Feel-good stories

[maryjane48]

In 2002, two men savagely attacked Jason Padgett outside a karaoke bar, leaving him with a severe concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder. But the incident also turned Padgett into a mathematical genius who sees the world through the lens of geometry.

Padgett, a furniture salesman from Tacoma, Wash., who had very little interest in academics, developed the ability to visualize complex mathematical objects and physics concepts intuitively. The injury, while devastating, seems to have unlocked part of his brain that makes everything in his world appear to have a mathematical structure.

PLAY VIDEO
Can Math Equations Be A Form Of Art?
Sometimes, math can be hard ... but can it also be beautiful?
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"I see shapes and angles everywhere in real life" — from the geometry of a rainbow, to the fractals in water spiraling down a drain, Padgett told Live Science. "It's just really beautifull

http://news.discovery.com/human/life/br ... 140506.htm

[maryjane48]

Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho was a homeless man in São Paulo, Brazil who lived on the same street corner for nearly 35 years. He was known locally for writing in his books every day. Then in April 2011 a young woman named Shalla Monteiro befriended him and tried to help him achieve his dream of publishing a book. She created a Facebook Page featuring his writing, but nobody could have predicted what would happen next. -


See more at: http://beyondblindfold.com/a-woman-befr ... DMxSt.dpuf

[flamingfingers]

A happy tale for Mother’s Day: Stranger’s help at bus stop brings tears to all
Pedro Arrais / Times Colonist
May 10, 2014 09:41 PM

An anonymous woman’s random act of kindness ahead of Mother’s Day left a senior in tears and with a desire to fully express her gratitude to her benefactor.

After an afternoon of shopping on Wednesday, Pamela Douglas was waiting for a bus to take her home. As a regular bus rider, she was used to waiting a few minutes, but this time she waited in vain, as the bus never arrived. After half an hour, she decided to walk from Sidney to her North Saanich home — a journey that she estimated would take her about two hours.
But as she strode off, a young woman who was also in the bus shelter ran after her.

“She was a bubbly young woman in her mid-20s,” said Douglas, who wouldn’t give her age.

“She said: ‘It’s too far. Stay here; don’t move. A taxi is coming.’ ”

Douglas told the woman she didn’t have enough money for a taxi, but the woman insisted. “I just want you to be safe,” she said.

The young woman was astute, as Douglas later admitted she had taken a tumble into a ditch the last time she missed the bus and tried to walk home.

When the taxi came, the young woman gave some money to the driver to take Douglas home. When the taxi driver recognized the act of kindness behind the fare, he was touched by the gesture — and all three had tears in their eyes.

“The driver was absolutely overwhelmed, as well,” Douglas said.

In bidding farewell, the young woman gave Douglas a hug and said: “Have a very happy Mother’s Day.”

Because everything happened so fast, Douglas never learned her benefactor’s name. She hopes that by going public, the young lady will contact her. Along with thanking her properly, Douglas also hopes to reach out to the woman’s mother.

“I think a lot of mothers would love to hear about their children performing an act of kindness like this.”

[email protected]

[oneh2obabe]

Three spunky grandmothers stole the show as bridesmaids in their granddaughters' weddings.

[oneh2obabe]

It took him 24 years, but he did it.

Twenty-four years ago, Mei Guanghan borrowed 70,000 yuan (more than $11,000 CAD) from hundreds of his neighbours to pay for his wife's medical bills after she was seriously injured in a tractor accident and ended up in a coma.

The poor farmer from Zhejiang Province, China, went door to door, begging for any money people could spare. He carefully noted the names and donation amounts in a little brown book, vowing to eventually repay every penny.

Guanghan, now 66, finally cleared the last of his debt this week — save for four families that moved away. Guanghan plans to track them down, "even if it takes him the rest of his life to do it."

Guanghan and his wife, who is still paralyzed from the waist down, live in an almost-empty one-bedroom home. Even though they struggle to make ends meet, Guanghan made paying back his neighbours a priority.

