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Veteran Who Was Given 4 Months to Live Transforms Polluted Creek – and Lives 27 Years Longer Because of It

By
McKinley Corbley
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Want to LISTEN to this story? Hear the short segment from The Good News Guru (GNN Founder) on our Friday radio broadcast with Ellen K on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below…
(Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)

 

Though John Beal was able to make it home to his family after the Vietnam war, he was still in dire straits – not because of the gunfire, but because of his health, a story that was first told by KUOW’s RadioActive Youth Media program at Puget Sound Public Radio.

After settling in with his family in Seattle, Washington, the veteran suffered three heart attacks within a year of returning from the war.

At the VA hospital, he was not only told that he had PTSD, but the doctor said that he only had about four more months to live – so the doctor recommended that he “get a hobby”.

As a means of clearing his head, Beal walked to Hamm Creek to contemplate his future. Though he was being faced with an immediate death, he took particular notice of how polluted the waterway was. The yellowed water, which had been sullied by a nearby sewage plant, was filled with broken cars, dead fish, and rotting debris. Local children would caution people to avoid getting into the water, otherwise they might emerge from the creek covered in rashes.

WATCH: After Youth Walks 7 Hours to First Day of Work, CEO Hands Over His Own Car as a Thank You

But according to Beal’s daughter Liana, the creek inspired her father.

“He thought, well, I did a lot of damage in Vietnam, so why not clean up where I am now before I pass?” she recalled to KUOW.

Beal started cleaning the river by removing all the trash and garbage. He then realized that aquatic wildlife were still unable to survive in the creek because the water flow continued into a series of underground pipes – so he removed the pipes.

MORE: Immigrant Endures Misery, But Stays Positive Until a Brilliant Idea Unlocks the American Dream

Even though he sometimes got overwhelmed by his new “way of life,” the determined veteran persevered.

After years of work, Hamm Creek is now a flourishing wildlife oasis that is resplendent with healthy greenery and wild salmon.

“I was told the first year that I took this job on that you can’t change it, you’ll never bring it back to what it was,” John said in a video quoted by KUOW. “Well, it is restored.

LOOK: Dutch Man Cleans Up Entire River Bank On His Daily Commute to Work

“You can do anything you want if you possess an idea with a passion. If you pursue that, and if you stick with it long enough, you’ll change the world.”

As fate would have it, Beal passed away in 2006 – which is 27 years later than the doctor’s original prognosis. In the years after his passing, conservationists have honored him for his work and labored to carry on his legacy so Hamm Creek can improve the lives of other people the same way it saved Beal.

Clean Up Negativity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by John Hogg / World Bank, and Chesapeake Bay Program, CC license

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Good News Network
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Rebekah, CC license

Quote of the Day: “Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Airman’s Odyssey

Photo: by Rebekah, CC license, Flickr

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

One Cat’s Obsession With Hunting Birds Leads to Invention That Has Saved Hundreds of Thousands

By
McKinley Corbley
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LISTEN to this story from our podcast, told by The Good News Guru (GNN Founder) on Friday’s radio broadcast with Ellen K on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)

Cats kill a staggering number of birds in the U.S. every year—estimated to be in the billions—but one feline’s affinity for hunting them has inadvertently led to the salvation of hundreds of thousands of other feathered prey.

Back in 2008, Nancy Brennan was sick and tired of her cat George bring dead birds into her home. Not only was it a distasteful thing to find on her living room floor, it was also heartbreaking for the enthusiastic birdwatcher.

“His first catch one spring was a ruffed grouse, which he killed and brought into the house,” Brennan told the Burlington Free Press. “I was so disgusted, I literally said out loud, ‘I’m going to stop you, George.’”

As she pondered how to curb George’s hunting habits, she recalled reading an article about how birds notice bright colors. So she grabbed some rainbow fabric and sewed up a bright collar that he could wear around his neck as an early warning system for the birds.

RELATED: Taxi Driver Saves His Marriage By Inventing Anti-Snore Pillow That He Dreamt Up in His Sleep

A week went by and Brennan did not find a single bird on her living room floor in Duxbury, Vermont. She waited a few more weeks to judge the collar’s efficacy, and after one month knew her little invention actually worked.

She also knew that she wasn’t the only pet owner who was tired of finding dead birds on their doorstep, so Brennan launched a website called “Birds Be Safe” and crafted 500 colorful collars to sell online to her fellow cat lovers.

