of last week's $208 million Mega Millions drawing came forward on Friday to claim their check.

Ralph and Mary Stebbins, of Port Huron, traveled to Lansing and picked up a check in the amount of $1 million, less taxes, as a down payment on their winnings, according to a news release from the Michigan Lottery.

The Stebbins elected to take the cash option of $124.7 million, less taxes.

"This is a great day for the Stebbins family and we wish them all the best in their newfound wealth," said Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters.

The Stebbins, who are in their 40s, purchased their winning ticket at the River District Supermarket in Port Huron at about 5:30 p.m. last Friday.

Despite having won over $200 million, Mary Stebbins put in a full day at her $7 per hour job, Peters said.

The Stebbins have been married more than 20 years and have three children. In addition to helping their family members pay bills, the Stebbins plan to buy an RV and travel, purchase a garage to house a 1963 Corvette, and buy a cow.

The Stebbins have decided to retire from their jobs and some of their close family members will retire as well.

The $208 million was the largest jackpot in Michigan Lottery history, and third largest in the history of the Mega Millions game, Peters said.

The Mega Millions game is played in 11 states.


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## eggplant43

So what was your take, and when do you want me to drop by?


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## angelize56

Don't I wish!  Apparently this couple has started having some type of "family problems" due to the win! Go figure!   

Though I'm poor Bruce....you're still welcome to drop by any time!


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## eggplant43

Right now I've got two Mega Ball tickets in my wallet from last week. Guess I better check them out.


----------



## DiSaidSo

*Woman, 80, Carries Friend, 67, From Burning Building*

HOPKINTON, R.I. (AP)  An 80-year-old woman rescued her 67-year-old neighbor from an apartment fire, carrying the ailing woman down two flights of stairs.

Madalene Lindill put Grace Brayman's arms around her neck and carried her on her back out of their elderly housing complex last Wednesday after Brayman accidentally ignited a fire in her apartment.

Lindill told WJAR-TV there was "nothing to it."

"I'm not a great person," she said. "You just don't think at the time."

Hope Valley-Wyoming (search) Fire Chief Fred Stanley described Lindill as "a small woman."

She told him she had served as an auxiliary firefighter in the 1960s in Plainfield, Conn. :up:

"She had to be a spunky little character to do what she did," Stanley said.

Fire officials said the blaze started when Brayman, who was wearing an oxygen mask, lit a cigarette. That caused the mask to ignite, and the fire spread to a chair and carpet. 

Brayman, the only person hurt, was released Thursday from a hospital.

Stanley said Lindill would receive a department citation given for acts of heroism.


----------



## angelize56

This dog has nine lives!  :up:

*Family Reunites With Dog Lost In 1999 Tornado
6 Years After Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak, Family Recovers Long Lost Canine*

UPDATED: 12:43 pm EDT May 4, 2005

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Six years after the disastrous May 3, 1999, tornadoes that left a swath of destruction through Oklahoma City, people are still finding things they lost in the chaos -- but those stories are likely nothing compared to the story of a dog that was recently reunited with her family in Choctaw after six years.

*During the events of six years ago, many things were lost in south Oklahoma City and surrounding suburbs -- including pets. Ginger, a Dalmatian belonging to the Collins family, was only a puppy when she was lost in the storm*.

"All these years went by, and I always thought, 'Where would she be if she was still alive?'" said Ginger's owner, Amy Collins.

Collins said she happened to be looking on the Rocky Spot Rescue Web site and thought she saw her dog.

"I thought, 'There's no way this dog can be on there,'" she said.

*On Easter Sunday 2005, Collins and her family went to the shelter -- and sure enough, it was their long lost dog.

"They say a dog never forgets a scent, and that's how she recognized us -- by our scent -- and she just went crazy when she saw us," she said*. :up: 

Ginger not only survived the tornado. *She was also hit by a car and had hip surgery. Then, Collins said, someone shot her.

"Right here, she has a bullet in her back," she said*. 

*The dog was abandoned at least once after another family adopted her, moved away and left her tied to a tree. She was also attacked by a pit bull that left scars on her face*. 

"She's had some miles on those feet," Collins said.

Now, Ginger has a safe place to sleep in Collins' bed. Although she can't talk, Ginger is finally breathing a big sigh of relief.

*Along with the buckshots in her back, Ginger also has an implanted microchip. If she does happen to get lost again, almost any veterinarian or shelter can scan her chip and bring her back home quickly*.

The Collins family has two other dogs as well -- a Labrador Retriever and a Dachshund that took a while to warm up to Ginger. But after all Ginger had been through, a feisty miniature dog wasn't going to stop her from coming home.

Ginger's family said all the dogs now get along just fine.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/family/4448742/detail.html


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## Shadow Bea

That story is the best Marlene  Thank you!


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## angelize56

You're welcome Bea!  *GBY*....and hello there!


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## Shadow Bea

Hi there Girlie  *GBY*


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## eggplant43

Overdue book begets a gift

Ex-Orchard Park man returns volume, adds donation of $2,190

By JANICE L. HABUDA
News Staff Reporter
5/3/2005

Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News

Ann M. Laubacker, director of the Orchard Park Public Library, displays the copy of "The Joy of Camping" that, after more than 24 years, found its way back, with a contribution from the borrower.

Joel P. Schlesinger says he calculated he owed $2,190.

At the time, the library would have charged Joel P. Schlesinger only $10, the maximum penalty for an overdue book.

But instead, the former Orchard Park resident presented a check for $2,190 - as well as the copy of "The Joy of Camping" that was due Feb. 27, 1981.

"I'm still laughing about it a bit," Ann M. Laubacker, director of the Orchard Park Public Library, said Monday.

In a telephone interview Monday night from his home in northern New Jersey, Schlesinger said he came across the book a few months ago while going through boxes in his attic.

"Oh, boy, that looks like a library book," Schlesinger recalled saying.

At the time, he had been planning a reunion with his brothers - one lives in Virginia, the other in Florida - back in Western New York to play some golf.

"When the trip came together, I said I guess it's now or never" to return the book.

He said he called the library last week and spoke to Laubacker.

"I have a book that's overdue - really, really overdue," he told her.

Back in 1981, the fine for an overdue book was 10 cents a day, times seven days a week, to a maximum of $10. It has since increased to 25 cents a day, to a maximum of $15.

Having been told of the maximum fine, Schlesinger said he told Laubacker: "I'd like to pay you for the whole thing."

He calculated $2,190 for being 24 years overdue.

"It just seemed like the right time to do it, and I was able to do it," said Schlesinger, who sells and services Dairy Queen franchises.

He said he had read about the library system's - and county's - financial problems when he consulted the library's Web site about returning the book.

Laubacker was understandably dubious about that phone call.

"When I got off the phone, I said I don't know if this was a crank call or not," she said. "I didn't know if he was for real."

"We certainly had no intention of charging (that) amount," Laubacker said.

True to his word, Schlesinger and some members of his family showed up at the library Friday with the book and a check.

"I spent a lot of time in the Orchard Park library, doing projects and stuff," recalled Schlesinger, 46, a member of the Orchard Park High School Class of 1976. "We didn't have the Internet back then."

Laubacker said the library happily accepted the check as a donation.

"It's tough times they're going through," Schlesinger said. "I hope they can do some good things - maybe buy some books. That would be terrific."


----------



## angelize56

That's awesome Bruce! :up:


----------



## angelize56

This is so awesome! Three sets of triplets...and a set of twins to round out the day! :up: 

*3 + 3 + 3: Orlando Hospital Delivers Three Sets Of Triplets*

POSTED: 5:43 pm EDT May 5, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Good things came in threes at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women when doctors delivered three sets of triplets.

The babies, three girls and six boys, ranged in weight from 3 pounds, 3 ounces to 4 pounds, 9 ounces. The first set was born at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, the second at just before noon and the third a few minutes before 4 p.m. 

All nine are currently in the neonatal intensive care unit.

"This was definitely a record day for us," chief of pediatrics Dr. Gregor Alexander said. "In the 30 years I've been practicing medicine, I've never seen anything like this."

*A pair of twins also were born there the same day.* 

http://www.wftv.com/news/4455571/detail.html


----------



## hotskates

Not really sure if this belongs in "upbeat" news......you be the judge:
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three New York doctors were charged on Thursday with giving large amounts of Viagra and other anti-impotence drugs to mob members in return for construction and auto repair work done by mafia-controlled businesses.
Arlen Fleisher, Stephen Klass and George Shapiro, all doctors in Westchester County, a suburban area north of New York City, were accused of trading prescription drugs and drug samples with members and associates of the Gambino crime family. The one-count complaint was filed in Manhattan federal court.

Lawyers for all three defendants said their clients denied wrongdoing.


----------



## angelize56

It was *up*beat to the Viagra users!   

Bea will love this!


----------



## poochee

hotskates said:


> Not really sure if this belongs in "upbeat" news......you be the judge:
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three New York doctors were charged on Thursday with giving large amounts of Viagra and other anti-impotence drugs to mob members in return for construction and auto repair work done by mafia-controlled businesses.
> Arlen Fleisher, Stephen Klass and George Shapiro, all doctors in Westchester County, a suburban area north of New York City, were accused of trading prescription drugs and drug samples with members and associates of the Gambino crime family. The one-count complaint was filed in Manhattan federal court.
> 
> Lawyers for all three defendants said their clients denied wrongdoing.


It seems that crime isn't their only problem. 

Oh, wait a minute...Their problem causes them to commit crimes. 

LOL


----------



## DiSaidSo

Full story at link....



> *Jennifer Garner's Baby on Board*
> 
> By Marcus Errico
> Sat May 7,10:18 PM ET
> 
> Jennifer Garner's next alias: mommy.
> 
> The Alias star is expecting her first child, E! Online and E! News have confirmed.
> 
> Multiple sources close to Garner and beau Ben Affleck say the actress is three months along. News of the pregnancy comes just two weeks after several published reports claimed the couple were engaged.
> 
> According to E! Online columnist Ted Casablanca, Affleck flew Garner's kin from West Virginia to California in April for his leading lady's 33rd birthday party. The question subsequently was popped in private, Casablanca reported.


Aw, I hope all goes well! :up:


----------



## Raeli

hotskates said:


> Arlen Fleisher, Stephen Klass and George Shapiro





hotskates said:


> Gambino


Quiz: Without reading the story, who's the doctor and who's the mobster?


----------



## DiSaidSo

*Stray Dog Rescues Newborn Baby *  

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

A tiny girl in east Africa owes her life to a cunning canine.

Residents of a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, told the Daily Nation newspaper that the stray dog found the newborn tot abandoned in a nearby forest and carried her home.

The plucky pooch apparently took the girl out of the plastic bag in which she'd been left, carried her across a busy road and through a barbed-wire fence.

Two children alerted elders that they heard the sound of a baby crying near their wooden shack. Residents found the baby lying next to the mixed-breed dog and her own pup.

The seven-pound, four-ounce infant was taken to the hospital for treatment on Saturday.

"She is doing well, responding to treatment, she is stable. ... She is on antibiotics," Kenyatta National Hospital spokeswoman Hanna Gakuo told The Associated Press from the hospital, where health workers called the infant Angel. 

Kenya's media often report the abandonment of newborns by mothers. Poverty and the inability to care for the child are seen as the root cause of the problem. Most people who abandon babies are never caught. 

"The publicity on the way the baby was rescued has sparked a lot of public interest in helping her," Gakuo said. "People have been calling the hospital, asking about the possibility of adopting her."

The stray dog also was being cared for Tuesday, a day after its last surviving puppy died for unknown reasons, said Jean Gilchrist of the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals. 

Animal welfare officials named the dog "Mkombozi," or "Savior," and gave the dog its first bath and de-worming. :up:

"She looks a bit depressed, so we'd like to examine her to see if she has a temperature or any other problem," Gilchrist said.


----------



## DiSaidSo

I'm not sure if it counts as "upbeat" but it sure is a relief..... 

*Schwarzenegger not mad at moon *  

Full story at link.... just goes to show what happens when people can't figure out what a "joke" is.


----------



## poochee

DiSaidSo said:


> *Stray Dog Rescues Newborn Baby *
> 
> Tuesday, May 10, 2005
> 
> A tiny girl in east Africa owes her life to a cunning canine.
> 
> Residents of a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, told the Daily Nation newspaper that the stray dog found the newborn tot abandoned in a nearby forest and carried her home.
> 
> The plucky pooch apparently took the girl out of the plastic bag in which she'd been left, carried her across a busy road and through a barbed-wire fence.
> 
> Two children alerted elders that they heard the sound of a baby crying near their wooden shack. Residents found the baby lying next to the mixed-breed dog and her own pup.
> 
> The seven-pound, four-ounce infant was taken to the hospital for treatment on Saturday.
> 
> "She is doing well, responding to treatment, she is stable. ... She is on antibiotics," Kenyatta National Hospital spokeswoman Hanna Gakuo told The Associated Press from the hospital, where health workers called the infant Angel.
> 
> Kenya's media often report the abandonment of newborns by mothers. Poverty and the inability to care for the child are seen as the root cause of the problem. Most people who abandon babies are never caught.
> 
> "The publicity on the way the baby was rescued has sparked a lot of public interest in helping her," Gakuo said. "People have been calling the hospital, asking about the possibility of adopting her."
> 
> The stray dog also was being cared for Tuesday, a day after its last surviving puppy died for unknown reasons, said Jean Gilchrist of the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals.
> 
> Animal welfare officials named the dog "Mkombozi," or "Savior," and gave the dog its first bath and de-worming. :up:
> 
> "She looks a bit depressed, so we'd like to examine her to see if she has a temperature or any other problem," Gilchrist said.


Dogs make better parents than some "humans"? Sad, but had a good outcome except for the puppies.


----------



## Raeli

DiSaidSo said:


> *Schwarzenegger not mad at moon *


Stupid reporter.

But that is the funniest headline I've ever seen!  :up:


----------



## angelize56

*11-Year-Old Girl Pitches Perfect Baseball Game*  :up:

POSTED: 12:55 pm EDT May 19, 2005

OAKFIELD, N.Y. -- Katie Brownell is a shy 11-year-old girl of few words. But when she gets on the baseball field, she lets her pitching do the talking.

Brownell is the only girl in the Oakfield-Alabama Little League baseball program in this community about halfway between Buffalo and Rochester. On Saturday, that didn't stop her from accomplishing something league officials can't remember anybody -- boy or girl -- ever doing.

*She threw a perfect game for the Dodgers in an 11-0 victory over the Yankees.

How dominant was she? She struck out all 18 batters she faced in the six-inning victory. She never got to a three-ball count on any of them.

"As far back as I can remember, I don't ever recall hearing of a perfect game," said Eric Klotzbach, league president*.

Katie said she knew she had a chance for something special in the fourth inning. Fortunately, Katie's coach, Joe Sullivan, realized that, too.

*He had intended to pull Katie at some point during the game and was ready to do it when the scorekeeper told him she had a no-hitter going.

"I can't pull her out," Sullivan said after taking a look at the score book himself*.

So, Katie kept mowing down the opposition and completed the task. Then the place exploded.

"Everybody congratulated me," Katie said.

*Katie, who is in 6th grade, also pitched a one-hitter in the first game of the year. She accounted for all 15 outs in the five innings she pitched in that game. She had 14 strikeouts and got the other out on a grounder to the mound that she tossed to first.

"She's been pitching for three years, but she's really came on and excelled this year*," said Jeff Sage, manager of the team, who didn't get to see Saturday's game because of his job as a firefighter in Rochester. "She bats really well. She's a solid, all-around ballplayer."

*At the plate, Katie's hitting .714 through the team's first three games*.

Her sense for the game developed from playing baseball with siblings and friends.

"She had older brothers and we were always outside, so the minute she could pick up a ball, she was" playing, said her mother, Denise Bischoff.

In her first year with the Dodgers, Katie, the daughter of Mark Brownell, played with her older brothers, Jonathan and Joshua. Initially, she wasn't even going to play baseball this year, and instead eyed the softball team.

"Two weeks before the first game, when was it too late for her to switch over to softball, she decided to stick with hardball," Sullivan said. "Fortunately for us."


----------



## Raeli

angelize56 said:


> *11-Year-Old Girl Pitches Perfect Baseball Game*  :up:


 :up: Good for her!! :up: :up:


----------



## angelize56

Hi there Raeli!  I guess it's time to get going in a few! Have a nice weekend!


----------



## angelize56

Fort Gratiot is the next city north of Port Huron...luck seems to be in the air...say....my niece lives in Fort Gratiot...hmmmm....

*Lottery winner will remain anonymous*

By JOSEPH DEINLEIN
Times Herald

FORT GRATIOT  Someone from Kimball Township scratched his or her way to a $1 million prize. :up:

But the state Lottery Commission isnt releasing the name of the person who held the Millionaire Casino scratch-off ticket bought Friday at the Party Port on Keewahdin Road.

Because the $10 game is run by the state lottery, the names of winners dont have to be released, lottery officials said.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050525/NEWS01/50525002/1002


----------



## angelize56

A better article on the win:

*Local store sells $1 million ticket*

FORT GRATIOT - A second Blue Water Area store has seen one of its customers hit it big in the state lottery.

The Party Port, 3832 Keewahdin Road, sold a $10 scratch-off ticket worth $1 million, storeowner Karen Roth said.

Roth said the ticket was sold Friday, but she did not know the winners' names.

"I was absolutely thrilled," she said. "It's very, very rewarding that you're selling a ticket that someone else is enjoying the money."

*Store manager Maryann Hyde said a young couple bought the ticket and scratched it off while still in the store*.

Roth said the store will receive $2,000 from the lottery commission for selling the winning ticket.

On April 29, Ralph and Mary Stebbins of Port Huron won the Mega Millions jackpot worth $208 million after buying five $1 tickets from the River District Market on Electric Avenue in Port Huron. The couple took a lump sum and had $89 million after taxes.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050525/NEWS01/505250302/1002

Note: The Times Herald staff is working on verifying some not so good news about the Port Huron millionaires from Port Huron that may have occurred in Florida...details if I hear more! The couple was seen getting some belongings out of a pawn shop here in town after they won!


----------



## angelize56

Upbeat in the fact the teachers supported the little girl! :up: A security cam could not have helped the girl in the event some pervert grabbed her over the fence....some punishments don't fit the "crime"! 

*Seven of 10 Teachers Quit Mo. School*

Wed May 25, 3:10 PM ET

EAST LYNNE, Mo. - *Seven of 10 classroom teachers in a tiny school district resigned after a colleague was fired for helping an 11-year-old girl who was left alone in a playground to pick up rocks as punishment*.

The fourth-grader in the East Lynne School District in Cass County was assigned the task last September for refusing to do her schoolwork, but *she was unsupervised except for a security camera. The playground was near a road but inside a fence*.

*The fired teacher, Christa Price, went to the principal  who is also the district superintendent  and asked him to reconsider the punishment, but he wouldn't. So on her free period, Price helped the girl pick up rocks. Other teachers watched the girl the next day*. :up:

At contract time in March, Superintendent Dan Doerhoff recommended firing Price, a popular teacher who had had good performance evaluations, for insubordination. Seven other teachers then chose not to return their contracts.

"*If a teacher who advocates on behalf of safety of a student is not fit to be a teacher at East Lynne or anywhere in Missouri according to this administration, then none of us are fit to teach at East Lynne*," the teachers who resigned said Tuesday in a statement.

One of the teachers who resigned, Jenny Neemann, said having a security camera on the area where the girl worked wasn't enough.

"*Somebody could have nabbed her in 10 seconds*," she said.

Doerhoff has since dropped the practice of rock punishment because of the uproar, but he insists it wasn't that strenuous. The rocks were left over from some drilling work.

The school district has already filled most of the jobs left vacant because of the resignations, Doerhoff said Wednesday.

*The girl, whose name was not released, told The Kansas City Star that the assignment "made me feel like a slave." Her mother said she and her husband had agreed to the rock-gathering punishment, which was the only alternative Doerhoff gave them to suspension*.

"I love this woman," the mother said of Price. "What happened to Christa is beyond belief."

*Doerhoff also refused to sign the certification renewal that Price needs to get another teaching job, saying doing so would have been inconsistent and "could put me in a pickle*." (Go soak your head!! :down: )

Jim Morris, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said the department's Kansas City-area supervisor has offered to speak to certification officials on Price's behalf.

Price said she doesn't regret challenging Doerhoff.

"The first thing I told her when I went out there was, `Don't fill the bucket so full,'" Price said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050525/ap_on_re_us/teachers_quit


----------



## poochee

Hope she gets her job back!


----------



## angelize56

They don't deserve her poochee!


----------



## DiSaidSo

I don't think she'll have a problem getting a new job! I have a friend who is an elementary teacher and the same theme comes into play: principals who have NO IDEA how to deal with kids! I know there are good ones out there!


----------



## angelize56

My niece Christi is a special education teacher at the elementary level....she is one of the best teachers ever! I am so proud of her!!! :up:  Students, staff and parents adore her...and so do I and the rest of my family!


----------



## angelize56

Pregnant at 57...I'd freak! 

*Great Grandma Gives Birth To Twins*

POSTED: 9:58 am EDT May 26, 2005

FORT PAYNE, Ala. -- *A 57-year-old great-grandmother who gave birth to a set of twins last month said Thursday she danced with her husband only hours after the delivery*.

"I was feeling absolutely great, almost like I hadn't delivered," Rosee Swain said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It was just a good birth and I felt great and I was hungry. It went great."

*Christian Kaczur Hart and Diana Rose Angelina, conceived through in vitro fertilization, were born April 20 at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, four weeks premature. Swain and her husband, Jay, brought the babies home to Fort Payne on Friday*. :up: (Lovely names!) 

The couple, whose youngest child, Jimmy, is 6, said they did not want Jimmy to grow up as an only child.

"There are lots of options out there for older women like me," Rosee Swain said. "And women shouldn't give up hope without exploring all their options."

*The couple also have two grown children, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren*.

Swain, a special education teacher, said she's ready to care for the twins, *who will likely graduate from high school when she is 75 years old*. 

"Being a mother again at 57 isn't for everyone, but we felt it was right for us," she said.

But there will be no more new babies after this.

"Our kids have family names, and we're out of family names, so this will be it," she said on ABC.

Last November, a woman in New York City gave birth to twins just days before her 57th birthday. At the time, Aleta St. James was believed to be the oldest woman in American to give birth to twins.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/family/4534671/detail.html


----------



## poochee

Good luck to them. Hope they remain in good health so they can raise the twins. If not, they have a large family to assist.


----------



## angelize56

My Dad died at 57....and yes it is quite nice they have a large family unit in the event something happens to the parents....what a blessing to have twins anyways! :up: I'm a fraternal twin!


----------



## poochee

57 is young. My brother was 55 when he passed. 

I saw senior citizen twins the other day. I would guess early 80s. They were really cute little ladies. They were grocery shopping together. Of course, being the shy? person I am, I said you are twins aren't you? They looked pleased that I noticed.


----------



## angelize56

Both our Dads dies too young. 

The twins were identical then? 

This is truly upbeat news! 

*88 Stranded People Rescued After Sending Message In Bottle*

POSTED: 1:44 pm EDT June 1, 2005

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- *Eighty-eight South American migrants rescued at sea after tying a message in a bottle to another boat's fishing line were returning to Ecuador on Wednesday, Costa Rican officials said*.

The migrants, who were trying to reach the United States, were adrift for three days after being abandoned by smugglers because their vessel began taking on water.

The migrants from Ecuador and Peru were out of food and water when they saw the long lines of a passing fishing boat and decided to write a message for help. They put the message in a bottle and tied the bottle to one of the lines.

"*It was the women in the group that had the idea," Interior Ministry spokesman Nicolas Aguilar said Tuesday*.  (Why of course!!!!)

After drawing in the fishing lines, crew members of the ship Rey de Reyes found the message saying, "Help, please, help us."

The ship's captain notified authorities on the Isla de Coco national park, and they then asked the environmental group MarViva to send a boat to investigate. The group towed the migrants to the island Sunday.

On Wednesday, Costa Rican Security Minister Rogelio Ramos said an Ecuadorean ship would remove the 43 Peruvians and 45 Ecuadoreans from the Pacific Isla de Coco, where they were taken Sunday after their rescue.

According to Environment Ministry officials, the migrants said they had paid traffickers up to $3,000 for the trip from the Ecuadorean port of Montanita, and they promised to pay another $7,000 each to complete the journey to the United States.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4555744/detail.html


----------



## angelize56

*13-Pound Baby Tips Scales At Milwaukee Hospital 
Nurses Didn't Have Diapers That Fit Newborn*

POSTED: 11:09 am CDT June 28, 2005

MILWAUKEE -- A southeastern Wisconsin family now holds the record for the biggest baby born at the Birth Place at Columbia Center.

Delaney Jessica Buzzell was born last Thursday.

*She tipped the scale at 13 pounds, 12 ounces and was 22 inches long*. 

Her parents, Paul and Robin Buzzell have a history of bringing big babies into the world.

Delaney's older sisters, Cameron and Alexis, weighed 11 pounds, 14 ounces and 10 pounds, 8 ounces when they were born.

*The newborn was delivered by C-section*, (If not...ouch! )and the medical staff on hand did a double take.

"*Biggest baby my doctor has ever delivered and the nurses, too. So, they said they put her on the scale twice. They just couldn't believe when they put it on that that was really what was reading," mom Robin Buzzell said*.

Delaney was so big nurses didn't have diapers that fit.

At four days old, Delaney skipped all the first stage clothing for infants and is already wearing 3 to 6 month clothing.

*Paul Buzzell nicknamed Delaney "the big enchilada*."


----------



## eggplant43

Ouch!


----------



## treespirit

My upbeat new is that we still have electricity!  The papers are saying that the power grid might go out again and hydro running at full capacity, but hasn't happened yet and might not so I am thankful and happy to be nice and cool and appreciate every minute like that. :up:


----------



## angelize56

Great to hear that ts! :up: 

Bruce: That's an understatement!


----------



## coderitr

Bride calls off wedding, throws party for the homeless

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EVERETT, Wash. -- A young woman decided to call off her wedding 12 days before the event and her parents knew they'd be stuck with the bill, so they decided to have a party anyway and invited the homeless.

Residents of the Interfaith Family Shelter, housed in a former convent across from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church where the wedding had been scheduled, attended the bash thrown by Katie Hosking, 22, a medical assistant at the Everett Clinic, and her parents, Bill and Susan Hosking of Lake Stevens.

"They had a DJ and really good music. It was a warm, friendly atmosphere. The food was delicious. It was a nice break with people not worrying about anything for one night," shelter manager Carol Oliva said. "Toward the end of the evening, they packed up all the leftover food and we got to bring it back to the shelter."

One homeless woman got her son out of a wheelchair, "took that child out on the dance floor and picked him up and danced with him. It was a beautiful sight. Our kids realized that even when something bad happens, somebody else has something worse," Susan Hosking said. "It was an eye-opener."

The almost-bride would not say what led to the breakup, only that it happened June 6, 12 days before the scheduled date of her wedding.

Planning a reception for 150 guests at the Echo Falls golf and country club, her parents had made a $2,500 down payment and written another check for the $6,200 balance. Club policy requires full payment for any event that is canceled less than 60 days before the scheduled date.

"Personally, it's a really hard time for a family," said Jessica Gamble, the club's catering sales manager. "It's a really awesome thing that they did. They made the best of it."

Susan Hosking said that once she and her husband "got past the panic," they took a suggestion from her brother-in -law in New York and decided to invite the staff and residents of the shelter operated by the Interfaith Association of Snohomish County to share in the evening.

More than 50 family members and close friends were joined by about 40 homeless people, shelter workers and volunteers. The shelter staff arranged rides to the club.

Instead of a wedding cake, chef Michael Greb produced strawberry shortcake to top off a menu that included baron of beef, salmon, shrimp cocktail, fettuccine and fruit.

"Oh my gosh, we had so much fun," Katie Hosking said.

Shelter residents, she said, "came up and thanked us several times - thank you, thank you, thank you. We all danced. I still got to dance with my dad."

Her mother said she was happy to demonstrate an alternative to the case of Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, who got cold feet and vanished shortly before a 600-guest wedding in Georgia. Wilbanks pleaded no contest this month to telling police a phony abduction story and was sentenced to probation and community service.

"That food would help feed people at the shelter for another three or four days," she said. "With the notoriety of the runaway bride, I would like people to know that these things do happen, and there is another outlet. The money is spent."


----------



## treespirit

Wow, that's a really wonderful thing they did :up:


----------



## DiSaidSo

What a wonderful story! :up:


----------



## poochee

That is really good news!!


----------



## [email protected]

Thats awesome!!

and ello Codepunk!!


----------



## eggplant43

Talk about making lemonade, sublime.


----------



## angelize56

This is upbeat in the news Susan has passed her 24th week....but sad that she is in the condition she is in.....I know God will be there for her and the baby...

Friday, 22 July, 2005, 20:20 GMT 21:20 UK

*Brain-dead woman may give birth*

*A brain-dead pregnant US woman on life life-support has reached the stage of pregnancy where her baby could survive outside the womb, :up: her family says.

Susan Torres, 26, lost consciousness in May after an undiagnosed brain tumour caused a stroke while she was dining*. 

Her husband Jason asked doctors to keep her on life-support so their unborn child would have a chance to develop.

*The foetus recently passed the 24th week of conception - the point at which doctors say it could survive*.

"The situation is pretty stable," said Justin Torres, the woman's brother-in-law.

"*Susan, we have said from the beginning, is the toughest person in that ICU [Intensive Care Unit] room*."

More than $400,000 in donations has poured in from around the world after a website was set up to raise money for medical bills. :up:

Jason Torres quit his job to be by his wife's side, and the family pays thousands each week in medical costs not covered by insurance.

*Mr Torres spends every night sleeping in a reclining chair by his wife's bed at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA.

While the hospital is not talking about the case, it is thought that doctors would like to hold off on delivering the baby until 32 weeks of gestation*.

The full term for a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks.

Since 1979, there have been at least a dozen similar cases published in English-language medical literature, according to research by the University of Connecticut Health Center.

http://www.newsalerts.com/news/article/go:us9:241559


----------



## poochee

Hoping all will go well!!


----------



## angelize56

I heard that the form of melanoma she has can spread through the baby's bloodstream if baby comes in contact with Mom's blood...I'm sure when the time is right Susan will be delivered via c-section. I saw of another woman who delivered vaginally while in the same condition...because her water broke and the labor progressed too rapidly for a c-section. I pray this wee baby will be born and survive to live a long, healthy life...just wish Susan could have been there for that...but she will be there spiritually all this baby's life.....


----------



## poochee

I would bet it will be a c-section. It is a bitter-sweet happening.


----------



## teengeekgrrl

Bittersweet. But good to know the babe is doin well.


----------



## angelize56

What an honorable thing to do!! :up:

*Heart surgeon opts for Army life
At age 56, doctor says it's time to pay back society*

By Peggy Peck
MedPage Today Senior Editor

Tuesday, July 19, 2005; Posted: 3:25 p.m. EDT (19:25 GMT)

<snip>CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (MedPage Today) -- *Dr. Robert Stewart has performed about 11,000 open-heart operations during his career as a cardiac surgeon, but on September 5 he will finally become what he wanted to be when he grew up -- a soldier*.

At age 56, Stewart will start boot camp at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where he will rank among the oldest U.S. Army recruits since George Washington was signing up volunteers.

He has agreed to serve for four years. That, he says, "will bring me to age 60, the age that I think every heart surgeon should pause to assess the situation since I think that most of us have peaked at about that time."

The idea that a highly successful but graying heart surgeon would chuck his practice -- and the income that goes with it -- to enlist in the Army at a time when the nation is involved in a war may sound odd. But Stewart says the career move is a really a combination of payback and fulfilling a wish.

When Stewart was growing up in Flint, Michigan, where his father worked for 34 years at the Fisher Body plant, the future surgeon was imbued with a sense of national service.

"My father was a decorated soldier who fought at the Battle of the Bulge," Stewart said, taking a break from gardening at his home.

One moment stands out during the childhood years.

"*My Dad was working in our yard, digging, which is pretty much what I've been doing today," he said. "A car full of guys -- maybe six or seven guys I had never seen -- pulled into the driveway. The guys got out of the car and saluted my Dad. These were guys he hadn't seen for years, but he was their sergeant in the war*." :up: 

http://www.newsalerts.com/news/article/go:health7:236819


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## DiSaidSo

I remember seeing a feature on this woman a couple of weeks ago when she was trying to raise the money to send care packages over to Iraq. She had started by sending over care packages to her husband. He wrote her back and said how he had enjoyed sharing with the other soldiers, so she started collecting more and more until her garage was full and she had no money to ship the stuff. What a wonderful reward for such a caring lady! :up: 



> *Soldier's wife gets a ballpark surprise*
> 
> 10:33 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 27, 2005
> 
> By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA-TV
> 
> The wife of a Texas National Guard captain recently ran into a brick wall while trying to send care packages to troops in Iraq. Jackie Bryan didn't have enough money to send the garage full of boxes that costs about $40 to ship each.
> 
> When she was told to go to a Frisco Rough Riders baseball game to receive a donation for the packages, she went ready and willing. However, what she got instead came right out of left field.
> 
> The Family Readiness Group did receive the $1,000 check for the care packages from the Frisco Rough Riders. But she also got an even bigger gift - a visit from her husband.
> 
> While Bryan had known her husband, Capt. Wesley Bryan, would soon be eligible for a two weeks leave, she had been worried for days because communication between the two had stopped.
> 
> However, she got a curve ball when her husband appeared on the baseball field to give her a hug.
> 
> And now the donated phone cards, snacks and drinks will soon be on their way to the soldiers.
> 
> E-mail [email protected]


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## teengeekgrrl

Aww that's awesome! I remember back in the fall our student council (which I'm on) raised a drive to collect stuff to send over to the soldiers, and we got a couple local companies to sponsor the shipping costs. We didn't raise a garage-full or anything close to that, but we sent over somewhere between 2-5 big packages.


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## poochee

That's a good news story!!

and

Good for your student council, Teengirl!!


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## teengeekgrrl

Thanks!


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## coderitr

Special delivery! Kittens survive 2-day shipping

VEGENNES, Va. - A worker in the returns department at Country Home Products got a surprise when he opened a brush trimmer sent back from South Carolina.

Inside the box was the trimmer  and five kittens.

The three-week-old kittens survived the two-day trip to Vermont and are doing fine.

The South Carolina customer who returned the trimmer had stored it in a barn, and apparently sealed the box without looking inside.

The kittens were taken to a Humane Society shelter in Middlebury, where they met Hazel, a black cat whose kittens had just been weaned. Hazel is a now a surrogate mother to the kittens.

The shelter says the kittens should be available for adoption in about three weeks.


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## poochee

That's a story with a happy ending!


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## angelize56

This is a story that starts out terribly .....sad to lose all four of your children...unimaginable to me! The grief must be overpowering! BUT...now they have a new little life...and may God shine down His love and protect this child from harm! This family is in my home state of MI.

*After Tragedies, Hope Is Born*

BANGOR, Mich., Aug. 16, 2005

(CBS) For one Michigan couple, a newborn daughter is helping to heal some terrible wounds.

Daniel and Colette Decker once had a full house in Bangor, reports The Early Show national correspondent Hattie Kauffman.

*The Deckers had four kids: Nicolette, 17, Danny, 16, Melissa, 14, and Carolann, 11*.

As Colette put it, "*Everything a mother would want*."

But five years ago, that all changed, Kauffman says.

*The three girls were on their way to school. Nicki was driving. They'd just left home and were about a mile down the road, when they collided with a semi-truck.

"Collette said, 'That's Nicki's car,' recalls Dan, "and we got out, and I started walking up to it, and the police just surrounded me and stopped me about 10 feet from the vehicle. And our whole world changed."

"They told us there was no survivors," Colette says, "and you sit back, and the first thing you think is, 'What did I do so rotten that somebody or God would want to do this to do you*?' "   (How does one get through such grief!!!)

They became *extra-protective of their remaining child, Danny.

"We bought a cell phone for him. We all kept track of each other*," says Dan.

*But tragedy struck again. Just a year later, Danny was driving with three friends, Kauffman says. They sped over railroad tracks, lost control, and hit a tree. The vehicle burst into flames. Danny and two of his friends were killed.  

"Your mind starts going, 'Oh, no. Not again. Not again," Dan says*.

The Deckers buried their son even as they were still grieving for their daughters.

"*I'd find myself up there at the cemetery for hours just on end, just talking to them," Dan remembers.

"It was too much pain every day, just even get up and do something*," Colette says.

In their home, there are reminders of the four everywhere: Melissa's cheerleading pompoms, Carolann's dolls.

"*You'd walk to the other side of the house where Danny and Nicki's room is," Dan says, "and you go through it all over again. And I mean, what a living hell. Then you look around, and there's pictures that are half-drawn. And you're, like, they will never have the opportunity to finish this*." 

Despite their devastation, the Deckers were determined to try again.

But age was against them. Dan was 19 the first time they started a family.

*Now, it would take surgery to reverse a vasectomy. After that, four attempts at in vitro fertilization failed.

"It's kind of like being a kid at Christmas," Colette explains, "the anticipation of what you're gonna get. And then, to have it dashed."

They tried to get pregnant one final time. And it worked*. :up: :up: 

"Heaven sent a little miracle" on June 27, Colette exclaims.

"The joy was just overwhelming," Dan adds.

*How did they pick the name Zoe? "It's in the (baby names) book," Colette says. "When I was going through, its meaning is actually life or life giving. And I thought, 'Yup, that's exactly what she is.' She's giving us back our life*."

Because in vitro is expensive, Dan and Collette almost went broke trying to conceive and, notes Kauffman, they couldn't care less.

"If we get behind on our bills, who cares?" Dan asks.

*Neighbors care, Kauffman points out. They've been showering the Deckers with gifts.

"People have been really sweet sending stuff," observes Colette, "because we had absolutely nothing, not even a crib, cradle. Nothing*."

Now, blankets homemade by grandmothers who've never met the Deckers are among the items pouring in.

But much more help is needed.

The Deckers have set up The Zoe Decker Foundation. If you'd like to contribute, please contact the Consumer Credit Union in South Haven. The account number is 42712. The federal identification number is 06 174747459.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/16/earlyshow/main780964.shtml


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## eggplant43

Stunned waitress gets Porsche as a tip in Sweden

Thu Aug 18, 7:14 AM ET

A waitress in Sweden thought her elderly customer was joking when he offered her his Porsche as a tip, but he kept his word and gave her the keys to the car, daily Aftonbladet reported.

"I thought at first he was joking with me," 19-year-old Josefin Justin told the paper on Thursday.

Justin was waiting tables at the Njuraanger Cafe in Sundsvall in central Sweden when the man, who had recently retired and was dining with a group of gentlemen, asked her age.

When she told him, "he said I would get his Porsche as a tip."

"At first I was a little suspicious but I didn't get the feeling he was hitting on me or anything, he just seemed really nice," she said.

She got his phone number and the next day when she called him, he said he remembered his generous offer. Accompanied by her father, she went to the man's house to pick up her new car.

It turned out to be 1979 Porsche 924 worth 30,000 kronor (4,000 dollars, 3,215 euros).

"It needs a little work, a paint job among other things, but we checked it out and everything was fine," Justin said.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, told the paper he couldn't really explain why he gave her the car.

"I was just sitting there in the restaurant and looked her in the eyes and saw an angel and thought to myself 'The Porsche, she should have it'," he said.

Asked if he had any regrets, he replied: "No, absolutely not."

The incident is reminiscent of the 1994 Hollywood movie "It Could Happen To You" starring Nicolas Cage and Bridget Fonda, in which a waitress becomes a millionaire when her customer offers to share his lottery ticket with her in lieu of a tip.

Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse.


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## poochee

That's a nice story!


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## eggplant43

RBV's Vivier having time of his life a year after being diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome


By: DAN HAYES - Staff Writer

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. ---- Rancho Buena Vista's Danny Vivier is having an exponentially better summer this year than he did last. At noon Saturday, Vivier and his Rancho Buena Vista All-Star teammates begin play in the Little League World Series against Owensboro, Ky., on ESPN.

The 12-year-old third baseman has played a key role during the team's 20-0 run, whether it's been with his smooth fielding, taking over the leadoff spot in the lineup or by hitting the first two home runs of his life ---- the latter of which was a grand slam in a 12-2 victory over Peccole (Nev.) in the West Region semifinal Aug. 12.

The whole scenario is a far cry from last summer when Vivier went through one of the worst periods of his life. He was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome in June 2004.

"I was 11 when it really hit, and that was annoying," Vivier said. "I hadn't noticed it all my life. It was never mentioned. (This summer) is probably the most fun of my life. I don't even remember half of the games."

Danny's parents, Dave and Joanne, always had noticed their son's twitching. But they didn't make much of it because he wasn't having any other symptoms.

In the time leading up to Danny's first week of sixth grade at Madison Middle School in Vista, however, he began hiccupping at a rate of 20 per minute and experiencing headaches.

"He's always twitched," Joanne Vivier said. "We started noticing at 8 or 9 years old, but we didn't think there was anything there. It was just, that was Danny. But last August, he was getting ready to start school and that was a pretty tough week. It was becoming something where he needed to start taking medication."

According to tourettesyndrome.net, Tourette's Syndrome is a fairly common childhood-onset condition. It is considered a neurological condition and is commonly associated with several other conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, non-OCD anxiety disorders and depression, among others.

Other than the hiccups ---- which were treated once Vivier began taking Clonidine ---- he has had only the twitching.

"Some people have OCD, ADHD," Joanne Vivier said. "(Danny) doesn't have any of that, and that is a blessing because that is a whole other aspect. Really the way this disorder works is it wanes and waxes. There are some times where he has really good weeks, good months and other times where it's a little bit more intense."

One area in which Joanne has noticed spikes is when Danny might be feeling intense emotion.

She and Dave pointed to a cruise the family took last summer ---- a time they thought would be restful and relaxing for Danny. Instead, the tics were ever present.

That, they later found out, was because Danny was enjoying himself so much.

And it's a situation that repeated itself Sunday when Rancho Buena Vista played Tracy for the West Region championship in front of a large crowd and a national television audience.

"We've also noticed it when he has any sort of accelerated emotion," Joanne said. "It's not that he's nervous on the field ... it's that adrenaline (pumping)."

And though he has that adrenaline flowing, Danny said he has never felt affected on the field.

Arizona State outfielder D.J. Butler, 19, knows exactly what Vivier is going through. Butler, who is entering his sophomore year at Arizona State, was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at age 2.

Despite having similar symptoms, Butler said, he never was affected on the field and expects the same for Vivier.

"Other than how people act (toward me), it didn't affect me much," Butler said. "I'm sure it's not affecting (Danny). It sounds like he's doing well, especially if he's playing in the Little League World Series."

And Vivier also is faring well with other children at school because of the pre-emptive actions taken by Joanne and Dave.

Rather than sulk or try to keep the situation private, Joanne took a proactive approach and made teachers, counselors and parents at Madison aware of the situation with dozens of phone calls.

As a result, Danny has faced few if any problems while he's in school or around his teammates.

"Joanne called the parents and shared with them," Dave Vivier said. " 'Hey this is what Danny's deal is' and then they would talk to their kids."

Both parents also made a point of talking to Danny's closest friends and asked them to be honest with other children at school who might be wondering what was going on.

"He has a strong network of friends, and I think that's the key," Joanne Vivier said. "Danny can feel himself at times twitching but he can't necessarily stop it. He can to focus in on certain things ... and when he's concentrating during an at-bat it stops."

With three games ahead of him beginning today, Vivier most certainly will stay focused.

And even though he expects to play in front of large crowds and ESPN's cameras again, Vivier isn't worried. After all, with all of the festivities and signing autographs, he is having the time of his life.

"I'm excited," he said. "This is definitely the best summer of the two. It's more of an experience and fun."


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## poochee

That is a very good story!


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## eggplant43

He's a wonderful kid, his parents did everything right, and the community has been awesome as well. It's great to hear a story like this.


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## angelize56

:up: :up:

*200 Officers Serve 300 Warrants To Accused Abusers
Offenders' Mug Shots, Crime To Be Posted On HPD Web Site*

POSTED: 6:56 am CDT August 23, 2005
UPDATED: 5:57 pm CDT August 23, 2005

HOUSTON -- *Hundreds of Houston police officers raided homes Tuesday in search of suspects wanted for domestic abuse*, Local 2 reported.

*About 200 officers from the Houston Police Department and 13 other law enforcement agencies in Houston and Harris County were out in force early Tuesday morning to issue more than 300 arrest warrants to suspects accused of hurting their spouses or children*. :up:

Houston Police Department* Chief Harold Hurtt announced the "Abusers Are Losers" program last week*. The initiative is also part of HPD's "Men Against Family Violence" campaign.

"*We are seeking everyone with an open warrant for child or intimate partner abuse. We are coming to get you*," Hurtt said. :up:

Local 2 reported that *90 suspects have been arrested on domestic or child abuse charges since the initiative began late last week. Thirteen suspects were taken into custody Tuesday morning*.

"Those who have been arrested will have their mug shots displayed on our Web site along with a brief summary of their crime," Hurtt said.

*HPD said they received 31,000 reports of domestic violence in 2004. Because of that violence, 34 people died, including 10 children*.  

http://www.click2houston.com/news/4884420/detail.html


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## poochee

That's a step in the right direction!


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## angelize56

Florida should follow suit!


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## poochee

Hi Angel, how are you doing?


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## angelize56

Hi poochee!! I was sick the past few days...but feeling better now!  Thanks for asking...how are you?? 

*Skinny Firefighter Rescues Trapped Toddler* :up: 

POSTED: 3:38 pm EDT August 26, 2005
UPDATED: 3:57 pm EDT August 26, 2005

WESTFIELD, N.J. -- *A New Jersey firefighter says people used to laugh at him for being so skinny, but Jim Pfeiffer's 6-foot-1-inch, 160-pound frame helped him save a toddler Monday who was trapped 9 feet underground*.

Investigators in Westfield said the 16-month-old fell into a narrow hole that had been dug by a contractor. Firefighters initially could hear the child crying but said that before long, his cries ceased.

Pfeiffer stripped down to T-shirt and trousers. His colleagues used ropes to lower him, headfirst, into the hole.

*Pfeiffer told a New Jersey newspaper that at one point, he became stuck. However, he said he took a deep breath and tried to make himself as small as possible.

He then managed to reach the child, and firefighters hoisted both of them to freedom*. :up: 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4902533/detail.html


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## poochee

Angel...I am fine. When I don't see you around I get concerned. Was getting ready to PM you. Glad you are better!


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## angelize56

Awww...you're a sweetie!  Thanks poochee!!


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## eggplant43

Goats chew up Lander weeds
By BRODIE FARQUHAR
Star-Tribune correspondent

LANDER -- There were big goats, little goats and in-between goats. There were white goats, brown goats and black goats. There were hungry goats, not-so-hungry goats and, after a while, I-can't-eat-a-thing goats.

All told, there were 1,500 goats driven into Lander last week by Lani Malmberg, and they successfully chomped down on a couple dozen acres of noxious weeds and shrubs in town.

Across the country, goats are increasingly being used to eradicate noxious weeds, either in environmentally sensitive areas or simply because property owners don't like chemical pesticides.

"People like to have a choice other than chemicals," Malmberg said. She noted that chemical sprays drift and can be washed away by rain. "You can see exactly where goats and goat pellets are, and you can move them, but you can't with chemical sprays. They're invisible, and people don't think about what harm they can do."

Goats are browsers rather than grazers, Malmberg said, and find weeds to be very tasty, preferring them to grasses n just the opposite of cattle and horses. The weed toxins that sicken and kill other livestock don't seem to bother goats as much, researchers say.

During last week's weed project, though, there were some communication glitches with city authorities and a complaint about droppings from Malmberg's goats. City officials apparently didn't understand that the goat herd wasn't just passing through, but was staying for a few days to knock down some weeds and shrubs. When the chief of police showed up, Malmberg discovered she was in violation of a city ordinance, which forbade city residents from keeping and raising livestock in town.

"I was surprised," said Malmberg, who has been operating her goat-based alternative weed management business for eight years, from Canada to Mexico.

Lander didn't have policy guidelines or ordinances to handle a weed-eating business, so Malmberg and Lander Mayor Mick Wolfe sat down Monday to talk things over.

"He's so progressive and open-minded," Malmberg said.

Wolfe said he was interested in learning more about how goats can effectively go after noxious weeds. He's checking with the Cheyenne city government to see how that community has used Malmberg's service.

"We'll have Lani meet with the city council," sometime in September, to discuss what ordinances might be needed to accommodate future alternative weed management programs, Wolfe said.

Last week, Malmberg drove her goats to the Richard and Laurel Garrett residence on South Second Street to eat their way through about 2.5 acres of leafy spurge. Then there was a move over one block to the Bill Sniffin property behind City Park.

Sniffin said he had 22 acres of overgrown pastureland. A wet summer created luxuriant growth, and Sniffin feared he had a fire hazard on his hands.

"Those goats did a magnificent job," Sniffin said. "I'm very happy with the results."

Problems arose, however, during the goat drive across Cascade and down Third Street, as the police received a complaint about goat manure on the street.

Informed about the upset neighbors, Malmberg had her goats finish chewing up the Sniffin forage, and she made arrangements with property owners to depart back to Red Canyon on Friday, traveling along Hillcrest Drive and Mortimore Lane.


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## poochee

Eggplant...I love the goat story!! I've always wanted to own one, I think they are interesting animals, and cute also.


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## coderitr

'Didn't want to see my family drown'

BILOXI, Miss. - In the harrowing moments before Katrina crashed into this coastal city, a dozen family members, friends and neighbors piled into the only bedroom of a wooden house.

Then they waited, and some drifted asleep. Suddenly, the water rushed in.

It came fast, penetrating every wall and window.

The babies began screaming, the adults panicked and, in that moment, 13-year-old Phillip Bullard began saving lives. Four adults and nine children, including himself.

Phillip swam and cradled the youngest. He floated the oldest all through the house, out a broken window and into a boat floating down what was once Holley Street. He coaxed his twin sister to turn loose the side of the house, which she clung to in terror.

He took the hands of his mother and grandmother and guided them through the house, on a path made from sodden furniture. They were willing to die, unable to swim and too frightened to leave their home.

"I just didn't want to see my family drown," said Phillip, a seventh-grader who spent Wednesday in a shelter at the junior high school he normally attends. "I was scared if I didn't keep helping, somebody would die."

Phillip's story spread across town. Folks quickly learned about the boy who rescued his family, a bright spot on an otherwise dreary day.

"That little boy is a hero," said Kenneth Brinson, who helped set up an outdoor community center near Main Street Baptist Church in the neighborhood where Phillip lives.

Phillip, who likes to run and jump and dance and dream, lives with his mother and grandmother on the east side of town, in a collection of older A-frame homes in a mostly poor neighborhood. Almost from the beginning, they knew the little house would fall to a storm with this kind of roar.

"I saw all the water and it was coming from everywhere. I swear it came through the floor," said Vanessa Posey, 44, Phillip's mother. "I started screaming and trying to get everybody up. I broke the window and tried to put the babies on top of the bar. My son did most everything else."

Phillip, a soft-spoken boy who said he wanted to be a police officer or doctor before the storm, said he went under water to clear a path to the window and then got his older sister, Yoshico Posey, out. He picked her first because she was the only other person who could swim and help guide the rest out of the house.

They formed a rescue team. He carried or floated each person out the window; she passed them to a neighbor who was helping, or put them in a boat they found drifting by.

Later, they used broomsticks to paddle down the street and took haven in the upstairs loft of a neighbor's home.

"It felt like Phillip was in there getting people for hours," said Vanessa Posey, sitting outside the shelter. "I just kept thanking the Lord for every person he got out."

By the time Phillip finally swam out the house, he found his twin sister clinging to the exterior wall.

"She was scared. It took me awhile to convince her to let go and take my hand," he said softly. "But I had to keep trying because she would not have made it."

After every person was rescued, Phillip took the boat to Division Street, a main thoroughfare, to find help. It never came.

Phillip is now in a shelter, nursing a foot cut by tin that his mother fears will become infected. This time, help is on the way.

"I just thank God for Phillip," the mother said. "We would not be here but for the grace of God and the courage of my son."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/weather/12530216.htm (registration required)


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## eggplant43

The gal in this article has been doing this around our state for some years now, and has really met with success, and very happy customers.

Here's a story about a lady and her totem pole:

http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005508310328


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## poochee

coderitr said:


> 'Didn't want to see my family drown'
> 
> BILOXI, Miss. - In the harrowing moments before Katrina crashed into this coastal city, a dozen family members, friends and neighbors piled into the only bedroom of a wooden house.
> 
> Then they waited, and some drifted asleep. Suddenly, the water rushed in.
> 
> It came fast, penetrating every wall and window.
> 
> The babies began screaming, the adults panicked and, in that moment, 13-year-old Phillip Bullard began saving lives. Four adults and nine children, including himself.
> 
> Phillip swam and cradled the youngest. He floated the oldest all through the house, out a broken window and into a boat floating down what was once Holley Street. He coaxed his twin sister to turn loose the side of the house, which she clung to in terror.
> 
> He took the hands of his mother and grandmother and guided them through the house, on a path made from sodden furniture. They were willing to die, unable to swim and too frightened to leave their home.
> 
> "I just didn't want to see my family drown," said Phillip, a seventh-grader who spent Wednesday in a shelter at the junior high school he normally attends. "I was scared if I didn't keep helping, somebody would die."
> 
> Phillip's story spread across town. Folks quickly learned about the boy who rescued his family, a bright spot on an otherwise dreary day.
> 
> "That little boy is a hero," said Kenneth Brinson, who helped set up an outdoor community center near Main Street Baptist Church in the neighborhood where Phillip lives.
> 
> Phillip, who likes to run and jump and dance and dream, lives with his mother and grandmother on the east side of town, in a collection of older A-frame homes in a mostly poor neighborhood. Almost from the beginning, they knew the little house would fall to a storm with this kind of roar.
> 
> "I saw all the water and it was coming from everywhere. I swear it came through the floor," said Vanessa Posey, 44, Phillip's mother. "I started screaming and trying to get everybody up. I broke the window and tried to put the babies on top of the bar. My son did most everything else."
> 
> Phillip, a soft-spoken boy who said he wanted to be a police officer or doctor before the storm, said he went under water to clear a path to the window and then got his older sister, Yoshico Posey, out. He picked her first because she was the only other person who could swim and help guide the rest out of the house.
> 
> They formed a rescue team. He carried or floated each person out the window; she passed them to a neighbor who was helping, or put them in a boat they found drifting by.
> 
> Later, they used broomsticks to paddle down the street and took haven in the upstairs loft of a neighbor's home.
> 
> "It felt like Phillip was in there getting people for hours," said Vanessa Posey, sitting outside the shelter. "I just kept thanking the Lord for every person he got out."
> 
> By the time Phillip finally swam out the house, he found his twin sister clinging to the exterior wall.
> 
> "She was scared. It took me awhile to convince her to let go and take my hand," he said softly. "But I had to keep trying because she would not have made it."
> 
> After every person was rescued, Phillip took the boat to Division Street, a main thoroughfare, to find help. It never came.
> 
> Phillip is now in a shelter, nursing a foot cut by tin that his mother fears will become infected. This time, help is on the way.
> 
> "I just thank God for Phillip," the mother said. "We would not be here but for the grace of God and the courage of my son."
> 
> http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/weather/12530216.htm (registration required)


What a wonderful story. It brought tears to my eyes. So sad down there.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> The gal in this article has been doing this around our state for some years now, and has really met with success, and very happy customers.
> 
> Here's a story about a lady and her totem pole:
> 
> http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005508310328


Very inspirational!


----------



## eggplant43

HURRICANE KATRINA

A Mother of Six Gets a Chance
At a New Life in Minnesota

By STEVEN GRAY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
September 8, 2005; Page B1

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Nicole Singleton smiled as she sat on a cot in this city's cavernous River Center convention arena, digging through boxes of her six children's belongings pulled from her flood-ravaged apartment.

"What do I really need?" Ms. Singleton asked herself as she debated consolidating several boxes into one. For all that she'd lost to Hurricane Katrina days earlier, on Tuesday, Ms. Singleton felt she had something to look forward to. She was about to board a flight to Minnesota and, she hoped, a new life.
[Nicole Singleton]

"I don't know a thing about Minnesota," says the 33-year-old, a New Orleans native who worked on and off steaming sheets and styling hair. "There's nothing here for me, and this is my chance to start again."

Katrina cut a destructive swath through the Gulf Coast, upending lives and causing huge dislocation. Yet for some New Orleanians, the hurricane also offers a glimmer of a silver lining. New Orleans has for years been known as one of the nation's murder and drug capitals. Many evacuees, especially the unemployed and those with low-paying jobs who don't own property, see moves elsewhere as opportunities for a fresh start.

The transition likely will be difficult. Many evacuees lack basic job skills, have no college degrees or no high-school diplomas. Many have never even left New Orleans or their neighborhoods.

Hundreds of evacuees have approached the Red Cross travel desk here asking to be taken out of the area. "People come here and say, 'I want to go to Minneapolis. Or, 'I have a relative in Texas, just get me there and I can start all over,' " says Deborah Thomas, a volunteer managing the desk. Other volunteers say similar scenes are playing out at shelters across the region.

Earlier this week, a group of women huddled around a bulletin board here scanning postings for jobs and free housing in California, South Dakota and New Jersey. Many couldn't point out some states and cities on a map. Ms. Singleton had looked at the same bulletin board for her chance at a new life.

That chance came in the form of Tanya Thornbury, an artist who lives more than 1,000 miles to the north in Montevideo, Minn. On Monday, Ms. Thornbury sat down at her computer and, using a search engine, found a link to the River Center. She sent an email offering a single mother with a child space in her home for a year free of charge.

Ms. Thornbury, 36, and her partner, Tracey Thornbury, 38, have four children; the eldest serves with the Army in Afghanistan. They live in a four-bedroom Victorian on a tree-lined street in Montevideo, a quiet town with 5,346 residents about a three-hour drive from Minneapolis. Tanya Thornbury stays at home with the kids while her partner drives an 18-wheel semitrailer. Ms. Thornbury says she was moved by the TV images showing people screaming outside the New Orleans Superdome.

"I see how poor those people are," Ms. Thornbury says. "To open your homes in places where people can prosper, it's wonderful."

Soon after Ms. Thornbury's email popped up at the River Center, it was printed out and tacked to the bulletin board. The posting caught the attention of Ms. Singleton, a sturdy woman in hoop earrings and a white bandanna. Ms. Singleton, who has a high-school diploma, worked a succession of menial jobs in New Orleans. Her six children range from 2 years old to 16. Before the hurricane, she had never left New Orleans.
[Tanya Thornbury]

Ms. Singleton arrived at the River Center on Monday after being rescued by boat from her Algiers neighborhood, across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. She had been stranded for seven days and her apartment was destroyed. Five of her children had been sent with her mother to Texas before the storm. Her 16-year-old daughter, Brittany, who had initially stayed with Ms. Singleton to guard their home but later left, was missing.

"It's by the grace of God I got out," says Ms. Singleton, who gave her savings to her children before the storm. "I don't have a penny to my name," she says. "All this is strange." As of yesterday, there was no news on her missing daughter. Ms. Singleton says she is worried sick about Brittany. She has put her name on a missing person's list and is calling her mom in Texas everyday to find out if Brittany has showed up there.

Soon the phone in Ms. Thornbury's house was ringing. "I'm interested in your email," Ms. Singleton recalls telling her.

Ms. Thornbury told Ms. Singleton she was welcome to come live in Montevideo, a town where "you don't even see people pulled over." Ms. Thornbury says she "didn't care anything about who she was. I just wanted her to be safe."

Though her ad offered to take just one child, Ms. Thornbury plans to accommodate Ms. Singleton's children as soon as possible. "It'll be a squeeze but you know, you can't pick and choose which kid can come. We were going to refinish the attic anyway."

But Ms. Thornbury worries Ms. Singleton, who is black, will have culture shock. Montevideo has very few black residents. Ms. Singleton says she told Ms. Thornbury, "I get along with anybody -- Creole, white, black. For me it's no problem." Ms. Thornbury also made it clear her partner is a woman. "I don't care," Ms. Singleton said.

Ms. Thornbury told her family Ms. Singleton would soon be arriving. Ryan, 12, the Thornburys' second-oldest child, immediately offered his bedroom. Ms. Thornbury went to the local Wal-Mart and bought a bathrobe, pajamas and sandals for Ms. Singleton. She had a friend get Ms. Singleton a job application from a local turkey-processing factory and talked her up to a Wal-Mart manager.

Ms. Singleton says she'd take any job she could get and, "if things work out, I'm going to college." She says she wants to be a nurse or a cosmetologist. "I like doing hair -- if I had some clippers, I'd be cutting these boys' hair, for no charge," she says, pointing to some boys nearby. "If I can just get up, get a job or something, I'll take it."

Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ms. Singleton heard her name called over the River Center intercom. A flight had been arranged for her to leave that evening for Minneapolis-St. Paul, one of nearly 150 flights from Baton Rouge to points across the country that day. She was frightened about flying for the first time and briefly considered asking if she could go by bus. "Nah," she says. "This is my chance."

The airplane allowed each evacuee no more than 50 pounds of belongings. Ms. Singleton threw away some of her kids' clothing and her own underwear. She kept her bedsheets folded neatly in a plastic bag. "I don't want to get up there and have people think I don't have anything," she says.

But as of yesterday afternoon, she was still waiting for a flight or bus to Dallas, Houston or Atlanta to connect to Minneapolis. In tears, she called Ms. Thornbury to report her flight had been postponed for the second or third time. The women have yet to meet, but Ms. Thornbury says they have already bonded. "She tells me she loves me every time she calls," Ms. Thornbury says.

Write to Steven Gray at [email protected]1


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## poochee

eggplant...wonderful story! A chance for a new and most likely better life!


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## eggplant43

It doesn't get much better than the kindness of strangers.


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## eggplant43

Woman's act of honesty inspires more kindness

When Canesha Blackman helped a stranger, she quickly found herself being helped in turn.

By Associated Press
Published September 11, 2005

LAKELAND - Canesha Blackman didn't even think to open the zippered bag she found outside a city building one day last month.

The 24-year-old homeless woman just went back inside and turned it in, then returned to the task of scraping up enough change to take the bus to her job at a Checkers restaurant.

It turned out the bag belonged to a Polk County sheriff's detective and held $800 in cash. Deputy Sandy Scherer had driven off with the bag on the hood of her car. Subsequent events have changed the life of Blackman, a single mother with five children ranging in age from 6 years to 6 months, as a rather innocuous good deed has prompted a flood of goodwill from all over.

Scherer went to the Salvation Army homeless shelter where Blackman and her children were living to say thanks. A reporter for the local newspaper, the Ledger, got wind of what happened and printed a story. From there it took off, with donations and offers of other help pouring in. Weeks later it's still happening.

"People give me money on the street," marveled Blackman, who moved from Tampa to Lakeland a year ago when her marriage went sour. "I'm walking down the street, some people will just walk up and give me $20, give my kids money. They stop and talk to me. They make U-turns to talk to me."

A Tampa businessman put Blackman and her family up in a hotel until she can arrange to move into a subsidized apartment. He's also picking up her living expenses for a year and buying her a van.

More than $10,000 has been donated to her through the sheriff's office. Others gave gift cards so she can buy clothes for her kids.

"When it happened, I didn't even think anything of it," she said. "It's crazy. I've gotten letters from all over. A young girl, she's 18, she wrote me a five-page letter. I have to write her back. I have to write a lot of people back."

Scherer said Blackman is "a good-hearted person who has a lot of spirit and energy."

Life has kicked Blackman around a bit, but she figures this turn of events will help her get a leg up. She hopes to earn her high school equivalency diploma, maybe go to cosmetology school. She also hopes to pursue her lifelong dream of professional singing.

Joe Fisher, general manager of a gospel radio station near Lakeland, has offered to record a voice demo for her at the station.

"In our community we see so much negative that we needed to help a kid who was doing positive," Fisher said.

Blackman doesn't think she did anything special and isn't sure she deserves all the fuss.

Still, she said, "I think it was meant for me."

© Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times.


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## poochee

That is a wonderful and inspiring story.


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## eggplant43

Talk about Karma  :up:


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## coderitr

Amazed Rescuers Find 76-Year-Old Man, Trapped for 18 Days With Only a Gallon of Water

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Day after day, for more than two weeks, the 76-year-old man sat trapped and alone in his attic, sipping from a dwindling supply of water until it ran out. No food. No way out of a house ringed by foul floodwaters.

Without ever leaving home, Gerald Martin lived out one of the most remarkable survival stories of Hurricane Katrina. Rescuers who found him Friday, as they searched his neighborhood by boat, were astounded at his good spirits and resiliency after 18 days without food or human contact.

"It's an incredible story of survival," said Louie Fernandez, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency search unit that carried out the rescue.

In recent days, search crews have been finding corpses by the dozens in the still-flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans, but not trapped survivors. The FEMA search-and-rescue boat navigating through the Eighth Ward didn't expect to find anyone alive at 6010 Painters St., but they planned to search the premises of a one-story wood house.

As the motor idled and the boat glided forward, they heard a voice.

"Hey, over here."

Using a sledgehammer, a FEMA rescuer broke down the front door and went inside with another team member, struggling through a living room jumbled with overturned, sodden furniture.

They found Martin sitting in a chair in the sludge-covered kitchen, partially undressed in an effort to keep cool. After 16 days in his attic, he had descended to the ground floor two days earlier when the floodwaters - once up to the ceiling - finally drained, even though the house remained surrounded by several feet of water.

Incredibly, Martin - who ran out of his gallon-and-a-half water supply on Thursday - was able to walk out of the house with just a bit of assistance.

"He was weak, very tired, but he was able to speak, able to stand," Fernandez said. "He was very relieved. He was very thirsty. He was in good spirits."

Martin was given water to drink, then taken to Ochsner Foundation Hospital, where nurse Jinny Resor said he was treated for dehydration. She said Martin had taken medication while he was trapped, but she wasn't sure what it was for.

In a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press late Friday night, Martin said he was felling fine.

"So far, so good," he said.

As for his ordeal, his description was concise: "I was living in the attic for 16 days, and I was living off water."

The two rescuers who retrieved him are firefighters with a California-based FEMA team - J.D. Madden of Santa Clara and Eric Mijangos of Menlo Park.

"I don't know how much longer he could have went on without water," said Madden, 29.

Martin's family left before the storm, but he stayed to attend church, later took a nap and woke up to find that his home was filling with water, Madden said.

Martin only had time to grab some water and get to his attic, which he described as feeling like an oven during day-after-day of mid-90-degree heat that followed the storm. Madden said the heat in the attic might have been even worse, perhaps fatal, except for shade provided by a fallen tree.

Staff Sgt. Jason Randor, a military police officer with the Massachusetts National Guard, watched the rescue from another boat that was helping provide security for the search team. He recalled jubilant yells from the firefighters when they realized someone alive was inside.

Martin emerged, wearing jeans and a shirt.

"While they were putting him in the chopper, he asked if they could stop on the way at Taco Bell to get something to eat," Randor said.

Fernandez, of FEMA, was on scene when Martin arrived at a FEMA base camp before going to the hospital.

"He had lost a lot weight," Fernandez said. "He definitely had to hold his pants up with his hands."

Martin was the first trapped person found alive by Madden's California Task Force Three team in its 12 days of calling out to homes from the boat and peering into windows.

"We've been in the rescue mode the whole time and haven't given up hope that there was someone out there alive," he said.

But officials overseeing the search effort said the discovery of corpses and the dwindling number of rescues has been taking an emotional toll on search units.

"Our squad members are getting access to trauma and grief counselors," said FEMA rescue squad liaison Charles Hood. "It's becoming a very difficult task."

Fernandez said Saturday that Martin's rescue was a welcome morale boost for his colleagues.

"Little victories like we saw yesterday help motivate people, who are facing one of the toughest jobs they've ever faced," he said.

---

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Rose Hanson in Baton Rouge and Cain Burdeau in New Orleans.


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## eggplant43

What a wondeful story of survival. I can't imagine the discipline it must have taken not to use all the water the first day.


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## poochee

That is a great story. He must be a very healthy man!


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## eggplant43

Utah crew makes corn mazes around the world

SPANISH FORK, Utah (AP) -- From New Mexico to Maine, farmers have hired Brett Herbst and his crew to create intricately designed cornfield mazes, an increasingly popular agricultural tourism attraction.

In the past 10 years, Herbst said, he and his crew have created more than 840 mazes in six countries.

The mazes are usually cut out of cornfields that grow silage and have 12-foot-high stalk walls.

A Spanish Fork native and founder of The MAiZE, Herbst grew up on a cattle ranch and earned a college degree in agribusiness. He rented several acres of farmland in American Fork, and to supplement his income, he took a lesson from entertainment producer Don Frantz, who is credited with developing an early cornfield maze in central Pennsylvania in 1993.

In the early years, Herbst recruited family and friends to help cut the mazes with machetes and a weed trimmer fitted with a saw blade.

"I didn't know it would grow into this," he said. "If I had known what I was getting into it would have scared the dickens out of me."

The mazes are intricately designed using precise measuring and a flagging system. The design is first created on paper, then crews lay it out on the ground when the stalks are about 6 inches tall. Adjustments are made along the way.

The mazes begin opening in late summer, but the bulk operate in the fall when crops are dormant, some staying open through Christmas, Herbst said.

His trained crews, which range from two to 10 workers, currently are developing eight mazes. Herbst said he has received an order to create a maze in Mexico in December that will open in February. Another one is under way in Texas.

His own maze, opening this fall in partnership with Thanksgiving Point, features a "Napoleon Dynamite" theme, the 2004 hit film set in Preston, Idaho.

Herbst and his crew created more than 170 cornfield mazes over the summer in all but a dozen states, he said.

Orders start coming in January. Design work usually takes place in the late winter and early spring, with most of the physical work in the spring and summer.

"It's year-round for us," Herbst said. "June and July are the busiest months."

Barbara Peavey recently opened her family's 5-acre maze, which commemorates the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series win. It's the second year for a corn maze at the 190-acre Thunder Road Farm in Corinna, Maine.

"My husband's a huge Red Sox fan," she said.

Last year, the farm's lobster maze attracted some 8,000 people, paying an average of $5 each. This year Peavey expects 10,000 to 15,000 visitors to the family corn field. Schools and church groups have already made reservations.

"We don't get to keep all of it," she said.

Like any business, some must go to expenses. Herbst charged Peavey $1,500 for the design, but prices vary, he said. He also assisted in setting up children activities in the courtyard that leads to the maze.

The MAiZE gets 6 percent of the gate. The mazes provide farmers with a financial boost so they don't have to rely entirely on crop prices which can fluctuate widely from year-to-year. Herbst also helped Peavey in getting publicity and sponsors, Peavey said.

"We work our vegetable crop in the morning then come out here to relax and have fun," Peavey said. "You see people laugh, you see people smile, you see people coming as a family."


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## DiSaidSo

That's so awesome, eggplant!!! :up:  I used to draw some mad fresh mazes when I was about in the fifth grade.  I found a couple a while back and I couldn't get through 'em! I have no idea how I got my brain to do that..... Tangent! 

Thanks for the story! That's what I meant to say.


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## Shadow Bea

Jayess pastor Michael Trosclair saves New Orleans evacuees




By: SCOTT TYNES, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer September 15, 2005 




Amid the heart-wrenching tales emerging from the storm-battered Gulf Coast are nuggets of events that can reaffirm one's belief in miracles and faith in God, a pastor said. 
One man, Michael Trosclair, has helped to rescue hundreds of those stranded in the flood waters of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana and inspired others to continue their struggle of survival or to redouble their efforts to reach those whose lives are threatened, said Jerry Wayne Dillon, pastor of Parkway Pentecostal Church in Madison. 

"He's a true hero as far as I'm concerned, brother," Dillon said of Trosclair, who has led Oak Grove Pentecostal Church in Jayess for nearly six years. 

Trosclair, 59, lived in St. Bernard Parish for more than 40 years, working as a commercial fisherman and raising four children. He said when he heard of the condition Katrina had left the parish in he worried about family and friends. 

He did more than worry, though, he came up with a plan. 

Parkway Pentecostal Church helped the men purchase a boat and they proceeded south. When they reached Jayess, they were short on gas and joined a gas line at Thornhill's Snack Shack. When those in line realized what the men were up to they moved aside and let them go to the front of the line, Trosclair said. 

The men put into shore on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Trosclair said he took a winding course to reach those he knew would be stranded - shrimpers hoping to ride out the storm on their boats in a cove they had used in previous storms. Luck was with him, he said, and he found a break in the levee. 

"Because of his efforts and finding the hole in the levee many people were able to be saved," Dillon said. 

He threaded his way to the shrimpers and wasn't disappointed. More than 200 people were stranded on boats and other structures in the area. Their hearts were heavy with despair, he said. 

"When they seen me come in they knew there was hope," Trosclair said. 

It was a small boat and he took five people with him when he left, he said. They went to the emergency command center established at a Mobile refinery where they met Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez. 

"He couldn't believe we were there," Trosclair said. "He kept asking how I got there because every way they tried they had people, looters I guess, shooting at them." 

Larry J. Ingargiola, director of Homeland Security operations in the parish, made him a member of the department's team on the spot, Trosclair said. 

Emergency workers provided him with 10 more boats and he led them to the shrimpers and others stranded there. 

"Within two hours, we had rescued more than 200 people," Trosclair said. 

He was then asked to help evacuate the Chalmette Medical Center, where more than 40 hospital staff and patients were stranded on the second floor after the first floor flooded. 

Trosclair also helped deliver cases of insulin and other medications to the command center, where a field hospital had been established. 

"The biggest problem has been communications. I'm bringing some satellite phones in there today," he said Wednesday. "I've never seen anything like this in my life and I've rode out a lot of hurricanes there." 

Somehow, in between trips to the coast, Trosclair is also helping to operate the shelter at Parkway Pentecostal Church. 

Parkway has also taken in active role in hurricane relief efforts. In addition to helping fund Trosclair's trips, the church rented buses to help residents of the area evacuate. Those rescued were distributed among several shelters, but the church took one bus load back with them. The church has also sent more than $130,000 worth of items to the relief effort. 

"We're just trying to do our part," Dillon said. "We're no different than anyone else trying to help." 



©The Daily Leader 2005


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Jayess pastor Michael Trosclair saves New Orleans evacuees
> 
> By: SCOTT TYNES, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer September 15, 2005
> 
> Amid the heart-wrenching tales emerging from the storm-battered Gulf Coast are nuggets of events that can reaffirm one's belief in miracles and faith in God, a pastor said.
> One man, Michael Trosclair, has helped to rescue hundreds of those stranded in the flood waters of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana and inspired others to continue their struggle of survival or to redouble their efforts to reach those whose lives are threatened, said Jerry Wayne Dillon, pastor of Parkway Pentecostal Church in Madison.
> 
> "He's a true hero as far as I'm concerned, brother," Dillon said of Trosclair, who has led Oak Grove Pentecostal Church in Jayess for nearly six years.
> 
> Trosclair, 59, lived in St. Bernard Parish for more than 40 years, working as a commercial fisherman and raising four children. He said when he heard of the condition Katrina had left the parish in he worried about family and friends.
> 
> He did more than worry, though, he came up with a plan.
> 
> Parkway Pentecostal Church helped the men purchase a boat and they proceeded south. When they reached Jayess, they were short on gas and joined a gas line at Thornhill's Snack Shack. When those in line realized what the men were up to they moved aside and let them go to the front of the line, Trosclair said.
> 
> The men put into shore on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Trosclair said he took a winding course to reach those he knew would be stranded - shrimpers hoping to ride out the storm on their boats in a cove they had used in previous storms. Luck was with him, he said, and he found a break in the levee.
> 
> "Because of his efforts and finding the hole in the levee many people were able to be saved," Dillon said.
> 
> He threaded his way to the shrimpers and wasn't disappointed. More than 200 people were stranded on boats and other structures in the area. Their hearts were heavy with despair, he said.
> 
> "When they seen me come in they knew there was hope," Trosclair said.
> 
> It was a small boat and he took five people with him when he left, he said. They went to the emergency command center established at a Mobile refinery where they met Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez.
> 
> "He couldn't believe we were there," Trosclair said. "He kept asking how I got there because every way they tried they had people, looters I guess, shooting at them."
> 
> Larry J. Ingargiola, director of Homeland Security operations in the parish, made him a member of the department's team on the spot, Trosclair said.
> 
> Emergency workers provided him with 10 more boats and he led them to the shrimpers and others stranded there.
> 
> "Within two hours, we had rescued more than 200 people," Trosclair said.
> 
> He was then asked to help evacuate the Chalmette Medical Center, where more than 40 hospital staff and patients were stranded on the second floor after the first floor flooded.
> 
> Trosclair also helped deliver cases of insulin and other medications to the command center, where a field hospital had been established.
> 
> "The biggest problem has been communications. I'm bringing some satellite phones in there today," he said Wednesday. "I've never seen anything like this in my life and I've rode out a lot of hurricanes there."
> 
> Somehow, in between trips to the coast, Trosclair is also helping to operate the shelter at Parkway Pentecostal Church.
> 
> Parkway has also taken in active role in hurricane relief efforts. In addition to helping fund Trosclair's trips, the church rented buses to help residents of the area evacuate. Those rescued were distributed among several shelters, but the church took one bus load back with them. The church has also sent more than $130,000 worth of items to the relief effort.
> 
> "We're just trying to do our part," Dillon said. "We're no different than anyone else trying to help."
> 
> ©The Daily Leader 2005


Good article. Churchs are very active at a time like this. Of course, they don't advertise what they do which is as it should be.


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## eggplant43

That is a wonderful testament to the goodness of people, and such a contrast to what the authorities of Graetna (sp?) did to block the exit of evacuees from NO.


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## Shadow Bea

Thanks poochee and Bruce.. I agree there are many wonderful unsung things being done by the churches and many unsung heros in this story.

While coming back from my vacation there were a group of Kids from the Westchester Jewish Hi school ..returning to New York after helping with the hurricane aftermath.. (I came back through Huston) There were about 20 of them.. I thought that was very cool!


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## angelize56

Sep 24, 11:51 AM EDT

*Puppy Swallows 13-Inch Knife, Survives*

PLANTATION, Fla. (AP) -- *Jane Scarola's veterinarian thought the X-ray was a joke. He's seen strange items get into the stomachs of dogs before, things like kebab skewers and small utensils. But a 13-inch serrated knife that somehow was swallowed by a 6-month-old puppy*?

That was a new one.

"I was just flabbergasted," the vet, Jon-Paul Carew of Imperial Point Animal Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

*Elsie, a Saint Bernard puppy, apparently had the blade between her esophagus and stomach for about four days before it was removed earlier this week in a 2-hour operation*.

*The puppy has an 8-inch scar, but is fine and back with her family* :up:. And the knife is back in Scarola's kitchen, albeit this time wrapped in a towel and placed in a cabinet atop the refrigerator.

"*I'm going to frame it and give it to Dr. Carew," Scarola said. "He should hang it. Everybody should know what puppies are capable of putting down their throats*."

