The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

COLLEGE STUDENT BARRETT BABER, 19
At a crash site inferno, his cool action saves lives

On the night of June 1, Barrett Baber, a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, had settled back in his seat on American Airlines Flight 1420, eagerly awaiting his arrival home in Little Rock after a two-week tour of Germany performing with 24 other members of his college choir. But as the plane approached the runway, it was jolted by winds from a violent thunderstorm. "I was sitting there, buckled up, and we were shaking," says Baber. "I thought, 'Here we go. We're coming down.' "

The plane, carrying 139 passengers and six crew members, touched down hard, then went into a gut-wrenching skid. "They turned those back-thrusters on full blast, but we kept going forward," he says. "Then the lights flashed off and on, and the stewardess screamed, 'Brace yourself!' " The plane careered toward the end of the runway and, just short of the Arkansas River, crashed into a metal support for approach beacons and split apart. "I looked out, and I could see flames outside the airplane," says Baber.

Escape wouldn't be easy. As fire began engulfing the plane, panicked passengers tugged at a jammed exit door. "I grabbed the door and pulled on it as hard as I could," says Baber. "It wasn't budging." But through the thickening smoke, he spied an 18-inch break in the fuselage. "I picked a stewardess up and pushed her through the hole," says Baber, who quickly did the same for three others. "Then it got really smoky," he says. "I couldn't breathe or see, and I got really scared." In spite of that and despite cuts on his legs and torso, Barrett squeezed his 6'4", 225-lb. frame headfirst through the crack and found himself outside the plane knee-deep in water near the river's edge. "I thought for a while I was the only survivor because I couldn't see anybody. All I could see, taste or breathe was black smoke," he says. "It was freezing cold and hailing something terrible."

After helping two more survivors out of the same hole in the fuselage, Baber joined three fellow passengers, including the flight attendant, in the cold water. "I got to the stewardess and started sobbing, just crying uncontrollably," he says. "She said, 'Come on, Barrett. Stay with me.' " He shook off his terror and helped guide others away from the fiery wreck.

In the end the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 killed 11, injured 80 and changed Barrett Baber's life forever. "You hear it all the time, people saying that every day is a gift. But it really is, you know," he says. "I drive the speed limit. I spend more time with people. And relationships mean a lot more to me now." As they no doubt do to those whose lives he helped save. Says Luke Hollingsworth, Baber's friend and fellow passenger: "The Bible says to sacrifice your life for a friend is the greatest gift. But to do it for a stranger takes it a step farther. And that's what Barrett did."

[lizbud]

Seeing humans rescuing animals (all kinds) in distress makes me think better of the human race.
p.s. Love seeing the baby elephant.


http://now.msn.com/animal-rescue-com...deo-goes-viral

[kuhio98]

TECHNICIAN WILLIE GANTT, 42
Carrying precious cargo from a raging house fire

Working on his tax returns in the wee hours of Feb. 28, Willie Gantt was startled by an urgent banging at the door of his Wichita, Kans., home. It was a breathless Sharanda Beard, 12, clutching a baby and shaking with fear as she blurted out that the house next door, where she was babysitting seven younger cousins and siblings, was on fire. Gantt, 42, barefoot and in boxer shorts, dashed out the door and "leaped over the fence," says his wife, Vera, 32. "He looked like a lion." Opening the door to the neighbor's house, "the fire knocked me to my knees," says Gantt, the father of three. Racing to the side of the house and crawling through the basement window that Sharanda had broken to escape, Gantt found the children and carried them to safety one by one. The fire, started by clothes near a space heater, gutted the house. "A few more minutes," says fire investigator Don Birmingham, "we'd be talking about eight fatalities."

[kuhio98]

Jonathan Kitto Has Rescued 1,100 Greyhounds Over the Past 13 years



Back in 1999, Jonathan Kitto and his partner, Alonso Saldivar, were running a commercial cleaning company and were growing weary of the grind.

"I came home one day and said, 'I need a dog,' " says Kitto, 58, who is also an Anglican priest.

The next day they went to a local pet supply store, which was having a greyhound meet and greet.