"I had no other option open to me,” he said, according to a translation. "Honour is honour and I don’t believe in taking something for nothing."

"He is a good and honourable man," said his wife, Ren Chun’ai. "So many others would have taken the money and not thought twice about it. He went poor all his life to pay these people back."

Guanghan plans to leave the little brown record book to his children so that they never forget the kindness of the strangers who saved their mother's life.

He said that the book of now-repaid debts represents harder times and reminds him to be grateful.

[coffeeFreak]

Roommates buy used couch, find $40K in cash

By Michael Hill The Associated Press

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – For all the screaming and carrying on, their neighbours thought they’d won the lottery. But it was a lumpy old sofa stuffed with $40,000 in cash that had three young roommates raising a ruckus.

And here’s the other side of the ticket: They returned the money to the 91-year-old widow whose couch had been given away.

“We just pulled out envelopes and envelopes,” said Cally Guasti, a social worker with Family of Woodstock who shares an apartment with two friends in New Paltz, 75 miles (120 kilometres) north of New York City. “My mouth was literally hanging open – everybody’s was – it was an unfathomable amount.”

Guasti told The Associated Press on Thursday that she and her friends had bought the beat-up couch and a chair for $55 at a Salvation Army thrift shop in March. They noticed the arm cushions were weirdly lumpy. Then, one night in April, one of them, student Reese Werkhoven, of New York City, opened a zipper on one arm and found an envelope.

It contained $4,000 in bubble-wrapped bills.

Guasti, Werkhoven and roommate Lara Russo opened the other arm zipper and started mining the treasure stashed inside. They counted it up: $40,800.

“We put it all on a bed,” Guasti said. “We laid it all out and started counting. And we were screaming. In the morning, our neighbours were like, ‘We thought you won the lottery.”‘
Later on, Guasti found a deposit slip with a woman’s name on it. Werkhoven called her the next morning.

“She said, ‘I have a lot of money in that couch and I really need it,”‘ Guasti said.

They drove to the home of the woman, who turned out to be the elderly woman. She cried in gratitude when they gave her the cash she had hidden away.

The woman’s family had donated the couch to the Salvation Army while she was having health problems.

Guasti said the three had considered the option of keeping the money, but decided they couldn’t do that.

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t ours,” Guasti said. “I think if any of us had used it, it would have felt really wrong.”

http://globalnews.ca/news/1334998/roommates-buy-used-couch-find-40k-in-cash/?utm_source=Article&utm_medium=MostPopular&utm_campaign=2014

[oneh2obabe]

This soup kitchen is so nice, patrons refer to it as a restaurant without a cash register.

[oneh2obabe]

A dress for a princess and her heartbroken family.
Laurent Bastien Corbeil
Published on Sun May 25 2014

4-year-old Jaslynn Long dreamed of being a princess.

Ever since she first saw the Disney movie Frozen, she yearned to be an ice princess, just like the Frozen’s heroine Elsa. She’d sing Frozen’s big song “Let it Go” for hours with her twin sister, Mya.

Little Jaslynn never became a princess. She died last Wednesday after complications from strep throat. Her heartbroken parents were still determined to help Jaslynn’s dream come true. David and Leakhena Long wanted Jaslynn to be buried in the distinctive sparking blue dress Elsa wears in the film.

“Frozen was Jaslynn’s favourite movie. She would dance and sing for hours on end with her sister, it is one of our most cherished memories,” David Long wrote in a Facebook tribute to his daughter.

Little Jaslynn’s death came suddenly, shockingly after she’d seemed to be on the mend, following a bout with strep throat.

“She was getting over her strep, she had her antibiotics, and then it was after that. She seemed to be doing okay that day, and it just happened overnight,” said Sothear Ouch, a cousin of David Long’s.

Jaslynn Long, right, died last week from complications from strep throat. She is shown here with her twin sister Mya.

Along with another cousin, Somaly Touch, Ouch decided to help Jaslynn’s devastated parents manage their grief by making their little daughter’s dream come true.