Scarola used the knife to carve a turkey, and placed the blade on the counter - far from the edge.

She thinks one of her six other dogs - four Saint Bernards, a German shepherd and a Labrador - somehow got the knife, which eventually made its way to Elsie.

"She wants to eat everything and anything," Scarola said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PUPPY_SWALLOWS_KNIFE?SITE=MIPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


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## teengeekgrrl

holy cow!


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## angelize56

Hi tgg!  More like almost holey pup!


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## teengeekgrrl

lol!
hi angel! *waves*


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## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Hi tgg!  More like almost holey pup!


 that was my thought! LOL. (that or sharp dog) 

.


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## angelize56

Hi Bea!!!  *HUGS* Have a nice weekend!


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## Shadow Bea

You too Marlene  *Hugs*


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## poochee

angelize56 said:


> Sep 24, 11:51 AM EDT
> 
> *Puppy Swallows 13-Inch Knife, Survives*
> 
> PLANTATION, Fla. (AP) -- *Jane Scarola's veterinarian thought the X-ray was a joke. He's seen strange items get into the stomachs of dogs before, things like kebab skewers and small utensils. But a 13-inch serrated knife that somehow was swallowed by a 6-month-old puppy*?
> 
> That was a new one.
> 
> "I was just flabbergasted," the vet, Jon-Paul Carew of Imperial Point Animal Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
> 
> *Elsie, a Saint Bernard puppy, apparently had the blade between her esophagus and stomach for about four days before it was removed earlier this week in a 2-hour operation*.
> 
> *The puppy has an 8-inch scar, but is fine and back with her family* :up:. And the knife is back in Scarola's kitchen, albeit this time wrapped in a towel and placed in a cabinet atop the refrigerator.
> 
> "*I'm going to frame it and give it to Dr. Carew," Scarola said. "He should hang it. Everybody should know what puppies are capable of putting down their throats*."
> 
> Scarola used the knife to carve a turkey, and placed the blade on the counter - far from the edge.
> 
> She thinks one of her six other dogs - four Saint Bernards, a German shepherd and a Labrador - somehow got the knife, which eventually made its way to Elsie.
> 
> "She wants to eat everything and anything," Scarola said.
> 
> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PUPPY_SWALLOWS_KNIFE?SITE=MIPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Now the Floooooooorida dogs?  Just joking! One lucky pup! They must be rich to feed all those big dogs.


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## angelize56

Hi poochee: The Florida aspect grabbed my attention right away....


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## angelize56

This is truly a blessing! :up:  What goes around comes around! 

*$70M Donation Made To Cleveland Clinic
Building Set To Open In 2008*

UPDATED: 2:07 pm EDT September 22, 2005

CLEVELAND -- The owner of Matrix Essentials, a hair care product company, based in Solon announced a $70 million donation to the Cleveland Clinic.

*The donation was given by Sydell Miller in memory of her late husband Arnold and her family.

The money will be used for the Arnold and Sydell Miller Family Pavilion*.

Miller said the clinic is close to her heart.

"*Thirteen years ago, Dr. (Toby) Cosgrove operated on my heart and saved my life*," she said.

The building is scheduled to open in 2008.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/5006376/detail.html?subid=22100405&qs=1;bp=t


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## Shadow Bea

:up: :up: :up:


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## eggplant43

Published September 27, 2005


By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Seldom does the American dream come true so suddenly.

Moses Bittok of West Des Moines became a U.S. citizen and a millionaire  all in one day last week.

Bittok, 40, is a native of Kenya who emigrated to the United States in 1989. He was sworn in as a citizen during a naturalization ceremony Friday morning.

Friday night he stopped by a gas station in West Des Moines and discovered he had won a $1.89 million jackpot in the Hot Lotto game offered by the Iowa Lottery.

"I guess only in America," Bittok joked Monday at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. He was accompanied by his wife, Leonida, and their 4-year-old daughter, Mindy, when he claimed his prize.

Bittok has been a correctional officer at the state women's prison in Mitchellville for 8 1/2 years. He came to Iowa after obtaining a degree in political science from Southwest Minnesota State University. His wife is studying to become a nurse.

Like any other American would, Bittok quickly discovered Monday that winning a jackpot requires him to pay a hefty amount of taxes.

He and his wife have opted to take the jackpot in annual payments of $75,600 for the next 25 years  $52,920 per year after taxes.

"This is almost like a shock at first  you don't believe it," he said.

Hot Lotto is played in Iowa and six other states. Bittok purchased his winning ticket Wednesday at the Hy-Vee grocery store at 1725 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines, where he formerly worked as a clerk. He stopped by the grocery store because he had gone out to purchase gasoline, concerned that gas prices would rise because of Hurricane Rita.

The lotto drawing was Wednesday night, but Bittok didn't learn he was a winner until he validated his ticket Friday evening. He couldn't claim the prize until Monday because lottery offices were closed over the weekend. Meanwhile, he kept the winning ticket tucked in his wallet.

Bittok's lottery ticket was the 85th purchased in Iowa to win a prize of $1 million or more, said Iowa Lottery Vice President Mary Neubauer.

Bittok and his wife said they have no special plans for spending the extra money, and he said he will continue working full time. But they do plan to establish a college fund for their daughter.

"My daughter is number one. I don't want to squander this. I want to make sure . . . that she goes to college," he said.




Copyright © 2005, The Des Moines Register.


----------



## eggplant43

Published September 27, 2005


By WILLIAM PETROSKI
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Seldom does the American dream come true so suddenly.

Moses Bittok of West Des Moines became a U.S. citizen and a millionaire  all in one day last week.

Bittok, 40, is a native of Kenya who emigrated to the United States in 1989. He was sworn in as a citizen during a naturalization ceremony Friday morning.

Friday night he stopped by a gas station in West Des Moines and discovered he had won a $1.89 million jackpot in the Hot Lotto game offered by the Iowa Lottery.

"I guess only in America," Bittok joked Monday at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Des Moines. He was accompanied by his wife, Leonida, and their 4-year-old daughter, Mindy, when he claimed his prize.

Bittok has been a correctional officer at the state women's prison in Mitchellville for 8 1/2 years. He came to Iowa after obtaining a degree in political science from Southwest Minnesota State University. His wife is studying to become a nurse.

Like any other American would, Bittok quickly discovered Monday that winning a jackpot requires him to pay a hefty amount of taxes.

He and his wife have opted to take the jackpot in annual payments of $75,600 for the next 25 years  $52,920 per year after taxes.

"This is almost like a shock at first  you don't believe it," he said.

Hot Lotto is played in Iowa and six other states. Bittok purchased his winning ticket Wednesday at the Hy-Vee grocery store at 1725 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines, where he formerly worked as a clerk. He stopped by the grocery store because he had gone out to purchase gasoline, concerned that gas prices would rise because of Hurricane Rita.

The lotto drawing was Wednesday night, but Bittok didn't learn he was a winner until he validated his ticket Friday evening. He couldn't claim the prize until Monday because lottery offices were closed over the weekend. Meanwhile, he kept the winning ticket tucked in his wallet.

Bittok's lottery ticket was the 85th purchased in Iowa to win a prize of $1 million or more, said Iowa Lottery Vice President Mary Neubauer.

Bittok and his wife said they have no special plans for spending the extra money, and he said he will continue working full time. But they do plan to establish a college fund for their daughter.

"My daughter is number one. I don't want to squander this. I want to make sure . . . that she goes to college," he said.




Copyright © 2005, The Des Moines Register.


----------



## eggplant43

BERKELEY

 Homeless woman gives birth to first of triplets in stairwell
Passer-by offers aid, calls ambulance from BART station
- Suzanne Herel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005

A 30-year-old woman who began giving birth to triplets in a stairwell of the downtown Berkeley BART station was exhausted but in good condition Thursday along with her baby daughters, authorities said.

Lanitta Lewis was en route to a doctor's appointment Monday when she went into labor at the station and started calling to passers-by for assistance.

BART spokesman Jim Allison said he suspected her fellow riders were hesitant to help because Lewis, who has no known address, appeared to be homeless.

But Biko Eisen-Martin, a Berkeley High School history teacher who was on a break, heeded her cries and tore off his T-shirt in time to catch the first of the babies, a 3-pound girl born 12 weeks premature.

Eisen-Martin called an ambulance, which took Lewis and the baby to Children's Hospital Oakland, said hospital spokeswoman Venita Robinson.

"We don't birth babies here, so everybody was very excited," she said.

From there, Lewis was taken to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, where she underwent a cesarean section to deliver the other two babies, who weighed 3 pounds, 5 ounces and 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

The first child later was transferred to Alta Bates to join her new family.

Despite their prematurity, all three babies were in good condition at the hospital's Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Alta Bates spokeswoman Carolyn Kemp said Thursday.

The three little girls haven't officially been named, Kemp said.

As for Lewis, "she's exhausted," Kemp said. "She's working with trying to be with the babies as much as possible. She's grateful they're all here."

Lewis reportedly has three other children who are not in her custody and was on her way to the Berkeley Multi Agency Service Center, which serves the homeless and those living in shelters, on Monday when she went into labor.

URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/07/BAG7IF3UA51.DTL
©2005 San Francisco Chronicle


----------



## poochee

Hope this mother can get settled in to her own residence. Sad she is in this situation. Hats off to Biko who helped her!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4948276


----------



## poochee

eggplant...good story. More parents should demonstrate like this. I know a woman who took her act-up daughter on a visit to where juvenile offenders are jailed. It got her attention!


----------



## eggplant43

The thing is that they didn't know that they didn't know. Their parents recognized this, and took corrective action. A gift that will live on for generations. :up:


----------



## angelize56

This is so sweet! :up: 

*Tooth Donation Nets $500 for Katrina Aid *

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:50 a.m. ET

BRANDON, S.D. (AP) -- *An 8-year-old girl with a big heart and loose tooth found a creative way to help people displaced by the hurricanes.

Briton Nordmeyer sent her tooth to the Red Cross chapter in Sioux Falls, hoping the tooth fairy would leave money there instead of under her pillow*.

The tooth poked a hole through the envelope and fell out, but her letter made it. And *after word spread of her generosity, a $500 check came in from an anonymous donor*, said Jeff Stingley, director of the Sioux Empire Red Cross chapter.

Briton had told her mother she wanted to do something for the children who lost everything.

"It's really nice to help them get new food, homes, schools, toys, lots of stuff to help them," Briton told KELO-TV of Sioux Falls.

*Stingley said Wednesday the $500 anonymous check was the only one that mentioned the tooth, but he believes Briton's story prompted other donations to the chapter*.


----------



## angelize56

Great to see two young children were pulled out the rubble in Pakistan alive eight days after the devastating earthquake!! :up: :up:  Thank God! 

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1102967


----------



## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Great to see two young children were pulled out the rubble in Pakistan alive eight days after the devastating earthquake!! :up: :up:  Thank God!
> 
> http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1102967


Thank God! :up: :up:


----------



## coderitr

Boy Who Donated To Hurricane Victims Receives Puppy

LOS ANGELES -- State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell gave a puppy Wednesday to a first-grader who put off the purchase of a pet to instead donate to a charity serving victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Joe Aubuchon, 6, who attends Gompers Elementary, had been saving to buy a puppy, but donated $250 to the California Kids Care program after watching news coverage of the hurricane.

"I was particularly touched by the sacrifice made by Joe," O'Connell said. "This was truly a selfless gesture that inspired fellow students, school staff and many other adults who heard about Joe's donation."

Marshmallow, a 10-week-old German shepherd mix, was given to Joe during a school assembly.

More than 500 schools participated in the California Kids Care program, which raised more than $800,000.

Copyright 2005 by NBC4.tv. City News Service contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


----------



## DiSaidSo

What could possibly be more upbeat than a first grader and a puppy???


----------



## poochee

What a lovely child. It's so nice he got his pup!!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Good for her! A little respect is all! :up: 

Stay at home mom goes on strike! 

.


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Good for her! A little respect is all! :up:
> 
> Stay at home mom goes on strike!
> 
> .


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

It's about time.

When I was a financial planner and I showed the hubby's the cost of replacing their wives, there was a look of credulity on their faces, and a smile on the face of the wives. It was probably the first time an uninterested individual had ever valued them as human beings. This was the early to mid-70's, just as MS magazine came out.

Right on sister


----------



## Shadow Bea

:up: :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/29/national/main994787.shtml


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/29/national/main994787.shtml


Such a lovely story.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Very touching story Bruce! Love that kind of thing.
I wonder though How the letters wound up in an antique store!

.


----------



## eggplant43

A helpful relative?


----------



## Shadow Bea

Cleaning out the attic for grandma!


----------



## angelize56

Now this news is truly upbeat! :up: Wouldn't it be nice if more groups stepped up like this and offered financial aid to an entire community! :up:

*Donors Offer Mich. Town's Students Tuition*

Friday, November 11, 2005 9:59 p.m. ET
By JAMES PRICHARD Associated Press Writer

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- *In one of the biggest and boldest such programs in the nation, an anonymous group of benefactors is offering college scholarships for at least the next 13 years to nearly all of Kalamazoo's high school graduates*. :up: (AMAZING!!!)

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1115491


----------



## Shadow Bea

Now THAT is great!! How are you Marlene?


*hugs* *GB*


----------



## angelize56

Hi Bea!  Up late or up early? Up late here!  Not doing too bad...just getting over a blocked tearduct and a sinus infection from it....at least the dreaded sinus headache is gone now!  How are you doing Bea??  *HUGS*  *GBY2*


----------



## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Hi Bea!  Up late or up early? Up late here!  Not doing too bad...just getting over a blocked tearduct and a sinus infection from it....at least the dreaded sinus headache is gone now!  How are you doing Bea??  *HUGS*  *GBY2*


Sorry you have been sick! Sinus infections are the pits!! This time of year it's sooo easy to catch something. 
I've been good thanks  Always busy though! I guess busy bee is better than being a busy body though LOL what is that saying?? Idle hands are the devils playthings ..  something like that LOL. 
I'm up early "Early bird gets the worm" another fine euphemism my mother 
coded into my DNA   

*GB*


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> Now this news is truly upbeat! :up: Wouldn't it be nice if more groups stepped up like this and offered financial aid to an entire community! :up:
> 
> *Donors Offer Mich. Town's Students Tuition*
> 
> Friday, November 11, 2005 9:59 p.m. ET
> By JAMES PRICHARD Associated Press Writer
> 
> KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) -- *In one of the biggest and boldest such programs in the nation, an anonymous group of benefactors is offering college scholarships for at least the next 13 years to nearly all of Kalamazoo's high school graduates*. :up: (AMAZING!!!)
> 
> http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1115491


Fantastic!! Glad you are feeling better.


----------



## angelize56

Now this is truly upbeat....though it's going to cost Harrah's $5.8 million!   I'm sure they'll sue the coupon vendor though!  At least this recoups some gamblers losses to Harrah's! 

*Coupon Misprints Could Cost Casino Millions*

POSTED: 1:22 pm MST November 20, 2005

JOLIET, Ill. -- A misprint may end up costing an Illinois casino millions of dollars.

*Harrah's Joliet Casino said there was a mistake in about 11,000 coupons mailed to customers last week. Instead of being worth $15 or $20 apiece, each had a face value of $525 in cash*.  (OOPS!)

<SNIP>*The Illinois Gaming Board ruled that Harrah's must honor the coupons. All told, the company could be liable for as much as $5.8 million.*

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5368318/detail.html


----------



## poochee

Good one Angelize. LOL


----------



## angelize56

Thanks a bit late poochee! 

Now this is an awesome brother and child!! :up: :up: 

*Fourth Grader Honored For Taking Bullet For Brother
School Recognizes 9-Year-Old Boy For His Courage*

POSTED: 1:43 pm MST November 28, 2005
UPDATED: 5:21 pm MST November 28, 2005

*A Denver fourth-grader who took a bullet for his little brother last month has almost made a full recovery and is now back in school*.

The 9-year-old boy also has a new trophy to add to his awards case after he was honored Monday afternoon at an assembly at Oakland Elementary School.

The shooting occurred last month when two men broke in to his family's home.

"Two guys banged the door. And I was in my room with my little brother," said Ricardo.

*Ricardo's mother said when the men barged in, Ricardo grabbed his little brother, Estiban, to protect him*. :up: :up:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/5420072/detail.html


----------



## Shadow Bea

Sooooo Cool!! ^ :up: :up: 

.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Ontario, Canada - At first glance, these white jumpsuit-clad elvii may appear as any other sort of run-of-the-mill, scarf wearing, tune-crooning Elvis impersonators. But there is something special about the "GRACELINERS" that sets these seven Kings apart ... namely that their team is entriely FEMALE!

They have been "SHAKING IT UP" for charity since January 1996.

http://upbeat.net/ELVIS/ELVIS.HTM

.


----------



## coderitr

*Hudson children want Santa to help Katrina victims*



> Hudson, Florida  The sign in big fat red letters is there for everyone to see. But its aimed at the big fat man dressed in red.
> 
> The sign states: Santa, Give our gifts to Katrina kids.


http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=22862


----------



## Shadow Bea

Those Kids have it right!! Great Story!!:up: :up:


----------



## coderitr

From that same article



> You see, as young as they are, the Tapp kids themselves know a little something about loss. Their mom says after her ex-husband ditched the family a few years back, they wound up homeless.


I'd like to find this son of a ***** and upbeat the living crap out of him.


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...05/12/22/abducted_woman_was_saying_help_help/


----------



## Shadow Bea

Awesome story Bruce 
Merry Christmas my friend!


----------



## poochee

What a story...So glad the woman was smart enough to do this and the clerk caught on!! :up:


----------



## angelize56

Lucky dog!  :up:

Dec 24, 12:58 PM EST

*Men Rescue Dog Frozen to Railroad Tracks*

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) -- *He's missing a lot of hair, but a Siberian husky has a new name and a new life, thanks to a construction worker and police officer who rescued him from a railroad track minutes before a train arrived*.

Jeremy Majorowicz thought it was a little strange that the dog had been sitting on the track for an hour-and-a-half in the cold, and stranger still that he wouldn't accept a bite of muffin.

"*I have two dogs myself, so I didn't want to leave the dog if there was something wrong*," Majorowicz said, so he called police.

Officer Tim Strand said the dog was "shivering unmercifully" when he arrived Monday and would not come to him, so he called animal control officer Al Heyde, who also couldn't get the dog to budge.

"*I lifted his tail and hind quarters, and saw he was literally frozen to the tracks*," Strand said.

*Strand pulled hard on the dog's tail and was able to release him, but the dog lost a lot of hair. "He gave a heck of a whelp*," he said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DOG_RESCUED?SITE=MIPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Just 10 minutes later, a train came down the track.


----------



## poochee

Poor baby, hope he finds a good home!


----------



## angelize56

Hi poochee...Merry Christmas...you do have to wonder how he got stuck there in the first place!


----------



## poochee

Angelize...Merry Christmas to you and your son! I think you will get a kick out of this link. I've posted it several places and will probably get into trouble.   Too cute to miss!

Click here: http://home.att.net/~mcp3_2000/_up02/santa_deer.swf


----------



## angelize56

poochee....my pc doesn't open swf files!  Dial-up is why!  S L O W W W W W W!


----------



## poochee

I have dial-up also. It takes a while the first time. 

Try it when you have time, if you wish, it is worth it!


----------



## angelize56

I've been trying for the past 12 minutes..nothing...it says "done" at the bottom of the page and just keeps on doing nothing!


----------



## poochee

Oh so sorry!!! It is Santa and the reindeer on a roof top. The music is "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". Santa is at the top dancing around, the deer are sitting down on the roof. As you click on each deer, one at a time, they join in dancing and playing musical instruments. It is adorable.


----------



## eggplant43

Opened nicely for me on broadband. Thanks.


----------



## Shadow Bea

poochee said:


> Angelize...Merry Christmas to you and your son! I think you will get a kick out of this link. I've posted it several places and will probably get into trouble.   Too cute to miss!
> 
> Click here: http://home.att.net/~mcp3_2000/_up02/santa_deer.swf


LOL Very cute poochee!!


----------



## Gabriel

That was great Poochee


----------



## angelize56

This Nun is awesome!! :up: She raised seven children of her own and has been doing this work as a Nun now for over 30 years! :up:

Dec 26, 4:04 AM EST

*American Nun Shuns Luxury for Mexican Jail*

By ELLIOT SPAGAT 
Associated Press Writer

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- The cell at the end of the dark hallway barely fits a cot, a desk and a folding chair. *This is home for Sister Antonia Brenner, an American nun who was raised in Beverly Hills but abandoned a life of privilege to live in a notorious Mexican jail*.

Her neighbors are no longer Hollywood stars, but murderers, drug runners and human smugglers. *They know her as "angel de la carcel" - the prison angel.

Brenner, 79, looks puzzled when asked what motivated her riches-to-rags choice nearly 30 years ago*.

"I don't understand why people are so amazed," she says. "*To give help is easy. To ask for it is hard*." :up:

Just 5-foot-2 but crackling with energy, *Brenner holds counseling sessions and does countless small tasks on behalf of the 7,100 inmates at La Mesa State Penitentiary, just across the U.S. border from San Diego. In come bandages, soap and medicine; out go messages to loved ones beyond the prison's high walls.

Brenner has long been a caretaker - she raised seven children*.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PRISON_ANGEL?SITE=MIPOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


----------



## poochee

Brenner is an Angel!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Love that story! :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/02/national/main1172573.shtml


----------



## Chicon

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/02/national/main1172573.shtml


:up: A nice story !


----------



## poochee

Great story!!


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/02/national/main1172573.shtml


Great Story Bruce! I always believed that animals will try to live up to your expectations of them and that they understand much more then they are usually given credit for 

.


----------



## eggplant43

Yes, I have to agree with that. It's certainly been true in my experience.


----------



## angelize56

This is sad that Michelle had to die....but upbeat as her death is making others take notice of the need to insure our young adults! :up: You left a great legacy Michelle!  I signed the petition! :up:

http://www.michelleslaw.com/index.php


----------



## angelize56

Read Michelle's story...what an inspiration....all she accomplished while so seriously ill! :up:

Here's the link I originally found the link to on the above story of Michelle...

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1138946


----------



## Chicon

> * Lion Mutilates 42 Midgets in Cambodian Ring-Fight*
> 
> Spectators cheered as entire Cambodian Midget Fighting League squared off against African Lion
> 
> Tickets had been sold-out three weeks before the much anticipated fight, which took place in the city of Kâmpóng Chhnãng.
> 
> The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters.


Link : http://www.newturfers.com/mwf/attac...onMutilates42MidgetsinCambodianRing-Fight.htm

It is not a way to treat a king !

BTW, the info is a bit outdated !


----------



## DiSaidSo

Um, Chicon, you know I'm a big fan but um.... how is this up beat?


----------



## Chicon

DiSaidSo said:


> Um, Chicon, you know I'm a big fan but um.... how is this up beat?


 Uh ! True, not on the human side but the lion won ...


----------



## DiSaidSo

Chicon said:


> Uh ! True, not on the human side but the lion won ...


LOL  Go Lions!!!*

*Not Detroit.


----------



## eggplant43

Chicon, I waas wondering myself. Thanks for the explanation.


----------



## Shadow Bea

I love lions  

.


----------



## poochee

This is going to sound mean, but I hope the lion is OK! After all, he wasn't an uninvited guest!


----------



## Chicon

Shadow Bea said:


> I love lions
> 
> .


I love them too as the other felines like cats, cheetahs, tigers, some women ...


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/05/earlyshow/main1180982.shtml


----------



## Chicon

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/05/earlyshow/main1180982.shtml


It's always a pleasure to see people using their mind instead of yielding to panic when they are going through difficult situations. :up:


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> I love lions
> 
> .


My favorite is the Tiger!! They are so beautiful.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Chicon said:


> I love them too as the other felines like cats, cheetahs, tigers, some women ...


Me To LOL And some Men .. my hubby is like a cheetah  



poochee said:


> My favorite is the Tiger!! They are so beautiful.


My favorite to look at are cheetahs 



eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/05/earlyshow/main1180982.shtml


Great story Bruce I like those survival stories and always pay attention ..You just never know when you might need to know how to survive in that kind of situation! I almost froze to death in a blizzard once.. When I was still a teen.

.


----------



## angelize56

*Mom Help Kids With Leigh's Syndrome
Ann and Chad Kurtz Founded Eli's Angels* :up:

UPDATED: 6:30 pm MST January 20, 2006

*This is a story of a mom and her "little angel," who inspired a movement that's helping families nationwide.

Elijah Kurtz lived for 2 years, 9 months, and 10 days,  but his legacy of love lives on*. :up: 

"He had a powerful impact on a lot of people in the short time he was here," said Eli's father, Chad Kurtz.

*Elijah battled a degenerative disease called Leigh's syndrome.*

Ann and her husband Chad started Eli's Angels long before Elijah passed away. It's a nonprofit that acts not only as a support group but it provides new and gently used books to families facing the same challenges. :up:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/7everydayhero/6286698/detail.html


----------



## angelize56

Really upbeat and great news! :up: You have a great Mayor there Bea!  Can you imagine having $100 million to donate! 

*Billionaire NYC Mayor Gives Hospital $100M*

Thursday, February 02, 2006 4:43 p.m. ET
By SARA KUGLER Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- *Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire known for his philanthropy, anonymously donated $100 million Thursday to Johns Hopkins University to support stem cell research, a new children's hospital and other projects, The Associated Press has learned*. :up: 

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1153725


----------



## DiSaidSo

Guess that anonymous thing isn't working out too well for him....


----------



## Chicon

*Super Granny defeated a robber !* :up:



> *90-Year-Old Woman, Friend Fight Off Robber*
> MILWAUKEE -- A pursesnatcher picked a fight with the wrong women.
> 
> It happened at 72nd Street near Brown Deer Road Monday night.
> 
> Police said A man pointed a gun at a 90-year-old woman and tried to take her purse.
> 
> She put up a fight, wrestling with the robber even after getting thrown to the ground.
> When the man finally got her purse, the woman's 69-year-old friend came running out to help, and she started fighting the man, police said.
> 
> The man finally gave up and took off.
> 
> Neither woman was badly injured.
> 
> The man is still on the loose.


Link : http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/news/6656771/detail.html


----------



## Gabriel

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11190559/

I think this falls in this category


----------



## Chicon

Gabriel said:


> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11190559/
> 
> I think this falls in this category


Nice story, Gabriel ! :up:
I wonder if there were no gap of ages between them, would they be married together ?


----------



## BanditFlyer

:up:

What a great story!!!!!!

Thanks!!!


----------



## DiSaidSo

Gabriel said:


> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11190559/
> 
> I think this falls in this category


How completely wonderful!  Thank you so much for posting that, Gabriel.


----------



## poochee

Gabriel...Great story!!


----------



## eggplant43

Talk about paying it forward!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Great story Gabriel!! :up:


----------



## Gabriel

http://www.happynews.com/news/1252005/harvest-of-love.htm

Here is another upbeat news


----------



## poochee

Makes me feel good to read a story like that!


----------



## Chicon

Gabriel said:


> http://www.happynews.com/news/1252005/harvest-of-love.htm
> 
> Here is another upbeat news


Instant solidarity ! It's always nice to see it ! :up:


----------



## Gabriel

I thought so too, Chicon...and the photo is rather poignant


----------



## Shadow Bea

I love stories like that!  thanks Gabriel :up: :up:

.


----------



## angelize56

What a miracle!!! :up: 

*37-Pound Woman Gives Birth*

POSTED: 6:49 am MST February 10, 2006

TULARE, Calif. -- *A woman who weighs 37 pounds, stands 3 feet tall and uses a wheelchair has given birth to her first child*. :up:

Eloysa Vasquez, 38, suffers from Type 3 osteogenesis imperfecta, a disorder that makes bones soft and brittle.

Her tiny, distorted body left little room for a fetus to grow and Vasquez suffered two miscarriages before doctors at Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital delivered her son, Timothy, by Cesarean section Jan. 24.

*Baby Timothy weighed only 3 pounds, seven ounces because doctors had to deliver him eight weeks prematurely to protect the mother's fragile health. The child did not inherit his mother's genetic condition*. :up:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/family/6903029/detail.html


----------



## poochee

37 pounds? I have a friend whose family carries a gene that is passed from the mother to only the male children. They have very poor eye sight. Hope this lady makes this her last child. Could be a girl would have her defect. Just thinking out loud.


----------



## treespirit

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/02/14/heart-baby020614.html

What a nice Valentine's story


----------



## eggplant43

Now that's wonderful.:up:


----------



## eggplant43

*60 Years later:*

http://suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-anniv14.html


----------



## angelize56

This touched my heart so much!! :up:  Guardian angels! 

*Firefighters Help Boy Send Valentine*

Friday, February 17, 2006 11:28 a.m. ET

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- *Firefighters braved sleet, wind and freezing cold to rescue a valentine that got snagged in a tree after a boy sent it into the sky by balloon for his mother, who died of cancer last fall*. :up: 

Seven-year-old* Joel Enriquez had made the valentine _ a pink heart with purple heart stickers and the message "I miss you" _ for Maria Enriquez at a grief support group.

On Tuesday, the first-grader brought the valentine to his school, attached it to balloons and went outside with his 13-year-old brother and classmates to release the balloons. But as the balloons sailed up, the curly ribbon got tangled on tree branches*.

*Capt. Arnold Jensen climbed 40 feet climb up an extended ladder and, after a couple of attempts, grabbed the deflated balloons, cut the ribbons and brought down the valentine.

Another firefighter pulled three red balloons from the truck, helped Joel attach the valentine, and the boy released the balloons. This time, they disappeared into the clouds*.

*"I think she got your valentine," Rowan said, and Joel smiled.* *Sniff* Brought tears to my eyes!

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1160151


----------



## poochee

There are good things happening in this world!!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Very touching stories  Thankyou Poochee, treespirit, Angel and Bruce  :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/23/earlyshow/main1339324.shtml


----------



## angelize56

Any time I hear news about *low life scum of the earth* drug dealers being caught...that's upbeat news! :up:

*Dozens Arrested in Okla. on Drug Charges*

Tuesday, March 07, 2006 4:15 p.m. ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) --* A 10-month investigation into methamphetamine trafficking in Oklahoma and northern Texas led to the indictment of 103 people*, federal authorities said Tuesday.

*As of midday, authorities had arrested at least 53 of the defendants, and some of the others were already behind bars* on other charges.

*Among those arrested were the leaders of a group established in the region by the Chicago street gang Satan's Disciples*, said U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1169116


----------



## Shadow Bea

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (March 15) - Carlos G. Rojas didn't know what to think when the military life insurance checks started showing up at his office. He didn't know anyone who would have named him a beneficiary, and the checks totaled $200,000
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060315142109990003&ncid=NWS00010000000001

.


----------



## angelize56

Totally awesome Bea!! :up:


----------



## poochee

Glad there are still people with a conscience in this world!


----------



## angelize56

:up: :up: :up:

From an email from Grassfire:

*You did it! FCC fines CBS $3.6 million for 'Without A Trace'*

*In January, 2005, we asked you to join us in filing formal complaints against CBS and their affiliate stations for broadcasting Without A Trace, complete with an extended teen-age orgy scene. :down: Within days, 165,997 AFA on-line supporters had filed formal complaints with the FCC*.

This week, *the FCC announced it agrees with you and is fining 111 CBS stations $32,500 each for broadcasting this indecency. This major accomplishment happened because you took action! This is the largest fine ever against the networks and their stations.

In addition, the FCC reaffirmed a $550,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl*.

I want to thank you for taking time to get involved. This proves we can make a difference when we join together!

*The FCC will be bombarded with complaints by Hollywood, the media, and liberals such as the ACLU. They must get letters of thanks from those who appreciate their enforcement of the indecency laws! We must let them hear from us*!

Please take time to thank the FCC for their actions by sending them a letter of support.

https://secure.afa.net/afa/afapetition/takeaction.asp?id=190


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> :up: :up: :up:
> 
> From an email from Grassfire:
> 
> *You did it! FCC fines CBS $3.6 million for 'Without A Trace'*
> 
> *In January, 2005, we asked you to join us in filing formal complaints against CBS and their affiliate stations for broadcasting Without A Trace, complete with an extended teen-age orgy scene. :down: Within days, 165,997 AFA on-line supporters had filed formal complaints with the FCC*.
> 
> This week, *the FCC announced it agrees with you and is fining 111 CBS stations $32,500 each for broadcasting this indecency. This major accomplishment happened because you took action! This is the largest fine ever against the networks and their stations.
> 
> In addition, the FCC reaffirmed a $550,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl*.
> 
> I want to thank you for taking time to get involved. This proves we can make a difference when we join together!
> 
> *The FCC will be bombarded with complaints by Hollywood, the media, and liberals such as the ACLU. They must get letters of thanks from those who appreciate their enforcement of the indecency laws! We must let them hear from us*!
> 
> Please take time to thank the FCC for their actions by sending them a letter of support.
> 
> https://secure.afa.net/afa/afapetition/takeaction.asp?id=190


:up: :up: :up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

poochee said:


> :up: :up: :up:


What She said


----------



## coderitr

Tough to get more upbeat than a sex predator / pedophile getting his ....



> A 14-year-old girl told Toledo police she was abducted Tuesday by a man with a gun but got away with help from a hammer.
> 
> Police said the quick-thinking teen found it in the man's car and used it to hit him in the groin.
> 
> According to police, the man forced the girl into his car while she was walking to her school bus stop and said he wanted sex. So, she told him she had dropped her ring in the car and went searching for it. That's when she felt the hammer under her seat.


http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=4666005&nav=menu241_2


----------



## poochee

coderitr said:


> Tough to get more upbeat than a sex predator / pedophile getting his ....
> 
> http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=4666005&nav=menu241_2


:up:


----------



## Gabriel

This is mixed news...I do hope thay all make it 

http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=32511


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> This is mixed news...I do hope thay all make it
> 
> http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=32511


Me too!  :up:


----------



## Gabriel

Here's another

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12211522/


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> Here's another
> 
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12211522/


What a nice story! So glad he is home.


----------



## Gabriel

He looks so relieved


----------



## angelize56

This is fabulous news!!! :up: It's about time someone paid attention to pets!!

*New Maine law expands to protect pets*

By JERRY HARKAVY Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, April 11, 2006 7:12 a.m. ET

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- *Spurred by growing evidence of a link between domestic violence and animal abuse, Maine has enacted a first-in-the-nation law that allows judges to include pets in protection orders for spouses and partners leaving abusive relationships*.

In helping pets, advocates hope to help battered women and others who aren't willing to abandon their animals to be saved themselves.

"*This is a very innovative, new approach, and it makes perfect sense because the protection order is a critical stage for women and others seeking protection*," said Nancy Perry of the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States.

*Gov. John Baldacci says the law, which provides for civil penalties such as fines or jail time for those who violate a protection order, should give pause to abusers who might resort to violence or threats against pets as a means of keeping their victims from leaving a relationship*.

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1509674


----------



## angelize56

This is upbeat and good news I've been waiting for! :up: This pervert is the grandfather of one of my son's friends! I hope this perv serves the whole 15 years!!

*Man sent to prison for sexual abuse

A 60-year-old Port Huron Township man was sentenced Monday to serve three to 15 years in prison after being convicted in March of one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. James Holzberger was convicted of abusing a teenage boy in 2003 and 2004. Holzberger was a janitor at Keewahdin Elementary School in Fort Gratiot when the incidents occurred. The boy was not a student at the school where Holzberger worked, police said. *


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> This is upbeat and good news I've been waiting for! :up: This pervert is the grandfather of one of my son's friends! I hope this perv serves the whole 15 years!!
> 
> *Man sent to prison for sexual abuse
> 
> A 60-year-old Port Huron Township man was sentenced Monday to serve three to 15 years in prison after being convicted in March of one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. James Holzberger was convicted of abusing a teenage boy in 2003 and 2004. Holzberger was a janitor at Keewahdin Elementary School in Fort Gratiot when the incidents occurred. The boy was not a student at the school where Holzberger worked, police said. *


:up: Hope it goes to 15 years!

Also good for Maine & pet protection.


----------



## Chicon

*Cat in Germany saves baby's life*



> BERLIN (Reuters) - A cat saved the life of a newborn baby abandoned on the doorstep of a Cologne house in the middle of the night by meowing loudly until someone woke up, a police spokesman said on Saturday.
> 
> "The cat is a hero," Cologne police spokesman Uwe Beier said. "Its loud meowing got the attention of the homeowner and saved the baby from suffering life-threatening hypothermia. The homeowner opened door to see why the cat was making so much noise and discovered the newborn."


Link : http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...L15718549_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMANY-CAT.xml&rpc=22

:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

What Great Stories Guys!! 

Here is another one!

*Molly the Cat Rescued After Spending Two Weeks in Building's Wall*

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060412212909990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001


----------



## poochee

Great "feel good" cat stories!


----------



## Chicon

poochee said:


> Great "feel good" cat stories!


Whatever their size or their origin, cats are my favourite animals ! 

Happy easter !


----------



## poochee

Chicon said:


> Whatever their size or their origin, cats are my favourite animals !
> 
> Happy easter !


The Tiger, my favorite undomesticated animal!

Happy Easter!


----------



## Chicon

poochee said:


> The Tiger, my favorite undomesticated animal!
> 
> Happy Easter!


Those ones are very fun !


----------



## Shadow Bea

Aww Chicon  
it looks like they took away thier diving board!!  

Cute Picture!!


----------



## poochee

Chicon said:


> Those ones are very fun !


Tiger hot tub.


----------



## angelize56

Talk about lucky!! :up: I wonder how long she'll be around to spend it though! I think she might be my long lost Aunt Josephine!  

*Widow, 84, wins $10M at Atlantic City*

By JOHN CURRAN Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 4:38 p.m. ET

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- *For 84-year-old Josephine Crawford, the golden years just got a lot more golden. After a night playing the slot machines, the retired waitress widow was about to call it quits Tuesday when she hit a $10 million jackpot _ the biggest in the history of casino gambling in Atlantic City*.

*Crawford was playing alongside her 27-year-old granddaughter Alicia Weeks. After spending about $20 with no luck, Weeks suggested they move on. Crawford said no, she wanted to play $20 more. She was down to her last $5 in credits when she hit the jackpot.*

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1513513


----------



## Shadow Bea

Cool story Marlene!  you had better hurry though if she is your long lost aunt 
dosn't take very long for a gambler to loose all the money!!


----------



## angelize56

I know....but I can only hobble so fast!


----------



## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> I know....but I can only hobble so fast!


especially when you're wearing a thinking cap and carrying a feather duster!


----------



## angelize56

Now that's a picture!   

I saw those people trapped in the trams there in NY!  How frightening!!


----------



## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Now that's a picture!
> 
> I saw those people trapped in the trams there in NY!  How frightening!!


I used to live on Roosevelt Island (for 15 years) and took the Tram every day! That was before they got a subway there! It has one of the most spectacular views of this city!


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> Now that's a picture!
> 
> I saw those people trapped in the trams there in NY!  How frightening!!


I'd have to be sedated.


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> Talk about lucky!! :up: I wonder how long she'll be around to spend it though! I think she might be my long lost Aunt Josephine!
> 
> *Widow, 84, wins $10M at Atlantic City*
> 
> By JOHN CURRAN Associated Press Writer
> 
> Wednesday, April 19, 2006 4:38 p.m. ET
> 
> ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- *For 84-year-old Josephine Crawford, the golden years just got a lot more golden. After a night playing the slot machines, the retired waitress widow was about to call it quits Tuesday when she hit a $10 million jackpot _ the biggest in the history of casino gambling in Atlantic City*.
> 
> *Crawford was playing alongside her 27-year-old granddaughter Alicia Weeks. After spending about $20 with no luck, Weeks suggested they move on. Crawford said no, she wanted to play $20 more. She was down to her last $5 in credits when she hit the jackpot.*
> 
> http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1513513


If she is playing at 84, at night, I would guess she is in very good shape. What will kill her will be her relatives trying to get the money!

I think that is fantastic for her!! Probably worked hard her entire life!!


----------



## angelize56

At last night Maverick's game in Texas...all 19,000 in attendance got a FREE airline ticket from the Mavericks....at a cost to the team of over $3 mil!!!  :up: :up:


----------



## DiSaidSo

angelize56 said:


> At last night Maverick's game in Texas...all 19,000 in attendance got a FREE airline ticket from the Mavericks....at a cost to the team of over $3 mil!!!  :up: :up:


Hey! Guess where I was Wednesday night? 

Hey! Guess who's going to St Louis for FREE?


----------



## GoneForNow

DiSaidSo said:


> Hey! Guess where I was Wednesday night?
> 
> Hey! Guess who's going to St Louis for FREE?


Thats because you literally have to pay people to go to St. Louis, some even call it torture. 


Hey, I was just in Dallas/Fort Worth...at the airport riding the little subway around the place. It was 6:00 am so there wasn't a whole lot going on.


----------



## DiSaidSo

gbrumb said:


> Thats because you literally have to pay people to go to St. Louis, some even call it torture.


Well, I actually do know someone there so it's not like I'm just going to go stare at the Arch for three days.  Although, I do want to see the Arch. I saw a Discovery Channel special on it and I've wanted to visit ever since.  Point is, I WAS AT THE GAME! I GOT FREE AIRLINE TICKETS! We freaked the hell out when they said that everyone in the building got a free ticket. We didn't realize we'd only get 4 choices in destination until after the game. 



gbrumb said:


> Hey, I was just in Dallas/Fort Worth...at the airport riding the little subway around the place. It was 6:00 am so there wasn't a whole lot going on.


That was uh.... a great story, dude. Don't we have a lovely airport? It's grand.


----------



## franca

DiSaidSo said:


> Di I think someone is looking for you.
> 
> angelize56's Avatar
> angelize56 angelize56 is offline angelize56 has a Profile Picture
> Distinguished Member
> 
> Posts: 60,113
> Join Date: Apr 2002
> Location: Goddess of Random/Resident Angel
> Experience: Learning the hard way!
> Second time.....where's Di?????
> __________________
> "Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved."-Philo of Judea
> 
> While I'm the Goddess of AI...Di is the Queen....this week anyways! (March 22nd)
> The Goddess & Queen both missed this week! (April 5th)


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_4653732,00.html


----------



## Shadow Bea

I like that Bruce


----------



## DiSaidSo

Sounds good to me!

*Disaster planners to separate sex offenders, felons*

I agree with the Dallas Emergency Manager at the end of the article. It sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare, but you know..... that's why we plan! And if I have to end up in a sports arena with my child, I'd like it to be sex-offender free, tyvm. At least someone's making an effort. That's what gets a :up: from me.


----------



## Chicon

DiSaidSo said:


> Sounds good to me!
> 
> *Disaster planners to separate sex offenders, felons*
> 
> I agree with the Dallas Emergency Manager at the end of the article. It sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare, but you know..... that's why we plan! And if I have to end up in a sports arena with my child, I'd like it to be sex-offender free, tyvm. At least someone's making an effort. That's what gets a :up: from me.


Sex-offenders should be swallowed by twisters ! Good riddance !


----------



## Gabriel

Kitty Story

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=29&art_id=qw1146709801358B223&set_id=1


----------



## Gabriel

http://www.happynews.com/news/542006/chicago-opens-hospital-for-birds.htm

This makes me very happy


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> http://www.happynews.com/news/542006/chicago-opens-hospital-for-birds.htm
> 
> This makes me very happy


 :up:


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> Kitty Story
> 
> http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=29&art_id=qw1146709801358B223&set_id=1


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/britain...PmgOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/britain...PmgOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--


A nice story!


----------



## Chicon

As I don't know in which thread I must post the following story, therefore I decide to adopt the penis point of view :



> *
> ABC News: Saudi's Penis Reattached After Maid Cuts It Off*
> 
> May 9, 2006 - Surgeons have reattached the penis of a Saudi man who paid the price for trying to have sex with his Filipina maid and she attacked him with a knife, a hospital source said on Monday.
> 
> "This is a sophisticated operation. You are dealing with an organ in a difficult area and you want to try to return to its efficiency," said a spokesman at Riyadh's Takhassusi Hospital.


Link : http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=1940296&page=1

Ouch !


----------



## Shadow Bea

Good stories people!! :up: 

In the case of the Saudi's situation, I don't know if it is such a great idea to return it to its former efficiency  seems that's what got him into trouble to begin with!! Not funny really!


----------



## Gabriel

This is not really upbeat, but it sures beats reading about them being found dead

http://www.topix.net/content/cbs/2245832860334998680006770458591832505274


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> This is not really upbeat, but it sures beats reading about them being found dead
> 
> http://www.topix.net/content/cbs/2245832860334998680006770458591832505274


A very good thing for unwanted babies!:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

> "Safe Surrender" program started up in 2002


I think its very upbeat Gabriel, Thanks. It certainly makes me feel good!

PS I think whomever came up with the idea for the safe surrender program is a genius!!:up: :up: :up:


----------



## Chicon

> *Teen climbers take Everest record*
> 
> Two teenagers have become the youngest Britons to climb Mount Everest.
> 
> Rob Gauntlett, of Petworth, Sussex, and James Hooper, of Wellington, Somerset, both 19, reached the summit via the north route at 0315 BST on Wednesday.
> 
> On reaching the 29,035ft (8,850m) peak after a 10-hour trek from the last base, Rob phoned his parents.
> 
> Speaking via a satellite phone, he said: "It's incredible up here looking out knowing nowhere in the world is higher than you are at the moment."


Link : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4988832.stm

Congrats, kids !


----------



## Shadow Bea

Chicon said:


> Link : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4988832.stm
> 
> Congrats, kids !


:up: :up: :up:


----------



## poochee

Good for the kids!


----------



## Chicon

A woman of exception :



> * Professor who escaped life of drudgery wins Asian award*
> 
> By Arifa Akbar
> Published: 26 May 2006
> 
> A 51-year-old Chinese scientist who fought her way up from the assembly line of a bus factory to become a respected professor at a British university last night won the Outstanding Asian Woman of Achievement Award.
> 
> Xiangqian Jiang * known as Jane in the UK * was taken out of school aged 15 and sent to work as a chassis assembly worker during the cultural revolution in China. She said she resigned herself to the mindless graft for two decades but never gave up on her ambition to become a scientist.


Link : http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article601320.ece

My hearty congrats ! :up:


----------



## poochee

Chicon said:


> A woman of exception :
> 
> Link : http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article601320.ece
> 
> My hearty congrats ! :up:


:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

Soldier Gives His Purple Heart to Teen
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (May 27) - A soldier said he gave his Purple Heart to a 13-year-old student who won a contest for writing letters to American troops out of gratitude.:up:

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060527042909990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001

.


----------



## Chicon

Shadow Bea said:


> Soldier Gives His Purple Heart to Teen
> SYRACUSE, N.Y. (May 27) - A soldier said he gave his Purple Heart to a 13-year-old student who won a contest for writing letters to American troops out of gratitude.:up:
> 
> http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060527042909990007&ncid=NWS00010000000001
> 
> .


:up:


----------



## angelize56

Sgt. Edward Boniberger and Marnie's karma rating just shot through the roof! :up: :up: 

*Vet returns winning lottery ticket*

The Associated Press

Monday, May 29, 2006 11:18 p.m. ET

BAY SHORE, N.Y. (AP) -- *An Army sergeant and his girlfriend found a winning lottery ticket at a convenience store Monday and turned it in to police, who were able to find its owner _ a $2,500 winner with no idea her lucky ticket was missing*.

*Sgt. Edward Boniberger and Marnie Hall found the ticket at a 7-Eleven store, Suffolk County police said. They couldn't find the woman who had signed it, so they took it to a police station.*

*Boniberger was stationed with the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, in Baghdad and returned to the U.S. in September 2005.*

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1530776


----------



## angelize56

they lost their two precious children....and then their unborn twins....but I'm so happy they gave birth to Noelle! :up:  May life bring them only joy from here on in! 

*Couple who lost two kids welcome baby*

The Associated Press

Monday, May 29, 2006 10:30 p.m. ET

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (AP) --* A San Francisco-area couple who lost their only two children to a drug-abusing driver celebrated the birth of a girl Monday*.

Danville residents *Robert and Carmen Pack welcomed their 9-pound, 8-ounce daughter, Noelle Corinne, just before 5 a.m. :up: 

The safe delivery marked the end of the couple's quest to become parents again after the deaths of Troy, 10, and Alana, 7, in October 2003*.

"It's a big relief," said Robert Pack, 49. "We are totally ready."

*The children were run over on a sidewalk near their home by a nanny for another family. The nanny, Jimena Barreto, was under the influence of prescription painkillers when she hit the pair and fled the scene.

Barreto was convicted of second-degree murder last year and is serving a prison sentence of 30 years to life.*

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=1530772


----------



## poochee

I lost a nephew by marriage in the same manner. He was brain dead and the family had to make the awful decision to take him off life supports!!


----------



## DiSaidSo

I found this story to be quite uplifting. Pardon the pun. 



> *Dead man walking: the survival of Lincoln Hall*
> Mon May 29, 6:00 PM ET
> 
> _The news from Mount Everest this past week has been literally chilling. It's the deadliest climbing season since the notorious spring of 1996, chronicled by Jon Krakauer's film "Into Thin Air: Death on Everest"  as many as 15 people may have died so far this year, many in especially tragic circumstances, and several others are missing. For Jonathan Chester, a photographer and adventurer who is part of the team for our upcoming "In Search of Australia Extreme" expedition, these stories have struck particularly close to home. He files this report._
> 
> "Bad News," read the e-mail subject heading. "I just heard that Lincoln Hall has died on Everest," wrote an Australian friend on May 26 at 4 a.m.


Rest of the story at the link.  My favorite part is what Lincoln says to Dan Mazur, his rescuer, when he is discovered on the mountain.


----------



## Shadow Bea

I thought this was cool! 
Boy Who Vanished on Camping Trip Found Alive
8-Year-Old Evan Thompson Spent Four Days Alone in Rugged Woods
By CHASE SQUIRES, AP

CANON CITY, Colo. (May 31) - Years from now, 8-year-old Evan Thompson will have quite a story to tell.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060530210009990033&ncid=NWS00010000000001

.


----------



## Chicon

> *Report Exonorates Armstrong of Doping*
> 
> May 31 9:23 AM US/Eastern
> 
> y ARTHUR MAX
> Associated Press Writer
> 
> AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
> 
> Dutch investigators cleared Lance Armstrong of doping in the 1999 Tour de France on Wednesday, and blamed anti-doping authorities for misconduct in dealing with the American cyclist.
> 
> A 132-page report recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by the World Anti-Doping Agency and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations."
> 
> The French sports daily L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's urine samples from 1999, when he won the first of his record seven-straight Tour titles, came back positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO when they were retested in 2004.
> 
> Armstrong has repeatedly denied using banned substances.


Link : http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/05/31/D8HUPHU00.html

:up: :up: I would like him to win the next Tour de France, just to make foaming his accusators ! 
My hearty congrats to Lance ! :up:


----------



## Gabriel

This is very sad, but there is one uplifting grain in the story
http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20060531/447d14c0_3ca6_15526200605311353951601


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> This is very sad, but there is one uplifting grain in the story
> http://my.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20060531/447d14c0_3ca6_15526200605311353951601


That story brought tears to my eyes. The baby smiling really got to me. So innocent.

Hope they find the killer soon and the penalty is heavy.


----------



## BanditFlyer

DiSaidSo said:


> Rest of the story at the link.  My favorite part is what Lincoln says to Dan Mazur, his rescuer, when he is discovered on the mountain.





Spoiler



"I imagine you are surprised to see me here."


Di, you are totally awesome!


----------



## DiSaidSo

BanditFlyer said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> "I imagine you are surprised to see me here."
> 
> 
> Di, you are totally awesome!


 Nuh uh. You are! 

That's upbeat if I ever heard it.


----------



## Chicon

> *"Seeing machine" offers legally blind view of world*
> 
> Fri Jun 9, 2006 8:08pm ET
> By Scott Malone
> 
> 
> CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A legally blind poet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has designed a "seeing machine" that allows people with limited vision to see faces of friends, read or study the layouts of buildings they intend to visit.
> 
> The device, which MIT estimates costs about $4,000 to manufacture, plugs into a personal computer and uses light-emitting diodes to project selected images into a person's eye, allowing visually impaired users to see words or pictures.
> 
> "The advantage of this kind of display is there's no extraneous stuff in your peripheral vision that gets in the way," Elizabeth Goldring, who has published three volumes of poetry, said in an interview. "The image gets projected right onto the retina."
> 
> The device, which Goldring calls a "seeing machine," is housed in a box that measures about 12 inches by 6 inches by 6 inches.


Link : http://today.reuters.com/news/newsa...RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-SIGHT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

:up: Congrats, Mrs Goldring !


----------



## poochee

Chicon said:


> Link : http://today.reuters.com/news/newsa...RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-SIGHT.xml&src=rss&rpc=22
> 
> :up: Congrats, Mrs Goldring !


:up:


----------



## angelize56

This is awesome!  Happy Father's Day! 

*Dad's little Angel
Marysville man has a beautiful new daughter and a great story*

By MARK RUMBLE
Times Herald

*These days, many fathers insist on being in the delivery room during the birth of their child*.

Billy Czenkus, 34, of Marysville would have been content with being present for the birth of his first child last month. Instead, he was much closer.

*On May 26 - the Friday that began Memorial Day weekend and a day many people either were cracking open a beer or firing up the grill - Czenkus was delivering his child on the bathroom floor of his Marysville home*.

No, Czenkus is not a doctor. *And never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he would be delivering his first child in the smallest room in his house.

But he did, and if anyone has earned the right to hold a coffee mug that says "#1 DAD" this Father's Day, it's Czenkus. :up:  Although he's just happy to have a new baby daughter and such a fantastic story to tell*.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060618/NEWS01/606180302/1002


----------



## angelize56

^ By the way.....baby Angel was taken to our hospital here in town....Port Huron Hospital!  Here's another picture of Angel!


----------



## Chicon

angelize56 said:


> ^ By the way.....baby Angel was taken to our hospital here in town....Port Huron Hospital!  Here's another picture of Angel!


:up:


----------



## angelize56

Hi Chicon: I always wanted a daughter....but I guess I'll have to wait until William gets married to even remotely have one.....a daughter-in-law to treat like a daughter!


----------



## Gabriel

angelize56 said:


> Hi Chicon: I always wanted a daughter....but I guess I'll have to wait until William gets married to even remotely have one.....a daughter-in-law to treat like a daughter!


I was looking thru photos of me and my family today...I looked like I had sour pickles in my mouth in all but one of the baby pictures...all the way up to the age of 5.
The very first pic of me newborn, it looked like I had a mouth full of sour pickles.....
My happy mom holding me over my 2 year old birthday cake, surrounded by jovial singing and playing cousins...me with pickles in my mouth......
My dad with me in arms..pointing up at something in the sky...me with pickles in my mouth...
Sitting on santas knee......looking upward in horror, and pickles in my mouth

I was a planned baby too


----------



## angelize56

You've changed! :up:


----------



## Gabriel

angelize56 said:


> You've changed! :up:


 Yea..from a pickle to a cucumber  
Cept when i get mad or frustrated


----------



## angelize56

But you have a lovely smile now!


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> I was looking thru photos of me and my family today...I looked like I had sour pickles in my mouth in all but one of the baby pictures...all the way up to the age of 5.
> The very first pic of me newborn, it looked like I had a mouth full of sour pickles.....
> My happy mom holding me over my 2 year old birthday cake, surrounded by jovial singing and playing cousins...me with pickles in my mouth......
> My dad with me in arms..pointing up at something in the sky...me with pickles in my mouth...
> Sitting on santas knee......looking upward in horror, and pickles in my mouth
> 
> I was a planned baby too


----------



## coderitr

Gabriel said:


> I looked like I had sour pickles in my mouth in all but one of the baby pictures


That reminds me of the time I gave my son a cup of pickle juice to drink. He was maybe 2 1/2. He made the funniest face. (The same face he made when I gave him a bright red blackberry.) 

Kids are so trusting. 

(Edit: Maybe I should have posted that in the "Nastiest Thing" thread.  )


----------



## Gabriel

I would post them, but they are embarrassing...and the infant one...I had a huge cowlick that was unruly. I looked like a baby Alfalfa, with a pickle face expression   
the other ones were straight pickle faces....the one with Santa ...terror mixed with pickles. 

The only one that is close to ok is the one of me at 2, that the photographer took. I look almost spaced out...but not quite....right between space baby, and normal


----------



## Shadow Bea

Gabriel said:


> I was looking thru photos of me and my family today...I looked like I had sour pickles in my mouth in all but one of the baby pictures...all the way up to the age of 5.
> The very first pic of me newborn, it looked like I had a mouth full of sour pickles.....
> My happy mom holding me over my 2 year old birthday cake, surrounded by jovial singing and playing cousins...me with pickles in my mouth......
> My dad with me in arms..pointing up at something in the sky...me with pickles in my mouth...
> Sitting on santas knee......looking upward in horror, and pickles in my mouth
> 
> I was a planned baby too


Speaking of pickels (or other NOT liked things)  this is my great niece and her first taste of squash!


----------



## Gabriel

Yep...that's the look


----------



## angelize56

Bea:  Too funny! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Shadow Bea

LOL I got a charge out of it!


----------



## Gabriel

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9441512/detail.html

From my hometown..


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Speaking of pickels (or other NOT liked things)  this is my great niece and her first taste of squash!


I don't blame her! Cute.


----------



## Shadow Bea

*Man Missing Since WWII Returns to Japan*

TOKYO (July 2) - A 79-year-old Japanese man who went missing at the end of World War II and resurfaced nearly six decades later in Russia went back to his homeland Sunday to be reunited with relatives.

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/man-missing-since-wwii-returns-to-japan/20060702071309990005?ncid=NWS00010000000001

:up: :up:


----------



## eggplant43

Article Launched: 6/30/2006 01:00 AM
denver & the west
Dog in safe hands after 3 years on the run
The Post | 9News Team Coverage
By Paula Woodward
9News
DenverPost.com

For more than three years, Ariel the Great Dane wandered the fields of northeast Thornton, leading a tough and lonely life, enduring winter storms and harsh summer heat.

The dog, often seen trotting along fences and ridgelines - a large, black specter - eluded numerous attempts to catch her and even escaped unfazed when hit by a tranquilizer dart.

"I called her Shadow because she seemed to be afraid," said Brenda Siegfried, who watched the dog last year from her house at 6952 E. 131st Way in Thornton.

Alarmed at the emaciated state the mystery dog was in, she began to put out food and water. The dog would eat hungrily, then retreat to her den, hidden somewhere in the ravines in undeveloped land.

Then last week, frightened by a hailstorm, the runaway became trapped when she crawled into a basement of a house under construction at East 128th Avenue and Quebec Street. And that's when a Thornton Animal Control officer was able to finally collar the stray.

"I'm absolutely shocked," said Ariel's owner, Kim Bare, who was contacted at her family's farm in Mud Lake, Idaho, where she lives with other pets, including a male Great Dane.

Workers at the Adams County Animal Shelter were able to locate Bare by scanning information on a microchip embedded under Ariel's skin.

"The last time I saw her, she looked like she was a skeleton," she said.

Although Thornton had stopped pursuing the stray for fear of harming her, Bare never gave up hope, always updating her information in the pet registry when she moved.

Still, the dog's long survival surprised experts.

"It is very unusual for a dog to be in this good shape after so long without veterinary care and without protection from the elements," said Millie Beck, the shelter's manager.

Bare, a software designer, had the chip put in Ariel when she adopted the then-1-year-old animal from a Great Dane rescue group. The dog, described as a bolter, acted the part when she escaped from Bare's Thornton home. For months, Bare attempted to find her runaway but couldn't lure her back and eventually moved from the Denver area.

And Saturday, after driving 14 hours from Idaho, she hopes to be reunited with Ariel at the shelter.

"I'm afraid of what will happen," she said. So to ease the reunion, Bare plans to bring along some of Ariel's favorite treats - Pupperoni pizza snacks. And a smile.


----------



## poochee

eggplant...That's a nice story.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Love that story Bruce!


----------



## eggplant43

I think it says something about humanity that this wonderful soul has been rescued twice. :up:


----------



## eggplant43

A life beyond anyone's expectations
BY JARED MILLER
Star-Tribune capital bureau

CHEYENNEHere in 2006, a time when Botox injections are the norm and every magazine cover features a size zero, lived a woman who wasn't afraid to be herself.

She ate her Skittles unapologetically and broke out in dance whenever she heard music.

She sang off key and wore the clothes she liked to wear -- including a work shirt and pearls.

Her name was Ragan Nunu, and she died earlier this month of a seizure at her home in Cheyenne. She was 25.

Some might have dismissed Nunu's approach to life as the misadventures of someone with a developmental disability. But those who knew Nunu understood that she simply did what many are too scared to do: She followed her heart.

Doctors diagnosed Nunu with a learning disability in grade school and later realized it was a mild form of mental retardation. She suffered from violent seizures, the first of which occurred when she was only 4 years old.

Pushed by parents who refused to treat her differently, Nunu developed an independent streak and hoped to one day live on her own.

We had always been in agreement that we were not going to treat her special, said Nunu's mother, Robin Dinkelman.

Nunu also dreamed of having children and grandchildren, though her mother said she knew somewhere inside that it probably was not realistic.

As a child, Nunu learned slower than other kids, and she needed special attention from teachers and trainers. She suffered from two or three seizures a year, which where hard to watch, according to her mother.

Nunu struggled with certain concepts, including the tendency to perceive the goodness in everyone and to instantly trust.

We worked on that constantly, Dinkelman said. We told her, you don't talk to people you don't know. You don't let them in the house.

Perhaps because of her optimism about people, Nunu was socially outgoing and wore a perpetual smile. When she asked how you were doing, she listened for an answer.

As a young girl, Nunu stumbled on certain words. Chipmunks were cunk-a-minks, buffalo were bull-all-ohs and squirrels were "squills." She eventually learned the correct sounds, but the pronunciations became a permanent part of the family vocabulary in private conversations.

Nunu loved to put on makeup and dress up in fancy clothes n she usually wore socks with her high heels n for social gatherings. When the music started, she'd be the first one on the dance floor.

She was an extremely social person, Dinkelman said.

Nunu inherited the black hair and dark eyes of her biological father, Paul Nunu of Hawaii, a Samoan whom Dinkelman met when he played on the University of Wyoming football team. Her exotic features and six-foot height gave Ragan Nunu a striking appearance, according to friends.

She was a very pretty lady, said Lee Allen, a living skills trainer who worked with Nunu for about two and a half years.

Nunu could swim like a fish, and she had a flair for art. At night, you might find her watching her favorite movies: Dirty Dancing, Valley Girls, White Chicks or Grease. If the film was Grease, you could count on Nunu to be on her feet dancing along with John Travlota and Olivia Newton-John.

Nunu loved the sweet taste of M&Ms, Skittles and ice-cold Coca-Cola. Or she'd go to her brother's house and whip up a fresh batch of homemade Ragan Salsa.

The girl could eat, Robin Dinkelman said.

Among Nunu's biggest joys were her two nephews and two nieces. She was always so proud to tell everyone that, 'I'm an aunt,' Dinkelman said.

Nunu later received a certificate of completion from Cheyenne East High School, and she landed a volunteer job at the YMCA, which eventually started to pay.

She became involved with a program for the developmentally disabled and later started working on a grounds crew at F. E. Warren Air Force Base.

She was so proud of that job, Dinkelman said. She would come home from work every day and tell me, Mom, I did a good job at work today. I really worked hard.'

With help from a trainer, her mom and her stepfather, Erik Dinkelman, Nunu continued to work on life skills. She learned to write checks with a little help.

In July 2003, Nunu accomplished a lifelong goal when she moved into an independent living apartment in Cheyenne. She served her guests popcorn and Cokes at the housewarming party, Allen said.

Nunu thrived on her own and became a model resident. Apartment supervisors showed her room to newcomers as an example of how they could decorate if they used a little creativity.

It was huge, Dinkelman said. She'd been talking for a long time about being on her own.

After two years of semi-independent living, Nunu fell victim to an alleged assault by another resident in 2005.

The incident, which her mother declined to describe, was so traumatic that Nunu was forced to move back to her parents home. It was a major setback, but Nunu refused to let it keep her down.

After working to regain confidence, she began to stay at her brother's house part of the time. It was an intermediate step on the return to independent living.

Nunu was at her brother's home when she suffered a massive seizure on July 5. The seizure was like all the rest, but this time she didn't survive. The death was a shock to everyone.

For days, the Dinkelmans' mailbox was stuffed with cards from people who had experienced Nunu's warm smile and charm.

The day of the funeral, family and friends from at least six states spontaneously decided to build a tribute garden in the Dinkelman's yard. They installed a fountain, benches, homemade bird feeders and planted tomatoes, peppers and the other ingredients for Ragan Salsa.

Dinkelman is sure that had her daughter been there to see the outpouring of love, she'd have been happy enough to dance.


----------



## Shadow Bea

What a wonderful person she was.


----------



## Chicon

> *Hero Labrador alerts rescuers to sick owner*
> 
> By CHRIS BROOKE 22:00pm 15th August 2006
> 
> They are known as the most loyal and loving of dogs. And when pensioner Mark Corrie collapsed in a remote wood, Boz, his black labrador companion, proved a credit to his breed.
> 
> For two days and two nights the 74-year-old lay helpless on the wooded hillside in Cumbria, with nothing to eat or drink.
> 
> But thanks to Boz's courage and unflinching loyalty Mr Corrie survived his ordeal. The superdog stayed by the pensioner's side - repeatedly barking for help.


Link : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...rticle_id=400754&in_page_id=1770&in_a_source=










I had the same kind of dog for 15 years. He was a really loving pet. I still miss him.


----------



## angelize56

How proud his parents must be! :up: Way to go!! 

*Teen comes up aces on both SAT, ACT
Kansas student credits classes, study books for rare achievement*

August 18, 2006

WICHITA, Kan. - *A teenager has achieved a rare feat: perfect scores on both the American College Testing exam and the SAT*.

Jakub Voboril, 17, a senior at Bishop Carroll High School, *learned last month that he had scored a 36 on his ACT, which he took in June. His perfect score, one of only two in Kansas on the June test, came after he scored 32 and 34 on his first two tries.

"Part of me said, 'That's good enough. You can stop there,"' he said. "But I decided to take it one more time to see what happened.*"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14407042/


----------



## angelize56

I have my own personal upbeat news!  I bought a Magavox 20" TV I'd dilligently saved up for in April on sale at Meijer's. Three days later the volume started acting up so I exchanged it for a new one...I bought the extra warranty plan Meijer's offers! Well towards the end of August, after the 90 day exchange policy Meijer's has ...the volume started doing the same thing...loud buzzing noise and you had to have the TV up full blast to even hear it! So I called the Meijer Protection Plan 866# and they said I could keep the TV as it was too big to ship but they would email me a shipping label which I would return to them in Texas along with a copy of the receipt and the protection plan! No problem!  UNTIL...three days had passed and NO label in my email! And I even had it sent to my email I use for junk! So I called them back...they claimed they tried to send the label via email but it didn't go through...so they'd have to mail it snail mail as their policy is to allow only ONE attempt via email!  Well I was upset and told the guy that now meant I had to wait at least 5-7 days to get the label...then 5-7 days to get it back to them...then 7-14 days until they sent out a refund check...and he said yes!  I told him I wasn't po'ed at him personally but I was po'ed I had to wait so long to get the refund! He was nice and of course said he understood my anger!  But I had him laughing before he hung up!  Anyways the return label came about 6 days later...and before I could even send it back...the refund check came in the mail!!! :up: :up:  I'm now one happy, upbeat person!! 

P.S.-I had no idea you were allowed to keep the TV because it was too big to ship...now if only I knew what was wrong with it!


----------



## Gabriel

Oh this is too funny...  

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15019804/


----------



## eggplant43

Nov 18, 6:10 AM (ET)

By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - For 26 years, a man known only as Secret Santa has roamed the streets every December quietly giving people money. He started with $5 and $10 bills. As his fortune grew, so did the gifts. In recent years, Secret Santa has been handing out $100 bills, sometimes two or three at a time, to people in thrift stores, diners and parking lots. So far, he's anonymously given out about $1.3 million. It's been a long-held holiday mystery: Who is Secret Santa?

But now, weak from chemotherapy and armed with a desire to pass on his belief in random kindness, Secret Santa has decided it's time to reveal his identity.

He is Larry Stewart, a 58-year-old businessman from the Kansas City suburb of Lee's Summit, Mo., who made his millions in cable television and long-distance telephone service.

His holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was nursing his wounds at a drive-in restaurant after getting fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas.

"It was cold and this car hop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, 'I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,'" he said.

He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.

"And suddenly I saw her lips begin to tremble and tears begin to flow down her cheeks. She said, 'Sir, you have no idea what this means to me.'"

Stewart went to the bank that day and took out $200, then drove around looking for people who could use a lift. That was his "Christmas present to himself." He's hit the streets each December since.

While Stewart has also given money to other community causes in Kansas City and his hometown of Bruce, Miss., he offers the simple gifts of cash because it's something people don't have to "beg for, get in line for, or apply for."

That was a feeling he came to know in the early '70s when he was living out of his yellow Datsun 510. Hungry and tired, Stewart mustered the nerve to approach a woman at a church and ask for help.

The woman told him the person who could help was gone for the day, and Stewart would have to come back the next day.

"As I turned around, I knew I would never do that again," Stewart said.

Over the years, Stewart's giving as Secret Santa grew. He started a Web site. He allowed the news media to tag along, mostly because he wanted to hear about the people who received the money. Reporters had to agree to guard his identity and not name his company, which he still does not want revealed.

His entourage grew over the years, and he began traveling with special elves. People like the late ***** Leagues icon Buck O'Neil, who handed out hugs while Stewart doled out $100s. NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus will join Stewart this year in Chicago when Stewart hands out $100s in honor of O'Neil, the first African-American coach in the Major Leagues.

They'll give out $100,000 between Chicago and Kansas City. Four Secret Santas who Stewart "trained" will hand out an additional $65,000.

Doctors told Stewart in April that he had cancer of the esophagus and it had spread to his liver. He has been lucky, he says, to get into a clinical trial at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. But the aggressive chemotherapy has stripped away his appetite and energy. He's lost about 100 pounds, but has held onto his white hair.

The treatment costs more than $16,000 a month, not including the cost of traveling to Houston every two weeks and staying there for five or six days. He now has two months off, but returns to treatment in February.

His insurance company won't cover the cost of the treatment, which has left him concerned about his finances and his family.

Now, his mission is bigger than handing out $100 bills. Stewart wants to speak to community groups about his devotion to kindness and to inspire others to donate their time and money.

"That's what we're here for," Stewart says, "to help other people out."

---

On the Net:

http://secretsantausa.com/


----------



## hewee

Wow one great man there eggy. I sure hope he gets better.


----------



## eggplant43

Hewee, couldn't agree with you more.


----------



## eggplant43

Nov 30, 3:38 PM (ET)

CENTRALIA, Wash. (AP) - Esther Medley of Centralia is legally blind, but when she bowls she can glimpse a bit of the floor to line up with the lane.

Medley, 94, can't see straight ahead, so her 86-year-old husband Ralph tells her which pins are left after her first ball.

That's how Medley recently bowled a score of 244, which included eight strikes, at Fairway Lanes in Centralia. It was the second-highest score of the year for her league.

The Medleys have been bowling in the senior league since 1979.


----------



## angelize56

Not too far form my home! These kids did a *fantastic* job!!! :up: God bless them all *abundantly* in return! 

*Scouts collect 3,000 bags of food for needy* :up: :up: 

By MOLLY MONTAG
Times Herald

FORT GRATIOT- *Chris Wit of Fort Gratiot was prowling the township's frozen streets Saturday morning at a time when many other children were still asleep.*

At least it was for a good cause.

*Chris and a team of Cub Scouts scoured Old Farm Subdivision for bags of donated food. He and four other scouts helped each other lug the stuffed bags back to a scout leader's van, *which trailed the boys throughout the subdivision.

*More than 100 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts participated countywide in Scouting For Food, which collects food for the Salvation Army's Christmas boxes.* :up:

The key to a bountiful collection, Chris said, is to go the distance. The 10-year-old has collected for the past five years.

"In my opinion, you have to get to as many houses as you can," Chris said.

*Scout officials said this year's campaign yielded more than 3,224 bags of food.* (AWESOME!!! :up: )

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS01/612100306


----------



## coderitr

Arguably upbeat -- I personally feel good whenever Phelps and his clan get slammed. I personally hope they don't pay and get arrested for contempt. I wish I could find out where they're going to be, surreptitiously disable their bus (remove some spark plug wires or something non-permanent (not looking for a vandalism charge)) then hire a tow truck to leave it in the dead center of absolutely nowhere.




BALTIMORE -- A Kansas church has been ordered to pay $3,150 for costs and fees associated with a summons and complaint filed by the father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by the extremist group.

Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., is suing the Rev. Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church after church members demonstrated at the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, of Westminster, and posted pictures of the protest on their Web site.

His father's federal lawsuit, filed June 5, alleges church members violated the family's right to privacy and defamed the Marine and his family at the funeral and on the church's Web site.

Phelps and the church refused to grant a waiver in the serving of summonses in connection with the federal lawsuit, making the church liable for those costs.


----------



## DiSaidSo

Albert & Matthew Snyder: Heroes.


----------



## eggplant43

Bus Santa' Gives $50 Bills To Strangers
SPOKANE, Washington, Dec. 22, 2006(AP) A woman hopped aboard buses, greeted passengers with "Merry Christmas" and handed each an envelope containing a card and a $50 bill before stepping off and repeating the process on another bus.

She did it so quickly that descriptions of the woman varied among surprised Spokane Transit Authority passengers on several routes Thursday, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported Friday.

"She kind of kept her head down. I don't remember ever seeing this lady before," said bus driver Max Clemons.

"I had a young man in the back of the bus. He looked like he was going to start crying. He said in broken English, 'She don't know how much this will mean to me at Christmas,'" Clemons said.

Transit authority spokesman Dan Kolbet said efforts to identify the gift-giver were unsuccessful. Her generosity didn't appear to be part of a marketing gimmick, he said.

The woman gave envelopes to about 20 passengers, he said. Each was sealed with a sticker that said: "To a friend from a friend."

The woman, accompanied by one or two young boys, pulled the envelopes out of a cloth satchel. The buses were pulling away from stops before riders even knew what happened.

"There was a lot of excitement. People were making calls on their cell phones," said driver Terry Dobson, who had two of his trips visited by the mystery woman. "The people on those buses really needed the money."

Hours after the impromptu gift-giving, Dobson was still giddy.

"It was just a neat thing," he said. "It makes you tingle all over."


----------



## angelize56

That's awesome! :up: 

Merry Christmas Bruce!!!  *Holiday Hugs*


----------



## Shadow Bea

http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=6066&start=0 :up:

Pay it forward


----------



## Shadow Bea

http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/news.html

The Pay It Forward idea emerged from the novel when the book's protagonist, 12-year-old Trevor, is asked by his class teacher to devise a plan that would change the world into a better place. Trevor comes up with the idea that one person should do a favour for three people and each of the recipients would then do favours for others.

Mr. Wilby said he is confident that Pay It Forward will succeed and he has embarked on his own personal Pay It Forward scheme - he has given away his car and computer free to strangers.

Mandi Street, Priory's newly appointed headteacher, who described the scheme as a sort of "altruistic pyramid selling", said: "Pay It Forward encourages that ethos of respect and taking responsibility for yourself and others and reminds us all that our community does not stop at the school gates".

She said it complemented the school's new "vision statement" which emphasized personal respect and responsibility. Mrs. Street said this week marks the official launch of Pay It Forward at Priory. The school has decided it will try and raise awareness of the scheme in the hope that it will be adopted by more schools and communities across Britain.


----------



## angelize56

Happy New Year Bea! 

I was very  the first time I saw the movie "Pay It Forward" on TV...


Spoiler



when Trevor was killed in the end


... I just didn't expect that!


----------



## eggplant43

"Pay It Forward", one of my favorite movies. I believe I have participated in this in my life, it sure feels that way.

Happy New Year everyone, and very glad to see you here Bea.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Happy New Year Marlene and Bruce


----------



## angelize56

Bea!!!!  Happy New Year to you and Ben!!  *HUGS* *BB* *GBY* 

Hope you're feeling well!


----------



## Shadow Bea

angelize56 said:


> Bea!!!!  Happy New Year to you and Ben!!  *HUGS* *BB* *GBY*
> 
> Hope you're feeling well!


Thanks Marlene  God bless you too.  
I have felt better.. the build up of the Chemo is pretty strong now that we are almost finished.. so hopefully it will feel better in a couple of weeks.. in the mean time I'm just resting more than I ever have LOL.
Hugs too.
Bea


----------



## angelize56

Well hang in there Bea...and do get plenty of rest...we can wait until you feel better to see you post when necessary...just know you are so in a lot of our thoughts and prayers!!  I know I love you dear friend....and prayer will help you through! *Healing Hugs*


----------



## Shadow Bea

Thanks Marlene 

Fishermen Rescued After Six Weeks Lost at Sea
Crew of Five Survived on Rainwater and Sea Turtles

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_...t/20070104192509990006?ncid=NWS00010000000001


----------



## eggplant43

Officer Frees Bald Eagle With One Bullet


Jan 9, 11:42 PM (ET)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A bald eagle owes its life to the sharpshooting skills of an Iowa conservation officer. Though the bird has yet to offer any thanks, Jason Sandholdt is getting plenty of recognition from those who saw him use a single bullet last weekend to free the bird from a branch that hung over a cliff at Lake Red Rock.

"There were accusations of sheer luck," said Brian Lange, one of the kayakers who discovered the bird Saturday and alerted authorities. He added: "It was really a heroic shot."

Sandholdt, who works for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, responded with state colleagues and county workers after the eagle was found hanging about 60 feet above the lake southeast of Des Moines.

With binoculars, they could see that the bird appeared to have caught a single talon in a knothole in the branch when it landed. Apparently, the bird tried to take off, losing its balance. It hung from the talon, upside down.

Because the eagle was hanging over a cliff and high in the air, ropes and ladders seemed unlikely rescue tools, Sandholdt said. Many in the group thought a mercy killing was the best option.

Sandholdt said he asked for a chance to free the bird with his rifle, figuring at best the bird would fall into the lake and have to be rescued for rehabilitation at a clinic.

"It's safe to say no one had any confidence that I could do that," Sandholdt said of his proposed sharpshooting. "My buddies were waiting for a poof of feathers."

Sandholdt bent a tree sapling over to use as a brace. He used the muzzleloader's scope to take aim, and the bullet traveled 60 to 70 feet, cleanly through the edge of the knothole. Sandholdt figures he hit the talon, too.

The eagle flew away. Officers waited for it to collapse. Instead, the bird kept flying, disappearing over the horizon.

"Wow, now that's what I call sharpshooting," said John Pearson, a state botanist who was with Lange when the bird was discovered.

No one is sure of the eagle's odds for survival, but it faced certain death before the rescue, Pearson said.


----------



## valley

quick hijack to say hello to Bruce. Good to see you.


----------



## eggplant43

Hi, back Isn't it nice that Bea felt well enough to post? I miss her.


