The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

BECAUSE STRANGERS HELP WHEN IT COUNTS

I recently had to fly overseas with my 1-month-old twins. I was having a really hard time handling both of them, and they were crying like crazy. Then a woman sitting nearby came over and offered to help. She held my daughter for two hours! She fed her a bottle, burped her and once she was sleeping peacefully, returned her to me wiht a big smile. I was so touched.

Quarratulain, Jedda Saudi Arabia

[kuhio98]

BECAUSE EVERYONE DESERVES A FRESH START

Women in the Nashville area who are transitioning from jail back to civic life have an easier adjustment thanks to Lea Robinson and her organization, Second Chance Reentry. She started the program five years ago to help female ex-cons find housing, jobs and rehabilitation -- even free haircuts.

[RICHARD]

Alex Zanardi was a race car driver who lost his legs in a racing accident.
I was pleased to see that he is still alive, well and racing, again.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...6004/index.htm



To Alex Zanardi, there is no such thing as a gripping real-life story that can't be improved in the retelling. To wit: the daring, last-lap maneuver on a downhill curve with which the former open-wheel driver stole a CART race from rival Bryan Herta in 1996. The move instantly became the stuff of legend—racing fans still know it simply as The Pass. But the following winter Jimmy Vasser, a Champ Car teammate, noticed that Zanardi's banquet-circuit accounts took the moment to new dramatic heights. After hearing his friend describe Herta's eyes widening in disbelief as Zanardi zoomed by, Vasser produced a photo of Herta wearing a helmet that day with an impenetrable black visor. "C'mon, Jimmy," Zanardi said with a smile, "you know I like to tell stories."

Some tales, however, defy embellishment. Eleven years ago this week at the Lausitzring track in Germany, Zanardi lost both legs in a crash so violent that he was administered last rites. But there was Zanardi on Sept. 5, competing at Brands Hatch circuit in London, a course he first navigated as a promising Formula 3000 driver in 1991—only this time as a handcyclist at the Paralympic Games. Zanardi, 45, won two gold medals in London, in the 16K H4 time trial and the 64K H4 road race, the latter by just one second in a sprint finish. "To win in this way ... makes me really proud," says Zanardi, who also helped Italy take silver in the mixed relay. "It shows that I am a complete cyclist, even if I have no legs."On Sunday, Zanardi capped what he calls a "magical adventure" by bearing Italy's flag in the Paralympics' closing ceremony. "I found happiness the very first day of training," he says. "It would have been worth doing even if I had won nothing here."

Before his accident Zanardi was one of open-wheel racing's most charismatic stars: the CART Champ Car rookie of the year in 1996, the points champion in '97 and '98, and a strong competitor in more than 40 Formula One events. Fans loved the way he married skill with showmanship, punctuating victories with doughnut spins before that became a finish-line ritual. After his first Champ title he shared a Wheaties box with Vasser, his Ganassi Racing teammate and the 1996 champion.

Zanardi's passion for racing didn't diminish after his crash. Weeks after the accident, before he even got the hang of walking on prosthetic legs, Zanardi was behind the wheel in a hand-controlled car. In 2003 he began driving in the European Touring Car Championships, winning four times. "I didn't go into touring cars to prove anything," he says. "I started racing again because it makes me happy."

In 2006, Zanardi got into a dispute in Italy with another driver over a handicapped parking spot. Seeing a wheeled contraption on the roof of the other man's car, Zanardi defused the tension by asking, "What's that?" It was a handcycle, and a year later Zanardi called the man, future Paralympic relaymate Vittorio Podesta, and asked where he could get one to train for the New York City Marathon. With just a few weeks' practice, Zanardi finished fourth in the handcycling division. After training full time for two years, he won in New York last fall.

The occasional parking-spot spat aside, Zanardi has embraced life as a double amputee with grace and good humor. "It's like his disability isn't even an issue," says his former race-team boss Chip Ganassi, who has seen Zanardi pop off a prosthetic, turn it upside down and set a bowl of peanuts on the foot just to make a crowd of old friends and new acquaintances feel at ease.

Zanardi prefers the term diverse ability to disability, and he's already thinking of ways to further diversify. He's toying with the idea of skiing in the Winter Paralympics. Driving in the Indianapolis 500—Vasser, who now co-owns an IndyCar team, promised to set up Zanardi with a car if he won gold in London—is another possibility, though Zanardi, who lives with his wife and 14-year-old son in Padua, Italy, admits that it's a faint one. "Right now I have a very happy life," he says. "I don't need to shoot off fireworks every day." But if the right opportunity came along? "You might see me shooting off more fireworks. Who knows?"

[kuhio98]

BECAUSE REAL WINDFALLS DO HAPPEN

"I was out running errands," reports Linda Joslin, of Northville, Michigan, "and had placed a large check endorsed to me for cash in my car's visor until I got to the bank. I had the windows down and a gust of wind sent the check sailing right out my car window. It was gone. I was convinced that someone would cash it. Then, two weeks later, the dirty, torn check arrived in the mail with an anonymous note that jut said 'This is too important not to return.' Amazing."