LOOK: A Genius Invention is Saving Thousands of Animals From Drowning in Backyard Pools

For the next six years, the 60-year-old birder sold the quick-release collars from her home to hundreds of customers describing similar success with the product.

Then in 2015, an ornithologist and St. Lawrence University professor named S.K. Willson was so happy with the collar that she decided to do a scientific study to test its efficacy.

MORE: Thousands of Blind Dogs Get New Leash on Life With This Wearable Device

Her 12-week studies, conducted in spring and fall, were published in the Global Ecology and Conservation journal, and showed that the cats donning the colorful Birds Be Safe collars were, in fact, killing 19 times fewer birds than those who did not.

The study brought a flood of new customers to Brennan’s website, turning her small business turned into a booming success. She now has a manufacturer creating the collars and says that she has orders coming in from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa, Iceland, and all fifty of the United States.

CHECK OUT: Generator That Creates Electricity From Gravity Could Revolutionize Renewable Energy

While George passed away some years ago, his antics have saved hundreds of thousands of birds so far.

“Can you believe I went from George being in trouble all the time, for catching birds, to this?’” Brennan said. “He’s paid off his karma pretty well.” (Buy the product on Amazon)

Be Sure And Share This Pawesome Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Birdsbesafe

One Cat’s Obsession With Hunting Birds Leads to Invention That Has Saved Hundreds of Thousands (Podcast)

By
Good News Network
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Cats kill a staggering number of birds in the U.S. every year—estimated to be in the BILLIONS—but Nancy Brennan’s love of both birds and cats led to a solution. Hear The Good News Guru tell her feel-good story of the week (from the December 7, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio in Los Angeles).

Subscribe to our Good News podcast on iTunes, or for Android devices on Podbean.

A Happiness Lesson From Waitressing: It’s Not About You

By
Ryan Morris
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The Lesson: When you’re working in the service industry, it’s easy to assume that the gratuity you receive is a direct result of your performance – but what observation shows is that people will tip what they tip, and they will behave how they normally behave. Ultimately, this means that we can’t always expect to be able to evoke change in others – whether it’s in a restaurant or the rest of the world. We must accept that sometimes we have little control over the people who we encounter.

Notable Excerpt: “…although I feel like the center of the action, often I’m not. People aren’t adjusting everything they do based on me. I need to remember that in many cases, I’m not responsible for the reactions that I think I’m provoking.”

The Host: Dubbed a “Happiness Guru”, best-selling author Gretchen Rubin started her career in law and was clerking at the Supreme Court when she realized she wanted to be a writer. To date, the Manhattan-based speaker has written several biographies, self-help guides, and indexes on the happiest places and practices in the world.

Podcast: Her top-ranking, award-winning podcast, “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” which discusses happiness and good habits.

Books: Rubin is the author of “The Happiness Project”, which spent two years on the New York Times bestsellers list. Her books, including “The Four Tendencies”, “Happier at Home”, and “Better Than Before”, have sold almost three million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages. Additionally, Rob Lowe has published an autobiography called “Stories I Only Tell My Friends” and a collection of romantic memoirs called “Love Life”.

(LISTEN to the quick psychology lesson below)

Good Advice? SHARE It – Or Check Out More On Our Good Talks Page…

Brain-Dead Mom Wakes Up Minutes After Being Taken Off Life Support; Four Months Later, She’s Fighting Fit

By
McKinley Corbley
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Michele De Leeuw’s family and doctors had assumed the worst after a heart attack left her with just a sliver of brain function – but to everyone’s astonishment, she has made a “miraculous” recovery since her husband decided to take her off life support.

Four months ago, the 57-year-old suffered a devastating heart attack while she was with her husband at their home in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Though she was without oxygen for fifteen minutes, she was given a chance at survival after paramedics guided Karl through performing CPR on his wife.

Unfortunately, her situation was still dire – it only takes six minutes after the heart stops pumping blood for a person’s brain to fail, and ten minutes without blood flow usually results in permanent brain damage.

Six days after Michele was taken to the hospital, doctors told Karl and her two kids that she only had 5% brain function and 25% heart function.

RELATED: In ‘Freakish Miracle’, Man’s Change of Fishing Spot Results in Rescuing 18-Month-old From the Ocean

He was then faced with “the hardest decision of his life”: choosing to take his wife off of life support.

Minutes after the heart-broken husband opted to unplug his wife from the ventilator, however, Michele started breathing on her own.


