Not many convicts consider themselves blessed, but Eric Smallridge does, and for good reason. He’s getting out of prison — way early.
A few years into his sentence of 20 years, a woman came forward and asked the judge to reduce his sentence.
She claimed Eric was truly sorry for what he’d done and deserved leniency. The judge obliged — partly because of what she said, but mostly because of who she was.
This photo taken by a tourist in Times Square, shows 25 year-old NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo stooping on his knee against the cold sidewalk to talk to a homeless man with bare feet. The cop noticed blisters on the older man’s feet and asked him what size shoe he wears. The storefront in the picture happens to be a Skechers, where DePrimo went looking for a pair of all-weather boots to buy for the man. He spent $75 after the manager cut the price with an employee discount, according to the New York Times, which reported that the homeless man’s face lit up at the sight of the boots. Jennifer Foster, who works in an Arizona Sheriff’s office took the photo in secret, after the sight reminded her of her father, also a cop, who once bought food for a homeless person. She emailed it to the NYPD and said they could post it on their Facebook page. The image, and the story behind it, has spread across the internet in 48 hours like a contagious kindness virus.
A year ago, the professional children’s performer, Red Grammer, was crushed to find out his beloved Martin M-36 guitar had been stolen from a baggage terminal after his flight to LAX was delayed. Last month he was still pining after the instrument, which had an “incredibly rich, sweet, and well-balanced tone,” when Kyle Crabb (left) unknowingly purchased it. After taking it home, Crabb noticed a metal label with the name “Red Grammer” on the inside of the custom road case. Following his intuition Crabb sent an email to Grammer asking if his guitar had been stolen. “Imagine my excitement!” Grammar later wrote on his Facebook page. “He generously offered to return my guitar saying that he loved it, but knew it had to be returned to its rightful owner.” Crabb’s only regret was that he needed a guitar to play. Red offered his back-up guitar, and a little money to help offset the loss, to which Crabb instantly agreed. “We met in Seal Beach, California where we exchanged instruments and I got to thank him personally for reuniting me with my beloved guitar.” – Red Grammer’s Facebook page
An inspiring photo was posted on the social media website, Reddit, by a friend who snapped the picture in a parking lot. Somebody taped three shopping bags together to cover the open window as a gesture of concern when it started raining. “Didn’t want your car to get wet,” said a note on the bag. “Have a nice day!” – Source: Reddit
LeeAnn Hobelman posted this photo of her kids moments after they were given a shocking holdiay surprise. A man checking out in front of them at Target asked their names and wrote something on a card. “He just now bought a $50 gift card and handed it to my kids! How freaking Awesome!” His name was Joshua and they promised him they would be paying his kindness forward in the coming weeks. “I hope this will inspire some of you to pay it forward too,” she wrote on Facebook.
Jim Cummings is well-known as a voice actor and his credits read like an encyclopedia of family films: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” 
“Tarzan,” “Pocahontas,” “The Lion King,” “Babe: Pig in the City.” He is best known, perhaps, as the voice of “Winnie the Pooh” (and tigger, too). But, no matter how busy his career keeps him, it all stops when the Make a Wish Foundation calls on behalf of a sick child who wants to hear from their favorite animated character. He will drop everything to talk to a child and speak to them in his famous voices. Just imagine the wonder of a child hearing Pooh bear on the phone.
An professor at Southern Maine Community College is using the skills she’s honed over a lifetime to give back to families who feel like they’ve lost a lifetime of memories. Kate Q. Sibole has teamed up with her old employer, Andy Graham, CIO of Designtex in Portland to offer their services for the restoration of photos damaged in Hurricane Sandy. “I was so moved by a lady on Staten Island who was interviewed by Ann Curry. She lost everything…but then found wedding pictures under mud and debris.” Send Kate the photos. As a photography and digital imagery expert, Kate will scan and retouch the damaged treasures and then Designtex will print and mail them back — both the original and retouched prints.
(Email Kate for more information at: katesibole AT gmail DOTcom) Send images along with RETURN Adresses to: Kate Sibole c/o Andy Graham, Portland Color/Design Tex, 14 Industrial Way, Portland, ME, 04103. Label the packages: RE: Special Project Sandy Retouching” – Photo (above) found miles away but reunited with family on Facebook at Jersey Shore Hurricane News
This photo taken by a tourist in Times Square, shows 25 year-old NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo stooping on his knee against the cold sidewalk to talk to a homeless man with bare feet. The cop noticed blisters on the older man’s feet and asked him what size shoe he wears. The storefront in the picture happens to be a Skechers, where DePrimo went looking for a pair of all-weather boots to buy for the man. He spent $75 after the manager cut the price with an employee discount, according to the New York Times, which reported that the homeless man’s face lit up at the sight of the boots. Jennifer Foster, who works in an Arizona Sheriff’s office took the photo in secret, after the sight reminded her of her father, also a cop, who once bought food for a homeless person. She emailed it to the NYPD and said they could post it on their Facebook page. The image, and the story behind it, has spread across the internet in 48 hours like a contagious kindness virus.
