Clara Leigh-Wong, a crisis counselor and flight attendant in Canada, experienced the joy of being the recipient of an honest deed from a kind stranger.
Clara and her neighbor Adam were walking their dogs in the suburban area of New Westminster, British Columbia. Upon returning home, the 31-year-old realized her green wallet was no where in sight.
After scouring the neighborhood, Clara was unable to locate her wallet. Upset, she began the process of replacing the lost contents. However, with the recommendation of her neighbor Adam, Clara makes a call to the neighborhood’s police department to report the missing wallet.
The next day while Clara was teaching a class, she received a phone call from the police stating that her wallet has been returned with all its contents included. When asked who the kind Samaritan was, he said that she preferred to remain anonymous.
Clara was looking forward to thanking the anonymous lady in person. However, if that isn’t possible, she is hoping that this story would be published in hopes that the woman who found and returned the wallet will recognize this story and know that she is being appreciated for her upstanding act.
If you are waiting in an airport, a train, a security line, or awaiting the arrival of a flight home, these five stories are a perfect way to spend your time and make a smile erupt on your face. (Others around you will just have to bask in your glow.)
While in the Albuquerque Airport I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.” When I arrived, an older woman in full traditional dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
A U.S. veteran, quadruple amputee Taylor Morris, was traveling through McCarran Airport in Las Vegas with his wife, when his prosthetic knee suddenly broke down. His tool kit was out of reach, packed in his luggage, but an American Airlines aircraft mechanic came to the rescue.
A passenger at the airport in Tampa, Florida was trying to pay for his baggage fee when his credit card was denied. He stepped out of line to check his balance, and when he came back a kind note was waiting for him.
Thanks to a team of merry WestJet employees and the power of technology, airline passengers in Canada were treated to a Christmas miracle. 250 people traveling to Calgary arrived to find wrapped gifts especially suited for each individual. (WATCH the fantastic video)
An 82-year-old veteran from Cary, N.C. traveling through O’hare Airport had no idea he was about to fall, literally, into a life-threatening situation involving his luggage and an escalator. A traveling salesman who happened to be in the right place at the right time potentially saved his life with a briefcase full of product samples.
Have a safe journey home, and SHARE this with fellow travelers!
One of the world’s rarest species, the orange bellied parrot, has bucked its long-term trend of decline and almost doubled its wild population, said an Australian news network.
Last November, fewer than 10 wild breeding pairs returned to Melaleuca, its breeding grounds in Tasmania. Thanks to a recovery program, 34 birds showed up this year.
A businessman has returned to the village where he was born in southern China to repay the kindness of residents who, like him, grew up in poverty there.
Having made a fortune in construction and steel industries, 54-year-old Xiong Shuihua spent more than six million dollars to transform the wooden huts into luxury homes and villas for 90 families.
Elderly residents in Xiongkeng will be also be given free meals, according to the Daily Mail
18 of the families, who were particularly kind to the businessman, were given villas of their own.
The Ferguson Public Library is just a block away from the center of protests at the Ferguson Police Department but, through it all, the building has remained open.
One full-time librarian, Scott Bonner, runs the quiet refuge, which has received more than $175,000 in donations after tweets about the library went viral.
The library offers “Healing Kits” for kids to check out that include children’s books dealing with trauma, and a stuffed animal they can keep.
Archaeologists discovered three gorgeous mosaics at the Ancient Greek city of Zeugma, in south Turkey, settled by one of the generals of Alexander the Great, in 300 BC.
All the works of art are in excellent condition and were found on the floors of several rooms.
The one pictured above shows Ocean and Tithys and uses special glass mosaic pieces. (Click to enlarge the photos.)
Another, right, depicts the Nine Muses.
“What is really striking about this mosaic is the wonderful and vivid colors used as well as the beauty of the heroes’ faces.”
The local government presented the hidden masterpieces in a press conference earlier in November.
A Canadian ice hockey goalie made the save of his life – when he rushed into the stands to give CPR to a fan who’d suffered cardiac arrest.
Gander player Patrick O’Brien was getting ready to play when he raced from the Flyers’ dressing room to begin pumping with chest compressions for an unconscious middle-aged man with no pulse.
He had just been trained as a paramedic 5 months earlier.
A handwritten note at the Pasta Pizzeria and Grill in Prattville, Alabama alerted regular customers that the eatery would be closed for Thanksgiving.