The doctors still maintained that she would not recover – but then, two days later, Michele woke up. Two days after that, she was talking on her own. Another two days later, she was feeding herself.

Over the course of the last four months, she has undergone open-heart surgery as well as speech and physical therapy – all of which has resulted in her full recovery.

MORE: Hiker Was About to Die in a Snowstorm When She Was Saved by a Total Stranger Following Her Intuition

Upon being restored to her former self, she was sent home earlier this week just in time for her 26th wedding anniversary with Karl.

“You wouldn’t believe it if you didn’t know what she’s gone through,” Karl told NBC News. “She’s a miracle lady.”

Cure Your Friends Of Negativity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photos by Myles De Leeuw

Norway to Become First Country That Bans Palm Oil Biofuels That Are Linked to Deforestation

By
McKinley Corbley
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In a historic vote, the majority of the Norwegian parliament agreed to ban their biofuel industry from buying palm oil and other dangerous biofuels that are linked to deforestation and harmful environmental practices.

The initiative is set to go into full effect on January 1st, 2020. Until that deadline, legislators will be putting together a comprehensive policy that will prevent the biofuel industry from purchasing or using fuels that are not ethically sourced.

Norway’s palm oil consumption reached an all-time high in 2017 as a result of the country’s race to cut fossil fuel use from their transportation sector, with reports saying that 10% of the country’s entire diesel consumption was based out of palm oil. However, the nation has been working since April 2017 to ensure that all of their cars sold after 2025 will be electric.

Since palm oil has been linked to deforestation, the prosecution of native people, dangerous sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and the destruction of wildlife habitats, Norway’s vote is being praised as a landmark “victory” for the environment.

RELATED: In World First, Norway Will Only Be Allowing Electric Ships to Enter Their Pristine Fjords

“The Norwegian parliament’s decision sets an important example to other countries and underlines the need for a serious reform of the world’s palm oil industry,” says Nils Hermann Ranum of conservational group Rainforest Foundation Norway, adding that “this is a victory in the fight for the rainforest and the climate.”

While the European Union has also voted to phase out harmful biofuels, their ban will not go into full effect until 2030.

Plant Some Positivity Amongst Your Friends By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – File photo by Craig Morey, CC

Read the Amusing Card That Two Cheeky Mailmen Have Been Sending to Each Other for 43 Years

By
Good News Network
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SWNS

Two retired Royal Mail workers have been exchanging the same Christmas card for more than 40 years – but since the card has become so precious to them, they refuse to post it in case it gets lost.

Every December, 78-year-old Raymond Pearson and 59-year-old Steve Ford take it in turns to deliver their festive greeting and add a new message to the card.

The comments they’ve included over the years usually include jokes, clever rhymes and jibes about saving cash, such as “Over to You in ’92” and “The Saving is Mine in ’79”.

“Each year, it is a short message, and we try and think of something rhyming,” said Pearson, who is from Stourbridge, West Midlands. “This year it’s quite weird – but that’s Steve.

LOOK: Hearts Are Melting Over This Young Man’s New Friendship With a Lonely Senior He Met at McDonald’s

“It says ‘It’s Christmas time 2019, the card is making news, may your year be full of tidings bright and devoid of any blues’.

Their bizarre tradition started in 1975 when Pearson sent the Yuletide greeting to Ford.

SWNS

“We both used to work for the Royal Mail,” said Pearson. “In 1975, I was in personnel, Steve was a cadet. We both had similar interests in motorcycles and films, so I sent him a Christmas card.”

LOOK: Groom Can’t Contain His Laughter When Bearded Best Man Shows Up in the Dress Where His Bride Should Be

Instead of putting it up on the mantle, however, Ford decided to post it back to Pearson as a joke.

“The following year he sent it back to me [and] I thought ‘we are going to play silly beggars, are we?’ and sent it back to him.”

SWNS

Little did they know it at the time, but the friends had started a custom which was to continue every Christmas for the next 43 years.

RELATED: US Embassy Apologizes for Accidental Mass-Mailing of Invitation for ‘Cat Pajama-Jam Party’

Despite how they are both retired Royal Mail stalwarts, they always insist on hand-delivering the battered card so that it won’t get lost or damaged in the post.

“Once we started, we had to carry on,” he added. “It didn’t really cross our minds we would be doing it for 43 years. We just kept on doing it.”