With help from friends and some kind-hearted strangers, they eventually succeeded. It wasn’t easy, as costumes from the hit movie are as rare a warm summer breeze in Arendelle, the magical world where Frozen takes place.

At Disney stores, parents looking for Elsa’s dress must enter a special drawing. They’re required to fill out a form with the size they’re looking for before a Disney employee draws their names at random.

When David and Leakhena showed up at a Disney store near their Newmarket home on Friday, they were turned away by employees. Elsa’s dress, they were told, wasn’t going to be on sale until Saturday, and since Jaslynn’s viewing was planned for Sunday, the family now only had 24 hours to get their hands on the elusive dress.

Thankfully, David’s cousins had an idea.

“We figured if we gathered enough people and went to the Disney store, one of us was going to win,” Touch said.

The two cousins wrote about Jaslynn on their Facebook profiles, and their story struck a chord with friends and relatives, and in some cases, complete strangers.

“The share on my status ended up in North Carolina where there was a group of mothers who got together and were ready to hunt down this dress if we weren’t able to find it,” Touch said.

The response was so overwhelming that by the time morning arrived, they had gathered 32 people to fill out ballots, determined to stack the odds in the family’s favour.

Still, they didn’t want to leave anything to chance. While the draw took place, they went looking for classified ads online. Plenty of dresses were being sold there, but they were much more expensive. On eBay, prices for a limited edition dress can go as high as a thousand dollars, and on Kijiji, they usually hover in the hundreds of dollars.

With time running out, they sent out messages to eight sellers on Kijiji, each explaining Jaslynn’s story, and this time, it wasn’t long before they got a response.

Darren Ezer from Toronto, 36, was selling a dress for $150 on Kijiji when he received their email.

“I was kinda shocked, and very sad, and I wanted to find how what was going on so that I could help them right away,” he said. “I’ve got three daughters of my own, so it touched me right off the bat.”

Not only was he touched by their story, but Darren, whose oldest daughter is planning a Frozen-themed birthday party, understood the lengths parents go through to obtain a Elsa’s dress.

“I know what it takes to get this dress in this city. It’s been a whirlwind just to get a dress for my kids,” he said. “Going Saturday mornings, and going to draws just to get them. We got two dresses, and we had an extra one we didn’t need.”

So when Darren met up with the family, he didn’t hesitate. He gave it away.

“When we met him he was such a nice person,” Touch said. “We didn’t know that people like that still existed in the world.”

And Darren wasn’t the only kind stranger. Dilanie Ravi, 29, from Scarborough also had an ad on Kijiji for a Frozen dress when she received the family’s email. But the dress had already been sold to someone else, and Dilanie had forgotten about the ad.

Still, when she heard about Jaslynn’s story, Dilanie rushed to the nearest Disney store in Scarborough to get another dress — just for Jaslynn. When she got there, about a hundred people were already waiting line for the draw.

“I just had to go in and try my luck, so I went in, I put my name in the ballot, and I was lucky enough to get a dress,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine losing (our daughter). She is five years old, I couldn’t even imagine that.”

By the time Dilanie had gotten the dress, Jaslyn’s family had already met up with Darren. Still, Jaslynn wasn’t the only fan of Frozen in the family. Mya, her twin sister, loved the film just as much as her sister, so when the family heard about a second dress, they went to Scarborough to pick it up.

The family was overwhelmed, said Touch.

“We are so grateful.”

Monday, Jaslynn will be wearing the sparkling blue dress, as her parents lay their princess to rest.

[coffeeFreak]

Depressed goat ends hunger strike after reunion with donkey bff

KTVU-TV - Bay Area

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. — Friendship is an emotion that is shared by animals and humans alike. If you need evidence, here is a story of Mr. G the goat and Jellybean the burro. It sounds like a children's book, but it's true.

Earlier this year, animal welfare officials seized dozens of dogs and three farm animals from the home of a hoarder. The animals were living in squalor and taken to a variety of animal care facilities.