A year ago, the professional children’s performer, Red Grammer, was crushed to find out his beloved Martin M-36 guitar had been stolen from a baggage terminal after his flight to LAX was delayed. Last month he was still pining after the instrument, which had an “incredibly rich, sweet, and well-balanced tone,” when Kyle Crabb (left) unknowingly purchased it. After taking it home, Crabb noticed a metal label with the name “Red Grammer” on the inside of the custom road case. Following his intuition Crabb sent an email to Grammer asking if his guitar had been stolen. “Imagine my excitement!” Grammar later wrote on his Facebook page. “He generously offered to return my guitar saying that he loved it, but knew it had to be returned to its rightful owner.” Crabb’s only regret was that he needed a guitar to play. Red offered his back-up guitar, and a little money to help offset the loss, to which Crabb instantly agreed. “We met in Seal Beach, California where we exchanged instruments and I got to thank him personally for reuniting me with my beloved guitar.” – Red Grammer’s Facebook page
An inspiring photo was posted on the social media website, Reddit, by a friend who snapped the picture in a parking lot. Somebody taped three shopping bags together to cover the open window as a gesture of concern when it started raining. “Didn’t want your car to get wet,” said a note on the bag. “Have a nice day!” – Source: Reddit
LeeAnn Hobelman posted this photo of her kids moments after they were given a shocking holdiay surprise. A man checking out in front of them at Target asked their names and wrote something on a card. “He just now bought a $50 gift card and handed it to my kids! How freaking Awesome!” His name was Joshua and they promised him they would be paying his kindness forward in the coming weeks. “I hope this will inspire some of you to pay it forward too,” she wrote on Facebook.
Jim Cummings is well-known as a voice actor and his credits read like an encyclopedia of family films: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Tarzan,” “Pocahontas,” “The Lion King,” “Babe: Pig in the City.” He is best known, perhaps, as the voice of “Winnie the Pooh” (and tigger, too). But, no matter how busy his career keeps him, it all stops when the Make a Wish Foundation calls on behalf of a sick child who wants to hear from their favorite animated character. He will drop everything to talk to a child and speak to them in his famous voices. Just imagine the wonder of a child hearing Pooh bear on the phone.
An professor at Southern Maine Community College is using the skills she’s honed over a lifetime to give back to families who feel like they’ve lost a lifetime of memories. Kate Q. Sibole has teamed up with her old employer, Andy Graham, CIO of Designtex in Portland to offer their services for the restoration of photos damaged in Hurricane Sandy. “I was so moved by a lady on Staten Island who was interviewed by Ann Curry. She lost everything…but then found wedding pictures under mud and debris.” Send Kate the photos. As a photography and digital imagery expert, Kate will scan and retouch the damaged treasures and then Designtex will print and mail them back — both the original and retouched prints.
(Email Kate for more information at: katesibole AT gmail DOTcom) Send images along with RETURN Adresses to: Kate Sibole c/o Andy Graham, Portland Color/Design Tex, 14 Industrial Way, Portland, ME, 04103. Label the packages: RE: Special Project Sandy Retouching” – Photo (above) found miles away but reunited with family on Facebook at Jersey Shore Hurricane News
As Michele Pich took hold of the dog’s leash, the prisoner handed it to her but with one request.
“Please, just promise me that you’re going to love her as much as I love her,” he said.
A few months earlier, someone surrendered the 39-pound Staffordshire Terrier mix to animal control in Philadelphia. Judging from her scarred body, Peyton had been used as a bait dog in vicious dog fighting rings. A day or two before her scheduled euthanization, a group called New Leash on Life plucked her from the shelter and brought her to a detention facility.
Once there, she took training lessons with prisoners and began the long road that would lead to her unexpected career as a therapy dog. She also got a fresh name for her fresh start: Vivian Peyton.
These days, the dog shares her home with Michele Pich, co-director of the VetPets program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. At work, Vivian helps Pich comfort grieving pet owners and sick children at the Ronald McDonald House.
“The second I met her, I just knew that I needed her to be part of my family,” Pich says. “It was such a godsend that she was able to come out of her shell. She just needed somebody to love her and give her a chance.”
