The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Take a book, leave a book, it's free

FOLSOM, Calif. —Kelly Friesen was struck the moment she saw it at the intersection of Stoney Hill Drive and Gable Street in Folsom.

"Wow. What a great idea," said Friesen, a Folsom resident.

A 6-year old girl took a few looks and expressed satisfaction.

"Yeah, I like it," said Alison, who lives down the street.

Duane Samples watched it all from across the street this week and smiled.

"It's a great feeling," Samples said.

Last week, Samples built a free, mini-library perched atop a wooden post at the corner of his front yard.

"It's named a Little, Free Library," Samples said.

The two-shelf box, with a wood-framed glass door, was built to hold books for anyone to take or leave, at no cost or obligation.

"A lot of times, neighbors don't know neighbors anymore," Samples said. "Hopefully, this will help bring our community a little closer."

[kuhio98]

Made with Love

These moms rallied their community to sew more than 3,000 dresses for girls in Zambia.

Darla Senecal had heard that children in Zambia need help but it wasn't until she saw a talk show featuring Mothers Without Borders (MWB) founder Kathy Headlee Miner that she really understood why: There are millions of kids living in poverty there (more than 800,000 who lost one or both parents to AIDS). Inspired to take action, she told her friend Nancy Luke that the two of them had to find a way to pitch in. The prospect of making a difference in the poverty-stricken country definitely seemed daunting: Few of the children have access to the most basic necessities, like food, shelter, and clothing.

Still, as mothers themselves, Senecal and Luke were determined to help. They formed a local chapter of MWB in their hometown of Bristol, Vermont, with eight of their friends and neighbors. Shortly after their second meeting the women spotted an announcement on the national MWB Web site: Thousands of Zambian girls desperately need dresses. Instructions for making a basic dress, done by stitching a skirt onto the bottom of a T-shirt, were included in the posting. "The concept was so simple, yet genius," says Senecal. The Bristol group made it their mission to contribute as many dresses as possible to the cause -- and to get their community involved. They posted flyers inviting everyone in the area to a Saturday sewathon at their town hall and left collection boxes for T-shirts, skirts, and sewing supplies at local stores. "This project seemed so doable, especially since I knew many other moms would be inspired to help," says Luke.

In fact, the Bristol MWB members and nearly 200 local volunteers stitched more than 1,000 dresses. One of their group members even flew to Zambia to help deliver the clothes. Thrilled by their success, the group held a second sewathon the following year and another two events each year after that, bringing their grand total to more than 3,000 dresses. The women are planning a fifth event next year, with no plans to stop anytime soon. For Luke the experience proved that you don't need to have a lot of money to make a difference in someone's life. "Everyone was able to make a contribution whether it was fabric, thread, or simply their time," she says. "Bit by bit we got the job done."

[kuhio98]

Greenwood Mayor Marvin McGee putting in overtime to plow the streets himself


One city leader in Missouri is working overtime to make sure everyone can get out of the snow.

Marvin McGee is the mayor of Greenwood.

He's been plowing city streets for the past few days.

"I'm a citizens’ mayor,” McGee said. “I would like to think that if I was a citizen, I would want my mayor to pitch in. That's what mayors do."

McGee says residents have been asking the city to clear the snow, but since they only have a two-man crew, he stepped in to help.

This has many people in Greenwood shocked.

"It blew me away,” resident Doyle Garner said. “I mean I was totally shocked. I mean, I grew up in a small town and I never expected to see the mayor himself getting in a Bobcat and coming out and doing all that."

McGee has been using the city's Bobcat to plow the snow since 2010.

[kuhio98]

The Miracle Rescue By Jan, Duluth, Minnesota



I adopted a two-year-old poodle/terrier mix from our local shelter, and named her Angel. She came from another shelter as a stray who had been abused.

Angel was very skinny, extremely shy, and afraid of everyone. I fell in love with her immediately. Since I have multiple sclerosis, I believed that this dog would be perfect for me. We would take care of each other.

I live alone in a high-rise building on Lake Superior with other seniors and disabled tenants. Within weeks, with lots of love, patience, and socializing with neighbors and pets, Angel became a totally different dog.

My little soul mate is now the happiest and most popular dog in the building. She loves everybody, giving kisses to everyone she sees. She never misbehaves, snaps, or barks at anyone. Angel brings her favorite toy or treat to me when I’m feeling bad, or she jumps on my bed and whines until I lie down. She then lies beside me.

One night, Angel became restless and woke me up. I rarely go out late at night, as Angel uses a puppy pad after dark. This time, though, because of her odd behavior, I decided to get dressed and take her out. She was whining and seemed anxious.