SWNS

Ford, who is from Kingswinford, said: “I just thought it’d be funny to keep [the card], take it to him next year and see his face, if he remembers the card – and then the swine sent it back to me.

“We’re running out of space to write inside the card and we may be on the back cover next year.”

SWNS

Make Sure Your Friends Can Get In On The Royal Fun By Sharing This Story To Social Media

“Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo: by scrappy annie, CC license, Flickr

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

JetBlue is Delivering Gift-Wrapped People to Their Loved Ones for Christmas

By
Good News Network
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There is no better Christmas gift than being able to spend time with your loved ones – which is why JetBlue is surprising people with some very special deliveries.

The airline is holding an amusing holiday contest in which five people will win free round-trip plane tickets to a destination of their choice.

The winners can then be gift-wrapped and “delivered” in a variety of packaging styles.

The “Go Get Gifted” contest winners will be flown out to the homes of their friends or family on Christmas Eve. Interested participants have until December 12th to enter the contest with a description of why they believe they should be a contest winner.

The most creative or intriguing submissions will be selected as the winners and announced on December 15th.

(WATCH the amusing promo video below) – Photos by JetBlue

Gift This Good News To Your Friends By Sharing It To Social Media

Scientists Praise 96-Year-old for His Hobby of Saving Dwindling Bluebird Populations

By
Ryan Morris
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The dedication of a 96-year-old citizen scientist has been an unparalleled lifesaver for his home state’s bluebird population.

Al Larson, also known as “The Bluebird Man”, first began his conservational labor of love after he read an issue of National Geographic that detailed how building bird houses could help to curb their declining populations. After seeing a bluebird going in and out of a dead tree on his property, Larson became inspired to start setting up little boxes that could serve as nests for bluebirds.

“I got carried away,” Larson told Audobon. “I settled on a simple design that [was] easy to build and easy to monitor. I kept adding more boxes on these trails, and these birds responded.”

What started as a hobby to pursue in his retirement turned into a full-time effort  – and after almost four decades of devotion, he has banded and documented over 30,000 bluebirds, thanks primarily to the 350 birdhouses that he has built across southwest Idaho. He often travels over 5,000 miles to check on all of his boxes during the summer nesting season.

RELATED: Man Postpones Retirement to Save Reefs After He Accidentally Discovers How to Make Coral Grow 40 Times Faster

Since bluebirds reside in dead or nearly-dead trees, their population began to decline after the invention of the electric chainsaw in the early 1900s made it easier for homeowners to rid their properties of dead trees.

In addition to having their habitats destroyed, the implementation of pesticides spelled an uncertain future for the bluebirds of Idaho.

But the efforts of Larson have shown us that if we take a moment to understand the needs of a species, the solution will present itself in a practical and obtainable way.

MORE: Swiss Businessman is Contributing $1 Billion Towards Protecting 30% of the Planet

Now that he is nearing the age of 97, Larson shows no signs of slowing down. Additionally, his inspiring story has been turned into the Emmy award-nominated documentary “Bluebird Man.”

“Al is a living example of how much one person can achieve when they set their mind on a task. But he’s also an example of the benefits that a project like this can have for people,” filmmaker Matthew Podolsky told Audubon. “[Bluebirds] have given meaning to Al’s life, and they are truly the secret to his longevity.”

(WATCH the documentary below) – Feature photo by Matthew Podolsky

Fly This Inspiring Story Over To Your Friends By Sharing It To Social Media

When Cops Respond to Noise Complaint About Friends Playing New Nintendo Game, They Join in on the Fun

By
Good News Network
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Instead of ruining the fun for a couple of friends who were enjoying the new Nintendo video game, two police officers accepted their offer to join in.

Jovante Williams had been playing the newly-released “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate” game at his friend’s apartment in Minneapolis, Minnesota when they heard a knock at the door.

Local police officers had been called to the apartment based on a noise complaint from a neighbor. Since Williams says that the actual source of the noise was coming from somewhere else in the apartment complex’s hallway, however, the cops left.

The officers returned several more times to make sure that the noise wasn’t too loud, until finally, Williams’s friend told the squad they they were simply drinking beers and playing Smash.

WATCH: Watch the Heartwarming Moment a Man on the Subway Offers to Play Cell Phone Game With Curious Boy

When one of the officers asked “what is smash?”, Williams asked them if they wanted to play.

Two of the cops immediately accepted the offer and sat down for a few rounds. Amidst everyone sharing some good-natured banter, Williams says that he jokingly told one of the cops: “Just don’t fine me if I beat you.”