"Alonso was a little scared of dogs," he says. "But a few minutes later I looked over and a big greyhound was sitting in his lap."

Her name was Gigi. They adopted her and took her home.

"She was a wreck," he says. "She was scared of everything."

They called the rescue group for advice about Gigi's behavior.

"They said, 'You need to get another one,' " he recalls.

Mister Buck, who was up on the table about to be put down, soon joined their family. Three more dogs followed. Inspired, Kitto formed Gbark http://www.greyhoundbark.org/ , rescuing 1,100 retired greyhounds who were bred to be racers, some of whom were abused or neglected.

"We have some very unusual cases," says Kitto, who now lives in Bloomfield, Ind. "From one dog that was kept locked in a closet for two years to another who has a joint disease that leaves him barely able to walk."

But he always found them homes.

"I have never met anyone like him," says Kathy Murray, 47, who adopted Moose through his rescue. "Everything he does is for the dogs. He has a huge heart."

Kitto eventually shifted the focus of the rescue to being a "last stop" for unadoptable dogs. He's kept 60 greyhounds and mixed breed rescues who were about to be put down over the years.

"Some were elderly or sick or had a leg amputated," he says. "In some cases they'd bitten somebody. When we get them, that's their last stop. They stay with us forever."

To keep costs down, Kitto began making his own dog food, which led to him starting Mr. Buck's Genuinely Good Pet Food Company, http://www.mrbuckspetfood.com/ named in honor of his now deceased dog pal, Mr. Buck. Proceeds from the sale of the food go to support Kitto's rescue efforts and other rescue organizations.

Nicole Graves, foster coordinator for American Greyhound in Hobart, Ind., http://www.americangreyhound.org/ met Kitto a year ago and has since sent three unadoptable greyhounds his way.

"Gbark is a great home for dogs that need a special home," she says. "Jon has just dedicated his life to caring for these dogs. I would be lost without him."

But Kitto says he is the lucky one.

"It's a huge selfish pursuit," he says. "I'm sure some people don't quite get that but these dogs, starting with the first ones, were life changing."

[phesina]

God bless Mr. Kitto and his partner and all the dogs they have saved.

[cassiesmom]

God bless Mr. Kitto and his partner and all the dogs they have saved.

What a great story!

[kuhio98]

Good Samaritan returns $4K in cash left in Walmart parking lot
'It's OK to do something right,' he said


ANTELOPE, Calif. (KCRA) —What would you do if you found thousands of dollars in cash at a Walmart parking lot?

It happened to Paul Williams. He was leaving work last Thursday at a Walmart in Antelope when he stumbled upon a wallet in a shopping cart. Inside the wallet was $4,000 in cash, a $1,000 check and multiple credit cards.

"I was surprised to see that much money and no ID, no phone number. But there was a check in there with a phone number, so at least I had something to go on," Williams told KCRA 3.

He looked for a manager, but couldn’t find one, and had to catch the bus home.

His wife, Debra, was shocked when he told her about what he found.

"All I could say was, 'Wow!' And then I told him, 'Baby, you know we got to do the right thing,'" she said.

He agreed.

"Nowadays, people are losing their homes, not being able to pay. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone trying to pay a mortgage and had to miss it," Williams said.


The money belonged to Lynn Andries, who said it was to pay off her second mortgage. She had been planning to go to the bank while running other errands, and was in a rush while shopping at Walmart.

"I was just sick. I thought there was no point to even go back to the store. Lori, my sister said, 'You have to,'" Andries said.

She came back about an hour later, but couldn’t find the wallet. While she was in the parking lot, however, two Walmart employees told her a call came into the store regarding the wallet.

It was Williams on the other end of the line. He verified that it was indeed the person whose name was on the check. Andries arranged to meet with Williams and his wife.

"I looked at her right in the eyes and I asked, 'Is the money still there?' She said, 'Every single penny.' I just started crying and hugging them," Andries said. "It was absolutely awesome."

Andries said it gives her faith in humanity, in kindness from strangers like Williams.

Williams said he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t return the money to its rightful owner.

"This is just to show people that there are some good people in the world that do the right thing. And it’s OK to do something right," he said.