But, for the fourth year, the restaurant’s doors were wide open for all fire fighters, police staff, military personnel or lonely seniors who want to feast on a buffet brimming with turkey, ham, dressing, squash and green bean casserole.
“Often for them, this day of feasting and celebration is just like any routine workday.”
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s garden and studio will be recreated at the New York Botanical Garden next year, reports the BBC.
Opening May 16, Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life will be the late artist’s first solo show in New York in more than 25 years.
The exhibition will include original paintings by Kahlo, including this Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Humming-bird, all reflecting the use of botanical imagery in her work.
“I’ve never felt such love,” said Natalie DuBose, a Ferguson baker who was not only cleaning up the mess made by rioters this week but trying to fulfill a slew of Thanksgiving orders.
A friend suggested she set up a fund-raising page, and initially DuBose set a goal of collecting $20,000 in donations.
On Monday, after vandals broke windows and some equipment inside, an AP photographer captured an image of Natalie crying outside Cake’s & More, which she had just opened this summer.
But after just two days, the tenacious baker’s GoFundMe page raised $252,000 from more than 7,000 admirers across the world.
“I’m overwhelmed by the amazing generosity I’m receiving,” said the mother of two. “The outpouring of support on Twitter, Facebook, and in the media has been amazing. I was in tears.”
DuBose is just one of the business owners in the suburb of St. Louis, Missouri to take to GoFundMe to try to recoup loses quickly. Ferguson Market and Liquor has raised $22,000 from compassionate strangers and friends.
SHARE the Good News (buttons below) and Multiply the Good!
Vancouver’s parking enforcement agency awakened the spirit of Christmas early in a one-day toy drive yesterday for residents with unpaid tickets.
To benefit children served by The Salvation Army’s Belkin House, violators were invited to trade new toys in exchange for forgiveness of all their parking fines..
Staff working at the toy drive, cheered when people brought in armfuls of gifts.
”I brought in a whole bunch of things, some Lego and My Little Pony stuff for girls, and generally a bunch of Disney stuff,” Raymond Yee, who had 24 parking tickets, told the Vancouver Sun.
An IMPARK official called the one-for-one exchange a win-win.
“We forgo a bunch of money and that’s OK. If people save money on their fines and children receive gifts, everyone wins.”
Volunteers for the California-based Village Harvest picked more than 900 pounds of persimmons to give to people who might not have the money to purchase costly produce, so they can enjoy the seasonal bounty.
Village Harvest began two years ago, when Craig Diserens founded a backyard gleaning effort that now gathers thousands of pounds of fresh fruit from historical orchards (some planted during the Gold Rush 150 years ago) and private property.
Within a three hour time span about 15 volunteers gathered at the local food agency and received instructions and maps to nearby homes where they were to pick crate after crate of persimmons.
The Village Harvest van was equipped with all of the tools needed to carry out the mission– ladders, telescoping pickers to reach the highest branches, crates, gloves, rakes and more. Three hours later the bounty included 900 pounds of fresh persimmons and a happy volunteers who had come together to benefit their community.
Villageharvest.org volunteers gleaned nearly 500,000 pounds last year alone, and delivered it to local hunger programs.
What differentiates Village Harvest’s Orchards Harvesting Program is their commitment to preserving and restore old orchards for future generations.
The Good People Fund, founded by Naomi Eisenberger (pictured above, with Craig) provides grants to keep the harvest going.
12 days before the big U.S. feasting holiday of Thanksgiving, mentors for Befriend-A-Child in Northern Virginia helped teach their young charges how to make pumpkin pie for their families.
Under the direction of The Aubergine Chef, Jason Shriner, who volunteered his time and expertise, the mentees followed directions, and meticulously decorated their own pies.
After the “big bake” mentees and mentors, along with staff, moved to another room to enjoy a few extra pies before taking their own baked goods home.
The Office of Public Private Partnerships recruited Chef Jason and found donations for ingredients. Kitchen space was generously provided by Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax.
“This Thanksgiving, BeFriend-A-Child is grateful for all the volunteers who shared their time and resources with us,” said Fairfax County worker, Angie Carrera.
“This is a skill these kids can take with them and use to create a happier Thanksgiving every year to come.”
The woman was a ‘random stranger trying to do the right thing,’ the store’s manager told the Daily News. She saved the restaurant from destruction as 25 other buildings along the strip near Ferguson were burned down by looters.
As agitators tried kicking in windows and shoving her, the brave do-gooder eventually wins out as the criminals move on to an easier mark.
