105 and Still Going

This is a video and I so hope the link will work for you as well.

A 105 years old woman has been practicing throwing the first pitch at a baseball game for months. How great is this? Her talk is clear and her desire to keep on moving is strong. Her real passion is painting and she loves to dance.

She has no advice for any of us on how to make it that far, but she did say that she tries to enjoy every day.

What a remarkable woman!

Compassionate Paws at Work

I love dogs. They respond so well to us humans and, many times, to other animals as well.

Some dogs are not treated well and they become aggressive, out of fear, as an auto-protect mechanism. However, give me a dog who has known love and he will love you back in an instant.

This story is about a dog, Gryphon, who visits schools and works with children who struggle with socialization or with reading. These children love the dog and are benefiting from his visits because the dog loves them unconditionally; he does not judge them for their awkwardness or their stumbling through words.

What a great way to help children improve their social and/or reading skills!

New Jobs

Some good news from Tennessee... The German automaker, Volkswagen, has plans to open up 2000 jobs at its plant in Chattanooga for the building of their new SUV.

With the economic crisis the U.S. has experienced in the past couple of years, this kind of article brings a breath of fresh air and, hopefully, a new lease on life for about 2000 workers.

For some, this might be the employment opportunity after months of inactivity. For others, it might be an upward move. As they change jobs, their previous spot will be filled by someone else who might have fallen under the grip of unemployment. Either way, it should be a great situation for all involved.

May we have many more of these events happening all across the U.S. Heaven only knows how bad we need jobs!

Heart Attack

I call it "Heart Attack"

It is the activity that delivers paper hearts to unsuspecting recipients, generally people we know who could use an uplifting moment. These hearts are taped on doors or "planted" in the front yard. The message is the same "we love you and we are here for you."

These two Murray girls, took this activity and went the extra mile, delivering hearts even to people they did not know. Their goal? Bring smiles to the people's faces.

As long as the world has caring youth like these and others, it will be all right!

Returning Home

I like to read these kind of news.

65 soldiers deployed to Afghanistan have now returned to their home in Mustang, OK. A ceremony was held to welcome them home. 

It is extremely great news that they made it home and it is very nice to see support from the family members and other locals. We have heard of too many stories of soldiers being scoffed at upon their return from the war. 

These soldiers have given of their time and many made the ultimate sacrifice to bring peace. Some may argue that butting into another country's affairs is not our business. Whether I agree with it or not, these soldiers were following orders. They were doing what they were told to do. Pretty much like we do what our boss tells us to do in our comfy (or may be not so comfy) daily job in our own town.

Let's resolve to be supportive of our soldiers. No matter what our political views are, what our opinions about the current wars and state of affairs of the world are, what our beliefs are, these soldiers deserve our respect and support.

Going the Extra Mile

I was supposed to post yesterday; however, I was unable to locate anything positive among the newspapers I searched.

This morning, I ended up actually doing a search for positive news and came across the article about the CEO of a health company who personally took a much needed item to the patient, even if it meant going to another country.

You can read the whole article on the Huffpost Good News.

It is sad that it is so very hard to find good news in your daily newspaper. Is it because people don't care about good news or is it because there is not enough, if any, good news in the town to report?

May I plea with any of you reading this post(s) to please make the commitment to do a "random act of kindness" every day. It might not make the newspaper's headlines, but it will make your world a better place. And if you feel so inclined, please send me a message with your positive news and I will gladly post on my blog.

Thank you to one and all. May you have a great day!

Super Human Powers

As I read countless online newspapers to find a positive headline, a song kept playing in my head "...now we have a world where people are confused, if you don't believe me go and watch the news..."

I had almost given up hope of finding something positive to share when I stumbled upon the following article.

It is about a man who noticed the car behind him catching fire. Without a moment's hesitation he went to help and was able to extricate the person trapped in the vehicle. He did it by bending a door open, when the power locks and windows failed and would not open. The Good Samaritan himself was amazed at the strength he had.

Many may say that it was his adrenaline pumping. I want to believe that guardian angels helped him in the task.

Whichever way you want to believe, I am glad he was able to step in and help.
There is still good in the world today!

Bringing Smiles at Camp Sunshine

Summer is here. Children are out of school and life continues on with pool parties, sleeping in, goofing off, and just having fun.

For some children, it is all about recovery and doing things to take their minds off the monster in their lives: cancer.

Camp Sunshine is a summer camp for children battling cancer and some UGA football players brought smiles to the youngsters when they visited, signed autographs, and even had some ball play.

I take my hat off to those children courageously living their lives and to those players making the day a bit brighter.