When asked who won the games, Williams replied: “We did. But they were pretty good [and] one of them was sick with Pikachu.”

MORE: Despite Local Racial Tension, Good Samaritan Leaps Into Action to Rescue Cop From Smoking Car

Williams posted a video of the exchange to Reddit where it was upvoted thousands of times, much to his delight.

“Ultimately (badum-tssh), [I’m] just super happy to post wholesome content and have it go a li’l viral for the world to watch,” he wrote in a comment.

(WATCH the footage below)

Serve Up This Fun Story To Your Friends By Sharing It To Social Media – Photo by Jovante M. Williams

Tesla’s Record-Breaking Mega Battery, Installed on a Bet, Saves Australia $40 Million in Its First Year

By
McKinley Corbley
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It has been one year since the world’s largest lithium ion battery was switched on in South Australia to combat costly statewide power outages – and this new report shows that it has performed astonishingly well.

The 100-megawatt Hornsdale Power Reserve, which was designed by Tesla, has saved over $40 million AUD in annual maintenance costs to the electrical grid, also known as frequency controlled ancillary services (FCAS).

The report, which was conducted by consultancy firm Aurecon and commissioned by Neoen, the energy company that manages the massive battery, goes on to say that this is a 75% reduction in annual maintenance costs compared to 2016 and 2017.

The data is especially impressive since the battery itself only cost about $66 million.

RELATED: Tesla Restores Power to Puerto Rican Children’s Hospital– And That’s Not All

The battery was built in just 54 days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a bet with state legislators, saying that if he was unable to finish the battery in 100 days, he would give it to them for free.

In addition to being a cheaper replacement to the fossil-fuel dependent system that was previously used by the energy market operator, the battery creates zero carbon emissions. It is also capable of responding to outages in a matter of milliseconds, which could not be achieved by previous backups.

Power Up With Positivity By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media

Santa Claus Melts Hearts By Getting Down on One Knee to Thank WWII Veteran for His Service

By
McKinley Corbley
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A heartwarming photo that is being shared across social media proves that even Saint Nicholas is humbled in the presence of US veterans.

Gina Wilbur had been sitting on a bench at the Concord Mall in Wilmington, Delaware last week when Santa Claus was greeting kids at his workshop.

Though there were many kids who still wanted to sit on his lap, he briefly stepped away from his chair so he could walk over to 93-year-old Bob Smiley, a World War II veteran who was sitting nearby.

As Wilbur looked on in astonishment, Santa got down on one knee and earnestly thanked Smiley for his service.

WATCH: 48 Years After Reading the Christmas Card That Got Him Through the Vietnam War, He Finally Got to Meet the Sender

“I hear Santa telling the gentleman, in a soft voice, of others he knew who served,” said Wilbur in a Facebook post. “He shakes his hand with genuine gratefulness thanking him for his service and returns to the children. Best moment of my day.”

Wilbur quickly snapped a photo of the heartwarming moment and posted it to social media where it was later shared thousands of times.

WTXF later managed to reunite Santa and Smiley and introduce them to Wilbur so they could discuss the emotional encounter in person.

LOOK: 86-year-old With Dementia Snuggles Up to Mall Santa – and Makes Everybody Cry

Smiley, who has 10 children, 26 grandchildren, and over 26 great-grandchildren, says that he is always appreciative of when people thank him for his service.

“I try to show my appreciation when they do thank me,” he told Fox News. “I thank them for thinking about us.”

(WATCH the news coverage below)

Be Sure And Share This Heartwarming Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Gina Wilbur

“Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.” – Jonathan Swift

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.” – Jonathan Swift

Photo: by David Unger, CC license, Flickr (Van Gogh painting, cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Disabled Workers Can Fulfill Their Love of Catering by Controlling Restaurant Robots From Home

By
McKinley Corbley
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These Japanese robots might seem like something out of a spooky sci-fi flick, but they’re actually offering a new kind of freedom to disabled caterers.

The Dawn Ver café in Tokyo is testing a pilot program that allows people who are unable to work in a restaurant setting to continue pursuing their passion for catering by controlling robots.

The OriHime-D robots were originally created to help patients around their homes – but the developers are also now using them to explore how they can generate income and offer social interaction to the disabled.

“If the people operating the robots feel the joy of serving customers and working in a café, I think it’s wrong to leave that to AI,” said Kentaro Yoshifuji, the CEO of Ory Lab Inc.