This photo epitomizes a grateful heart, with a young lady in Minnesota giving thanks for the snow and the trees and her life.
What are you grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day?
For me, I am thankful for my health; our healthy, happy family; my purpose-driven work; Good News Network supporters, especially CT; my home, the river, and my kitchen; the Foo Fighters music and documentary, Sonic Highways; delicious food and drinks year-round; our Facebook community, and the freedom to choose happiness here in America.
I was invited to an open studio session at Art InDeed one Saturday afternoon. Being guided by founder, Danah Beaulieu I felt empowered, nurtured, spontaneous and even dared to be experimental. She has a natural and intuitive ability of fostering creativity in a non-judgmental environment with the emphasis on the process rather than the end product.
Being an artist myself and recalling my education as a child with the focus only being on the end product; I found it rather restrictive. So, I find Danah’s emphasis on the process very refreshing. The combination of the home based studio and Danah’s intuitive abilities along with her love, compassion and her desire of helping others results in making a monumental difference in our community.
I became more and more attracted to Art InDeed as I discovered all of the programs being offered to the community. Art InDeed provides holistic arts programs to serve children, teens, adults and seniors of all backgrounds, including those with special needs, who are processing grief, or have mental health challenges such as ADD, ADHD, ODD, depression and anxiety. These programs operate within organizations such as Hopsice, House of Sophrosyne, Alzheimer’s Society, just to name a few; as well as privately run programs within the studio.
Art InDeed began when Danah wanted to bring her ideas of incorporating the use of the arts as an activity for increasing well-being and seeing first-hand the benefits it provided others. She desired to develop her own “brand” of healing through art, nurturing creativity and building artistic skills and creative self-expression to life as a service…art as a service…art as a mission with a vision…therefore art as a deed, hence Art Indeed!
Photo of June making art – Art InDeed Facebook Page
Art InDeed will be celebrating ten years in November, 2015! Art InDeed initiated as a Community Arts Practice and has expanded to a private holistic arts-based, process-oriented service and practice with an open space studio on Victoria Ave. in downtown Windsor, Ontario, Canada. A celebration is in store! Danah would like to see a combined arts-music-poetry exhibition/performance celebration along with the opening of a larger premise/location in a natural setting and expanded staffing to serve more clients.
In the future Danah would like to see what has been brought to life, expanded: An expanded: clientele, staff, community arts practice and larger location to serve more individuals with a new premise in a natural setting to continue programming and to also hold retreats. She also envisions training on her intuitive based processes in process-oriented art-making for increasing well-being. Expansion would also include studios in various locations, nationally and internationally to help more clients on a global level.
Art Indeed is a precious gift to this community having helped over 25 organizations and 700 individuals! A breath of fresh air…the organization’s main focus is helping others by “wellness through creativity”.
San Francisco-based artist Hannah Rothstein has created a brilliant photo series that imagines how famous artists would plate their Thanksgiving dishes, using turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and green beans to illustrate.
Above is how Van Gogh might play with his food. Mondrian’s and Jackson Pollock’s are shown below. Also featured are Rothko, Warhol, and more…
It’s not all chaos and violence in Ferguson. There are scores of good people hitting the streets to help repair and rebuild after Monday’s riots… and NFL Hall of Fame athlete Aeneas Williams is one.
He told TMZ Hollywood Sports that people from all walks of life, all races, all religions were joining him as he helped board up windows and clean up the small business owners who were hit.
Elsewhere, reporter Ryan Reilly took these photos of crews out at the crack of dawn cleaning the streets and sidewalks:
One restaurant owner thought her business would be one of the worst hit in the rioting because it is located next to the police department, but she learned later that a group of loyal customers had linked arms through the night to prevent any serious damage.
By the time the owners, Cathy and Jerome Jenkins, arrived the next morning, supporters were already cleaning up the glass from a single broken window.
”I am overwhelmed,” Cathy told CNN. She believed that the good she’d done in the community — Cathy’s Kitchen had fed protestors — had returned some good to her.
“It represents what people don’t know about Ferguson,” said Jerome.
“The people who were doing looting, they weren’t protesters,” added Cathy. “They were criminals.”
(WATCH the interviews with Cathy and Aeneas Williams below)
During the Christmas season of 2000, a young Filipino girl received a gift-filled shoebox and she couldn’t have imagined that one day she would actually meet the 7-year-old boy from Idaho who packed the box in a small town 7000 miles away.