----------



## coderitr

*African Lion Kisses, Hugs Woman Who Saved It*

People in Cali, Colombia, are shocked to see the bond between a large African lion and a woman who saved it from abuse, involving long, affectionate kisses and hugs between the pair.

Ana Julia Torres, who runs the Villa Lorena animal shelter in Cali, fed and nursed Jupiter the African lion back to health years ago after it was found abused and emaciated in a traveling circus.

http://www.local6.com/spotlight/10726779/detail.html (with pictures of lion and Ms Torres)


----------



## DiSaidSo

Awwwwwwww that is super-awesome, code!  Isn't it amazing when animals show what we think of as "human" emotions such as gratitude? Sigh. It warms the cold dead cockles of my heart.

But shouldn't that come with a "don't try this at home" disclaimer!?


----------



## Chicon

coderitr said:


> *African Lion Kisses, Hugs Woman Who Saved It*
> 
> People in Cali, Colombia, are shocked to see the bond between a large African lion and a woman who saved it from abuse, involving long, affectionate kisses and hugs between the pair.
> 
> Ana Julia Torres, who runs the Villa Lorena animal shelter in Cali, fed and nursed Jupiter the African lion back to health years ago after it was found abused and emaciated in a traveling circus.
> 
> http://www.local6.com/spotlight/10726779/detail.html (with pictures of lion and Ms Torres)


Really moving ! :up: Who say that animals have no soul ?


----------



## coderitr

*TV Helicopter Pilot Saves Stranded Deer*

NORMAN, Okla. - The pilot of a TV news helicopter used the wind from the aircraft's rotor to push a stranded deer to safety after it lost its footing on a frozen lake and could not get up.

With the helicopter's camera rolling, KWTV pilot Mason Dunn used the wind from the rotor to push the deer, initially sending it into a break in the ice where the animal managed to hold onto the ice with its front legs.

Dunn then lowered the helicopter and the wind sent the deer sliding on its belly across the ice until it reached shore and scampered into a nearby wooded area.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jan18/0,4670,BRFDeerSaved,00.html


----------



## wacor

Chicon said:


> Really moving ! :up: Who say that animals have no soul ?


Saw the clip on TV. Had to do a double take to believe what I was seeing. That lion acted like it was human.


----------



## DiSaidSo

coderitr said:


> *TV Helicopter Pilot Saves Stranded Deer*
> 
> NORMAN, Okla.  The pilot of a TV news helicopter used the wind from the aircraft's rotor to push a stranded deer to safety after it lost its footing on a frozen lake and could not get up.
> 
> With the helicopter's camera rolling, KWTV pilot Mason Dunn used the wind from the rotor to push the deer, initially sending it into a break in the ice where the animal managed to hold onto the ice with its front legs.
> 
> Dunn then lowered the helicopter and the wind sent the deer sliding on its belly across the ice until it reached shore and scampered into a nearby wooded area.
> 
> http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jan18/0,4670,BRFDeerSaved,00.html


What? Not even a thank you? 

That's a great story. Thanks, Keith.


----------



## ekim68

Leave it to the women.


(For those with dial-up it's a clip of a hundred horses being rescued in the Netherlands.)


----------



## katonca

ekim68 said:


> Leave it to the women.
> 
> 
> (For those with dial-up it's a clip of a hundred horses being rescued in the Netherlands.)


That's good stuff :up:

Too bad a few died


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> Hi, back Isn't it nice that Bea felt well enough to post? I miss her.


Thanks Bruce  I miss posting toooooo!!  seems like there are some nice stories to catch up on.. Hope you are doing well!


----------



## eggplant43

Jan 28, 6:22 AM (ET)

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Cujo was a frisky 7-year-old when he sneaked out of his owners' south St. Louis yard in July 2000. Now, thinner and grayer and with a tale that would be fascinating if only he could tell it, the golden retriever is back with the Barczewski family.

"It's a miracle," Noreen Barczewski, 41, said at Friday's reunion. "We found him!"

Six years and a side trip to Columbia can do a lot to a dog, but it was unmistakably Cujo. There was the heart-shaped patch of white on his forehead, the white fur on his toes, his manner of greeting people by rubbing against them cat-style.

Cujo's homecoming was orchestrated by Dirk's Fund, a golden retriever rescue group that has found homes for more than 900 dogs in the past decade.

After slipping away from home, Cujo somehow ended up 120 miles in Columbia in the home of an elderly woman. When the woman entered a nursing home, the dog was sent to the Central Missouri Humane Society in Columbia.

Bob Tillay, president of Dirk's Fund, spotted the dog - by then renamed Willy - on an adoption Web site and arranged to have him brought to St. Louis.

"Sweet old man! He knows how to sit and shake," the Web site cooed.

The dog's ears were so infected he couldn't hear. His coat was so matted he had to be shaved. And Dirk's Fund paid to have some cysts removed.

The group eventually took Cujo/Willy to a nursing home in Clayton, to serve as a pet for residents. But things didn't work out - the dog needed a yard where he could run off the leash - and his picture went up on the Dirk's Fund Web site.

A week ago, Noreen Barczewski's brother-in-law, Michael Barczewski, went to the Web site on a fluke. He'd been looking for a dog to adopt and saw the picture of the old dog with the white heart mark and white feet. Michael and his wife, Gail, had been the original breeders of Cujo. He recognized the dog immediately, and the reunion followed within days.

Now 13, Cujo had never been forgotten by the his original family - especially Kayla, who was just 4 when the dog disappeared. Kayla insisted on hanging the retriever's red felt Christmas stocking each year, confident he'd someday come home.

"I had something in my heart," the fourth-grader said Friday, patting her pet's soft golden coat, "and I knew he wasn't gone."

---

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com


----------



## Chicon

> *Holy inappropriate! Britains's first Christian sex shop*
> 
> Divine inspiration can strike at unlikely moments.
> 
> Stan Hegarty was outside - painting the decking, no less - when God spoke to him. He ran indoors to tell Stella, his wife of ten years, what God had said.
> 
> Stella's first reaction was to wonder if her nice, respectable husband was having some sort of mid-life crisis.
> 
> Little wonder.
> 
> The Hegartys would commonly be regarded as "churchy people".
> 
> Their Christian faith is, they believe, the foundation stone of their life. They attend their local Anglican church in Bridgend, South Wales, every Sunday. The vicar is a close friend. They are always to be found at church sales, prayer evenings and raising money for far-off missions.


Link : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=433466&in_page_id=1879


----------



## poochee

*Life on ranch* 
The Associated Press
Published 6:30 am PST Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Jose the Mission Pig won't become pork chops after all.

The 200-pound porcine raised at La Purisima Mission will live out his life at an undisclosed Santa Ynez valley ranch.

Publicity over Jose's earlier slaughterhouse fate led to an avalanche of telephone inquires to the mission, a California landmark operated by the state parks department.

"In my opinion, a great percentage of people who called to adopt the pig seemed to have their freezer in mind for a home," park supervisor Danita Rodriguez said.

But Metta Richardson, a vegetarian, spared Jose, paying the mission $125 for him. Still, Jose needed a home.

"I was worried," Richardson said Monday. "I didn't have a place for him. I didn't know where he could go."

With help from the potbellied pig refuge Little Orphan Hammys, an anonymous recipient took Jose off Richardson's hands and intends to send him to the ranch.

Meanwhile, the mission doesn't plan to change its pig policy.

"The problem, particularly with pigs, is that they become very large and their life becomes just a case of being in a cage and being fed. You have a larger and larger animal that becomes dangerous," said Bill Pass, chairman of the Animal Committee of Prelado de Los Tesoros docents, the legal owner of mission animals.

The Lompoc Record: http://www.lompocrecord.com


----------



## angelize56

What a grand gift for a wonderful cause!! :up: :up: 

*Record $30M SickKids gift*

Feb 07, 2007 10:34 AM

Canadian Press

*The SickKids Foundation has received a $30 million gift that's being billed as the largest philanthropic investment in children's cardiac medicine and research in North America.*

The donation, *from Arthur and Sonia Labatt, is also the largest gift in the history of the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.*

The donation* includes $25 million to establish The Labatt Family Heart Centre, set to open this spring, and a $5 million endowment for a brain tumour research centre.*

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/179109


----------



## poochee

angelize56 said:


> What a grand gift for a wonderful cause!! :up: :up:
> 
> *Record $30M SickKids gift*
> 
> Feb 07, 2007 10:34 AM
> 
> Canadian Press
> 
> *The SickKids Foundation has received a $30 million gift that's being billed as the largest philanthropic investment in children's cardiac medicine and research in North America.*
> 
> The donation, *from Arthur and Sonia Labatt, is also the largest gift in the history of the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.*


:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

I love these stories!!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings
By VERENA DOBNIK
AP
NEW YORK (Feb. 7) -- Never mind diamonds -- a New York cabbie was a Texas girl's best friend. The driver returned 31 diamond rings he found in his cab after dropping off the passenger, who had left him with a 30-cent tip on a $10.70 fare. 
"All my life, I tried to be honest," said Osman Chowdhury, a native of Bangladesh. "Today is no different." 

But the 41-year-old cabbie from Queens did have a message: "I'm proud of what I did so that people know New York taxi drivers are honest." 

What he did started on Monday evening, when he picked up the woman at a hotel in midtown Manhattan and drove her to an apartment building several blocks away. She gave him $20 to pay the fare and asked for $9 back. 

Hours later, at about 10 p.m., three other passengers with luggage discovered the woman's suitcase when Chowdhury popped the trunk open for them. 
:up:


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Cabbie Returns Bag of Diamond Rings
> By VERENA DOBNIK
> AP
> NEW YORK (Feb. 7) -- Never mind diamonds -- a New York cabbie was a Texas girl's best friend. The driver returned 31 diamond rings he found in his cab after dropping off the passenger, who had left him with a 30-cent tip on a $10.70 fare.
> "All my life, I tried to be honest," said Osman Chowdhury, a native of Bangladesh. "Today is no different."
> 
> But the 41-year-old cabbie from Queens did have a message: "I'm proud of what I did so that people know New York taxi drivers are honest."
> 
> What he did started on Monday evening, when he picked up the woman at a hotel in midtown Manhattan and drove her to an apartment building several blocks away. She gave him $20 to pay the fare and asked for $9 back.
> 
> Hours later, at about 10 p.m., three other passengers with luggage discovered the woman's suitcase when Chowdhury popped the trunk open for them.
> :up:


I hope he gets a reward!:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

poochee said:


> I hope he gets a reward!:up:


Hi poochee 
Actually She gave him 100 dollars 

*This part didn't post the first time! *

Chowdhury first drove to the building where he had dropped off the woman. But he had no idea in which of the many apartments she might be and didn't want to cause a disruption by knocking on doors.

He took the suitcase to the Manhattan headquarters of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a drivers' advocacy group to which he belongs. He and the alliance president looked inside and found two display cases with 31 diamond rings inside.

"I saw flashing, and I said, 'Oh my God! Diamonds!'" Chowdhury recalled. "I was shocked. I was trembling."

They also found a small luggage tag with a Texas telephone number they called -- the home of the woman's mother in Dallas. Meanwhile, she called the number, too.

The woman, who said she was a jeweler, got back the gems on Monday when she arrived at the alliance office around midnight -- incredulous at her luck. She offered Chowdhury a reward -- a check for $100.


----------



## angelize56

:up: :up: What a thoughtful young man!!! 

*Boy shaves head for cancer fund
*
By DANIELLE QUISENBERRY
Times Herald

*For a little while, 11-year-old Mitchell Mawer worried he might be a kid with cancer.*

When he discovered a lesion found in his arm wasn't the bone cancer doctors feared it could be, he was relieved.

*He also was inspired.

"I wanted to help people who really have cancer," said Mitchell,* a sixth-grader at Landmark Academy in Kimball Township.

*On Saturday, Mitchell had his shaggy hair - sprayed green for St. Patrick's Day - shaved off as part of his effort to raise money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, an organization that helps cancer research for children.*

The foundation, started in 1999, encourages individuals to collect dollars and shave their head on St. Patrick's Day.

Mitchell read about the foundation a few weeks ago in his mother's Family Circle magazine and decided he wanted to be a part of it.

*He made it his goal to raise $200, but nearly tripled his objective. In three or four weeks, he garnered about $600.* :up: 

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/NEWS01/703180314/1002


----------



## eggplant43

Declaration Nets Lucky Owner Huge Profit


Mar 23, 6:09 AM (ET)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A rare 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction for $477,650 by a man who found it last year in a Nashville thrift store for $2.48.

Michael Sparks, a music equipment technician, sold the document Thursday at Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions in Burlington, N.C.

Six bidders contended for the document, most by phone or Internet, when bidding opened at $125,000. The identity of the winner was not disclosed.

Sparks found his bargain last March while browsing at Music City Thrift Shop. When he asked the price on a yellowed, shellacked, rolled-up document, the clerk marked it at $2.48 plus tax.

The document turned out to be an "official copy" of the Declaration of Independence - one of 200 commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820 when he was secretary of state and printed by William Stone in 1823.

Sparks said he had a few plans for the money: a used car, adding a sun room to his house, helping to support his parents and giving some to charity.

"You think it is a huge fortune, but by the time you figure it up and put some off for the taxes it is not. It is not a huge fortune, but more like a small fortune," he said.


----------



## angelize56

A little strange...but very upbeat and thoughtful! :up: 

Mar 22, 10:26 PM EDT

*Woman Buys Over $1K in Tainted Pet Food[/B

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) -- A woman said she was so worried about reports of tainted pet food she spent more than $1,000 buying all the product she could find at her local Wal-Mart. Margaret Trask said she filled a shopping cart full of canned pet food made by Canadian company Menu Foods at the Beaufort Wal-Mart after hearing about the recall Friday.

She returned Wednesday morning to buy more food and came back that night to buy even more, but Trask said store officials asked her to leave. She said store employees were taking some of the food off the shelves.

Trask plans to throw the food away so no animals eat it. She figures she spent more than $1,000.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...GE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-03-22-22-26-43*


----------



## Chicon

angelize56 said:


> :up: :up: What a thoughtful young man!!!
> 
> *Boy shaves head for cancer fund
> *
> By DANIELLE QUISENBERRY
> Times Herald
> 
> *For a little while, 11-year-old Mitchell Mawer worried he might be a kid with cancer.*
> 
> When he discovered a lesion found in his arm wasn't the bone cancer doctors feared it could be, he was relieved.
> 
> *He also was inspired.
> 
> "I wanted to help people who really have cancer," said Mitchell,* a sixth-grader at Landmark Academy in Kimball Township.
> 
> *On Saturday, Mitchell had his shaggy hair - sprayed green for St. Patrick's Day - shaved off as part of his effort to raise money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, an organization that helps cancer research for children.*
> 
> The foundation, started in 1999, encourages individuals to collect dollars and shave their head on St. Patrick's Day.
> 
> Mitchell read about the foundation a few weeks ago in his mother's Family Circle magazine and decided he wanted to be a part of it.
> 
> *He made it his goal to raise $200, but nearly tripled his objective. In three or four weeks, he garnered about $600.* :up:
> 
> http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/NEWS01/703180314/1002


It reminds me this very poignant video.


----------



## angelize56

Good afternoon Chicon!  *HUGS* I'm on dial-up and videos take too long to open...


----------



## ekim68

*Billionaire gives mansions to homeless*

HONOLULU  Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families.

Tears spilled down Kahale's cheeks as she accepted from billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto the key to a white, columned house with a circular driveway, a stone staircase and a deep porcelain bathtub. Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills.

"I'm shocked. I'm overwhelmed," Kahale said. "From the little box we had to what we have today."

Kawamoto, whose own eyes started welling up as Kahale cried, handed over two other homes Thursday to homeless or low-income families.

Kawamoto, one of Japan's richest men, said he plans to open eight of his 22 Kahala homes to needy Hawaiian families. They will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years, he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-23-homeless-mansion_N.htm


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Billionaire gives mansions to homeless*
> 
> HONOLULU  Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families.
> 
> Tears spilled down Kahale's cheeks as she accepted from billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto the key to a white, columned house with a circular driveway, a stone staircase and a deep porcelain bathtub. Her family will live there rent-free, but must pay utility bills.
> 
> "I'm shocked. I'm overwhelmed," Kahale said. "From the little box we had to what we have today."
> 
> Kawamoto, whose own eyes started welling up as Kahale cried, handed over two other homes Thursday to homeless or low-income families.
> 
> Kawamoto, one of Japan's richest men, said he plans to open eight of his 22 Kahala homes to needy Hawaiian families. They will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years, he said.
> 
> http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-23-homeless-mansion_N.htm


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/20/mag...ings.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007022807


----------



## angelize56

Good evening Bruce!  How have you been doing?


----------



## eggplant43

Sorry, didn't see this until now.

Life goes on. I've just broken up with the GF, and will be moved out by this weekend. No regrets, life is good.


----------



## angelize56

Good afternoon Bruce...still sorry to hear that!  But as long as you seem so positive... Who's moving...her or you?  Best of luck in the future friend!!  *HUGS* You always have such a good spirit about you...


----------



## eggplant43

I'm moving. Will be in completely by the weekend.


----------



## eggplant43

CALVERT, Md. (AP) - Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman's chest. The dog's owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life.

Debbie Parkhurst, 45, of Calvert told the Cecil Whig she was eating an apple at her home Friday when a piece lodged in her throat. She attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver on herself but it didn't work. After she began beating on her chest, she said Toby noticed and got involved.

"The next think I know, Toby's up on his hind feet and he's got his front paws on my shoulders," she recalled. "He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest."

That's when the apple dislodged and Toby started licking her face to keep her from passing out, she said.

"I literally have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest. I'm still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I'm OK," Parkhurst said.

"The doctor said I probably wouldnt be here without Toby," said Parkhurst, a jewelry artist. "I keep looking at him and saying 'Youre amazing.'"


----------



## zzz

just thought i'd jam-in here for a moment...
my body is my vehicle...i am it's driver...it goes where i drive it.
azthatzme


----------



## ekim68

*Phelps collects sixth gold medal*

MELBOURNE, March 31 (UPI) -- Michael Phelps won his sixth gold medal, sending the U.S. team off to a huge day Saturday at the world swimming championships in Australia.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Sports/2007/03/31/phelps_collects_sixth_gold_medal/


----------



## zzz

wherever i go...there i am
azofcourse


----------



## Shadow Bea

Occasionally you come across a news item that makes you feel good. The following video about the efforts of Bert Brady is such a story.

Nearly every morning for the past year, Bert Brady has gone to the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to welcome home troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Brady, a 69-year-old veteran, is a member of the Welcome Home a Hero program at the DFW airport. He and others are there to make sure every soldier who comes through Dallas gets a special homecoming.

Brady goes to make sure the soldiers feel appreciated for serving their country. He doesnt want them to be forgotten. "We are not going to forget them like a lot of Vietnam soldiers have been forgotten," Brady said. "We are not going to forget the soldiers of today."

We urge you to watch the video, and then sign our petition of thanks to Bert Brady and the others who go to welcome our soldiers home. We want to present Mr. Brady and his fellow workers with a really nice Plaque of Appreciation for what they are doing. You can sign the petition after the three-minute video.

Would you please forward this e-mail to your friends and family? We would like to get as many signatures as we can.

Better get a tissue. You might shed a tear. Click here to watch the video and sign the petition.

https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/welcome_hero.asp


----------



## Chicon

It's upbeat news ! Glad to see you back, Bea. I wish you well !


----------



## ekim68

*Elsie McLean, 102, hits a hole in one*

Elsie McLean took a driver out of her golf bag like she always does on the fourth hole at Bidwell Park Golf Course, where the 102-year-old has golfed for decades.

But this time she aced the 100-yard, par-3 hole.

On Thursday the lifelong resident of Chico, a city about 170-miles north of San F

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/07/sports/s204216D65.DTL&type=golf


----------



## eggplant43

That is so cool. May we all have the same attitude when we reach 102 :up:


----------



## angelize56

*New Airline Offers $10 Tickets on All Flights*

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

NEW YORK  *Skybus Airlines Inc., a new U.S. budget carrier, on Tuesday said it will start flying on May 22 with $10 one-way tickets available on all flights.*

"Beginning today, passengers can buy airline tickets for less than the cost of a tank of gas," Skybus CEO Bill Diffenderffer said in a statement.

*The launch of the new low-cost carrier, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, could pressure established carriers like AMR Corp's (AMR) American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc..*

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268265,00.html


----------



## ekim68

_Reversing Alzheimer's memory loss may be possible_

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mental stimulation and drug treatment may help people with brain ailments such as Alzheimer's disease regain seemingly lost memories, according to research published on Sunday.

Scientists used two methods to reverse memory loss in mice with a condition like Alzheimer's -- placing them in sort of a rodent Disneyland to stimulate their brains, and also using a type of drug that encourages growth of brain nerve cells.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN2742390620070430


----------



## angelize56

With Alzheimer's being so prevalent today...that's great news ekim! :up:


----------



## eggplant43

Surgery Ends Tot's Laughing Seizures


May 3, 5:10 PM (ET)

By FRANK ELTMAN

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Doctors probed deep into the center of a 3-year-old girl's brain to save her from her own laughter.

Anastasia Lagalla's uncontrollable laughter and seizures were part of an extremely rare condition that could have led to mental retardation, but doctors announced Thursday that surgery to remove a tumor causing the problem had been successful.

"It's like I have my little girl back," said Ana's mom, Jennifer Anderson of Ridge, N.Y., who beamed as she told reporters Thursday of her daughter's recovery. "She's doing amazing."

The laughing seizures began in May 2006, Anderson said, with only a few episodes a day. At first, Anderson and her husband, Peter Lagalla, agreed with the assessment of doctors that the tantrum-like symptoms were merely "terrible twos" behavior, but the frequency of the seizures grew to an alarming rate.

"You could tell by the look that something isn't right," said Anderson, who compared her daughter's behavior to Batman's arch-nemesis.

"It was almost as if she started to grind her teeth and then it was kind of a smile almost like the Joker - I don't know how else to describe it," Anderson said.

Earlier this year, physicians concluded that a tumor in the little girl's brain was causing hypothalamic hamartoma, a condition leading to "gelastic seizures" that produce uncontrollable laughter, followed by crying, kicking and screaming. Only 30 cases are diagnosed annually worldwide.

Physicians at Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park removed Ana's tumor March 30 in a delicate, four-hour procedure. Dr. Steven Schneider, the hospital's co-chief of pediatric neurosurgery, said the seizures have stopped, and he was optimistic about Ana's prognosis.

Schneider, whose name is unrelated to the hospital's, described the surgery as a "journey to the center of her brain" that had "no room for error." That's where the special surgical navigating tools - a high-tech version of GPS using microscopic cameras, precision instruments and other devices - helped, he said.

"The biggest risk here is that you get lost and you wind up where you don't belong and you wind up damaging something," he said. "If everything is done just right and just correctly, you'll be exactly where you need to be."

Schneider Children's Hospital is only the second facility in the United States to perform the rare brain surgery. Phoenix's Barrow Neurological Institute was the first.

"It's incredible," Schneider said. "Because what it can do is restore normal or near-normal development to the child."

And it didn't take long for Ana's parents to notice the changes.

Anderson said when they saw their daughter in the recovery room after surgery, "she smiled for us. So that's when we knew everything was going to be OK."


----------



## eggplant43

'Golden' surprise

Durham students make school worker's wish come true

Samiha Khanna, Staff Writer

DURHAM - Mangum Elementary School custodian Joe Venable was minding the cafeteria Wednesday afternoon when he was called to the music room to clean up a big "spill."

The emergency was really just a group of students and staff ready to "spill the beans" about a big surprise.

After hearing that their beloved Mr. Venable, 71, had a lifelong desire to see the Golden Gate Bridge, a group of fifth-graders started raising money for a San Francisco trip.

On Wednesday, Venable walked into the music room and found 60 fifth-graders and his wife sitting next to the superintendent.

"What's all this?" he asked, taking off his hat. The students answered.

They learned of his dream to see the Golden Gate Bridge after reading a short profile of the man in the school newsletter. Student Ellen Berry wrote a letter to Superintendent Carl Harris asking "pretty please," if he would help the students earn Venable a trip to the West Coast.

Staff members, local churches and clubs donated money and held fundraisers to put together about $2,000 to send Venable and his wife Alease, 76, to California for three days.

The students even wrote a song.

"Mr. V. you're on your way ... to the San Francisco Bay ... ," they sang as their classmates played drums and keyboard.

Venable stood up, tears flowing from behind his glasses.

"This sure is something beautiful you all have done for me," he said, choking on some of his words.

Beside him, his wife also cried. She came to the school thinking her husband was going to be honored with an award.

Harris also spoke to the students, commending them for their efforts.

"When you think about people other than yourself, you're making the world a better place to live in," Harris said.

After the presentation, students lined up to hug Venable. Later, he followed Principal Gwendolyn Johnson back to her office.

"You can go home," Johnson told her employee.

"No," Venable said, hesitating in the doorway. He shook his head slowly. "I think I better go back and finish up in the cafeteria."

Staff writer Samiha Khanna can be reached at 956-2468 or [email protected].


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.unionleader.com/article....rticleId=970b8edb-b667-4eeb-b68e-1f3437999dd7


----------



## coderitr

As Sarah Beth Hollis rode the bus home from David Cox Elementary, a bump from another passenger dislodged the kindergartner's dangling tooth. She searched between the seats and on the floor. Nothing.

Crying as she stepped off the bus, Sarah Beth told her mom, Julie, the Tooth Fairy might not come. But the 6-year-old had some hope. The bus driver [Jean Isaac] said if he found the tooth, he'd return it.

Julie was skeptical. The driver was a substitute, and dinner time was already approaching.

We'll just write the Tooth Fairy a note, Julie told her daughter earlier this month.

Shortly after Isaac dropped off Sarah Beth, another child found the tooth. He thought of leaving it for the regular driver, but worried it might not get delivered.

Each time he stopped the bus and a child stepped off, Isaac stared at the tooth. The 37-year-old pictured his three kids, ages 7 to 11, and Sarah Beth's tears.

"How am I going to make that little girl happy?" he thought.

As the Hollises finished dinner that night, the doorbell rang.

A school bus had pulled up outside their University City [Charlotte, NC] home. Isaac, after an hour-long, rush-hour detour, presented the tooth.

That night, Sarah Beth got the usual amount from the Tooth Fairy -- five quarters -- along with a lesson in kindness.

http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/133386.html


----------



## Shadow Bea

What great stories  Just dropping in to say HI!!

:up: :up:


----------



## angelize56

Hi Bea!! 

Bittersweet the Grandpa died here...but totally upbeat the little girl was found alive!!! :up:

Jun 15, 3:16 PM EDT

*Missing 2 Days, 5-Year-Old Found Alive *

MOMENCE, Ill. (AP) -- *A 5-year-old girl who disappeared with her grandfather while boating two days ago walked up to searchers Friday*, hours after the man's body was pulled from the Kankakee River.

Knowing that David Klamecki was dead made it all the more stunning when searchers saw Hannah Klamecki, a little dirty but unhurt, walking out of the woods to them, Kankakee County sheriff's officials said.

*"People were like, 'Who's that little girl? That can't be her, can it?'" Chief Deputy Ken McCabe said. "I went up to her (and) asked, 'How you doing? What's your name?'"*

Searchers gave the suburban Chicago girl food and water and took her to a hospital as a precaution, McCabe said.

*"She looked in pretty good shape," he said. "We were most certainly surprised to find her alive and well."*

The result was *"about as close to outstanding that you can wish for," McCabe said. "It's a tragedy that the gentleman drowned. It's a bittersweet moment that she was OK."*

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GIRL_RIVER_SEARCH?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US


----------



## Shadow Bea

OUTSTANDING!!! ^ :up: :up:


----------



## angelize56

Thank God! :up: 

Jun 30, 11:10 PM EDT
*
N.C. Toddler Found Safe in Woods*

OXFORD, N.C. (AP) -- *A toddler who had been missing for more than 24 hours was found sitting on a stump with his dog by his side*, police said Saturday.

*A volunteer searcher on horseback found Connor Cummings, 23 months old, at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday,* said Detective Jason Tingen. The toddler had wandered from his home outside Oxford at about 6:30 p.m. Friday.

*"He was scratched up, dirty and had some ticks on him," Tingen said in a telephone interview. "He was in pretty good spirits."*

More than 200 volunteers and police officers searched for the boy in woods that were thick with briars and vegetation. The Civil Air Patrol launched aircraft to search from above.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TODDLER_FOUND?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US


----------



## franca

Lorry driver in luck & in truck...

A LORRY driver has vowed to keep on trucking despite scooping a £52.5MILLION lotto win.

Don Harvey, 64, said he wouldnt know what to do without his job.

He said: I cant go fishing all the time and I dont play golf. Ive got to have something to do.

But Don, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, US, will treat himself to a new set of wheels  his old truck has clocked up two million miles.


----------



## DiSaidSo

*N. Texas soldier wins lotto while serving in Iraq*

Sgt. Bethurel Griffin was serving in Iraq when he was emailed two words, "You won." However, he wasn't exactly sure what that meant.


----------



## ekim68

*Archie? He's the dog star*

_The 165-pound Newfoundland works his magic daily with abused and neglected children at Camarillo's Casa Pacifica. Only his drool is 'yucky!'_

The toddlers spot him the instant he steps out of his office. They swarm him like bees, shouting his name:

"Archie! Archie! Archie!"

He drops to the ground, eye-level with 3-year-olds. They lean into him, hug him, climb on him.

At Casa Pacifica, a Ventura County oasis for abused, neglected and emotionally disturbed children, patience and calm aren't just virtues; they're job requirements. Archie has worked at the leafy campus in Camarillo for two years, and he doesn't flinch when small hands pull his ears and wandering fingers poke his nostrils.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-archie9jul09,0,2437518.story?coll=la-home-center


----------



## eggplant43

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/09/drowning_dog_gets_surfboard_ri.html


----------



## coderitr

WELLINGTON, Fla. -- An 8-year-old girl plans on donating her birthday money to the family of a murdered Broward County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Instead of toys and clothes, Arden Capizola asked her friends and family to give her money this year. She raised $1,110 and plans to donate all of it to the family of Sergeant Chris Reyka.

http://www.wftv.com/news/14105858/detail.html


----------



## eggplant43

Door-to-door miracle

Salesman brings more than vacuum cleaners to T.F. home

By Nate Poppino

Times-News writer

It's the kind of luck you get once in a lifetime.

After nearly three years of dialysis and searching for a donor, Twin Falls auto financier Paul Sucher has a new kidney. But he didn't get it by waiting on a list.

Rather, the kidney walked right up to his house and knocked on his door.

"I'm so healthy right now, it's almost like (losing my kidneys) never happened," Sucher said Tuesday.

It's all thanks to a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesman, and what Sucher, 35, called "truly a miracle."

The long wait

Sucher's kidneys failed three years ago as the result of hypertension, or high blood pressure. The change rocked Sucher's family, he said, who gradually got used to his new schedule - regular dialysis and other medical care, all while he kept his full-time job as finance manager for The Car Store.

They also got used to his odds of a transplant. Sucher shared his waiting list, for a transplant at the University of Colorado in Denver, with 500 people. In two-and-a-half years, he hadn't even moved one-fourth of the way up the list.

"You're waiting for a dead man's kidney," he said. "There's never enough."

On top of that, Sucher's blood type is O-positive. It's the most common - 37 percent of people are type O. But while other types could receive kidneys with any kind of blood, he needed a kidney from another O-type. That's assuming, of course, that the tissue types were the same as well.

Sucher had resigned himself to years of waiting, as none of his family members were a match. But then came the day several months ago when Jamie Howard knocked on his door.

The Idaho Falls-based vacuum cleaner salesman, also age 35, asked what was wrong when he was told Sucher's family couldn't afford a new Kirby. When Sucher's spouse, who answered the door, told Howard about the medical problems, Howard knew he had a kidney to spare.

"I went outside, prayed about it, called my dad and my wife," Howard said. "It was something I was called to do."

Howard's father is a doctor who started four nonprofit agencies. That giving influence may have been a factor, he said; all he knew was that he needed to help.

"He knew, when I talked to him at the house that night, he knew he was going to be a match," something Howard in no way could have known for sure, Sucher said.

One life spared

Volunteering a kidney was one thing. Getting the University of Colorado's teaching hospital to accept it was another.

In offering his spare kidney, Howard signed up for two to three months of testing, including a flight or two to Denver. Donors can't have diabetes, high blood pressure or even cavities, Sucher said. Howard had smoked for 10 years, but it thankfully hadn't affected his lungs.

Meanwhile, the two families got to know each other, sharing regular visits and a Fourth of July barbecue. Howard has family in the Twin Falls area, so visiting was a good excuse to see both them and the future location of his kidney.

The visits apparently weren't enough for University of Colorado staff, who were going to make the pair wait another year for the surgery, just to make sure they got to know each other better, and to make sure no money was changing hands between the two. The resistance lasted until Sucher pointed out the only people making money off the $250,000 surgery were the hospital surgeons.

"I said, 'Look, lady. My life's on the line. I don't have a year to wait.'"

The duo landed an Aug. 8 surgery date, barely two months after the hospital moved to a brand-new, billion-dollar facility. Other than having to travel farther for a transplant, Sucher said, he was extremely pleased with the hospital. His surgery was planned for four and a half hours, but finished in three, and he and Sucher were released within 72 hours. During recovery, they found another tie - Howard's aunt married Sucher's second cousin, making them loose family.

Two months later, most of the color is back in Sucher's cheeks. His weight has stabilized and his hypertension is under control, thanks in part to his new kidney. And more people could end up like him, Howard said, if they realized that donating organs is far less painful than they think - and definitely worth it to save a life.

Howard's sacrifice, Sucher said, means he'll get to see his 10- and 15-year-old children graduate college, and he won't ever end up like 15 friends at the dialysis center he watched die over the past two and a half years. It's a vicious cycle, he said.

"There's always someone able to fill the chair."


----------



## hewee

One lucky man to have someone come to your door like that.


----------



## eggplant43

For me, that exemplifies the best of humanity. He saw a need, and didn't hesitate. Can you imagine how much better a world we'd all live in if there were more folks like this. 

I saw a statistic several days ago that indicated that only 7% of the US population contributes blood, and this, at a time when our nation is at war. I gave blood every time I could for 30 years until they couldn't use mine any more, due to a medication I must take. Now, I will look into giving plasma.


----------



## franca

The Importance of Affection


----------



## franca

Lost Dog Walks 7 Miles to Find His Home


----------



## Shadow Bea

Allways loved that kind of story Frank!!

Loved the story of the gift of a kidney Bruce. How awesome is that??:up: 



:up: :up:


----------



## eggplant43

If that doesn't instill your faith in the human race, I don't know what could.


----------



## franca

A BINGO caller has had three £1million winners in just a month.

Will Willard, who works for national chain Mecca, has been dubbed Britains luckiest caller.

His picks brought jackpots for Glaswegian Margaret Shearer, 46, a 52-year-old woman from Stevenage, Herts, and, on Friday, a 69-year-old woman from Glasgow.

Will, 33, from Cwmbran, South Wales, said last night: If it carries on like this then I might have to get my voice insured.

Mecca runs games in 102 bingo halls, and the millionaire game is played twice a day.


----------



## franca

Meet Snowball, the cockatoo that dances to the Backstreet Boys


----------



## franca

1,200-Lb Horse Saved From Swimming Pool

A 1,200-pound horse is safe after rescuers used a wrecker to pull the animal from a swimming pool at a Knoxville home. Mountain, an award-winning show horse, was pulled out a little more than two hours after owner Deborah Black found him shivering in the pool Tuesday.

The 27-year-old horse's trainer, David Cunningham, said Mountain apparently wandered onto the property and fell into the tarp-covered swimming pool sometime Monday night.

Authorities say Mountain will be treated with antibiotics to stave off pneumonia and will be watched for signs of internal injuries.


----------



## franca

Brewer Offers Lifetime's Beer for Laptop ....:up: :up: :up:


----------



## franca

Wildfire evacuee shelter offers lesson in volunteerism


----------



## franca

Parrot saves child from blaze by mimicking fire alarm


----------



## franca

PUNTERS swamped a supermarkets website to exploit a clanger which offered beer for a half-penny per bottle.

Thousands besieged the Asda home delivery site for Heineken at 10p a 20-bottle crate instead of £10.

But store bosses last night ended the cheap booze dream  and apologised for raising hopes.

Small print on the website says that prices will be the same as in stores.

A spokesman said: Someone forgot where the decimal point goes.

We do not honour pricing errors. The beer wont be delivered.


----------



## franca

NJ Family Finds Pumpkin Growing in Tree


----------



## franca

Boiled Nuts Help Protect Against Illness


----------



## DiSaidSo

franca said:


> NJ Family Finds Pumpkin Growing in Tree


Speaking of pumpkins.... my Dad likes to grow big fat pumpkins into different shapes... this year's creation:

Spongebob SquarePumpkin....










My Dad is totally awesome.... but he could probably use a *real* hobby!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Wow Di  LOL. Thats great!!


----------



## eggplant43

Di, that is just great!


----------



## franca

DiSaidSo said:


> Speaking of pumpkins.... my Dad likes to grow big fat pumpkins into different shapes... this year's creation:
> 
> Spongebob SquarePumpkin....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My Dad is totally awesome.... but he could probably use a *real* hobby!


WOW! Di That's..............


----------



## franca

Jerry Seinfeld Defends Wife's Cookbook


----------



## franca

Texas Town Up for Sale on eBay


----------



## Shadow Bea

Toddler survives deadly plane crash
3-year-old found in strapped in her seat; 2 others died in Canadian accident

updated 8:20 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct. 30, 2007 
GOLDEN, British Columbia - Rescuers who helped find a 3-year-old girl alive in the crumpled wreckage of an airplane say they knew she was OK when she cried for her teddy bear.

The girl, Kate Williams, survived the crash on Sunday because she was strapped into a child's car seat, said Mike Plonka, a search-and-rescue team member.

Her pilot grandfather, Allen D. Williams, 65, and Steven T. Sutton died in the accident. The plane was found nose down and flipped over in the icy water at the edge of a riverbank in the rugged mountains of southeast British Columbia.

"What saved her life was being strapped into that car seat," Plonka said Monday.

"You could see that she was very scared. Her big concern at the time was her little teddy bear. She didn't want to leave without it."

"She was just pointing at it and calling it 'Baby.'"

Reunited with parents
The girl suffered head injuries but was listed as stable, and was reunited with her parents, said hospital officials here.

Police said the Cessna 172 was on its way to Edmonton when it took off from Golden around 1 p.m. Sunday into low clouds and snow. Visibility was poor.

An hour later, the Search and Rescue Centre in Victoria picked up the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter signal from somewhere near the Blaeberry River.

The crash scene was found by a team using a hand-held beacon locator, and two military search and rescue technicians  Sgt. Scott Elliston and Master Cpl. Bruno Lapointe  landed nearby in a helicopter.

As they checked the wreckage for survivors, they discovered the girl alive but surrounded by debris in the back of the plane. The two soldiers tried to remove her from the wreckage, but she made it clear she did not want to leave without her teddy bear.

"I got her out and I handed her to Bruno. She was calling out for her teddy bear. I picked up the teddy bear to give it to her but it was covered in snow. She wasn't too happy that it was covered in snow so I brushed it off," Elliston said.

Williams was CEO and founder of Edmonton-based A.D. Williams Engineering Inc. Sutton was chief financial officer. The two men had been attending a business retreat in Golden.

The cause of the accident was under investigation. It is the latest in a number of crashes in the rough terrain of British Columbia.

On Friday, a Piper Malibu flying from Oregon to Alberta crashed about 6 miles east of Invermere, killing all three people aboard. And earlier last week, another Cessna 172 disappeared while flying to Qualicum on Vancouver Island. Pilot Ron Boychuk was on his way from Revelstoke, but his plane never arrived.

His family asked the public to look out for the 61-year-old, who is an experienced outdoorsman.

.


----------



## franca

Rate Your Fitness Routine With GPS


----------



## franca

Peace Lures Wildlife Back to South Sudan


----------



## franca

Choc therapy for sweet-toothed


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/05/no_time_for_tears/


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/05/no_time_for_tears/


amazing.......:up:


----------



## franca

Dog, Cat Honored for Saving Masters


----------



## eggplant43

That's a wonderful story. A mature Golden Retriever jumping on your chest would definitely have an impact. Lucky she didn't get broken ribs.


----------



## reezin14

Ah Ha found it.:up: :up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/05/no_time_for_tears/


An amazing, amazing, touching story!!


----------



## poochee

updated 5:08 a.m. EST, Tue November 13, 2007
*'Anonymous Friend' gives $100 million to town* :up:

*Story Highlights*
"Anonymous Friend" gives $100 million to Erie, divided among 46 charities
Food bank, women's center, a group for the blind, 3 universities getting money
President of the Erie Community Foundation vowing to keep donor secret
"What a godsend for some of these agencies," says a community resident

ERIE, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Mike Batchelor invited the heads of 46 charities into his downtown office for one-on-one meetings to personally deliver the news. Nearby, on a small table, sat a box of tissues.

Mike Batchelor accepted a $100 million donation from an "Anonymous Friend" to benefit Erie charities.

And then he proceeded: A donor had given a staggering $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation, and all of the charities would receive a share.

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/12/million.mystery.ap/index.html


----------



## franca

Four times his proper weight, George the 5lb hedgehog goes on a crash diet...


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Four times his proper weight, George the 5lb hedgehog goes on a crash diet...


Hope he is going to be alright!


----------



## franca

Google Offers $10M in Software Prizes


----------



## Shadow Bea

No rich relatives? No professional mentors? No problem. Ashley Qualls, 17, has built a million-dollar web site. She's LOL all the way to the bank.

http://smallbusiness.aol.com/start/startup/article-partner/_a/girl-power/20070831135209990001

.


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> No rich relatives? No professional mentors? No problem. Ashley Qualls, 17, has built a million-dollar web site. She's LOL all the way to the bank.
> 
> http://smallbusiness.aol.com/start/startup/article-partner/_a/girl-power/20070831135209990001
> 
> .


:up:


----------



## franca

Shadow Bea said:


> No rich relatives? No professional mentors? No problem. Ashley Qualls, 17, has built a million-dollar web site. She's LOL all the way to the bank.
> 
> http://smallbusiness.aol.com/start/startup/article-partner/_a/girl-power/20070831135209990001
> 
> .


Saw her when she was on Oprah......... :up:


----------



## eggplant43

What a great story, and the meritocracy comment about the Internet certainly applies in her case.


----------



## franca

Stunning new high-definition video shows the Earth setting over the Moon's horizon


----------



## Shadow Bea

I loved that Frank  thanks for posting it!!


----------



## franca

Shadow Bea said:


> I loved that Frank  thanks for posting it!!


Your very welcome Bea..... glad you enjoyed it..


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Stunning new high-definition video shows the Earth setting over the Moon's horizon


Can't do Utube but the picture is nice!


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> Can't do Utube but the picture is nice!


Try......... Firefox......


----------



## franca

Dell, Celebrities Help With Wish Lists


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Dell, Celebrities Help With Wish Lists


:up: :up:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Dell, Celebrities Help With Wish Lists


:up:


----------



## franca

Formerly Conjoined Twins Doing Very Well


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Formerly Conjoined Twins Doing Very Well


:up:


----------



## franca

Disabled nine-year-old walks again thanks to botox injection


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Disabled nine-year-old walks again thanks to botox injection


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, that's great. he got his life back.:up:


----------



## franca

The great £1m Christmas charity giveaway


----------



## Shadow Bea

My favorite here in the USA is The
St. Judes Children's hospital

http://www.tg.stjude.org/?tngsourcecode=THWGOBANDO08&plt=THWGOBANDO08928

.


----------



## ekim68

*"Oz" Munchkins get Hollywood star*

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Yellow Brick Road finally ended on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday as the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz" got their star after a 68-year wait.

Seven of the nine surviving Munchkins -- thought to be the only living actors from the 1939 movie classic -- traveled from across the United States to see their star unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN2062387820071120


----------



## franca

Dog Back Home After Adventure, Neutering


----------



## Shadow Bea

ekim68 said:


> *"Oz" Munchkins get Hollywood star*
> 
> LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Yellow Brick Road finally ended on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday as the Munchkins from "The Wizard of Oz" got their star after a 68-year wait.
> 
> Seven of the nine surviving Munchkins -- thought to be the only living actors from the 1939 movie classic -- traveled from across the United States to see their star unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard.
> 
> http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN2062387820071120


That is a great story  loved it!


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Dog Back Home After Adventure, Neutering


Love this type of story!! :up:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Dog Back Home After Adventure, Neutering


----------



## eggplant43

So, Happy was happy to be happy


----------



## eggplant43

Sometimes, life is just good!

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TRASH_TREASURE?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Sometimes, life is just good!
> 
> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TRASH_TREASURE?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


*WOW!*


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> Sometimes, life is just good!
> 
> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TRASH_TREASURE?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Now I'm hungry !!!!!!!!!!


----------



## franca

Babies Can Tell Helpers From Hurters


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Babies Can Tell Helpers From Hurters


:up:


----------



## franca

Celebs Serve Holiday Meals to Homeless


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Celebs Serve Holiday Meals to Homeless


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Click on watch:

http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=14375


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> Click on watch:
> 
> http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=14375


:up: :up: :up:


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> Click on watch:
> 
> http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=14375


Good for her..........:up:


----------



## eggplant43

She really made a difference in the final days of this man's life, and it's a wonderful story, from start to finish.:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> She really made a difference in the final days of this man's life, and it's a wonderful story, from start to finish.:up:


It is :up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Click on watch:
> 
> http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=14375


:up:


----------



## franca

Rescued Dog Saves Owner From Idaho Fire


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Rescued Dog Saves Owner From Idaho Fire


 :up:


----------



## franca

'Dancing With the Stars' Finale Arrives


----------



## franca

Polar Bear Knut May Soon Have Siblings


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Polar Bear Knut May Soon Have Siblings


----------



## DiSaidSo

franca said:


> Polar Bear Knut May Soon Have Siblings


Awwwww.... cute lil furball has grown into a giant face-eating machine! Who's a cute lil carnivore? Is it Knut? Oooooh yes it is.... schmooga schmooga!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a11_millionaire.6154857nov26,0,2692797.story


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a11_millionaire.6154857nov26,0,2692797.story


A beautiful story!


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/state/all-a11_millionaire.6154857nov26,0,2692797.story


What a great story  There is little that we truly *need* much that we* want*


----------



## eggplant43

Shadow Bea said:


> What a great story  There is little that we truly *need* much that we* want*


To know of someone who truly walks the walk of their convictions is inspiring.


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> A beautiful story!


ditto......


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7566211


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> To know of someone who truly walks the walk of their convictions is inspiring.


Yes it is :up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7566211


Awesome!! :up:


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7566211


Good one.......:up:


----------



## franca

National Philanthropy Day is Opportunity to Celebrate Local Kindness


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> National Philanthropy Day is Opportunity to Celebrate Local Kindness


:up:


----------



## franca

"Attitude Is Everything".........By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz



Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed Him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry Was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life." "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said.

Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

- - -

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man. "

I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.


----------



## eggplant43

Allergic to bullets. I love it


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> "Attitude Is Everything".........By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz
> 
> Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"
> 
> He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed Him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry Was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life." "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said.
> 
> Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
> 
> - - -
> 
> Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
> 
> I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man. "
> 
> I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'
> 
> Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.


  I posted that one in the just talk thread .. love it!  Edit it was this thread  I guess good ideas spread LOL! I could say great minds think alike LOL but my mind's not THAT great!


----------



## eggplant43

It seemed a little familiar, but good messages bear repeating


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> I posted that one in the just talk thread .. love it!  Edit it was this thread  I guess good ideas spread LOL! I could say great minds think alike LOL but my mind's not THAT great!


Neat!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO67962/


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO67962/


Heartwarming indeed.......


----------



## franca

Loyalty a Factor in Heroism


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Loyalty a Factor in Heroism


----------



## poochee

*Leno to pay salaries of laid-off staffers*:up: 
Sun Dec 2, 2007 4:20am 
By Paul Bond

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A day after they learned that they would be laid off, employees of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" have received news that might ease the blow.

Leno has decided to pay his non-writing staff out of his pocket through next week, sources said Saturday. That could be extended if the writers' strike is not resolved by then.

"Tonight Show" executive producer Debbie Vickers is said to have been involved in the decision and reportedly began calling laid-off employees Saturday.

Excerpt from: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN3034279620071202


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-12-03-Pitt_N.htm


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-12-03-Pitt_N.htm


So many sad and also uplifting stories came out of that disaster...


----------



## franca

British Man Missing 5 Years Reappears


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> British Man Missing 5 Years Reappears


:up:


----------



## franca

'Anonymous Friend' Gives $100 Million to Town


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 'Anonymous Friend' Gives $100 Million to Town


 :up:


----------



## franca

Ketchup with everything: Why tomato sauce helps fight heart disease ....


----------



## eggplant43

I can't imagine how much joy giving away those funds would have on a person. Touching all those lives. :up:


----------



## ekim68

*Texas couple celebrates 80th anniversary*

PALESTINE, Texas, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Melvin and Minnie Lou Scott enjoy the simple pleasures in life in their Texas town and recently a rare one -- celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary.

At the age of 100 and 99 respectively, Melvin and Minnie Lou may be the oldest married couple in the United States, having celebrated eight decades together last month, the Tyler Morning Telegraph said Tuesday.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/12/05/texas_couple_celebrates_80th_anniversary/9182/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Texas couple celebrates 80th anniversary*
> 
> PALESTINE, Texas, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Melvin and Minnie Lou Scott enjoy the simple pleasures in life in their Texas town and recently a rare one -- celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary.
> 
> At the age of 100 and 99 respectively, Melvin and Minnie Lou may be the oldest married couple in the United States, having celebrated eight decades together last month, the Tyler Morning Telegraph said Tuesday.
> 
> http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/12/05/texas_couple_celebrates_80th_anniversary/9182/


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://atlanticphilanthropies.org/a...Giving While Living: Billionaire Chuck Feeney


----------



## franca

My bird Billy is polly phonic


----------



## eggplant43

_It looks like "Canoe Man" and his wife sucked us all in._

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/12/07/missing.canoeist/


----------



## poochee

Interesting articles folks!


----------



## franca

Doctors gave my 20oz baby up for dead ... but I saved her life with this cuddle


----------



## eggplant43

That is literally a heartwarming story. Thank God for the mothers instinct, it saved a life:up:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Doctors gave my 20oz baby up for dead ... but I saved her life with this cuddle


A beautiful story!


----------



## hewee

Wow the power of love.


----------



## poochee

*She's living in her car no longer
A visit to a woman who spent 10 years living in her car finds her now with a room -- and 'so grateful.'*
Steve Lopez 
December 9 2007

Dog biscuits on the dresser, Nativity scene in the window, stacked boxes of unfinished art projects stuffed under a table.

It's cramped but it's home, Lee Sevilla says, sitting on a bed that takes up half the space she shares with Sandy, her Lhasa apso. Sure, it's nothing but a Motel 6 off Interstate 5 in Orange County. But consider the advantages:

Daily maid service. No need to buy furniture. No utility bills.

And it's positively palatial compared to where Sevilla lived for 10 long, challenging years.

"This definitely beats the car," she says.

Every once in a while I hear from readers wondering what ever happened to Sevilla, who used to begin her days parked at the water's edge in Playa del Rey to write in her journal and gaze across the ocean for hope and inspiration.

Sevilla's troubles began when her marriage fell apart in Illinois and she started an interior design business while caring for her three children. Sevilla quickly got in over her head, ignored an attorney who recommended bankruptcy and dug an even deeper hole.

Excerpt from: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...1763,full.column?coll=la-headlines-california


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> *She's living in her car no longer
> A visit to a woman who spent 10 years living in her car finds her now with a room -- and 'so grateful.'*
> Steve Lopez
> December 9 2007
> 
> Dog biscuits on the dresser, Nativity scene in the window, stacked boxes of unfinished art projects stuffed under a table.
> 
> It's cramped but it's home, Lee Sevilla says, sitting on a bed that takes up half the space she shares with Sandy, her Lhasa apso. Sure, it's nothing but a Motel 6 off Interstate 5 in Orange County. But consider the advantages:
> 
> Daily maid service. No need to buy furniture. No utility bills.
> 
> And it's positively palatial compared to where Sevilla lived for 10 long, challenging years.
> 
> "This definitely beats the car," she says.
> 
> Every once in a while I hear from readers wondering what ever happened to Sevilla, who used to begin her days parked at the water's edge in Playa del Rey to write in her journal and gaze across the ocean for hope and inspiration.
> 
> Sevilla's troubles began when her marriage fell apart in Illinois and she started an interior design business while caring for her three children. Sevilla quickly got in over her head, ignored an attorney who recommended bankruptcy and dug an even deeper hole.
> 
> Excerpt from: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...1763,full.column?coll=la-headlines-california


Nice one poochee.........:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

Loved that story poochee! :up:


----------



## franca

100 Million Pennies Displayed in NYC


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 100 Million Pennies Displayed in NYC


Neat!


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> 100 Million Pennies Displayed in NYC


Makes a lot of cents


----------



## Shadow Bea

What do you think of this??

http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> What do you think of this??
> 
> http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html


 :up:


----------



## franca

Shadow Bea said:


> What do you think of this??
> 
> http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/index.html


Amazing......


----------



## franca

Mystery Decorator Adorns Roadside Trees


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Mystery Decorator Adorns Roadside Trees


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Mystery Decorator Adorns Roadside Trees


LOL


----------



## franca

Girl Born With 8 Limbs Leaves Hospital


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Girl Born With 8 Limbs Leaves Hospital


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://tinychoices.com/2007/12/04/pesky-oilspill-grab-a-hairmat/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://tinychoices.com/2007/12/04/pesky-oilspill-grab-a-hairmat/


:up:


----------



## ekim68

*Doing his Civic duty in a snowstorm: Waterville man fits Honda sedan with custom snowplow hardware*

WATERVILLE -- You'd think that a man who has had three strokes, chronic pain in his hands and been advised to take it easy would sit back indoors and watch the snow pile up during a winter storm. Not Keith Inman.

Instead of relaxing in a recliner, when the snow begins to fall, Inman, 58, heads outdoors and fires up his 1998 Honda Civic. Then the work and fun begins. Mounted in the front of the small sedan is a homemade snowplow he uses to clear the large parking lot behind the apartment building where he and his wife, Irene, live on Summer Street. It is a labor of love and Yankee ingenuity.

http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4574298.html


----------



## eggplant43

:upeople like this simply make the world a better place to live in.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Doing his Civic duty in a snowstorm: Waterville man fits Honda sedan with custom snowplow hardware*
> 
> WATERVILLE -- You'd think that a man who has had three strokes, chronic pain in his hands and been advised to take it easy would sit back indoors and watch the snow pile up during a winter storm. Not Keith Inman.
> 
> Instead of relaxing in a recliner, when the snow begins to fall, Inman, 58, heads outdoors and fires up his 1998 Honda Civic. Then the work and fun begins. Mounted in the front of the small sedan is a homemade snowplow he uses to clear the large parking lot behind the apartment building where he and his wife, Irene, live on Summer Street. It is a labor of love and Yankee ingenuity.
> 
> http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4574298.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rescued20dec20,0,3658487.story?coll=la-home-center


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rescued20dec20,0,3658487.story?coll=la-home-center


Thank goodness!


----------



## franca

Report: Panda Born at 1.8 Onces Healthy


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Report: Panda Born at 1.8 Onces Healthy


 :up:


----------



## franca

Man Reunites With Birth Mother at Work


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Man Reunites With Birth Mother at Work


 :up:


----------



## eggplant43

I saw a snippet of this on the news lat night. It's so nice to know the whole story. The thing I appreciate the most is that his mom left the record open so that he could find her, and that he had the support of his adoptive parents, so that he gets to end up surrounded by love.

I hate it when I hear stories of the convoluted ways some people try to hide the truth by invoking their rights to privacy, no matter how much it may hurt someone else. It's nice just to have a true feelgood story.:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> I saw a snippet of this on the news lat night. It's so nice to know the whole story. *The thing I appreciate the most is that his mom left the record open so that he could find her, and that he had the support of his adoptive parents, so that he gets to end up surrounded by love.*
> 
> *I hate it when I hear stories of the convoluted ways some people try to hide the truth by invoking their rights to privacy, no matter how much it may hurt someone else. It's nice just to have a true feelgood story.* :up:


I agree!


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Man Reunites With Birth Mother at Work


I got goosebumps with that one!:up::up:

.


----------



## reezin14

franca said:


> Man Reunites With Birth Mother at Work


What are the chances of that happing, good story especially this time of year.


----------



## poochee

*This one is sad*  *in one way but upbeat* * in another way...........*

*Family Adopts Slain Son's Military Dog*
Georgia Family Adopts Slain Son's Injured Military Dog in First-Time Arrangement

A military working dog wounded in Iraq during a rocket attack that killed its Marine handler was adopted Friday by the slain Marine's family.

Cpl. Dustin Lee's family planned to take home the bomb-sniffing dog named Lex on Saturday after the 8-year-old German shepherd was granted early retirement. It was the first time a working dog was granted retirement to live with the handler's family, officials said.

"Nobody can do anything to replace the void in this family," said Col. Christian Haliday, commander of the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, where Lee and Lex were assigned.

"We hope Lex can bring a small piece of his spirit and help maintain his memory," he said.

Excerpt from: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4039498


----------



## reezin14

poochee said:


> *This one is sad*  *in one way but upbeat* * in another way...........*
> 
> *Family Adopts Slain Son's Military Dog*
> Georgia Family Adopts Slain Son's Injured Military Dog in First-Time Arrangement
> 
> A military working dog wounded in Iraq during a rocket attack that killed its Marine handler was adopted Friday by the slain Marine's family.
> 
> Cpl. Dustin Lee's family planned to take home the bomb-sniffing dog named Lex on Saturday after the 8-year-old German shepherd was granted early retirement. It was the first time a working dog was granted retirement to live with the handler's family, officials said.
> 
> "Nobody can do anything to replace the void in this family," said Col. Christian Haliday, commander of the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, where Lee and Lex were assigned.
> 
> "We hope Lex can bring a small piece of his spirit and help maintain his memory," he said.
> 
> Excerpt from: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4039498


A few hours ago I was watching this story on tv, like you said sad/happy story. I personally think that its great that the Army finally gave in and let them adopt the dog.


----------



## poochee

reezin14 said:


> A few hours ago I was watching this story on tv, like you said sad/happy story. *I personally think that its great that the Army finally gave in and let them **adopt the dog.*


Me too!

I bet the son loved him.


----------



## reezin14

poochee said:


> Me too!
> 
> I bet the son loved him.


You bet, and I also would venture to say that Lex loved him too, seeing how they had to pull him away so the medics could get to him. What a story :up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

poochee said:


> *This one is sad*  *in one way but upbeat* * in another way...........*
> 
> http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4039498


Good story poochee. Upbeat to me is often about finding a positive in an otherwise negative.. I'm glad his family was able to find solice in addopting the dog!
Merry Christmas!

.


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Good story poochee. Upbeat to me is often about finding a positive in an otherwise negative.. I'm glad his family was able to find solice in addopting the dog!
> *Merry Christmas!.*


And the same to you!


----------



## eggplant43

This story warms my heart:

http://www.ncnewsmedia.com/archive/...ROJECTS_07/DECEMBER/Jailed_Old_Guy/story1.htm


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> This story warms my heart:
> 
> http://www.ncnewsmedia.com/archive/...ROJECTS_07/DECEMBER/Jailed_Old_Guy/story1.htm


Beautiful!!


----------



## reezin14

eggplant43 said:


> This story warms my heart:
> 
> http://www.ncnewsmedia.com/archive/...ROJECTS_07/DECEMBER/Jailed_Old_Guy/story1.htm


This is a good story. Not all of us are bad huh !!


----------



## eggplant43

Random acts of kindness. I still remember the joy that I felt the first time someone paid my bridge toll on the Bay Bridge, some 35 years ago. It brought a big smile to my face, and joy to my passengers. You never know when you do something like this the impact it can have on a life. Someone who has decided no one care, why go on, and then someone gives them this gift. Life is good

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071220/NEWS01/636551917


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Random acts of kindness. I still remember the joy that I felt the first time someone paid my bridge toll on the Bay Bridge, some 35 years ago. It brought a big smile to my face, and joy to my passengers. You never know when you do something like this the impact it can have on a life. Someone who has decided no one care, why go on, and then someone gives them this gift. Life is good
> 
> http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20071220/NEWS01/636551917


That was great!


----------



## hewee

Wow that was great.


----------



## franca

hewee said:


> Wow that was great.


It sure was.......reading that made my day...........:up: Merry Christmas 2U all....


----------



## franca

Man Gives $3,100 to Salvation Army


----------



## franca

Two turkeys, 34lb of potatoes and a gallon of custard - Christmas dinner for the family with 12 children..........


----------



## poochee

Franca, neat stories. Have a Merry Christmas!


----------



## reezin14

*MERRY X-MAS ALL*


----------



## poochee

reezin14 said:


> *MERRY X-MAS ALL*


Thank you, and the same to you!


----------



## eggplant43

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...TE=MTBIL&SECTION=TOP_STORIES&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


----------



## poochee

updated 9:15 a.m. EST, Tue December 25, 2007 
Associated Press
*Food pantries offering health care to needy

Story Highlights*
Food pantries providing poor and uninsured with medical care
Project takes care directly to where the people who need it most hang out
Churches nationwide are offering blood pressure screening days and health fairs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An out-of-work David Thomas walked into a Milwaukee food pantry just seeking groceries. Thomas learned he was a stroke waiting to happen and got blood pressure medicine along with his bread.

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.....ap/index.html
__________________


----------



## poochee

*Homeless Find Comfort in Holiday Haircuts*

Jimmy Isaac 
Longview News-Journal 
Updated: 12/26/2007 
Longview, TX

It's Christmas morning, 15 minutes after Terrell Mayhall opened the front door, and 10 men already are waiting for haircuts.

"Getting free haircuts is just a good thing to happen on Christmas," said 19-year-old Samuel Arnett. He was among dozens of area homeless men who spent Tuesday in Terrell's Barber Shop on Alpine Street waiting for cuts, sipping Cokes or playing dominoes until they reached the barber's chair.

*Since 1994, *Mayhall has spent every Christmas Day cutting hair for local homeless people. He took his clipping tools to local shelters during the first five years, but he opened his own shop in 1999, and shelters have brought vanloads of patrons every since, he said.

Mayhall's inspiration comes from the very community he helps every Dec. 25. Severe muscle problems made his father bedridden for a decade until Mayhall was 13 years old, he said.

*"People from the church and the city came to help us out with food, money and groceries," he remembered of those years. "They stayed up all night long with Daddy. I can't give back to them because they're gone, but this is the only way I know how to do it." *

Excerpt from: http://www.happynews.com/news/12262007/homeless-find-comfort-holiday-haircuts.htm


----------



## katonca

poochee said:


> updated 9:15 a.m. EST, Tue December 25, 2007
> Associated Press
> *Food pantries offering health care to needy
> 
> Story Highlights*
> Food pantries providing poor and uninsured with medical care
> Project takes care directly to where the people who need it most hang out
> Churches nationwide are offering blood pressure screening days and health fairs
> 
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- An out-of-work David Thomas walked into a Milwaukee food pantry just seeking groceries. Thomas learned he was a stroke waiting to happen and got blood pressure medicine along with his bread.
> 
> Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.....ap/index.html
> __________________


Hi poochee, that link doesn't work 

It would be great to be able to put that info on my site.


----------



## poochee

*Tiny dog leads police to suspect in hiding* :up:
By Art CamposPublished 
12:00 am PST Friday, December 28, 2007

Chris and Wendy Anderson have a crime fighter in their north Auburn home, and he's no bigger than 10 inches tall and 3 1/2 pounds.

Tank, a Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, is credited by sheriff's deputies with flushing out a fleeing suspect who crashed a stolen minivan and was hiding under a motor home nearby.

*When a Placer County sheriff's deputy and his canine unit showed up, Tank led them to the suspect's new hiding spot deeper in the trees.*

The suspect gave up without a whimper.

He said that after the arrest, the sheriff's deputy pointed to the pint-sized, 2 1/2-year-old dog and said, "That's a canine unit right there!"

With a law enforcement helicopter hovering overhead, the fleeing man took refuge under a motor home parked across the street from the Anderson home.

The family came outside, saw the man and signaled the copter.

*That's when Tank joined the fray, barking at the suspect until he ran.*

Wendy Anderson said she has a newfound respect for the diminutive dog, who was given the name Tank as a bit of joke because the family knew he'd be undersized.

*"He's like a big dog in a little dog's suit," she said.*

Excerpts from: www.sacbee.com


----------



## hewee

He hee that is great to hear.


----------



## Shadow Bea

Happy New Year Harry and every one!!


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Happy New Year Harry and every one!!


And the same to you!


----------



## Shadow Bea

Thank you poochee  I got your beautiful card yesterday Thank you!

.


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/29/posthumous.tip.ap/index.html


----------



## poochee

Mascot cat retires from mountain. http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/workl....ap/index.html

LAPD enlists feral cats for rat patrol. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...track=ntothtml


----------



## poochee

Shadow Bea said:


> Thank you poochee  I got your beautiful card yesterday Thank you!
> 
> .


You are welcome!


----------



## hewee

Shadow Bea said:


> Happy New Year Harry and every one!!


Happy New Year you and everyone else here.


----------



## reezin14

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/29/posthumous.tip.ap/index.html


That doesn't happen everyday now does it !!!


----------



## eggplant43

Well, it sure is a nice payoff for staying positive:up:


----------



## reezin14

eggplant43 said:


> Well, it sure is a nice payoff for staying positive:up:


Isn't that the truth.


----------



## poochee

*Snake Saved After Eating Golf Balls* *There was a happy ending, thank goodness!*
By Associated Press 
11:29 AM EST, January 2, 2008

BRISBANE, Australia - A snake has been saved by surgery after mistaking four golf balls for a meal of chicken eggs, a veterinarian said Wednesday.

A couple had placed the balls in their chicken coop at Nobbys Creek in New South Wales state to encourage their hen to nest, Australian Associated Press reported.

They found the balls missing last month and a lumpy carpet python nearby.

They took the 32-inch non-venomous snake to the nearby Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, where senior veterinarian Michael Pyne operated to remove the balls from the snake's intestine.

Excerpt from: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-odd-australia-duped-snake,0,4098240.story


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/li...ain.html?in_article_id=505903&in_page_id=1774


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/01/06/news/local/20-adoption.txt?rating=true


----------



## poochee

*Steve Lopez: 'Boy' next door still a sweetie*
*On a block in the San Fernando Valley, a 90-year-old plays paperboy to his elderly neighbor.*
January 6, 2008

The message from Mike Smith had a remarkable, small-town quality to it. The San Fernando Valley resident wasn't passing on a hot news tip, nor was he griping about my latest column. The retired movie grip simply wanted to share what he sees each morning when he looks through his window.

"For the past 6 months I have watched my ninety-year-old neighbor take the L.A. Times to the lady across the street and deposit it on her porch," wrote Smith, who explained that the widow has trouble with stairs.

The elderly woman was once a famous child actress; her 90-year-old paperboy was a World War II dive bomber pilot who has flown the U.S. and Marine Corps flags in his frontyard every day for nearly 30 years.

Smith feels lucky to live on the block. "So here I am at 8 o'clock in the morning taking my xmas lights down, and there is Abe walking across the street" to deliver his neighbor's newspaper.

I moved on to other e-mails before being drawn back to the one from Smith. I liked the way it seemed to slow the pace of life in the disjointed metropolis, where many of us move too swiftly to notice the simple acts of civility and grace that play out every day.

I liked, too, the notion of disparate narratives lining up next door to each other like chapters in a history book. And I liked Smith, who replaced his neighbor's Corps flag when it got "a little tattered."

Smith was surprised to find me standing in his driveway Thursday morning when he returned from an errand. He thanked me for coming, pointed across to the home of Abe "Danny" Daniels, and volunteered to introduce me.

Excerpt from: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...15.column?coll=la-tot-callocal&track=ntothtml


----------



## eggplant43

Now that's just wonderful


----------



## poochee

A lot of heart-warming stories in this thread!


----------



## franca

Polar Bear Cub Opens Eyes for First Time


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Polar Bear Cub Opens Eyes for First Time


Sooooo cute! I want one.!


----------



## eggplant43

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/01/after_couples_death_the_checks.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/01/after_couples_death_the_checks.html


Beautiful story!


----------



## franca

German Polar Bear Cub Is Named Flocke


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> German Polar Bear Cub Is Named Flocke


A good choice!


----------



## franca

Op success for conjoined twins


----------



## eggplant43

That's amazing, and wonderful.


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Op success for conjoined twins


:up:


----------



## franca

Doctors Report Transplant Breakthrough


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Doctors Report Transplant Breakthrough


:up:


----------



## poochee

updated 1:47 a.m. EST, Fri January 25, 2008 
*Flight instructor gets $5 million for catching '20th' hijacker*
CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.

*Story Highlights*
Minnesota instructor notices Zacarias Moussaoui's odd behavior, tells bosses
His bosses, at first reluctant, eventually alert FBI who arrest Moussaoui
Moussaoui is considered the would-be "20th" hijacker for 9/11 attack

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Minnesota flight instructor who notified his bosses of student Zacarias Moussaoui's suspicious behavior received a $5 million reward Thursday from the State Department, two government officials told CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/24/moussaoui.reward/index.html


----------



## eggplant43

A true story:

http://www.physorg.com/news120495692.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A true story:
> 
> http://www.physorg.com/news120495692.html


WOW!


----------



## hewee

A 2nd Wow


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/w...=world&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> A true story:
> 
> http://www.physorg.com/news120495692.html


Awesome! Just awesome!!!:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/w...=world&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin


:up:


----------



## franca

eggplant43 said:


> A true story:
> 
> http://www.physorg.com/news120495692.html


Good one eggy.......:up::up::up:


----------



## franca

Schoolboy deaf for nine years regains hearing after cotton bud pops out of his ear


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Schoolboy deaf for nine years regains hearing after cotton bud pops out of his ear


----------



## hewee

Un real that doctors never see that in his ear because they had to look many time.


----------



## eggplant43

There may be a logical explanation for this. Only someone that examines ears could explain it. But if they thought it was just wax, they could have done something about it, Why didn't they?


----------



## reezin14

poochee said:


> updated 1:47 a.m. EST, Fri January 25, 2008
> *Flight instructor gets $5 million for catching '20th' hijacker*
> CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this report.
> 
> *Story Highlights*
> Minnesota instructor notices Zacarias Moussaoui's odd behavior, tells bosses
> His bosses, at first reluctant, eventually alert FBI who arrest Moussaoui
> Moussaoui is considered the would-be "20th" hijacker for 9/11 attack
> 
> WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Minnesota flight instructor who notified his bosses of student Zacarias Moussaoui's suspicious behavior received a $5 million reward Thursday from the State Department, two government officials told CNN.
> 
> http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/24/moussaoui.reward/index.html


GOOD FOR HIM AND US.:up::up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Schoolboy deaf for nine years regains hearing after cotton bud pops out of his ear


How is that even possible?? He had to have had his ears examined 
that is bazaar (I'm glad he can hear now but really!!)


----------



## franca

Donor Gives $130 Million to Bangladesh


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Donor Gives $130 Million to Bangladesh


:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Donor Gives $130 Million to Bangladesh


Cool!! :up::up:


----------



## franca

The miracle mouse that could cure our sniffles

How my twins saved my life by kicking loose a tumour while still in my womb

Baby hurled from blazing flat out of third-floor window is caught by policeman


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The miracle mouse that could cure our sniffles
> 
> How my twins saved my life by kicking loose a tumour while still in my womb
> 
> Baby hurled from blazing flat out of third-floor window is caught by policeman


Three great stories!:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, a three bagger:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

*Baby Found Amid Tornado Devastation*
By BILL POOVEY,
AP
Posted: 2008-02-07 21:25:02
Filed Under: Nation News
CASTALIAN SPRINGS, Tenn. (Feb. 7) - At first, rescuers thought it was a doll. Then it moved. In a grassy pasture strewn with toys, splintered lumber and bricks tossed by the tornado's widespread wrath, 11-month old Kyson Stowell was lying face down in the mud, 150 yards from where his home once stood.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/baby-f...n/20080207135509990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001


----------



## franca

GREAT-gran Joan Bone is Britains oldest classroom assistant  she is nearly NINETY.

And sprightly Joan loves the role so much, she has done it for ten years for free.

She said: I get paid every time I see the kids smile and hear them sing. Ill be 90 in a few weeks, but going to school twice a week keeps me young.

I get a kick out of being with the kids and watching them grow.

Widow Joan helps with reading, sewing and music at Bramley Sunnyside Junior School near Rotherham, South Yorks.

Deputy head Carol Makin said: You could not buy Joans experience and wisdom. The kids think shes wonderful.


----------



## poochee

Bea and franca, good ones!


----------



## poochee

updated 10:43 p.m. EST, Thu February 7, 2008 
By Dan Simon
CNN

*Vick's fighting dogs get second chance at life:up:

Story Highlights*
Best Friends is rehabilitating 22 pit bulls seized at Michael Vick's property
Caregivers have already seen progress in the dogs once bred, trained to kill
Shelter operates on $30 million budget, Vick paid $1 million to subsidize care
Sanctuary hopes dogs will be safe enough for adoption in six months

KANAB, Utah (CNN) -- Ellen doesn't look like a top-fighting dog.

Michael Vick agreed to pay nearly $1 million to subsidize the various facilities caring for his 47 pit bulls.

She wags her tail and gives kisses to anyone who greets her. But the deep scars on her face are permanent reminders of her difficult and violent past.

Ellen is one of the 47 pit bulls seized from an illegal dog fighting ring on property owned by disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

The dogs were bred to fight to the death. Of course, if trained properly they can be gentle loyal pets.

Twenty-two of the pit bulls now reside at sanctuary at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in the mountain town of Kanab, Utah. The 25 other dogs have been placed at rehabilitation shelters across the country.

All of them are lucky to be alive.

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/07/vick.dogs.rehab/index.html


----------



## Shadow Bea

Good story poochee  It is beyond my understanding .. how some people can treat animals that way...


----------



## eggplant43

http://wcco.com/health/comatose.woman.recovers.2.652126.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://wcco.com/health/comatose.woman.recovers.2.652126.html


:up:


----------



## franca

FIRST PICTURE: Russian parents have five more reasons to smile as quins born in Oxford head home


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> FIRST PICTURE: Russian parents have five more reasons to smile as quins born in Oxford head home


They are sooooooooo cute! Hope they will have help with them when they get home.


----------



## franca

Eight-limbed girl is op & about


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Eight-limbed girl is op & about


:up:


----------



## Shadow Bea

eggplant43 said:


> http://wcco.com/health/comatose.woman.recovers.2.652126.html


Thats wonderful



franca said:


> FIRST PICTURE: Russian parents have five more reasons to smile as quins born in Oxford head home


Wow how cute is that!! 



franca said:


> Eight-limbed girl is op & about


Amazing!


----------



## franca

Canine Blood Donor to Be Honored


----------



## eggplant43

Mastiff's and pugs, what a picture


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Canine Blood Donor to Be Honored


That's neat.


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb/19/i_was_saved_by_dvd31098/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/feb/19/i_was_saved_by_dvd31098/


Thank God for the DVD!:up:


----------



## franca

An 86-year-old's belting idea for shoppers... BRACES you can hang your shopping on


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> An 86-year-old's belting idea for shoppers... BRACES you can hang your shopping on


IMO...Brilliant!:up:


----------



## franca

Nelly the el-infant arrives

THIS four-day-old ellie looks forward to the ears to come as he strides ahead of his mum.

The baby Indian elephant, who weighs a jumbo 12st 8lb, is the second born at Dublin Zoo in nine months.

Keepers are thinking of a name after watching mum Yasmin, 17, give birth to him through infra-red cameras.


----------



## franca

Website Gives Readers Reasons to be Hopeful


----------



## poochee

Franca...neat articles!


----------



## poochee

updated 9:00 p.m. EST, Fri February 22, 2008 
*Amazing memory man never forgets

Story Highlights*
Brad Williams, 51, recalls the date he stopped at hamburger joint in 1965
*Doctors are studying him, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of memory*
Williams finished second when he appeared on "Jeopardy!" in 1990
Williams' brother is working on a documentary to be titled, "Unforgettable"

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (AP) -- For as long as he can remember, Brad Williams has been able to recall the most trifling dates and details about his life.

News anchor Brad Williams is believed to have a "superior autobiographical memory."

For example, he can tell you it was August 18, 1965, when his family stopped at Red Barn Hamburger during a road trip through Michigan. He was 8 years old at the time. And he had a burger, of course.

"It was a Wednesday," recalled Williams, now 51. "We stayed at a motel that night in Clare, Michigan. It seemed more like a cabin."

To Williams and his family, his ability to recall events -- and especially dates -- is a regular source of amusement. But according to one expert, Williams' skill might rank his memory among the best in the world. Doctors are now studying him, and a woman with similar talents, hoping to achieve a deeper understanding of memory.:up:

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/22/memory.man.ap/index.html


----------



## eggplant43

Thanks Franca, I've added the blog to my Google Reader. What a tasty idea


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.physorg.com/news122959437.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.physorg.com/news122959437.html


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Dentist of the Back Roads
House Calls to Neediest Patients Bridge Health-Care Gap*:up:
By Mary Otto
Washington Post Staff Writer 
Saturday, February 23, 2008; Page A01

The cane fields and the bayous of Louisiana's Cajun heartland whir past the pickup's cracked windshield. Gregory Folse is at the wheel. He wears green scrubs. His dental instruments and a grinding tool he uses to repair dentures are stowed behind the seat.

Most of his 1,800 patients are too fragile to go out for dental appointments or denture fittings, so he goes to them, riding a circuit of eight parishes.

They represent a cross section of the region's elderly, poor and disabled: Cajun fishermen, retired farmers and oil field workers, younger people crippled by illness or trauma, frail Hurricane Katrina nursing home evacuees, including one who floated on a mattress for seven hours and lost her dentures. There was a madam, too, but she has gone to her reward.

Many, until he sees them in nursing facilities and isolated homes, have not had an oral exam for years. When Folse looks into a new patient's mouth, he often finds decay, rampant infection, the broken stumps of ruined teeth, even oral cancers.

The pain and disease speak to a lack of dental benefits and dental care.

Evidence links oral disease to heart and respiratory problems, and studies show that the old, frail and poor have the worst dental conditions of anyone in the country.

Most of those who had dental insurance during their working lives lost it when they retired. Medicare, the national health insurance program for senior citizens, does not cover routine oral health or dental services. Private dental insurance is limited and too costly for many. And the price of dental care can overwhelm people on fixed incomes: A pair of dentures can cost hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars.

Lots more at: www.washingtonpost.com


----------



## Gabriel

Cute news

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23301577


----------



## eggplant43

That is cute, 6 year olds see the world the way it could be:up:


----------



## poochee

Gabriel said:


> Cute news
> 
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23301577


Adorable.