RELATED: Dad Designs a Floating Drone That Could Prevent Dozens of Potential Drownings

The Dawn Ver café robots are controlled by 10 workers, all of whom experience a variety of physically-limiting conditions, such as ALS and spinal cord injuries. The workers are paid roughly $9 an hour to pilot the robots around the restaurant, talk to customers, take food orders, and serve meals.

Though the café will only be open for a short period of time to test the program, the robotics company responsible for the initiative hopes to raise enough money through a crowdfunding campaign to launch a permanent robot café for the disabled by 2020.

(WATCH the video below)

Power Up With Positivity By Sharing This Interesting Story With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by CGTN

Town Surprises Man by Replacing Truck He’s Used to Transport Veterans for 20 Years

By
McKinley Corbley
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For the last 40 years, Ron Elliott has been using a special pick-up truck to transport the bodies of dead Vietnam veterans to their final resting places free of charge – so when his faithful automobile finally started to break down, the community stepped up to help.

Elliott, who is a Vietnam veteran himself, had been driving the same 2000 Ford F150 for about two decades. It was the second vehicle that he had used for his labor of love, and it had wracked up roughly 150,000 miles before it started to die.

The side of the truck was emblazoned with the names of Vietnam veterans from Delaware who lost their lives in combat.

Elliott has been using the specially-decorated trucks to transport the remains of his brothers in arms since the 1960s. Though he is based out of New Castle County, Delaware, he says that he has offered his free services to veterans and their families in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and even Kentucky.

WATCH: 48 Years After Reading the Christmas Card That Got Him Through the Vietnam War, He Finally Got to Meet the Sender

He guesses that he has made roughly 500 trips to cemeteries up and down the east coast.

“From losing so many brothers over there, I said ‘I’ve got to do something where they won’t be forgotten,’” Elliott told WDEL. “It’s not hard to me. I’m glad to do it for them.”

So when his truck started to show signs of wear and tear in August, he was worried that he would have to stop offering up his services.

LOOK: When Helicopter Upsets Tennis Player With PTSD, His Teammate Abandons Game to Comfort Him Using a Song

Instead, community firefighters and veterans raised money to buy Elliott a lightly-used 2013 Ford truck that will soon be outfitted with modifications for carrying the veterans’ caskets and repainted to feature the names of the deceased veterans.

The truck was presented to Elliott earlier this week with the help of Mitchel Gauge, a retired Air Force veteran who led the fundraising effort.

“It’s all about Ron and what he does for veterans,” Gauge told WDEL. “Transporting deceased veterans at no cost to the cemeteries [or the veteran’s families] including Arlington Cemetery, and he’s been doing that for years. We just wanted him to keep that mission going.”

(WATCH the news coverage below)

Be Sure And Share This Heartwarming Story Of Kindness With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Ron’s Brigade GoFundMe

Abandoned Coal Mines May Soon Be Transformed into Perfectly Efficient Indoor Farms

By
Ryan Morris
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With the ever-declining demand for coal around the world, there are over 150,000 coal mine shafts that are abandoned in the UK alone – but they might soon be given new life in the form of ultra-efficient indoor farms.

Though it might seem counterintuitive, coal mines are actually an “almost perfect” environment for farming. These underground tunnels naturally maintain consistent temperatures, and they are unaffected by weather changes, seasons, or the unexpected symptoms of climate change.

Furthermore, vertical indoor farms use up to 95% less water than regular land farming and no pesticides.

In a former air-raid tunnel in London, scientists Richard Ballard and Steven Dring are testing their plans for future underground farms, and they are already seeing immense potential in their work. The repurposed World War Two bunker is currently providing healthy vegetables to supermarkets of the Clapham Common neighborhood, all while avoiding the dynamic – and sometimes harmful – weather conditions that most farms encounter on the surface.

LOOK: Engineer Creates Green Oasis by Growing Glaciers in the Desert

Thanks to the success of their undertaking, the concept is being expanded to other abandoned coal mines in the UK. The proposal has already garnered support from scientists and economists alike, as they foresee this venture as a means not only to provide a sustainable harvest, but as a measure that would create jobs in areas that have lacked economic stability since the closure of the mines.

“A lot of hill farmers in Wales are living hand to mouth so anything that helps diversity and brings a new form of income would be very welcome,” Land Trust Chief Executive Euan Hall told BBC.