Mr.G and Jellybean were separated for the first time in their lives when they were taken to separate animal sanctuaries in Northern California.

Officials at the Animal Place in Grass Valley took in Mr. G., but noticed immediately that something was wrong.

Animal Place officials said it didn’t matter what the staff did, the goat refused to eat and just lay in the corner of his stall.
They offered him treats like sweet grain and apples – favorite foods for a goat. But that didn’t work.

Mr. G was given a thorough physical exam and appeared to be completely healthy. After four days, officials said something drastic needed to be done.

They decided to reunite him with the burro. It took three days to go get Jellybean and transport him to Grass Valley.

When Jellybean finally arrived, as he was being unloaded from the animal trailer, Mr. G heard him and immediately leapt to his hooves and ran to the door.

Soon the two were reunited. They are now happily sharing a pen, and Mr. G is eating again.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/national/animal-sanctuary-reunion-brings-happy-ending-abuse/nf5zf/

[oneh2obabe]

[oneh2obabe]

WestJet Father’s Day surprise reunites dad with sick child.

Following up on the success of their viral holiday stunt, WestJet is making dreams come true again – this time making Father’s Day come early for one very special dad.



“We were approached in mid-March by our WestJet Cares for Kids partner Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada and their agency partners,” the company writes on their blog. “The idea they brought forward was to surprise a dad, who stays behind in one province working to support his family and caring for one son, while his spouse and sick son are in another province receiving treatment. They didn’t need to ask us twice – we were all in for this Father’s Day surprise.”

WestJet and RMHC flew Marc Grimard and his son Mathieu to Edmonton, Alta. to spend some time with his wife and youngest son, Joel, who suffers from a congenital heart condition. The family is often separated for months at a time while Joel receives treatment at the Stollery Children's Hospital.

It took more than 30 people to make this early Father’s Day surprise happen, including a WestJet agent who trained to fill in for Marc Grimard at his job during the week he was with reunited with his family.

“We know that when a crisis hits, a family is rocked both emotionally and financially. As such, we wanted to ensure that when we brought the Grimard family together, we did so without disrupting the family’s means of financial support.”

WestJet says they’ll reunite even more families for every 100,000 views the YouTube clip, to a maximum of 500,000 views.

You can also check out the video diary of WestJetter Medel, who filled in for Marc at his job with the City of Saskatoon’s Transit Services in the clip below.

[oneh2obabe]

It takes drive to turn these houses into homes.
Joe Fiorito
Columnist
Published on Mon Jun 16 2014

Progress is slow, but David Brown will not stop until he has turned all three of the old Victorians he owns into shelter housing.

David Brown, in one of the houses he is renovating.

He has already done one. He has two to go. He is patient and he is unstoppable. I don’t know what drives him. I bet he drives his banker around the corner, given that there are better and more immediate returns for your money than building shelter housing.

A few months ago one of the houses he owns, on Dundas near Sherbourne, was opened to provide shelter for aboriginal kids; it took ages, and the involvement of many different social agencies, to pull that one off. It was no quick flip. He bought the place a dozen years ago.

And over time he bought the two houses next door and now he is turning them into shelter housing for women. It is not an easy job, nor is it cheap to take what once were slum dwellings and crack dens and make them into places of hope.

I put the question bluntly — is he doing this out of the goodness of his heart, is he religious, or is he in it to make a profit? He sighed. “From this point on, it will cost a million, a million and a half to finish the job.” His return will be in the form of rent. It will take forever to break even.

So, not the money.

Of the two most recent renovations he said, “I’m going to be the landlord. Fred Victor will have the lease, and will be dealing with the city to put people in.” I remind you that the Fred Victor Centre is one of this city’s leading shelter-support agencies. The houses will have services and staff available around the clock.

But surely there are, if not better then at least more profitable things to do? He said, “If we help people get permanently on their feet, we’ll have accomplished something.” I pushed him one more time.