----------



## franca

Brooklyn Welcomes Rare Red Panda Mao Mi


----------



## eggplant43

The triumph of common sense over greed:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCallPlusBreastCancerNews/story?id=4338818

It seems to me that at the heart of insurance is the concept of assurance.


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Brooklyn Welcomes Rare Red Panda Mao Mi


Cute!


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> The triumph of common sense over greed:
> 
> http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCallPlusBreastCancerNews/story?id=4338818
> 
> It seems to me that at the heart of insurance is the concept of assurance.


:up:


----------



## franca

Under my Nubrella - the hands-free brolley that won't turn inside out in bad weather


----------



## franca

A fridge too far!

Shirley Neely's tortoises hibernate in 2 fridges
I hope that Shirley Neely, who keeps tortoises in her fridge on Jersey, warned her husband.

"What do you fancy for supper tonight, darling?"

"Not to worry, love, I've just had one of those crunchy meat pies in the fridge."


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Under my Nubrella - the hands-free brolley that won't turn inside out in bad weather


Neat!


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> A fridge too far!
> 
> Shirley Neely's tortoises hibernate in 2 fridges
> I hope that Shirley Neely, who keeps tortoises in her fridge on Jersey, warned her husband.
> 
> "What do you fancy for supper tonight, darling?"
> 
> "Not to worry, love, I've just had one of those crunchy meat pies in the fridge."


----------



## franca

Georgia Couple Vows to Enjoy $275M Prize


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Georgia Couple Vows to Enjoy $275M Prize


I hope they manage it well.


----------



## franca

Polar Bear Born in Stuttgart


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Polar Bear Born in Stuttgart


----------



## Shadow Bea

franca said:


> Polar Bear Born in Stuttgart


awwwww


----------



## franca

MetLife Announces Awards to Scientists for Alzheimer's Research


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> MetLife Announces Awards to Scientists for Alzheimer's Research


:up:


----------



## franca

China Mulls Change to One-Child Policy


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> China Mulls Change to One-Child Policy


:up:


----------



## franca

Becks wishes


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Becks wishes


:up:


----------



## franca

"Oprah's Big Give" Gets Big Numbers


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> "Oprah's Big Give" Gets Big Numbers


----------



## franca

White Killer Whale Spotted Off Alaska


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> White Killer Whale Spotted Off Alaska


----------



## poochee

*A reclusive billionaire gives away his good fortune*:up:
Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times
By Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 
March 8, 2008

NEW YORK -- One by one, speakers rose to toast the elderly gent with baggy pants and a shy, gaptoothed smile.

"Of course, he didn't wear a tie tonight," teased one. Another called attention to the honoree's cheap watch and the plastic bag that serves as his briefcase.

The joshing at a Manhattan gathering would have been nothing out of the ordinary except that the man pulling a worn blue blazer over his head in mock modesty was none other than the onetime billionaire, Chuck Feeney.

*Never heard of him? No surprise there.*

Over the years, the frugal 76-year-old has made a fetish out of anonymity. He declined to name his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, after himself, registering the $8-billion behemoth in Bermuda to avoid U.S. disclosure laws. He lavishes hundreds of millions of dollars on universities and hospitals but won't allow even a small plaque identifying him as a donor.

*"We just didn't want to be blowing our horn," he explains in a rare interview at his daughter's Upper East Side apartment.*

The party was to celebrate a biography of the elusive tycoon by Irish journalist Conor O'Clery, titled "The Billionaire Who Wasn't: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune," published last fall.

*Feeney said he cooperated with the book and submitted to an interview because he is driven by a new public mission: nudging hedge fund heavies and silicon scions into "giving while living." *

*It is the latest trend in philanthropy and one that he, more than anyone, jump-started several years before billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren E. Buffett followed suit.*

Lot more at: http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-feeney8mar08,0,6440709.story?track=ntothtml


----------



## franca

Firefighter Uses CPR to Save Tiny Dog


----------



## ekim68

*Moko the friendly dolphin saves whales*

It could have been a scene from a movie when Mahia's Moko the dolphin came out of nowhere to save two pygmy sperm whales from what looked like certain death.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4436390a10.html


----------



## poochee

Great stories!


----------



## franca

Retired police dog on a roll thanks to new set of wheels

The British founder behind the success of social networking site Bebo who turned £8,000 into £417m


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Retired police dog on a roll thanks to new set of wheels
> 
> The British founder behind the success of social networking site Bebo who turned £8,000 into £417m


:up:


----------



## reezin14

franca said:


> White Killer Whale Spotted Off Alaska


Interesting. :up::up:


----------



## ekim68

*83-year-old woman foils purse snatcher*

SANTA FE, N.M. -- An 83-year-old great-grandmother thwarted a would-be purse snatcher with a gas nozzle and an iron grip.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_purse_snatcher_thwarted.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *83-year-old woman foils purse snatcher*
> 
> SANTA FE, N.M. -- An 83-year-old great-grandmother thwarted a would-be purse snatcher with a gas nozzle and an iron grip.
> 
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_purse_snatcher_thwarted.html


You go girl!


----------



## franca

Panda playtime as giant bears enjoy a snowy winter wonderland


----------



## eggplant43

I hope this idea catches on:

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/03/17/news/local/30-mobilehome.txt?rating=true


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Panda playtime as giant bears enjoy a snowy winter wonderland


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> I hope this idea catches on:
> 
> http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/03/17/news/local/30-mobilehome.txt?rating=true


Neat!:up:


----------



## franca

Simon Cowell pays off family's £80,000 mortgage on Oprah...before enjoying a spin in his $1million supercar


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Simon Cowell pays off family's £80,000 mortgage on Oprah...before enjoying a spin in his $1million supercar


:up:


----------



## franca

Michigan Girl's Birthday Hope Comes True


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Michigan Girl's Birthday Hope Comes True


Beautiful!


----------



## Sooky 47

franca said:


> Michigan Girl's Birthday Hope Comes True


AAAHHHHH! How great is that! :up:


----------



## franca

Danny Boy the Bird Reunites With Owners

Meet the miniature 'guide pony'

Missing cat returns to owner after six years
21/03/2008

A cat missing for six years was reunited with his owner yesterday thanks to a microchip tag.

RSPCA vets were freeing six-year-old Beau from a plastic bag and treating him for a dislocated hip when they found the tag with his address.

His owner Nikki Baylis, from Waltham Forest, North London, last saw him as a kitten.

After welcoming him home, she said: "I couldn't believe he had been found after so long."

The Kennel Club, which runs the national identification database Petlog, said it was "remarkable".


----------



## Sooky 47

franca said:


> Danny Boy the Bird Reunites With Owners
> 
> Meet the miniature 'guide pony'
> 
> Missing cat returns to owner after six years
> 21/03/2008
> 
> A cat missing for six years was reunited with his owner yesterday thanks to a microchip tag.
> 
> RSPCA vets were freeing six-year-old Beau from a plastic bag and treating him for a dislocated hip when they found the tag with his address.
> 
> His owner Nikki Baylis, from Waltham Forest, North London, last saw him as a kitten.
> 
> After welcoming him home, she said: "I couldn't believe he had been found after so long."
> 
> The Kennel Club, which runs the national identification database Petlog, said it was "remarkable".


Good stories Frank! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Danny Boy the Bird Reunites With Owners
> 
> Meet the miniature 'guide pony'
> 
> Missing cat returns to owner after six years
> 21/03/2008
> 
> A cat missing for six years was reunited with his owner yesterday thanks to a microchip tag.
> 
> RSPCA vets were freeing six-year-old Beau from a plastic bag and treating him for a dislocated hip when they found the tag with his address.
> 
> His owner Nikki Baylis, from Waltham Forest, North London, last saw him as a kitten.
> 
> After welcoming him home, she said: "I couldn't believe he had been found after so long."
> 
> The Kennel Club, which runs the national identification database Petlog, said it was "remarkable".


----------



## poochee

updated 2:30 p.m. EDT, Fri March 21, 2008 
*Famed musician, 90, doesn't have time to be old*

*Story Highlights*
Marian McPartland turned 90 Thursday, gave concert Wednesday night:up:
McPartland known as *"Grande Dame of Piano Jazz,"* still does radio show
Guests for concert included Norah Jones, Wynton Marsalis

NEW YORK (AP) -- Marian McPartland celebrated her 90th birthday in a style befitting the "Grande Dame of Piano Jazz" with a little help from friends like Norah Jones and Wynton Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Marian McPartland celebrated her 90th birthday at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center Wednesday.

"Getting up here is really a job," quipped McPartland, who has been slowed by arthritis in her legs and is recovering from a fractured pelvis, after being assisted onstage.

*But the years fell away once her hands touched the keyboard.*

She started both sets Wednesday night -- on the eve of her actual birthday -- with the traditional jazz tune "Royal Garden Blues," which she used to play in the band led by her late husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland. The British-born pianist met the Chicago jazzman when they were entertaining troops in Belgium in 1944 and he introduced his war bride to American jazz audiences in the late 1940s.

Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/21/music.marianmcpartland.ap/index.html


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> updated 2:30 p.m. EDT, Fri March 21, 2008
> *Famed musician, 90, doesn't have time to be old*
> 
> *Story Highlights*
> Marian McPartland turned 90 Thursday, gave concert Wednesday night:up:
> McPartland known as *"Grande Dame of Piano Jazz,"* still does radio show
> Guests for concert included Norah Jones, Wynton Marsalis
> 
> NEW YORK (AP) -- Marian McPartland celebrated her 90th birthday in a style befitting the "Grande Dame of Piano Jazz" with a little help from friends like Norah Jones and Wynton Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
> 
> Marian McPartland celebrated her 90th birthday at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center Wednesday.
> 
> "Getting up here is really a job," quipped McPartland, who has been slowed by arthritis in her legs and is recovering from a fractured pelvis, after being assisted onstage.
> 
> *But the years fell away once her hands touched the keyboard.*
> 
> She started both sets Wednesday night -- on the eve of her actual birthday -- with the traditional jazz tune "Royal Garden Blues," which she used to play in the band led by her late husband, cornetist Jimmy McPartland. The British-born pianist met the Chicago jazzman when they were entertaining troops in Belgium in 1944 and he introduced his war bride to American jazz audiences in the late 1940s.
> 
> Excerpt from: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/21/music.marianmcpartland.ap/index.html


:up:


----------



## franca

Monika the dancing donkey takes a final bow after retiring from a Russian ballet troupe


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Monika the dancing donkey takes a final bow after retiring from a Russian ballet troupe


----------



## franca

Cleaner wins record £1.2m bingo jackpot - and gives half to elderly neighbour


----------



## eggplant43

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080326/NEWS01/803260366/1056/COL02


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080326/NEWS01/803260366/1056/COL02


Beautiful!


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Cleaner wins record £1.2m bingo jackpot - and gives half to elderly neighbour


Great story!


----------



## eggplant43

poochee said:


> Beautiful!


I't as if a prince stepped into, and out of her life.:up:


----------



## hewee

Maybe that prince will be at the prom and sweep her off her feet.


----------



## franca

Free Web Version of Photoshop Launches


----------



## poochee

hewee said:


> Maybe that prince will be at the prom and sweep her off her feet.


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Free Web Version of Photoshop Launches


Good news for users!


----------



## franca

Earth Day Concert? Check Local Listings

The three-year-old girl who can swim 400 metres


----------



## poochee

*Older Americans wealthier, living longer* *Bad news for greedy heirs.*
Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:22pm EDT 
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Older Americans have more money and are expected to live far longer than prior generations, U.S. government researchers said on Thursday.

They said the average net worth of older Americans -- those 65 or older -- has increased almost *80 percent* over the past 20 years.

And those who reach the age of 65 are now expected to live an average of 19 more years, or seven years longer than people who had reached age 65 in the year 1900.

The findings are part a report released on Thursday called Older Americans 2008: Key Indicators of Well-Being, which features data from 15 federal agencies on trends in population, economics and health issues.

"It gives you a status report of the older population," said Richard Suzman of the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

"We've seen significant improvements in poverty. The percent of those with low income has gone down, education has increased, life expectancy has increased," Suzman said.

"But there are some notes of concern. Obesity has gone up quite significantly. And there are some large disparities. The life expectancy gap between whites and blacks has narrowed but is still large. There is a big wealth gap between whites and blacks," he said in a telephone interview.

Excerpt from: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2740398720080327


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Earth Day Concert? Check Local Listings
> 
> *The three-year-old girl who can swim 400 metres*


:up:


----------



## franca

Tarzan's favourite side-kick Cheeta turns 76


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Tarzan's favourite side-kick Cheeta turns 76


Happy Birthday Cheetah!


----------



## franca

Killer polar bear? I'm just a big teddy, really!


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Killer polar bear? I'm just a big teddy, really!


That made my day!


----------



## franca

NY Is Top Pet-Friendly Place for 2008


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> NY Is Top Pet-Friendly Place for 2008


:up:


----------



## franca

See the amazing picture by an autistic artist who drew London from memory after a single helicopter trip


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> See the amazing picture by an autistic artist who drew London from memory after a single helicopter trip


Neat!


----------



## eggplant43

http://reasonstobehopeful.blogspot.com/2008/04/179-mans-sight-restored-after-66-years.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://reasonstobehopeful.blogspot.com/2008/04/179-mans-sight-restored-after-66-years.html


:up:


----------



## franca

'Idol Gives Back' Attracts A-List Celebs


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 'Idol Gives Back' Attracts A-List Celebs


:up:


----------



## franca

Pictures of the 'miracle' five-day-old premature baby fitted with a pacemaker


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Pictures of the 'miracle' five-day-old premature baby fitted with a pacemaker


----------



## eggplant43

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCHOOL_BUS_CRASH?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SCHOOL_BUS_CRASH?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=NATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


:up: For the boy!

:down: For the driver!


----------



## franca

Make-A-Wish Recipient to Visit Aethon Headquarters


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Make-A-Wish Recipient to Visit Aethon Headquarters


:up:


----------



## n2gun

Zapping Cancer Cells at 13.56 MHz on 60 Minutes This Weekend (Apr 10, 2008) -- John Kanzius, K3TUP, of Erie Pennsylvania, has been working on an RF-based treatment for cancer that is currently undergoing testing.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8138

The cancer sufferer who invented a machine that kills cancer cells hopes to live long enough to see his invention help people. * 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl reports on John Kanzius' invention this Sunday, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.*

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

there is a short video on the cbs news link.

:up:


----------



## poochee

n2gun said:


> Zapping Cancer Cells at 13.56 MHz on 60 Minutes This Weekend (Apr 10, 2008) -- John Kanzius, K3TUP, of Erie Pennsylvania, has been working on an RF-based treatment for cancer that is currently undergoing testing.
> 
> http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8138
> 
> The cancer sufferer who invented a machine that kills cancer cells hopes to live long enough to see his invention help people. * 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl reports on John Kanzius' invention this Sunday, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.*
> 
> http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
> 
> there is a short video on the cbs news link.
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## franca

A Dog, A Cat and A Rat

This is amazing -

This is a video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets. They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture the rat came along, and so no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and often, on the cat. The dog will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches. The mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas card.

Click on the link below:


----------



## Shadow Bea

n2gun said:


> Zapping Cancer Cells at 13.56 MHz on 60 Minutes This Weekend (Apr 10, 2008) -- John Kanzius, K3TUP, of Erie Pennsylvania, has been working on an RF-based treatment for cancer that is currently undergoing testing.
> 
> http://www.arrl.org/?artid=8138
> 
> The cancer sufferer who invented a machine that kills cancer cells hopes to live long enough to see his invention help people. * 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl reports on John Kanzius' invention this Sunday, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.*
> 
> http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
> 
> there is a short video on the cbs news link.
> 
> :up:


Nice to see you here my friend  good looking out!!


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> A Dog, A Cat and A Rat
> 
> This is amazing -
> 
> This is a video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets. They work State Street every week for donations. The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself). At some juncture the rat came along, and so no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and often, on the cat. The dog will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire him for a few chin scratches. The mayor of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas card.
> 
> Click on the link below:


 Can't do Utube, but enjoyed the story.


----------



## franca

Man Donates Kidney to Best Friend


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> Can't do Utube, but enjoyed the story.


Strange it works for me from the link..

Try again


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Strange it works for me from the link..
> 
> Try again


I'm on dial-up.


----------



## n2gun

*A reminder to watch 60 minutes tonight*

The cancer sufferer who invented a machine that kills cancer cells hopes to live long enough to see his invention help people. 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl reports on John Kanzius' invention this Sunday, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.


----------



## poochee

n2gun said:


> *A reminder to watch 60 minutes tonight*
> 
> The cancer sufferer who invented a machine that kills cancer cells hopes to live long enough to see his invention help people. 60 Minutes' Lesley Stahl reports on John Kanzius' invention this Sunday, April 13, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.


Thanks, I will make an effort.


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> I'm on dial-up.


Oooooooop's bummer.......


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Oooooooop's bummer.......


I can pick up most, it is Utube I have a problem with.


----------



## franca

MOONWALKING collie Gin


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> MOONWALKING collie Gin


----------



## franca

Another German baby polar bear debut: Stuttgart's Wilbaer


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Another German baby polar bear debut: Stuttgart's Wilbaer


----------



## ekim68

*Despite myth, old age is the happiest time, research says*

CHICAGO -- Newsflash for rock stars and teenagers: It turns out everything doesn't go downhill as we age - the golden years really are golden.

That's according to eye-opening research that found the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests.

The two go hand-in-hand - being social can help keep away the blues.

"The good news is that with age comes happiness," said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. "Life gets better in one's perception as one ages."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/1500ap_older_and_happier.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Despite myth, old age is the happiest time, research says*
> 
> CHICAGO -- Newsflash for rock stars and teenagers: It turns out everything doesn't go downhill as we age - the golden years really are golden.
> 
> That's according to eye-opening research that found the happiest Americans are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests.
> 
> The two go hand-in-hand - being social can help keep away the blues.
> 
> "The good news is that with age comes happiness," said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. "Life gets better in one's perception as one ages."
> 
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/1500ap_older_and_happier.html


Yep! That is if you don't have to eat dog food to exist! And have good health care.


----------



## franca

Oldest known person


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Oldest known person


My Great Grandmother lived to 102. My Mother said she ate small portions of food and she did not let life stress her. She didn't drink or smoke. Longevity runs in my family for those who are health conscious. My Mom was 96 when she passed. My Dad was 88.


----------



## franca

poochee said:


> My Great Grandmother lived to 102. My Mother said she ate small portions of food and she did not let life stress her. She didn't drink or smoke. Longevity runs in my family for those who are health conscious. My Mom was 96 when she passed. My Dad was 88.[/QUOT]
> 
> :up::up::up:


----------



## franca

Lucky dog!


----------



## eggplant43

Great story. Snickers may be a Cocker Spaniel, but it looks like a terrier got into the woodpile, somewhere along the way


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Great story. Snickers may be a Cocker Spaniel, but it looks like a *terrier got into the woodpile*, somewhere along the way


I agree!


----------



## ekim68

*Protein that cuts malignancy of breast cancer discovered*

CHICAGO (AFP) - Researchers have discovered a protein which can reduce the malignancy of breast cancer tumors and also predict whether the cancer will metastasize, according to a study published Monday.

"This protein seems to be suppressing tumor growth," said study author Kent Hunter of the National Cancer Institute outside of Washington.

In studies on mice and in gene expression profiles of human cancer cells, Hunter and his team found that they could dramatically slow the growth of breast cancer tumors and prevent the cancer from spreading.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080421/ts_afp/healthuscancer;_ylt=AttCwsdWHXcGY01pjvyB_PSs0NUE


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Protein that cuts malignancy of breast cancer discovered*
> 
> CHICAGO (AFP) - Researchers have discovered a protein which can reduce the malignancy of breast cancer tumors and also predict whether the cancer will metastasize, according to a study published Monday.
> 
> "This protein seems to be suppressing tumor growth," said study author Kent Hunter of the National Cancer Institute outside of Washington.
> 
> In studies on mice and in gene expression profiles of human cancer cells, Hunter and his team found that they could dramatically slow the growth of breast cancer tumors and prevent the cancer from spreading.
> 
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080421/ts_afp/healthuscancer;_ylt=AttCwsdWHXcGY01pjvyB_PSs0NUE


:up:


----------



## franca

Penguin's Wetsuit Puts Him Back in the Swim of Things

Whiten Your Teeth the Natural Way


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Penguin's Wetsuit Puts Him Back in the Swim of Things
> 
> Whiten Your Teeth the Natural Way


Love the Penquin story.

Good info on how to whiten your teeth!


----------



## franca

Wanted for scientific trial: Chocolate loving women
By Mirror.co.uk 28/04/2008

Cadbury chocolate 


Women who are prepared to eat chocolate every day for a year are being sought for a scientific trial.

In what sounds like a dream job for many, 150 volunteers are needed.

The aim is to test the theory that chocolate can help women with type 2 diabetes ward off heart disease after menopause.

Experts say flavonoids, plant compounds found in cocoa and soy, have been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors.
Advertisement

So diet specialists have recruited a Belgian chocolatier to create bars rich in flavonoids.

A researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich said: "We will be asking the women to eat chocolate for a year." But it was noted the bars have "a bitter taste".


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Wanted for scientific trial: Chocolate loving women
> By Mirror.co.uk 28/04/2008
> 
> Cadbury chocolate
> 
> Women who are prepared to eat chocolate every day for a year are being sought for a scientific trial.
> 
> In what sounds like a dream job for many, 150 volunteers are needed.
> 
> The aim is to test the theory that chocolate can help women with type 2 diabetes ward off heart disease after menopause.
> 
> Experts say flavonoids, plant compounds found in cocoa and soy, have been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors.
> Advertisement
> 
> So diet specialists have recruited a Belgian chocolatier to create bars rich in flavonoids.
> 
> A researcher at the University of East Anglia in Norwich said: "We will be asking the women to eat chocolate for a year." But it was noted the bars have "a bitter taste".


I don't anticipate many volunteers to eat bitter chocolate.


----------



## franca

The English adventurer


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The English adventurer


Interesting story.


----------



## franca

"Cat Lady of Baghdad"


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> "Cat Lady of Baghdad"


Neat story!


----------



## franca

Boy Scout finds $800


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Boy Scout finds $800


:up: I hope Jessica also rewarded him!


----------



## franca

Treasure trove found


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Treasure trove found


Interesting!


----------



## franca

"Unbelievable" Moment Stuns Crowd at Softball Game


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> "Unbelievable" Moment Stuns Crowd at Softball Game


Neat!:up:


----------



## ekim68

franca said:


> "Unbelievable" Moment Stuns Crowd at Softball Game


Great article Frank. I'm passing it around...:up:


----------



## n2gun

franca said:


> "Unbelievable" Moment Stuns Crowd at Softball Game


*Great Story* :up:


----------



## franca

Baby's first rollercoaster


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby's first rollercoaster


Sounds cute, but I wonder how high it is? I assume ground level.


----------



## franca

Gorilla Celebrates Her 55th Birthday


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Gorilla Celebrates Her 55th Birthday


:up:


----------



## firestormer

Great tits cope well with warming


----------



## firestormer

^^^^ What did you think it meant???


----------



## poochee

firestormer said:


> ^^^^ What did you think it meant???


Didn't fool me, I knew what it was about. UK......


----------



## franca

Happy Mother's Day: ............


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Happy Mother's Day: ............


Not my cup of tea, but they look happy!  She must be a very healthy woman.


----------



## CleanUp

poochee said:


> Didn't fool me, I knew what it was about. UK......


Didn't fool me either .

PS: God you post so much Pooche, really hard to find those posts


----------



## poochee

CleanUp said:


> Didn't fool me either .
> 
> PS: God you post so much Pooche, really hard to find those posts


And I'm on dial-up. But I'm quick.


----------



## franca

Man Finds Woman's Wallet


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Man Finds Woman's Wallet


Neat!


----------



## franca

10-year-old Scholar Takes Calif. College by Storm


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 10-year-old Scholar Takes Calif. College by Storm


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Oklahoma freshman named town's mayor*
updated 3:11 a.m. EDT, Wed May 14, 2008 
Associated Press

MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma (AP) -- A 19-year-old freshman at the University of Oklahoma was elected mayor Tuesday of Muskogee, a city of 38,000 in the northeastern part of the state.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/14/freshman.mayor.ap/index.html


----------



## ekim68

*3 centuries, 4 husbands, 109 years*

Born in U.K., oldest war vet walked almost 1,000 km to B.C.
Glenda Luymes, The Province
Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008

Her life has touched three centuries. But, when asked to offer a few words of wisdom to mark her 109th birthday, all Gladys Powers can say is: "It's been a long time."

Born in an era when a proper lady never revealed her age, Powers remains coy about the 109-year milestone, which she will reach on Saturday.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=ef802371-2f51-456a-8e9f-3cba36b34e62


----------



## ekim68

*Swiss man soars above Alps with jet-powered wing*

BEX, Switzerland - A Swiss pilot strapped on a jet-powered wing and leaped from a plane Wednesday for the first public demonstration of the homemade device, turning figure eights and soaring high above the Alps.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514..._rocket_man;_ylt=Alp2KM6q16lDL7x0uzFIMxxbbBAF


----------



## franca

Penguin "Mothers" Make Daily Care a Labor of Love


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Penguin "Mothers" Make Daily Care a Labor of Love


Nice story.


----------



## franca

Lost Parrot Tells Veterinarian his Address


----------



## franca

Baby you haven't changed a bit!


----------



## poochee

Franca...neat articles.


----------



## franca

At 203 in doggie years,


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> At 203 in doggie years,


Nice story.


----------



## franca

Vets Install Pacemaker in Search-and-Rescue Dog


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Vets Install Pacemaker in Search-and-Rescue Dog


:up:


----------



## franca

Cat hired as station chief brings passengers back


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Cat hired as station chief brings passengers back


----------



## Sooky 47

Another good story Frank! Thanks Hi poochee!!


----------



## poochee

Sooky 47 said:


> Another good story Frank! Thanks Hi poochee!!


Hi there!


----------



## Sooky 47

poochee said:


> Hi there!


I think I'm chasing you tonight poochee!!!!!


----------



## poochee

Sooky 47 said:


> I think I'm chasing you tonight poochee!!!!!


We are running in circles.


----------



## Sooky 47

poochee said:


> We are running in circles.


It kind of mirrors my life then poochee


----------



## franca

Lu & Poochee.....


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Lu & Poochee.....


----------



## franca

Cosby Sweaters to Raise Money for Charity


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Cosby Sweaters to Raise Money for Charity


:up:


----------



## franca

Picture of hope:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Picture of hope:


Beautiful story, so inspiring!


----------



## franca

Last minute song change

He's from my home town in England.......Warrington.:up:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Last minute song change
> 
> He's from my home town in England.......Warrington.:up:


He made a good choice! I didn't see it, but I can visualize him dancing to that number. And I am a BeeGees fan!


----------



## ekim68

*101-Year-Old Woman Gets Driver's License Renewed Until 2011*

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida woman who is considered to be the world's oldest driver got her license renewed until 2011.

http://www.local6.com/news/16422372/detail.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *101-Year-Old Woman Gets Driver's License Renewed Until 2011*
> 
> TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Florida woman who is considered to be the world's oldest driver got her license renewed until 2011.
> 
> http://www.local6.com/news/16422372/detail.html


:up: She looks pretty good for 101.


----------



## franca

The orphaned baby heron


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The orphaned baby heron


Neat story!


----------



## franca

Pa. Man, 71, Friend in Wheelchair Nab Suspect


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Pa. Man, 71, Friend in Wheelchair Nab Suspect


:up:


----------



## franca

The amazing water girl


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The amazing water girl


----------



## franca

1,000 in global teddy bear hunt


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 1,000 in global teddy bear hunt


:up:


----------



## franca

Europe's oldest man celebrates


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Europe's oldest man celebrates


:up:


----------



## franca

Watch that's back from the seabed...


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Watch that's back from the seabed...


Neat story!


----------



## franca

Patient Web Sites


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Patient Web Sites


:up:


----------



## franca

Baby beluga whale born at Vancouver Aquarium

Video


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby beluga whale born at Vancouver Aquarium
> 
> Video


----------



## franca

Baby swans hit the highway


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby swans hit the highway


Soooooooo cute!


----------



## wyattmtthws

I have read that article by Barrack Obama and it was really encouraging. i think it's time for us to understand that a good change is really needed to cut poverty and world crisis. We really have to act collectively but starting the change as an individual. In that way, we can be more productive.


----------



## franca

Monkeys Who Know How to Fish


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Monkeys Who Know How to Fish


----------



## franca

First steps


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> First steps


:up:


----------



## franca

Amazing rescue


----------



## n2gun

franca said:


> Amazing rescue


Incredible :up:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Amazing rescue


Beautiful!


----------



## franca

'Forrest Gump' grandmother


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 'Forrest Gump' grandmother


:up:


----------



## franca

Baby "Love" 

Boomerang the racing pigeon


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby "Love"
> 
> Boomerang the racing pigeon


Neat stories!


----------



## franca

Meet the dog

Britain's most unwanted dog


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Meet the dog
> 
> Britain's most unwanted dog


Two great stories!


----------



## franca

Va. Man Sheds 80 Pounds

Wonderbra:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Va. Man Sheds 80 Pounds
> 
> Wonderbra:


:up: Both articles!


----------



## franca

Tiny UK airline that's flying high


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Tiny UK airline that's flying high


Neat!


----------



## franca

Baby crocodiles chat


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby crocodiles chat


----------



## n2gun

Girl, 3, uses song lyrics to call 911 for mom

GUTHRIE, Okla.

A 3-year-old girl used the simple song lyrics "911 green" to call 911 and get help after her pregnant mother fainted. Jessica Eaves, 24, taught her daughter Madelyn the song a week before she fainted due to a medical condition called vasovogal syncope.

When Eaves fainted, Madelyn picked up her mother's BlackBerry phone and pressed 911 and the green button and was connected to a dispatcher.

In the recently released 911 call, Madelyn was able to answer questions about her house and cars outside that led emergency workers to the home.

And this isn't the first time Madelyn has used a phone to call for help for her mother.

Eaves first learned of her condition a year ago and taught her daughter the lyrics "green, green, green."

When Eaves lost consciousness then Madelyn picked up a cell phone and pressed the green button which called the last person Eaves had called and that person called for help.

http://newsok.com/911-song-helps-girl-3-get-aid-for-mother/article/3261415

:up:


----------



## poochee

n2gun...Neat story!


----------



## franca

Mother told by doctor

Backyard Shed Turned Home Office


----------



## franca

Baby Crying on a Plane? 

Guilt-wracked thieves


----------



## poochee

Franca...Newsworthy stories.


----------



## Sooky 47

Frank does find the neatest things to post!


----------



## franca

A picture of health:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> A picture of health:


WOW! That is a miracle!:up:


----------



## valis

the hoyts. This is unbelievable. I'm a father, and I count my lucky stars every night that my son is normal (well, as normal as any son of mine is going to be), but to see what these parents went through, and what they've accomplished for their son is unbelievable.

video link: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

cnn report: http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/29/hoyt.family/


----------



## poochee

valis said:


> the hoyts. This is unbelievable. I'm a father, and I count my lucky stars every night that my son is normal (well, as normal as any son of mine is going to be), but to see what these parents went through, and what they've accomplished for their son is unbelievable.
> 
> video link: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513
> 
> cnn report: http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/29/hoyt.family/


That is wonderful. I have read of them before.


----------



## valis

I hadn't heard of them before, and it just utterly floored me. And to top it off, that father is just *****footing it out there; he's leaving it all on the track, and that's saying something.

Really humbles me.


----------



## franca

Kylie Minogue Honored


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Kylie Minogue Honored


:up:


----------



## franca

Good Life gran:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Good Life gran:


Very smart lady!:up:

A family I know installed a wood burning stove in their fireplace and it heats the whole house, which has 4 bedrooms and two bath rooms. One story house. It works.:up:


----------



## franca

Freed Hostage 

Pictured: The moment


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Freed Hostage
> 
> Pictured: The moment


:up:


----------



## franca

At last, after 24 years .


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> At last, after 24 years .


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Years later they meet:

http://www.physorg.com/news134575611.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Years later they meet:
> 
> http://www.physorg.com/news134575611.html


----------



## franca

You wait ages for a baby


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> You wait ages for a baby


----------



## franca

Aging Swimmer Shows There's Hope For Rest of Us


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Aging Swimmer Shows There's Hope For Rest of Us


:up:


----------



## franca

The Happiest Blog in the World?


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The Happiest Blog in the World?


Nice!


----------



## franca

Chinless wonders


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Chinless wonders


----------



## franca

Koch Giving $100 Million to Lincoln Center Theater


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Koch Giving $100 Million to Lincoln Center Theater


:up:


----------



## franca

Watermelon Yields ........


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Watermelon Yields ........


There goes our watermelon supply!


----------



## Sooky 47

What next ???????


----------



## franca

The most beautiful wedding


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> The most beautiful wedding


Wising them a happy life!


----------



## franca

Woman's Missing Diamond Ring


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Woman's Missing Diamond Ring


Neat story...hope there was a reward given.


----------



## franca

No wonder he's called 'Lucky'


----------



## DotHQ

Lucky indeed. 
What a cutey he is. 

...


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> No wonder he's called 'Lucky'


What an ordeal. He is indeed lucky!


----------



## franca

Ben & Jerry's makes


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Ben & Jerry's makes


I felt like I was gaining weight reading about it!

I am an Elton John fan.


----------



## franca

Statue-of-Liberty-shaped Maze


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Statue-of-Liberty-shaped Maze


----------



## franca

Mandela Beams at Grandchildren's "Happy Birthday"


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Mandela Beams at Grandchildren's "Happy Birthday"


----------



## franca

Hero pet dog


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Hero pet dog


 Good that she had a dog!


----------



## franca

Broccoli juice


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Broccoli juice


:up:

I eat a lot of broccoli.


----------



## franca

Bystanders Help Man


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Bystanders Help Man


:up:


----------



## franca

Baby beavers


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Baby beavers


So adorable! I want one.


----------



## franca

It's a blew whale


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> It's a blew whale


Cute!


----------



## ekim68

> Estelle Parsons tears up the staircase in the haunted dollhouse of a set in the Broadway production of "August: Osage County" with the nimbleness of an Olympian. For the next several months this 80-year-old Oscar-winning actress will inhabit the physically demanding role of Violet Weston, the drug-ravaged matriarch of "August," Tracy Letts's Tony Award-winning play.
> 
> Her stamina may be a tribute to a lifetime of simple physical fitness for Ms. Parsons, who will turn 81 in November while finishing her six-month contract. She lifts weights and swims, she said, and has hiked the backwoods of her native New England for most of her life. She hasn't smoked in many years and rarely drinks. She almost never eats red meat, save for the occasional lamb chop. She started practicing yoga about 30 years ago. She is the antithesis of Violet, whose self-destructive rampage gives "August: Osage County" its squirming core.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/theater/29estelle.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin


----------



## franca

Yawn a cute panda cub


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Yawn a cute panda cub


----------



## franca

He just cropped the question


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> He just cropped the question


----------



## franca

Golden Retriever Adopts Tiger Cubs at Kansas Zoo


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Golden Retriever Adopts Tiger Cubs at Kansas Zoo


That's nice.


----------



## mybest2U

Hi everyone, have seen the video of "Christian the Hugging Lion"? Absolutely wonderful... 

And if you are on a slow connection, here is a direct link to download the high quality version, just right-click the link and then "Save link as...", and give it a .mp4 extension when you name it. Then you can watch it locally on your computer once it finishes downloading.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Hi everyone, have seen the video of "Christian the Hugging Lion"? Absolutely wonderful...
> 
> And if you are on a slow connection, here is a direct link to download the high quality version, just right-click the link and then "Save link as...", and give it a .mp4 extension when you name it. Then you can watch it locally on your computer once it finishes downloading.


Thanks


----------



## franca

'Oil from algae'


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 'Oil from algae'


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Seven-year-old boy from Los Angeles is youngest person ever to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro...


----------



## ekim68

*Girl survives 14-story chimney plunge*

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Observers say they are amazed that a 12-year-old New York City girl survived a 14-story plunge down a narrow chimney suffering only a broken hip.

Police said they didn't expect to find Grace Berger alive when they frantically worked to open the boiler of an apartment building in New York's West Village neighborhood. But the girl was very much alive, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.

Her fall down the chimney was broken by a three-foot pile of soot at the bottom of the flue, officials said.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/08/02/Girl_survives_14-story_chimney_plunge/UPI-32781217685373/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Girl survives 14-story chimney plunge*
> 
> NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Observers say they are amazed that a 12-year-old New York City girl survived a 14-story plunge down a narrow chimney suffering only a broken hip.
> 
> Police said they didn't expect to find Grace Berger alive when they frantically worked to open the boiler of an apartment building in New York's West Village neighborhood. But the girl was very much alive, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.
> 
> Her fall down the chimney was broken by a three-foot pile of soot at the bottom of the flue, officials said.
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/08/02/Girl_survives_14-story_chimney_plunge/UPI-32781217685373/


Lucky girl!


----------



## franca

Golden Globe Group Disburses $750,000 to Charity


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Golden Globe Group Disburses $750,000 to Charity


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

I just learned about the "chimney girl", she's leading a charmed life.


----------



## franca

Surfers swim with whale


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Surfers swim with whale


----------



## franca

First pictures


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> First pictures


Beautiful babies. I see that Angelina's lips were inherited.


----------



## mybest2U

*One Bank's Holiday Bonus Came With A Catch  That Boosted Community Spirits:*

You think everyone would have something they dislike about their job -- with the notable exception of the people at State Bank and Trust in Fargo, North Dakota. "What do you hate about this company?" Steve Hartman of CBS asked some workers. One said: "I haven't found anything yet." Another: "No, this is a good place to work." And it doesn't stop there. Last Christmas, the bank gave each of the 500 employees $1,000. But the money came with a clever little catch. No, the didn't have to pay it back. But they did have to pay it forward. "There were three rules. You can't give it to your family. You can't give it to a co-worker. And you have to document your good deed. Other than that, the sky's the limit," COO Michael Solberg said... (read the article for more)


----------



## franca

Endangered Gorillas found in the Congo


----------



## mybest2U

This is a funny story...
Sea Lion Slips Aboard Boat, Won't Leave
Darn those pesky sea lions--they just don't know when they've worn out their welcome!


----------



## franca

The bionic eye:


----------



## franca

mybest2u said:


> this is a funny story...
> sea lion slips aboard boat, won't leave
> darn those pesky sea lions--they just don't know when they've worn out their welcome! [/quote:]


----------



## poochee

Great stories folks!


----------



## ekim68

_Brubeck jams with 12-year-old at festival_

HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Famed jazz pianist Dave Brubeck took time during the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut to play alongside a 12-year-old saxophonist, the boy says.

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_Ne...h_12-year-old_at_festival/UPI-96651218397317/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> _Brubeck jams with 12-year-old at festival_
> 
> HARTFORD, Conn., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Famed jazz pianist Dave Brubeck took time during the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut to play alongside a 12-year-old saxophonist, the boy says.
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_Ne...h_12-year-old_at_festival/UPI-96651218397317/


Brubeck, one of my favorites!


----------



## ekim68

_Gnome at last: Stolen garden elf is returned after a 7-month adventure around the world _

If only he could talk there would surely be extraordinary tales to tell.

He's been swimming with turtles off the Great Barrier Reef, scaled a glacier in New Zealand and toured the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...den-elf-returned-7-month-adventure-world.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> _Gnome at last: Stolen garden elf is returned after a 7-month adventure around the world _
> 
> If only he could talk there would surely be extraordinary tales to tell.
> 
> He's been swimming with turtles off the Great Barrier Reef, scaled a glacier in New Zealand and toured the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat.
> 
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...den-elf-returned-7-month-adventure-world.html


----------



## mybest2U

Homeless veteran's only companion, his dog, is saved by a generous veterinarian & the community...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Homeless veteran's only companion, his dog, is saved by a generous veterinarian & the community...


This is a beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes!


----------



## mybest2U

This is just too funny to be true I think:

*Norwegians Give Penguin Knighthood*

...and I just can't get over the picture of the knighted penguin and the Norwegian troops--the caption really says it all: "Nils Olav [the knighted penguin] inspects the troops after receiving his knighthood." 

I mean this is a historical event of such magnitude, surely it is destined to go in all the history books! Norwegians will finally be able to sleep peacefully at night, resting in full confidence that their country's defense against enemies is in the hands (or flippers I should say) of a penguin.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> This is just too funny to be true I think:
> 
> *Norwegians Give Penguin Knighthood*
> 
> ...and I just can't get over the picture of the knighted penguin and the Norwegian troops--the caption really says it all: "Nils Olav [the knighted penguin] inspects the troops after receiving his knighthood."
> 
> I mean this is a historical event of such magnitude, surely it is destined to go in all the history books! Norwegians will finally be able to sleep peacefully at night, resting in full confidence that their country's defense against enemies is in the hands (or flippers I should say) of a penguin.


I saw this on TV. Loved it!!


----------



## eggplant43

Sailor, knocked from boat, rescued 12 hours later


GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- A sailor rescued after he fell into Lake Michigan says one of the worst moments of the 12-hour ordeal came near the end, when a Coast Guard helicopter seemed to have its spotlight on him, only to turn away.

"I heard the rotors and looked east and here was this magnificent whirlybird," James Nelson said after his rescue early Monday. "I waved my arms, but I sank underwater. I could see the spotlight hit my arms. By the time I surfaced it was heading west.

"I said a prayer and the 'helo' turned east. I waved my arms and kept my head above water this time. He flicked his light that he saw me."

Nelson, 56, had fallen into Lake Michigan's Green Bay on Sunday afternoon while sailing in his 23-foot sailboat. A gust of wind caused the boom to swing and knock him into the water - without his life jacket, which he had left on the seat next to him.

His wife, Mary, reported him missing when he failed to return Sunday evening. Around the same time, the Coast Guard learned that a sailboat was found adrift with its engine running.

Seven boats and two helicopters joined the search, along with a group of recreational boaters.

A Coast Guard helicopter crew using night-vision goggles and thermal imaging cameras finally spotted Nelson. He was pulled from the water after 12 hours and taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was treated for dehydration.

"With strength from the Almighty, I just paced myself," he said. But he said he was nearing exhaustion, "about out of gas," when the helicopter arrived.

"When we heard a survivor was spotted in the water, you'd have thought we won the Super Bowl from the cheers," said Chief Mike Weisenbaugh, officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Green Bay.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Sailor, knocked from boat, rescued 12 hours later
> 
> GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- A sailor rescued after he fell into Lake Michigan says one of the worst moments of the 12-hour ordeal came near the end, when a Coast Guard helicopter seemed to have its spotlight on him, only to turn away.


A life changing event!


----------



## mybest2U

*Giving Something Each Day May Keep the Doctor Away*
It's a story of a woman who experienced amazing health improvements with here multiple sclerosis after starting a regimen of "giving things away."


----------



## eggplant43

What a wonderful story:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Christina Applegate, it's all about attitude:

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1937109820080819


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> *Giving Something Each Day May Keep the Doctor Away*
> It's a story of a woman who experienced amazing health improvements with here multiple sclerosis after starting a regimen of "giving things away."


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Christina Applegate, it's all about attitude:
> 
> http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN1937109820080819


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

A teacher in Haiti, a Brown University alumni, pays for one of his promising students to go to college using his_ own money_ and a little help from his family. He only receives a stipend of $200 a month. And then the whole thing mushrooms...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A teacher in Haiti, a Brown University alumni, pays for one of his promising students to go to college using his_ own money_ and a little help from his family. He only receives a stipend of $200 a month. And then the whole thing mushrooms...


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

*"Hubcap is a Beary Odd Gift"*

A rather weird but cute story of a bear at a safari animal park who steals a hubcap off a car, and then presents it to another motorist who just happened to have lost her hubcaps weeks before. The picture of the bear with the hubcap is the best part!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> *"Hubcap is a Beary Odd Gift"*
> 
> A rather weird but cute story of a bear at a safari animal park who steals a hubcap off a car, and then presents it to another motorist who just happened to have lost her hubcaps weeks before. The picture of the bear with the hubcap is the best part!


s


----------



## n2gun

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26335667/?GT1=43001


----------



## poochee

n2gun said:


> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26335667/?GT1=43001


s


----------



## mybest2U

*"Human Exoskeleton Suit Helps Paralyzed People Walk"*

Also some better pictures of the exoskeleton suit.


----------



## eggplant43

That is amazing, and so obvious, once you think about it. Do you think it will come in colors?


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> *"Human Exoskeleton Suit Helps Paralyzed People Walk"*
> 
> Also some better pictures of the exoskeleton suit.


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

eggplant43 said:


> That is amazing, and so obvious, once you think about it. Do you think it will come in colors?


Not only will the suit come in different colors, but given enough time, I bet they'll probably even have a special hot-pink Barbie model for girls and a super Transformer model for boys.


----------



## mybest2U

"Cure for Deafness Now within Reach"


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Cure for Deafness Now within Reach"


:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Not only will the suit come in different colors, but given enough time, I bet they'll probably even have a special hot-pink Barbie model for girls and a super Transformer model for boys.


s


----------



## mybest2U

When A TV Show Turned Down A Mother's Dying Wish, Her Community Stepped In


----------



## mybest2U

Children Rewarded at Fitness Camp
It's good these overweight kids are being offered a practical solution that can actually help them, so they don't have to endure the condemnation and ridicule of their peers.


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/08/31/6620391-sun.html


----------



## mybest2U

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/08/31/6620391-sun.html


What an inspiring story, eggplant43. Thanks for sharing it!


----------



## poochee

Very inspiring stories!


----------



## mybest2U

Monkeys in Chinese Zoo Marry
What a funny publicity stunt!


----------



## eggplant43

Wukong's pose is priceless


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Monkeys in Chinese Zoo Marry
> What a funny publicity stunt!


Sooooooooooo cute!


----------



## mybest2U

Teens Tutor Teens at Student-created Firm

It all started with a $50 ad in a local newspaper: "Students learn best from other students. Any subject. Any grade. Call Erik."


----------



## eggplant43

Brilliant!:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Teens Tutor Teens at Student-created Firm
> 
> It all started with a $50 ad in a local newspaper: "Students learn best from other students. Any subject. Any grade. Call Erik."


Outstanding!:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/09/04/a_promise_kept/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/09/04/a_promise_kept/


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

100 Goats Hired to Clear Weeds in Downtown LA Plot of Land

At first I was incredulous, but now I think it's a brilliant idea! How hilarious!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> 100 Goats Hired to Clear Weeds in Downtown LA Plot of Land
> 
> At first I was incredulous, but now I think it's a brilliant idea! How hilarious!


Yes, goats do a good job of clearing!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Father and his Autistic Son Survive 12 Hour Ocean Ordeal Despite the Odds


----------



## eggplant43

What a wonderful story, and goats rock.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Father and his Autistic Son Survive 12 Hour Ocean Ordeal Despite the Odds


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

"Can a computer game inspire its players to do good deeds? A Montreal entrepreneur thinks so, and he has the backing of prestigious Internet geeks..."

I think it's a great idea, but whether it will be successful is yet to be seen. I hope it catches on; it would be great to have something like that to counterbalance the dozens of violent computer games. What do you guys think?


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Can a computer game inspire its players to do good deeds? A Montreal entrepreneur thinks so, and he has the backing of prestigious Internet geeks..."
> 
> I think it's a great idea, but whether it will be successful is yet to be seen. I hope it catches on; it would be great to have something like that to counterbalance the dozens of violent computer games. What do you guys think?


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

"Brooklyn 'Lassie' heard pal cry for help when no one else did"


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Brooklyn 'Lassie' heard pal cry for help when no one else did"


Beautiful!


----------



## mybest2U

Dog in Scottsdale calls 911, saves owner's life


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Dog in Scottsdale calls 911, saves owner's life


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

"80,000 Homes Powered by Chicken Manure"

And the amazing thing is:


> Whats great about using chicken manure is that there is no release of methane gas which means this biomass powerplant is carbon natural.


Now that's eco-friendly!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "80,000 Homes Powered by Chicken Manure"
> 
> And the amazing thing is:
> 
> Now that's eco-friendly!


Yep!


----------



## mybest2U

Here's some interesting food for thought:

Genes might not be so selfish after all:
It may sound like heresy, but research suggests that environmental factors can alter our DNA


----------



## mybest2U

For some reason, I seem to find a lot of news stories involving animals recently... 

Riding out Ike on an island, with a lion


----------



## mybest2U

The Sky is Smiling! 

(Rare upside-down rainbow caught on film in the UK)


----------



## poochee

mybest2U...great stories.


----------



## steppenwolf

there's anew car out the volt thats rechargeable and we wont need oil


----------



## poochee

steppenwolf said:


> there's anew car out the volt thats rechargeable and we wont need oil


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Wow, it's been 35 years...

*King's win: Net gain for women*

The "Battle of the Sexes" between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King on Sept. 20, 1973, began as a spectacle, a circus. It ended as a statement, bold, authoritative and lasting.

More than 30,000 spectators were at the Houston Astrodome and a worldwide audience estimated at 50 million watched on television. Men cheered for Riggs; women stood for King.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-09-17-womens-bonus-king-riggs_N.htm


----------



## mybest2U

ekim68 said:


> Wow, it's been 35 years...
> 
> *King's win: Net gain for women*
> 
> The "Battle of the Sexes" between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King on Sept. 20, 1973, began as a spectacle, a circus. It ended as a statement, bold, authoritative and lasting.
> 
> More than 30,000 spectators were at the Houston Astrodome and a worldwide audience estimated at 50 million watched on television. Men cheered for Riggs; women stood for King.
> 
> http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-09-17-womens-bonus-king-riggs_N.htm


I'm a guy, and anything that breaks down sexist stereotypes has my 100% support. Thanks for sharing that great article.


----------



## mybest2U

12-Year-Old May Hold Key to Solar Energy



> Solar technology is improving all the time, but one 12-year-old boy may have the key to making solar panels that can harness 500 times the light of a traditional solar cell.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> 12-Year-Old May Hold Key to Solar Energy


Smart young man.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

What an interesting idea:

Adventure Playgrounds



> Theres an unusual park in Berkeley, California. Looking at it, playground probably wouldnt be your first thought. Junkyard is more like it, or war zone. And, well, that would be accurate...
> The simplicity of the concept is still startling, writes Susan Solomon. This ideathat kids are more interested in playing with what they find lying around than with what we think they should be playingis the bedrock idea of all new play areas."


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> What an interesting idea:
> 
> Adventure Playgrounds


Develops the imagination!


----------



## mybest2U

How a Ping-Pong Ball Used in a Little Girl's Operation Saved Her Life


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> How a Ping-Pong Ball Used in a Little Girl's Operation Saved Her Life


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Bomb-sniffing dog and his handler retire together from airport duty*
By Blair Anthony Robertson 
Last Updated 12:21 am PDT Saturday, September 27, 2008
Story appeared in OUR REGION section, Page B1

Ned Heasty was supposed to retire three years ago.

His departure was delayed because in 2002, a big dog that seemed to be all business walked into Heasty's life.

Heasty and Tyson, an 85-pound German shepherd, became a team, patrolling the Sacramento International Airport looking for explosive devices.

As Heasty's original retirement target date crept nearer, this burly ol' dog was tugging at his heart.

So no one was startled when Heasty one day made an extraordinary announcement. He informed his superiors that he wanted to work three more years and go out when Tyson was ready to call it quits, too.

At the farewell gathering Thursday, Tyson will wonder what all the fuss is about and why everyone is scratching his head more than normal, why folks keep telling him how wonderful he is.

But he knows they will be together tomorrow and the day after that. To this dog, that's what matters most.

Excerpts from: http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1269868.html


----------



## mybest2U

poochee said:


> *Bomb-sniffing dog and his handler retire together from airport duty*


Great story, thanks for sharing it Poochee!  Here's one I think you'll find worth reading:

Lance Armstrong's New Challenge Could Be His Greatest


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Great story, thanks for sharing it Poochee!  Here's one I think you'll find worth reading:
> 
> Lance Armstrong's New Challenge Could Be His Greatest


Neat story!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Cancer has kept St. Paul man from the Renaissance Festival, so the festival came to him


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Cancer has kept St. Paul man from the Renaissance Festival, so the festival came to him


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Promise of a free education fulfilled



> OAKLAND, CA (KGO) -- An Oakland woman is celebrating a milestone. It was 20 years ago that Oral Lee Brown promised a group of first graders she would pay for their college education. She's done that and more.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Promise of a free education fulfilled


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Kenya village gets medical clinic from brothers it helped
"Residents sold chickens and cattle to send siblings to college in the U.S.A."


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Kenya village gets medical clinic from brothers it helped
> "Residents sold chickens and cattle to send siblings to college in the U.S.A."


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6045594.html


----------



## eggplant43

mybest2U said:


> Promise of a free education fulfilled


This is my old stomping ground. I can't afford to make a contribution right now, but as soon as I can, I will. There is no greater gift, than the gift of hope.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6045594.html


Yes!


----------



## ekim68

*After 436 years, Austrian stables take in women*

VIENNA, Austria -- It's no longer a man's world in Austria's most sophisticated stables.

The country's prestigious Spanish Riding School, for centuries a bastion of masculinity, is modernizing: On Wednesday, the 436-year-old institution officially presented its first female riders-in-training.

The school, which was founded in 1572 and is part of Vienna's former imperial Hofburg Palace complex, is known for elegant white Lipizzaner stallions.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103ap_eu_austria_women_riders.html


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *After 436 years, Austrian stables take in women*
> 
> VIENNA, Austria -- It's no longer a man's world in Austria's most sophisticated stables.
> 
> The country's prestigious Spanish Riding School, for centuries a bastion of masculinity, is modernizing: On Wednesday, the 436-year-old institution officially presented its first female riders-in-training.
> 
> The school, which was founded in 1572 and is part of Vienna's former imperial Hofburg Palace complex, is known for elegant white Lipizzaner stallions.
> 
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103ap_eu_austria_women_riders.html


I saw a Lipizzan horse show and it was great!


----------



## ekim68

Did you see it live? I saw some of those performances on PBS...


----------



## mybest2U

"Obamas Random Act of Kindness"

If you haven't seen it all ready, I think that is a story you will particularly enjoy, Poochee.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Did you see it live? I saw some of those performances on PBS...


Live, at a football field at JC here.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Obamas Random Act of Kindness"
> 
> If you haven't seen it all ready, I think that is a story you will particularly enjoy, Poochee.


Thanks! A lovely story!


----------



## mybest2U

Helping kids break stereotypes


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Helping kids break stereotypes


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Bus driver saves girl from choking on dollar coin


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Bus driver saves girl from choking on dollar coin


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

A crown made of friendship


> Girl with Down syndrome wins homecoming honor and peers' respect.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A crown made of friendship


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

USA Today article:
The New Face of Giving



> The United States long has been a nation of givers, but a new generation is transforming the way we do good. Millennials and Generation Xers, especially those 20- and 30-somethings starting careers, may not have the bucks to be major donors, but they are finding ways to help others and prompting big changes in the way charities raise money...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> USA Today article:
> The New Face of Giving


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Free gas? West Linn resident says its the least he can do


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Free gas? West Linn resident says its the least he can do


Nice!


----------



## mybest2U

Sick teen kicks 3 extra points in first, only game


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Sick teen kicks 3 extra points in first, only game


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Dog risks life for kittens


----------



## mybest2U

A new study shows that meditation opens the gateway to compassion


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Dog risks life for kittens


:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A new study shows that meditation opens the gateway to compassion


Link didn't work for me. Probably my dial-up.

Sounds reasonable though!


----------



## mybest2U

"Nice Bosses Get Better Results"

(Gee, what a revelation! I'm surprised they didn't figure that out sooner. )


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Nice Bosses Get Better Results"
> 
> (Gee, what a revelation! I'm surprised they didn't figure that out sooner. )


s


----------



## mybest2U

Acclaimed Colombian Institution Has 4,800 Books and 10 Legs


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Acclaimed Colombian Institution Has 4,800 Books and 10 Legs


Wonderful!!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists

(Again, their ideas don't seem as ground-breaking as they are basically common sense, but I guess it helps to hear the "experts" confirm what most people all ready know)


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists
> 
> (Again, their ideas don't seem as ground-breaking as they are basically common sense, but I guess it *helps to hear the "experts" confirm* what most people all ready know)


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Obama's Letter Was Answer To A Little Boy's Request



> ...teacher Joyce Ben-KiKi had Aron and his classmates each send letters to a famous person as part of a language arts lesson..."I told them not to expect a letter back," Ben-KiKi said. "I told them these people are very busy and most likely will not write back."...Obama was the only one to write back.


And guess who was among those who didn't write back? John McCain. Hmmmm... food for thought.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Obama's Letter Was Answer To A Little Boy's Request
> 
> And guess who was among those who didn't write back? John McCain. Hmmmm... food for thought.


Obama.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Big Microsoft Study Supports Small World Theory



> The "small world theory," embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Big Microsoft Study Supports Small World Theory


Interesting!


----------



## mybest2U

Man, 73, scores 2 points in college hoops game

I hope I'm that active and healthy when I'm 73 years old, although I'm not much of a basketball player.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> *Man, 73, scores 2 points in college hoops game*
> 
> I hope I'm that active and healthy when I'm 73 years old, although I'm not much of a basketball player.


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

"I love you, mum": First words of brain-damaged girl, 6, given power of speech by laser which tracks her eye movements

I really liked that story, hope you enjoy it too.


----------



## mybest2U

The mystery of the "generosity gene"


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "I love you, mum": First words of brain-damaged girl, 6, given power of speech by laser which tracks her eye movements
> 
> I really liked that story, hope you enjoy it too.


Great story!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The mystery of the "generosity gene"


Generosity, I beleive, is learned from parents and and religion.


----------



## mybest2U

Colombia radio host connects hostages with family


----------



## mybest2U

Dallas County animal shelter receives outpouring of help


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Colombia radio host connects hostages with family


:up: Nice story!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Dallas County animal shelter receives outpouring of help


That's nice!


----------



## mybest2U

Pupils rescue trapped man and dog


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Pupils rescue trapped man and dog


Great story!


----------



## eggplant43

www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/881656.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/881656.html


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Keeping in touch with employees helps this hospital thrive in a tough market


----------



## mybest2U

Thief repays Bristol shopkeeper seven years after raid


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Keeping in touch with employees helps this hospital thrive in a tough market


A great place to work!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Thief repays Bristol shopkeeper seven years after raid


Great story.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Lonesome penguin cheered up by his new friend... a stuffed toy

I feel like a kid again, because I think the pictures were the best part; although I did greatly enjoy the article too.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Lonesome penguin cheered up by his new friend... a stuffed toy
> 
> I feel like a kid again, because I think the pictures were the best part; although I did greatly enjoy the article too.


That's adorable.


----------



## mybest2U

Payless ShoeSource chain to give away shoes through partnership with charities


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Payless ShoeSource chain to give away shoes through partnership with charities


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

A World Away, Finding a Lifeline and a Friend


----------



## mybest2U

A couple of good animal stories you might enjoy if not for the pictures alone:

Monkey is nuts for tiger cubs

Tiger and dog are Bombay mix


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A World Away, Finding a Lifeline and a Friend


A beautiful story!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A couple of good animal stories you might enjoy if not for the pictures alone:
> 
> Monkey is nuts for tiger cubs
> 
> Tiger and dog are Bombay mix


Neat stories.


----------



## mybest2U

Ecuador Constitution Grants Rights to Nature

What a revolutionary idea, I wonder if any other countries would consider doing such a thing. I doubt that the U.S. would ever go that far.


----------



## mybest2U

San Francisco Bay to be electric car capital


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Ecuador Constitution Grants Rights to Nature
> 
> What a revolutionary idea, I wonder if any other countries would consider doing such a thing. I doubt that the U.S. would ever go that far.


Yep, I also doubt it!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> San Francisco Bay to be electric car capital


This will be interesting to observe!


----------



## mybest2U

Kids embrace the spirit of giving


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Kids embrace the spirit of giving


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

New Research Shows Meditation May Protect Your Brain


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> New Research Shows Meditation May Protect Your Brain


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Hay's looking at you... the mystery of the smiling bales


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Hay's looking at you... the mystery of the smiling bales


s


----------



## mybest2U

Five-figure bonuses stun employees
"Owners of ball bearings company reward workers for years of service"

It is so amazing to hear of a company being that generous... that story really knocked me off my seat. I think only because it was family owned could something like that ever be possible.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Five-figure bonuses stun employees
> "Owners of ball bearings company reward workers for years of service"
> 
> It is so amazing to hear of a company being that generous... that story really knocked me off my seat. I think only because it was family owned could something like that ever be possible.


Neat!


----------



## eggplant43

Now that's the America I believe in:up:

When I owned my own business, and we did well, I always paid bonuses. It just made sense. Perhaps because both I, and the business had a soul.


----------



## mybest2U

eggplant43 said:


> Now that's the America I believe in:up:
> 
> When I owned my own business, and we did well, I always paid bonuses. It just made sense. Perhaps because both I, and the business had a soul.


That's fantastic, I've always been a big believer in showing appreciation, and bonuses are certainly a great way to do that.


----------



## mybest2U

Granddaughter donates kidney to grandfather


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Granddaughter donates kidney to grandfather


:up:

I hope she takes good care of her health, sounds like diabetes may run in the family.

Take care of that one kidney!


----------



## ekim68

eggplant43 said:


> When I owned my own business, and we did well, I always paid bonuses. It just made sense. Perhaps because both I, and the business had a soul.


Right on. There's a difference between being an 'owner' and an 'investor'...An owner's business is his labor of love and should go as long as possible...An investor's interested in the next quarterly dividend and nothing else...

But, on a more upbeat news kind of thing:

http://www.upi.com/News_Photos/Macy...de/Macys_82nd_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade/1275/3/


----------



## mybest2U

Veterinarian uses honey on injured sea turtles


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Veterinarian uses honey on injured sea turtles


Neat!


----------



## mybest2U

And since we've been basically on the subject of "better businesses strategies", here's another related article:

Best friends good for business



> ...it's widely accepted that the winning companies during the next generation will be those that have employees eager to come to work and bring with them their hearts, minds, creativity and passion. That kind of worker has been coined in management speak as "engaged"...
> 
> *...those who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged*. Those who don't have a best friend have slim 1-in-12 odds of being among the engaged.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> And since we've been basically on the subject of "better businesses strategies", here's another related article:
> 
> Best friends good for business


When I first started working for the Tel Co they would recruit for new employees from the the present employees asking for names of friends and relatives. My sister-in-law gave them my name. Now that I think about it, I have met all of my close friends at either work or church.


----------



## mybest2U

The Good Samaritan In A Station Wagon

I live near San Diego, so maybe there's a chance I would actually see this guy helping someone on the highway sometime. It's great that there are still people who believe in practicing kindness towards strangers, and not conveniently ignoring them.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The Good Samaritan In A Station Wagon
> 
> I live near San Diego, so maybe there's a chance I would actually see this guy helping someone on the highway sometime. It's great that there are still people who believe in practicing kindness towards strangers, and not conveniently ignoring them.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/35580109.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/35580109.html


I wish them the best of luck!


----------



## mybest2U

Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Puppies save three-year-old boy lost in freezing Virginia woods


Beautiful!


----------



## mybest2U

Laughing your way to lower blood pressure and less stress

Seems like I've heard the same basic thing said before...


> A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.
> _--Proverbs 17:22_


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Laughing your way to lower blood pressure and less stress
> 
> Seems like I've heard the same basic thing said before...


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

A New Generation of "Social Entrepreneurs"
(Or "The Age of Ambition" as the headline reads)


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A New Generation of "Social Entrepreneurs"
> (Or "The Age of Ambition" as the headline reads)


This is very good!!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

E+Co connects the dots between energy, poverty, and the environment


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> E+Co connects the dots between energy, poverty, and the environment


Interesting article.


----------



## mybest2U

Engineering students help disabled dogs


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Engineering students help disabled dogs


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1210-hance_macedonia.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1210-hance_macedonia.html


Wow!!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.rgj.com/article/20081216/NEWS10/812160354


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.rgj.com/article/20081216/NEWS10/812160354


A beautiful story!


----------



## mybest2U

How One 11-Year-Old Kicked Cancer


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> How One 11-Year-Old Kicked Cancer


:up:

So courageous!


----------



## eggplant43

Great story. Here's another:

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/296324-3/LewistonAuburn/Honestly_hes_goodluck_Gil/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Great story. Here's another:
> 
> http://www.sunjournal.com/story/296324-3/LewistonAuburn/Honestly_hes_goodluck_Gil/


Couldn't reach link. Probably my dial-up acting out.


----------



## eggplant43

poochee said:


> Couldn't reach link. Probably my dial-up acting out.


It's a bad link, sorry.


----------



## mybest2U

Like manna, gold falls into buckets

It's always inspiring to hear about such acts of generosity in tight economic times like these.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Like manna, gold falls into buckets
> 
> It's always inspiring to hear about such acts of generosity in tight economic times like these.


Sooooooo Neat!


----------



## eggplant43

OK, I finally found a functioning link:

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/296324-3/LewistonAuburn/Honestly_hes_goodluck_Gil/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> OK, I finally found a functioning link:
> 
> http://www.sunjournal.com/story/296324-3/LewistonAuburn/Honestly_hes_goodluck_Gil/


Thanks. What a great guy.


----------



## poochee

*Parents and son share graduation day at Sacramento State*
By Bill Lindelof 
Published: Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008 | Page 4B

For the Harringtons, graduation is a family affair.

Robin, Ray Sr. and Ray Jr.  mother, father and only son in the Harrington family of El Dorado Hills  graduated Saturday from California State University, Sacramento.

It would be a rarity for parents and offspring to don mortarboards on the same day if the family had planned to graduate together.

But the Harrington's swear on their sheepskins they didn't plan it this way.

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1489770.html


----------



## mybest2U

poochee said:


> *Parents and son share graduation day at Sacramento State*
> 
> http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1489770.html


What a great story, thanks for sharing it, Poochee.  Here's another story that is not actually "new" news, but if you've never read about Cliff Young, I think you will find it worth reading:

The Legend of Cliff Young: The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the World's Toughest Race


----------



## mybest2U

Here's another one I hope you all enjoy as much as I did:

A random act of Christmas kindness



> What's wrong with doing good? Four housemates decided it was time to forget recession, cast off the gloom and start to make a difference.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> What a great story, thanks for sharing it, Poochee.  Here's another story that is not actually "new" news, but if you've never read about Cliff Young, I think you will find it worth reading:
> 
> The Legend of Cliff Young: The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the Worlds Toughest Race


Thanks, I have never heard of him. Very inspirational!:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Here's another one I hope you all enjoy as much as I did:
> 
> A random act of Christmas kindness


Beautiful!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...owinner_20met.ART.State.Edition1.4a5b433.html


----------



## mybest2U

Secret Santas in 3 states spread cheer, $100 bills


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Secret Santas in 3 states spread cheer, $100 bills


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...owinner_20met.ART.State.Edition1.4a5b433.html


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

The boy who wouldn't die: When Lisa's son was hit by a car last Christmas, she was told he might never recover

Merry Christmas, Poochee, Eggplant43, and anyone else who's following this thread!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The boy who wouldn't die: When Lisa's son was hit by a car last Christmas, she was told he might never recover
> 
> Merry Christmas, Poochee, Eggplant43, and anyone else who's following this thread!


That's quite a story!

Merry Christmas to you too!


----------



## mybest2U

Bandleader's Vision For The Blind: Sightless Students Become First Blind Marching Band


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Bandleader's Vision For The Blind: Sightless Students Become First Blind Marching Band


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Three-legged dog is ray of sunshine at assisted living home

I have to admit I'm a sucker for good animal stories.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Three-legged dog is ray of sunshine at assisted living home
> 
> I have to admit I'm a sucker for good animal stories.


Me too!

Neat dog...


----------



## mybest2U

There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning...


Neat!:up:


----------



## poochee

*Los Angeles troupe's sing-alongs lift spirits at nursing homes*
By Catherine Saillant 
December 29, 2008

Hunched in wheelchairs, the ladies of West Valley Healthcare Center perked up as Chris Taylor began strolling among them, crooning "Beautiful Dreamer."

Luisa Federovsky, 90, didn't let the moment slip by, even if she had forgotten to put in her dentures that morning. As Taylor passed, the great-grandmother from Argentina grabbed his hand and locked eyes for an impromptu duet.

'Tis the season of the nursing home holiday singalong. But this recent show at the Canoga Park care center was not the standard staple led by an activities director and volunteers.

Rena LeBlanc has assembled a troupe of performers -- many culled from Hollywood -- who feel as comfortable on stage as they do before a room of seniors. One singer just ended a tour of "Les Miserables"; another was the lead singer in the opera "Aida" at the Ford Theatres in the Hollywood Hills. Others have performed on Broadway and in the concert halls of New York and Los Angeles.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cabaret29-2008dec29,0,4587451.story


----------



## mybest2U

poochee said:


> *Los Angeles troupe's sing-alongs lift spirits at nursing homes*


Great story, thanks for sharing it Poochee.


----------



## mybest2U

Japanese City Finds Treasure in Recycling Unwanted Electronics


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Japanese City Finds Treasure in Recycling Unwanted Electronics


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Nova Scotia ******* joke goes postal

Thought the article was rather humorous, thought maybe you all might like it too.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Nova Scotia ******* joke goes postal
> 
> Thought the article was rather humorous, thought maybe you all might like it too.


s Cute!


----------



## mybest2U

Disabled Guitarist Finds New Sound In Mbira


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Disabled Guitarist Finds New Sound In Mbira


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Another animal story I think you all might enjoy:

On Elephant Sanctuary, Unlikely Friends


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Another animal story I think you all might enjoy:
> 
> On Elephant Sanctuary, Unlikely Friends


Beautiful! Put a smile on my face.


----------



## Blackmirror

Record-breaking dog's 18 pups



> A Dalmatian dog has earned her spots with a record-breaking litter of 18 puppies.


----------



## poochee

Blackmirror said:


> Record-breaking dog's 18 pups


..Hope she gets to retire now!


----------



## mybest2U

Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student in a potting shed helps poverty-stricken Africans


----------



## hewee

mybest2U said:


> Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student in a potting shed helps poverty-stricken Africans


That is great and she invented other things too and she is only 21 years old.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Amazing solar-powered fridge invented by British student in a potting shed helps poverty-stricken Africans


:up:


----------



## Frank4d

Troops in Iraq Allowed to Drink Beer During Super Bowl




> Troops serving in combat zones in Iraq cannot drink beer, it is punishable by court marshal.
> 
> But an exception is being made during the Super Bowl. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, issued a waiver Wednesday that will be sure to be a moral boost to the troops


http://www.nbclosangeles.com/sports...-Allowed-To-Drink-Beer-During-Super-Bowl.html


----------



## poochee

Frank4d said:


> Troops in Iraq Allowed to Drink Beer During Super Bowl
> 
> 
> http://www.nbclosangeles.com/sports...-Allowed-To-Drink-Beer-During-Super-Bowl.html


----------



## hewee

They should not get any beer and to tell the world about it before it happen is as dumb as it gets.


----------



## poochee

hewee said:


> They should not get any beer and *to tell the world about it *before it happen is as dumb as it gets.


Good point!


----------



## mybest2U

Country Doctor of the Year: 50 years of house calls

Talk about dedication... What an inspiration that guy is.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Country Doctor of the Year: 50 years of house calls
> 
> Talk about dedication... What an inspiration that guy is.


:up:


----------



## Frank4d

hewee said:


> They should not get any beer and to tell the world about it before it happen is as dumb as it gets.


Upon thinking what could happen, I agree.


----------



## mybest2U

Final Wish Gives Orphans Hope


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Final Wish Gives Orphans Hope


A sad but also beautiful story. He was a handsome boy.


----------



## mybest2U

poochee said:


> A sad but also beautiful story. He was a handsome boy.


I agree, I was a little hesitant to post that story since it was both sad and yet inspiring at the same time. So even though it wasn't really considered entirely "up-beat news", I think the final outcome made it worth reading. 

Inviting The World To Dinner

Now that guy sure seems to have a positive attitude about everyone in the world.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> I agree, I was a little hesitant to post that story since it was both sad and yet inspiring at the same time. So even though it wasn't really considered entirely "up-beat news", I think the final outcome made it worth reading.
> 
> Inviting The World To Dinner
> 
> Now that guy sure seems to have a positive attitude about the everyone in the world.


Great story!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

How did the Jacobs Foundation help revitalize a neighborhood? By listening to its residents.

Gosh, why hasn't anyone else thought of doing that before?


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> How did the Jacobs Foundation help revitalize a neighborhood? By listening to its residents.
> 
> Gosh, why hasn't anyone else thought of doing that before?


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

The cat and the rat who struck up an unlikely romance


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The cat and the rat who struck up an unlikely romance


Neat story.


----------



## mybest2U

Pen Pals - Then And Now
"Calif. Second Graders Learn A Lesson About Lasting Friendship - From Teachers Who Know"


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Pen Pals - Then And Now
> "Calif. Second Graders Learn A Lesson About Lasting Friendship - From Teachers Who Know"


Nice story.


----------



## mybest2U

"Dear Blue Peter... I can save lives"



> At the age of nine few children know what they will go on to do with their lives. But for a scientist involved in one of the most revolutionary medical operations of recent times, his destiny appears to have been spelled out in a letter written 35 years ago, to a BBC children's programme.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Dear Blue Peter... I can save lives"


Great story!


----------



## eggplant43

Couple sells everything on EBay:

http://www.ajc.com/health/content/s...Belongings_Auctioned.html?cxntlid=inform_artr


----------



## eggplant43

mybest2U said:


> How did the Jacobs Foundation help revitalize a neighborhood? By listening to its residents.
> 
> Gosh, why hasn't anyone else thought of doing that before?


What a great story, brilliant. It didn't have to work. They trusted the process, and were persistent, that's what made it work.


----------



## mybest2U

Mystery man gives away cash in New York

I really admire and respect someone who can be that generous in the midst of the hard economy; most rich people wouldn't dream of doing something like that.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Mystery man gives away cash in New York
> 
> I really admire and respect someone who can be that generous in the midst of the hard economy; most rich people wouldn't dream of doing something like that.


:up:


----------



## franca

An Adoption of Huge Proportions


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> An Adoption of Huge Proportions


Wonderful!!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Making fun contagious for children in the hospital


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Making fun contagious for children in the hospital


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

56-year-old becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic

Next time I feel lazy about getting exercise, I think I will remind myself about her.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> 56-year-old becomes 1st woman to swim Atlantic
> 
> Next time I feel lazy about getting exercise, I think I will remind myself about her.


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

The boy with 11 tumours who was sent home to die... 
and survives with grandparents' alternative therapy treatments


----------



## mybest2U

Free hug offer startles downtown shoppers


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The boy with 11 tumours who was sent home to die...
> and survives with grandparents' alternative therapy treatments


Wonderful!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Free hug offer startles downtown shoppers


I'd take one! That is so neat, hope they pass the hug on.


----------



## mybest2U

Woman thanks Boston firefighter 40 years after rescue


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Woman thanks Boston firefighter 40 years after rescue


Neat story.


----------



## mybest2U

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline pledges cheap medicine for world's poor


:up::up:


----------



## mybest2U

A 13-year-old cancer patient's dream comes true


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> A 13-year-old cancer patient's dream comes true


Great story.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

I think this guy is amazing:

Miami banker gives $60 million of his own to employees

With all the bad press about banks and mortgage companies recently, it makes that guy look like a saint.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> I think this guy is amazing:
> 
> Miami banker gives $60 million of his own to employees
> 
> With all the bad press about banks and mortgage companies recently, it makes that guy look like a saint.


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

From childhood wish to lasting legacy, Smith's charity specializes in smiles


----------



## eggplant43

Thanks so much for that wonderful story, those folks are special. I thought the article was especially well written, as well.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> From childhood wish to lasting legacy, Smith's charity specializes in smiles


So inspiring!


----------



## mybest2U

eggplant43 said:


> Thanks so much for that wonderful story, those folks are special. I thought the article was especially well written, as well.





poochee said:


> So inspiring!


I'm glad both of you seemed to enjoy the story as much as I did.  Here's another story I just found that I think you'll find worth reading:

Amid the Grieving, a Rare Act of Sportmanship


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> I'm glad both of you seemed to enjoy the story as much as I did.  Here's another story I just found that I think you'll find worth reading:
> 
> Amid the Grieving, a Rare Act of Sportmanship


Another beautiful story. There *are* people who care about their fellowman.:up:


----------



## oil painter

>> ->I'm not sure this is where I should post this but I got it in an e-mail today and just had to pass it along
>>> READ THIS and LET IT REALLY SINK IN - THEN CHOOSE .
>>>
>> John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood
>>> and always has something positive to say. When someone asked him how
>>> he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
>>>
>>> He was a natural motivator.
>>>
>>> If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee
>>> how to look on the positive side of the situation.
>>>
>>> Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 
'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time How do you do it?'
>>> He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. 
You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood
>>> I choose to be in a good mood.'
>>>
>>> Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can
>>> choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.
>>> Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
>>> complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose
>>> the positive side of life.
>>>
>>> 'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.
>> 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, 
every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. 
You choose how people affect your mood.
>>> You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line:
It's your choice how you live your life.'
>>>
>>> I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my 
own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him
>>> when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
>>>
>>> Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident,
>>> falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
>>> After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released
>>> from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
>>>
>>> I saw him about six months after the accident.
>> When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins.
>>> Wanna see my scars?'
>>>
>>> I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through
>>> his mind as the accident took place.
>>> 'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my
>>> soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I
>>>  remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could
>>> choose to die. I chose to live.'
>>>
>>> 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I aske He continued, 
'..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. 
But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces 
of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'.
>>> I knew I needed to take action.'
>>> What did you do?' I asked.
>>>
>>> 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John.
>>> 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 
'Gravity''
>>>
>>> Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me
>>> as if I am alive, not dead.'
>>> He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude...
I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
>>>
>>> Attitude, after all, is everything.
>>>
>>> Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. 
Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.
>> After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.


----------



## poochee

Oil Painter..Very inspirational post.


----------



## eggplant43

Myrna, I've seen that one before, and I never get tired of reading it, it is a wonderful story, and a code I live by. 

MyBest, I don't know where you find these stories, but please keep them coming.


----------



## Blackmirror

Well the new life born to Jim and Mel made my day

Welcome Liam


----------



## poochee

Blackmirror said:


> Well the new life born to Jim and Mel made my day
> 
> Welcome Liam


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-02-20-16-08-26


----------



## mybest2U

eggplant43 said:


> http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-02-20-16-08-26


Great story, eggplant43, I really enjoyed that one. I'm always a sucker for good animal stories, so thanks for sharing it.  On an entirely different subject, here's a story I came across that I hope everyone finds worth reading:

In Ecuador, gang members trade guns for scissors and nail polish


----------



## poochee

Two great stories folks!


----------



## mybest2U

12 People In 3 Cities Exchange Kidneys


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> 12 People In 3 Cities Exchange Kidneys


Neat!