Furthermore, she never dreamed that she would marry the American boy, all grown up 14 years later.
In November, 2014, Joana and her new husband Tyrel Wolfe dropped off their own homemade gift shoeboxes at Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in North Carolina, where Operation Christmas Child is run. Coming full circle, they told their remarkable story to the nonprofit group that had started it all.
A Lost Letter
Joana received the shoebox at a vacation bible school in Quezon City, a suburb of Manila. Included in the box was a small photo of a little boy in a cowboy shirt holding a lariat. The boy had included his name and address.
She wanted to write to him and describe how the box had impacted her, but when Joana mailed the young blonde boy a letter, he never received it.
Eleven years later Joana decided to use Facebook to see if she could find the boy who packed her box: “I still wanted to thank the person who gave me the box that had meant so much to me.”
Photos courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse
She searched for Tyrel Wolfe. Numerous options appeared, but one name popped up from Idaho. The boy in the photo was dressed in cowboy-type attire with a rustic mountain background. She had never been to the United States, but she knew that Idaho had mountains. Was this ‘Tyrel Wolfe’ the one? She clicked on the link and submitted a friend request.
In the rural community of Midvale (pop. 160), Tyrel was intrigued by a message from “a random girl in the Philippines.”
Thus began their Facebook friendship and an exchange of letters and pictures over the next year. The more they corresponded, the more things Tyrel and Joana found they had in common. They were both passionate about music—albeit different styles—and both sing and play at least one musical instrument. And Joana had always dreamed of a quiet life in the country.
Despite the 15-hour time difference, they set aside moments in the morning and again at night for daily Facebook visits. But if their relationship was to progress, they needed to see each other in person.
Journey to the Philippines
In June 2013, after saving up money for a plane ticket and receiving cautionary blessings from his parents, Tyrel flew to Manila. He had been on overseas Christian missions before, but had never been to Asia—and had never traveled alone.
“Once I saw his face, an amazing feeling came over me,” Joana said. “I was so happy I cried.”
Tyrel stayed for 10 days and got to know Joana in her hometown. Prior to the trip, they had agreed not to officially date until Tyrel had asked her father’s permission in person. Midway through his visit he gathered the courage to ask the protective pastor, and Joana’s father gave his approval without hesitation.
“I wanted to spend every moment I could with Joana while I was there, because once I left I didn’t know what would happen next,” Tyrel said. “All I knew was Joana was the one.”
To Have and to Hold
Tyrel returned to Idaho fully determined to go back to the Philippines. He accepted extra hours at work as a trails- and bridge-builder at state parks, saving every dollar he could in order to visit Joana during the holiday season. This time he stayed for a month.
At last he was ready to pop the big question. Speaking in the Tagalog language, he asked her dad for permission to marry the girl of his dreams.
The couple held an engagement party in the Philippines and obtained a fiancée visa for Joana.
On October 5 they got married in an outdoor ceremony on Tyrel’s parents’ 400-acre cattle ranch and Tyrel wore a barong, the traditional embroidered shirt worn by Filipino grooms.
Wedding Guests Donate Shoeboxes
Tyrel’s mom came up with the idea of asking invited guests to bring gift-filled shoeboxes for donation. “Operation Christmas Child is what brought Joana and me together, so we wanted to somehow make the project a part of our celebration,” Tyrel recalled.
Joana loved the idea and included “Pack a Shoebox” brochures with every wedding invitation. Some guests brought boxes; others gave a donation.
Rather than leaving the shoeboxes at one of the many Samaritan’s Purse drop-off location in Idaho, the Wolfes agreed it would be more meaningful if they delivered the boxes to the Christian aid group’s headquarters, bringing their own shoebox–journey full circle.
Now six weeks into married life, Tyrel and Joana are looking forward to their first Christmas together in the United States. They have started a tradition that they hope to continue every year for the rest of their lives—packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
“And when we start having children, we want to involve them in packing boxes too,” said a smiling Tyrel as he held his wife’s hand. “I remember as a little boy, I was so excited to know the toys and other items I put in the box would bring joy to another child somewhere else in the world.
“I just didn’t know the joy it would bring back to me one day.”
An 82-year-old veteran from Cary, N.C. traveling through O’hare Airport had no idea he was about to fall, literally, into a life-threatening situation involving his luggage and an escalator. A traveling salesman who happened to be in the right place at the right time potentially saved his life with a briefcase full of product samples.
