The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Play It Forward

Three years ago I was looking on Craigslist for a used piano so my 7-year-old son could learn how to play. I found a lovely Victorian piano and called the owner, with whom I really connected over the phone. She decided right then that she was going to give it to me for free because I wanted it for all the right reasons. As if that wasn't enough, she also shipped it to me -- at her own expense! Needless to say I was extremely touched by her kindness and will always be grateful.
-- Fran, Milton, Massachusetts

[kuhio98]

Crossing Guard

On my walk to work I occasionally see a blind woman walking with her guide dog. One rainy morning I noticed the woman standing at the curb, trying to get her dog to cross the street. But the dog wouldn't budge because there was a big puddle. The woman seemed confused and frustrated. Then a man came over to her and said, "Hello, ma'am. Your dog doesn't want to cross because there's a puddle. Take my hand and I'll help you cross the street and keep your feet dry." I actually teared up. It made my day to see such a kind gesture.
Kate, Dumont, New Jersey

[kuhio98]

SCHOOLTEACHER GEOFF HALEY, 50
His dog trapped in a drain, a loyal owner digs him out

Their daily walks near home in Medomsley, England, were a relaxing ritual for schoolteacher Geoff Haley and his mixed-breed Lakeland-Border terriers Billy and Ben. But on the afternoon of May 3, Ben suddenly darted into the woods. "I thought he might be chasing a rabbit," says Haley. But when Ben didn't return after several hours, adds Haley, "I knew he had met with some kind of trouble."

Haley's best guess was that Ben had disappeared into a long-disused 18-in. drainpipe that had so fascinated the dog that Haley had blocked it repeatedly with .wire fencing. But sure enough, the fencing was gone. Investigating, Haley discovered the pipe had recently been connected to the drainage lines of a new subdivision. When he and a friend, John Bell, began lifting manhole covers from a newly built road directly over the pipe, their worst fears were confirmed. "I listened at the drain," recalls Bell, 61, "and I could hear Ben yapping."

Firemen tried to dislodge the dog with a high-powered stream of water, but that didn't work. Finally, Haley, along with wife Bobbie, 50, daughter Helen, 24, and a group of volunteers, took matters into their own hands. "I couldn't wait," says Haley. "I didn't know how much air Ben had, and any rain would have drowned him." Throughout the night they dug up more than a foot of tarmac and concrete, then broke through the pipe itself. Friends lowered Haley headfirst into the pipe but he still couldn't free the dog—and the hole was caving in. It wasn't until 8 a.m. when a construction crew arrived for work that the hole was widened and Ben was freed. "He was stuck in goo like the cork in a wine bottle," recalls Haley. "It took a massive heave to get him out."

With no more damage than a dirty coat, Ben, after a brief turn in the family shower, was soon wagging his tail but offering no word on what had prompted his excursion. "He's a bit of a daft dog," says Haley affectionately. "What possessed him that day is a mystery."

[kuhio98]

Reusable Water Bottle

This limited edition, BPA-free plastic water bottle is not only Earth-conscious, it also helps to end the clean-water crisis.

Ten dollars from every bottle purchased goes toward Water.org's efforts to supply clean water for people around the world.

Buy it now at water.org, $25

[kuhio98]

Pocket Change

Whenever I have loose change in my pocket and am riding the bus, I leave my loose change with the bus driver to give to anyone who might try to get on the bus later and is short on bus fare. Such an easy way to help!

[kuhio98]

From People Magazine Heroes Among Us:

CROSSING GUARD JILL COOK, 66
Taking a hit to save a child

As usual, Jill Cook's post at North Crystal Lake Drive and Lowry Avenue in Lakeland, Fla., was busy on the morning of Aug. 16. With Cook's guidance, 7-year-old Amber Stringer had just stepped onto the curb, with her big brother Tony, 10, lagging close behind. But before he could reach the safety of the sidewalk, a pickup truck, out of nowhere, came speeding toward him. Instinctively, Cook pushed Tony out of the way. But she had no time to save herself, and the truck struck her with terrible force. "She flew up, landed on the hood, hit the windshield, and when the truck stopped it threw her off," says Christine Stringer, Amber and Tony's mother, who saw what happened from her nearby backyard and rushed to Cook's side. "I thought she was dead." Cook remained conscious but recalls little of the impact. "The only thought I had was, 'Are the kids okay?' " she says. The pain was excruciating, and small wonder. She'd broken her pelvis, right knee, hip, tibia and fibula and five ribs. (Police say driver Chester Lepriol, 28, was doing about 46 mph in a 15-mph zone; charged with criminal reckless driving, he pleaded not guilty.) A retired nurse and widowed mother of six, Cook is staying with her daughter Jennifer, also a nurse, and faces months of rehab. "She may have a limp, but all her fractures should heal," says her surgeon Dr. George Letson.

The grateful Stringers visit Cook often. "There's a special bond," says Christine, 34. Adds Amber: "I love her very much." Cook downplays her heroism and hopes her story serves as a lesson. "That's my whole goal—for people to be more cautious," she says. "Obey those flashing lights. Don't put on makeup while driving. Don't read the newspaper. Please be careful."

[kuhio98]

Because Giving Back Is Good Luck

When Cynthia Stafford won $112 million in the California lottery, she couldn't wait to start paying it forward. Her involvement in the children's outreach programs at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles has helped bring the joys of theater to thousands of underprivileged kids.