----------



## mybest2U

Dog sniffs out owner's cancer and saves her life


----------



## eggplant43

Our companions know. I used to go to the vet and describe what was going on with Cosmo, the cat I shared my life with. He was always amazed I knew so much. He told me very few owners knew these things about their pets. I believe it was because I did not consider myself an "owner" but rather a close friend. If we just pay attention to them, they'll tell us what we need to know.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Dog sniffs out owner's cancer and saves her life


The first time I have heard of this! Amazing! Good to know.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Ironworkers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients


----------



## eggplant43

mybest2U said:


> Ironworkers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients


It's a little thing that is a big deal:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Ironworkers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients


Beautiful!


----------



## mybest2U

CEO Of The People: Corporate Execs Could Learn A Thing Or Two From The Head Of Japan Airlines

I couldn't agree more...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> CEO Of The People: Corporate Execs Could Learn A Thing Or Two From The Head Of Japan Airlines


:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Woman becomes a mermaid after 'Lord of the Rings' special effects shop gives her new prosthetic


----------



## mybest2U

More teens volunteer than work part time: Data suggest this generation more involved in charitable work


----------



## vistajames

mybest2U said:


> More teens volunteer than work part time: Data suggest this generation more involved in charitable work


----------



## franca

Mush! Mush! Meet Kody


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Mush! Mush! Meet Kody


Neat!


----------



## franca

Boy, 8, who taught himself to read


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Boy, 8, who taught himself to read


That's amazing!

I like his suit!


----------



## franca

Lotto syndicate give firm win


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Lotto syndicate give firm win


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

A Miserly Benefactor:

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090308/D96PTBU00.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A Miserly Benefactor:
> 
> http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090308/D96PTBU00.html


Nice story.


----------



## ekim68

_Woman, 107, has Disneyland royal treatment_

ANAHEIM, Calif., March 9 (UPI) -- A woman in Orange County, Calif., said she was treated like a queen when she visited Disneyland for her 107th birthday.

Margaret Johnstone said after being announced by a town crier at the famous tourist site, she received a round of applause while wearing a blinking princess tiara, The Orange County (Calif.) Register said Monday.

"Hear ye, hear ye," the unidentified town crier said Sunday as Johnstone entered Disneyland in her wheelchair. "Our princess is 107 years old today!"

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/03/09/Woman_107_has_Disneyland_royal_treatment/UPI-98881236619721/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> _Woman, 107, has Disneyland royal treatment_
> 
> ANAHEIM, Calif., March 9 (UPI) -- A woman in Orange County, Calif., said she was treated like a queen when she visited Disneyland for her 107th birthday.
> 
> Margaret Johnstone said after being announced by a town crier at the famous tourist site, she received a round of applause while wearing a blinking princess tiara, The Orange County (Calif.) Register said Monday.
> 
> "Hear ye, hear ye," the unidentified town crier said Sunday as Johnstone entered Disneyland in her wheelchair. "Our princess is 107 years old today!"
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/03/09/Woman_107_has_Disneyland_royal_treatment/UPI-98881236619721/


Isn't that sweet? Hope the family took lots of pictures! She sounds like she has it all together!


----------



## eggplant43

A Winning Ticket:

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2009/03/10/local_news/doc49b59e543efdf529454377.txt


----------



## Rickybobby

ekim68 said:


> _Woman, 107, has Disneyland royal treatment_
> 
> ANAHEIM, Calif., March 9 (UPI) -- A woman in Orange County, Calif., said she was treated like a queen when she visited Disneyland for her 107th birthday.
> 
> Margaret Johnstone said after being announced by a town crier at the famous tourist site, she received a round of applause while wearing a blinking princess tiara, The Orange County (Calif.) Register said Monday.
> 
> "Hear ye, hear ye," the unidentified town crier said Sunday as Johnstone entered Disneyland in her wheelchair. "Our princess is 107 years old today!"
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/03/09/Woman_107_has_Disneyland_royal_treatment/UPI-98881236619721/


A very nice story, I wonder if she had gone on any of the rides there


----------



## poochee

Rickybobby said:


> A very nice story, I wonder if she had gone on any of the rides there


s


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A Winning Ticket:
> 
> http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2009/03/10/local_news/doc49b59e543efdf529454377.txt


:up:


----------



## franca

30 bars a week ........


----------



## eggplant43

I must admit, I looked to see if she still had teeth before reading the article.


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> 30 bars a week ........


That is an amazing story. She looks healthy and happy.:up:

If I did that I would weigh 500 lbs. Cadbury chocolate is very tasty!


----------



## franca

Still on her perch:


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Still on her perch:


A nice story.


----------



## mybest2U

Hey everyone, we need to kick-start this thread again, there have been some really good posts of worthwhile stories... Please keep them coming!  Here's a story to hopefully get things rolling again:

Bus driver delivers free home-cooked meals


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Hey everyone, we need to kick-start this thread again, there have been some really good posts of worthwhile stories... Please keep them coming!  Here's a story to hopefully get things rolling again:
> 
> Bus driver delivers free home-cooked meals


Great story!

Yes, we need more good news.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Here's a few more stories, hope you enjoy them:

The Free Store: You Like It? Take it!

An Empire of Women-run Cooperatives, Guided by a Gandhian Approach


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Here's a few more stories, hope you enjoy them:
> 
> The Free Store: You Like It? Take it!
> 
> An Empire of Women-run Cooperatives, Guided by a Gandhian Approach


*The Free Store: You Like It? Take it!..A fantastic idea.:up:

An Empire of Women-run Cooperatives, Guided by a Gandhian Approach *..*A hand up for those who need it!* :up:


----------



## mybest2U

The Kindness of Strangers


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> The Kindness of Strangers


Very inspirational.:up:


----------



## franca

Student who visited African orphanage


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Student who visited African orphanage


Wonderful story!


----------



## mybest2U

franca said:


> Student who visited African orphanage


Great story, franca! Thanks for sharing it. Here's another story I hope all of you will find worthwhile reading:

25-year-old rows across Atlantic alone to raise awareness for cancer research


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Great story, franca! Thanks for sharing it. Here's another story I hope all of you will find worthwhile reading:
> 
> 25-year-old rows across Atlantic alone to raise awareness for cancer research


Another great story!

We hear so much negative news daily, it is good to be reminded that there are positive things going on in the world.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

"Paying It Forward" as a Full-Time Job


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Paying It Forward" as a Full-Time Job


Very inspiring story!:up:


----------



## mybest2U

From Attitude to Gratitude: This Is No Time for Complaints


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> From Attitude to Gratitude: This Is No Time for Complaints


Appreciate what you have!:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://tangobaby2.blogspot.com/2009/04/kelayas-story-and-you-can-help.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://tangobaby2.blogspot.com/2009/04/kelayas-story-and-you-can-help.html


:up: Thinking about this.


----------



## mybest2U

Creating Schools, And Bridges, To Children


----------



## mybest2U

Meet Jasmine, the rescue dog who has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time

I hope you enjoy the article, especially the pictures...


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Creating Schools, And Bridges, To Children


Very inspirational story!


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Meet Jasmine, the rescue dog who has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time
> 
> I hope you enjoy the article, especially the pictures...


Very nice. She looks like a sweet dog.


----------



## mybest2U

Raising Kids Who Care


----------



## mybest2U

"Banker to the poor" gives New York women a boost


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Raising Kids Who Care


:up:


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> "Banker to the poor" gives New York women a boost


Another great effort!:up:


----------



## franca

This is lovely. Penny sent it to me. 



There is a God, in the Post Office

This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced. I have no way to
know who sent it, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter
office of the US postal service.



Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my
4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she
missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when
Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought
we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you
in heaven.. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as
my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am
sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my
dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith, and
addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith
pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would
take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she
dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if
God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed,
'To Meredith'... in an unfamiliar hand writing. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by
Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies'. Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we
had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of
Abbey & Meredith and this note:


Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being
your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so
I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. 
What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God


----------



## poochee

Franca, the story is very heart warming. Lovely picture.


----------



## mybest2U

Great story, franca!  Here's a few more rather unusual up-beat stories:

Uni-flipper turtle gets it straight with swimsuit

The yoga supergran who can still assume the lotus position... at the age of 83


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Great story, franca!  Here's a few more rather unusual up-beat stories:
> 
> Uni-flipper turtle gets it straight with swimsuit
> 
> The yoga supergran who can still assume the lotus position... at the age of 83


*Uni-flipper turtle gets it straight with swimsuit*.*That's neat!*

*The yoga supergran who can still assume the lotus position... at the age of 83*.:up:


----------



## mybest2U

Lost in the Real World, Found via Cyberspace

Make It Matter: Sea Change
_How one couple introduced kids to the beach--and a world beyond the next city block._


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Lost in the Real World, Found via Cyberspace
> 
> Make It Matter: Sea Change
> _How one couple introduced kids to the beach--and a world beyond the next city block._


Both very nice stories. Making people happy!


----------



## mybest2U

Honest taxi driver reaps rewards


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Honest taxi driver reaps rewards


:up:


----------



## franca

Joy for father


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Joy for father


That is so wonderful!


----------



## mybest2U

Major Phil Packer finishes marathon



> Major Phil Packer was told by medics that he would never walk again after being badly injured in a rocket attack in Basra last February. Today the 36-year-old, who is a paraplegic after suffering heart and spinal injuries, completed the race.


----------



## poochee

mybest2U said:


> Major Phil Packer finishes marathon


:up:


----------



## poochee

*A nice Mothers Day story.*

*Extended family, created by choice, celebrates Mother's Day*

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1848582.html


----------



## eggplant43

A heartwarming story amidst a tragic loss:

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/07/news/wyoming/27-after.txt


----------



## bp936

a lovely story, eggplant.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A heartwarming story amidst a tragic loss:
> 
> http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/06/07/news/wyoming/27-after.txt


Sad yet beautiful! So glad he found the dogs.


----------



## poochee

Bump


----------



## Blackmirror

My yorkshire puddings rose

high:up::up::up:


----------



## poochee

Blackmirror said:


> My yorkshire puddings rose
> 
> high:up::up::up:


s:sup:


----------



## poochee

*This is fun to look at!*

*Politicians' Yearbook Photos*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/11/politicos-yearbook-photos_n_296462.html


----------



## eggplant43

*A story of homelessness, hope, and service:*

http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4726487


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> *A story of homelessness, hope, and service:*
> 
> http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4726487


This brought tears to my eyes, but it had a beautiful ending.:up:


----------



## eggplant43

The feel good story of the day:






Sorry, I saw it on the news, but could only find it on YouTube.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> The feel good story of the day:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry, I saw it on the news, but could only find it on YouTube.


Oh well!


----------



## ekim68

Tis the season....

*Ottawa Man Becomes 'Superman' to Save Young Girl's Life*

OTTAWA, KAN. - An Ottawa, Kansas, man may not be faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. But to one little girl, Nick Harris is 'Superman' after he leaped into action with what can only be described as 'superpowers' to save her life after she became trapped under a car.

"He really is Superman," Kristen Hough, the child's mother, said of Harris, the man she said saved her daughter, Ashlyn.

Ashlyn, 6, says that she was walking down her street on her way to school when someone backed out of their driveway and hit her, pushing her out into the street and rolling on top of her.

Harris, 32 who was in his car at that moment after dropping his own daughter off at school, happened to see Ashlyn get hit. So he jumped out of his car and ran over to help.

When he got to the child, the 5-foot-7, 185-pound Harris suddenly became Superman, lifting the Mercury sedan off the child.

"I just seen a child get hit, pushed into the street and rolled underneath the car," said Harris. "I grabbed the car, picked it up and pushed and moved it out of the way."

http://www.latimes.com/wdaf-superman-car-child-121809,0,2436153.story


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tis the season....
> 
> *Ottawa Man Becomes 'Superman' to Save Young Girl's Life*
> 
> OTTAWA, KAN. - An Ottawa, Kansas, man may not be faster than a speeding bullet or more powerful than a locomotive. But to one little girl, Nick Harris is 'Superman' after he leaped into action with what can only be described as 'superpowers' to save her life after she became trapped under a car.
> 
> "He really is Superman," Kristen Hough, the child's mother, said of Harris, the man she said saved her daughter, Ashlyn.
> 
> Ashlyn, 6, says that she was walking down her street on her way to school when someone backed out of their driveway and hit her, pushing her out into the street and rolling on top of her.
> 
> Harris, 32 who was in his car at that moment after dropping his own daughter off at school, happened to see Ashlyn get hit. So he jumped out of his car and ran over to help.
> 
> When he got to the child, the 5-foot-7, 185-pound Harris suddenly became Superman, lifting the Mercury sedan off the child.
> 
> "I just seen a child get hit, pushed into the street and rolled underneath the car," said Harris. "I grabbed the car, picked it up and pushed and moved it out of the way."
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/wdaf-superman-car-child-121809,0,2436153.story


:up:


----------



## JustJudy

ekim68 said:


> Tis the season....
> *Ottawa Man Becomes 'Superman' to Save Young Girl's Life*
> http://www.latimes.com/wdaf-superman-car-child-121809,0,2436153.story


 :up: :up: Awesome story!


----------



## hewee

Wonder if the mom is married because the guy and kid sure like each other and if the mom and guy do also if he is not married then hey maybe something will happen.


----------



## JustJudy

hewee said:


> Wonder if the mom is married because the guy and kid sure like each other and if the mom and guy do also if he is not married then hey maybe something will happen.


Awwwww, Hewee's a romantic!


----------



## ekim68

*Colorado mom, baby revived after Christmas Eve birth*

DENVER (AP) - A Colorado woman says a Christmas miracle brought her and her newborn son back from the brink of death after her heart stopped beating during childbirth and the baby was delivered showing no signs of life.

"I got a second chance in life," Tracy Hermanstorfer said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-30-mom-baby-revived_N.htm


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Colorado mom, baby revived after Christmas Eve birth*
> 
> DENVER (AP)  A Colorado woman says a Christmas miracle brought her and her newborn son back from the brink of death after her heart stopped beating during childbirth and the baby was delivered showing no signs of life.
> 
> "I got a second chance in life," Tracy Hermanstorfer said.
> 
> http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-12-30-mom-baby-revived_N.htm


A miracle for sure!


----------



## eggplant43

I love happy endings, to get them both back...........


----------



## ekim68

Andy Rooney turns 91 today...:up: You go Andy....



> NEW YORK - Ask Andy Rooney, who turns 91 today, about retiring, and he responds with his own question: "Retire? From what? Life?"


http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-01-14-rooney14_CV_N.htm


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Andy Rooney turns 91 today...:up: You go Andy....
> 
> http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2010-01-14-rooney14_CV_N.htm


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_1e2b7ec4-1276-11df-9740-001cc4c03286.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...cle_1e2b7ec4-1276-11df-9740-001cc4c03286.html


Beautiful!


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/10/BAAJ1BV43M.DTL


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/10/BAAJ1BV43M.DTL


A beautiful as well as a sad story.


----------



## ekim68

*Dog survives 300-foot cliff jump*

SEAFORD, England, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Two dogwalkers said they feared the worst when their Springer spaniel leaped from a 300-foot cliff, but the dog bounced off a wave and swam to shore.

Lia Markwick and Stephen Winslade, who were walking Poppy as a favor for Lia's brother, said the canine was chasing a seagull and made a flying leap from the cliff in Seaford, England, The Sun reported Monday.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/02/22/Dog-survives-300-foot-cliff-jump/UPI-78071266870698/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Dog survives 300-foot cliff jump*
> 
> SEAFORD, England, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Two dogwalkers said they feared the worst when their Springer spaniel leaped from a 300-foot cliff, but the dog bounced off a wave and swam to shore.
> 
> Lia Markwick and Stephen Winslade, who were walking Poppy as a favor for Lia's brother, said the canine was chasing a seagull and made a flying leap from the cliff in Seaford, England, The Sun reported Monday.
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/02/22/Dog-survives-300-foot-cliff-jump/UPI-78071266870698/


 What no leash by a cliff!


----------



## ekim68

*2 customers disarm would-be robber*

David Jones was chatting with a manager at a Farmers & Merchants Bank in Long Beach on Friday when a man wearing a red motorcycle helmet and a black leather outfit barreled through the door, pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Jones froze. People began screaming and falling to the floor. In the chaos, Jones watched as another male customer grabbed the suspect and wrestled his gun away.

Jones quickly realized the customer had been shot in the thigh, and the suspect was wiggling away, so he jumped on top of the man. His hand brushed against another gun underneath the suspect's jacket and he threw the weapon across the floor.

More


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *2 customers disarm would-be robber*
> 
> David Jones was chatting with a manager at a Farmers & Merchants Bank in Long Beach on Friday when a man wearing a red motorcycle helmet and a black leather outfit barreled through the door, pulled out a gun and started shooting.
> 
> Jones froze. People began screaming and falling to the floor. In the chaos, Jones watched as another male customer grabbed the suspect and wrestled his gun away.
> 
> Jones quickly realized the customer had been shot in the thigh, and the suspect was wiggling away, so he jumped on top of the man. His hand brushed against another gun underneath the suspect's jacket and he threw the weapon across the floor.
> 
> More


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

I just read some research this week indicating that other people are positively influenced by watching people do positive things. One never knows what you're going to do in the moment, but I've always believed I'd jump in. Thankfully, no one was killed.


----------



## ekim68

*Report: Ozone depletion appears to have leveled off*

There's bad and good news from the ozone front.

The bad news first: NASA scientists say that the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth's surface has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. The reason for the increase is a continuing decrease in the protective stratospheric ozone layer, a colorless gas located about 10 to 20 miles above the Earth. The ozone absorbs much of the ultraviolet energy from the sun that could cause skin cancer and harm living things, including plants, if it reaches the ground or oceans.

The good news: The amount of the UV increase seems to have stabilized since the mid-1990s.

This finding backs up other research that shows UV levels are stabilizing after countries began signing an international treaty in 1987 that limited the emissions of ozone-depleting gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...ozone-depletion-appears-to-have-leveled-off/1


----------



## ekim68

*Scientists find how relaxed minds remember better*

(Reuters) - Stronger and more lasting memories are likely to be formed when a person is relaxed and the memory-related neurons in the brain fire in sync with certain brain waves, scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers from the United States said their findings could help develop new therapies for people with learning disabilities and some types of dementia.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N4VJ20100324


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Scientists find how relaxed minds remember better*
> 
> (Reuters) - Stronger and more lasting memories are likely to be formed when a person is relaxed and the memory-related neurons in the brain fire in sync with certain brain waves, scientists said on Wednesday.
> 
> Researchers from the United States said their findings could help develop new therapies for people with learning disabilities and some types of dementia.
> 
> http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N4VJ20100324


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

An inspiring story that brought tears to my eyes:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_44136f2e-3ee1-11df-9623-001cc4c002e0.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> An inspiring story that brought tears to my eyes:
> 
> http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_44136f2e-3ee1-11df-9623-001cc4c002e0.html


A beautiful story.


----------



## eggplant43

Sir Jim certainly seems appropriate.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Sir Jim certainly seems appropriate.


I agree!


----------



## steppenwolf

winters over thats good news-yet it seems like January hear near Blaine wa


----------



## poochee

steppenwolf said:


> winters over thats good news-yet it seems like January hear near Blaine wa


Hope you get some good weather soon.


----------



## JustJudy

I'm sure this won't be printed in a newspaper, but I thought it was such a nice feel good story that it should be shared. An email was sent out from the secretary of our primary school:

Tabe Hence, bus 23 driver, turned a frown upside down today! Sarah *****, grade 2 student, carried her birthday Munchkins onto the bus this morning and unfortunately she was jostled and the munchkins went all over the bus floor. Tabe had to sweep them up and throw them away. Needles to say Sarah was quite upset. At 10 AM here at the Primary School the doorbell rang and Tabe delivered a brand new box of 50 munchkins for Sarah to share with her classmates. So this tale ends with some knights in shining armor driving school buses. Thanks Tabe for paying it forward!


----------



## poochee

JustJudy said:


> I'm sure this won't be printed in a newspaper, but I thought it was such a nice feel good story that it should be shared. An email was sent out from the secretary of our primary school:
> 
> Tabe Hence, bus 23 driver, turned a frown upside down today! Sarah *****, grade 2 student, carried her birthday Munchkins onto the bus this morning and unfortunately she was jostled and the munchkins went all over the bus floor. Tabe had to sweep them up and throw them away. Needles to say Sarah was quite upset. At 10 AM here at the Primary School the doorbell rang and Tabe delivered a brand new box of 50 munchkins for Sarah to share with her classmates. So this tale ends with some knights in shining armor driving school buses. Thanks Tabe for paying it forward!


Nice story! :up: Definitely upbeat!


----------



## ekim68

*Boy, 7, returns $1,400 to charity*

RICHMOND, Ind., April 12 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old said he returned $1,400 he discovered at the side of an Indiana Interstate to its rightful owners because he "wanted to do the right thing."

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/04/12/Boy-7-returns-1400-to-charity/UPI-89751271099077/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Boy, 7, returns $1,400 to charity*
> 
> RICHMOND, Ind., April 12 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old said he returned $1,400 he discovered at the side of an Indiana Interstate to its rightful owners because he "wanted to do the right thing."
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/04/12/Boy-7-returns-1400-to-charity/UPI-89751271099077/


That's really nice!:up:


----------



## ekim68

Right on Lorena, leave on top and fulfill your other dreams....:up:

_Lorena Ochoa: 'I just want to be a normal person'_

The world's best women's golfer for the last three years says she decided to retire from the LPGA Tour two months ago. 'I'm ready to start a new life.'

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp...mostviewed+(L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories)


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Right on Lorena, leave on top and fulfill your other dreams....:up:
> 
> _Lorena Ochoa: 'I just want to be a normal person'_
> 
> The world's best women's golfer for the last three years says she decided to retire from the LPGA Tour two months ago. 'I'm ready to start a new life.'
> 
> http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp...mostviewed+(L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories)


Smart move!


----------



## ekim68

*When losing a golf tournament really makes you a winner*



> That is what happened between two collegiate golfers, vying for a spot in the NAIA National Championship.
> 
> Grant Whybark (left), a sophomore at the University of St. Francis, had locked up a spot in nationals with his team, which won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship, but was in a playoff against Olivet Nazarene's Seth Doran (right) for individual honors.
> 
> As championships go, both the winning team and winning individual are asked to move on to nationals, so if Whybark won the playoff against Doran, he'd be honoring both spots and Doran wouldn't be asked to move on.
> 
> What happened next is the type of stuff movies are made about. Whybark stood over his tee shot on the first playoff hole, looked down the fairway and back at his ball, and hit it 40 yards right of the fairway, out of bounds by a mile. He made double bogey, Doran made par, and Olivet Nazarene had a man in nationals.
> 
> What makes it so incredible? Whybark intentionally did it, because he felt Doran had earned a spot in the next round.


http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/d...tournament-really-makes-you-a?urn=golf,238912


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *When losing a golf tournament really makes you a winner*
> 
> http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/d...tournament-really-makes-you-a?urn=golf,238912


----------



## ekim68

And to think that I lost tournaments on skill alone...


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> And to think that I lost tournaments on skill alone...


s


----------



## ekim68

> Ignoring his aching back, Todd Lininger squatted down on his knees and inched his way around the vegetable field.
> 
> The yields were up on three arugula plants. A snail crawled in the row of lettuce. And it looked like the onions might be ready for that night's dinner.
> 
> All in all, not a bad harvest - considering that these crops were growing in a Lilliputian backyard plot in a Claremont cul-de-sac.
> 
> Lininger calls himself a farmer, though he doesn't ride a John Deere and never sees the sun set over the
> fields. Instead, he tends a succession of peewee suburban plots as if they were the sprawling ranches of the Central Valley.
> 
> "The sign of success used to be who had the best lawn," said Lininger, 41, as he pinched the dead leaves off the plot's lone beet. "Now, it's all about how much food you can grow."
> 
> Homeowners who want fresh cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes but don't have time to grow their own hire Lininger's company, Farmscape, to do the work for them. But don't call him a gardener: It's more like farming by the foot. And the 6-foot-4 ex-Marine, skinny as a snap bean, says he can barely keep up with demand.
> 
> There's a mini-boom in such mini-farms. Scores of businesses like Farmscape are sprouting up nationwide, from My Backyard Farm in San Clemente to Your Backyard Farmer in Portland, Ore., and Freelance Farmers in New Haven, Conn.


http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2010/05/picking-green-gardens-backyard-harvesting-grows-popular.html

:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2010/05/picking-green-gardens-backyard-harvesting-grows-popular.html
> 
> :up:


That's neat!:up:


----------



## ekim68

poochee said:


> That's neat!:up:


Yep, we might as well grow things while we can....:up:


----------



## eggplant43

_A story of redemption that has touched my heart. This is a book review, not a news article, but I feel it is worthwhile: _



> David's probation officer found him lying beneath a bridge with a needle in his arm, then got him into a rehab program. There he saw a video in which the veteran convict turned leadership trainer Gordon Graham described prison as a comfort zone, where people came to feel more at home than they did outside.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/soul-of-a-citizen-how-a-r_b_582416.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _A story of redemption that has touched my heart. This is a book review, not a news article, but I feel it is worthwhile: _
> 
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/soul-of-a-citizen-how-a-r_b_582416.html


A beautiful story.


----------



## ekim68

*Lost wallet finds way back to barber*

DEARBORN, Mich., May 23 (UPI) -- A Michigan barber who lost his wallet after driving off with it on the roof of his car says it was returned -- by a man whose hair he often cut.

http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/05/23/Lost-wallet-finds-way-back-to-barber/UPI-32751274645493/


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Lost wallet finds way back to barber*
> 
> DEARBORN, Mich., May 23 (UPI) -- A Michigan barber who lost his wallet after driving off with it on the roof of his car says it was returned -- by a man whose hair he often cut.
> 
> http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/05/23/Lost-wallet-finds-way-back-to-barber/UPI-32751274645493/


That's a nice story.


----------



## ekim68

*Woman Fights Off Would-Be Carjacker*

LAGUNA HILLS -- A would-be carjacker is behind bars after he chose the wrong woman as his victim.

Rosalinda Ruiz, who is only 4 foot 11 inches tall and weighs about 115 pounds, says she punched the man after he jumped into her car while she was filling up her gas tank at a Laguna Hills gas station early Wednesday morning.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-laguna-hills-carjacking,0,7133514.story

:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> *Woman Fights Off Would-Be Carjacker*
> 
> LAGUNA HILLS -- A would-be carjacker is behind bars after he chose the wrong woman as his victim.
> 
> Rosalinda Ruiz, who is only 4 foot 11 inches tall and weighs about 115 pounds, says she punched the man after he jumped into her car while she was filling up her gas tank at a Laguna Hills gas station early Wednesday morning.
> 
> http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-laguna-hills-carjacking,0,7133514.story
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## ekim68

*NZ is world's most peaceful nation - again*



> New Zealand is the world's most peaceful nation, topping the "Global Peace Index" (GPI) for the second year running.
> 
> The fourth annual GPI has been compiled by Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a global think tank that looks at the relationship between economic development, business and peace
> 
> In their latest index out today, the think tank suggests the world has become slightly less peaceful in the past year.
> 
> New Zealand is followed by Iceland and Japan, the institute says small, stable and democratic countries consistently ranked highest.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3787641/NZ-is-worlds-most-peaceful-nation-again


----------



## ekim68

Lost dog finds way home to Winnipeg



> WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 10 (UPI) -- Laser, a beagle who slipped his leash during fireworks at a Canadian lake resort found his way back to his Winnipeg neighborhood 50 miles away, his owners say.
> 
> Parry LePage, who lives in Transcona, a Winnipeg suburb, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. he and his family adopted the 3-year-old beagle only a month before he disappeared.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lost dog finds way home to Winnipeg
> :up:


----------



## ekim68

World's smallest houses turn heads



> They're cute, eco-friendly, easy to clean, low cost and sometimes even mobile. What's not to love about tiny houses? Do you really need all your stuff?
> 
> A recent montage of 10 of the world's smallest abodes, appearing in Mother Nature Network, is eye-grabbing. It ALMOST makes me want to clean out my closets.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> World's smallest houses turn heads


They are cute! Could work out for some people.


----------



## ekim68

Couple lives nearly trash-free for a year



> Could you live trash-free? A young couple spent the past year figuring out whether that's possible. Their answer: absolutely.
> 
> "It was actually a lot easier than we expected," says Amy Korst, 26, a recently laid-off high school teacher in Dallas, Ore. She and husband Adam bought only items they could recycle or compost to avoid adding to landfills.
> 
> Their only trash for 12 months about 75 scraps such as eight used razor blades, a burned-out light bulb, two Theraflu pouches and a broken Christmas ornament fits in a shoebox that weighs about 4 pounds.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Couple lives nearly trash-free for a year
> 
> :up:


Amazing!


----------



## ekim68

Native Americans did it for thousands of years....:up:


----------



## ekim68

Cancer survivor turning 100



> MAYWOOD, Ill., July 27 (UPI) -- An Illinois woman who survived one of the most complicated operations in surgery when she was 89 says she will celebrate her 100th birthday Saturday.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cancer survivor turning 100
> 
> :up:


Beautiful!!


----------



## ekim68

(He can't drive yet, but he can convert a car's engine...:up: )

This IS His Grandfather's Bug, But Now It's Electric



> If the Chevy Volt's $40,000 price tag sounds a bit too steep, you could always go the do-it-yourself route of Oregon teenager Ashton Stark.
> 
> He just finished a yearlong conversion of his grandfather's 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle into an electric car.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> (He can't drive yet, but he can convert a car's engine...:up: )
> 
> This IS His Grandfather's Bug, But Now It's Electric


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Rare Superman Comic Book Saves Family from Foreclosure


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Rare Superman Comic Book Saves Family from Foreclosure


:up:


----------



## ekim68

New research: Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons



> Popeye cartoons, tasting parties and junior cooking classes can help increase vegetable intake in kindergarten children, according to new research published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics.
> 
> Researchers at Mahidol University in Bangkok found the type and amount of vegetables children ate improved after they took part in a program using multimedia and role models to promote healthy food.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New research: Children's vegetable intake linked to Popeye cartoons


Maybe that's why I loved spinach as a child. And I still do!


----------



## ekim68

Rowling donates $15.5M for MS research



> EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- British author J.K. Rowling said she donated $15.5 million to the University of Edinburgh to establish a multiple sclerosis research clinic.
> 
> The creator of the wildly popular "Harry Potter" series said the funds were to help attract top researchers to find a cure for the disease, the BBC reported Tuesday.


(Rowling has quite the life going from being a single mother writing a short story for her child and turning it into a billion dollars...:up: )


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Rowling donates $15.5M for MS research
> 
> (Rowling has quite the life going from being a single mother writing a short story for her child and turning it into a billion dollars...:up: )


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Whale makes record distance voyage



> BAR HARBOR, Maine, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A female humpback whale has traveled a quarter of the way around the world, the longest documented movement by a mammal, U.S. researchers say.
> 
> The female whale was spotted and photographed at its regular breeding ground in Brazil, and was subsequently spotted off the coast of Madagascar, more than 6,000 miles away, the BBC reported Tuesday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Whale makes record distance voyage


*WoW!*


----------



## eggplant43

Wedding reception gone bad to good:

http://consumerist.com/2010/12/erst...nceled-reception-into-charity-fundraiser.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Wedding reception gone bad to good:
> 
> http://consumerist.com/2010/12/erst...nceled-reception-into-charity-fundraiser.html


That's beautiful!


----------



## eggplant43

Such a decent, positive act.


----------



## ekim68

Study: Married men behave better



> LANSING, Mich., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A Michigan researcher says men who behave themselves are more likely to get married and then get even nicer once they wed.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Study: Married men behave better


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> William Kamkwamba grew up in a village in Malawi, in southeast Africa. He could not attend school because his parents couldn't afford the tuition of $80 per year. From time to time, he sneaked into classes to learn math and English, but it wasn't long until the teachers discovered his presence and kicked him out.


http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/0..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


----------



## ekim68

Great article...:up: It's amazing what people can do when they're driven...:up:


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Great article...:up: It's amazing what people can do when they're driven...:up:


And have a vision............


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/0..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


An inspiring story!:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Tot who walked for help after rollover to appear on Today Show


http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_9123192a-e671-5d6a-9dce-64bae766cf34.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_9123192a-e671-5d6a-9dce-64bae766cf34.html


Oh my! That is scarey. I'm so glad she made it! Brave little girl.


----------



## steppenwolf

ekim68 said:


> Study: Married men behave better


probably why im not married


----------



## steppenwolf

i heard somewhere some African country will outlaw farting

thats great news


----------



## ekim68

Staying optimistic may keep your heart healthy, study says



> Heart patients with an optimistic outlook are more likely to be healthier down the road and survive longer than those with less rosy views, new research suggests.
> 
> A study in Archives of Internal Medicine, out Monday, that followed 2,800 heart patients shows that those with more positive attitudes about their recovery had about a 30% greater chance of survival after 15 years than patients with pessimistic leanings.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Staying optimistic may keep your heart healthy, study says


I believe it!:up:


----------



## ekim68

'Amazing' albatross raises chick at age 60



> The chick was found during a survey of nesting grounds last month in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean. The bird appears healthy and will probably fly to sea this summer, says biologist Bruce Peterjohn of the U.S. Geological Survey.
> 
> Chandler Robbins, a USGS scientist, first banded Wisdom for tracking purposes in 1956, when she was at least 5 years old. Wisdom has been banded five times with an identification tag on the leg that lets scientists follow her movements.
> 
> "Just the idea of a bird 60 years old or more still bearing young is amazing," Peterjohn says. Only one other wild bird, an albatross of another species, is known to have lived longer - 61. Wisdom will tie that bird's record if she lives another year, Peterjohn says. "Most Laysan albatrosses live to 30 or 40. Just to make it to 60 is pretty incredible."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 'Amazing' albatross *raises chick at age 60 *


:up: However, it sounds like a nightmare to me!!


----------



## ekim68

Deaf puppy learns sign language

:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Deaf puppy learns sign language
> 
> :up:


Beautuful story! And such a sweet dog.


----------



## eggplant43

In the first picture, she looks just like the RCA dog.

Great story.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> In the first picture, she looks just like the RCA dog.
> 
> Great story.


Yeah, now that you mention it.


----------



## ekim68

BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone



> An investigational implanted system being developed to translate brain signals toward control of assistive devices has allowed a woman with paralysis to accurately control a computer cursor at 2.7 years after implantation, providing a key demonstration that neural activity can be read out and converted into action for an unprecedented length of time.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Franklin dances, sings at 69th birthday party*
NEKESA MUMBI MOODY | March 26, 2011 11:25 AM EST | *AP*

NEW YORK  Aretha Franklin proved her voice is still divine at 69 as she gave a brief but rousing performance at a swank birthday party in her honor.

Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson, music mogul Clive Davis, Bette Midler and Gayle King were among the celebrities on hand to pay tribute to the *Queen of Soul *on Friday night at a late-night birthday party at a Central Park Hotel.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110326/us-people-franklin/


----------



## ekim68

Leonard (Spock)Nimoy turns 80


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Leonard (Spock)Nimoy turns 80


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Winning lottery ticket in collection plate



> BALTIMORE, March 29 (UPI) -- The pastor of a struggling Maryland parish recently came across a generous donation in the collection plate -- a $30,000 lottery ticket, officials said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Winning lottery ticket in collection plate


----------



## eggplant43

> People with a strong moral identity are measurably inspired to do good after being exposed to media stories about uncommon acts of human goodness, according to research at the University of British Columbias Sauder School of Business.


http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-media-uncommon-goodness-good-people.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-03-media-uncommon-goodness-good-people.html


I beleive it! :up:


----------



## eggplant43

I believe Bea intuitively new this when she started this thread.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> I believe Bea intuitively new this when she started this thread.


I think of Bea often, Miss her.


----------



## ekim68

Noyo River stand of old-growth redwoods saved



> A San Francisco nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of ancient redwoods announced Thursday that it will exercise its option to buy a huge swath of the lush Noyo River canyon in Mendocino County, the largest old-growth forest still in private hands on the West Coast.
> 
> The group, Save the Redwoods League, raised $7.5 million to buy the spectacular 426-acre plot of land along the historic Skunk Train route, beating the April 1 deadline set by the Willits Redwood Co., which was threatening to log the big trees if the money didn't come through.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Noyo River stand of old-growth redwoods saved


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Oil giving Alaska more money than it needs



> JUNEAU, Alaska, April 7 (UPI) -- Alaska is experiencing a windfall so huge from skyrocketing oil prices that the governor and state lawmakers don't know how to spend it all, officials said.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

'Happiest' U.S. town in California



> SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., April 8 (UPI) -- Residents of a California town dubbed the "happiest" in the country by talk show host Oprah Winfrey say the description is apt.


----------



## ekim68

Deer becomes goose's protector



> BUFFALO, N.Y., April 12 (UPI) -- Witnesses said an adult deer has taken over the role of protecting a mother goose preparing to hatch her eggs in New York state as a single parent.
> 
> Locals in Buffalo said the goose, a species known to mate for life, lost her male partner and would have been left defenseless while protecting her eggs in an empty cemetery urn if a deer had not stepped in to guard the expectant mother, WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, reported Tuesday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Deer becomes goose's protector


----------



## ekim68

Federal judge, 103, still hearing cases



> In a courtroom in Wichita, the day begins much as it has for the past 49 years: Court is in session, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown presiding. But what happens next is no longer routine; it's a testament to one man's sheer determination.
> 
> As lawyers and litigants wait in respectful silence, Brown, who is 103, carefully steers his power wheelchair behind the bench, his stooped frame almost disappearing behind its wooden bulk. He adjusts under his nose the plastic tubes from the oxygen tank lying next to the day's case documents. Then his voice rings out loud and firm to his law clerk, "Call your case."
> 
> Brown is the oldest working federal judge in the nation, one of four appointees by President Kennedy still on the bench. Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments, and no one has taken that term more seriously than Brown.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Federal judge, 103, still hearing cases


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> NEW PORT RICHEY  Terrell Tolliver is known for his high-fives, his ever-present smile, his generous hugs. The affable kid with Down syndrome is the "hydration engineer" for the Mitchell High football team and eats lunch with many of the players. He's a multisport Special Olympian who manages to get his needs seen to, even though he is mostly non-verbal.


http://www.tampabay.com/news/humani...with-down-syndrome-as-their-prom-king/1163366


----------



## ekim68

Great article Eggy...:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.tampabay.com/news/humani...with-down-syndrome-as-their-prom-king/1163366


:up:


----------



## ekim68

The iPad will see you now: Meet Dr. Chrono



> We've seen consumer gadgets being used by medical practitioners already, but an iPad app called Drchrono is taking medicine to a new level of paper-free convenience.
> 
> Drchrono is an EHR (electronic health record) app for the iPad. It allows doctors to complete everyday tasks and access information without having to turn to paper records. The information gathered and accessed through the app is also available from any web browser, iPhone or Android device, since the app syncs with the Drchrono web-based healthcare platform.
> 
> The app's features are intended to improve the ways in which doctors interact with patients. For example, physicians can use the app for scheduling appointments, writing e-prescriptions (which can be sent to any U.S. pharmacy), paperless billing, note taking, medical speech-to-text transcription, and drug interaction tests. X-rays, EKGs and lab results can be uploaded to the app, where they can be tagged and viewed later.


----------



## ekim68

In our town schools are having budget problems, as are most, and a group of parents decided to do something about it...:up:

Bethel group shows they take pride in their school



> They are two moms with two big hearts. And if you think a little thing like being part of a school district facing an almost $6.5 million budget shortfall for the 2011-12 school year is going to get in their way, then you don't know Brooke Cottle and Margaret Hansen.
> 
> "They are amazing," Bethel School District Superintendent Colt Gill said, sweat beading on his forehead Friday morning as he took a break from pulling up shrubs in front of Willamette High School. "It's just incredible. They never stop. They keep going."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> In our town schools are having budget problems, as are most, *and a group of parents *decided to do something about it...:up:
> 
> Bethel group shows they take pride in their school


Neat!


----------



## eggplant43

It's all about pride, vision, passion:up::up::up:


----------



## ekim68

Smog-eating aluminum panels launch for buildings



> The aluminum panel has a titanium dioxide coating that, when combined with sunlight, acts as a catalyst to break down pollutants such as smog into harmless matter that rain washes away.
> 
> "It could have a significant impact" if enough buildings use the product, says Craig Belnap, president of Alcoa Architectural Products. The company says 10,000 square feet of its panels have the air-cleansing power of about 80 trees.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Smog-eating aluminum panels launch for buildings


:up:


----------



## ekim68

China tries to cure a happiness deficit



> BEIJING - After three decades of pushing ever-higher growth rates and exhorting their countrymen that "to get rich is glorious," China's Communist Party rulers have recently rolled out a new economic mantra: be happy.


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed man regains voluntary leg movement with electrode array implant



> In a move that gives cautious hope to the millions of people suffering some form of paralysis, a team of researchers from UCLA, Caltech and the University of Louisville has given a man rendered paralyzed from the chest down after a hit-and-run accident in 2006 the ability to stand and take his first tentative steps in four years. The team used a stimulating electrode array implanted into the man's body to provide continual direct electrical stimulation to the lower part of the spinal cord that controls movement of the hips, knees, ankles and toes, to mimic the signals the brain usually sends to initiate movement.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Paralyzed man regains voluntary leg movement with electrode array implant


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> It turns out there are still some good people left in this world. The Deseret News has the story of a man who was inspecting his family's first home when a piece of cloth attached to the attic door grabbed his attention. Climbing up the ladder and through the hatch he pulled out a WW II ammo case. He opened the box and discovered inside an amazing treasure, which he ended up giving away that night.


http://consumerist.com/2011/05/man-finds-45000-in-new-house-and-returns-it.html


----------



## ekim68

First Signs of Ozone-Hole Recovery Spotted



> The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is starting to heal, say researchers in Australia. The team is the first to detect a recovery in baseline average springtime ozone levels in the region, 22 years after the Montreal Protocol to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related ozone-destroying chemicals came into force.


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://consumerist.com/2011/05/man-finds-45000-in-new-house-and-returns-it.html


Beautiful!


----------



## eggplant43

> Courtney Montgomery's heart was failing fast, but the 16-year-old furiously refused when her doctors, and her mother, urged a transplant.


http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-teen-bond-girl-heart-transplant.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-teen-bond-girl-heart-transplant.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Comcast to offer $10 a month broadband Internet to low income households



> Earlier this year the cable TV and Internet ISP Comcast completed its merger deal with NBC Universal. While some have complained that the merger created a massive media conglomerate that will limit the amount of programming to consumers there is at least one nice thing that came out of the merger. Some households will gain access to a broadband Internet service that previously couldn't afford to pay for it.
> 
> DSLReports.com reports that as a part of the agreement for the NBC Universal merger, Comcast will provide households who make less than $20,000 a year access to broadband Internet service for just $10 a month. That amount of money will give those households access to a 1.5 Mbps download speed and a 384 Kbps upload speed. Normally people would pay $25 a month to Comcast for that kind of service.


(Well, if they're gonna be a monopoly then it's good that they're a benevolent monopoly..:up:  )


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Comcast to offer $10 a month broadband Internet to low income households
> 
> (Well, if they're gonna be a monopoly then it's good that they're a benevolent monopoly..:up:  )


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> The American Family Association presented Home Depot's board of directors with his organization's demand that they stop funding gay pride events and other events that promote tolerance and diversity. He had a petition with about 500,000 signatures from people who've vowed to boycott the store unless it joins them in their campaign against gay people.


http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/03/home-depot-to-americ.html


----------



## ekim68

The doorbell that tricks burglars into thinking you're home - and the boy, 13, who invented it



> A schoolboy is on course for a £250,000 windfall after inventing a doorbell that fools burglars into believing somebody is home at an empty property.
> 
> Smart Bell, designed by 13-year-old Laurence Rook, dials the homeowner's mobile phone when pressed, allowing them to talk to whoever is outside their front door.
> 
> The device even produces a small amount of white noise to give any unexpected guest the impression they are speaking to someone inside the house on an intercom system.


----------



## franca

ekim68 said:


> The doorbell that tricks burglars into thinking you're home - and the boy, 13, who invented it


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The doorbell that tricks burglars into thinking you're home - and the boy, 13, who invented it


:up::up:


----------



## eggplant43

> AMERICAN FORK  No matter how cool a teenager's mom and dad might be, few teens get through high school without feeling their parents embarrassed them.


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...hool-year-waving-at-bus-embarrassing-son.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.deseretnews.com/article/...hool-year-waving-at-bus-embarrassing-son.html


Dad must not be playing with a full deck!


----------



## ekim68

HIV patient Timothy Brown is the boy who lived



> Almost 20 years after he was diagnosed, the 45-year-old is, essentially, cured. A bone-marrow transplant to treat his leukemia transferred a genetic variation that made his system resistant to HIV.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> HIV patient Timothy Brown is the boy who lived


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

_I think Bea would have loved this one._

Alice's Bucket List:

http://www.alicepyne.blogspot.com/


----------



## ekim68

Chicago-area man returns bag with $17K in cash



> A 54-year-old Chicago-area man who found and returned more than $17,000 in cash credits his deceased parents for teaching him right from wrong.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Chicago-area man returns bag with $17K in cash


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _I think Bea would have loved this one._
> 
> Alice's Bucket List:
> 
> http://www.alicepyne.blogspot.com/


Indeed!


----------



## ekim68

Fake gator head rids neighborhood of geese



> WOODBURY, Minn., June 10 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man said he solved the problem of goose droppings in his neighborhood by installing a fake alligator head in a pond.
> 
> Jim Orsello, 67, of Woodbury, said he scared away the geese responsible for messing up lawns and sidewalks with a floating gator head he purchased online, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported Friday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Fake gator head rids neighborhood of geese


s


----------



## ekim68

Iceland Is Crowdsourcing Its New Constitution



> In the wake of the devastating collapse of Iceland's commercial banks, the country is drawing up a new constitution, and it's doing things a little differently: It's crowdsourcing the process. For real.
> 
> The country's 25-member constituional council is posting draft clauses on its website and inviting the public to comment on them there or on its Facebook page. And their comments are actually being incorporated into the document. The council also has Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr accounts and is streaming all of its meetings live. It's perhaps the most open and participatory constitutional process in modern history (the Greeks were pretty good at democracy in their time).


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Man finds all 7 cats after tornado



> Massachusetts man found all seven of his cats, which were thought to have been killed when a tornado demolished his house.
> 
> Michael D. Roescher, 48, of Monson recovered the last one Sunday, The (Springfield) Republican reported, after camping outside the remains of his house for days.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Man finds all 7 cats after tornado


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Ron Shaich, the founder and chairman of Panera Bread, has sculpted his company into one of the most successful small restaurant chains in the country. He's also done something no other chain has done before.
> 
> By creating a unique, pay-what-you-can model at three "Panera Cares" cafes around the country -- and more are coming soon -- he has proven an idea that seems revolutionary for a large corporation, but is actually very simple: trust people; they'll often surprise you.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...t-person-ron-saich-panera-cares_n_877691.html


----------



## eggplant43

> Comedian and Hanover Park native Steve Mazans goal to be on The Late Show with David Letterman after his cancer diagnosis fuels a documentary airing Friday in the Just for Laughs festival.


http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110616/news/706169985/


----------



## eggplant43

_A wonderful story, on a cooking blog, on Father's Day._



> My father did not grow up in the generation of wearing your emotions on your sleeve as many my age or younger did. However, my father found a way to express his deep love and passion for his family. Early in our childhood, my father started to write a yearly Christmas story that he then read out loud to us on Christmas Eve. As we sat around the tree in anticipation of the first gift, we prepared ourselves for these stories that were sometimes funny and fantastical and other times quite serious. No matter what the genre, he always managed to include every member of the family and a way to honor us and say, I love you. Each year as he finished the story, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, wife, and kids would wipe away the tears and jump into the rest of the festivities knowing how deeply my dad cared for us. These stories have become an important part of my brothers, sisters and my DNA, providing us with unseen guidance and strength as we make our way through adulthood.


http://www.feedingandrew.com/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _A wonderful story, on a cooking blog, on Father's Day._
> 
> http://www.feedingandrew.com/


Beautiful.


----------



## ekim68

Private eye tells homeless man of inheritance



> SALT LAKE CITY - A private investigator says he has tracked down a homeless Utah man and delivered some good news: He's inherited a lot of money.


----------



## ekim68

10,000 U.S. troops to come home this year

:up:


----------



## ekim68

Feds bust 'scareware' ring accused of making $72 million by selling phony anti-virus software



> There's big money in scaring people into thinking they have a nasty computer virus. But you might also scare up a visit from international police.


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Feds bust 'scareware' ring accused of making $72 million by selling phony anti-virus software


If only the Feds would do the same to politician's.:up:


----------



## ekim68

Abandoned pup first to get 4 bionic paws



> Here's another amazing story about the convergence of veterinary medicine, technology and pet care: A pup who lost his paws to frostbite after being abandoned in winter by Nebraskans fleeing their foreclosed home has become the first dog to receive four prosthetic paws, according a report by Incredible Features that is getting some notice.


----------



## eggplant43

> Elk saves drowning marmot


http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/videos/caught-on-camera-elk-saves-drowning-marmot


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Abandoned pup first to get 4 bionic paws


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/videos/caught-on-camera-elk-saves-drowning-marmot


That's amazing!


----------



## eggplant43

> TAMPA  Danous Estenor had decided he was too hungry to wait until he got home for dinner, and as he parked his car outside the Bulls Den Cafe on USF's campus, he heard a woman screaming for help.


http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/article1176983.ece


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/article1176983.ece


Great job Daneous.:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> The cat mother, Tito. The kitten, Paco. And the baby squirrel, Firulais. They became family last year, when Rubén Darío Gaviria, who lives in Colombia, found the squirrel under a tree, limping and unable to climb up. The squirrel instinctively cuddled with him, hiding from the cold weather, at 6 a.m.


http://www.thedailytail.com/pictures/cat-mom-adopts-squirrel-colombia/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.thedailytail.com/pictures/cat-mom-adopts-squirrel-colombia/


----------



## ekim68

Magnetic Nanoparticles Fry Tumors



> Any parent fretting over a child's fever knows that temperatures just a few degrees above normal can kill. But cancer researchers have now found a way to make high temperatures heal. In a new study, a team found that injecting mice with tiny magnets and cranking up the heat eliminated tumors from the animals' bodies with no apparent side effects.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Magnetic Nanoparticles Fry Tumors


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Pythagoras Solar Turns Windows Into Panels Of Energy



> A start-up in Northern California is working on creating "solar windows" that could act as solar panels at the same time as blocking sunlight from entering office buildings to reduce their energy needs, according to a Sunday story in the San Francisco Chronicle.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Dog found 1 year later, 2,800 miles away



> KAMLOOPS, British Columbia, July 6 (UPI) -- Pollux, a black lab-mix that vanished from its Montreal family's yard a year ago has turned up 2,800 miles away in Kamloops, British Columbia, officials say.
> 
> The 9-year-old dog is to be flown back to the Isabelle Robitaille family Thursday, thanks to donations to the SPCA, The (Vancouver) Province reported Wednesday.
> 
> "We're like, 'Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?'" Robitaille told Kamloops This Week when asked about her reaction to the news Pollux had been found in good health. "Everybody here is so excited. She's going to eat a great big T-bone."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Dog found 1 year later, 2,800 miles away


----------



## ekim68

Redwoods win out over road in judge's ruling



> A federal judge has blocked the state from widening a narrow 1-mile stretch of U.S. 101 in Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County to make room for trucks, saying construction could endanger redwoods that soar 300 feet above the highway and are thousands of years old.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Redwoods win out over road in judge's ruling


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Susanne Janson's two daughters and ex-husband died in the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Thailand.
> 
> Throughout her time of grief, Janson said she felt connected to the Thai people, who she said had suffered even more than she had.
> 
> Janson, a CNN hero, decided to turn her tragedy into something that would help families in the country where she lost her own by starting an orphanage.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/susanne-janson-tsunami-family_n_893329.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/susanne-janson-tsunami-family_n_893329.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

John Glenn blasts off into his 90s



> COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 17 (UPI) -- Former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn says he isn't sitting still as he gets ready to mark his 90th birthday.
> 
> Glenn, who rode a Mercury space capsule into eternal fame in 1962 and turns 90 Monday, says he still skis and flies his own plane, and plans a cross-country car trip with his wife, Annie, in the fall.
> 
> "I'd rather burn out than rust out," Glenn told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.


----------



## eggplant43

> Tashi has an incredible above and beyond letter of accolades for Applebee's. Her husband has terminal brain cancer and they don't have much money. How would they celebrate him being alive 500 days after being diagnosed? A 3rd party who knew about their situation contacted the local Applebee's and arranged for part of their meal to be comped. But then the manager went above and beyond even this fantastic gesture and really made their night special. Here's the letter she sent Applebee's headquarters:


http://consumerist.com/2011/07/applebees-gives-free-meal-to-man-with-terminal-brain-cancer.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://consumerist.com/2011/07/applebees-gives-free-meal-to-man-with-terminal-brain-cancer.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Toyota and The Braun Corporation have partnered to provide a unique wedding present to a very special bride. A little over a year ago, Rachelle Friedman was celebrating her bachelorette party when she was pushed into a swimming pool. When she fell, Friedman broke her C6 vertebra and became a quadriplegic in an instant. After 14 months of hospitals, physical therapy and daunting medical bills, Friedman and her fiancé finally tied the knot on July 22.


http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/25/...campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/autoblog+(Autoblog)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/25/...campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/autoblog+(Autoblog)


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Chinese Rhino Cups Set 'Antiques Roadshow' Record



> A collection of Chinese cups carved from rhinoceros horns has become the most valuable find in the 16-year history of the television program "Antiques Roadshow" in the United States.
> 
> The five cups, believed to date from the late 17th or early 18th century were valued at $1-$1.5 million on Saturday after being brought to the TV show at a stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Chinese Rhino Cups Set 'Antiques Roadshow' Record


Wow!!


----------



## eggplant43

> Start digging through your attic, basement or anywhere else you keep junk  it could be worth millions. One man in Tulsa found out just that, when his set of Chinese rhinoceros cups were pegged at a value of $1-1.5 million by Antiques Roadshow, breaking the program's previous appraisal record.


http://consumerist.com/2011/07/tuls...adshows-appraisal-record-at-1-15-million.html


----------



## eggplant43

This video absolutely defines joy.

I dare you not to laugh:

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/sea-otter-stalks-young-boy-at-aquarium


----------



## ekim68

Gabrielle Giffords returns to Congress for debt-ceiling vote



> Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) returned to Congress Monday for the first time since she was critically wounded during a January shooting rampage in her district, casting a vote in favor of the debt-ceiling accord.
> 
> Her surprise presence, announced only moments after voting began, sparked a bipartisan ovation just as the House was closing the chapter on one of its more combative periods.


----------



## eggplant43

That is so cool.


----------



## ekim68

Lucy would have been 100 years old today....

Google Doodle pays charming tribute to Lucille Ball on her 100th


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lucy would have been 100 years old today....
> 
> Google Doodle pays charming tribute to Lucille Ball on her 100th


One of my favorites.


----------



## ekim68

Former conjoined twins celebrate 10th birthday



> Twin girls formerly joined at the head turned 10 on Saturday, nine years after being separated in a bold 23-hour surgery that gained worldwide attention.
> 
> Maria de Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej-Alvarez celebrated their birthday at a Malibu home, according to the Associated Press. The guests included many of the members of the 50-person surgical team that separated the Guatemalan-born twins in 2002 at Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA Medical Center.
> 
> Conjoined twins are extremely rare, occurring in about one in 2.5 million births, with craniophagus twins the rarest kind. If they survive birth, many do not live beyond their first birthday. Others do not survive separation surgery. The survival odds in the Quiej-Alvarez case were improved because the girls did not share a brain.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Former conjoined twins celebrate 10th birthday


Happy Birthday!


----------



## ekim68

98-year-old woman earns judo's highest degree black belt



> Congratulations to Sensei Keiko Fukuda of San Francisco, who at ninety-eight-years-young just became the first woman ever promoted to judo's highest level: tenth dan (or degree) black belt. She is only the sixteenth person ever to achieve that distinction, and one of only four living judoka (judo practitioners) to reach judo's pinnacle. (The other three are all men living in Japan.)


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 98-year-old woman earns judo's highest degree black belt


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> A 9-year-old boy's wallet was returned to a Poquoson 7-Eleven with all of its contents intact after he posted a letter at the store.


http://www.dailypress.com/news/york-county/dp-nws-found-wallet-20110808,0,1748862.story


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.dailypress.com/news/york-county/dp-nws-found-wallet-20110808,0,1748862.story


----------



## ekim68

Gene therapy shown to destroy leukemia tumors



> (Reuters) - Scientists for the first time have used gene therapy to successfully destroy cancer tumors in patients with advanced disease -- a goal that has taken 20 years to achieve.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Gene therapy shown to destroy leukemia tumors


:up::up:


----------



## eggplant43

I hope this promise delivers, it could transform many of our lives.


----------



## ekim68

Web technology lets dying mother see daughter get married



> Like every bride-to-be, Ashley Davisson wanted her mother at her May 6 wedding, even though she knew Patty Davisson was dying of cancer.
> 
> Thanks to the Cincinnati bride's quick thinking and modern technology, her deathly ill mom was at the wedding and reception - electronically.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Web technology lets dying mother see daughter get married
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Oxford adds woot! to dictionary



> Today marks the launch of the centenary edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, first compiled by the Fowler brothers in 1911: an event traditionally marked by a press release including words added for the first time.
> 
> This year's new entries include: woot, retweet, cyberbullying, denialist, gastric band and the surely entirely unnecessary mankini and jeggings.
> 
> Sexting also gets the nod: for informal usage only, grammar fans. Slow food is also included along with upcycle and domestic goddess.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Oxford adds woot! to dictionary


:up:

It is interesting to know when new words added.


----------



## poochee

*Moohunt: Runaway cow captures German hearts*
KIRSTEN GRIESHABER | August 19, 2011 04:12 PM EST | *AP*

BERLIN  A runaway cow named *Yvonne* is on the loose in Germany and the manhunt  *or moohunt * for the Bavarian bovine has captivated the country.

The freedom-loving cow ran away from a little farm in Bavaria in May and has managed to hide successfully in the forests of southern Germany ever since  despite her sturdy 1,500-pound (700-kilogram) figure.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110819/eu-odd-germany-runaway-cow/


----------



## eggplant43

> Evan Moss is not your average 7-year-old boy. For starters, his recent Alexandria, Va., book signing drew 600 people from as far away as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But he's not your average child celebrity either. His book isn't a tell-all about the movie industry or fodder for the next reality television show.


http://www.mnn.com/family/family-ac...ld-boy-writes-book-to-pay-for-life-saving-dog


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/family/family-ac...ld-boy-writes-book-to-pay-for-life-saving-dog


Great story!:up:


----------



## ekim68

Cause of Lou Gehrig disease discovered



> CHICAGO, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a protein, whose job is to recycle damaged proteins in motor and cortical neurons, U.S. researchers say.
> 
> Dr. Teepu Siddique of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and a neurologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital who was the study's senior author says in ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, the protein ubiquilin2 isn't doing its job.


----------



## ekim68

Shorebird migrates through Hurricane Irene



> The whimbrel, nicknamed Chinquapin by the Georgia wildlife staffers who tagged him with a radio transmitter, had taken off from his summer feeding grounds on Southampton Island in Canada's Arctic on Aug. 22. He was making the annual flight to Brazil near the mouth of the Amazon River, where whimbrels breed.
> 
> Chinquapin flew across New England, and then out over the ocean. On Wednesday, he flew through the dangerous northeast quadrant of the hurricane, which was then a Category 3. After disappearing from sensors, the bird popped up again Saturday - on an island in the Caribbean.
> 
> Whimbrels are "capable of really amazing migration flights" of up to 3,500 miles without a rest, says Bryan Watts, director of the College of William & Mary's Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg, Va. Chinquapin had already been flying several days without stopping when he ran into Irene. "It's sort of bad to hit a big storm at the end of a flight that long," Watts says.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Shorebird migrates through Hurricane Irene


Wow!


----------



## ekim68

The Matternet: A Flying Autonomous Delivery System For The Developing World 



> Nearly one billion people in rural areas live without access to all-season roads--meaning a large portion of the world's population can't get medication, food, and other supplies when they need them. The Matternet, a concept created by a group of students in this summer's class at Singularity University, aims to leapfrog road-based transportation altogether with a network of electric autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) in the developing world that transports supplies and people from place to place. Think of it as the Jetsons meets Mother Theresa.


----------



## eggplant43

> Would you hire this man? What if I told you that the guy in the video above is Paul Giannone, the owner of and head pizzaiolo at Brooklyn's Paulie Gee's?
> 
> Mr. Giannone's story is well-known in the pizza world. Tired of his IT job, which paid well but was uninspiring, Giannone, at 56, decided to follow his passion and his dream: to open a world-class pizzeria that could hold its own among the nation's most highly regarded pizza joints. Before he could do that, though, he tried getting a job at an area pizzeria to learn the ropes. Here is the response he ultimately received:


http://slice.seriouseats.com/archiv...eed:+seriouseatsfeaturesvideos+(Serious+Eats)


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> The Matternet: A Flying Autonomous Delivery System For The Developing World


Great story, and wonderful video:up:


----------



## ekim68

To an old typewriter guy like me this is upbeat news... :up:

The typewriter lives on in India



> India's typewriter culture survives the age of computers in offices where bureaucracy demands typed forms and in rural areas where many homes don't have electricity.


----------



## eggplant43

> Four-year-old Grace Rego had been complaining about back pain for several months. She had trouble sitting in the car, even for short periods of time, and told her parents Jennifer and Chad her back felt spicy and hot.


http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-spinal-stapling-astonishing-outcome-girl.html


----------



## ekim68

Disabled Patients Mind-Meld With Robots



> They're not quite psychic yet, but machines are getting better at reading your mind. Researchers have invented a new, noninvasive method for recording patterns of brain activity and using them to steer a robot. Scientists hope the technology will give "locked in" patients-those too disabled to communicate with the outside world-the ability to interact with others and even give the illusion of being physically present, or "telepresent," with friends and family.


----------



## ekim68

Design student creates coat for homeless people



> Kelvin Quinnine has shivered through more San Francisco nights than he can count, fog biting through whatever worn-out sleeping bag he pitched onto the sidewalk.
> 
> He stood last week on Ellis Street with his latest bag wrapped around him. When a young woman wearing a bizarrely baggy coat walked up to him, he cocked his gray-bearded head sideways.
> 
> "It's a coat for the homeless that turns into a sleeping bag at night," 22-year-old Veronika Scott said brightly. She held an edge out to him. Quinnine pinched it.
> 
> "Goes down to 17 degrees," Scott said.
> 
> "Is that right?" the 43-year-old Quinnine said, face lighting up with appreciation. "That'd be a good thing."
> 
> That's just what Scott is hoping other homeless people will think when they see her invention over the coming year.
> 
> A design student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Scott conceived her coat-bag for a class project in 2010 - and now she's planning to go national with it.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Design student creates coat for homeless people


:up:


----------



## ekim68

External artificial lung saves teen's life



> TORONTO, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Doctors at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto used an external artificial lung to keep a patient alive until donor lungs were available.
> 
> Last summer, 15-year-old Katie Sutherland was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. This rare condition constricts veins and arteries within the lungs and forces the heart to work much harder than normal to pump blood to the lungs. As a result, Sutherland's heart was failing. Before the operation her heart had swelled up to four times its regular size and was no longer pumping enough blood.
> 
> Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, the surgical team leader, used the German-made Novalung device to partially bypass Sutherland's failing lungs allowing her heart to do less work.
> 
> Unlike older artificial lungs which were run by mechanical pumps, Novalung is powered by the patient's own heartbeat. It is a membrane ventilator that allows oxygen and carbon dioxide to exchange through simple diffusion, Keshavjee said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> External artificial lung saves teen's life


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

A remarkable advance, it's almost bionic.


----------



## ekim68

Motorcyclist: Life saved by heroes who lifted car



> The university math students heard the crash, saw the smoke and knew they had to act quickly. A motorcyclist had just collided with a car and was pinned beneath the flaming, twisted metal wreckage.
> 
> Disregarding their own safety, they rushed to the street and lined up with more than half dozen others on one side of the car. Within moments, they managed to lift the roughly 4,000-pound car just high enough for one rescuer to pull Brandon Wright to safety.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Motorcyclist: Life saved by heroes who lifted car


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Conjoined twins successfully separated



> MEMPHIS, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Conjoined twins, born attached at the pelvis and lower spine, have been successfully separated at a Memphis children's hospital, doctors said.
> 
> Surgeons at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital operated for 13 hours to separate the twins in what hospital officials called the most complex procedure every performed in the history of the facility, The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Wednesday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Conjoined twins successfully separated


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Stanford Blood Center offers job-hunting twist



> What is something people really need, something that might motivate them to try something new, such as donating blood?
> 
> Help with job hunting was an answer hit upon by the Stanford Blood Center.
> 
> Facing a shortage of blood in August, the blood center decided to offer donors an event that could potentially transform their lives: a career networking workshop, resume clinic and job fair.
> 
> After advertising widely, it attracted 140 extra donors in a two-week period, said John Williams, marketing manager for the Palo Alto nonprofit, which serves about a dozen local hospitals and clinics. About a third of them were new donors, a critical constituency for building future supply.


----------



## eggplant43

A wonderful idea, I've donated for over 30 years.


----------



## ekim68

Nothing like recycling, eh? :up:


----------



## ekim68

16-Year-Old Becomes Youngest to Win on L.P.G.A. Tour



> PRATTVILLE, Ala. - The historical record will show that 16-year-old Alexis Thompson became the youngest winner of a Ladies Professional Golf Association event with her victory Sunday in the Navistar L.P.G.A. Classic.
> 
> It is not often that golf prodigies fulfill their promise so quickly. The last American wunderkind, Michelle Wie, qualified for her first L.P.G.A. tour event when she was 12 but did not win her first tour title until she was 20. At 16, Tiger Woods won his second United States Junior Amateur championship but did not win his first PGA Tour event until he was 20.


----------



## ekim68

Breath detector to help find earthquake survivors



> Earthquake survivors are difficult to find under rubble, but now they could be detected with breath sensors.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Breath detector to help find earthquake survivors


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Scientists Disarm AIDS Virus' Attack on Immune System



> Scientists say they have found a way to disarm the AIDS virus in research that could lead to a vaccine. Researchers have discovered that if they eliminate a cholesterol membrane surrounding the virus, HIV cannot disrupt communication among disease-fighting cells and the immune system returns to normal.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Scientists Disarm AIDS Virus Attack on Immune System


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Florida hiker saved by sixth-graders



> TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A group of sixth-graders canoeing on Florida's Hillsborough River found a Tampa hiker who had been missing for two days.


----------



## ekim68

National Coffee Day:



> Today, tell all those smug tea drinkers to take a walk, because it's international/national coffee day.





> In addition to getting a cup of java, we suggest you celebrate by remembering where coffee came from - a group of hopped-up goats.
> 
> According to the National Coffee Association, an Ethio*pian goat herder named Kaldi was the first to realize coffee's wonders: "It is said that he discovered coffee after noticing that his goats, upon eating berries from a certain tree, became so spirited that they did not want to sleep at night."


----------



## ekim68

Canadian runner: 7 provinces down, 3 to go



> TORONTO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- David McGuire, Canada's "marathon a day" runner, entered his eighth of 10 provinces Sunday, having covered 3,500 miles to raise awareness about brain injuries.
> 
> McGuire, 38, has been running 25 miles a day since April 1, going from Newfoundland to British Columbia, where he expects to end his effort in late November.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Michigan homecoming queen kicks winning field goal



> Shortly after being named homecoming queen, a Michigan girl gave her fellow students another big reason to cheer: Brianna Amat kicked the field goal that proved to be the difference as Pinckney Community High School beat Grand Blanc 9-7 on Friday.


----------



## ekim68

Johnson Sirleaf, Gbowee, Karman win Nobel Peace Prize



> OSLO, Norway (AP) - The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen for their work on women's rights.
> 
> The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored the three women "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Johnson Sirleaf, Gbowee, Karman win Nobel Peace Prize


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Educating Gabriel, 13, an off-the-charts prodigy



> When he was 8 years old, Gabriel See got a score on the math part of the SAT that would be the envy of most high-school seniors.
> 
> When he was 9, he galloped through high-school Advanced Placement math and science classes - calculus, statistics, physics, chemistry and biology - scoring a perfect 5 in each subject.
> 
> When he was 10, he worked on T-cell receptor research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
> 
> When he was 11, he won a silver medal at a competition on synthetic biology for undergraduate college students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Educating Gabriel, 13, an off-the-charts prodigy


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Wow, it's kind of like feeding an insatiable monster, except he is no monster. He's lucky to have the parents he has, they get it.


----------



## ekim68

DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115



> The woman, who was the oldest in the world at the time of her death, had the mind of someone decades younger and no signs of dementia, say Dutch experts.
> 
> The study, reported at a scientific conference in Canada, suggests she had genes that protected against dementia.
> 
> Further work could give clues to why some people are born with genes for a long life, says a UK scientist.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115





> Further work could give clues to why some people are born with genes for a long life, says a UK scientist.


Good news.


----------



## ekim68

Sprinter, 100, sets record and aims for marathon



> Fauja Singh, a 100-year-old British man, has run his way to eight sprinting world records and is aiming to set another, when he takes part in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.





> Born in India in 1911, he started competitive running at the age of 89, after losing his wife and son.


:up:


----------



## Coastal

ekim68 said:


> DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115


Wonderful article. NARFE has raised close to $10 million for Alzheimer research. May a cure be found.:up:


----------



## ekim68

Free days at U.S. national parks announced



> WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Admission to America's national parks will be free on 17 days in 2012 to encourage people to explore the nation's natural beauty, officials said Monday.
> 
> The National Park Service announced next year's free days will be Jan. 14-16 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend), April 21-29 (National Park Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), Sept. 29 (National Public Lands Day) and Nov. 10-12 (Veterans Day weekend), the U.S. Department of the Interior said in a release.


----------



## ekim68

Malaria vaccine may have potential to save millions



> After more than 30 years of work, researchers have for the first time succeeded in creating a vaccine against malaria, a deadly disease that kills nearly 800,000 a year, most of them children.
> 
> The experimental vaccine, still in the testing phase, only protects about 50% of children who receive it, but even that could "potentially translate into tens of millions of cases of malaria in children averted annually," says Tsiri Agbenyega, the principal investigator for the vaccine trials at Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in Agogo, Ghana. "This is remarkable when you consider there has never been a successful vaccine against a human parasite nor against malaria."


----------



## Coastal

May the discovery save many lives. 

Just read they had dna---ed the black death gene that claimed and still claims lives around the world so maybe a vaccine will be developed. We live in exciting times for discovery and treatment for these awful illnesses. Positive strides being made.


----------



## ekim68

Woman saves trucker from S.F. freeway-crash flames



> -- Keenia Williams saw the big rig tip over and burst into flames in her rearview mirror. Other drivers speeding south on Highway 101 in San Francisco early Wednesday saw the same thing. Williams, though, was the only one to stop.


----------



## eggplant43

What a wonderful, heartwarming story. When I hear stories like this, it renews my faith in humanity.

My only question, why didn't others stop?


----------



## ekim68

Girl, 7, goes for morning swim across Golden Gate



> -- Ella Woodhead was so exhausted Thursday night that she fell asleep on top of her covers, still fully dressed.
> 
> The 7-year-old did more than enough to tire herself out that day. She had school, at Glenwood Elementary in San Rafael, where she's in the second grade. She spent time with her mother, father and two brothers.
> 
> And of course, she woke up and took a boat out to the Golden Gate while it was still dark, jumped in the chilly water and swam the length of the bridge - which is just over a mile long - becoming the youngest person ever to do so.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Girl, 7, goes for morning swim across Golden Gate


It's a good thing I'm not her mother!


----------



## ekim68

285 Indian girls shed 'unwanted' names



> MUMBAI, India (AP) - More than 200 Indian girls whose names mean "unwanted" in Hindi chose new names Saturday for a fresh start in life.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> In shedding names like "Nakusa" or "Nakushi," which mean "unwanted" in Hindi, some girls chose to name themselves after Bollywood stars like "Aishwarya" or Hindu goddesses like "Savitri." Some just wanted traditional names with happier meanings, such as "Vaishali" or "prosperous, beautiful and good."


_What does it say about a society that has an accepted vocabulary to define people in this manner?_


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> _What does it say about a society that has an accepted vocabulary to define people in this manner?_


A backward society.


----------



## ekim68

Mobile phone brain cancer link rejected



> Further research has been published suggesting there is no link between mobile phones and brain cancer.
> 
> The risk mobiles present has been much debated over the past 20 years as use of the phones has soared.
> 
> The latest study led by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Denmark looked at more than 350,000 people with mobile phones over an 18-year period.


----------



## Coastal

ekim68:
It seems I heard they are saying the data is still out on youngsters and cell phone use and a relationship w/ cancer. It will probably take longer than 20 years to determine. 
Coastal


----------



## ekim68

Hi Coastal. I've been reading pros and cons on this for years, just as I've been reading about all kinds of microwaves and electromagnetic waves we're exposed to on a daily basis, but this study seems to be the most comprehensive especially when it involves more than 350,000 people over a period of almost 20 years. But I'm open to any new data, especially with regards to the young people...Thanks for pointing that out...:up:


----------



## ekim68

Man gets smartphone dock built into prosthetic arm



> A British man has become the world's first ever patient to have a smartphone docking system built into his prosthetic arm.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Man gets smartphone dock built into prosthetic arm


:up:


----------



## Coastal

ekim68 said:


> Hi Coastal. I've been reading pros and cons on this for years, just as I've been reading about all kinds of microwaves and electromagnetic waves we're exposed to on a daily basis, but this study seems to be the most comprehensive especially when it involves more than 350,000 people over a period of almost 20 years. But I'm open to any new data, especially with regards to the young people...Thanks for pointing that out...:up:


Hi Ekim68:
I t i s a large study. I believe because children are developing is the reason for the ? mark. I know there is controversy over the power lines and the number o f cases of cancers. I am pro research for health issues. Man/woman and the elements seem to always be in a tug of war. 
Coastal.


----------



## ekim68

Boy, 13, pulled from rubble five days after Turkey quake



> A 13-year-old boy on Friday became the latest survivor to be pulled from a collapsed building, five days after a massive earthquake struck eastern Turkey, according to international news reports.
> 
> The youngster, identified by the Associated Press as Ferhat Tokay, was unscathed and survived until he was rescued by drinking rainwater that dripped through the rubble, the news service said, citing the boys uncle Sahin Tokay.


----------



## ekim68

Indian from modest background becomes TV game show millionaire



> The rags-to-riches story that unfolded in the 2008 Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' comes to life for a struggling Indian government clerk.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Indian from modest background becomes TV game show millionaire
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Top military cooks embrace week at culinary school



> Torres, Cacciatore and 23 other cooks from the Marines, Air Force and Air National Guard were selected by the Hennessy Travelers Association's Educational Foundation for the annual Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone campus in St. Helena.
> 
> For a week the military cooks hone their skills at the venerable chefs school, learning everything from chopping techniques to how to prepare healthful meals. And Hennessy, an association of volunteers from the food-service and hospitality industries that raises hundreds of thousands of dollars from private donors each year, is picking up the entire tab, said Carmen Vacalebre, a Connecticut restaurateur and president of the group.


----------



## ekim68

Defector uses balloons to send socks to North Korea 



> REPORTING FROM THE KOREAN DMZ - The oblong helium balloon rose into an ink-colored sky Saturday, released by a dozen hands just south of one of the worlds most fortified borders, its precious cargo bound for North Korea.
> 
> Yet unlike countless balloon launches that shower the north with pamphlets and political screeds criticizing Kim Jong-ils secretive regime, this one carried a different kind of payload: socks.
> 
> In all, hundreds of pairs of foot coverings were lifted heavenward by 10 balloons: little pink baby footies and large black and blue ones for growing children and adults - all headed for impoverished residents facing another winter.


----------



## ekim68

Aussie scientists develop radioactivity-trapping nanofibers



> Scientists from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed a new material for cleaning up contaminated water from radioactive leaks and medical processes.
> 
> The team mixed titanate nanofiber and nanotubes into a powder that, it says, will clean the radioactive particles in a ton of water with a single gram, provided it's properly distributed or filtered. The outsides of the nanotubes are coated with silver oxide nanocrystals to hold and fix radioactive iodine ions, even if the material becomes wet again.


----------



## eggplant43

The question that arises for me is: once the radiation is trapped, where does it go from there? Containing it is one thing, disposing, another, and the article does not address this issue, which I see as central.


----------



## Wino

eggplant43 said:


> The question that arises for me is: once the radiation is trapped, where does it go from there? Containing it is one thing, disposing, another, and the article does not address this issue, which I see as central.


There is a concrete bunker in Crawford, TX available.


----------



## eggplant43

Wino said:


> There is a concrete bunker in Crawford, TX available.


Oh my


----------



## ekim68

Mixed martial arts fighters stop robbery of L.A. motel



> An attempted robbery of an L.A. motel was foiled by mixed martial arts experts just arrived from Oregon for a tournament in Long Beach, authorities said Friday.
> 
> The fighters struggled for several minutes to subdue the armed man without hurting him, one of them said Friday evening. Los Angeles police commended Brent Alvarez, 33, and Billy Denney, 28, for their actions.
> 
> A security video of the conflict at the motel in the 300 block of North Vermont Avenue was posted on YouTube and on the department's website.
> 
> Alvarez, who owns a mixed martial arts studio in *Eugene, Ore.*, and Denney, one of his students, were getting off the elevator just before midnight Sunday when they stumbled on the suspect forcing the motel clerk at gunpoint to empty the cash drawer.


----------



## ekim68

Sports anchor wins $2 million lottery on live TV



> Barry Deley is a sportscaster with Canada's Global BC. And while he doesn't participate in office lottery pools, he is lucky. What do I mean? Consider this video, which shows that Deley recently entered a charity lottery where the winner would be announced live on his station. It was. And guess who won: Deley.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Sports anchor wins $2 million lottery on live TV


Wow!


----------



## eggplant43

> Vacant House Yields Late Owner's Stash of Cash


http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011...ds-late-owners-stash-of-cash/?ref=mostpopular


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011...ds-late-owners-stash-of-cash/?ref=mostpopular


:up: For the man who found it and returned it to rightfull owner.


----------



## hewee

But they still showed close up of the house and anyone living around there should be able to know very easy. So that was not to smart because they showed to much still.


----------



## ekim68

This 28-Year-Old's Startup Is Moving $350 Million And Wants To Completely Kill Credit Cards



> There's a tiny 12-person startup churning out of Des Moines, Iowa.
> 
> Dwolla was founded by 28-year-old Ben Milne; it's an innovative online payment system that sidesteps credit cards completely.
> 
> Milne has no finance background yet his little operation is moving between $30 and $50 million per month; it's on track to move more than $350 million in the next year.
> 
> Unlike PayPal, Dwolla doesn't take a percentage of the transaction. It only asks for $0.25 whether it's moving $1 or $1,000.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> This 28-Year-Old's Startup Is Moving $350 Million And Wants To Completely Kill Credit Cards


Interesting!