I took her around to the parking lot side of our building, back by our garage.

She always stays by me, either on or off the leash, but this time she pulled as hard as she could and whined. I unhooked her leash, thinking she must have to go badly. Instead of running to the grass, Angel hurried into the parking lot and darted between two vehicles. I found her sitting next to Wayne, one of our tenants, who was on the ground. He lay in a fetal position with his walker nearby.

I stooped down to ask what had happened. Not fully conscious, Wayne mumbled that he had fallen. He wore shorts and a light jacket, although it was 38 degrees. He couldn’t move. He said he’d recently had surgery on both knees and was in a lot of pain.

I feared he might have also broken something. After calling 911, I asked him how long he had been lying on the cold pavement. He said, “About an hour, I think.”

I squeezed my knees under Wayne’s head to lift it off the ground. He was freezing, so I tried to cover him with my body and coat. We stayed like this, with Angel near him, until the police and ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly transferred Wayne to a gurney and bundled him in warm blankets. Soon he was on his way to the hospital.

I have no idea how Angel knew about the injured tenant. We live on the eleventh floor, and our apartment faces the lake. Our windows were closed, and I had a small fan running.

The next day, I called the hospital and talked to Wayne. He told me he had suffered a severe heart attack and had no idea why he was outside by his van at that hour. He kept thanking me. I told him it was God and Angel he should thank.

[Taz_Zoee]

The Miracle Rescue By Jan, Duluth, Minnesota



I adopted a two-year-old poodle/terrier mix from our local shelter, and named her Angel. She came from another shelter as a stray who had been abused.

Angel was very skinny, extremely shy, and afraid of everyone. I fell in love with her immediately. Since I have multiple sclerosis, I believed that this dog would be perfect for me. We would take care of each other.

I live alone in a high-rise building on Lake Superior with other seniors and disabled tenants. Within weeks, with lots of love, patience, and socializing with neighbors and pets, Angel became a totally different dog.

My little soul mate is now the happiest and most popular dog in the building. She loves everybody, giving kisses to everyone she sees. She never misbehaves, snaps, or barks at anyone. Angel brings her favorite toy or treat to me when I’m feeling bad, or she jumps on my bed and whines until I lie down. She then lies beside me.

One night, Angel became restless and woke me up. I rarely go out late at night, as Angel uses a puppy pad after dark. This time, though, because of her odd behavior, I decided to get dressed and take her out. She was whining and seemed anxious.

I took her around to the parking lot side of our building, back by our garage.

She always stays by me, either on or off the leash, but this time she pulled as hard as she could and whined. I unhooked her leash, thinking she must have to go badly. Instead of running to the grass, Angel hurried into the parking lot and darted between two vehicles. I found her sitting next to Wayne, one of our tenants, who was on the ground. He lay in a fetal position with his walker nearby.

I stooped down to ask what had happened. Not fully conscious, Wayne mumbled that he had fallen. He wore shorts and a light jacket, although it was 38 degrees. He couldn’t move. He said he’d recently had surgery on both knees and was in a lot of pain.

I feared he might have also broken something. After calling 911, I asked him how long he had been lying on the cold pavement. He said, “About an hour, I think.”

I squeezed my knees under Wayne’s head to lift it off the ground. He was freezing, so I tried to cover him with my body and coat. We stayed like this, with Angel near him, until the police and ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly transferred Wayne to a gurney and bundled him in warm blankets. Soon he was on his way to the hospital.

I have no idea how Angel knew about the injured tenant. We live on the eleventh floor, and our apartment faces the lake. Our windows were closed, and I had a small fan running.

The next day, I called the hospital and talked to Wayne. He told me he had suffered a severe heart attack and had no idea why he was outside by his van at that hour. He kept thanking me. I told him it was God and Angel he should thank.

Wow, this definitely brought on the tears. Amazing!!!

[kuhio98]

There are many other wonderful, inspirational pet stories here: http://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/pet-stories

A sweet video: http://www.guideposts.org/video/pet-.../rescue-at-sea

[kuhio98]

The Kind Stranger

One day I was riding home and my bicycle broke. There weren't many people around and I was pretty scared being all alone, but I stopped and tried to fix it nonetheless. A complete stranger, also riding a bike, stopped by and fixed it for me. It's such a small thing, didn't take more than a minute, but he was so reassuring and nice - even offered me a handkerchief to clean my hands. It was over a year ago and we'll probably never meet again, but I still pray for his safety and wellbeing every night. A random act does change many things!