He said, “I don’t want to be seen as somebody who was like every other rooming-house owner. I want to do something really great.” Here, you might like to know that he has hired a young aboriginal man from the first house as one of the workers on this latest project; that’s pretty great all by itself.

These two houses were in rough shape when he bought them. He is taking them back to the studs. He will also treat them for bedbugs and cockroaches before the walls go up. This is not mandatory but he said, “You’d think it would be part of the building code; it makes so much sense.”

Yes, it does.

There will be 19 rooms in one of the houses, and 24 in the other. Each room will have a four-piece bath. He hopes to have the job done by the fall. He clearly knows what he is doing, but this is no half-hour home reno show. You should wish him luck.

He continues to think big. He led me outside and around the back, where there is a garage in the lane behind the houses. “There’s nothing in the city’s official plan about laneways. The waiting list for housing is increasing. What can I do that’s extraordinary?”

Yes, that is how he talks.

“I’m thinking of three Victorian coach houses in the lane, each with 10 units, with common areas on the main floors. I’ve had preliminary discussions with planning; they seem receptive.” As they should.

I circled back to my original question: why? He said, “I’m 60 years old. I have two kids, ages 6 and 10.” He paused again, thinking of them, and said, “I’m not religious. I just think it’s the right thing to do. I hope it’s an inspiration to my kids.”

It is, to all of us.

[oneh2obabe]

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recognized Isaiah Austin by calling his name on behalf of the league after his dreams were cut short by his diagnosis with Marfan syndrome.

[oneh2obabe]

Zack’s Shack
Utah boy’s lemonade stand sends wheelchairs to developing countries.


Eleven-year-old Zack Francom's lemonade stands are changing lives.

Since 2010, the Provo, Utah, boy has been selling cookies and lemonade at his annual Zack's Shack to buy wheelchairs for people in developing countries.

Thanks to the outpouring of local support — hundreds of people line up outside of his house each April — he's been able to provide more than 300 wheelchairs to people who would otherwise go without.

"Nobody who needs a wheelchair should have to go without one just because they can't afford it," Zack told People magazine.

It all started in 2010, when Zack's school held a fundraiser to buy an $86 wheelchair for the Mormon charity, LDS Philanthropies. Then just 6 years old, Zack wanted to do more.

"I decided that I wanted to raise enough to buy one all by myself," Zack said.

"I thought, 'What if I couldn't walk or run or ride my bike? What would that be like?' I wanted to help make life easier for somebody who couldn't walk or run and didn't have money for a wheelchair to help them get around."



With his help of his parents, Zack held a lemonade stand — and was able to cover the cost of a wheelchair on his own.

"Zack has the kindest heart of any 10-year-old boy I've ever met," his mom, Nancy Bird, told the Daily Herald in April. "He really believes in providing wheelchairs for those who can't afford it. I know he is special and has been put here to do big things. Our job as parents is to support him in what he wants to accomplish. What parent wouldn't do all they could?"

Last year, Zack's Shack was awarded a $25,000 grant from the State Farm Neighborhood Assist Program.

This spring alone, Zack sold 350 dozen cookies — baked by his mom — and 80 quarts of lemonade, raising $5,3000. With basic models now costing $143, he was able to buy 37 wheelchairs to ship to Guatemala, Guam and other countries where the cost of a wheelchair is often the equivalent of more than a year's wages.

"Zack's greatest gift is that he is changing lives — not only his, and his family's — but many others," Glen Evans, donor liaison with LDS Philanthropies, told the Daily Herald. "And he has done that in the context of giving wheelchair-related mobility to others in the process."

"There was one lady in Guatemala who crawled for 10 miles with her baby on her back to pick up her wheelchair," said Bird.

"What a dramatic change it has made in her life," she said. "Stories like this are what keep Zack going."

Zack hopes that other kids will launch similar lemonade stands across the country.

And in the future, the budding philanthropist plans to not only buy the wheelchairs, but deliver them, too.

"My goal is to fly around the world someday and hand out the wheelchairs," he told People.

[oneh2obabe]