----------



## ekim68

It's amazing how many people are trapped by credit....


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> It's amazing how many people are trapped by credit....


Just giving their money away with interest payments!


----------



## ekim68

NASA: World won't end next year



> With preacher Harold Camping's prophecies earlier this year, and the Mayan calendar's prediction about the end of the world next year, doomsday seems a hot topic these days.
> 
> But today, I received a reassuring press release from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, assuring a worried public (were we worried about this?) that a gigantic, killer solar flare won't destroy the Earth in 2012.
> 
> Whew!
> 
> "There simply isn't enough energy in the Sun to send a killer fireball 93 million miles to destroy Earth," NASA's Karen C. Fox reports in the release.


----------



## franca

ekim68 said:


> NASA: World won't end next year


Phew !!! nice to know....


----------



## eggplant43

Darn!

There goes that "Going Away" party I had planned.


----------



## ekim68

'Fishy Lawnmowers' Help Save Pacific Corals



> ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2011)  Can fish save coral reefs from dying? UC Santa Barbara researchers have found one case where fish have helped coral reefs to recover from cyclones and predators.


----------



## poochee

*American girl, just 12, builds 27 homes in Haiti:up:*
What's next for Rachel Wheeler? Building a school in the earthquake-ravaged country
By Mary Murray
NBC News producer

LEOGANE, Haiti - If there really is something called *"helpers high*" - that feel-good sensation that comes from extending a helping hand to others - Rachel Wheeler is soaring.

*The 12-year-old Florida resident has done more to aid others than many grown-ups do in a lifetime.*

Three years ago, when she was only nine, Rachel tagged along with her mother to a very adult meeting about charity work in Haiti. She listened as Robin Mahfood, from the aid agency Food For The Poor, describe children so hungry that they eat cookies made of mud, so poor that they sleep in houses made of cardboard.

At the time, Julie Wheeler wasnt even sure her young daughter understood much of what was being discussed *"until Rachel stood on a chair in front of all those adults and pledged to help Food For The Poor," *Wheeler said.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/_...merican-girl-just-12-builds-27-homes-in-haiti


----------



## poochee

*Veterans Day pet adoption bargains a huge success for Sacramento SPCA:up:*
*11/11/11 Promotion.*
By Cynthia Hubert
[email protected] 
By Cynthia Hubert The Sacramento Bee 
Last modified: 2011-11-15T18:41:56Z
Published: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1A 
Last Modified: Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 - 10:41 am



> The SPCA had planned to remain open until 11 p.m., but had to shut down early because the shelter was virtually empty. It had "sold out" its entire population of dogs and cats for the first time in recent memory, thanks to a clever promotion and aggressive marketing.
> 
> The next day, staffers and volunteers pulled animals from the city and county shelters and found them homes, too. Altogether, about 200 homeless dogs and cats were adopted, officials said.





> It was a dramatic example of the extraordinary efforts shelter managers have been making in *the face of a steady drop in adoptions and an **increase in the number of people no longer able to afford their pets.* Officials say they believe the trends are directly linked to the struggling economy.


http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/15/4054933/veterans-day-pet-adoption-bargains.html


----------



## ekim68

Ionized Plasmas as Cheap Sterilizers for Developing World



> University of California, Berkeley, scientists have shown that ionized plasmas like those in neon lights and plasma TVs not only can sterilize water, but make it antimicrobial -- able to kill bacteria -- for as long as a week after treatment.


----------



## ekim68

Super-slippery material could mean end to having to wait for ketchup



> A super-slippery material that causes water, oil and even jam to slide off without leaving any residue could mean an end to fighting to get sauce out of ketchup bottles.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Super-slippery material could mean end to having to wait for ketchup


:up: At last!


----------



## hewee

Cool if it's safe and not another toxic that will leach into foods.


----------



## Blackmirror

ekim68 said:


> Super-slippery material could mean end to having to wait for ketchup


 i like shaking the bottle


----------



## ekim68

World's 'lightest material' unveiled by US engineers



> The substance is made out of tiny hollow metallic tubes arranged into a micro-lattice - a criss-crossing diagonal pattern with small open spaces between the tubes.
> 
> The researchers say the material is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and has "extraordinarily high energy absorption" properties.
> 
> Potential uses include next-generation batteries and shock absorbers.


----------



## ekim68

Bert and Ernie join Snoop Dogg, Darth Vader as the voice of Garmin



> Parents, 3-year-olds and grown-ups with a strong sense of nostalgia -- we've got news for you: Sesame Street's dynamic duo Bert and Ernie are now available to tell you how to get to the closest Home Depot.
> 
> The beloved Muppets are the latest addition to the choir of recognizable voices that Garmin users can have to override the default lady who gives directions in an emotionless deadpan --"Turn left," "get in the right lane," "make a legal U-turn."


----------



## poochee

*Ga. man rescues blind man from burning home:up:*
November 22, 2011 12:30 PM EST | Associated Press

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20111122/us-burning-home-rescue/


----------



## ekim68

Tire repaired in time for baby's birth



> CHICAGO, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Illinois State Police said a state Transportation Department crew repaired a flat tire in time for a woman in labor to make it to the hospital.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tire repaired in time for baby's birth


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

A Thanksgiving story:

http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/videos/gis-reward-their-best-friends-the-dogs-of-war


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> A Thanksgiving story:
> 
> http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/videos/gis-reward-their-best-friends-the-dogs-of-war


Beautiful, it brought tears to my eyes.


----------



## ekim68

Cuddly puppies help law students de-stress before exams



> The stress of looming exams at George Mason University School of Law lifted for a couple hours Thursday, thanks to the arrival of 15 homeless and adoptable puppies with velvety ears, soul-searching eyes and names like Doughboy, Sugar and Sue.
> 
> Especially this time of the year, law school seems to ruin your life, said Allison Tisdale, 24, a third-year from Texas who didnt go home for Thanksgiving because she had to study. Holding a squirming puppy, she said, you get to be human again.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cuddly puppies help law students de-stress before exams


----------



## ekim68

Iowa donor pays delinquent water bills for 17 families



> IOWA CITY, Iowa -- An anonymous Iowa City woman has given an unexpected gift to several residents.
> 
> The woman walked into City Hall on Nov. 22 and, after paying her own water bill, donated $1,640 to pay off delinquent balances on 17 other local water utility accounts to ensure they had running water, Iowa City revenue manager Melissa Miller said Wednesday.


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Iowa donor pays delinquent water bills for 17 families


How wonderful. Bea would have been all over this one.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> How wonderful. Bea would have been all over this one.


:up:

I was thinking about her today.


----------



## poochee

6:37 p.m. Wednesday, November 30, 2011 
*103-year-old woman won't be evicted from Atlanta home*
By Mark Davis and Angel K. Brooks 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A 103-year-old woman facing foreclosure from her home will not be forced to leave the dwelling she has lived in for the past 53 years.

*A bank wanted to evict 103-year-old Vinia Hall, but movers and deputies did not remove her from her Atlanta home Tuesday.*

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/103-year-old-woman-1245741.html


----------



## ekim68

3D printer used to make bone-like material



> PULLMAN, Wash. - It looks like bone. It feels like bone. For the most part, it acts like bone.
> 
> And it came off an inkjet printer.
> 
> Washington State University researchers have used a 3D printer to create a bone-like material and structure that can be used in orthopedic procedures, dental work and to deliver medicine for treating osteoporosis. Paired with actual bone, it acts as a scaffold for new bone to grow on and ultimately dissolves with no apparent ill effects.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 3D printer used to make bone-like material


:up:


----------



## hewee

poochee said:


> 6:37 p.m. Wednesday, November 30, 2011
> *103-year-old woman won't be evicted from Atlanta home*
> By Mark Davis and Angel K. Brooks
> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
> 
> A 103-year-old woman facing foreclosure from her home will not be forced to leave the dwelling she has lived in for the past 53 years.
> 
> *A bank wanted to evict 103-year-old Vinia Hall, but movers and deputies did not remove her from her Atlanta home Tuesday.*
> 
> http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/103-year-old-woman-1245741.html


Now that's the type of news I like to hear more of.


----------



## eggplant43

> In a heroic story beyond reason, a yellow lab named Reagan made a discovery on an Iowa roadside that saved two precious lives.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/dog-rescues-kittens-from-_n_1129595.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/dog-rescues-kittens-from-_n_1129595.html


Sad story with a beautiful ending, thanks to Reagan.


----------



## ekim68

Japan town embraces volunteer who stayed after tsunami



> Reporting from Ogatsu, Japan
> The slender woman in a puffy black ski hat and camouflage pants hurried among the crowd at the opening ceremony for a new vegetable market here, carrying a rolled-up events schedule like an architect with a set of building plans.


----------



## ekim68

Vaccine developed against Ebola



> Scientists have developed a vaccine that protects mice against a deadly form of the Ebola virus.
> 
> First identified in 1976, Ebola fever kills more than 90% of the people it infects.
> 
> The researchers say that this is the first Ebola vaccine to remain viable long-term and can therefore be successfully stockpiled.
> 
> The results are reported in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Vaccine developed against Ebola


:up:


----------



## ekim68

17-year-old wins 100k for creating cancer-killing nanoparticle



> At the age of 17 I was paying attention in college, but still enjoying the student life as much as studying towards my career goals. What I wasn't doing was working at the cutting edge of cancer treatment and developing a potential cure.
> 
> Angela Zhang is, and she's just been awarded the $100,000 Grand Prize in the Individual category of the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology. Her project was entitled "Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells."
> 
> Her creation is being heralded as a "Swiss army knife of cancer treatment." Zhang managed to develop a nanoparticle that can be delivered to the site of a tumor through the drug salinomycin. Once there it kills the cancer stem cells. However, Zhang went further and included both gold and iron-oxide components, which allow for non-invasive imaging of the site through MRI and Photoacoustics.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 17-year-old wins 100k for creating cancer-killing nanoparticle


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Nobel Peace Prize awarded in Oslo



> The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize has been presented to three women at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
> 
> This year's award was won jointly by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian peace activist, and Yemeni pro-democracy campaigner Tawakkol Karman.


----------



## eggplant43

> Mary Chapin put some toys on layaway at a Michigan K-Mart for her son, David, and was hoping to pay off the $200 balance the week before Christmas. Then she got a call that changed all that.


http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/videos/secret-santas-pay-strangers-layaway-bills-at-kmart


----------



## ekim68

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/videos/secret-santas-pay-strangers-layaway-bills-at-kmart


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Recently, a friend of mine was having a bad day, so while in the drive through line at Dunkin' Donuts, she paid for the order behind her, changed her whole day.


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Recently, a friend of mine was having a bad day, so while in the drive through line at Dunkin' Donuts, she paid for the order behind her, changed her whole day.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Sold into slavery as a girl, Shyima Hall becomes a U.S. citizen



> When she was 10, Shyima Hall was smuggled from Egypt into the U.S. as a slave to a family in Irvine. In Montebello on Thursday, she became an American citizen.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Sold into slavery as a girl, Shyima Hall becomes a U.S. citizen


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Doctor: half pound baby is a miracle.*

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news-channel/45689293#null


----------



## eggplant43

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/cat-and-dog-hugging-kissi_n_1154015.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/cat-and-dog-hugging-kissi_n_1154015.html


----------



## eggplant43

> An anonymous donor left a $10,000 check at the doorstep of a California woman suffering from stage-4 cancer. The woman will put the money toward her cancer treatment.


http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/videos/anonymous-donor-gives-cancer-patient-10000


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/videos/anonymous-donor-gives-cancer-patient-10000


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Discovery May Lead to Safer Treatments for Asthma, Allergies and Arthritis



> Scientists have discovered a missing link between the body's biological clock and sugar metabolism system, a finding that may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Discovery May Lead to Safer Treatments for Asthma, Allergies and Arthritis


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Readied To Donate Organs, 21-Year-Old Emerges From Coma



> Sam Schmid, an Arizona college student believed to be brain dead and poised to be an organ donor, miraculously recovered just hours before doctors were considering taking him off life support.
> 
> Schmid, a junior and business major at the University of Arizona, was critically wounded in an Oct. 19 car accident in Tucson, which took the life of his friend and roommate.
> 
> The 21-year-old's brain injuries were so severe that the local hospital could not treat him. He was airlifted to the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Phoenix, where specialists performed surgery for a life-threatening aneurysm.
> 
> As hospital officials began palliative care and broached the subject of organ donation with his family, Schmid began to respond, holding up two fingers on command. Today he is walking with the aid of a walker, and his speech, although slow, has improved.
> 
> Doctors say he will likely have a complete recovery.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Readied To Donate Organs, 21-Year-Old Emerges From Coma


A miracle!:up:


----------



## hewee

Lucky man.


----------



## ekim68

Small Spanish town wins $914M in lottery



> GRANEN, Spain, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Residents of the small Spanish town of Granen won about $914 million in the world's largest lottery, the so-called El Gordo, or the Fat One, Thursday.
> 
> About $2.61 billion was distributed to winners of the lottery around the country, with the largest portion going to the farming community of Granen. The town is home to about 2,000 people, who won as much as $522,000 each for buying shares in the top-paying lottery number. Many of the town's residents are unemployed, as are about 23 percent of the country's population.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Small Spanish town wins $914M in lottery


:up:


----------



## 1956brother

ekim68 said:


> Small Spanish town wins $914M in lottery


hope buffoon lives there


----------



## eggplant43

Puppies unwrap Christmas:

http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/tag/puppies-unwrap-gifts/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Puppies unwrap Christmas:
> 
> http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/tag/puppies-unwrap-gifts/


Adorable...they wore themselves out.


----------



## ekim68

Cat's 26 toes earn dough to save shelter



> In fact, Daniel has a total of 26 toes - only two short of the Guinness record - due to a genetic mutation called polydactylism (most cats have only 18). And when Rowell needed help to rescue her own animal rescue center, all 26 of them came in handy.
> 
> Unable to afford its raised rent at a suburban mall, the Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center needed to buy a new building. To raise the necessary funds, Rowell solicited $26 donations - $1 for each of Daniel's tootsies.
> 
> Donors opened their hearts and their wallets, and $125,000 poured in within the space of just six weeks, the Associated Press reports - $5,000 more than the goal. And most of it came in the form of $26 donations.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cat's 26 toes earn dough to save shelter


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Oregon football player performs Heimlich on man at 'Beef Bowl'



> The real Rose Bowl excitement may have happened well before kickoff on Monday. At the annual Beef Bowl at Lawry's in Beverly Hills -- a pregame tradition -- Oregon tackle Mark Asper put his size and strength to the test by performing the Heimlich maneuver on a man choking during dinner.
> 
> Asper told the Los Angeles Times that he noticed a commotion at a table near his where a man, the father of an Oregon student, gave the "universal 'Help me, I'm choking' signal.'"
> 
> A restaurant chef apparently attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver but was unsuccessful. That's when the 6-foot-7, 325-pound Asper stepped in.
> 
> "I stood up and patted [the chef] on the back and said, 'If you don't know what you're doing, I do, because I'm an Eagle Scout,' " Asper said. "So I whipped in there."


----------



## hewee

I'm an Eagle Scout


----------



## Wino

hewee said:


> I'm an Eagle Scout


So is Rick Perry, and was, Charles Whitman. Something to ponder.


----------



## hewee

Wino said:


> So is Rick Perry, and was, Charles Whitman. Something to ponder.


I wanted to be one also but where we lived it was to far away so with just a couple people they could not keep it going.


----------



## ekim68

Man rescues children from car in river



> LOGAN, Utah, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Police say an Ogden, Utah, man is a hero for jumping into the Logan River to save three children trapped in a car underwater.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Man rescues children from car in river


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Good-bye, Wheelchair, Hello Exoskeleton



> In a warehouse that looks like a cross between a mad inventor's garage and a climbing gym, a pair of mechanical legs hangs from the ceiling on ropes. With the quiet whir of four motors, one in each hip and knee, the legs take a step, then another and another. This is an exoskeleton walking suit, and it is taking the hundreds of thousands of steps that regulators demand to prove that it's no mere toy but a reliable medical device, one that just might change the lives of people who thought they'd never again rise from a wheelchair.
> 
> The Berkeley, Calif., warehouse is the home of Ekso Bionics (formerly known as Berkeley Bionics), a young *company that's about to step out onto the world stage. Early this year the company will begin selling its Ekso suit to rehab clinics in the United States and Europe, to allow patients with spinal cord injuries to train with the device under a doctor's supervision. By the middle of 2012, the company plans to have a model for at-home physical therapy.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Good-bye, Wheelchair, Hello Exoskeleton


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Dog found alive 4 days after Montana avalanche



> A dog that was feared dead after he was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed his owner showed up four days later at the Montana motel where his owners had stayed the night before going backcountry skiing.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Dog found alive 4 days after Montana avalanche


Smart dog. Sad situation.


----------



## ekim68

Defying the odds of medicine



> Few would contest that Prof Stephen Hawking is an incredible man.
> 
> The former Lucasian professor of mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.
> 
> He has 12 honorary degrees, a CBE and in 2009 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the US.
> 
> But aside from his academic achievements, the professor is also something of a medical marvel.
> 
> Now aged 70, he has long defied and baffled medical experts who predicted he had just months to live in 1963 when he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
> 
> Only 5% of people with the form of MND that he has - a condition called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease - survive for more than a decade after diagnosis.





> Although he has now stepped down from the Lucasian chair after a historic 30 years, he continues working at the University of Cambridge and recently published a new book - The Grand Design.
> 
> The grandfather-of-three continues to seek out new challenges.


----------



## eggplant43

> People Are Awesome: The South Carolina Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else's Drinks


http://www.good.is/post/people-are-...ere-everyone-pays-for-everyone-else-s-drinks/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.good.is/post/people-are-...ere-everyone-pays-for-everyone-else-s-drinks/


----------



## eggplant43

> When the Szydlowskis arrived at the sellers house, he didnt just show them the instrument  he introduced them to a tiny blind kitten, the last of the litter. The seller said that if no one adopted him, the cat would either stay on the farm a little while longer  where hed likely become prey  or hed be taken to an animal shelter. But after Bethany held the kitten in her arms, she knew shed be taking home more than just an autoharp.


http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/blind-kitten-becomes-an-internet-sensation


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/blind-kitten-becomes-an-internet-sensation


What a sweet story.


----------



## eggplant43

> You never know when an updated Facebook status might come in handy. A dancer stranded on the foundered Italian cruise ship typed out on her FB page: My name is Rose, and Im one of the last survivors still on board the sinking cruise ship off the coast of Italy. Pray for us to be rescued." Rose Metcalf, 22, was saved a few hours later, plucked off a nearly-perpendicular deck by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, reports the New York Daily News. The official death toll is now at six, with several passengers still unaccounted for


http://www.newser.com/story/137571/cruise-dancer-saved-after-she-updates-facebook-status.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/137571/cruise-dancer-saved-after-she-updates-facebook-status.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Gunner and pilot he shot down are friends



> LEEDS, England, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A British Navy gunner and the Argentine pilot he shot down during the Falklands War say they are now good friends.
> 
> Neil Wilkinson of Leeds shot Mariano Velasco out of the sky on May 27, 1982.
> 
> Wilkinson said was haunted by sleepless nights and post-traumatic stress disorder for decades -- until he discovered that Velasco had ejected and survived.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Gunner and pilot he shot down are friends


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Homeless teen could win $100,000 science award


http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/resea.../homeless-teen-could-win-100000-science-award


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/resea.../homeless-teen-could-win-100000-science-award


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Sharky the pit bull and Max-Arthur the cat are famous on the Web for their unlikely friendships and adorable antics.


http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/texas-womans-pets-are-a-youtube-hit


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/texas-womans-pets-are-a-youtube-hit


s


----------



## eggplant43

Breakdancing traffic cop:

http://boingboing.net/2012/01/22/breakdancing-filipino-traffic.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> Breakdancing traffic cop:
> 
> http://boingboing.net/2012/01/22/breakdancing-filipino-traffic.html


That's great!! And to one of my favorite songs by Jackson.


----------



## ekim68

Airline passengers gain new rights today



> Airline passengers gain new rights this week including the ability to hold a reservation without payment  or cancel one with a full refund  within 24 hours of making the reservation, as long as its made at least a week before the departure date.
> 
> Some airlines were doing this voluntarily but now its a requirement. Its one of several new regulations the U.S. Department of Transportation announced in April 2011 that take effect today.
> 
> The new rules also require airlines to promptly notify passengers of cancellations, diversions and delays longer than 30 minutes and generally prohibit them from increasing the price of a ticket after it is bought.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

A step in the right direction, but I still feel most airlines hold their passengers hostage, and choose not to fly any longer. I'd only do so in the case of an emergency, or a death. IMO, deregulation did not benefit the passengers.

Putting this into practice, I'm transporting a good friend to Phoenix, and then the SF Bay Area in about a month, as she gets sick every time she flies.


----------



## ekim68

Indonesian-born twins reunite in Sweden after 30 years



> Indonesian twin sisters separated only weeks after birth have found each other almost 30 years later in Sweden, living just 60 kilometres apart.
> 
> On top of this, they both work as teachers and were both married on the same day... but the coincidences don't stop there.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Indonesian-born twins reunite in Sweden after 30 years


----------



## eggplant43

> When Graceanne Rumer got her driver's license two weeks ago, she probably had no idea that she would soon use her new skills to save a school bus full of her peers. But on Tuesday afternoon, when she realized her bus driver had collapsed after suffering a heart attack, that's what she did. "I just realized that there's no one driving this bus  I need to do something," Rumer tells NBC Philadelphia.


http://www.newser.com/story/138377/girl-17-grabs-wheel-saves-bus-full-of-students.html


----------



## ekim68

Happy Birthday Opportunity! The Mars Rover Turns Eight



> Never mind all the talk about the revival of the American auto industry. Yes, Chrysler and Ford are thriving. Yes, GM is once again the top-selling brand in the world. But what may be the greatest car the U.S. has ever built is currently a tidy 78 million miles (125 km) away from this world  resting on the edge of Endeavour crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
> 
> It was on January 25, 2004 that the rover Opportunity  swaddled in its cocoon of shock-absorbing air bags  bounced down on Mars for a mission designed to last a minimum of three months and a maximum of just a year or two. Eight years later, Opportunity is slower, creakier and much, much dirtier, and yet it's still at work, hunkering down on the crater rim as it prepares to ride out another bitter Martian winter. When the relative warmth and sunlight of spring return, the golf-cart-sized rover will resume its wanderings, adding to the mass of data it's already collected about Mars's wet, balmy, and perhaps biologically active past.


----------



## eggplant43

> Since Groupon launched, we've written a handful of stories about businesses  like the bakery that claimed $19,500 in losses and the cafe owner who called it the "single worst decision" she'd ever made  that said they took on huge amounts of red ink when they were overwhelmed by bargain-hunting shoppers who only wanted the discount. Well, here's a story that's slightly different, in that the shop's regular customers have come to the rescue to save the sinking business.


http://consumerist.com/2012/01/cust...lmost-ruined-by-ill-advised-groupon-deal.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://consumerist.com/2012/01/cust...lmost-ruined-by-ill-advised-groupon-deal.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Maurice Holder of Cornwall, England, was out for a stroll when he felt the ground beneath his feet give way. Fortunately, his canine companion Monty sprung to the rescue shortly after, The Mirror reports.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...y-rescues-owner-maurice-holder_n_1236583.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...y-rescues-owner-maurice-holder_n_1236583.html


:up:


----------



## Wino

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...y-rescues-owner-maurice-holder_n_1236583.html





poochee said:


> :up:


Now we know how little Timmy felt when Lassie went for help and saved his butt when he fell down a well.

BTW, Rick Santorum would go berserk if he knew Lassie was portrayed by a Laddie.


----------



## poochee

Wino said:


> Now we know how little Timmy felt when Lassie went for help and saved his butt when he fell down a well.
> 
> BTW, *Rick Santorum would go berserk if he knew Lassie was portrayed by a Laddie*.


s


----------



## eggplant43

> The boss of an Australian bus company dished out $15 million in bonuses to his employees. Ken Grenda sold his company and used the proceeds to give an average $8,500 to every one of his 1,800 workers. Grenda, 79, attributed his generosity to the typically enormous gap between executive and employee salaries, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.


http://www.newser.com/story/138764/boss-divvies-up-15m-to-surprised-employees.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/138764/boss-divvies-up-15m-to-surprised-employees.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Packard, 81, Is a Youngster to Its Driver



> Margaret Dunning of Plymouth, Mich., is 101 and her Packard 740 roadster is 81. She will be showing the car at the Concours d'Élégance of America this month.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Packard, 81, Is a Youngster to Its Driver


Neat story, beautiful car!


----------



## eggplant43

ekim68 said:


> Packard, 81, Is a Youngster to Its Driver


Attitude!:up:


----------



## ekim68

Indian engineers modify Microsoft's Kinect to help the blind walk with confidence



> New Delhi: Mohammed Wasim is a young helpline operator at India's National Association for the Blind (NAB) who could only perceive brightness and lights, but the lack of ability to discern shapes meant living in a shapeless world where every small obstacle could prove a barrier.
> 
> However, viSparsh, a belt-based sensor system (sparsh means touch in Hindi) created by a young team of engineers, could herald a revolutionary change for 25-year-old Wasim, and millions of others who are blind.
> 
> Engineers Rolly Seth, Jatin Sharma and Tushar Chugh are Young India Fellows and are developing viSparsh under technical guidance of professor Rahul Mangharam of the University of Pennsylvania.
> 
> Whenever a user wearing viSparsh belt encounters an obstacle, the sensors find the distance and direction of the obstacle and provide vibratory feedback to the user.
> 
> For this, the team modified Microsoft's Kinect, a motion sensing input device for the Xbox 360 video game console, and mounted it on the belt.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Indian engineers modify Microsoft's Kinect to help the blind walk with confidence


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Skin Cancer Drug Rapidly Reverses Alzheimer's Symptoms in Mice



> A skin cancer drug may rapidly reverse pathological, cognitive and memory deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research published on Thursday.
> 
> Bexarotene, a drug that is currently used to combat T cell lymphoma, appeared to reverse plaque buildup and improve memory in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease by reducing levels of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain that cause mental deficits in Alzheimer's disease.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Skin Cancer Drug Rapidly Reverses Alzheimer's Symptoms in Mice


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Ultra low-cost artificial leg developed



> TORONTO, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A Canadian scientist in Toronto has developed a lower-leg prosthetic that costs $50 to manufacture instead of the current $3,000.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Ultra low-cost artificial leg developed


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> When the world tuned in to watch the primped and pampered elite pooches of the Westminster Dog Show, they might not have guessed one of the dogs had not only been severely abused, but was also found and rescued on Craigslist, ABC News reports.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/maverick-show-dog-rescued_n_1282405.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/maverick-show-dog-rescued_n_1282405.html


:up::up:


----------



## ekim68

Frenchman, 100, sets record for one hour cycle



> Marchand rode 24.251 kilometres around an indoor track to establish the first-ever hour performance in the 100-years-plus category.
> 
> "I could have gone faster but I didn't want to," Marchand, who was given clearance by his cardiologist in France before making the attempt, told reporters at the International Cycling Union UCI.L track in Aigle where he spent a week preparing.


----------



## ekim68

DNA robot could kill cancer cells



> DNA origami, a technique for making structures from DNA, may be more than just a cool design concept. It can also be used to build devices that can seek out and destroy living cells.
> 
> The nanorobots, as the researchers call them, use a similar system to cells in the immune system to engage with receptors on the outside of cells.
> 
> DNA nanorobots can target cancer cells and deliver an antibody payload (purple).
> 
> Image created by Campbell Strong, Shawn Douglas, & Gaël McGill using Molecular Maya & cadnano
> 
> "We call it a nanorobot because it is capable of some robotic tasks," says Ido Bachelet, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and one of the authors of the study, which is published in this week's issue of Science1. Once the device recognizes a cell, he explains, it automatically changes its shape and delivers its cargo.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> DNA robot could kill cancer cells


----------



## ekim68

Bill would give loose change left at airports to USO not TSA



> Every year, passengers leave behind hundreds of thousands of dollars in spare change at airport checkpoints. The Transportation Security Administration says it strives to return the money, but since 2005, Congress has let it keep the money for its operating budget.
> 
> In 2010, the TSA's most recent count, it amounted to $409,085. Passengers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport left the most loose change, $46,918.06, with Los Angeles International Airport passengers leaving $19,110.83 and $16,523.83 by those at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson.
> 
> Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., says that money could be better used by the USO to support troops than by the TSA and has a bill that would do that.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Bill would give loose change left at airports to USO not TSA


:up:


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Bill would give loose change left at airports to USO not TSA


I say leave it with TSA. The USA is on the verge of a mass reduction in troops at home and abroad (I hope on the latter) so the USO will need less. I suspect the Florida rep has a friend that depends on USO funds to stay employed rather than any real concern for the USO.


----------



## ekim68

Dempsey scores as US beats Italy for first time

For the First Time.....:up:


----------



## ekim68

World's first biodegradable joint implant grows new joints



> Joint implants should always be made of materials like titanium, so they can last the lifetime of the patient ... right? Well, not according to researchers at Finland's Tampere University of Technology. They've developed a product known as RegJoint, which is reportedly the world's first biodegradable joint implant. Unlike permanent implants, it allows the patient's bone ends to remain intact, and it creates a new joint out of their own tissue.





> Once in place, it reduces pain by acting as a cushioning spacer between the exposed bone ends, while also also restoring a reasonable range of movement, and keeping the already-compromised cartilage from being damaged further. Additionally, however, it triggers the body to produce new fibrous tissue, which proceeds to gradually replace the implant. According to the university, all that's left eventually is a fully-functioning "neojoint," made from the body's own cells.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> World's first biodegradable joint implant grows new joints


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Is chocolate really heart-healthy?



> (Reuters Health) - That heart-shaped box of chocolate you got for Valentine's just might have some benefits for your real heart, a new study hints.
> 
> The study, which combined the results of 42 small clinical trials, found that people fed chocolate or cocoa for a few weeks to months had small dips in their blood pressure and improved blood vessel function.
> 
> On average, chocolate eaters shaved a couple points from their blood pressure and showed a small improvement in "flow-mediated dilation" -- a measure of how well the blood vessels respond to increased blood flow.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Is chocolate really heart-healthy?


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Missing for nearly two months, dog reunited with owner



> For 53 days, Barbara Bagley waited for news of her Shetland sheepdog, Dooley.
> 
> The 4-year-old dog vanished after a December car accident in a remote swath of Nevada that broke Bagley's ribs and punctured her lungs. Her husband, Brad Vom Baur, and their other sheepdog, Delaney, were killed.
> 
> "But something inside me told me Dooley was still alive out there," Bagley, 48, told the Associated Press. "I wasn't 100% sure, but I didn't grieve for Dooley like I did for my husband and our other dog."
> 
> Bagley, who lives in Salt Lake City, and a group of Nevada residents who heard about her plight on Facebook spent weeks combing the sagebrush near Battle Mountain, a blip of a town along Interstate 80. People there had repeatedly a spotted a skittish, "Lassie-type" dog.
> 
> On Feb. 18, searchers finally cornered Dooley, who'd subsisted on roadkill and water from nearby ranches. Bagley rushed to the scene.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Missing for nearly two months, dog reunited with owner


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Three years ago, Tonya Ritchie went to a Salvation Army store in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada and bought a purple suitcase for $5.
> 
> Ritchie, who was in St. John's to attend a friend's wedding, bought the bag to cart some frozen fish back home to Shelburne, Ontario, reports the Star.
> 
> Tucked in the bags front pocket  zipped shut and stored in her attic for much of the time since then  were three 8 mm film reels containing the childhood memories of a friend, Janet Piper, 51, who lives just three doors down. Incidentally, St. John's is over a thousand miles away from Shelburne.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/5-suitcase_n_1332492.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/5-suitcase_n_1332492.html


----------



## eggplant43

> All of our many dogs and cats have been rescued from some bad circumstance or other. Its their ticket in. I will just tell you about Fionn and Druid. Fionn was a terrific mouser (3 vole a day man), but seemed to think himself a dog. He had no interest in our other cats and followed the dogs everywhere, crunching mightily at the large chunks of dog kibble in the bowl, climbing up into the toilet bowl to drink with them. The two dogs didnt want him in the pack. The people that lived behind us had a cow, and it was herdless and sad. And complaining. Fionn started to go down to where the cow waited at the fence, and hed sit for hours on a branch over the fence, and the cow stopped bellowing. Fionn had a pack and the cow had a herd. It wasnt long though, before the cow went the way of all good things.


http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/03/11/early-morning-open-thread-true-companions/


----------



## eggplant43

> Beauty queen goes bald for cancer research


http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/videos/beauty-queen-goes-bald-for-cancer-research


----------



## poochee

Neat stories!


----------



## ekim68

Camera gun would let "harmless hunters" get killer wildlife shots



> Not too long ago, brothers Randy and Michael Gregg were out on a hunting expedition. It was the day after deer season had ended, yet they spied a handsome animal bedded down in the snow. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity, they silently crept up on their quarry, raised their rifle, lined the deer up in the crosshairs ... and then took a picture through the scope with a mobile phone. That photo provided all the proof they needed that they had successfully stalked their prey, without bringing home an illegally-obtained carcass. It also inspired them to create the Kill Shot photo/video-recording rifle.


----------



## ekim68

Being a typewriter repair guy, this is cool....

Typewriters are making a comeback among collectors and users



> Siri, the personal assistant on the iPhone, offers directions, dispenses advice on where to eat, and even takes dictation. Just speak to her and she'll tap out your texts. Still, some say, technology hasn't killed some earlier forms of communication, namely, the typewriter.
> "You'd be surprised at the number of people using typewriters," says Scott Paness, who owns a company in Nanuet, N.Y., that repairs and refurbishes the machines.
> 
> Type-Ins are being held at coffee houses, bars and bookstores from coast to coast. Early manual typewriters are being snapped up by a new generation of fans who are rediscovering the joys of vintage Smith Coronas, Underwoods and Royals, even IBM Selectrics.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Being a typewriter repair guy, this is cool....
> 
> Typewriters are making a comeback among collectors and users


:up:


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Being a typewriter repair guy, this is cool....
> 
> Typewriters are making a comeback among collectors and users


My Dad had an old maual Underwood portable from the late 30's or early 40's. The carrying case was wood covered with a veneer of black leather (or could have been something synthetic, but doubt it). The ribbons were of course made of cloth. We (kids) used the Underwood to publish a newspaper. The one thing that I remember was the smell of that typewriter when you opened the carrier - of wood, ink and sweat - good memories.:up:


----------



## ekim68

I still have a Royal Manual circa 1929 and a Smith Corona portable manual circa 1955 and they both work really well...And I have an IBM Correcting Selectric circa 1988 and although it weighs a ton, it will last another 50 years with a little maintenance....


----------



## steppenwolf

the good news is -you can get up and turn off the damn tv


----------



## poochee

steppenwolf said:


> the good news is -you can get up and turn off the damn tv


s


----------



## eggplant43

> Last fall, Texana Hollis, 101, sat in her wheelchair in her front yard, sobbing as she watched workers drag her furniture and personal items out of her home and stack them on her lawn. A great-grandmother, Hollis had lived in her house for more than 60 years, ever since her husband purchased it after returning from World War II.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/texana-hollis-mitch-album-detroit_n_1348358.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/15/texana-hollis-mitch-album-detroit_n_1348358.html





> Mitch Albom, author of the popular memoir "Tuesdays with Morrie" and also a longtime Detroit resident, heard of Hollis' troubles one night on the local news. He was stunned. "This is what happens when people forget people," Albom told the Detroit Free Press. "You can't throw someone out like that; I don't care what the numbers are."


*Beautiful!*


----------



## ekim68

Thai taxi driver returns $410,000 in gold



> BANGKOK, March 17 (UPI) -- A Thai taxi driver with a heart of gold has returned more than $410,000 worth of gold necklaces left in the back seat of his cab, police say.
> 
> Saksri Ketseekaeo, 56, was shocked when he opened a handbag left in the back seat of his cab to find it packed with gold necklaces of all shapes and sizes. The bag was left by jewelery store owner Ekkarat Kanokwannakorn, who had forgot it Wednesday when he got out of the car in Pathum Thani.


----------



## ekim68

Cat Survives 19-Story Fall by Gliding Like a Flying Squirrel



> They say cats have the ability to always land on their feet, and Sugar is proof.
> 
> The 1-year-old white cat plunged 19 floors after falling from the window of a high-rise building in Boston on Wednesday, landing in a small area of soft mulch and suffering only minor injuries.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cat Survives 19-Story Fall by Gliding Like a Flying Squirrel


Lucky cat!


----------



## eggplant43

Illustrating how cats have 9 lives.


----------



## ekim68

Studies: Surgery can put diabetes into remission



> CHICAGO -- New research gives clear proof that weight-loss surgery can reverse and possibly cure diabetes, and doctors say the operation should be offered sooner to more people with the disease - not just as a last resort.
> 
> The two studies, released on Monday, are the first to compare stomach-reducing operations to medicines alone for "diabesity" - Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity. Millions of Americans have this and can't make enough insulin or use what they do make to process sugar from food.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Studies: Surgery can put diabetes into remission


:up:


----------



## ekim68

One Drug to Shrink All Tumors



> A single drug can shrink or cure human breast, ovary, colon, bladder, brain, liver, and prostate tumors that have been transplanted into mice, researchers have found. The treatment, an antibody that blocks a "do not eat" signal normally displayed on tumor cells, coaxes the immune system to destroy the cancer cells.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> One Drug to Shrink All Tumors


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> When Maryland cops pulled over Batman on a traffic stop last week, photos of the incident quickly went viral. So who was the grown man decked out head to toe in Batman gear and driving a black Lamborghini with Batman tags instead of plates? It turns out to be a pretty nice story, as Michael S. Rosenwald of the Washington Post explains. This Batman is Lenny B. Robinson, a 48-year-old self-made rich guy who spends much of his time visiting kids sick with cancer as Batman and giving them gifts he paid for himself.


http://www.newser.com/story/142912/real-life-batman-in-traffic-stop-unveiled.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/142912/real-life-batman-in-traffic-stop-unveiled.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Air Force to get 1st woman 4-star general



> WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- Lt. Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, given Senate approval to head the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command, will become the branch's first female four-star general.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Air Force to get 1st woman 4-star general


:up:


----------



## ekim68

National peanut butter and jelly day



> We're celebrating the best couple in history, and you know we aren't foolin' around because it's April 2. Today is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!





> Back in 2002, a survey revealed that the average PB&J-loving American eats 1,500 sandwiches before graduating high school. Now, that's love.


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> National peanut butter and jelly day
> Quote:
> Back in 2002, a survey revealed that the average PB&J-loving American eats 1,500 sandwiches before graduating high school. *Now, that's love. *


No. That's unimaginative and lazy parents.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> National peanut butter and jelly day


Yummy and with grape jelly! Healthier than hot dogs and cokes!


----------



## eggplant43

> Some firefighters at Albuquerque Fire Station No. 8 are Mega Millions winners.


http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2562957.shtml


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2562957.shtml


----------



## poochee

*Dog Scouts of America have troops in 22 states*
By SUE MANNING
Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, Apr. 3, 2012 - 10:45 am 
Last Modified: Tuesday, Apr. 3, 2012 - 3:18 pm

LOS ANGELES -- They've got badges and campouts, cookie drives and troops in 22 states. The Dog Scouts of America even has a motto or two as the half-human, half-hound organization goes about the business of doing good deeds.

One of the first badges for Jasper, a 3-year-old collie-lab mix, was disaster preparedness. After all, he lives with Robert and Misti Verdahl in Milpitas, southeast of San Francisco, where you have to be aware of earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/03/4387808/dog-scouts-of-america-have-troops.html#storylink=cpy


----------



## ekim68

102-year-old man still working as valet



> NEW YORK, April 9 (UPI) -- A New York man marked his 102nd birthday surrounded by friends in the neighborhood where he has worked as a valet for 25 years.
> 
> Joe Binder, valet at Mario's Restaurant on Arthur Avenue, said his long life might be a result of being "very nice to people" -- and not having any children may be "one of the reasons I've stayed stress-free," the New York Post reported Monday.
> 
> "I still drive locally and I just renewed my license so I'm good until I turn 110 years old," Binder said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 102-year-old man still working as valet


----------



## ekim68

Newark mayor rescues neighbor from burning house



> The mayor of New Jersey's largest city said Friday he thought he might die when he dashed through a burning, smoky kitchen to find and rescue a neighbor from her second-floor bedroom.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Newark mayor rescues neighbor from burning house


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Autistic physics genius, 12, in college



> INDIANAPOLIS, March 20 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old autistic boy functioning at genius levels in mathematics is studying doctorate-level astrophysics at an Indiana university, his parents say.
> 
> Jacob Barnett was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of borderline autism when he was about three when his parents noticed it was difficult for him to make eye contact with them, show emotion and interact with other people, The Indianapolis Star reported.
> 
> What he did do was work with numbers either on paper, a dry erase board or in his head working pi out to 200 digits for fun.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Autistic physics genius, 12, in college


Wow!


----------



## ekim68

6-year-old Texas boy's lemonade stand raises $10,000 for cancer-stricken dad



> Drew Cox knows how to make lemonade out of lemons - and then some. The 6-year-old Gladewater, Texas, boy reportedly took in more than $10,000 in one day at a lemonade stand he set up to raise money for his sick dad.
> 
> Randy Cox was diagnosed with seminoma earlier this year, according to KLTV. That's typically a type of testicular cancer, but in Cox's case it's non-testicular and tumors appeared in his chest and elsewhere in his body, colleagues say. The condition is treatable with chemotherapy.
> 
> Drew said he felt sad and wanted to help his father with medical bills.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 6-year-old Texas boy's lemonade stand raises $10,000 for cancer-stricken dad


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Brain Implants Help Paralyzed Monkeys Get a Grip



> Spinal cord injuries cause paralysis because they sever crucial communication links between the brain and the muscles that move limbs. A new study with monkeys demonstrates a way to re-establish those connections. By implanting electrodes in a movement control center in the brain and wiring them up to electrodes attached to muscles in the arm, researchers restored movement to monkeys with a temporarily paralyzed hand. The work is the latest promising development in the burgeoning field of neuroprosthetics.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Brain Implants Help Paralyzed Monkeys Get a Grip


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Happy Earth Day


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Happy Earth Day


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Recycling....:up:

Teen makes prom dress out of 5,000 soda can tabs



> Some people wear their commitment to reuse and sustainability on their sleeves; Regan Kerr wears hers to prom. The Colorado high school junior spent five months making her prom dress out of 5,114 soda can tabs (and no, before you ask, she didn't drink 5,114 sodas by herself - she collected them over two years).


----------



## poochee

*
First-grader saves friend with Heimlich maneuver learned on TV:up:*
By Bill Lindelof
Published: Thursday, May. 3, 2012 - 4:20 pm 
Last Modified: Friday, May. 4, 2012 - 12:27 am

Elspeth "Beanie" Mar is a wisp of a girl, but she's a big hero this week, having performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking classmate at their school in the Pocket area.

Six-year-old Beanie, who learned the Heimlich watching television, wasn't all that impressed with her own actions.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/03/4464454/first-grader-saves-friend-with.html#storylink=cpy


----------



## poochee

May 7, 2012 9:08 AM PrintText 
*The graduate: Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., gets her college degree:up:*
By Whit Johnson 
Play CBS News *Video *



> Elected in 2010 as the GOP took control of the House, Noem's considered a rising star in the Republican Party.
> 
> But her story begins 1,500 miles outside of Washington back home on the family ranch, where this farm girl, mother of three, business owner and politician learned to multi-task at the highest level.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_...p-kristi-noem-r-s.d--gets-her-college-degree/


----------



## eggplant43

> The last wishes of a dying mother have inspired a British best-seller that's soon coming to the US, reports ABC News. The story began when Kate Greene and her husband, St. John Greenesweethearts since high schoolhad a son diagnosed with cancer and another born prematurely. Both turned out OK, but Kate soon found two lumps in her breast. When [their son] was diagnosed, we said we wished we could swap places with him, her husband said, but [we] didnt realize anyone was listening.


http://www.newser.com/story/145891/dying-moms-wish-list-becomes-best-seller.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/145891/dying-moms-wish-list-becomes-best-seller.html


Brought tears to my eyes.


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed Man Regains Hand Function after Breakthrough Nerve Rewiring Procedure



> A 71-year-old man who became paralyzed from the waist down and lost all use of both hands in a 2008 car accident has regained motor function in his fingers after doctors rewired his nerves to bypass the damaged ones in a pioneering surgical procedure, according to a case study published on Tuesday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Paralyzed Man Regains Hand Function after Breakthrough Nerve Rewiring Procedure


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Well, Up Beat for a coffee drinker like me....

Pour it on: Study ties coffee to longer life



> Coffee seems to be good for you. Or at least it's not bad, say researchers who led the largest-ever study of coffee and health.
> 
> They found that coffee drinkers seemed a little more likely to live longer than folks who drink no coffee at all. Regular or decaf didn't matter.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Well, Up Beat for a coffee drinker like me....
> 
> Pour it on: Study ties coffee to longer life


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> It wasnt raining cats and dogs in Los Banos, Calif., on Sunday  but it was raining puppies.


http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/puppy-dropped-by-hawk-finds-new-home


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/puppy-dropped-by-hawk-finds-new-home


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Miner alive after 17 days underground



> HEGANG, China, May 19 (UPI) -- A coal miner was found alive Saturday after being underground for 17 days following a flood in a northeast China coal mine, authorities said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Miner alive after 17 days underground


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Big week for Facebooks Zuckerberg: From IPO opening bells to wedding bells*
By Associated Press, Published: May 19 | Updated: Sunday, May 20, 12:57 AM

SAN FRANCISCO  Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status to married on Saturday.

Zuckerberg and 27-year-old Priscilla Chan tied the knot at a small ceremony at his Palo Alto, Calif., home, capping a busy week for the couple, according to a guest authorized to speak for the couple. The person spoke only on the condition of anonymity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...iend/2012/05/19/gIQAvSGtbU_story.html?hpid=z3


----------



## poochee

Posted on Monday, May 21, 2012
* Sunday's duckling parade shuts down wide road in Wichita*
Beccy Tanner | Wichita Eagle



> Shortly after 8 a.m. the westbound lanes of Kellogg in East Wichita came to a screeching halt, then inched slowly along.
> 
> A mother duck and her 12 ducklings were taking up both lanes of the heaviest-traveled roadway in Wichita.


Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/21/149563/sundays-duckling-parade-shuts.html#storylink=cpy


----------



## ekim68

Everest climber skips summit, rescues friend



> An Israeli who rescued a distressed climber on Mount Everest instead of pushing onward to the summit said Friday that the man he helped, an American of Turkish origin, is like a brother to him.





> The Israeli carried Irmak for hours to a camp at lower elevation. Both suffered frostbite and some of their fingers were at risk of amputation. Ben-Yehuda lost 20 kilograms (44 pounds) in his time on the mountain, and Irmak lost 12 kilograms (26 pounds), said Hanan Goder, Israel's ambassador in Nepal. Goder had dinner with the pair after their ordeal.


----------



## ekim68

Germany sets new solar power record, institute says



> (Reuters) - German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.
> 
> The German government decided to abandon nuclear power after the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, closing eight plants immediately and shutting down the remaining nine by 2022.


:up:


----------



## ekim68

77-year-old woman pulls son from fire



> VICTORIA, Texas, May 29 (UPI) -- A disabled Texas man whose 77-year-old mother rescued him from a house fire was recovering Tuesday in a hospital intensive care unit, his family said.
> 
> Charles Larkins, 59, received several second-degree burns in Monday's fire, the Victoria Advocate reported.
> 
> His mother, Betty Hamilton, said his room was "on fire" when she rushed in.
> 
> "I was just in shock," Hamilton recalled. "His hair was on fire. His face was all black. I don't know. I just don't know how I did it, but I'm glad I did."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 77-year-old woman pulls son from fire


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Dark Chocolate Could Prevent Heart Problems in High-Risk People



> ScienceDaily (May 31, 2012) - Daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in people with metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes), finds a study published in the British Medical Journal.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Dark Chocolate Could Prevent Heart Problems in High-Risk People


And it tastes good!


----------



## ekim68

Disney to quit taking ads for junk food aimed at kids



> The Walt Disney Co. is announcing today that it plans to advertise only healthier foods to kids on its TV channels, radio station and website. Disney says it's the first major media company to set a standard for food advertising on kid-focused TV programming.
> 
> By 2015, all food and beverage products that are advertised, promoted or sponsored on the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney, Disney.com and Saturday morning programming for kids on ABC-owned stations (Disney owns ABC) will have to meet the company's nutrition criteria for limiting calories and reducing saturated fat, sodium and sugar.


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Disney to quit taking ads for junk food aimed at kids
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> A teen in rural North Carolina is beating some seriously steep odds: Abandoned by her parents over the summer, Dawn Loggins has gone from being homeless to finding a new home at Harvard in the fall, reports the Charlotte Observer. Along the way, she eventually moved in with a friend's mother and worked at her high school in the morning as a janitor, starting at 6am. And she still managed to keep her grades up. Ive had to work to get where I am, she says. I think everything that happened to me was preparing me for whats to come.


http://www.newser.com/story/147533/homeless-teen-makes-it-into-harvard.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/147533/homeless-teen-makes-it-into-harvard.html


:up::up:


----------



## poochee

*Natasha Trethewey, Emory University Writing Professor, Named 19th U.S. Poet Laureate *
By BRETT ZONGKER 06/07/12 02:30 PM ET

WASHINGTON  A poet-historian *representing a younger generation* of writers will soon take office on Capitol Hill, overlooking the politicians, in a lesser-known post enshrined in federal law.

The Library of Congress named Natasha Trethewey on Thursday to be its 19th U.S. poet laureate with a mission to share the art of poetry with a wider audience. The 46-year-old English and creative writing professor at Atlanta's Emory University distinguished herself early, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

Trethewey will be the first poet in chief to take up residence in Washington to work at the library's Poetry Room for part of her term in 2013. As one of the youngest poet laureates ever selected, she also brings fresh perspective to an office more recently held by *poets in their 80s.*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/07/natasha-trethewey-poet-laureate_n_1576695.html


----------



## eggplant43

> A New York City woman has been reunited with her diamond engagement ring thanks to the efforts of an altruistic stranger, NBC News reports.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## ekim68

Woman shoots intruder with paintball gun



> GALVESTON, Texas, June 10 (UPI) -- A Texas woman warded off an intruder at her home in Galveston by shooting him with a paintball gun, police said.
> 
> Elvis Alexander, 53, was arrested and charged with burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft Friday after police found him in the home of Carrie King, 34, covered in yellow paint, The (Galveston) Daily News reported.


----------



## eggplant43

Righteous:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Woman shoots intruder with paintball gun


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## eggplant43

> Thanks to the generosity of strangers on the social news website Reddit, a young Canadian suffering from terminal cancer will receive $30,000 to take a trip around the world.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/jake-villanueva_n_1588077.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/jake-villanueva_n_1588077.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> In an act of true heroism, 15-year-old J.D. TenNapel put his own life at risk in an attempt to save others, according to KKCO 11 News. Although the boy ended up in the hospital with second-degree burns, his selfless actions played an important role in saving the lives of his elderly neighbors.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/jd-tennapel-15-risks-life_n_1586548.html


----------



## ekim68

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/jd-tennapel-15-risks-life_n_1586548.html


:up: The Real Heroes of the Day...:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Sounds like there was no hesitation, he just did the right thing. Kudos to him, and his parents.


----------



## ekim68

You know Eggy, one of my greatest fears is/was that I wouldn't react quick to an emergency ..Who can know?


----------



## pyritechips

ekim68 said:


> You know Eggy, one of my greatest fears is/was that I wouldn't react quick to an emergency ..Who can know?


Mike, I think there is something in all of us that would make us react and not think of the consequences - until afterward. I saw my dad do it on two occasions, risking injury due to fire and drowning (he never learned to swim). One car was on fire with people inside and another and fallen of a dark and deserted country road and into a deep ditch with a woman inside. No newspapers, no headlines and he never once thought of himself as a hero (I hate that word). Maybe I learned something from that. I would like to believe that it was the most valuable thing I ever inherited from him.


----------



## ekim68

Unlike you Jim, I like the term 'Hero', as demonstrated by your Dad....


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/jd-tennapel-15-risks-life_n_1586548.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

pyritechips said:


> Mike, I think there is something in all of us that would make us react and not think of the consequences - until afterward. I saw my dad do it on two occasions, risking injury due to fire and drowning (he never learned to swim). One car was on fire with people inside and another and fallen of a dark and deserted country road and into a deep ditch with a woman inside. No newspapers, no headlines and he never once thought of himself as a hero (I hate that word). Maybe I learned something from that. I would like to believe that it was the most valuable thing I ever inherited from him.


Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of Crowds watching, while one or two take all the risk. At the same time, I posted one last year where a car was on top of someone, and a crowd lifted the car off the person. So it can happen, but it doesn't always. Seems to me it matters whether you default to fear, or you default to action, and this may very well be based upon your core values. So far, in my life, I've defaulted to action. I think that's what your dad did.


----------



## ekim68

Australia creates largest area of marine reserves



> Australia has created the world's largest network of marine reserves and will restrict fishing and oil and gas exploration in a major step to safeguard the environment and access to food.
> 
> The area will cover 3.1 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) of ocean including the entire Coral Sea, and encompass a third of the island continent's territorial waters.


----------



## ekim68

Vein Grown From Her Own Stem Cells Saves 10-Year-Old Swedish Girl



> A ten year old girl became the first person in the world to get a major blood vessel replaced by one grown using her own stem cells.
> 
> The 10-year-old from Sweden had a blockage of a vein from her liver. The doctors decided to give her a new vein instead of a liver transplant or giving her a vein from her own body, Associated Press reported.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Vein Grown From Her Own Stem Cells Saves 10-Year-Old Swedish Girl


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Cabo Pulmo: The reef so nice, they saved it twice



> Cabo Pulmo is home to one of the northernmost coral reefs in the world. Sixteen years ago, the Mexican government set the area aside to protect it from rampant commercial and sport fishing which, during the 1980s, damaged the reef and depleted its number of fish. In the time since the reserve was announced, Cabo Pulmo has rebounded. A study by researchers in the United States and Mexico found that by the end of last decade, its biomass of fish had rebounded 463 percent. The local area saw benefit, too, transitioning successfully from a fishing-based economy to one based on ecotourism.


----------



## ekim68

Say it ain't so: Mop top Paul McCartney turns 70



> McCartney has appeared relaxed and almost jovial in recent months as he eases into his role as one of rock's eminent elder statesmen, a position he shares with Bob Dylan (71) and Mick Jagger (68).


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Say it ain't so: Mop top Paul McCartney turns 70


----------



## ekim68

Minnesota man, 96, obtains patent



> BEMIDJI, Minn., June 18 (UPI) -- A 96-year-old Minnesota man with more than 45 patents to his credit has done it again, this time for what he says is an improved marine transmission clutch.
> 
> George Aschauer of Bemidji said he is now receiving offers to build his latest marine transmission innovation, which the U.S. Patent Office dubbed Patent No. 8,066,107 B2 last November, the Bemidji Pioneer reported Monday.
> 
> "There are four features," he said. "The clutches don't rotate, they're better cooling, they engage from both of the stack, and the fourth one is the unique release spring."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Minnesota man, 96, obtains patent


:up:


----------



## ekim68

New Patch Makes Certain Skin Cancers Disappear



> What if treating skin cancer was just a matter of wearing a patch for a few hours? At this year's Society of Nuclear Medicine's Annual Meeting one group of researchers presented such a patch. The patch is infused with phosphorus-32, a radioactive isotope used to treat some types of cancer. In a study of 10 patients with basal cell carcinoma located on their faces, the patch was applied for three hours, then for another three hours four and seven days later. When biopsies were taken three months after treatment all ten patients, ranging from 32 to 74 years old, showed no traces of their tumors. When biopsies were performed again at six months, however, the basal cell carcinomas had returned in two of the patients.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New Patch Makes Certain Skin Cancers Disappear


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Couple's delivery of lost ring brings joy to Auburn woman*
By Jing Cao
Published: Wednesday, Jun. 20, 2012 - 8:49 pm 
Last Modified: Thursday, Jun. 21, 2012 - 9:19 am

Darlene King thought it was a lost cause - that she would never see her late husband's wedding ring again.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/06/20/4577915/couples-delivery-of-lost-ring.html#storylink=cpy


----------



## eggplant43

> Karen Klein had to put up with a shocking amount of bullying from students on the school bus where she works as a monitorbut thanks to the power of the Internet, her story has a happy ending. A 10-minute video of Klein being bullied to the point of tears went viral this week, though it's hard to get through even one minute of it as kids are heard constantly taunting and berating the New York grandmother of eight.


http://www.newser.com/story/148612/webs-gift-to-bullied-bus-monitor-140k.html


----------



## pyritechips

Update:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/21/bullied-bus-monitor-karen-klein.html



> A Toronto man's online fundraising campaign for a 68-year-old upstate New York grandmother has topped *$375,000*





> The video has been viewed more than 1.8 million times within just two days.





> Sidorov, who told CBC News he was a victim of bullying as a young immigrant from Ukraine, noted that *Klein only earns $15,506 a year*. He had set a goal to raise $5,000 for her to take *a much-needed holiday*.
> 
> "Lets give her something she will never forget, a vacation of a lifetime!" Sidorov wrote on the page.


That's one Hell of a holiday! :up:


----------



## poochee

pyritechips said:


> Update:
> 
> http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/21/bullied-bus-monitor-karen-klein.html
> 
> That's one Hell of a holiday! :up:


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

When I had a signature on TSG, it said;

"If we'd just be 10% kinder to each other, we could transform the world."

I think this story illustrates that point.


----------



## ekim68

Tumour op in womb saves foetus



> Surgeons have removed a tumour from the mouth of a foetus, in what has been described as a "world first" procedure.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Tumour op in womb saves foetus


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

Followup:



> For the past three days, the shattered glass of a broken iPad has been Karen Klein's window to the online world.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation...ents-apologize-bullied-bus-monitor/55767990/1


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> When I had a signature on TSG, it said;
> 
> "If we'd just be 10% kinder to each other, we could transform the world."
> 
> I think this story illustrates that point.


When?

It's still showing in your signature


----------



## ekim68

Yep, I see it too, Harry....Maybe Bruce was using a Metaphor....


----------



## poochee

I also see it.


----------



## eggplant43

Guess I lost my mind, now I see it???

Tim's Place:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/22/tim-harris_n_1617057.html


----------



## ekim68

No Worries Mate, Thank Goodness for Glasses, eh?


----------



## hewee

eggplant43 said:


> Guess I lost my mind, now I see it???
> 
> Tim's Place:
> 
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/22/tim-harris_n_1617057.html


Don't drive till you know you have a Sounded Mind.


----------



## ekim68

Do Heritage Grains Hold Promise for the Gluten-Sensitive?



> The cultivation of ancient grains whose makeup hasn't been amended as much as modern wheat could allow the gluten-intolerant to have their bread and eat it, too.


----------



## ekim68

Dog rescues toddler from pool



> MARCELLUS, Mich., June 26 (UPI) -- A Michigan woman said her 4-year-old black Labrador retriever leaped to the rescue when her 14-month-old son fell into a swimming pool.
> 
> Patricia Drauch of Marcellus Township said she was doing yard work Sunday when her son, Stanley, plunged into the pool, ABC News reported Tuesday.
> 
> "Stanley usually follows us around and I went into the garage to put away some stuff and came back out," Drauch told WBND-TV, South Bend, Ind. "Just in a moment he wasn't behind me."
> 
> Drauch said her family dog, Bear, was on the scene and jumped into action when he saw the toddler in distress.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Dog rescues toddler from pool


:up:

You can't take your eye off a toddler for a second!


----------



## ekim68

Woman chases down fatal hit-and-run driver



> SANTA ANA, Calif., June 28 (UPI) -- A Santa Ana, Calif., woman who chased down an alleged drunk driver after a 5-year-old girl was killed in a hit and run says she doesn't see herself as a hero.
> 
> Beatriz Jimenez told the Orange County Register she waiting at a red light when Eloisa Madrigal was crossing the street Saturday with her two daughters.
> 
> "They had taken about 10 steps when the car plowed through a red light," Jimenez said. "The girls and their mother were flown into the air."
> 
> *The driver of the car never attempted to stop, so Jimenez tore off after her, cutting her car off and trapping her until police arrived.*


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Woman chases down fatal hit-and-run driver


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Rabbits kept alive by oxygen injections



> Rabbits with blocked windpipes have been kept alive for up to 15 minutes without a single breath, after researchers injected oxygen-filled microparticles into the animals' blood.
> 
> Oxygenating the blood by bypassing the lungs in this way could save the lives of people with impaired breathing or obstructed airways, says John Kheir, a cardiologist at the Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts, who led the team. The results are published today in Science Translational Medicine1.
> 
> Gas-filled microparticles (yellow) can transfer oxygen directly to red blood cells, bypassing the lungs.
> 
> Credit: D. Kunkel/Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.; D. Bell/Harvard University; J. Kheir/Children's Hospital Boston; C. Porter/Chris Porter Illustration
> 
> The technique has the potential to prevent cardiac arrest and brain injury induced by oxygen deprivation, and to avoid cerebral palsy resulting from a compromised fetal blood supply.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Rabbits kept alive by oxygen injections


:up:


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Rabbits kept alive by oxygen injections


Awesome. :up: I'm amazed most every week by some new technique developed for medical purposes. I still belive that stem cells and genetics will lead to the cure for cancer, AZD and others. :up:


----------



## ekim68

'Hero' who rescued baby on tracks gets job



> NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) -- An official at the New York company that hired a man who rescued a baby from Brooklyn subway tracks says the company is honored to employ the "hero."
> 
> Delroy Simmonds, who rescued 9-month-old David Zamara Monday, had been unemployed for more than a year before accepting the offer Wednesday from ABM Janitorial services at Kennedy Airport, the New York Daily News reported.
> 
> "It says a lot about his character that he would jump on the tracks to save a little boy," said Guy Rodriguez, project manager for the company. "We are happy to hire Delroy. We are honored."
> 
> Simmonds was reunited with the baby Wednesday at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where David's mother, Maria Zamara, said he is "doing fine."
> 
> Simmonds jumped onto the subway tracks and rescued the baby after a strong wind blew the baby's stroller onto the tracks and pulled him to the platform before a J train arrived.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 'Hero' who rescued baby on tracks gets job


:up:


----------



## ekim68

New brain scanner helps paralysed people spell words



> A new brain scanner has been developed to help people who are completely paralysed speak by enabling them to spell words using their thoughts.
> 
> It uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help patients choose between 27 characters - the alphabet and a blank space.
> 
> Each character produces a different pattern of blood flow in the brain, and the device interprets these patterns.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New brain scanner helps paralysed people spell words


:up:


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> New brain scanner helps paralysed people spell words


There needs to be research done on a brain deprogrammer for Faux News fans - but guess you must have something to work with for it to work.


----------



## ekim68

That's IGOR......


----------



## Wino

Abby Normal???


----------



## poochee

*'With One Voice' Showcases Homeless Performer's Talents In Celebration Of The Olympics *
The Huffington Post | By Hallie Sekoff Posted: 07/03/2012 1:02 pm



> The Guardian drew our attention to yet another remarkable event that happened just last night in London. The event, "With One Voice," featured 300 performers who have experienced homelessness in a showcase of their talents -- from singing, opera and theater performances to poetry and film screenings. The event is the first time in history that homeless people have been given an official platform in celebrations of an Olympic and Paralympic Games" -- a truly groundbreaking event that was live streamed online last night.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/with-one-voice-homeless--_n_1646216.html?utm_hp_ref=culture


----------



## ekim68

Wino said:


> Abby Normal???


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Easter Island Drug Raises Cognition Throughout Life Span in Mice



> ScienceDaily (June 29, 2012) - Cognitive skills such as learning and memory diminish with age in everyone, and the drop-off is steepest in Alzheimer's disease. Texas scientists seeking a way to prevent this decline reported exciting results this week with a drug that has Polynesian roots.
> 
> The researchers, appointed in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, added rapamycin to the diet of healthy mice throughout the rodents' life span. Rapamycin, a bacterial product first isolated from soil on Easter Island, enhanced learning and memory in young mice and improved these faculties in old mice, the study showed.


----------



## ekim68

Chevy offers 60-day money-back guarantee



> Chevrolet says buyers who don't love their new cars or trucks this summer can return them for a refund within 60 days.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Pity tiny Bethel, Alaska. First, when they want to "Run for the Border," it's a four-hour trip from the west coast of the state to Anchorage (not by car!). And according to Google Maps, the only restaurants in the entire town are a Subway franchise and something called Sho Gun Restaurant. So when a rumor was started that Taco Bell was going to set up shop in their little town, serious excitement ensued. Then fliers were posted around town heralding the fast food restaurant's pending arrival.


http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/10/...campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/autoblog+(Autoblog)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/10/...campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/autoblog+(Autoblog)


----------



## ekim68

Two Vietnam War Enemies Who Turned Friends Meet At MSP



> MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Two men, who tried to kill each other 40 years ago, met at the Minneapolis airport this afternoon.
> 
> Dan Cherry and New Yen Hong Me were fighter pilots in Vietnam, on opposite sides of the war. They engaged in a dog fight over Hanoi in April 1972.
> 
> Cherry blew the wing off Hong Me's jet with a missile. Hong Me was able to eject, and the two met in Vietnam four years ago.


----------



## eggplant43

> Too weak to stand or walk, William M. LaFever sat in a shallow river bed in the south Utah desert, awaiting rescue that came more than a month after his family last heard from him.


http://articles.cnn.com/2012-07-13/us/us_utah-desert-rescue_1_utah-city-utah-desert-escalante-river


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Two Vietnam War Enemies Who Turned Friends Meet At MSP


----------



## ekim68

In a way it reminds me of The Killing Fields, although not an Up-Beat beginning to that Movie, a very moving Ending...


----------



## ekim68

NYC man catches girl who falls 3 stories



> NEW YORK, July 17 (UPI) -- A New York City man caught a 7-year-old autistic girl falling from her third-story bedroom, performing what her mother called "a miracle."
> 
> Keyla McCree was playing with the air conditioner unit in a window of her Brooklyn borough apartment when she fell through the opening and was caught by a neighbor, Steven St. Bernard, 52, the New York Post reported.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> NYC man catches girl who falls 3 stories


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Lenovo chief gives his $3m bonus to lower-paid workers



> Lenovo's chief executive has given a $3m bonus he received for bumper results to thousands of the computer manufacturer's lower-paid workers, reports say.
> 
> Yang Yuanqing had been given the extra cash on top of his usual bonus in May, following record results that accompanied Lenovo's ascension to the number-two PC-maker spot, just behind HP. On Thursday, a Chinese report stated that Yang had distributed the money among 10,000 workers, such as those in Lenovo's call centres and on its production lines.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lenovo chief gives his $3m bonus to lower-paid workers


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Over the weekend, brothers Cayden and Connor Long joined hundreds of other children as they competed in the first annual New England Kids Triathlon in Cambridge, Mass., Examiner.com reports.
> 
> The boys did not win the event -- they didn't even come close. But that didn't stop them from winning hearts across the Internet.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## ekim68

Police rescue hamster from cat



> LONDON, July 30 (UPI) -- Police in London said they rescued a hamster from a cat after it fell 12 feet from a window and bounced off the hood of a car.
> 
> London police said Constables Helen Hansen and Dave Kadwell spotted the hamster being chased by a cat in the Beddington neighborhood and waved their arms to ward off the feline, The Mirror reported Monday.
> 
> The constables chased the rodent until Hansen was able to trap it under a helmet.
> 
> Police said the officers knocked on the door of a nearby home after noticing a "beware of hamster" sign in a window.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Police rescue hamster from cat


----------



## eggplant43

> Last July, Gloria Benton's husband John was on his way to work when their pitbull Titan blocked the door. Benton was confused. He had just sent the dog upstairs to sit with his wife who was recovering from back surgery, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/pitbull-saves-owner-twice_n_1704188.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/pitbull-saves-owner-twice_n_1704188.html


:up:To Titan!


----------



## ekim68

Boy, 10, in rowboat rescues couple



> TORBAY, England, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The 10-year-old son of an English lifeboatman rowed a half mile to rescue a couple whose boat had overturned off the Devon coast, his father said.
> 
> Stuart Craig attached a towline to the boat and rowed a half mile back to safety, the Herald Express reported Thursday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Boy, 10, in rowboat rescues couple


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> When life gives you lemons, make lemonadethen sell it to help save your crumbling city. That's what 9-year-old Joshua Smith has been doing in Detroit, reports the Free Press. Last Monday, he set up a lemonade stand near his house, hoping to raise $1,000 to help the city grapple with its financial crisis.


http://www.newser.com/story/151547/boy-sells-34k-of-lemonade-for-struggling-detroit.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/151547/boy-sells-34k-of-lemonade-for-struggling-detroit.html


:up:


----------



## hewee

Great kid there.


----------



## eggplant43

> A random act of kindness has left diners at a Sacramento, Calif., Dennys stunned, and with a little extra dough in their pockets.
> 
> An anonymous woman approached management at a Dennys in Northern California earlier this week and asked to pay for the entire restaurants meals, reported


http://www.thedailymeal.com/woman-pays-entire-restaurant-s-tab


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.thedailymeal.com/woman-pays-entire-restaurant-s-tab


:up:


----------



## ekim68

After my Son-in-Law got home from work yesterday, he noticed a nest had fallen out of a tree in front of his house. He went to investigate and found four baby squirrels covered with ants amongst the leaves and twigs. (He didn't know they were squirrels and looked them up on the internet.) He proceeded to clean them up and put them in a box. He was afraid his cats would get to them so he put them on his roof, next to the tree, and covered them with twigs and such. About an hour later the Momma squirrel came to them and one by one took them up to a new nest. I am a Proud Father-in-Law...:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> After my Son-in-Law got home from work yesterday, he noticed a nest had fallen out of a tree in front of his house. He went to investigate and found four baby squirrels covered with ants amongst the leaves and twigs. (He didn't know they were squirrels and looked them up on the internet.) He proceeded to clean them up and put them in a box. He was afraid his cats would get to them so he put them on his roof, next to the tree, and covered them with twigs and such. About an hour later the Momma squirrel came to them and one by one took them up to a new nest. I am a Proud Father-in-Law...:up:


Beautiful!


----------



## hewee

Wow that's great to hear ekim68.


----------



## ekim68

Shoppers helped wounded grandfather take down Fred Meyer gunman

:up:


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> Shoppers helped wounded grandfather take down Fred Meyer gunman
> 
> :up:


A good outcome but for getting shot.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Shoppers helped wounded grandfather take down Fred Meyer gunman
> 
> :up:


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> For the residents of Joplin, Missouri, the Islamic Center of Joplin was more than just a mosqueit acted as a relief center for victims during last year's horrific tornado. So when organizers threw a rally Saturday night to show support for the mosque, which burned down three weeks ago, and raise funds to rebuild, hundreds showed up. "It's amazing," one organizer, a college student, tells Reuters. "People who are of completely different cultures and beliefs are here having a conversation with each other, which is awesome."


http://www.newser.com/story/152887/hundreds-rally-for-destroyed-joplin-mosque.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/152887/hundreds-rally-for-destroyed-joplin-mosque.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Sara's Henna, a henna shop in Hong Kong where ladies go to doll themselves up with temporary designs based on Indian tradition, did something really cool: inspired by Henna Heals, they traveled to Children's Cancer Hospital Pakistan, and spent some time with Maryam, "the most patient & radiating young girl undergoing chemo, yet wearing a beautiful smile." She wore her sparkly Henna Crown for the Muslim holy day of Eid last Sunday.












http://boingboing.net/2012/08/24/gl..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://boingboing.net/2012/08/24/gl..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

_I think this is a wonderful, inspiring idea._


----------



## eggplant43

> For 40 years Karl Kesel has been collecting comic books. Now, the well-known DC and Marvel Comics writer/inker, is selling everything to embrace the next chapter in his life -- fatherhood.
> 
> The Oregonian reports that Kesel is selling his collection in order to pay for the fees and medical bills that came along with the adoption of a 15-week-old baby who was born addicted to heroin.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Australia's First Bionic Eye Implant Enables Blinds to Experience Some Vision 



> Australian researchers have successfully performed the first implantation of an early prototype bionic eye with 24 electrodes. A blind woman, Ms Dianne Ashworth, 54, who has serious vision loss due to an inherited condition (retinitis pigmentosa) can now see spots of light after being implanted with an early prototype bionic eye, confirming the potential of Australia's first-of-its-kind technology.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Australias First Bionic Eye Implant Enables Blinds to Experience Some Vision


:up:


----------



## ekim68

88-year-old man still pitching softball



> FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- An 88-year-old Texas man who has been playing softball in a senior league the past 25 years said he believes the game added 10 years to his lifespan.


----------



## ekim68

Stem Cells Turn Hearing Back On



> Scientists have enabled deaf gerbils to hear again-with the help of transplanted cells that develop into nerves that can transmit auditory information from the ears to the brain. The advance, reported today in Nature, could be the basis for a therapy to treat various kinds of hearing loss.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Stem Cells Turn Hearing Back On


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Two German parents donated a lung each to save their 12-year-old son. The boy suffers from cystic fibrosis, and his situation became so dire in April that he was hooked up to both a ventilator and a heart-lung machine, reports Germany's The Local. With no donor in sight, his parents decided to step in.


http://www.newser.com/story/153989/dying-boy-gets-lung-from-mom-another-from-dad.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/153989/dying-boy-gets-lung-from-mom-another-from-dad.html


True love.


----------



## pyritechips

*Retiring boss gives staff $1K for each year of work*

I wish I had a boss like that!


----------



## poochee

pyritechips said:


> *Retiring boss gives staff $1K for each year of work*
> 
> I wish I had a boss like that!


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Here's a new strategy for covering tuition fees: Use mail-in rebates. That's what PhD student Jonathan Hood has done to pay for most of this semester at Auburnsome $3,500, or more than 200 debit cards' worth, Business Insider reports. That leaves just $1,000 to pay out-of-pocket. Hood uses rebates to pay for his cell phone bill, too, at $95 per month. "I haven't made a payment on my T-Mobile bill without using a rebate debit card for probably two years now," he says.


http://www.newser.com/story/153988/student-covers-most-of-tuition-with-mail-in-rebates.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/153988/student-covers-most-of-tuition-with-mail-in-rebates.html


----------



## ekim68

Growing Power scores $5 million to feed our nation's hungriest cities



> Food-justice organization Growing Power - with its now-iconic greenhouses, composting worms, fishponds, and multiple generations of graduates - is well-known as a model worth replicating. Now, Growing Power has announced a bountiful $5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fund "community food centers" aimed at relieving hunger in five of the nation's poorest areas.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Growing Power scores $5 million to feed our nations hungriest cities


:up:


----------



## ekim68

ReWalk ushers in the age of the exoskeleton



> Back in April and May of this year, Claire Lomas used ReWalk to complete the London Marathon in 16 days despite being paralyzed from the chest down. This month, she is taking ReWalk home for daily use, which is something of a milestone in assistive technology. It's claimed that this is first time an exoskeleton suit has been used unsupervised in the home environment as a long-term alternative to the wheelchair.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> ReWalk ushers in the age of the exoskeleton


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> It was no big deal, insists Winnipeg bus driver Kris Doubledee, but his act of kindness is resonating in the city and beyond. When Doubledee saw a man walking barefoot downtown, he stopped his bus, got outand gave the man his shoes. Then he got back on the bus without comment and drove on as usual. A passenger blogged about it at CommunityNewsCommons"there wasn't a dry eye on the bus"and soon national outlets picked up the story and identified Doubledee as the driver.


http://www.newser.com/story/154443/driver-stops-bus-to-give-away-his-shoes.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/154443/driver-stops-bus-to-give-away-his-shoes.html


Beautiful.


----------



## eggplant43

> As the pastor of the much-reviled Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps has become synonymous with hatred. The pastor and his family make it a point to carry signs at the funerals saying, Thank God for Dead Soldiers. They show up to media-friendly events with signs that read, God Hates ****.
> 
> Nate Phelps is the sixth of Freds 13 children, and he has the scars to show for it. He describes his father as verbally and physically abusive. When he was 18, Nate ran away from home and from the fundamentalist Calvinist religion in which he was raised.


http://www.salon.com/2012/09/25/son_of_a_bigot/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.salon.com/2012/09/25/son_of_a_bigot/





> Nate Phelps is the sixth of Fred's 13 children, and he has the scars to show for it. He describes his father as verbally and physically abusive. When he was 18, Nate ran away from home and from the fundamentalist Calvinist religion in which he was raised.


Good for him!


----------



## eggplant43

> In what is possibly the most heartwarming story of the week, an entire community in Michigan has come out in support of a bullied teen.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory





> In what is possibly the most heartwarming story of the week, an entire community in Michigan has come out in support of a bullied teen.


Good for them!


----------



## ekim68

New type font said to help dyslexics



> NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A new font designed for people with dyslexia is now available for use on mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, its U.S. designer says.
> 
> The font, called OpenDyslexic, was designed by Abelardo Gonzalez, a mobile app designer from New Hampshire who has released the free font to word processors and e-book readers, Medical Xpress reported Monday.
> 
> Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in reading for people with otherwise normal vision and intelligence. It affects up to 10 percent of the population.
> 
> Research has shown that "bottom-heavy" fonts using lines that are thicker toward the bottom than at the top results, for some, in less page-flipping and more successful reading.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> New type font said to help dyslexics


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Stem Cells Safe for Rare Brain Disorder



> Four young boys with a rare, fatal brain condition have made it through a dangerous ordeal. Scientists have safely transplanted human neural stem cells into their brains. Twelve months after the surgeries, the boys have more myelin-a fatty insulating protein that coats nerve fibers and speeds up electric signals between neurons-and show improved brain function, a new study in Science Translational Medicine reports. The preliminary trial paves the way for future research into potential stem cell treatments for the disorder, which overlaps with more common diseases such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Stem Cells Safe for Rare Brain Disorder


:up:


----------



## ekim68

First-time Berkhamsted metal-detector finds one of UK's largest Roman coin hoards, worth £100,000



> A first-time treasure hunter is behind one of the largest Roman gold coin hoards ever discovered in the UK - thought to be worth £100,000.
> 
> National newspapers reported on Wednesday that the man, from Berkhamsted, had been sold a beginner's metal detector from the town's High Street-based Hidden History for £135.
> 
> He is reported to have gone back with 40 of the "solidi" coins, dating to the last days of Roman rule in Britain, and asked: "What do I do with this?"


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> First-time Berkhamsted metal-detector finds one of UKs largest Roman coin hoards, worth £100,000


----------



## ekim68

Man sells giant autograph collection for daughter



> OAKLAND PARK, Fla. (AP) - Three decades ago, Ken Kallin began amassing the 120,000 pieces in a memorabilia collection that includes photographs signed by Muhammad Ali and Neil Armstrong along with rare books and trading cards. By the end of Saturday, he's hoping to have gotten rid of nearly all of it - at an auction to benefit his ailing daughter.