[kuhio98]

BECAUSE DOGS CAN BE HEROES, TOO

When 3-year old Victoria Bensch was rescued after being lost for 15 hours in the mountains near her Arizona home, rescuers also found an unexpected protector: Victoria's dog, Blue. The family's Queensland Heeler probably saved Victoria's life by keeping her warm and alert during the 30 degree F night.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Last week I left my handbag hanging at my shopping cart ....! I only realized it when I got back home and wanted to take something out of it....
I rushed back to the shop (8 minutes drive), and of course the bag wasn't in the cart anymore..
I went into the shop and told what had happened. The shop owner came to me and said that a lady found my bag, and brought it straight to him!!
Wow, I was so very much relieved!!! I am so thankful to this lady, and I wish I knew who she is.... ; I wish I could thank her for doing what she did!

[kuhio98]

Last week I left my handbag hanging at my shopping cart ....! I only realized it when I got back home and wanted to take something out of it....
I rushed back to the shop (8 minutes drive), and of course the bag wasn't in the cart anymore..
I went into the shop and told what had happened. The shop owner came to me and said that a lady found my bag, and brought it straight to him!!
Wow, I was so very much relieved!!! I am so thankful to this lady, and I wish I knew who she is.... ; I wish I could thank her for doing what she did!

Lut ~ That's great. And you can thank this person for what they did by doing something nice for someone else.

[kuhio98]

8-Year-Old Comes To The Rescue For Hungry Classmates, Buys 4,000 Lunches

HOWELL (WWJ)-For kids growing up, there are always issues with bullying and other social problems.

One local 8-year-old is looking to make a difference with your help.

Cayden Taipalus has touched millions around the world after he launched an initiative to help pay for lunches of students from low-income families in Livingston County.

The idea came after Taipalus had a saddening moment during lunchtime one day at Challanger Elementary in Howell.

“I was in lunch one day, in the lunch line getting hot lunch,” Taipalus said. “A kid in front of me didn’t have enough money on their account, so it made me sad.”

Young Cayden wanted them to be like others who get to experience a hot lunch, so that was the day that the 8-year-old’s life changed forever.

He asked his mom if he could earn money to help the kids who couldn’t get a hot lunch, and she suggested that he earn some cash.

“I collected bottles and went to my family, friends and neighbors to get money,” Taipalus said.

After that, he returned to school with $64 in his pocket.

“Cayden came in, handed over the money and said, ‘can you pay off each lunch account,’” One school official said.

The family then helped him set up an account on fundraiser.com, and then the story went viral. So far Cayden has collected $14,000 dollars, and on Monday, Cayden went ahead and paid for 4,000 school lunches.

His mom Amber says Cayden’s always the one to step up in a time of need.

“He’ll go shovel for the neighbors,” Amber said. “He will do whatever he can in the classroom for others.”

Now people everywhere are acknowledging the young man’s good deeds, yet young Cayden is still in shock over the reaction he is getting for paying it forward to classmates.

“I’m just surprised,” Taipalus said. “Because it was small and it turned so big.”

Every student is offered an alternate lunch that includes a sandwich, juice and fruit when they can’t afford the hot lunch options.

Nearly 30 percent of students in Livingston County are enrolled for free- or reduced-priced lunch, a federal program offered to students from low-income families.

[kuhio98]

Dogs saved from Sochi streets arrive in Washington for adoption

Ten loveable mutts rescued from the streets of Sochi, Russia, arrived in the United States for adoption Thursday, the result of an international outcry over the plight of stray dogs in the 2014 Winter Olympics host city, organizers said.

Sochi animal rescue organizations began bringing in dogs from the streets after reports that they were getting rounded up and poisoned circulated around the Games. At the time, American skier Gus Kenworthy, an Olympic silver medalist, made headlines when he pledged to bring four street dogs back to the United States after the Games. Humane Society International worked both on Kenworthy's project and bringing these 10 dogs to the United States.

"These 10 are representative of some of the dogs that have been removed from the streets and are now up for adoption in Sochi," said Kelly O'Meara, director of HSI companion animals and engagement. "They're the sweetest, most interactive, very friendly dogs, very adoptable that just happen to be unfortunate enough to be living on the street."

The group worked with PovoDog Animal Shelter in Sochi and two other organizations to arrange vaccination, documentation and travel for the dogs, who then spent two days in transit.

"These dogs have had a tremendous journey. It's been almost two days of travel for them. They went from Sochi to Moscow, had a long layover in Moscow, and then the flight to Dulles airport today," O'Meara said. "And as you can tell, they have to be pretty chill to handle it like this. And they did. They all did remarkably well."

The dogs will be housed for the time being in the Washington Animal Rescue League facilities in the nation's capital. Bob Ramin, CEO of the animal league, said the next few days are all about comfort for the animals.

"These animals are seeing a lot of new things and experiencing a lot of new things, so they're kind of stressed out," Ramin said. "We want to make sure they know they're in a safe place so we've got our staff working with them one on one."

Each dog will get a medical evaluation. If all goes well, the dogs could be available for adoption within weeks.

"In the next couple of days, we'll start socializing them, taking them out on walks with other dogs, and really just treating them like other dogs so they can have that socialization and feel safe," Ramin said.

Organizers say that they expect a great deal of interest in these dogs because the public outcry before, during and after the Games. More dogs are expected to arrive in the United States for adoption in the coming days.