MORE: World’s Largest Vertical Farm Near NYC Uses 95% Less Water and No Pesticides

Research regarding the new farming technique shows that, given the proper allocation of resources and farm design, coal mine farms can successfully generate up to ten times more food than surface level farms. This means that less land would need to be allocated to farmland, which would in turn drastically reduce greenhouse emissions and deforestation, as agriculturalists could use carbon-capture technology to trap and utilize the crop’s natural CO2 emissions.

The technique could also result in the revitalization of many species that are endangered by farming practices.

The proposal has garnered support from the Chinese government as well as UK locals and officials; and though there are still many hurdles that need to be cleared before the plans for these mines can be fully realized, the initiative could become a landmark stepping stone to a more sustainable global future.

Plant Some Positivity Amongst Your Friends By Sharing The Good News To Social Media – Photo by GrownUnder Twitter

Mom Brought to Tears When Airline Stranger Gives Up First Class Seat for Her Sick Daughter

By
McKinley Corbley
-

Kelsey Rae Zwick could not contain her emotions when a compassionate stranger in first class insisted on switching seats with her – and though she did not get to thank him properly on the plane, she finally got her chance on social media after her Facebook post went viral.

Zwick had been flying from Orlando to Philadelphia with her 11-month-old daughter Lucy earlier this week. Since the baby suffers from chronic lung disease, the two of them were heading to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for treatment.

“I was pushing a stroller, had a diaper bag on my arm and also lugging an oxygen machine for my daughter,” wrote Zwick in an open Facebook letter to the passenger. “We had smiles on our faces as we were headed to see her ‘friends’ at CHOP.”

As they settled into their pre-boarded seats, however, Zwick was stunned to be approached by a flight attendant who said that a man in first class wanted to switch seats with her.

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“Not able to hold back tears, I cried my way up the aisle while my daughter Lucy laughed!” wrote Zwick. “She felt it in her bones too… real, pure, goodness. I smiled and thanked you as we switched but didn’t get to thank you properly.

“Sooo… thank you. Not just for the seat itself but for noticing. For seeing us and realizing that maybe things are not always easy. For deciding you wanted to show a random act of kindness to US. It reminded me how much good there is in this world.

“I can’t wait to tell Lucy someday. In the meantime… we will pay it forward.”

Zwick’s Facebook letter was shared hundreds of thousands of times until American Airlines finally tracked down the mystery flier: 46-year-old Jason Kunselman.

Kunselman, who is an Executive Platinum frequent flier, says that he himself was brought to tears when he saw Zwick and Lucy boarding the plane with all of their medical equipment in tow.

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“I expected to see her in the front since she had the oxygen machine with her but when I boarded she was in the back,” Kunselman told The Daily Mail. “So I asked the flight attendant if she thought the young lady with the baby would be more comfortable in my seat.”

Kunselman says that he did not think much of the good deed until his wife saw Zwick’s Facebook post days later. American Airlines has since connected the two passengers on social media so they could express their appreciation for each other, and the airline says that they soon plan on formally thanking Kunselman for his generosity.

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Kindness With Your Friends on Social Media – Feature photo by Kelsey Rae Zwick / Jason Kunselman

After Worst California Fire and Mudslides Last Year, Santa Barbara Celebrates Christmas With Boat Parade of Lights

By
Good News Network
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One year after California’s worst wildfire tore through Santa Barbara county, stripping bare the hills which quickly collapsed in mudslides and deadly flooding, the community celebrated its resilience by renewing a longtime Christmas tradition.

In 2017, the 31st annual Parade of Lights was canceled due to toxic air quality and evacuations during the Thomas Fire, so this year residents flocked to the seaside to watch boats lit with Christmas lights parade down the beaches, as if rising from the ashes.

The annual boat parade featured 30 vessels motoring and sailing in festive colors—and even a lone guy who decorated himself and his paddle board to regale the visitors along the Santa Barbara Coastline.

A five minute fireworks display topped off the night with a bang.

The region, which has suffered from a multi-year drought, was also recently blessed with a two-day rain event that broke one county record and dumped more than four inches of precipitation on some county mountains.

Newcomers to Santa Barbara watched the parade aboard the Blue Dolphin

With the fresh memory of last year’s fire evacuations that left many searching for shelter, and businesses starved for customers during the normally busy holiday season, Santa Barbarians have regained their gratitude amidst their beautiful enclave aptly known as “The American Riviera”.

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