----------



## ekim68

Given Tablets But No Teachers, Ethiopian Kids Teach Themselves



> With 100 million first-grade-aged children worldwide having no access to schooling, the One Laptop Per Child organization is trying something new in two remote Ethiopian villages-simply dropping off tablet computers with preloaded programs and seeing what happens.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Given Tablets But No Teachers, Ethiopian Kids Teach Themselves


Hope to get feed back from them!


----------



## ekim68

Buddhist monk is the world's happiest man



> Tibetan monk and molecular geneticist Matthieu Ricard is the happiest man in the world according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The 66-year-old's brain produces a level of gamma waves - those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory - never before reported in neuroscience.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Buddhist monk is the world's happiest man


----------



## ekim68

2 Californians punch sharks to save themselves



> EUREKA, Calif. (AP) - Two Californians say they survived separate shark attacks over the past few days by punching the beast in the head.
> 
> Scott Stephens, of Manilla, says a great white pulled him underwater Tuesday at a popular surf spot off the coast of Eureka and let him go only after receiving the blows.


----------



## ekim68

Artificial 'misting system' allows vanished toad to be released back into the wild



> The misting system, engineered especially for this issue, was developed as recompense for the environmental damage caused by the dam, which was funded by the World Bank and the government of Noway.
> 
> "[It] diverts water from above the fall through a network of pipes with misting heads at regular intervals and effectively creates a spray zone over a broader area than the Kihansi Falls, in its current state, can generate," Church explains. "The system is maintained to deliver 70 mm of 'precipitation' per day which was the average amount recorded in the "spray meadow" prior to the dam's construction."


----------



## eggplant43

> For more than five monthswhile Julie Cervera struggled to pay a $600 electrical bill, feed her family and keep the cable company from shutting off her service because she couldn't payshe was a millionaire without knowing it. Meanwhile, her $23 million lottery ticket languished forgotten in the glove compartment of her car. On Thursday, someone texted her a photo of her daughter, Charliena Marquez, buying the winning ticket for her at a Palmdale Liquor store. The photo had been released by lottery officials searching for the mysterious winner of the May drawing.


http://www.newser.com/story/156935/grandma-claims-lotto-just-in-time.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/156935/grandma-claims-lotto-just-in-time.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Nerve-connected bionic leg helps climb toward medical history



> Zac Vawter, a 31-year-old amputee, aims to make medical history Sunday when he attempts to climb 103 stories to the top of the Willis Tower with his state-of-the-art bionic leg.
> 
> Researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago equipped Vawter with the prosthetic limb after he lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident in 2009. Their innovative design allows him to control the leg with his thoughts, a groundbreaking medical achievement that's been years in the making.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Nerve-connected bionic leg helps climb toward medical history


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Parrot in captivity manufactures tools, something not seen in the wild



> The mental ability needed for tool use may be more widespread than we think.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Parrot in captivity manufactures tools, something not seen in the wild


Very interesting.


----------



## ekim68

Tesla Model S Wins MotorTrend Car of the Year



> MotorTrend unanimously named the Tesla Model S its "Car of the Year," echoing our own sentiment that the all-electric sedan is more than a great EV. It's a great car.


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Tesla Model S Wins MotorTrend Car of the Year


Unfortunately, the ROI on hybrid / electric cars is still a boondoggle for the middle class.


----------



## ekim68

Wino said:


> Unfortunately, the ROI on hybrid / electric cars is still a boondoggle for the middle class.


Not if I win the Lottery.... (Of course, then I wouldn't be Middle Class, eh?  )


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Not if I win the Lottery.... (Of course, then I wouldn't be Middle Class, eh?  )


Based on Warren Buffet, I'd say you can't take the middle class attributes away from ALL middle class people. Some will always remember their roots, regardless of how they obtained their wealth.

The disparaging or stark difference of the born into wealth understanding the plight of those of lesser statue is to mention Mitt Romney and Jack Kennedy - one family got it, the other never will.


----------



## eggplant43

The difference between gratitude, and entitlement.


----------



## franca

Joan Rivers seized


----------



## poochee

franca said:


> Joan Rivers seized


----------



## poochee

Wino said:


> Based on Warren Buffet, I'd say you can't take the middle class attributes away from ALL middle class people. *Some will always remember their roots, regardless of how they obtained their wealth.*
> 
> *The disparaging or stark difference of the born into wealth* understanding the plight of those of lesser statue is to mention Mitt Romney and Jack Kennedy - one family got it, the other never will.


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Ron Yurcus, Glen Ellyn Lotto Winner, Found Million Dollar Ticket While Cleaning Out Desk *
Posted: 11/15/2012 4:40 pm EST Updated: 11/16/2012 4:16 am EST

Ron Yurcus was just trying to make room on a desk in his Glen Ellyn, Ill. home when he stumbled across a million-dollar miracle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...yn-lot_n_2139308.html?ir=Good+News&ref=topbar


----------



## eggplant43

We should all have such problems.


----------



## poochee

*Deborah Bishop, Mississippi Teacher, Uses Thousands In Game Show Winnings To Treat Students, Create Scholarships* 
Posted: 11/16/2012 2:33 pm EST Updated: 11/17/2012 1:47 pm EST



> Spanish teacher Deborah Bishop treated her 20 Spanish Honor Society students to a night on the town Wednesday -- dinner at a fancy New Orleans restaurant, limousine pick-up and tickets to the opera, all while dropping off toy donations at the Children's Hospital on the way.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/deborah-bishop-mississipp_n_2146130.html


----------



## ekim68

Paralyzed dogs walk after cell transplant



> CAMBRIDGE, England, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A revolutionary transplant operation has allowed paralyzed dogs to walk again and may also benefit paralyzed human patients, British scientists said.
> 
> Researchers at the University of Cambridge said the pet dogs had all suffered serious damage to their spinal cords that left them unable to walk normally with their hind legs.
> 
> After specialized cells from the dogs' noses were transplanted to the damaged nerves, most of the pets recovered their lost mobility and some were able to walk and even run on all four legs, The Independent reported Monday.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Paralyzed dogs walk after cell transplant


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Five economic trends to be thankful for:up:*
Posted by Neil Irwin on November 21, 2012 at 10:24 am



> But Thursday is the day each year Americans set aside to give thanks for what they have, to bask in the good around them. So for Thanksgiving, this economics writer decided to cast aside the usual practice, fire up FRED (a database of economic statistics maintained by the St. Louis Fed), and keep looking until I found five trends that are unambiguously positive.
> 
> This is what I found; these are the things that Americans have to be grateful for in these times of economic challenge.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ends-to-be-thankful-for/?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics


----------



## ekim68

Nanoparticles Stop Multiple Sclerosis In Mice



> A breakthrough new experimental treatment that uses nanoparticles covered with proteins to trick the immune system, managed to stop it attacking myelin and halt disease progression in mice with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). The researchers say the approach may also be applicable to other auto-immune diseases such as asthma and type 1 diabetes.


----------



## ekim68

13-year-old genius from Sierra Leone builds generators out of scrap



> Next time you think you're really smart because you installed your own car stereo or fixed your toilet, you might want to check your ego with the knowledge that a 13-year-old kid from Sierra Leone named Kelvin Doe is probably about 400 times smarter than you are. With almost no training, he is able to build - often from scraps he finds in the trash - batteries, transmitters, and generators.
> 
> Granted, Kelvin has always had a pretty powerful motivation for making stuff. Sierra Leone doesn't have a dependable electrical infrastructure, and the lights only come on once a week or so. But where he goes, light follows. He has created battery lights to power people's homes. He has made an FM radio transmitter. And at MIT, where he is the youngest person ever to be part of their visiting practitioner's program, he is working to develop these skills so that he can return to his country and improve the quality of life.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 13-year-old genius from Sierra Leone builds generators out of scrap


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> One of the two winners of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot has been identified: Missourians Cindy and Mark Hill, reports NBC News. "I think I'm having a heart attack," Cindy, a laid-off office manager, told her 52-year-old husband after checking the numbers yesterday morning. She then drove to the home of her mother-in-law, who verified the numbers were, indeed, the lucky ones. Mark, who works at a meat processing plant, met her there. "You know it's the Show Me State, so he said, 'Show me,'" says Cindy. The winning ticket was among five the couple bought at a Dearborn Trex Mart convenience store.


http://www.newser.com/story/158541/powerball-winner-i-think-im-having-a-heart-attack.html


----------



## eggplant43

> For two years I kept all the money I got for birthday and holiday gifts, some of my allowance and some money I got for participating in a research project. At last, a couple of months ago I had my $100 and was ready to buy the LEGO set of my dreams.
> 
> My mom started looking for it online and could not find any. We checked the LEGO store in our area and they didn't have it either. I was completely crushed. You've stopped making it! It seems the only way to get one now is to pay $250 on Amazon or eBay, since now it is considered collectible.
> 
> I got another LEGO set, thinking I could forget about the Emerald Night, but every time I see it anywhere online I get very sad and disappointed. I still want the Emerald Night so badly, but there are none to be found.
> 
> Do you have any at your corporate headquarters? Perhaps I could get one that way? If you have any other ideas, I would be happy to hear them. I have never wanted a LEGO set so badly ever in my life.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/james-groccia-massachuset_n_2213788.html


----------



## ekim68

Wind and Solar Power Paired With Storage Could Power Grid 99.9 Percent of the Time



> Dec. 10, 2012 - Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today's electricity expenses, according to new research by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College.


----------



## eggplant43

> The Dallas Cowboys invited Josh Brent to Tuesday's private memorial service for linebacker Jerry Brown, and Brown's mother wants Brent to sit with her family at the service.
> 
> Brown was killed while riding in Brent's car early Saturday morning after a crash. Brent since has been released on $500,000 bail after being charged with intoxication manslaughter. The two roomed together at Illinois and were best friends on the Cowboys.
> 
> Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday morning on his weekly radio show on KRLD-FM that Brown's mother, Stacey Jackson, requested that Brent meet her at the airport and sit with the Brown family at the service.
> 
> Jackson explained her feelings in an interview Monday with Piers Morgan on CNN.
> 
> "I know Josh Brent and he's been part of our family since Jerry went to the University of Illinois," Jackson said. "All I can do is to pray for him and his family because I know he is hurting just as much as we are, because (he) and Jerry were like brothers."


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ent-memorial-service-20121211,0,7758583.story


----------



## ekim68

In Girl's Last Hope, Altered Immune Cells Beat Leukemia



> PHILIPSBURG, Pa. - Emma Whitehead has been bounding around the house lately, practicing somersaults and rugby-style tumbles that make her parents wince.
> 
> It is hard to believe, but last spring Emma, then 6, was near death from leukemia. She had relapsed twice after chemotherapy, and doctors had run out of options.
> 
> Desperate to save her, her parents sought an experimental treatment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, one that had never before been tried in a child, or in anyone with the type of leukemia Emma had. The experiment, in April, used a disabled form of the virus that causes AIDS to reprogram Emma's immune system genetically to kill cancer cells.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> In Girls Last Hope, Altered Immune Cells Beat Leukemia


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ent-memorial-service-20121211,0,7758583.story


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Virus rebuilds heart's own pacemaker in animal tests



> A new pacemaker has been built inside a heart by converting beating muscle into cells which can organise the organ's rhythm, US researchers report.


----------



## ekim68

Lost, blind dog finds way back to Alaska owners



> FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) - Blind and alone in Alaska winter temperatures that dipped 40 degrees below zero, a lost 8-year-old Fairbanks dog wasn't given much of a chance to make it home.
> 
> But after walking 10 miles to the edge of a local musher's dog yard, Abby the brown-and-white mixed breed was found and returned to her owners, a family that includes two boys and one girl under the age of 10.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Lost, blind dog finds way back to Alaska owners


----------



## poochee

*'Crossing-guard cat' watches out for students*
Michelle Dupler | Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.)



> Each morning and afternoon - in rain, snow or sunshine - the 15-year-old cat goes out to watch the school's students wearing a neon orange safety vest Tamara bought for him at a pet store, she said.
> 
> Sable typically arrives at the corner about five minutes before the children - and he stays in on the weekend when children won't be in school.


Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/12/...ut.html#emlnl=Daily_News_Update#storylink=cpy


----------



## eggplant43

http://boingboing.net/2012/12/26/lo..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://boingboing.net/2012/12/26/lo..._campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+(Boing+Boing)


Beautiful.


----------



## eggplant43

> When 8-year-old Labrador mix Terfel started losing his eyesight, he was diagnosed with cataracts and began confining himself to his bed to avoid bumping into things.
> 
> But then his owner, Judy Godfrey-Brown, let a stray cat into their North Wales home and something amazing happened.


http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/blind-dog-gets-seeing-eye-cat


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/blind-dog-gets-seeing-eye-cat


----------



## eggplant43

> A loyal cat has been bringing his owner small gifts everyday in a show of affection. The catch? The cat's owner has been dead for over a year.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...o-br_n_2406479.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green


----------



## eggplant43

> If we've learned anything from this letter about a lost toy written by a 7-year-old boy, it's that Lego's customer service department should RUN THE WORLD. No, seriously


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...o-br_n_2406479.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/..._source=Alert-good-news&utm_content=FullStory


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Laid-off Oregon man wins $1 million in lottery



> MERLIN, Ore. -- Laid off since May, Riley Gunn was driving his wife and three kids to their one-room cabin when he stopped to buy corndogs - a guilty pleasure they normally don't indulge.
> 
> Gunn also got some lottery tickets, even though money was tight and he knew his wife wouldn't approve.
> 
> He felt sure he would win - and he did. His $16 investment brought a $1 million prize.





> The Gunns had to borrow money from a friend to make the 200-mile drive to Oregon Lottery headquarters to pick up their check.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Laid-off Oregon man wins $1 million in lottery


----------



## poochee

*
Delightful book of rules found in Citrus Heights sets off hunt for author*
By Dan Hill
Published: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 1B



> A child's common-sense rule book for living  found in the parking lot of a Walmart in Citrus Heights  has struck a chord worldwide.





> The mystery ended Wednesday when, through a text from a Fox40 (KTXL) reporter, Flores learned the identity of the two authors  cousins Isabelle Busath, 10, and Isabella Thordsen, 8.





> Flores said that plans are in the works for him, the girls and their parents to all appear on the "Today" show.


*Read more here*: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/17/5120437/delightful-book-of-rules-found.html#storylink=cpy


----------



## hewee

Wow the Book of Rules is going to be a hit around the world. That is the Walmart close by where I live.


----------



## poochee

*10 Truly Inspiring Rags-To-Riches Stories *
The Huffington Post | Posted: 01/14/2013 1:43 pm EST | Updated: 01/14/2013 1:57 pm EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/rags-to-riches-stories_n_2458994.html#slide=1968651


----------



## eggplant43

poochee said:


> *
> Delightful book of rules found in Citrus Heights sets off hunt for author*
> By Dan Hill
> Published: Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
> 
> *Read more here*: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/17/5120437/delightful-book-of-rules-found.html#storylink=cpy


OK, that's neat.


----------



## ekim68

U.S. High School Graduation Rate at Highest Since 1970s



> U.S. students graduated from public high schools at the highest rate since the 1970s, with the largest leap for Hispanic students, government data show.
> 
> In 2009-2010, 78.2 percent of students earned a diploma after four years, compared with 75.5 percent the year before, according to a U.S. Education Department report released today.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> U.S. High School Graduation Rate at Highest Since 1970s


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> When Gonzo started tripping over his food dish three years ago, no one could explain or stop the Alaskan husky's quickly advancing blindness. But a veterinarian offered some simple advice: "Run this dog."
> 
> Gonzo, one of 120 dogs at Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel, was happy to comply. With help from his brother, Poncho, he soon resumed his place pulling a sled all over New Hampshire's North Country to the delight of tourists and his caretakers, who quickly realized that if Gonzo didn't treat his blindness like an obstacle, neither would they. Given the dog's obvious eagerness, he was allowed to continue on as usual.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...-dog_n_2551016.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green


----------



## poochee

s


----------



## ekim68

Solar power cheaper than coal: One company says it's cracked the code



> CleanTechnica has an exclusive on a new solar technology that claims to be able to produce power with a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 8¢/kWh. That is mind-boggling, "two-thirds the price of retail electricity and over 3 times cheaper than current solar technology." If the claim proves to be true (and a lot can happen between prototype and mass manufacturing), it could revolutionize the solar industry.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Solar power cheaper than coal: One company says its cracked the code


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Malala, teen champion of girls' rights, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize



> Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl who rose to international fame after the Taliban nearly killed her for her efforts to promote girls' education, has been formally nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.


----------



## eggplant43

:up::up::up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Malala, teen champion of girls' rights, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize


:up:


----------



## Tildy

ekim68 said:


> Malala, teen champion of girls' rights, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Ozone on the Path to Recovery over Antarctica? 



> Ozone layer seems to be on a road to recovery as Satellite images indicate that the hole in the protective layer, which was prominent over Antarctica, is the smallest seen in the past decade.


----------



## ekim68

Siblings return bag of found money



> EUGENE, Ore., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A pair of honest siblings from Eugene, Ore., said they decided to return a bag holding $13,000 they found lying in the street.
> 
> Ryan and Katie Moi spotted the blue bank deposit bag lying in the street as they were driving Monday, The (Eugene) Register-Guard reported.
> 
> Katie said she pulled over and Ryan jumped out to retrieve the bag.
> 
> "Our hearts were racing," Ryan said. "We couldn't believe it."
> 
> "Obviously, we couldn't keep it," Katie said. "When I had my laptop stolen, that was the worst feeling. I would not do that to someone else."


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Siblings return bag of found money


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Notice where that happened?


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Notice where that happened?


The only two honest republicans in the state.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Notice where that happened?


Sure did!


----------



## poochee

*3 Men Jump On Subway Tracks In NYC To Help Stranger:up:*
02/18/13 02:40 PM ET EST AP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/18/garrett-ohanlon_n_2712520.html


----------



## ekim68

Baby born on frozen street declared dead, revived



> Two alert police officers are credited with saving the life of a baby girl who was wrongly declared dead after being born outside in freezing temperatures in Toronto.
> 
> The girl's mother had attempted to walk to a hospital in temperatures around zero Fahrenheit, but she didn't make it and ended up giving birth on a frigid sidewalk, the Toronto Star reports.
> 
> Hospital staff tried to revive the newborn, but she was declared dead and covered with a sheet.
> 
> Two police officers waited with the body for the coroner to arrive and after almost two hours, one of them spotted movement under the sheet.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Baby born on frozen street declared dead, revived


Such a sad story. Hope baby and mom will be OK.


----------



## valis

thought this was pretty slick:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17988108


----------



## poochee

valis said:


> thought this was pretty slick:
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17988108


----------



## eggplant43

> Honesty paid off for a panhandler in Missouri who found a diamond ring in his change cupand gave it back to its owner, the Huffington Post reports. Sarah Darling was so grateful to have the ring again that she raised more than $86,000 to thank Billy Ray Harris for his good turn. "I'm not sure of how you ended up in your situation, but after what I witnessed you do, I am most definitely sure that you are a honest man with a good heart," wrote a donor of $1,000 on Harris' GiveForward page.


http://www.newser.com/story/163357/panhandler-gets-86k-for-returning-diamond-ring.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/163357/panhandler-gets-86k-for-returning-diamond-ring.html


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Hangin' 'em up at 101......

Long-distance runner retires at age 101



> HONG KONG, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A 101-year-old man who has been in nine marathons since taking up distance running when he was 89 said he retired after a weekend race in Hong Kong.
> 
> Fauja Singh, whose running and style of dress earned him the title "Turbaned Tornado," said Sunday's 6.2-mile race was his final competitive run, CNN reported Monday.


----------



## ekim68

Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl Helps Trapped Miners



> Two Australian miners who had been trapped more than 925 meters underground since April 25 received a letter of support from an unlikely source, Foo Fighter and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.
> 
> To help the two men cope with their ordeal as rescue efforts went on around them, ipods were sent to them via a 16 metre long pipe alongside other, arguably, more essential items like food and water.


----------



## eggplant43

> Playwright and screenwriter Peter Mercurio recounts a story in the New York Times today that sounds like it could be a work a fiction but is instead the story of how he came to be both married and a dad. It began a dozen years ago when Danny, his partner of three years at the time, found an abandoned baby in the subway and turned it over to authorities. When Danny showed up in family court three months later to give an official account, the judge suddenly asked him whether he'd like to adopt the baby. "The question stunned everyone in the courtroom, everyone except for Danny, who answered, simply, 'Yes," writes Mercurio.


http://www.newser.com/story/163709/judges-hunch-on-abandoned-baby-pays-off.html


----------



## ekim68

US HIV baby 'cured' by early drug treatment



> A baby girl in the US born with HIV appears to have been cured after very early treatment with standard drug therapy, doctors say.
> 
> The Mississippi child is now two-and-a-half years old and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection.
> 
> More testing needs to be done to see if the treatment - given within hours of birth - would work for others.
> 
> If the girl stays healthy, it would be the world's second reported 'cure'.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> US HIV baby 'cured' by early drug treatment


:up:


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/163924/florida-woman-pulls-gun-at-walmart-over-1-coupon.html


----------



## eggplant43

> A New York man is probably very, very happy he decided to buy a cottage in 2007, because works by an obscure Armenian-American abstract impressionist discovered there have been appraised at $30 million. The new owner found thousands of paintings, drawings, and journals by Arthur Pinajian in a garage and attic. Peter Hastings Falk, who once appraised art from the Andy Warhol estate, valued the works. Some pieces already have sold for $500,000.


http://www.newser.com/story/164030/art-found-in-attic-is-worth-30m.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/164030/art-found-in-attic-is-worth-30m.html


Wow!


----------



## eggplant43

> When Abbey Donohoe and Paula O'Brien met at a party four years ago, a few people mentioned that they looked alike. Little did the Iowa women know that's because they're relatedO'Brien is Donohoe's aunt, a fact the two women discovered completely by accident via a Facebook post. On March 6, O'Brien posted about her older brother and his girlfriend, who gave a baby up for adoption, and mentioned the birth date. "I read it and I'm like September 19th, that's my birthday," Donohoe, 29, says. After comparing more information, the two confirmed Donohoe was the baby in question.


http://www.newser.com/story/164360/woman-stumbles-onto-birth-family-via-facebook-friend.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/164360/woman-stumbles-onto-birth-family-via-facebook-friend.html


----------



## eggplant43

> Jennifer Maldonado hadn't yet gotten her first paycheck from the realty company she had been at two weeks when her colleagues asked her to kick in to its Powerball pool ahead of Saturday's $338 million drawing. "I was watching my pennies" and declined, she tells the Miami Herald. She'll now have more pennies to watch: Her 12 colleagues had a winning ticket among the 120 tickets they purchased. It had five matching numbers but not the correct Powerball, making them one of 13 $1 million winners. And they're giving Maldonado a slice.


http://www.newser.com/story/165220/powerball-winners-give-cut-to-colleague-who-didnt-play.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/165220/powerball-winners-give-cut-to-colleague-who-didnt-play.html


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Philadelphian jumps on tracks to help fallen man*
JOANN LOVIGLIO and KATHY MATHESON | March 29, 2013 09:37 PM EST | AP
Associated Press researcher Judith Ausuebel contributed to this report.

PHILADELPHIA - A recovering drug addict with a long rap sheet who was hailed as a hero for jumping onto subway tracks to rescue a man who walked off a platform deflected the praise Friday by saying he was just doing the "right thing."

Still, Christopher Knafelc suggested that he views the good deed he did, and the praise that followed, as another sign that he is on the right path in life.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-...-subway-hero/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage


----------



## ekim68

Breakthrough Cancer-Killing Treatment Has No Side-Effects in Mice: New Chemistry May Cure Human Cancers



> Apr. 3, 2013 - Cancer painfully ends more than 500,000 lives in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scientific crusade against cancer recently achieved a victory under the leadership of University of Missouri Curators' Professor M. Frederick Hawthorne. Hawthorne's team has developed a new form of radiation therapy that successfully put cancer into remission in mice. This innovative treatment produced none of the harmful side-effects of conventional chemo and radiation cancer therapies.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Breakthrough Cancer-Killing Treatment Has No Side-Effects in Mice: New Chemistry May Cure Human Cancers


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Regaining proper hearing at last



> Around 17 million people in Germany suffer from impaired hearing. For many of them, their hearing is so damaged that a standard hearing aid is no longer enough. A new device will improve patients' hearing and can be implanted during outpatient surgery.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Regaining proper hearing at last


:up:


----------



## ekim68

N.M. man bikes 100 miles on 93rd birthday



> ALBUQUERQUE, April 9 (UPI) -- Larry Johnson of Albuquerque, N.M., celebrated his 93rd birthday with a 100-mile bicycle ride, the same distance he rode to celebrate his 90th.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> N.M. man bikes 100 miles on 93rd birthday


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Eaglet is Pittsburgh's first in 200 years



> PITTSBURGH, April 15 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh bird watchers said a bald eagle is believed to have hatched in the city for the first time in more than 200 years.


----------



## ekim68

Decades-old stroke damage reversible with oxygen therapy, say researchers



> May 2 - Up to 20 years after suffering a stroke, patients in Israel are reporting remarkable improvements in brain function with calibrated oxygen treatments inside hyperbaric chambers.


(Video)


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Decades-old stroke damage reversible with oxygen therapy, say researchers
> 
> (Video)


:up:


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Eaglet is Pittsburgh's first in 200 years


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Woman comes back to life after son is born



> KUWAIT CITY, May 12 (UPI) -- A pregnant woman, declared dead at a hospital in Kuwait just before delivery, came back to life after her baby was born, doctors said.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Woman comes back to life after son is born


----------



## valis

ekim68 said:


> Decades-old stroke damage reversible with oxygen therapy, say researchers
> 
> (Video)


just as an aside, Mike, found this today......

http://www.examiner.com/article/dea...ck-from-the-dead-not-just-for-zombies-anymore


----------



## ekim68

Wow, good stuff Tim. Medical technology is just fantastic these days...:up:


----------



## valis

it is pretty astounding, yes......did you hear about that guy that had 75% of his skull replaced with something from a 3d printer?


----------



## ekim68

Yep, and I'm thinking about getting a 3D printer to play with..


----------



## ekim68

Father, son graduate college together



> ATLANTA, May 19 (UPI) -- A man and his son graduated together from Morehouse College in Georgia Sunday, with the son saying he is "proud of [his dad] as a man" for going back to school.


----------



## valis

octogenarian scales everest......

http://abcnews.go.com/International...-mount-everest/story?id=19238945#.UZ4VhdjfLTo


----------



## poochee

Lots of good news here.


----------



## ekim68

Doctors save baby's life with 3D-printed tracheal implant



> In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine today, two doctors from the University of Michigan described how they saved an infant with a life-threatening respiratory disorder using a custom-designed 3D-printed device. Printed with bio-absorbable plastic, the device is holding the child's airway open and allowing him to breathe normally.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Doctors save babys life with 3D-printed tracheal implant


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Homeless teen graduates as valedictorian*

*VIDEO*

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/education/2013/05/24/pkg-homeless-teen-graduates-top-of-class.wsb


----------



## ekim68

Crippled Lion is Dachshund's Best Friend



> A 500-pound lion and an 11-pound dog have formed an unlikely friendship, proving that cats and dogs really can get along. Bonedigger the lion and Milo the dachshund live together at Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Okla., along with three other dogs.


----------



## ekim68

15-year-old autistic boy pursuing Ph.D. in physics



> INDIANAPOLIS, May 30 (UPI) -- An Indiana mother whose son was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at the age of 2 said the 15-year-old is on his way to a Ph.D. in physics.
> 
> Kristine Barnett said her son, Jacob, was considered to be at the severe end of the autism spectrum when he was diagnosed due to having lost language, but he was able to get a handle on language by the age of 3, teach himself to read by the age of 3 1/2 and was soon answering complex math and science questions from college professors, ABCNews.com reported Thursday.


----------



## eggplant43

> Today, in the Adding Insult to Injury Department: An off-duty firefighter who had volunteered to guard the body of a fallen comradeone of four who died in a Houston fire last week saw a computer bag, iPad mini, laptop, and tools worth $1,300 stolen from his car while he was at the funeral home. What turns this dismal story around is his how one police officer reacted. "They're already grieving and its a somber time," Matthew Shockey, who responded to the call, tells KHOU. "I felt real bad for him and so at that point, I kind of thought 'let's set up a donation for him.'"


http://www.newser.com/story/169086/firefighter-guarding-fallen-hero-hit-by-thief.html


----------



## ekim68

Well-known tumor supressor has a surprise double role: Killing cancer cells



> Most cancers result from a combination of mutations in genes that normally control a cell's growth. Some of these, called oncogenes, normally push a cell to divide; mutations in these tend to make them more active, pushing the cell to divide ever faster. Then there are tumor suppressors. Their normal role is to put a check on growth, and mutations in these genes tend to eliminate their function, easing off the brakes on a cell's division.
> 
> Now, scientists have discovered a well-known tumor suppressor gene doesn't only slow down the growth of the cells it's produced by. Instead, a previously undiscovered form of the protein gets shipped out of the cell and inserts itself into other cells, where it also shuts down growth. In the case of some tumor cells, this sudden shutdown appears to be sufficient to kill them.


----------



## valis

neat........

http://gizmodo.com/17-of-the-oldest-man-made-structures-on-earth-still-in-508293601


----------



## franca

valis said:


> neat........
> 
> http://gizmodo.com/17-of-the-oldest-man-made-structures-on-earth-still-in-508293601


I think they forgot my place---


----------



## valis

they can always expand to 18.....

they left out Petra as well, but I guess it's not 'functional'....


----------



## ekim68

Father's genetic quest pays off



> Mutation provides clue to daughter's undefined syndrome.


----------



## ekim68

Speedskater receives more than $30K in donations



> When U.S. speedskater Emily Scott posted on the crowdfunding site, gofundme.com, she never thought this would happen. After reading about how her monthly stipend from US Speedskating was cut from $1950 to $600 and her wrenching decision to apply for food stamps, many responded with financial support.
> 
> Before USA TODAY Sports published her story, Scott had raised $190 in two months. By Wednesday morning, she had raised $33,400 and counting.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Speedskater receives more than $30K in donations


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Man swims 5 hours to save his family



> DEAL ISLAND, Md. -- John Franklin Riggs left family members clinging to a capsized boat in a sea of stinging jellyfish, swimming miles and climbing rocks at the shoreline in pitch blackness to reach help at the first house he saw.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Man swims 5 hours to save his family


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Malala delivers defiant riposte to Taliban militants as UN hails 'our hero'



> When the Taliban sent a gunman to shoot Malala Yousafzai last October as she rode home on a bus after school, they made clear their intention: to silence the teenager and kill off her campaign for girls' education.
> 
> Nine months and countless surgical interventions later, she stood up at the United Nations on her 16th birthday on Friday to deliver a defiant riposte. "They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed," she said.


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> Even though the internet can be basically bring out the worst in people, sometimes it can be the source for one of those "faith in humanity restored" moments, which we got over the weekend. Thanks to a photo and some generous Reddit users, a 2-year-old hospital patient wound up with a ton of delicious pizza and good spirits.


http://www.examiner.com/article/2-y...-IP-facebook-071613-12.00p-pizzamessagereddit


----------



## ekim68

Jocelyn Rojas rescued by Temar Boggs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, teens chase suspect on bikes



> (CNN) -- Two teenage boys are being hailed as heroes after they chased a car carrying a kidnapped girl -- on their bicycles.
> 
> Five-year-old Jocelyn Rojas was playing in her front yard in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when she vanished Thursday afternoon.
> 
> Authorities believe she was abducted by a man who lured her by offering ice cream.
> 
> For two hours, neighbors and police scoured the area and asked if anyone had seen her.
> 
> Temar Boggs, 15, and his friend took off on their bicycles to search.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Jocelyn Rojas rescued by Temar Boggs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, teens chase suspect on bikes


:up:


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> Jocelyn Rojas rescued by Temar Boggs in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, teens chase suspect on bikes


Wow what great news to hear something like this.


----------



## ekim68

Teen scientists identify phthalate-eating bacteria 



> In 12th grade, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao visited a waste transfer station and saw a shocking pile of plastic waste. Then the pair learned that much of the plastic in trash may not degrade for 5,000 years. So they took it upon themselves to search for a bacteria that could break down plastics in the environment. After a series of accidents, they found an answer surprisingly close to home.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Teen scientists identify phthalate-eating bacteria


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Iowa man saves couple from oncoming train



> AMES, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa man is being hailed as a hero for pushing an elderly couple's stalled car from a railroad crossing with a freight train bearing down on them.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Iowa man saves couple from oncoming train


:up:


----------



## hewee

Wow that is something.


----------



## ekim68

U.S. reports a breakthrough in malaria vaccine 



> U.S. researchers reported a breakthrough Thursday in the search for a vaccine for malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that sickens millions worldwide.
> 
> More than three dozen volunteers received multiple, intravenous doses of a vaccine produced with a weakened form of the disease, scientists from the National Institutes of Health, the Navy, Army and other organizations reported Thursday.
> 
> Though the results were promising, more extensive field testing will be required, the researchers wrote. Nevertheless, the it marks the first time any vaccine trial has shown 100% success in protecting subjects from the mosquito-borne tropical disease, which sickens more than 200 million a year and killed about 660,000 in 2010.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> U.S. reports a breakthrough in malaria vaccine


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Cop saves sea turtle hatchlings at Florida resort



> SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida police officer saved nearly 100 baby sea turtles when he gathered the newly hatched creatures from a hotel parking lot and street and released them into the Gulf of Mexico.
> 
> Sarasota Officer Derek Conley was on patrol at 1 a.m. Saturday when he saw sea turtle hatchlings crawling toward the front door of the Lido Beach Resort. A passerby also told Conley that several dozen other baby turtles were walking around the hotel's parking lot.
> 
> Conley, along with some resort guests, scooped up the hatchlings in a box and released them into the water.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cop saves sea turtle hatchlings at Florida resort


----------



## ekim68

This 380-year-old tree is still bearing fruit



> In the 1630s, a pear tree went into the ground in Massachusetts. It was planted, the story goes, by John Endicott, the Puritan governor of the state. By 1852, it was already being heralded as "probably the oldest cultivated fruit bearing tree in New England."
> 
> By now, it's almost certainly the oldest cultivated fruit bearing tree in all of North America.


----------



## ekim68

Silicon Valley 'well' backs world water charity



> At age 28, Scott Harrison felt he had spent a decade of his life selfishly.
> 
> For 10 years he had been promoting nightclubs and wanted to give back to the world. So he volunteered with a group that exposed him to poverty and disease around the globe.
> 
> Most afflictions, he found, started with water.
> 
> "We would see people drinking from swamps and ponds and rivers, sources so unthinkable," said Harrison, now 38. "It seemed simple to attack the root cause by giving people clean water."


----------



## eggplant43

> What was lost can sometimes never be found again, as belongings have a habit of tumbling into the fiery chasm from whence they came. Or you know, they just go missing. One woman who thought her collection of jewelry worth thousands of dollars would never return three years after shed lost it. But she didnt realize there was a team of honest cleaners out there.


http://consumerist.com/2013/09/16/c...-to-return-long-lost-jewelry-worth-thousands/


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://consumerist.com/2013/09/16/c...-to-return-long-lost-jewelry-worth-thousands/


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> If true, it's pretty remarkable: After his mother was shot in the leg, a 4-year-old British boy trapped in the Kenya mall attack reportedly gave a militant some straight talk. "You're a bad man. Let us leave," Elliott Prior said, according to an interview with his uncle in Britain's Sun newspaper, recounted in the Independent. The gunman apparently took the comment to heart, deciding to release both Elliott and his sister, Amelie, 6, as well as their mother, Amber. Bizarrely, he also gave each child a Mars bar, says the uncle.


http://www.newser.com/story/174784/4-year-old-confronted-mall-attacker-who-freed-him.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/174784/4-year-old-confronted-mall-attacker-who-freed-him.html


:up:


----------



## eggplant43

> It's not uncommon to hear about someone picking up the check for a total stranger in a restaurant, but this one's a little unusual because it also involves a three-page letter that moved the recipient to tears. It happened in North Carolina, when a Raleigh single mom took her 4-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son to a Pizza Hut, reports WTVD. After they arrived, she apologized in advance to a man sitting nearby because her kids tended to be loud. (The boy has Asperger's and ADHD, and the girl has behavioral issues of her own.)


http://www.newser.com/story/176644/kind-gesture-by-fellow-diner-surprises-single-mom.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/176644/kind-gesture-by-fellow-diner-surprises-single-mom.html


Beautiful.


----------



## Wino

Heart warming story, but if that was the complete letter, the dude was writing on some really small sheets of paper.


----------



## poochee

*5 most uplifting stories of the week*
Newser Editors 7:31 a.m. EST November 3, 2013



> An Ohio town's moving Christmas gesture and some thoughtful 8th-grade football players make the cut this week:


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/03/newser-uplifting-stories/3410679/


----------



## poochee

*Jim Wolf, Homeless U.S. Army Veteran, Undergoes Incredible Transformation In Time-Lapse Video (VIDEO) *
The Huffington Post | By William Goodman Posted: 11/07/2013 7:40 pm EST | Updated: 11/07/2013 7:40 pm EST



> Wolf's transformation is utterly beautiful, and according to the video, the physical change has also inspired him to turn his life around. He's now attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for the first time in his life.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/homeless-veteran-time-lapse-transformation_n_4234907.html


----------



## poochee

*Patrol Dog Could Be Out Of Work After Transit Agency Refuses To Pay Dental Bills (UPDATED) *
The Huffington Post | By Arin Greenwood Posted: 11/08/2013 12:04 pm EST | Updated: 11/08/2013 5:34 pm EST



> The hitch is that D.C.'s public transportation authority won't pay for the dental work -- and they've told Blu's handler, 13-year Metro Transit Police veteran Steve Morrison, that the dog needs to be treated within two weeks to keep his position.





> Meantime, something to wag your tail about: An Indiegogo online crowdsourcing campaign launched Thursday has already raised several thousand dollars more than is necessary to cover Blu's dental procedures.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/metro-patrol-dog-dental-work_n_4240066.html


----------



## poochee

UPWORTHY
Community, 
Inspirational

*This 'Super-Sized' Random Act Of Kindness Is Sure To Brighten Your Day*

*VIDEO*

https://www.upworthy.com/this-super...indness-is-sure-to-brighten-your-day-4?c=upw1


----------



## poochee

*Find out what your mutt is made of with DNA testing*

*VIDEO*

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2013/11/27/3766117/


----------



## poochee

*Fancy Chef Cooks Up Yummy Meals For Less Than A Dollar, And His Life Lessons Are Delish*

http://www.upworthy.com/fancy-chef-...dollar-and-his-life-lessons-are-delish?c=upw1


----------



## hewee

poochee said:


> *Fancy Chef Cooks Up Yummy Meals For Less Than A Dollar, And His Life Lessons Are Delish*
> 
> http://www.upworthy.com/fancy-chef-...dollar-and-his-life-lessons-are-delish?c=upw1


Wow that is great what he is doing and those in need are getting the best to eat.


----------



## poochee

*Two 107-year-old WWII vets to meet for first time*
Rick Jervis, USA TODAY 10:28 a.m. EST December 7, 2013

*Story Highlights*
Both African American veterans served in the U.S. military
One volunteered; the other was drafted
They've never met -- until now



> AUSTIN  For six decades, Richard Overton and Elmer Hill lived four hours away from each other in Central Texas.
> 
> They drove the same highways, crisscrossed the same towns and shouldered the same Texas droughts and freezes, never knowing that they shared a remarkably similar history. Overton and Hill are both 107 years old, both native Texans and both African American veterans of World War II who fought Japanese forces in the Pacific.





> On Friday, the two will meet for the first time over plates of barbecue ribs and brisket, bringing together a unique shared past and combined 214 years of life on earth. The meeting was originally scheduled for today, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, but was postponed after a winter storm left parts of Texas covered in snow and ice.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/07/texas-wwii-vets-african-american-meet/3881413/


----------



## ekim68

The Science Behind Honey's Eternal Shelf Life



> Modern archeologists, excavating ancient Egyptian tombs, have often found something unexpected amongst the tombs' artifacts: pots of honey, thousands of years old, and yet still preserved. Through millennia, the archeologists discover, the food remains unspoiled, an unmistakable testament to the eternal shelf-life of honey.


----------



## hewee

I like to have my own bee's and make my own raw honey


----------



## ekim68

We recently found a local farmer/beekeeper and he offers pure honey. We've loaded up...:up:


----------



## ekim68

Boy, 8, opens lemonade stand to feed homeless



> Lately, 8-year-old Conall Lane of Burlingame has been asking a lot of questions.
> 
> A few months ago he saw transients living on the streets of San Francisco with their tattered sleeping bags and shopping carts and wanted to know why they couldn't go home.
> 
> "Because they have no home," his mother, Olga Lane, told him.
> 
> Probably what disturbed Conall the most was that he saw a homeless mother with two daughters about his age, Lane said.
> 
> That's why Conall decided to do something about it. Last month he set up a lemonade stand and donated the proceeds, $130, to the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Boy, 8, opens lemonade stand to feed homeless


----------



## poochee

*Donations allow blind man to keep the dog that saved him*
By Christina Caron, NBC News

*VIDEO*



> NEW YORK -- A blind man who would have had to say goodbye to the guide dog that stayed by his side after a fall onto the New York City subway tracks will now get to keep his loyal companion of eight years.
> 
> Ever since Cecil Williams' story aired Tuesday on "Nightly News with Brian Williams," NBC News has received hundreds of inquiries from people wanting to help Williams, 61, keep his dog Orlando.


http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_ne...blind-man-to-keep-the-dog-that-saved-him?lite


----------



## poochee

*Boy with autism can keep 'therapy chickens,' city council decides*
A. Pawlowski TODAY contributor 
1 hour ago

*VIDEO*



> The City Council of DeBary, Fla., unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday evening that allows the parents of 3-year-old J.J. Hart to raise the three hens in their backyard as a reasonable accommodation under the Federal and Florida Fair Housing Acts. The resolution notes that the chickens are primarily utilized for the purpose of enhancing the childs life.


http://www.today.com/moms/boy-autism-can-keep-therapy-chickens-city-council-decides-2D11775878


----------



## ekim68

Study identifies potential therapeutic target for incurable, rare type of soft-tissue cancer



> DALLAS - Dec. 26, 2013 - A deadly, rare type of soft-tissue cancer may be completely eradicated simply by inhibiting a key protein involved in its growth, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.
> 
> In the study, published online today in Cell Reports, scientists found that inhibiting the action of a protein called BRD4 caused cancer cells to die in a mouse model of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs).


----------



## ekim68

This Nigerian doctor runs his hospital on corn cobs and used bike parts



> In the small farming town of Eruwa, Nigeria, goats graze outside the entrance of a low concrete building. Inside, mothers recline with their babies on worn, well-used beds.
> 
> This is Eruwa's main hospital. It isn't fancy, and it isn't meant to be.
> 
> "For me, it doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it's functional," says Dr. Oluyombo Awojobi. He founded the hospital 27 years ago on that philosophy.
> 
> What keeps his hospital running - and growing - are cheap, simple devices that he designs and makes himself.


----------



## eggplant43

> At the very least, it would have been an easy $2,000. That's how much cash was in the envelope that 23-year-old Brian DiCarlo found in a strip-mall parking lot in Clackamas, Oregon, reports KATU-TV. It also had a cashier's check for $38,000, money for a house down payment by the woman who had dropped it (and was going crazy trying to find it). Luckily for Sharon Davis, DiCarlo turned the money into police, and they were able to track her down, reports KPTV-TV.


http://www.newser.com/story/180939/honest-guy-returns-lost-house-down-payment.html


----------



## poochee

eggplant43 said:


> http://www.newser.com/story/180939/honest-guy-returns-lost-house-down-payment.html


:up:


----------



## poochee

*Westminster change gives stage to mixed-breed dogs *
Associated Press



> NEW YORK (AP) - When the nation's foremost dog show added an event open to mixed breeds, owners cheered that everydogs were finally having their day.
> 
> They see the Westminster Kennel Club's new agility competition, which will allow mutts at the elite event next month for the first time since the 1800s, as a singular chance to showcase what unpedigreed dogs can do.
> 
> "It's great that people see that, `Wow, this is a really talented mixed breed that didn't come from a fancy breeder,"' said Stacey Campbell, a San Francisco dog trainer heading to Westminster with Roo!, a high-energy - see exclamation point - husky mix she adopted from an animal shelter.


http://www.nbcsports.com/westminster-change-gives-stage-mixed-breed-dogs


----------



## poochee

*Nurse brings snow to 4-yr-old patient to build snowman*

*VIDEO*

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2014/02/15/5509267/


----------



## ekim68

Paralysed man donates money raised for his treatment to help disabled boy walk again instead



> A disabled boy meets the paralysed man who gave up his dream of walking again in order to help the youngster take his first steps.
> 
> Selfless Dan Black - who was left in a wheelchair by a 2009 cycling accident - has given £20,000 to Brecon Vaughan, five.
> 
> The money, raised over the last four years, was supposed to pay for pioneering stem cell treatment that could have helped Dan, 25, get back on his feet.
> 
> However, after reading about the plight of Brecon, who suffers from spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, Dan decided the boy had a better chance of walking so handed the money to him instead.


----------



## poochee

*Are You Smarter Than A Preschooler? Not This Mensa Member*
By ABC News
Feb 18, 2014 12:33pm
*
VIDEO*



> After learning to read at just 2, and teaching herself Spanish using her parents' iPad, little Alexis is now a card-carrying member of Mensa, an organization that extends membership to just the smartest 2 percent of the population.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...ter-than-a-preschooler-not-this-mensa-member/


----------



## poochee

*Calif. couple unearths Gold Rush coins worth $10M*
Michael Winter, USA TODAY 8:40 p.m. EST February 25, 2014
_'Saddle Ridge Hoard' discovered while walking the dog on their property in the state's Gold Country_.



> For a lucky California couple, their $10 million pot of backyard gold came with a shadow, not a rainbow.
> 
> While walking the dog last February, the couple stumbled across a treasure of 1,427 gold coins from the mid-19th century buried in eight cans in the shade of a tree on their property in the state's famous Gold Country, according to Kagin's, the numismatic firm representing the anonymous finders.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/25/california-gold-coins-buried-treasure/5817179/


----------



## poochee

*Georgia Man Cleaning His Room Discovers Winning Lottery Ticket*



> He cleaned up, all right.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-room-discovers-winning-lottery-ticket-n41046


----------



## ekim68

An Amazing Village Designed Just For People With Dementia



> Centuries after Shakespeare wrote about King Lear's symptoms, there's still no perfect way to care for sufferers of dementia and Alzheimer's. In the Netherlands, however, a radical idea is being tested: Self-contained "villages" where people with dementia shop, cook, and live together-safely.


----------



## poochee

*Decades-long search reunites man with woman he rescued*
Bill Engle, (Richmond, Ind.) Palladium-Item 12:22 a.m. EST March 2, 2014
_For 58 years, Dave Hickman wondered what had become of the infant girl he found while hunting with his grandfather in an Indiana field._



> *Story Highlights*
> Baby was wrapped in towel, still had umbilical cord
> She was later adopted
> Hickman enlisted help of former sheriff to track down the girl


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...s-long-search-reunites-woman-rescuer/5939069/


----------



## poochee

*'Eat, Sleep And Relax': World's Oldest Person Shares Secret To Longevity On 116th Birthday*
The Huffington Post UK 
Posted: 03/03/2014 10:23 am EST Updated: 03/03/2014 11:59 am EST



> Mrs Okawa eats three large meals a day and makes sure that she sleeps eight hours a night, said Tomohito Okada, the head of the Kurenai retirement home, where she has been a resident for the past 18 years.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/03/oldest-person_n_4890213.html


----------



## poochee

*7-Year-Old Who Lost Family In Building Collapse Gets Adopted By Nurse Who Treated Her*
The Huffington Post | by Karin Swanson 
Posted: 03/04/2014 9:13 am EST Updated: 03/04/2014 9:59 am EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/sandhya-thakur-adoption_n_4891687.html


----------



## poochee

An upbeat obituary.

http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/p/walter-george-bruhl-jr-dupont-co-retiree/1139838


----------



## hewee

poochee said:


> An upbeat obituary.
> 
> http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/p/walter-george-bruhl-jr-dupont-co-retiree/1139838


Wow that is something.


----------



## poochee

*Adopted Teen Has Touching On-Air Reunion With News Anchor Who Helped Him Find A Family*
The Huffington Post | by Alexandra Zaslow 
Posted: 03/11/2014 10:53 am EDT Updated: 03/11/2014 6:59 pm EDT

*VIDEO*



> During a WFAA newscast last Wednesday, retiring anchor Gloria Campos received a special surprise.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/11/teen-surprise-gloria-campos_n_4936258.html


----------



## ekim68

Fascinating story....

Google Earth Finds Woman Trapped On Deserted Island For 7 Years



> I woke up 1 morning to the sound of a plane flying over me which was unusually low, I could not believe it, I thought it was a dream. I ran to the beach screaming and waving my arms like a lunatic, the plane flew over 2 or 3 more times and then dropped a small package.
> 
> Inside was a radio, fresh water, food and a small medical kit. I switched on the radio and heard the first human voice for years. We talked for what seemed like an eternity, then I asked the voice on the other end "How did you find me" to which they replied "Some kid from Minnesota found your SOS sign on Google Earth"


----------



## hewee

Wow google earth. She was smart to make it that long.


----------



## poochee

*Burger King Baby Finds Birth Mom, Feels 'Pure Joy'*
ALLENTOWN, Pa. March 26, 2014 (AP)
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press



> A woman who, as a newborn, was abandoned in the bathroom of a Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant said Tuesday she has found her birth mother just three weeks after launching a search that garnered worldwide attention.
> 
> Katheryn Deprill, 27, said she felt "pure joy" when she met her biological mother for the first time Monday at an attorney's office.


http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/burger-king-baby-shes-found-birth-mother-23057287


----------



## poochee

*12-Year-Old Boy Collects Baseballs for Soldiers Serving Abroad*
Mar 27, 2014 2:40pm
By Katie Kindelan

*VIDEO*



> A 12-year-old baseball fanatic found a way to combine his love of baseball, specifically the New York Yankees, with honoring U.S. soldiers serving overseas.
> 
> Billy Cook, of Washington Township in Bergen County, N.J., came up with the idea of Billys Baseballs to fulfill the service requirement for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah.


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...llects-baseballs-for-soldiers-serving-abroad/


----------



## poochee

*Girl who shaved head for friend felt 'punished' by school *
Eun Kyung Kim TODAY
2 hours ago

*VIDEO*



> When Kamryn Renfro's best friend lost her hair from chemotherapy, the 9-year-old Colorado girl decided to shave her head so they could be bald together. She never expected her decision would get her suspended from school.





> The school eventually let her back in following a public outcry and Kamryn's friend, 11-year-old Delaney Clements, couldn't be happier, especially after her friend made such a compassionate gesture.


http://www.today.com/moms/girl-who-shaved-head-friend-felt-punished-school-2D79450757


----------



## DaveBurnett

I thought it was schools that were supposed to teach children, not the other way round!!


----------



## poochee

*Facebook User Helps Spot Girl's Dangerous Eye Disease*
April 4, 2014
By MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO and CATHY BECKER via Good Morning America 
*
VIDEO*



> When Tara Taylor posted a photo of her daughter on Facebook, she had no idea that the simple action would change the girls life.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/facebook-user-helps-spot-girls-dangerous-eye-disease/story?id=23186341


----------



## ekim68

Slipping Through The City: Bristol Turns Street Into A Water Slide



> Summer hasn't officially begun, but that isn't stopping the city of Bristol, England, from closing off traffic so people can ride a nearly 300-foot-long water slide down the street.


----------



## ekim68

Roommates Find Thousands In Cash Hidden In Couch, Return Money To Rightful Owner



> "The entitlement very quickly went away with finding that notice with her name on it. Because we didn't earn that money," Guasti said.
> 
> With the help of Werkhoven's mother, the group was able to find the woman the money belonged to. They called her and returned the cash.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Roommates Find Thousands In Cash Hidden In Couch, Return Money To Rightful Owner


:up:


----------



## ekim68

Depressed goat ends hunger strike after reunion with donkey BFF


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Depressed goat ends hunger strike after reunion with donkey BFF


:up:


----------



## poochee

May 30, 7:14 PM EDT
*Man returns $125,000 that fell from armored truck 
* 


> FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- A Salvation Army worker in California is being rewarded for his decision to return a bag containing $125,000 that fell from an armored truck.


 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-30-15-45-57


----------



## ekim68

Dunkin' patron goes for coffee, saves employees



> CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (AP) - A Dunkin' Donuts customer looking for a morning cup of coffee was in the right place at the right time with the right equipment.
> 
> Authorities say an ambulance technician wearing a carbon monoxide detector entered the store in Carle Place, New York, at around 4 a.m. Friday.
> 
> The tech's detector went off, indicating high levels of the poisonous gas.


----------



## ekim68

Son Keeps Childhood Promise, Gives Dad '57 Chevy for His 57th Birthday



> When he was 8, a boy from Kentucky promised his dad that he would buy him a '57 Chevy Bel-Air for his 57th birthday. His father had grown up as one of seven children in a poor family. Although he talked about his dream car often, he never expected to own one.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Son Keeps Childhood Promise, Gives Dad '57 Chevy for His 57th Birthday


----------



## poochee

*The Power of Ambition: Homeless Valedictorian to Attend FSU*:up:
By Rehema Ellis
First published June 4th 2014, 2:47 pm

*VIDEO*



> Griffin Furlong is a Florida teenager who knows something about heartaches and joy.
> 
> The 18-year-old is homeless, but he graduated at the top of his class from Florida Coast High School in Jacksonville.


http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/power-ambition-homeless-valedictorian-attend-fsu-n122881


----------



## poochee

*Man saves baby crawling at side of Ga. highway*
Matthew Pearl, WXIA-TV, Atlanta 10:49 a.m. EDT June 17, 2014

*VIDEO*



> MADISON COUNTY, Ga.  A man driving on a highway saw something along the roadway and was surprised at what he discovered when he pulled over to investigate.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/17/man-saves-child-crawling-near-highway/10655645/


----------



## ekim68

Family finds girl lost in tsunami 10 years ago



> More than 10 years after a tsunami swept her away from her parents, Raudhatul Jannah is back in their arms again.
> 
> Raudhatul was only 4 when her home in Indonesia was destroyed by a 2004 tsunami that killed some 230,000. After the tsunami struck, her father put her and her 7-year-old brother onto a board in the water, but then a "wave hit and I lost them," he recounts to DPA.


----------



## ekim68

7-Week-Old Baby Gets Hearing Aids, Smiles at His Parents' Voices



> At 7 weeks old, baby Lachlan had never heard the sound of his parents' voices before. But thanks to his new hearing aids, we get to see this moment of shock that quickly turned to delight. And that's just mom and dad's reaction. The baby was pretty happy, too.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> 7-Week-Old Baby Gets Hearing Aids, Smiles at His Parents' Voices


----------



## poochee

*Yes, 6 people born in 19th century are still with us*
Matthew Diebel, USATODAY 10:39 a.m. EDT September 5, 2014

*PICTURES*



> What are the stories of these extraordinary women who have made it all the way from the 19th century to almost a decade and half into the 21st? What are their tips for longevity?
> 
> Here are mini-biographies the six people remaining on Earth who have witnessed three centuries.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...e-who-were-born-in-the-19th-century/15122367/


----------



## ekim68

Miracle Man James Harrison Has Saved Over 2 Million Newborns By Donating His Blood.



> Australian James Harrison has been called the "man with the golden arm" for some time now and it's because he's kind of incredible. At age 14, he needed to get a lifesaving chest surgery and required 13 liters of blood to survive. After seeing the impact of blood donations, Harrison was committed to donate blood as soon as he turned 18. And boy did he donate…
> 
> Upon donating, Harrison discovered he had an extremely rare antibody in his blood, a makeup of plasma so unique that it holds the cure to rhesus disease, a severe form of anaemia that causes either death or brain damage for newborns.
> 
> Researchers were amazed by his blood and its ability to save lives, so they insured his life for a million dollars. His blood has been used to create life-saving injections to combat rhesus. It was even used to help save his own daughter's child. He's now 77 and he's been donating blood every couple weeks for the past 59 years totaling over 1000 blood donations. All of his donations have saved an estimated 2.4 MILLION babies that would've suffered from the rhesus condition.


----------



## ekim68

Why a star football player traded NFL career for a tractor



> - At one point number 60, Jason Brown, was one of the best centers in the NFL.
> 
> At one point he had a five-year, $37 million contract with the St. Louis Rams.
> 
> And at one point he decided it was all meaningless - and just walked away from football.





> See, his plan for this farm, which he calls "First Fruits Farm," is to donate the first fruits of every harvest to food pantries. Today it's all five acres--100,000 pounds--of sweet potatoes.
> 
> "It's unusual for a grower to grow a crop just to give away," said Rebecca Page, who organizes food collection for the needy. "And that's what Jason has done. And he's planning to do more next year."


----------



## poochee

*Small Business Saturday: A New American Holiday Tradition*
Nov 24th 2014 6:00AM
By Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle



> Since 2010, customers and small businesses alike have been able to kick start their holiday shopping season on a day celebrating the uniqueness, charm and economic impact that small businesses bring to communities nationwide. Recognized as Small Business Saturday, which takes place the Saturday following Thanksgiving each year, this celebratory day was founded to encourage consumers across the country to support local, small businesses within their hometowns and beyond. "In only five years, Small Business Saturday has taken on a life of its own and it's been very exciting to see how small business owners and communities have come together to own the day and make it special," explains Lisette Bernstein, vice president of Small Business Saturday at American Express.
> 
> With the support of American Express (AXP) -- a founding partner of Small Business Saturday -- and fortitude of thousands of small business owners across the country, Small Business Saturday has quickly become widely recognized as the day to kick start the holiday shopping season. Anchored between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, small businesses stand out thanks in part to the national media attention Small Business Saturday generates, but also in part to the individual efforts small business owners nationwide contribute to make this day one of a kind. As a result, consumers are showing an increase in spending as each Small Business Saturday passes. In fact, a survey conducted on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Businesses and American Express identified that $5.7 billion was spent by consumers aware of the initiative on Small Business Saturday in 2013 alone.


http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/11...-holiday-tradition/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00001351


----------



## poochee

*Watch 1-year-old boy hear for the first time*
Matt Pearl, WXIA 10:03 a.m. EST November 26, 2014

*VIDEO*



> Exploring a sense he never had, 1-year-old Max Beeman's world opened up after experiencing sound for the first time.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/26/1yr-old-hears-for-the-first-time/19521451/


----------



## ekim68

Rush to see gravely ill son lands woman in a UHP escort



> Helen "Skeeter" Smith got the dreaded phone call---her son, Randy, was gravely ill in the hospital.
> 
> So Helen, 87 years old, hopped in her car in southern Nevada on Friday, jumped on I-15, and started heading north for a 350 mile trip to Ogden.
> 
> In central Utah, she "buzzed past" a Utah trooper, who pulled her over and gave her a warning. "He was all nice," said Helen. "Oh yeah, he was just doing his job."


----------



## hewee

ekim68 said:


> Rush to see gravely ill son lands woman in a UHP escort


That is the type of news I like to hear. :up:


----------



## DaveBurnett

I had a similar case.
It was one o'clock in the morning and I was doing over 100mph down the dual carriageway into Leicester in answer to the call from the hospital that my son was on the way. The police gave me an escort through the city with lights flashing and jumping traffic signals. 
We got there just in time.


----------



## hewee

I was only told to run a red light once. Was at the red light by fire station and fire truck comes out and tells me to go thru the light so I could get out of the way.


----------



## poochee

*Cleveland baby born at 10:11 on 12/13/14*
WKYC-TV, Cleveland 6:45 p.m. EST December 14, 2014
*
VIDEO*



> On Saturday, at 10:11 a.m., a Cleveland family welcomed an addition to their family.





> Saturday's Dec. 13, 2014, represented the last sequential calendar date for at least 20 years, if you count Jan. 2, 2034, or 89 years if you wait for Jan. 2, 2103.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/14/12-13-14-baby-born/20406055/


----------



## ekim68

Natural molecule found to slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease



> While a decisive cure is yet to be found for Alzheimer's disease, research is offering up ways that it could be slowed or even have its symptoms reversed. The latest cause for hope involves a naturally occurring molecule that researchers have found can serve as an inhibitor, intervening to halt progress of the disease during its formative stages.


----------



## Wino

ekim68 said:


> Natural molecule found to slow the onset of Alzheimers disease


Like the doctor that told his patient he had bad news and horrible news for him. Patient said give me the horrible news first. The doctor said "You have terminal cancer"; Jesus!! What's the bad news?? You are in the advanced stages of Alzheimer. The patient breathed a sign of relief, and said, "Thank goodness I don't have cancer!"

Ekim, in my case, they best get busy on that molecule.


----------



## ekim68

Hahaha....!  Good to see you Wino and I'm hoping for that molecule, too...


----------



## Brigham

I see that a couple of big pharmaceutical companies have pulled out of alzheimer research. The research is costing too much money. This is the reason that these companies charge so much for their products. It goes toward trying to find new medicines. People that slag off "Big Pharma" should stop and think about this.


----------



## brettmurray

Child obesity could be on the decline hooray

http://optimistworld.com/progress-child-obesity/


----------



## ekim68

Olive oil ingredient leads cancer cells to their death



> An ingredient found in extra-virgin olive oil called oleocanthal has been known as a compound capable of killing a variety of human cancer cells, but how this process actually played out was not understood. Now, a team of researchers has uncovered not only how oleocanthal destroys cancer cells, but that it is able to do so while leaving healthy cells unharmed.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Olive oil ingredient leads cancer cells to their death


:up: I use it a lot instead of butter.


----------



## Wino

I do too, but still look like The Michelin Man or Pillsbury Doughboy. LOL


----------



## poochee

*Llamas on the lam*
February 26, 2015, 6:38 PM|Two llamas trotted, ran, and romped in Sun City, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix.
*
VIDEO*

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/llamas-on-the-lam/


----------



## poochee

*Rockland County Couple Could Be Region's Oldest: Report*
Updated at 3:21 PM EST on Saturday, Feb 28, 2015

*VIDEO*



> With a combined age of 212 and 82 years of marriage, an upstate New York couple could be one of the regions oldest couples, according to the Journal News.
> 
> The couple, Duranord and Jeanne Veillard, were married in November of 1932  the same month former New York governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected the United States 32nd president.


http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...-Couple-Birthday-Spring-Valley-294409441.html


----------



## poochee

By/Steve Hartman/CBS News/March 6, 2015, 6:44 PM
*
Strangers clear snow so elderly man can reach wife's memorial*
*
VIDEO*

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/strangers-clear-snow-so-elderly-man-can-reach-wifes-memorial/


----------



## ekim68

Happy International Women's Day.....

These 17 Women Changed The Face Of Physics



> From discovering pulsars to correcting the optics of the fuzzy Hubble Space Telescope, here are 17 stories of women who made undeniably vital contributions to astronomy and physics.


----------



## poochee

* The Bear Ferry * 
_When little bears need a ride across the river they just take The Bear Ferry._

*PHOTO*

http://bgdphotooftheday.com/


----------



## poochee

*Man Wins $7 Million From Lottery Ticket Tucked Inside Get-Well Card*
Man Wins $7 Million From Lottery Ticket Tucked Inside Get-Well Card
Posted: 03/26/2015 1:08 pm EDT Updated: 5 hours ago The Huffington Post | By Ryan Grenoble

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...7254.html?cps=gravity_2082_397170085684062110


----------



## Bush Lady

poochee said:


> :up: I use it a lot instead of butter.


Olive oil should have an expire date on it. I bought some on sale ones. It was on sale because they wanted to sell it. I made some mayonnaise and the mayonnaise tasted bad. I through the mayonnaise out and had start again and make some more. I will never by olive oil on sale again.

That is why when you buy margarine made with olive oil, it is salted margarine, and unsalted margarine is not made with olive oil.


----------



## poochee

*The oldest person in the world now is an American*
Matthew Diebel, USATODAY 3:39 p.m. EDT April 1, 2015

*VIDEO*



> With the death on Wednesday of 117-year-old Japanese woman Misao Okawa, an American, Gertrude Weaver, is now the world's oldest person.
> 
> In fact, the three oldest people in the world, as documented by the Guinness Book of Records, are Americans. Joining Weaver, who lives in Arkansas, are Michigan's Jeralean Talley and New York City's Susannah Mushatt Jones. The three are among only four people still living who were born in the 1800s. The other is Italy's Emma Morano.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...oman-is-now-the-oldest-in-the-world/70765530/


----------



## poochee

*Long Island High Schooler Accepted by All 8 Ivy League Colleges*
Apr 5, 2015, 6:58 PM ET
By EMILY SHAPIRO



> On March 31, when the official college decisions were posted online, Harold Ekeh logged onto his computer in Elmont, New York. The 17-year-old was shocked to discover he was accepted to all eight Ivies, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, New York University and SUNY Stony Brook.





> Ekeh's impressive high school resume spans from conducting scientific research, to starting a college prep mentoring program, to serving as editor-in-chief of the newspaper and vice president of Model United Nations.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/long-island-high-schooler-accepted-ivy-league-colleges/story?id=30108451


----------



## poochee

*Mich. woman, 115, is world's oldest person, group says*
Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press 5:47 a.m. EDT April 7, 2015
*
VIDEO*



> INKSTER, Mich.  The front door flew open as a reporter approached a brick ranch house in Inkster and a voice called out, "C'mon in  I've got Time magazine on the phone."
> 
> The speaker stood Thursday night over a placid figure dressed in a pale pink nightgown named Jeralean Talley, a bright-eyed elderly woman in spectacles who  despite her profound hearing loss  was fully aware, relatives said, that she'd just been declared by gerontology experts to be the oldest person in the world.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/06/mich-woman-worlds-oldest-person/25387395/


----------



## poochee

*Circus Lion Freed From Cage Feels Earth Beneath His Paws For The First Time *
By Stephen MessengerFollow
11 May 2015

*Video*



> Footage shared this week by the Rancho dos Gnomos Santuário in Brazil shows the thrilling moment a lion named Will experiences, for the first time, the feeling of soil and grass beneath his feet.


https://www.thedodo.com/lion-feels-earth-first-tim-1138150300.html?utm_source=HuffPo


----------



## poochee

*2 Women Discover They're Sisters in Columbia Writing Class*
Posted: 05/16/2015 7:32 pm EDT Updated: 4 hours ago



> NEW YORK (AP)  Two women who took a writing class at Columbia University found that their own stories were better than fiction.
> 
> They were sisters born to the same teenage mother in the early 1980s and adopted by different families.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/16/adopted-sisters-meet-columbia_n_7298884.html


----------



## poochee

*11-year-old graduates from California college with 3 degrees*
By Morgan Baskin, George Washington University May 22, 2015 10:50 am

*VIDEO*



> An 11-year-old Sacramento boy who said regular school bored him graduated from American River College in Sacramento (ARC), Calif. alongside 1,800 students May 20.
> 
> Tanishq Abraham told KXTV that it feels good to graduate with three Associates degrees, which he earned in math and physical science, general science and foreign language studies.


http://college.usatoday.com/2015/05/22/11-year-old-graduates-college-with-3-degrees/


----------



## poochee

*Inskter resident and World's Oldest Person Jeralean Telley celebrates 116th birthday*
Posted: 11:14 PM, May 21, 2015

*VIDEO*

Jeralean Talley will be 116 on Saturday. If you do the math, that means she was born in 1899!

Among those gathering to wish Jeralean a happy birthday were Inksters mayor and congressman John Conyers - who delivered a special message from President Barack Obama.


----------



## poochee

*Inskter resident and World's Oldest Person Jeralean Telley celebrates 116th birthday*
Posted: 11:14 PM, May 21, 2015

*VIDEO*



> Jeralean Talley will be 116 on Saturday. If you do the math, that means she was born in 1899!
> 
> Among those gathering to wish Jeralean a happy birthday were Inksters mayor and congressman John Conyers - who delivered a special message from President Barack Obama.


http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/way...son-jeralean-telley-celebrates-116th-birthday


----------



## poochee

*Shelter Brings Veterans And Puppies Together For Memorial Day *
By Anna SwartzFollow
22 May 2015



> A shelter in Florida has come up with a special plan to honor veterans this Memorial Day  for the rest of the summer, Manatee County Animal Services will waive the adoption fee for any former or current service members who want to take home a puppy or dog.


 https://www.thedodo.com/shelter-bri...il&utm_term=0_4342b46fc5-a619e045b6-142150833


----------



## poochee

*
Illinois Couple Welcomes 100th Grandchild: "Could Start Our Own Town!"*
Celebrity News 
May. 27, 2015 AT 2:15PM By Stephanie Webber .



> Leo and Ruth Zanger of Quincy met their 100th grandchild, great-grandson Jaxton Leo, on April 8. The couple, who have 12 children of their own, are already the proud grandparents of 53 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
> 
> "The good Lord has just kept sending them. We could start our own town," Leo told the Quincy Herald-Whig. Ruth joked: "There's always room for one more!"


Read more: http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity...ould-start-our-own-town-2015275#ixzz3bOrFafwg


----------



## ekim68

Baltimore Restaurant Shuts Down For 5 Days To Feed The Homeless Free Food



> Each year, Baltimore restaurants look forward to restaurant week, a time where the citys food is showcased and businesses are able to get a ton of free advertisement and new customers.
> 
> Instead of cashing in like everyone else, Michael Tabrizi, owner of Tabrizis will be closing his business to the general public in order to feed the citys homeless at no cost.


----------



## poochee

:up:.


----------



## poochee

*Horse frightened by fireworks found safe and round*
Judy Putnam, Lansing State (Mich.) Journal 6:37 p.m. EDT July 11, 2015



> Nine days after the 1,000-pound horse burst through his paddock and pasture fencing, a farmer found him in a soybean field about a mile and a half away. The 4-year-old Finneas was thought to have been spooked by fireworks when he escaped.
> 
> Not only was he found uninjured, Finneas looks to have gained as much as 100 pounds.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ightened-fireworks-found-safe-round/30027319/


----------



## poochee

CBS/AP/ May 27, 2015, 10:23 AM
*Seniors give money raised for class trip to principal fighting cancer*



> BETHLEHEM, N.H. -- It will be an emotional graduation for Principal Courtney Vashaw and the senior class at Profile Junior-Senior High School in New Hampshire, CBS Boston reports.
> 
> Vashaw is battling a rare form of soft tissue cancer, and when the Class of 2015 found out, they decided to sacrifice something they'd been looking forward to for years. They had saved about $8,000 for a senior trip to a dude ranch in upstate New York, but chose to give the money to Vashaw instead.


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-ham...-for-class-trip-to-principal-fighting-cancer/


----------



## poochee

*Baby's amazement at getting glasses goes viral*
Kate Seamons, Newser staff 1:02 p.m. EDT July 14, 2015

*VIDEO*



> (NEWSER)  Piper Verdusco can finally see clearly, and a "melt-your-heart" video that captures the first moments of her experiencing clear vision has itself been seennearly 25 million times.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...t-at-getting-glasses-piper-verdusco/30129391/


----------



## poochee

*Here Are Swarms Of Adorable Puppies Overwhelming Their Owners*
Posted: 07/14/2015 1:48 pm EDT Updated: 07/14/2015 1:59 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/14/puppy-swarms_n_7795116.html


----------



## ekim68

Eye drops could dissolve cataracts



> Cataracts cloud the eyes of tens of millions of people around the world and nearly 17.2% of Americans over the age of 40. Currently, the only treatment is surgerylasers or scalpels cut away the molecular grout that builds in the eye as cataracts develop, and surgeons sometimes replace the lens. But now, a team of scientists and ophthalmologists has tested a solution in dogs that may be able to dissolve the cataract right out of the eyes lens. And the solution is itself a solution: a steroid-based eye drop.


----------



## poochee

*Girl born without a face finds 'sister' across the world*
David Schechter, WFAA 1:45 p.m. EDT July 27, 2015
*
VIDEO*



> A Texas family that has a daughter with Treacher-Collins syndrome was inspired to adopt a Ukrainian orphan with the same condition, along with three of her siblings. VPC


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...humankind-sisters-girl-without-face/30729305/


----------



## poochee

*Off the job for 5 months, workers get huge surprise*
Brandon Jones, KVUE-TV, Austin (TX) 3:40 p.m. EDT August 14, 2015

*VIDEO*



> After a five month remodel in order to grow with Austin's population, the franchise owner, Jeff Glover, continued to pay his 50 employees during the remodel.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2015/08/14/humankind-boss-pays-employees/31730947/


----------



## poochee

*Army dog reunited with handler after being abandoned*
Christine C. Noel, KUSA-TV, Denver 1:01 p.m. EDT August 20, 2015

*VIDEO*

DENVER - It has been almost four years since U.S. Army Specialist Tyler Roberts has seen a teammate he spent every day with while serving in Afghanistan.

That changed Wednesday night.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...nited-handler-after-being-abandoned/32048989/


----------



## poochee

*Giant panda Mei Xiang gives birth to second cub at National Zoo *
By Faith Karimi, Kevin Bohn and Amanda Watts, CNN
Updated 9:28 AM ET, Sun August 23, 2015

*PHOTOS*

_(CNN)_And then there were two!

Hours after giving birth to a cub, giant panda Mei Xiang delivered a second one Saturday night, the Smithsonian's National Zoo announced.

"We can confirm a second cub was born at 10:07," the zoo tweeted. "It appears healthy."

https://forums.techguy.org/threads/up-beat-news.99978/page-164


----------



## poochee

*Cancelled wedding leads to meal for homeless*
10/19/15 10:07 AM-Updated 10/19/15 11:05 AM
By NBC News

*VIDEO*

Instead of cancelling the reception after a groom got cold feet, the bride's family held an event for the city of Sacramento's homeless. KCRA's Tom Miller reports.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/cancelled-wedding-leads-meal-homeless


----------



## hewee

Wow I missed that on the news. That was great what they did. All the great food too.


----------



## hewee

Just seen the news on Cancelled wedding.


----------



## poochee

hewee said:


> Just seen the news on Cancelled wedding.


----------



## hewee

Seen it twice on the news. If I knew sooner I could of went to it and sneaked in.


----------



## poochee

hewee said:


> Seen it twice on the news. If I knew sooner I could of went to it and sneaked in.


...


----------



## hewee




----------



## poochee

*Busboy's honesty pays off: 5 great things this week*
Newser 8:20 a.m. EST December 27, 2015

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...onesty-pays-off-5-great-things-week/77939784/


----------



## 2twenty2

Its people like the busboy that make this world a better place to live in.


----------



## poochee

knucklehead said:


> Its people like the busboy that make this world a better place to live in.


Yep!


----------



## poochee

*Jamie Foxx Embraces Emotional Father of Man Actor Rescued From Fiery Crash*
_The Oscar and Grammy winner recalls telling the driver he rescued, "'You've got angels around you"_
 By Willian Avila 

*VIDEO*

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...ued-From-Crash-365929231.html?partner=nbcnews


----------



## 2twenty2

*Jamie Foxx* one of my favorite actors.


----------



## poochee

By Jennifer Earl CBS News February 1, 2016, 3:05 PM
*Mother hears son's heart beat inside 4-year-old girl's chest*

*VIDEO*

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mother-...inside-4-year-old-girls-chest-for-first-time/


----------



## ekim68

PlayStation employee designs custom controller for gamer with cerebral palsy




> A Sony employee has gone beyond the call of duty to create a customised controller for an avid gamer with cerebral palsy.


----------



## poochee

...


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> PlayStation employee designs custom controller for gamer with cerebral palsy


----------



## poochee

Dateline
Apr 13 2016, 9:43 am ET
*Story Behind Viral Post of Man's Act of Charity at a Utah Denny's Restaurant *
by Rachael Trost

The tale is heartwarming and a little bit heartbreaking. And now the man in a photo and story that went viral last week is sharing the reason behind it all.

"I've done this many times, but this is the one that got out," the man, who asked only to be identified as Briggs, told Dateline.

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/story-behind-viral-story-man-s-act-charity-utah-denny-n554246


----------



## poochee

CBA/AP April 5, 2016, 11:29 PM
*NY teen achieves ultimate academic feat*

*ELMONT, N.Y.*-- For the second time in as many years, a senior from one Long Island high school has achieved the ultimate academic feat,reports CBS New York.

Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, valedictorian at Elmont Memorial High School, has been accepted to all eight Ivy League universities.

She also can choose from Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ny-teen-achieves-ultimate-academic-feat/


----------



## ekim68

Came across this story....:up:


[URL='http://jalopnik.com/5971023/why-a-german-pilot-escorted-an-american-bomber-to-safety-during-world-war-ii']Why A German Pilot Escorted An American Bomber To Safety During World War II[/URL]




> Once in a while, you hear an old war story that restores your faith in humanity. Usually it involves a moment of quiet in the midst of chaos; some singing or the sharing of a few condiments. But how many of them take place in mid air?


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Came across this story....
> 
> http://jalopnik.com/5971023/why-a-g...d-war-ii#_ga=1.23681018.1933371888.1432822036
> Why A German Pilot Escorted An American Bomber To Safety During World War II


----------



## ekim68

Canada vegan helps lobster make epic journey from supermarket to ocean




> Lobby Joe's long voyage back to the ocean began when he was spotted by Christine Loughead, sitting alone in a tank in a northern Ontario supermarket.


----------



## ekim68

Hope for multiple sclerosis cure as 23 seriously ill patients recover after 'breakthrough' stem cell treatment




> Multiple sclerosis patients who were severely disabled are walking, working and even downhill skiing again following a breakthrough therapy which completely destroys, then rebuilds, the immune system.
> 
> The trial, which is the first in the world to show complete long-term remission from the debilitating disease has been hailed by experts as 'exciting' 'unprecedented,' and 'close to curative.'


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Hope for multiple sclerosis cure as 23 seriously ill patients recover after 'breakthrough' stem cell treatment


----------



## Brigham

poochee said:


>


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...atients-walking-working-and-skiing-after-gro/
I have read the article and it sounds very promising. The thing that annoys me is there is never a full explanation as to how these treatments are thought to be working. In this case is it the destruction of a, possibly faulty immune system, or is it a new myelin sheath that is growing. To people interested, these are questions that never seem to be answered.


----------



## ekim68

Remember When You Could Call the Time?



> You still can, and thousands of people do it every day.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Remember When You Could Call the Time?


I was wondering about this yesterday! Now I know.


----------



## ekim68

A Telephone Connection, eh poochee?


----------



## poochee

*Browser The Cat Allowed To Stay At Texas Library*
_City officials voted unanimously not to evict the beloved feline, reversing themselves._
07/01/2016 08:36 pm ET
*David Moye*  Reporter, The Huffington Post

A Texas town council voted on Friday not to evict a cat from the local library, reversing itself and averting a possible cat-astrophe.

After being dogged by angry cat lovers, the White Settlement town council reconsidered a 2-1 decision evicting Browser the cat from the library and voted unanimously to allow him to stay, according to WFAA reporter Lauren Zakalik.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/browser-library-cat-stay_us_5776f2a6e4b0a629c1aa1c57


----------



## ekim68

It's official - e-bikes are still a lot healthier than no bikes



> Some people look at electric bicycles as being simply a "lazy" alternative to conventional bikes, providing the rider with less of a workout. Proponents of e-bikes, however, point out that they may open bicycle-commuting up to people who would otherwise never bother with it, thus providing them with _more_ exercise overall. A new study confirms that in such cases, use of an e-bike does indeed still boost the user's fitness level.


----------



## poochee

GOOD NEWS 
*Tiny Stray Dog Finds Her Human When She Joins Him For 77 Miles In Race*
*Bow-WOW!*
08/04/2016 03:08 pm ET | *Updated* 22 hours ago
*Elyse Wanshel*  Associate Editor, Good News, The Huffington Post

*PICTURES/VIDEO*

Talk about going the distance.

Thanks to a successful crowd-funding campaign, Dion Leonard, an extreme marathon runner is adopting a stray pup he met while running a 155-mile race in the Gobi desert in China. The funds that were raised will help cover medical and quarantine expenses so that the dog can be transported from China to Leonard's home of Edinburgh, Scotland.

The female dog, who Leonard appropriately named Gobi, joined Leonard on day two of the annual 4 Deserts Race Series and ran side-by-side with him for 77 miles, according to The Independent.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...rd-155-mile-race_us_57a3623ae4b0104052a18a86?


----------



## poochee

By Jennifer Earl CBS News August 19, 2016, 5:25 PM
*Stranger waiting in line behind Texas teacher pays for her school supplies*

*SAN ANTONIO* -- Sabrina Drude was doing what many teachers do before the start of the school year -- shopping for supplies for her students -- when she noticed a man standing in line at Wal-Mart examining her items.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/strange...d-texas-teacher-pays-for-her-school-supplies/


----------



## poochee

CBS News August 22, 2016, 6:47 AM
*Cruise ship living: Retiring to a life at sea*

*VIDEO*

Part of the reason cruises are so popular for retirees is because so much is taken care of for them -- cooking, cleaning, entertainment and activities. Of course, when the cruise is over, most of them return home to their regular lives. But Lee Wachtstetter found a way to travel the world without ever _leaving_ home.

You could say the 88-year-old Wachtstetter has earned her sea legs.

Aboard the Crystal Serenity, she's known simply as Mama Lee. She's been living there for the past eight years.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cruise-ship-living-retiring-to-a-life-at-sea/


----------



## poochee

*Face Transplant Recipient: 'My Life Has Changed and Been Renewed'*
Wed, Aug 24

*VIDEO*

Patrick Hardison, the Mississippi firefighter who underwent the world's most extensive face transplant one year ago, says,"I'm pretty much back to being a normal guy, doing normal activities."

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/face-t...ife-has-changed-and-been-renewed-749938243842


----------



## ekim68

'I found my dad on Facebook'



> •Farhiya was separated from her father when she was a baby
> 
> •She didn't see him for nearly 40 years
> 
> •They were reunited thanks to a stranger on social media


----------



## ekim68

Sri Lanka conquers malaria



> Sri Lanka has become malaria-free. On September 5, the World Health Organisation *officially recognised this huge public health achievement*. The WHO certifies a country so when the chain of local transmission is interrupted for at least three consecutive years; the last reported case was in October 2012.


----------



## poochee

*Famed Target Cashier Gets A Big Reward For His Viral Act Of Kindness*
"I just treated her, really, like she was my grandma, to be honest."
09/21/2016 04:50 pm ET

*VIDEO*

Earlier this year, Ishmael Gilbert was working as a cashier at his local Target when an elderly woman entered his check-out line. As Gilbert rang up the women's items, she pulled out a bunch of coins to pay for each item, separately, in change.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...-photo-job-offer_us_57e05711e4b08cb140977cca?


----------



## poochee

*A LITTLE HUMOR*

*Trump Warns That Clinton Will Rig Debate by Using Facts*
By Andy Borowitz 
September 23, 2016

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-warns-that-clinton-will-rig-debate-by-using-facts?mbid=nl_092316 Borowitz Newsletter (1)&CNDID=39283289&spMailingID=9571004&spUserID=MTMzMTg0NjA0OTgzS0&spJobID=1001911502&spReportId=MTAwMTkxMTUwMgS2


----------



## poochee

By Jennifer Earl CBS News October 17, 2016, 6:30 PM
*The heartwarming reason why a N.M. boy asked his mom to pack 2 school lunches*

For months, Josette Duran has been packing her son an extra lunch to bring to school simply because he asked her to.

The mom didn't ask questions. She thought he was just hungry, but then she found out the truth.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-heartbreaking-reason-why-this-boy-asked-his-mom-to-pack-2-lunches/


----------



## poochee

*Rare Albino Reindeer Spotted Near Road in Sweden*
By Sean Breslin
Published Oct 26 2016 08:05 PM EDT

A teacher on vacation in Sweden recently saw a very rare sight in the wild: an albino reindeer, standing right next to the road.

https://weather.com/science/nature/...om/science/nature/news/albino-reindeer-sweden


----------



## poochee

POLITICS 
*Obama Sang 'Purple Rain' To This Kid Dressed As Prince*
*Does it get any cuter?*
11/01/2016 01:33 pm ET

*VIDEO
*
President Barack Obama, hardcore Prince fan, couldn't help but erupt into song when he encountered a trick-or-treater dressed as the late music icon at a White House Halloween event.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry..._5818c42ce4b0990edc33a892?section=us_politics


----------



## poochee

ARTS & CULTURE 
*The Glorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg Was In An Opera This Weekend*
*Long live Notorious RBG.*
11/14/2016 12:41 pm ET
*Jenna Amatulli*  Trends Editor, The Huffington Post

*PICTURES*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...pera-this-weekend_us_5829ea36e4b0c4b63b0d90eb


----------



## ekim68

Moooving on: Cows stranded by New Zealand quake are rescued



> WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Three New Zealand cows whose predicament captured the interest of many people around the world after they became stranded on a small island of grass following a powerful earthquake have been rescued.
> 
> The Newshub news service reported Tuesday that the two cows and a calf were rescued after a farmer and some helpers dug a track to them and brought them out.


----------



## poochee




----------



## poochee

*'Unadoptable' Sad-Faced Cat Shows That Everyone Deserves A Chance*
*BenBen the cat is now loving life.*
11/19/2016 01:21 pm ET | *Updated* 2 hours ago
*Hilary Hanson*  Viral News Editor, The Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/benben-cat-sad-face_us_582f7fc0e4b099512f82e1fa


----------



## poochee

*Smart Donkey Uses Awesome Problem-Solving Skills To Cross Fence*
*Genius!*
01/07/2017 03:33 am ET | *Updated* 5 hours ago

*VIDEO*

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...us_5870a027e4b099cdb0fd6279?r922lj4jz2vwe9udi


----------



## poochee

*
4-year-old has already read 1,000 books*
USA Today Network Mary Bowerman  , USA TODAY Network Published 1:11 p.m. ET Jan. 12, 2017 | Updated 11 hours ago

A 4-year-old Georgia girl with a voracious appetite for reading was given a chance to be "Librarian For the Day" at the Library of Congress this week.

Daliyah Marie Arana of Gainesville, Ga., has read more than 1,000 books, the_ Gainesville Times _reports.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ear-old-has-already-read-1000-books/96493578/


----------



## 2twenty2

Three white men leave black waitress a $450 tip: 'Not race. Not gender. Just American.'

Amid political tensions, Washington waitress Rosalynd Harris said she was overwhelmed by the kindness of three strangers.

Rosalynd Harris arrived at work on Monday morning still high off the energy from the Women's March. She is a waitress at Busboys and Poets, a Washington restaurant with a distinct social justice mission, and her customers Saturday had been abuzz with an optimism that was contagious.


----------



## poochee

knucklehead said:


> Three white men leave black waitress a $450 tip: 'Not race. Not gender. Just American.'
> 
> Amid political tensions, Washington waitress Rosalynd Harris said she was overwhelmed by the kindness of three strangers.
> 
> Rosalynd Harris arrived at work on Monday morning still high off the energy from the Women's March. She is a waitress at Busboys and Poets, a Washington restaurant with a distinct social justice mission, and her customers Saturday had been abuzz with an optimism that was contagious.


...


----------



## ekim68

Cancer patient left with no trace of disease after being given 18 months to live



> A man who was given just 18 months to live after being diagnosed with cancer has been left with no trace of the disease - after being one of the first in the world to test a new drug.





> They decided to transfer him to the hospital's clinical trials unit, and 12 months ago Bob became one of the first people ever to be treated with the brand new drug, which can't yet be named.


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> Cancer patient left with no trace of disease after being given 18 months to live


...


----------



## poochee

*Bye Bye Bao Bao, America's Favorite Panda*
Fri, Feb 10

*VIDEO*

The Smithsonian National Zoo is saying goodbye to its most famous resident, Bao Bao the panda cub, who is heading to China.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/bye-bye-bao-bao-america-s-favorite-panda-874784323966


----------



## poochee

**
*Watch Ivanka Trump's baby start crawling on the floor of the White House*
Not too many people can say they started crawling inside the White House, but Ivanka Trump's son, Theodore, can add his name to the short list. Watch the video capturing the sweet moment.

*VIDEO*

http://www.today.com/video/watch-iv...-on-the-floor-of-the-white-house-864866883931


----------



## poochee

*Smart Donkey Uses Awesome Problem-Solving Skills To Cross Fence*
*Genius!*
01/07/2017 03:33 am ET | *Updated* Jan 07, 2017

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...fence-italy-video_us_5870a027e4b099cdb0fd6279


----------



## poochee

*Bye-bye, Bao Bao! Beloved giant panda returning home to China*

*VIDEO
*
The popular giant panda, Bao Bao, who was born at the Smithsonian's National Zoo is moving to China Tuesday via a FedEx truck. They begin the special delivery with crowds gathering at the Smithsonian's National Zoo to get a last look at the cute panda.

NBC's Kerry Sanders reports for TODAY.

http://www.today.com/video/bye-bye-bao-bao-beloved-giant-panda-returning-home-to-china-881506371800


----------



## ekim68

Japanese woman kindles organic cultivation among Vietnamese farmers



> The Japanese woman, who has been living in Vietnam for 20 years, began her organic mission in the north. She helped farmers in Hoa Binh, Son La and Hai Phong to grow vegetables without pesticides, then connected them with restaurants in Hanoi via workshops.
> 
> In 2012, once northern farmers recognised the prosperity the cultivation practices could bring, Mayu and her project moved to Ben Tre province in the south.
> 
> The organisation set up a "cow and duck bank" in Binh Dai district, where local farmers could borrow cows and ducks for one year and return the loans with the animals' offspring.


----------



## poochee

CBS/AP March 9, 2017, 2:42 PM
*Good Samaritans save elderly woman from oncoming train in New Jersey*

*SADDLE BROOK, N.J. --* An 89-year-old woman was saved from certain disaster when a pair of Good Samaritans rushed her out of the path of an oncoming train, CBS New York reports.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/good-samaritans-save-elderly-woman-oncoming-train-new-jersey/


----------



## poochee

*Inspiring America: Meet America's Oldest Working Nurse 


VIDEO *

Wed, Mar 22

See See Rigney, 91, has spent 70 years helping patients.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...t-america-s-oldest-working-nurse-904240195800


----------



## poochee

*Watch Injured Shark Ask Divers for Help*
Fri, Mar 24

*VIDEO*

A lemon shark with a hook in its belly nudged a group of divers as if looking for help.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/injured-shark-asks-divers-for-help-906217027526


----------



## poochee

*New Jersey teen gets accepted by all 8 Ivy League schools*
By Doug Criss, CNN
Updated 10:40 PM ET, Tue April 4, 2017

*VIDEO*

*Story highlights*

Ifeoma White-Thorpe hasn't decided which school she'll attend in the fall
High school senior has also been accepted into Stanford
(CNN)Talk about an embarrassment of riches.

A New Jersey teenager has to make a decision soon most high school seniors can only dream of -- deciding on which Ivy League school to attend in the fall. The problem, if you want to call it that, is that she was accepted into all of them._ All eight _of them.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/04/us/teen-ivy-league-trnd/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial


----------



## poochee

*Inspiring America: Neighbors Help Each Other at 'Repair Cafe'*
Tue, Apr 11

*VIDEO *

An unconventional repair shop can be found in the basement of a church in New Paltz, New York, as neighbors help one another fix things for free.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...s-help-each-other-at-repair-cafe-919076931723


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://www.fastcompany.com/40405831/the-pope-opened-a-free-laundromat-for-the-homeless-in-rome']The Pope Opened A Free Laundromat For The Homeless In Rome




> The Pope Francis Laundry is one of a growing number of organizations around the world that are offering some dignity to people sleeping in shelters or on the streets.


 
[/URL]


----------



## poochee

ekim68 said:


> The Pope Opened A Free Laundromat For The Homeless In Rome
> 
> 
> [/URL]



...


----------



## poochee

*Restoring sight to over 4M people*
Eye surgeons Sanduk Ruit and Geoff Tabin, along with the doctors they've trained, have helped restore sight to over 4 million people and aren't finished yet
2017Apr 12
CBS

*VIDEO*

Dr. Ruit, a Nepalese eye surgeon, had been restoring the sight of cataract suffers using a technique that requires no stitches. He met Dr. Tabin, an American eye surgeon and world-renowned mountain climber, and they created the Himalayan Cataract Project. Their revolutionary system goes beyond the surgery. They started a lens factory that produces implants for a fraction of the cost in the U.S. and they have a hospital in Nepal that has trained hundreds of doctors and nurses in their technique. During their visit to Burma, they were able to perform more surgeries in three days than are usually done in a year. They left behind a Burmese team trained in their techniques to carry on the work.

Their focus was originally in the Himalayas, but they have been so successful they renamed their group CureBlindness.org. They've operated in two dozen countries, including North Korea and Ethiopia, restoring sight to 150,000 people. The doctors they've trained have given vision to 4 million others. It's the developing world, but people are getting first-rate treatment says Dr. Tabin "For these advanced cataracts, I'm performing the same quality of surgery that I would be doing in America." Tabin is currently a professor at the University of Utah Medical School in Salt Lake City.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/restoring-sight-to-over-4m-people/


----------



## poochee

*NBC

Inspiring America: Girl Travels Country Hugging Police Officers*
Tue, Jun 13

*VIDEO*

After a 2016 ambush left five police officers dead, 7-year-old Rosalyn Baldwin decided that she needed to show her appreciation to police officers around the country.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...-country-hugging-police-officers-966696515549


----------



## poochee

**
*Airport honors service dog with fabulous retirement party after 5 years on the job*
By JOI-MARIE MCKENZIE
Jun 16, 2017, 11:27 AM ET

*VIDEO*

After years on the job, one lucky dog got the retirement party of a lifetime.

Gema, a service dog who worked at Orlando International Airport for nearly five years, was feted with a party last week.

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/air...lous-retirement-party-years/story?id=48056079


----------



## poochee

*NBC

VIDEO*

*This Food Truck Owner is Delivering Happiness to Hospitalized Children*

Tue, Jun 27

After Becky Nichols' 5-year-old daughter, Libbie, passed away from cancer in 2006, she started a food truck business to cheer up sick children in hospitals.

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...zed-children-977439299602?cid=nl_npd_nn_st_nn


----------



## ekim68

Trainy McTrainface: Swedish rail firm approves name following online poll



> A Swedish rail operator has vowed to name one of its trains Trainy McTrainface after a public vote, saying it would bring joy to people disappointed when Britain rejected the name Boaty McBoatface for a polar research ship following a similar poll.


----------



## poochee

*NBC
This Boston Officer's Vehicle? An Ice Cream Truck*
Tue, Aug 22

*VIDEO*

Officer Kenneth Grubbs and his fellow officers are breaking down walls between police and the communities in some of Boston's most troubled neighborhoods, one scoop at the time.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-new...er-s-vehicle-an-ice-cream-truck-1030198851985


----------



## RT

I reckon when a hurricane floods your home, you either leave, or make the best of it:

Man catches fish in his living room.


----------



## poochee

*This pack of patient dogs loves pancakes as much as we do and it's amazing*

*VIDEO

https://www.today.com/video/this-pa...-much-as-we-do-and-it-s-amazing-1046836291700
*


----------



## ekim68

Chuck Feeney: the billionaire who gave it all away




> Chuck Feeney





> today is a man of no property. He and his wife Helga live in a modest rented apartment in San Francisco. He has no car or luxuries of any kind. Actually, come to think of it, he has a very nice watch. It is plastic and cost about $15.
> 
> There are no trophies or vanity photographs in the apartment to show that he has devoted his $8 billion fortune to making the world a better place.


----------



## 2twenty2

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ars-in-blackhawks-win/?utm_term=.74101155c942



> NHL stunner: A 36-year-old accountant who has never played pro stars in Blackhawks win!
> 
> On Thursday night in the middle of a National Hockey League game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets, an unfamiliar figure in a No. 90 Blackhawks jersey stepped onto the ice at the United Center.
> 
> "Hey, who's this guy?" an announcer joked.
> 
> That guy was Scott Foster, the team's emergency goalie, a 36-year-old accountant who hadn't played in a high-stakes hockey game in more than 10 years.


----------



## ekim68

Customer leaves $2,000 tip at Boka restaurant in Chicago



> While most of us are accustomed to throwing in a 20 percent tip for great food and service, a Seattle man tipped 260 percent Sunday night at Boka.
> 
> "Mike" from Seattle tipped $300 on his $769 meal (or 39 percent) before going into the kitchen and giving each of the 17 kitchen staff members a $100 bill, praising them for the service and food. His last name was unavailable.


----------



## ekim68

CPR Marathon: More Than Two Dozen Responders Resuscitate Neighbor for 96 Minutes



> It's not very often Dr. Roger White uses the word "amazing." But when more than 20 first responders tirelessly performed CPR on a dying man for more than an hour and a half -- and saved his life -- the co-director of the Mayo Clinic's emergency transport team said it was nothing less than remarkable.


----------



## ekim68

He donated blood every week for 60 years and saved the lives of 2.4 million babies



> Most people, when they retire, get a gold watch. James Harrison deserves so much more than that.
> Harrison, known as the "Man With the Golden Arm," has donated blood nearly every week for 60 years.
> After all those donations, the 81-year-old Australian man "retired" Friday. The occasion marked the end of a monumental chapter.
> 
> According to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, he has helped saved the lives of more than 2.4 million Australian babies.
> 
> Harrison's blood has unique, disease-fighting antibodies that have been used to develop an injection called Anti-D, which helps fight against rhesus disease.


----------



## ekim68

Youth football team rescues couple from overturned car



> May 31 (UPI) -- An Idaho youth football team on their way home from winning a championship game stopped in Oregon to rescue two people trapped in an overturned car.


----------



## ekim68

Ugandan inventor wins Africa Prize for bloodless malaria test



> June 14 (UPI) -- A Ugandan inventor has won the Royal Academy of Engineering's prestigious Africa Prize for developing a method of testing for malaria without drawing blood.
> 
> Brian Gitta, 24, became the prize's youngest winner Wednesday after he and his team developed Matibabu, or "medical center" in Swahili, the Royal Academy of Engineering said in a statement.


----------



## ekim68

Leaning Tower of Pisa is leaning less than before, say experts



> Stabilisation work means the Leaning Tower of Pisa is leaning slightly less than it used to, experts have said.
> 
> The tower, which has leaned to one side ever since it began to take shape in 1173, has lost 4cm of its tilt over the past two decades, according to a report from the surveillance group that meets every three months to give updates on the monument's condition.
> 
> "Since restorative work began, the tower is leaning about half a degree less," said Nunziante Squeglia, a geotechnics professor at the University of Pisa who works with the group. "But what counts is the stability of the tower, which is better than initially predicted."


----------



## ekim68

We Asked 105 Experts What Gives Them Hope About the Future



> The following responses are organized by these general themes: Young people (26), technology (19), equity and social justice (18), abstract "big picture" responses (15), human ingenuity (13), human kindness and compassion (10), and critiques of hope (4).


----------



## ekim68

A Christmas Cover Story: 55 Classic Computer and Video Game Magazine Covers


----------



## ekim68

A celebration of vibrant color photography in the 2018 Chromatic Awards


----------



## ekim68

99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn't Hear About in 2018



> For the last 12 months, the global media has been focused on a lot of bad news. But there were other things happening out there too: conservation successes, huge wins for global health, more peace and tolerance, less war and violence, rising living standards, some big clean energy milestones, and a quiet turning of the tide in the fight against plastic. Stories of human progress, that didn't make it into the evening broadcasts, or onto your social media feeds.


----------



## ekim68

The 8-Year-Old Homeless Refugee Chess Champion



> NEW YORK - In a homeless shelter in Manhattan, an 8-year-old boy is walking to his room, carrying an awkward load in his arms, unfazed by screams from a troubled resident. The boy is a Nigerian refugee with an uncertain future, but he is beaming.
> 
> He can't stop grinning because the awkward load is a huge trophy, almost as big as he is. This homeless third-grader has just won his category at the New York state chess championship.


----------



## ekim68

Designing the Butterfly-Friendly City



> One of the exhibits on view at the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, which just opened at the Smithsonian's design museum in New York, is a full-scale section of an architectural facade. For butterflies.
> 
> Designed by the Brooklyn-based architecture and design research group Terreform One, this is a piece of a larger Monarch Sanctuary, representing a "vertical meadow" that could envelope a building. "It has a double-skin system, where the central inner space is a sanctuary to allow monarchs to procreate and re-wild local surroundings," said Mitchell Joachim, director and co-founder of Terreform One. This cavity contains milkweed vines and flowering plants to feed the butterflies at all stages of their life cycle. A special mortar mixture forms the lattice-like design of the habitat, which includes alternative materials to replace some of the Portland cement for a smaller carbon footprint.


----------



## ekim68

Honesty is majority policy in lost wallet experiment



> Here's a moral dilemma: if you find a wallet stuffed with bank notes, do you pocket the cash or track down the owner to return it? We can each speak for ourselves, but now a team of economists have put the unsuspecting public to the test in a mass social experiment involving 17,000 "lost" wallets in 40 countries.
> 
> They found that a majority of people returned the wallets and - contrary to classic economic logic - they were more likely to do so the more money the wallet contained.


----------



## ekim68

Dog ownership associated with longer life, especially among heart attack and stroke survivors



> Dog ownership was associated with a 33% lower risk of early death for heart attack survivors living alone and 27% reduced risk of early death for stroke survivors living alone, compared to people who did not own a dog. Dog ownership was associated with a 24% reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a 31% lower risk of death by heart attack or stroke compared to non-owners.


----------



## steppenwolf

i dont own dog so its not too upbeat


----------



## ekim68

Two of three polio virus strains eradicated marking global milestone



> In a true milestone for humanity, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially announced the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) bringing us one step closer to totally eradicating the infectious disease worldwide. One strain of the virus still remains, with small numbers of cases continuing to be reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan.


----------



## ekim68

Ford to invest $1.45 billion in two Detroit plants, add 3,000 jobs



> (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday it plans to invest more than $1.45 billion at two of its manufacturing facilities in Detroit to make electric, autonomous and sports utility vehicles, and add 3,000 jobs.


----------



## ekim68

99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn't Hear About in 2019



> There were other stories out there, stories of conservation, health, rising living standards, tolerance, peace, cleaner energy and environmental stewardship.


----------



## ekim68

Towering ice palaces at China's Harbin Ice Festival



> The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China held its opening ceremony on Sunday 5 January, amid fireworks and celebrations.


----------



## ekim68

Towering ice palaces at China's Harbin Ice Festival



> The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China held its opening ceremony on Sunday 5 January, amid fireworks and celebrations.



View attachment 273890


----------



## ekim68

Teenager having seizure saved by online gamer - 5,000 miles away in Texas



> The parents of a teenager who suffered a seizure while chatting online have thanked his friend who called emergency services from 5,000 miles away.


----------



## ekim68

[URL='https://earther.gizmodo.com/scotland-is-on-track-to-hit-100-percent-renewable-energ-1841202818']Scotland Is on Track to Hit 100 Percent Renewable Energy This Year, Slàinte Mhath![/URL]



> United Nations scientists have warned that most countries are on track to totally botch the climate goals needed to curb catastrophic global warming. But there's at least one bright spot.
> 
> Scotland is on track to move its energy sector to 100 percent renewables by t he end of this year. That's just in time to host the United Nations' international climate talks in November. At least someone's doing something right.


----------



## ekim68

Paris Museums Put 60,000+ Historic Photos Online, Copyright-Free



> Paris Musées, a group of 14 public museums in Paris, has made a splash by releasing high-res digital images for over 100,000 artworks through a new online portal. All the works were released to the public domain (CC0, or "No Rights Reserved"), and they include 62,599 historic photos by some of the most famous French photographers such as Eugene Atget.


----------



## ekim68

Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain



> Culture connoisseurs, rejoice: The Smithsonian Institution is inviting the world to engage with its vast repository of resources like never before.
> 
> For the first time in its 174-year history, the Smithsonian has released 2.8 million high-resolution two- and three-dimensional images from across its collections onto an open access online platform for patrons to peruse and download free of charge. Featuring data and material from all 19 Smithsonian museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo, the new digital depot encourages the public to not just view its contents, but use, reuse and transform them into just about anything they choose-be it a postcard, a beer koozie or a
> 
> 
> __ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/186688347023920332/
> pair of bootie shorts.


----------



## ekim68

The boss who put everyone on 70K



> In 2015, the boss of a card payments company in Seattle introduced a $70,000 minimum salary for all of his 120 staff - and personally took a pay cut of $1m. Five years later he's still on the minimum salary, and says the gamble has paid off.


----------



## ekim68

The Humpback Whale is Recovering



> This precious whale was brought to the edge of extinction. Campaigns to save them began in the 1970s. They were placed on endangered species lists. Commercial whaling was banned. This gave them space to recover.


----------



## ekim68

Deep sea expedition uncovers 30 new species, plus longest-known animal 



> Forget space - the oceans are Earth's final frontier. Even after centuries of exploration we're still only just scratching the surface of what lives down there. The latest case in point is a diving expedition off the coast of Western Australia, which has discovered up to 30 new species plus what may be the longest animal ever recorded.


----------



## ekim68

Lighten up.... 


This Couple Decided To Recreate 21 Famous Movies While In Lockdown And Completely Nailed It


----------



## ekim68

10 kinds of apples that were thought to be extinct have been rediscovered



> Ten apple varieties that were thought to be extinct have been recovered thanks to a non-profit group of apple hunters*.*


----------



## ekim68

In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S.



> WASHINGTON - The United States is on track to produce more electricity this year from renewable power than from coal for the first time on record, new government projections show, a transformation partly driven by the coronavirus pandemic, with profound implications in the fight against climate change.


----------



## ekim68

From homeless refugee to chess prodigy, 9-year-old dreams of becoming youngest grandmaster



> Thanks to his chess aptitude, Tani has won awards, appeared on talk shows and in newspapers, and moved his family into a home.


----------



## ekim68

With Flights Banned, Son Sails Solo Across Atlantic to Reach Father, 90



> BUENOS AIRES - Days after Argentina canceled all international passenger flights to shield the country from the new coronavirus, Juan Manuel Ballestero began his journey home the only way possible: He stepped aboard his small sailboat for what turned out to be an 85-day odyssey across the Atlantic.


----------



## ekim68

Inmate backed by WNBA star Maya Moore released from Missouri prison



> Maya Moore's quest to see Jonathan Irons walk free from Missouri's Jefferson City Correctional Center was realized on Wednesday.
> 
> Moore, who put her WNBA career with the Minnesota Lynx on hold in 2019 to help Irons have his conviction for burglary and assault with a weapon overturned, was among those greeting Irons outside the prison.


----------



## ekim68

Eighth grader builds IBM Watson-powered AI chatbot for students making college plans



> A bored 13-year-old from New Jersey used COVID-19 isolation to take an online IBM class, and within two weeks created and launched Rita, a fully functional chatbot.


----------



## ekim68

Fish reef domes a boon for environment, recreational fishing 



> In a boost for both recreational fishing and the environment, new UNSW research shows that artificial reefs can increase fish abundance in estuaries with little natural reef.
> 
> Researchers installed six manmade reefs per estuary studied and found overall fish abundance increased up to 20 times in each reef across a two-year period.


----------



## ekim68

This Old Man Just Rode His 100,000th Mile



> Bob Mettauer took up cycling when he retired in the 1990s. Ever since then, he has been logging his miles, and he has committed to ride nine miles with his bike every day, no matter the weather. Now, almost 30 years since that fateful day, the 95-year old man from California, known to neighbors as "Bicycle Bob", logged his 100,000th mile of cycling.


----------



## ekim68

Africa declared free of wild polio in 'milestone'



> Nigeria is the last African country to be declared free from wild polio, having accounted for more than half of all global cases less than a decade ago.


----------



## ekim68

Painting with light: Novel nanopillars precisely control intensity of transmitted light



> By shining white light on a glass slide stippled with millions of tiny titanium dioxide pillars, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their collaborators have reproduced with astonishing fidelity the luminous hues and subtle shadings of "Girl With a Pearl Earring," Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece. The approach has potential applications in improving optical communications and making currency harder to counterfeit.


----------



## ekim68

LED face mask speaks when you do and flashes smiles on demand



> Given the state of the world at the moment, it looks like face masks are here to stay for a while yet - so you might as well have some fun with them. An indie game maker is now launching the JabberMask, a voice-activated wearable packed with LEDs that move like a mouth in time with your speech, or can smile or display emojis on demand.


----------



## ekim68

But of course... 


Older people today are smarter, stronger and faster than 30 years ago 



> A compelling new study from researchers in Finland has compared the physical and cognitive performance of a group of older people in 2017 with a similarly aged group three decades earlier. Improvements were seen in almost every test, suggesting progress has been made extending healthspan, the number of healthy years a person lives.


----------



## ekim68

This $1 hearing aid could treat millions with hearing loss



> As an undergraduate in Mumbai, India, Saad Bhamla wanted to do something nice for his maternal grandparents: Buy them a pair of hearing aids. But the prices were shockingly high-and far beyond his means. Now, 15 years later, the bioengineer has invented a device to help grandparents across the globe: a do-it-yourself hearing aid made from inexpensive, easy-to-find parts. The no-frills device, described in a new study, could help restore hearing to millions suffering from age-related hearing loss-for less than the price of a bottle of water.


----------



## ekim68

Brainiacs, not birdbrains: Crows possess higher intelligence long thought a primarily human attribute



> Whether crows, ravens, and other "corvids" are making multipart tools like hooked sticks to reach grubs, solving geometry puzzles made famous by Aesop, or nudging a clueless hedgehog across a highway before it becomes roadkill, they have long impressed scientists with their intelligence and creativity.
> 
> Now the birds can add one more feather to their brainiac claims: Research unveiled on Thursday in Science finds that crows know what they know and can ponder the content of their own minds, a manifestation of higher intelligence and analytical thought long believed the sole province of humans and a few other higher mammals.


----------



## ekim68

Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days



> Rapid Rejuvenation of Mental Faculties in Aged Mice Implicates Reversible Physiological 'Blockage' Behind Age-Related Cognitive Losses


----------



## ekim68

Battery prices have fallen 88 percent over the last decade



> The average cost of a lithium-ion battery pack fell to $137 per kWh in 2020, according to a new industry survey from BloombergNEF. That's an inflation-adjusted decline of 13 percent since 2019. The latest figures continue the astonishing progress in battery technology over the last decade, with pack prices declining 88 percent since 2010.


----------



## ekim68

Renewable energy production beat fossil fuels in Europe



> Renewable energy became the biggest source of electricity in the European Union in 2020, beating fossil fuels for the first time. Germany and Spain also hit that milestone individually last year - so did the UK, which officially left the EU in January 2020.


----------



## ekim68

Two more coma patients' brains jump-started with ultrasound



> Five years ago, we heard how a team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) had used ultrasound to seemingly "jump start" a patient out of a coma. At the time, the scientists wondered if such results could be repeated, or if their success was just a one-off. They have now done it two more times.


----------



## Wino

Dove tails with

https://www.urologytimes.com/view/shock-wave-therapy-ed-cure-or-unproven-treatment

Local urologist says 6 weeks of treatment, once a week at $350 per / $2,100.00. Like injecting bleach or shoving UV lights where the sun don't shine, I'd expect some goof to try using a hammer.


----------



## ekim68

There's a Curious Effect Urban Trees Might Have on Depression, Study Finds



> There's already a long list of reasons to like trees, we know. Warding off depression could be the latest entry on that list, based on a study of 9,751 residents in Leipzig, Germany.


----------



## ekim68

Artificial aorta takes pressure off the heart to reduce transplants



> When the heart is injured it can't repair itself, meaning that heart failure often requires a transplant of the whole organ. But now, scientists at EPFL have developed an artificial aorta that can help pump blood, taking some of the pressure off the heart and reducing or even eliminating the need for a transplant.


----------



## Brigham

One of the reasons for high blood pressure is that as we get older, the great vessels as they are called, tend to stiffen. If this is not treated the end result can be death. Another way to reduce transplants would be to try to reduce the stiffening. Diet can reduce the atheroma that is the main cause of hardened arteries.


----------



## Wino

Thank goodness for modern medications to help prevent or reduce hypertension.


----------



## ekim68

How one tiny country is beating the pandemic and climate change



> The small Himalayan country of Bhutan, mainly known for measuring national happiness instead of GDP, is the only carbon-negative country on the planet. Believe it or not, it has only had _one single_ death from COVID-19. Is that a coincidence?


----------



## ekim68

A good read.... 


NASA Sent a Secret Message to Mars. Meet the People Who Decoded It.



> Engineers hinted they had hidden a code in the parachute that landed the Perseverance rover. Within hours, puzzle enthusiasts cracked it.


----------



## ekim68

Experimental Alzheimer's drug could slow cognitive decline in patients, early results suggest



> Eli Lilly and Company's experimental intravenous drug donanemab could slow the cognitive decline of patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to early clinical trial results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Saturday
> 
> The study included 257 patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease; 131 received donanemab, while 126 received a placebo. The researchers found donanemab slowed the decline of cognition and daily function in Alzheimer's patients by 32% after 76 weeks, compared to those who received a placebo.


----------



## ekim68

Studies suggest nature sounds improve your health



> A new study by researchers at Carleton University, Michigan State University and Colorado State University, in conjunction with the US National Park Service has found that the sounds of nature are not only pleasant, but can have a variety of health benefits for humans - though finding these sounds isn't always easy.
> 
> If there's one thing that makes life more enjoyable, it's being able to commune with nature. A walk in the woods can be both stimulating and soothing at the same time, while the mind is given a chance to wander from the stresses of the day. Now a metastudy of 36 publications suggests that nature sounds are not only a boon for budding Shelleys and Wordsworths, but they can have positive effects on people's health.


----------



## ekim68

Solar Is Cheapest Electricity In History, U.S. DOE Aims To Cut Costs 60% By 2030



> For starters, though, let's take a look at this beautiful graphic below showing the average costs of solar modules in the U.S. from 2006 through 2019 (graph on right) and U.S. solar module shipments from 2006 through 2019 (chart on left):
> 
> 
> 
> Impressive, no? Yet there's still room to improve, and the US Department of Energy (DOE) would like to do so.


----------



## ekim68

30 Of The Best Nature Photos From The Tokyo International Foto Awards


----------



## ekim68

Singapore Shows What Serious Urban Farming Looks Like



> From what was once Singapore's largest prison complex - the Queenstown Remand Prison, housing about 1,000 inmates at its peak - an 8,000 square meter urban farm, Edible Garden City (EGC), now bursts with colorful vegetables and fragrant herbs. Co-founded by local resident Bjorn Low in 2012, EGC is one of Singapore's first urban farming initiatives and is located inside the former prison compound. It is one of several efforts in the city-state to strengthen the island's food security at a grassroots level. "Our goal was and is to encourage more locals to grow their own food and thus help strengthen the city's food resilience," says Sarah Rodriguez, EGC's head of marketing.


----------



## ekim68

Injectable gel found to help reinforce and resurface joint cartilage



> Once it's been injured, the protective cartilage in our knees and other joints heals very slowly - if at all. A new injectable gel, however, could both reinforce the tissue after it's been damaged, _and_ encourage new cartilage to grow over top of it.
> 
> Currently being developed by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, the hydrogel contains a modified form of a gooey substance known as hyaluronic acid, which is produced naturally by the body's connective tissue. In recent years, the acid has also been experimentally used to ward off glaucoma, heal damaged cardiac tissue, and refill herniated spinal discs.


----------



## ekim68

Joanne Chory is using
plants to save the planet



> The world was running out of time, and so was Joanne Chory.
> 
> The 63-year-old biologist was nearing the end of a distinguished career researching how plants grow. Now she'd won the most prestigious honor in her field, the Breakthrough Foundation's life sciences prize, which came with a $3 million check and an opportunity to address inventors and well-heeled donors at a glitzy Silicon Valley awards ceremony in December 2017.


----------



## ekim68

Granted it was only for four seconds, but that's a start... 


California just hit 95% renewable energy. Will other states come along for the ride?



> Something remarkable happened over the weekend: California hit nearly 95% renewable energy.
> 
> *I'll say it again: 95% renewables.* For all the time we spend talking about how to reach 100% clean power, it sometimes seems like a faraway proposition, whether the timeframe is California's 2045 target or President Biden's more aggressive 2035 goal. But on Saturday just before 2:30 p.m., one of the world's largest economies came within a stone's throw of getting there.


----------



## ekim68

Entire U.S. West Coast Now Covered By Earthquake Early Warning System



> Residents living on the West Coast don't know when the next earthquake will hit. But a new expansion of the U.S. earthquake early warning system gives 50 million people in California, Oregon - and now Washington - seconds to quickly get to safety whenever the next one hits.
> 
> As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, cellphone users in California, Oregon and Washington should receive a mobile alert from the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system when tremors are detected. Alerts are sent from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Wireless Emergency Alert system, third-party phone apps and other technologies.


----------



## ekim68

Despite Chip Shortage, Chip Innovation Is Booming



> While a variety of industries struggle with supplies, semiconductor experts say there are plenty of new ideas and, most surprising, start-ups.


----------



## 2twenty2

> 'BUCKTOOTH BANDITS': RCMP trace stolen lumber to beaver dam
> "Who could really blame these little bucktooth bandits, considering the price of wood these days?"


https://torontosun.com/news/weird/bucktooth-bandits-rcmp-trace-stolen-lumber-to-beaver-dam


----------



## ekim68

Australia Just Broke a Major Record For New Solar Panel Roof Installations



> Australia, one of the world-leaders in household rooftop solar panel uptake, has once again broken its own record for the number of solar panels installed in a year. In 2020, installations were up nearly 30 percent from the year before, according to an analysis from Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.
> 
> The data, compiled by energy efficiency experts and reported in a CSIRO statement, come from Australia's Clean Energy Regulator, a national body tasked with reducing the country's carbon emissions and accelerating its use of clean energy.
> 
> It shows that while their federal government leaders are lagging behind on climate action, everyday Australians are doubling down on renewable energy, installing more rooftop solar panels than ever before and beefing up the size of their rooftop arrays.


----------



## ekim68

University cancels $700,000 in debt for graduates affected by pandemic



> Delaware State University is cancelling more than $700,000 in student loans for recent graduates hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
> 
> DSU will cancel $730,655 for more than 220 people, the school announced this week.


----------



## ekim68

Irish cyber-attack: Hackers bail out Irish health service for free



> Hackers responsible for causing widespread disruption to the Irish health system have unexpectedly gifted it with the tool to help it recover.


----------



## ekim68

Beer brewing waste shown to help kill crop-harming parasites



> Although the use of conventional pesticides is harmful to the environment, farmers still need a way of keeping crop-damaging organisms at bay. According to a new study, an eco-friendly combination of agricultural and beer brewing waste products may be able to help.
> 
> When the oil is extracted from harvested rapeseed plants (aka canola), a solid byproduct known as rapeseed cake is left over. Likewise, after the sugars have been extracted from grains in the commercial beer brewing process, a byproduct called bagasse is created.


----------



## ekim68

Whale that travelled halfway around the world sets migration record



> Between May and July of 2013, a single grey whale (_Eschrichtius robustus_) was spotted off the coast of Namibia. This was odd, as while there have been rare sightings of this species in the Atlantic Ocean, they are usually confined to the northern hemisphere.
> 
> It turns out the animal had travelled at least 20,000 kilometres - halfway around the planet - setting a record for a migration of any mammal, barring humans.


----------



## ekim68

Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enough to be rolled out



> A simple blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer before any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease emerge in a person is accurate enough to be rolled out as a screening test, according to scientists.


----------



## ekim68

He Inherited A Devastating Disease. A CRISPR Gene-Editing Breakthrough Stopped



> Patrick Doherty volunteered for a new medical intervention of gene-editor infusions for the treatment of genetically-based diseases.


----------



## ekim68

Planting trees in Europe could lead to more rainfall



> A combined team of researchers from ETH Zurich, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science and Newcastle University, has found via statistical analysis and modeling that rainfall in Europe could be increased by planting more trees. In their paper published in the journal _Nature Geoscience,_ the group describes using data from rain gauges across Europe to build their models. Jessica Baker with the University of Leeds has published a News & Views piece in the same journal issue outlining the work done by the team on this new effort.


----------



## ekim68

Apple Watch credited with saving man's life after fall



> Luckily, Schneider was wearing an Apple Watch. The device's fall detection feature recognized the event and alerted emergency services, as well as his father who was with him at the time.
> 
> "My Apple Watch detected a hard fall, and I did not respond to the like haptic message that requires a response and 45 seconds," Schneider said.


----------



## ekim68

Man successfully hunts down stolen scooter using Apple AirTags



> When Dan Guido's electric scooter was stolen on the night of Aug. 2, he didn't accept defeat. The cybersecurity CEO, located in Brooklyn, New York, had hidden two Apple AirTags inside the black scooter, concealed with black duct tape. He set out the next day to locate the vehicle with help from the little Bluetooth trackers. Spoiler alert: He succeeded.


----------



## ekim68

First "fossil-free" steel delivered to Volvo in Sweden



> A milestone in decarbonization today as Sweden's SSAB made the world's very first "fossil-free" steel delivery, created with green hydrogen instead of coal and coke, to a customer, Volvo, where it will be used in electric trucks.


----------



## ekim68

Harvard's 3D-printed eardrum repair patch is ready for market 



> Perforations in the eardrum lead to pain and impaired hearing, and can be tricky to repair. The PhonoGraft, developed by Harvard scientists, is a 3D-printed implant that can patch up the damage by encouraging natural cells to regrow, and now it's entered commercial production.


----------



## ekim68

40 Ways Things Are Getting Better



> "What has gotten materially better in America in, say, the last twenty years?" David Walsh, a University of Virginia postdoctoral fellow, casually asked on Twitter yesterday.
> 
> Hundreds of responses poured in, citing everything from consumer goods to medical treatments to cultural attitudes, laws, and Brussels sprouts.


----------



## ekim68

Amazon to cover 100% of college tuition for U.S. hourly employees



> Amazon said Thursday it will offer to pay 100% of college tuition for its 750,000 U.S. hourly employees.
> 
> The e-commerce giant is following the lead of other large U.S. companies that are dangling perks such as education benefits or more pay to woo workers in a tight job market.


----------



## ekim68

This tool will tell you where to see peak fall foliage across the country



> If you're not already a fan of the map, here's why we're excited for its annual release. The interactive tool from SmokyMountains.com, the tourism site for the Smoky Mountain region, helps us predict when peak fall will happen, county by county, for the entire United States.


----------



## ekim68

Atari ST in daily use since 1985 to run campground



> Here's an Atari ST that's been in daily use since 1985 as a general-purpose business machine at a campground, complete with software written by its single careful owner, Frans Bos. Victor Bart interviews him about his decades of happy computing.


----------



## ekim68

Grocery Store Opens 'Chat Registers' for Lonely Customers



> A Dutch supermarket chain says it will introduce 200 "chat registers" in its stores for customers who aren't in a hurry and want to have a chat during checkout.
> 
> The initiative, announced by the popular supermarket chain Jumbo on Monday, is meant to combat loneliness-especially in the country's elderly population.


----------



## ekim68

Ocean Cleanup's supersized system proves its worth with "massive" haul



> Back in August, the Ocean Cleanup Project returned to the waters of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a redesigned trash-collecting system that was its largest yet. This upsized approach appears to be paying some dividends, with System 002's final phase of testing hailed a success and marked by a "massive" haul of plastic waste.


----------



## ekim68

Drones Have Now Been Used to Deliver Lungs for Medical Transplant



> The world's first drone delivery of lungs has gone down in history as a success. Unither Bioélectronique, a bioengineering firm focused on organ transportation, recently completed a "proof-of-concept" flight in which a pair of human lungs were shipped via drone to the transplant site in about six minutes.


----------



## ekim68

The best of the Pano Awards - the world's most spectacular photo contest  *








*


----------



## ekim68

"Soaked," "sinful," and "yum-a-licious": here are Cheesecake Factory's 42 approved adjectives



> WSJ got its hands on Cheesecake Factory's 500-page operations manual, which includes approved descriptive words for cheesecake.


----------



## ekim68

3D-printed calcium carbonate coral skeletons could help restore reefs



> Living coral reefs consist of rigid porous "skeletons" inhabited by the tiny coral polyps that built them. A new research project aims to restore damaged reefs faster than ever, utilizing 3D-printed skeletons made of the same material as the real thing.


----------



## 2twenty2

How a made-in-Canada distress signal may have helped save the life of a North Carolina teen
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-distress-signal-teen-north-carolina-kentucky-1.6241242


----------



## ekim68

Intel marks 50 years since the launch of the first commercially available microprocessor



> Intel is celebrating 50 years since the launch of the Intel 4004, the world's first commercially available microprocessor that would be the basis for future chips that are used in computers and phones today as well as more cutting edge technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices.


 *







*


----------



## ekim68

UN to Elon Musk: Here's that $6 billion plan to fight world hunger



> The director of the United Nations' World Food Programme laid out a plan to spend $6.6 billion to combat world hunger - a direct response to a back-and-forth with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed he would sell Tesla stock to fund a plan if the WFP could describe "exactly how" it would work.


----------



## ekim68

Ultrashort laser pulses shred superbugs without harming human cells 



> Antibiotics were one of the most important inventions of the 20th century, but their effectiveness is plummeting as bacteria develop resistance to them. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have shown that ultrashort pulses of laser light can kill bacteria and viruses, without harming human cells.


----------



## ekim68

Bee study identifies gut bacteria that can improve memory



> Experiments on bees revealed a specific species of gut bacteria can enhance the insects' memory performance, and the researchers think this mechanism could translate to humans


----------



## ekim68

British man given 3D printed eye in world first, hospital says



> A British man has become the first patient in the world to be fitted with a 3D printed eye, according to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
> 
> Steve Verze, who is 47 and an engineer from Hackney, east London, was given the left eye on Thursday and first tried it for size earlier this month.


----------



## ekim68

More on eyes..


"Sight"-restoring bionic eye proceeds along the path to human trials 



> There may be new hope for people with certain types of blindness, as an experimental sight-restoring device has been deemed safe for implantation. It still has to be tested on humans, though, and it will likely provide a fairly rudimentary form of vision.
> 
> Known as the Phoenix99 Bionic Eye, the prosthesis is currently being developed by scientists at Australia's University of Sydney and University of New South Wales. It's intended for use on patients with blindness caused by degenerative conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, in which the retina is compromised but the optic nerve remains intact.


----------



## ekim68

Giant Kites That Drag Cargo Ships Across Oceans Go on Trial



> At the start of next year, the Ville de Bordeaux, a 154-meter-long ship that moves aircraft components for Airbus SE, will unfurl a 500 square meter kite on journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. It will undergo six months of trials and tests before full deployment.


----------



## ekim68

Plant extract could treat malaria when conventional drugs fail 



> For many years now, people in parts of Africa have used a tea made from the crushed leaves of a certain plant to treat malaria. Scientists recently identified the active ingredient, and believe that it could be used in alternative pharmaceutical treatments for the disease.
> 
> The plant in question is a member of the buttercup family - its scientific name is _Ranunculus multifidus_. When it gets injured and the insides of its cells get exposed to the air, it produces a compound known as anemonin. It is _this_ chemical that was found to be effective against malaria.


----------



## ekim68

"Wind turbine wall" turns power generation into an aesthetic feature


----------



## ekim68

The Most Popular Movie the Year You Were Born



> While adorable, babies have only a dim comprehension of the world around them. They certainly don't have awareness of the highest-grossing movie the year they were born. In case you're older-and curious-take a look at the movies that made the most money (domestically and typically adjusted for inflation) for each of the past 72 years.


----------



## ekim68

CD Sales Have Increased for the First Time in 17 Years



> CD sales have increased for the first time in 17 years, _Billboard_ reports. The year-end statistics, courtesy of MRC Data, state that compact disc sales reached 40.59 million units last year, up 1.1% from 40.16 million units in 2020.


----------



## ekim68

How Norway Popularized an Ultra-Sustainable Heating Method



> No other country has more heat pumps per capita, a cheap, highly efficient tool to keep homes warm - and carbon footprints small.


----------



## ekim68

This 22-year-old builds chips in his parents' garage



> In August, chipmaker Intel revealed new details about its plan to build a "mega-fab" on US soil, a $100 billion factory where 10,000 workers will make a new generation of powerful processors studded with billions of transistors. The same month, 22-year-old Sam Zeloof announced his own semiconductor milestone. It was achieved alone in his family's New Jersey garage, about 30 miles from where the first transistor was made at Bell Labs in 1947.
> 
> With a collection of salvaged and homemade equipment, Zeloof produced a chip with 1,200 transistors. He had sliced up wafers of silicon, patterned them with microscopic designs using ultraviolet light, and dunked them in acid by hand, documenting the process on YouTube and his blog. "Maybe it's overconfidence, but I have a mentality that another human figured it out, so I can, too, even if maybe it takes me longer," he says.


----------



## PeterOz

ekim68 said:


> Plant extract could treat malaria when conventional drugs fail


That's why with have Gin and Tonics


----------



## ekim68

The conventional drugs, eh?


----------



## ekim68

"Pain pathway" a promising new drug target to treat osteoarthritis pain



> Osteoarthritis can be a debilitating disease, rendering regular movements painful. Researchers have now identified a signaling pathway that transmits this pain, with a study in mice finding that normal limb use returned after this pathway was blocked. The work could lead to new pain treatments for patients with osteoarthritis.


----------



## ekim68

Stem cell rejuvenation helps immunotherapy fight cancer tirelessly



> Immunotherapy is a promising new form of cancer treatment, but the supercharged immune cells it employs can become exhausted in the fight. Researchers in Japan have found a way to keep them going for longer, by rejuvenating them with stem cells.


----------



## ekim68

Regular exercise found to help fight off dry and itchy eyes 



> While we know exercise can benefit our wellbeing in all sorts of ways, improved ocular health is probably not something most would associate with a bout of physical activity. A new study has uncovered some useful new insights in this space, suggesting that regular exercise can promote hydration and help ward off dry and itchy eyes.


----------



## ekim68

Next-generation spinal implants help people with severe paralysis walk, cycle, and swim



> Three men paralyzed in motorcycle accidents have become the first success stories for a new spinal stimulation device that could enable faster and easier recoveries than its predecessors. The men, who had no sensation or control over their legs, were able to take supported steps within 1 day of turning on the electrical stimulation, and could stroll outside with a walker after a few months, researchers report today. The nerve-stimulating device doesn't cure spinal cord injury, and it likely won't eliminate wheelchair use, but it raises hopes that the assistive technology is practical enough for widespread use.


----------



## ekim68

AI-enabled drones will tell human teams where to find marine debris



> Marine debris is a huge problem, both when it's floating at sea and when it gets washed up on the shore. In order to locate the latter for removal, scientists are now developing artificially intelligent drones which will spot human-made beach trash from the air.
> 
> The research project began in June 2020, and runs through to the end of this May. It's being led by researchers from Oregon State University, along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.


----------



## ekim68

Training exercise turns into real-life rescue for Missouri firefighters, video shows



> Firefighters in Missouri quickly put their new skills to use on Tuesday, Feb. 8 while saving two teenagers after completing water rescue training.
> 
> Video from the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District in the St. Louis area shows firefighters on Creve Coeur Lake working on ice rescue training when the camera pans to another location on the lake.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists identify how caffeine reduces bad cholesterol 



> Your morning vice might not be that guilty a pleasure after all: coffee seems to have a range of health benefits, but exactly how it affects the body to produce these results remains unknown. A new study has identified specific proteins that caffeine works on, which help the liver remove bad cholesterol from the bloodstream and protect against cardiovascular disease.


----------



## ekim68

Children may instinctively know how to do division even before hitting the books, study finds



> We often think of multiplication and division as calculations that need to be taught in school. But a large body of research suggests that, even before children begin formal education, they possess intuitive arithmetic abilities.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists make bioactive glass 100 times more lethal to bacteria



> For some time now, an antimicrobial material known as bioactive glass has been put forward for use in applications such as medical implants, hospital surfaces and wound dressings. Now, scientists report that they have boosted its bacteria-killing effect by over 100 times.


----------



## ekim68

Potato farmers conquer a devastating worm-with paper made from bananas



> Potato cyst nematodes are a clever pest. These microscopic worms wriggle through the soil, homing in the roots of young potato plants and cutting harvests by up to 70%. They are challenging to get rid of, too: The eggs are protected inside the mother's body, which toughens after death into a cyst that can survive in the soil for years.
> 
> Now, researchers have shown a simple pouch made of paper created from banana tree fibers disrupts the hatching of cyst nematodes and prevents them from finding the potato roots. The new technique has boosted yields fivefold in trials with small-scale farmers in Kenya, where the pest has recently invaded, and could dramatically reduce the need for pesticides. The strategy may benefit other crops as well.


----------



## ekim68

UN endorses historic global resolution to "End Plastic Pollution" 



> The more we learn about the magnitude of plastic pollution contaminating the planet's rivers, oceans, and even its mountaintops, the more pressing the need becomes for wide-ranging and coordinated action. In what is being hailed as a historic day, global leaders at the UN Environmental Assembly have endorsed a first-of-a-kind resolution that addresses the full lifecycle of the material to reduce its growing impacts on the natural world.


----------



## ekim68

Injectable hydrogel could save injured joints from osteoarthritis 



> Where much of the osteoarthritis experienced by more than 32 million Americans is brought on by gradual wear and tear on the joints, some is triggered by injuries to the articular cartilage that covers the ends of the bones. Scientists have developed an injectable gel that can prevent this form of osteoarthritis taking hold, by allowing for sustained delivery of drugs in the damaged joints to keep inflammation at bay.


----------



## ekim68

"Tiny skyscraper" electrodes boost bioenergy output of blue-green algae



> Scientists have long studied the abilities of photosynthetic bacteria that turn sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into energy, and by giving these communities a home likened to a high-rise apartment block, a team has broken new ground in this space. These tiny grids of "nano-housing" create the optimal environment to not just foster the rapid growth of these bacteria, but take their energy-harvesting potential to new heights.


----------



## ekim68

Simple fix helps perovskite solar cells withstand the Sun



> Perovskite materials are quickly emerging as a promising candidate for solar cells, but one of their major downsides is that they can degrade in direct sunlight. Researchers at UCLA have now uncovered a root cause of the problem, and found a simple fix that can be applied during the manufacturing process.


----------



## ekim68

Enzyme blocker could open new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases



> Researchers have uncovered how a certain molecular pathway triggers the breakdown of nerve fibers in neurodegenerative diseases - and more importantly, how to potentially switch it off. The find could lead to a new class of drugs that slows the progression of these debilitating disorders.


----------



## ekim68

Study suggests blueberry extract could help heal chronic wounds



> For some time now, blueberries have been claimed to slow the progression of memory loss. A new study now suggests that compounds found in the berries may also help heal chronic wounds such as diabetes-related skin pressure ulcers.


----------



## ekim68

Diabetes successfully treated using ultrasound in preclinical study 



> Promising new research has raised the possibility of treating type 2 diabetes without drugs. Across three different animal models researchers have demonstrated how short bursts of ultrasound targeted at specific clusters of nerves in the liver can effectively lower insulin and glucose levels.


----------



## ekim68

Alzheimer's-preventing nasal spray targets novel brain mechanism



> An international team of researchers has reported on the successful preclinical tests of a novel nasal spray developed to prevent neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease. The treatment was effective at reversing the pathological signs of Alzheimer's in mouse models and the researchers are looking to start human tests in two years.


----------



## ekim68

US wind energy just hit a major milestone



> As E&E reporter Ben Storrow noted and the EIA confirmed, wind turbines last Tuesday generated over 2,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, edging out electricity generated by nuclear and coal (but still trailing behind natural gas).
> 
> Last year, wind was the fourth-largest electricity source behind natural gas, coal, and nuclear, generating close to 380 terawatt-hours for the entire year, according to the EIA. For context, a terawatt is a thousand times bigger than a gigawatt.


----------



## ekim68

Scientists show that forgetting does not reverse the learning process



> In a new study, the scientists using C. elegans worms, a model organism for brain research, found that forgetting doesn't reverse changes in the brain resulting from learning or erase them, as some theories suggest.
> 
> Instead, forgetting generates a novel brain state that's different from either the one before the learning happened or the one that exists while the learned behavior is still remembered. In other words, what is forgotten doesn't completely go away and can be reactivated with a kind of jump start.


----------



## ekim68

Implanted generator could use ultrasound to charge pacemaker batteries



> When a pacemaker's battery gets low, the whole implant typically has to be surgically replaced. Scientists are therefore developing a noninvasive battery recharging system, which utilizes externally applied ultrasound.


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## renegade600

Wonder how long it will be before becoming mainstream.



> "Cash in hand" could soon take on a whole new meaning as a tech company has found a way for shoppers to utilize a contactless payment system via a microchip that is implanted into their hands.


https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/hand-implanted-microchip-could-change-contactless-payments


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## ekim68

Brilliant Planet plans cheap, gigaton-scale carbon capture using algae



> London startup Brilliant Planet believes it has a carbon capture and sequestration model that ticks all the boxes, promising scalability up to billions of tons per year, near-negligible energy requirements, and costs around one tenth of current direct air capture. It relies on natural processes, uses low-cost coastal desert land, and has the side benefit of de-acidifying seawater as it goes, so the ocean itself can become a more effective carbon sink.


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## ekim68

Fast-acting enzyme breaks down plastics in as little as 24 hours 



> The idea of deploying enzymes to break down plastic waste is gaining momentum through a string of breakthroughs demonstrating how they can do so with increasing efficiency, and even reduce the material to simple molecules. A new study marks yet another step forward, with scientists leveraging machine learning to engineer an enzyme that degrades some forms of plastic in just 24 hours, with a stability that makes it well-suited to large-scale adoption.


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## renegade600

ekim68 said:


> Fast-acting enzyme breaks down plastics in as little as 24 hours


Why does the Andromeda Strain movie from the 70's come to mind?


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## ekim68

Google makes $100,000 worth of tech training free to every U.S. business



> OAKLAND, Calif., May 2 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google will provide any U.S. business over $100,000 worth of online courses in data analytics, design and other tech skills for their workers free of charge, the search company said on Monday.
> 
> The offer marks a big expansion of Google's Career Certificates, a program the company launched in 2018 to help people globally boost their resumes by learning new tools at their own pace.


----------



## ekim68

"Master" switch for ear cell programming offers new hope for hearing loss



> Scientists studying the mechanisms behind deafness have pinpointed a single gene they describe as a type of master switch for cell differentiation, opening up exciting new possibilities around restoration of hearing. The discovery is claimed to "overcome a major hurdle" in the field, and lays the basis for therapies that tackle a common cause of irreversible hearing loss.


----------



## ekim68

MAGIC AI goggles being developed to assist combat medics



> DARPA has selected Raytheon BBN to lead a team to develop an augmented reality device that can act as a virtual assistant for combat medics, guiding them through 50 different medical procedures using artificial intelligence.


----------



## ekim68

A handful of blueberries a day could keep dementia at bay



> New research from the University of Cincinnati has found daily consumption of blueberries in middle-age could reduce a person's risk of cognitive decline in their later years. The small human trial identified several physiological and cognitive improvements after 12 weeks of daily blueberry supplements.
> 
> The health benefits of blueberries are well known. From wound-healing properties to memory boosting, blueberries are incredibly nutrient-dense little packets.


----------



## ekim68

Solar-powered desalination device wins MIT $100K competition



> The winner of this year's MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition is commercializing a new water desalination technology.
> 
> Nona Desalination says it has developed a device capable of producing enough drinking water for 10 people at half the cost and with 1/10th the power of other water desalination devices. The device is roughly the size and weight of a case of bottled water and is powered by a small solar panel.


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## ekim68

Waste plastics from old cars "flashed" into graphene to go in new cars



> If humanity is ever going to curb our waste problem, we'll need to get creative with recycling and reusing materials. In a new study, researchers at Rice University and Ford's Research and Innovation Center have demonstrated how waste plastic from old cars could be used to make graphene foam that can then be used in new cars.
> 
> The study advances a technique called flash joule heating, which the Rice team first demonstrated in 2020 to make graphene out of waste materials like food scraps, plastic and old tires. The waste materials are ground into a powder, then zapped with a high voltage to heat them to between 2,027 °C and 2,727 °C (3,680 °F and 4,940 °F). That rapidly converts the carbon in the material to graphene flakes, while other elements are vaporized into gases that can be collected and used in other industrial processes.


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## ekim68

Where Elements Come From 



> Some of the wonks at NASA have updated the table to show where each element comes from cosmologically. I find it amazing we know this.


----------



## ekim68

NYC Cancer Trial Delivers 'Unheard-of' Result: Complete Remission for Everyone



> A small NYC-led cancer trial has achieved a result reportedly never before seen - the total remission of cancer in all of its patients.
> 
> To be sure, the trial - led by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering and backed by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline - has only completed treatment of 12 patients, with a specific cancer in its early stages and with a rare mutation as well.


----------



## ekim68

Walking found to reduce pain and slow damage in arthritic knees



> When it comes to the different ways of exercising the human body, walking is about as accessible as they come, and new research suggests it could be a powerful way to tackle osteoarthritis in the knees. A study examined the benefits of a regular saunter in people aged over 50, and found not only can it reduce pain, but it may also slow the damage that takes place in the joint.


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## ekim68

Colombia's new president Gustavo Petro pledges to keep fossil fuels in the ground



> The victory of the left-wing candidate in Sunday's election could make Colombia the largest fossil fuel producer to ban new production


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## ekim68

Single brain scan can diagnose Alzheimer's disease



> The research uses machine learning technology to look at structural features within the brain, including in regions not previously associated with Alzheimer's. The advantage of the technique is its simplicity and the fact that it can identify the disease at an early stage when it can be very difficult to diagnose.


----------



## ekim68

Tesla is killing off coal and gas plants with its giant battery projects



> In 2019, Tesla introduced the Megapack, a battery the size of a shipping container designed to kill coal- and gas-fired "peaker" power plants.
> 
> Peaker plants sit idle for most of the day, but fire up to provide extra energy whenever demand for electricity spikes and the power grid can't keep up. Tesla pitched Megapack batteries as a more climate-friendly alternative to peaker plants because they can store renewable energy when electricity demand is low, and then pump power back onto the grid when demand peaks.


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## ekim68

Artificial photosynthesis can produce food without sunshine



> Photosynthesis has evolved in plants for millions of years to turn water, carbon dioxide, and the energy from sunlight into plant biomass and the foods we eat. This process, however, is very inefficient, with only about 1% of the energy found in sunlight ending up in the plant. Scientists at UC Riverside and the University of Delaware have found a way to bypass the need for biological photosynthesis altogether and create food independent of sunlight by using artificial photosynthesis.


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## ekim68

UK embarks on world-first delivery of chemotherapy drugs by drone



> In an effort to get chemotherapy treatment to patients in a more timely manner, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is embarking on a new drone delivery trial for the Isle of Wight. Billed as the first of its kind, the trial is expected to demonstrate how hours can be cut from the delivery times of the vital drugs, and lessen the need for cancer sufferers to travel to the mainland for treatment.


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## ekim68

Why optimists live longer than the rest of us



> Do you tend to see the glass as half full, rather than half empty? Are you always looking on the bright side of life? If so, you might be surprised to learn that this tendency could actually be good for your health.


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## ekim68

1,500 Tesla Powerwall owners have already joined the new virtual power plant in California



> PG&E announced that more than 1,500 Tesla Powerwall owners have already decided to joined the new virtual power plant it launched in partnership with Tesla in California.
> 
> A virtual power plant (VPP) consists of distributed energy storage systems, like Tesla Powerwalls, used in concert to provide grid services and avoid the use of polluting and expensive peaker power plants.


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## ekim68

USPS to more than double order of electric trucks 



> The U.S. Postal Service will order more than twice the number of electric vehicles initially projected for its new fleet, the agency announced Wednesday.
> 
> The move follows months of controversy after the Postal Service initially sought to make about 10 percent of its fleet electric. Now it plans to make at least 40 percent of its fleet electric.


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## ekim68

The Spectacular Comeback of the American Farmers Market



> Once ubiquitous, farmers markets nearly vanished in the mid 20th century - until an array of forces converged to bring about their modern-day renaissance.


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## ekim68

MIT engineers develop stickers that can see inside the body



> Currently, ultrasound imaging requires bulky and specialized equipment available only in hospitals and doctor's offices. But a new design by MIT engineers might make the technology as wearable and accessible as buying Band-Aids at the pharmacy.


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## ekim68

Win-win REALM tech grows microalgae which purifies greenhouse runoff



> While greenhouses produce wastewater that may contain pollutants, microalgae-growing operations require a _source_ of water - which is scarce in many regions. A new project aims to address both problems, by growing water-purifying algae in readily available greenhouse runoff.


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## ekim68

Wind turbine fitted with recyclable blades starts generating electricity 



> Harvesting wind energy is an important part of the renewables mix, but when those huge turbine blades reach the end of their working lives, they could end up as waste in landfill. Siemens Gamesa has developed a recyclable blade that can be used to create new products when its wind-catching days are done.


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## ekim68

Man who built ISP instead of paying Comcast $50K expands to hundreds of homes



> Jared Mauch, the Michigan man who built a fiber-to-the-home Internet provider because he couldn't get good broadband service from AT&T or Comcast, is expanding with the help of $2.6 million in government money.
> 
> When we wrote about Mauch in January 2021, he was providing service to about 30 rural homes including his own with his ISP, Washtenaw Fiber Properties LLC. Mauch now has about 70 customers and will extend his network to nearly 600 more properties with money from the American Rescue Plan's Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, he told Ars in a phone interview in mid-July.


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## ekim68

Chemistry breakthrough extracts oxygen from water using magnets



> In what's described as a key advancement for the development of systems to help propel humans into deep space, scientists have demonstrated a method of extracting oxygen from water in microgravity using magnets. The technology shapes as a cost-effective and viable way to keep astronauts breathing during their journeys, and marks an important breakthrough for the production of oxygen from water in the absence of buoyant forces.


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## ekim68

Super-fast electric car charging, with a tailor-made touch 



> Despite the growing popularity of electric vehicles, many consumers still hesitate to make the switch. One reason is that it takes so much longer to power up an electric car than it does to gas up a conventional one. But speeding up the charging process can damage the battery and reduce its lifespan. Now, scientists report that they've designed superfast charging methods tailored to power different types of electric vehicle batteries in 10 minutes or less without harm.


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## ekim68

Honda is the latest automaker looking to build a US battery factory



> North American lithium-ion battery production is set to soar over the next decade. The Biden administration and Congress have both put policies in place to incentivize domestic manufacturing over imports, and startups, battery companies, and automakers are responding. Honda and LG Energy Solutions are the most recent to make moves; on Monday morning, the companies announced that they are forming a $4.4 billion joint venture to build a US battery factory.


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## ekim68

Patagonia founder just donated the entire company, worth $3 billion, to fight climate change



> Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, his spouse and two adult children are giving away their ownership in the apparel maker he started some 50 years ago, dedicating all profits from the company to projects and organizations that will protect wild land and biodiversity and fight the climate crisis.


----------



## ekim68

This Startup Is Transforming Used Chopsticks Into Beautiful Furniture



> Since 2016, Böck has been on a mission to rethink disposable chopsticks. Rather than try to eliminate them, the engineer has been building a circular economy by giving them a second life. In their homebase of Vancouver, company staff pick up around 350,000 used chopsticks from 300-plus restaurants every week, all of which become book shelves, cutting boards, coasters, desks, and custom decorations. According to Böck, the startup has saved more than 50 million pairs of chopsticks from landfills since its launch.


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## ekim68

When Duke Ellington Made a Record for Just One Person—Queen Elizabeth




> The jazz legend had a single golden disc pressed, and sent in secrecy to Buckingham Palace


----------



## ekim68

Ending a 50-year mystery, scientists reveal how bacteria can move



> University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers and their collaborators have solved a decades-old mystery about how _E. coli_ and other bacteria are able to move.


----------



## ekim68

Homing missile molecule eradicates even advanced cancers in mice



> Researchers at Yale and the University of Rhode Island (URI) have demonstrated a new technique to fight cancer by attaching immunotherapy drugs to a molecule that seeks out the acidic environment of cancer cells. In tests in mice, a single dose was enough to eradicate even advanced tumors.


----------



## ekim68

Singapore lowers 2030 emissions forecast, to boost hydrogen



> Singapore cut its forecast for its carbon dioxide emissions in 2030 and will achieve a peak in emissions earlier than that as the city-state strives to achieve net zero by 2050, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday.
> Singapore plans to reduce its carbon emissions target for 2030 to 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), Wong said at the Singapore International Energy Week conference.
> 
> The country previously aimed for emissions to peak at 65 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2030.


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## ekim68

Longest nonstop bird flight: A new world record



> A five-month-old bird has set a new world record for longest nonstop bird flight. The bar-tailed godwit – aka _Limosa lapponica_ – traveled from Alaska to Tasmania nonstop for 11 days, a journey of 8,425 miles (13,560 km). The godwit took off from Alaska on October 13, 2022, and reached Ansons Bay in Tasmania, just south of Melbourne, Australia, on October 24. Since the young bird was tagged, it allowed scientists to accurately track its flight.


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## ekim68

US embassies may have accidentally improved air quality



> In 2008, the United States embassy in Beijing installed an air-quality monitor and started tweeting out its findings every hour. Since then, these monitors have popped up in more than 50 embassies in countries and cities around the globe.
> 
> Something unexpected happened in each of the cities in which the monitors appeared. Researchers found that, overall, air quality improved in the cities where embassies were tweeting out air-quality data. “We were surprised,” Akshaya Jha, assistant professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the paper’s authors, told Ars.


----------



## ekim68

Potentially life-saving drone features edible rice-cake wings



> Imagine if someone such as a stranded mountain climber needed food, but could initially only be reached by drone. Scientists have developed a proof-of-concept system of getting that food to them, in the form of a drone with edible wings.


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## ekim68

They made a material that doesn't exist on Earth. That's only the start of the story.



> It sounds like the plot of a science fiction movie: humans are destroying the Earth, gouging huge scars in its crust, and polluting the air and the ground as they mine and refine a key element essential for technological advance. One day, scientists examining an alien meteorite discover a unique metal that negates the need for all that excavation and pollution. Best of all, the metal can be replicated, in a laboratory, using base materials.


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## ekim68

Scientists identify neurons that help paralyzed patients walk again 



> Electrical stimulation of the spine can help paralyzed people walk again, with promising results shown in clinical trials. Now, scientists have identified the specific neurons being stimulated, and found that patients can still walk even after the electrical stimulation was turned off.


----------



## ekim68

Can AirPods do the job of $10,000 hearing aids?



> Hearing loss is thought to affect as much as 15% of American adults, but hearing aids aren’t always easy to come by. A team of scientists exploring low-cost alternatives has turned to Apple’s AirPods as a potential solution, assessing them alongside conventional hearing aids to find they stack up surprisingly well.


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## ekim68

The incredible plan to build an $8 billion turtle-shaped floating city 


*







*


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## ekim68

Back to the Future...


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## ekim68

Hybrid ultracap battery promises 72-second city EV charging



> An electric car that can charge in as little time as it takes to pump a gas vehicle has long been the dream of existing and would-be EV drivers. But what if it could charge even more quickly? The average gas fill-up takes two minutes, according to the American Petroleum Institute, with other estimates coming in higher. A new electric energy storage technology being developed by Swiss tech startup Morand could offer electric city car charging times in slightly more than half that two-minute time. A cross between traditional batteries and ultracapacitors, the company's eTechnology units offer potential game-changing charging rates, coupled with the possibility of much longer lifespans than lithium-ion batteries.


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## ekim68

U.S. Renewable Energy Will Surge Past Coal and Nuclear by Year’s End



> Wind, solar and hydropower will generate more than 20 percent of the power supply


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## ekim68

Universal flu vaccine may be available within two years, says scientist



> A universal flu vaccine that protects against all strains of the virus could be available in the next two years, according to a leading scientist.


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## ekim68

Driverless parking service begins commercial operation at Stuttgart Airport 



> Back in 2019, Bosch and Mercedes were granted a special permit for an automated parking system operated without human supervision. Now the partnership has been given the official nod to operate Level 4 automated valet parking on a commercial basis.


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## ekim68

Apple's iPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature Saves Stranded Man in Alaska



> With the launch of iOS 16.1, Apple rolled out a Emergency SOS via Satellite, which is designed to allow iPhone 14 owners to contact emergency services using satellite connectivity when no cellular or WiFi connection is available. The feature was put to the test in Alaska today, when a man became stranded in a rural area.


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## ekim68

Everything's bigger in Australia



> Sometimes you only scratch the surface. Australia's obsession with giant tourist attractions goes far beyond a simple fiberglass lobster. Apparently, there are over 600 of the things, from the classic Big Banana to Wagin's giant ram.


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## ekim68

It's official: France bans short haul domestic flights in favour of train travel



> The European Commission has approved the move which will abolish flights between cities that are linked by a train journey of less than 2.5 hours.
> 
> The decision was announced on Friday. The changes are part of the country’s 2021 Climate Law and were first proposed by France's Citizens' Convention on Climate - a citizens' assembly tasked with finding ways to reduce the country's carbon emissions.


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## ekim68

'Sight & Sound' Has Just Released Their Decennial List of the 100 Best Films of All Time, and There's a New No. 1



> Film lovers can debate their favorite choices any day of the year, but it’s only once every decade that they can really get into it. Since 1952, British film magazine_ Sight & Sound_ has printed a list of the greatest movies of all time.


----------



## ekim68

Lumen to double size of US network with six million extra miles of fiber



> Lumen Technologies Tuesday said it would double the size of its US intercity network to 12 million fiber miles by the end of 2026. When complete, the telco says the network will connect 50 major cities across the United States at data rates of up to 400Gbps.


----------



## ekim68

Cheap sodium-sulfur battery boasts 4x the capacity of lithium-ion 



> An international team of scientists eyeing next-generation energy storage solutions have demonstrated an eco-friendly and low-cost battery with some exciting potential. The group’s novel sodium-sulfur battery design offers a fourfold increase on energy capacity compared to a typical lithium-ion battery, and shapes as a promising technology for future grid-scale energy storage.


----------



## ekim68

Base editing: Revolutionary therapy clears girl's incurable cancer



> All other treatments for Alyssa's leukaemia had failed.
> 
> So doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital used "base editing" to perform a feat of biological engineering to build her a new living drug.
> 
> Six months later the cancer is undetectable, but Alyssa is still being monitored in case it comes back.


----------



## ekim68

PhD student solves 2,500-year-old Sanskrit problem



> A Sanskrit grammatical problem which has perplexed scholars since the 5th Century BC has been solved by a University of Cambridge PhD student.
> 
> Rishi Rajpopat, 27, decoded a rule taught by Panini, a master of the ancient Sanskrit language who lived around 2,500 years ago.


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## ekim68

The best science images of 2022


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## ekim68

Waymo’s driverless robotaxis are now doing airport trips in Phoenix



> Waymo is sending its fully driverless cars to handle some of the trickiest types of passenger pickups you can muster: airport trips. The company announced that customers flying in and out of Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport will now be able to hail one of the company’s “rider only” vehicles, a sign that the Alphabet company is willing to take on more risk as it seeks to bolster the case for a fully autonomous taxi service.


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## ekim68

The Flickr Foundation promises to protect important historical photos



> This week, Flickr and its parent company SmugMug announced the formation of the Flickr Foundation, a 501(c) organization designed to keep images from programs like the Flickr Commons available for a century or more. The Commons started back in 2008 as a collaborative effort with the Library of Congress to make publicly held photography collections readily available online for people seeking them out. It’s a massive, eclectic, fascinating archive that pulls images and content from around the world. This new organization hopes to integrate more partners and ensure that everything remains available and easily accessible.


----------



## ekim68

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell advance breaks efficiency record



> But the best outcome seems to be when these two materials put aside their rivalry and team up. Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells are more efficient than either material alone, thanks to their ability to harvest different parts of the solar spectrum – perovskite taps into blue light better, while silicon focuses more on red and infrared wavelengths.


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## ekim68

Chemical "breaking points" let new type of plastic biodegrade in days



> Plastics are made to last, which is great while they’re being used but not so great after they’re discarded. Now chemists at the University of Konstanz have developed a new kind of plastic that has all the durability of regular plastic, but biodegrades within months or even days.


----------



## ekim68

Gene therapy cures kids with rare “bubble-boy” disease in new trial



> A rare genetic disease that renders children without a functioning immune system from birth has been effectively cured by an experimental gene therapy. A new study is reporting on the first 10 children treated with the therapy, all of whom are now healthy and living normal lives.


----------



## ekim68

Artificial intelligence helping to triple recovering stroke patients in the UK  



> The UK government has revealed that the National Health Service (NHS) is using a new artificial intelligence system called Brainomix e-Stroke to help the recovery of patients. Early analysis suggests that the AI can help patients get treatment by as much as 60 minutes faster and patients that recover with no or slight disability is up from 16% to 48% - a tripling of recoveries.


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## ekim68

This Chatbot Will Argue With Your Cable Company for You—and Might Lower Your Bill



> What if you could deploy your own bot to converse with a customer service bot or human? That’s the general principle behind a new feature coming from consumer advocate service DoNotPay, which is set to launch a browser extension that may be able to lower your cable bill and make mild legal threats.


----------



## ekim68

Danish bank workers celebrate first full year without robberies 



> Denmark has recorded its first year without bank robberies, as the use of cash has dwindled in recent years, the country’s finance workers’ union said.


----------



## ekim68

I’m a psychology expert in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world—here are 3 things we never do



> For five years in a row, Finland has ranked No. 1 as the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report.


----------



## ekim68

99 Good News Stories You Probably Didn't Hear About in 2022



> The world didn't fall apart this year. You just got your news from the wrong places.


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