Now 2 years old and a long way from her heartbreaking past, Vivian is being honored by the National Dog Show as one of this year’s featured therapy dogs. We caught up with her owner to hear more of Vivian’s story and find out how she’s handling all her newfound fame.
Q. What does it mean to be Therapy Dog Ambassador for the National Dog Show?
A. Michele Pich: “It’s an incredible honor. It’s wonderful that they’ve been including therapy dogs in the show — especially because of the work they do, they really promote the human-animal bond in such an amazing way. Just to have my little girl be part of that is pretty incredible, especially considering all the circumstances she started from.”
Q. What was Vivian’s life like before she was rescued?
A. “It was pretty terrible. Based on the condition she was in, they were pretty sure she was used as a bait dog. She was emaciated, terribly bruised, and scarred and cut up. She was terrified of people, just scared of everything, understandably. Medically, they didn’t even think there was a good chance she was going to survive.”
Q. Can you tell us about the New Leash on Life program?
A. “They pair the people in society that most people have given up on — prison inmates — with dogs that are at risk of euthanasia. That’s one of the criteria for dogs coming into the program, that they’re on the euthanasia list. So they pair the people and dogs that have often been thrown away by society, and give them another chance to shine and succeed by being a part of each other’s lives. Working one-on-one with an inmate — it made such a huge difference for her, to shine and be who she was always meant to be.”
Q. When did you realize Vivian would make a great therapy dog?
A. “The first day I met her. I had taken my veterinary students to help socialize the prison dogs, to get the dogs used to other environments. All the dogs there were good, but they were nervous. Except for Peyton over there. There she is, laying on her back, belly up, smiling at everybody. That was my first clue that she was going to be able to adapt to most environments.”
Q. What’s a typical working day like for Vivian?
A. “Wednesdays tend to be her busiest day. We come into work in the morning, and she greets the clients I’m working with. Then we go to the Ronald McDonald House, and all the kids know that Vivian is here on Wednesdays. Sometimes they schedule their treatments around being at the house on a Wednesday, so they have something to look forward to at the end of the night.”
Q. What did Vivian think of her first time at the National Dog Show? Has all the fame gone to her head?
A. “She was great, I’ll tell ya! She certainly had never been to a dog show before. It was a new experience for both of us. I was so proud of her — she was hamming it up with everybody, flirting with everybody. She did great with all the other dogs, and everyone was just so excited to see her. She was fantastic.”
Vetstreet.com is a pet website written by top veterinarians, pet health experts and journalists
dedicated to giving you the accurate information for keeping your dogs and cats healthy.
RELATED: National Dog Show Winners – And Best In Show Is…
RELATED: 2 New Dog Breeds Debut at National Dog Show
As Michele Pich took hold of the dog’s leash, the prisoner handed it to her but with one request.
“Please, just promise me that you’re going to love her as much as I love her,” he said.
A few months earlier, someone surrendered the 39-pound Staffordshire Terrier mix to animal control in Philadelphia. Judging from her scarred body, Peyton had been used as a bait dog in vicious dog fighting rings. A day or two before her scheduled euthanization, a group called New Leash on Life plucked her from the shelter and brought her to a detention facility.
Once there, she took training lessons with prisoners and began the long road that would lead to her unexpected career as a therapy dog. She also got a fresh name for her fresh start: Vivian Peyton.
These days, the dog shares her home with Michele Pich, co-director of the VetPets program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. At work, Vivian helps Pich comfort grieving pet owners and sick children at the Ronald McDonald House.
“The second I met her, I just knew that I needed her to be part of my family,” Pich says. “It was such a godsend that she was able to come out of her shell. She just needed somebody to love her and give her a chance.”
Now 2 years old and a long way from her heartbreaking past, Vivian is being honored by the National Dog Show as one of this year’s featured therapy dogs. We caught up with her owner to hear more of Vivian’s story and find out how she’s handling all her newfound fame.
Q. What does it mean to be Therapy Dog Ambassador for the National Dog Show?
A. Michele Pich: “It’s an incredible honor. It’s wonderful that they’ve been including therapy dogs in the show — especially because of the work they do, they really promote the human-animal bond in such an amazing way. Just to have my little girl be part of that is pretty incredible, especially considering all the circumstances she started from.”
Q. What was Vivian’s life like before she was rescued?
A. “It was pretty terrible. Based on the condition she was in, they were pretty sure she was used as a bait dog. She was emaciated, terribly bruised, and scarred and cut up. She was terrified of people, just scared of everything, understandably. Medically, they didn’t even think there was a good chance she was going to survive.”
Q. Can you tell us about the New Leash on Life program?
A. “They pair the people in society that most people have given up on — prison inmates — with dogs that are at risk of euthanasia. That’s one of the criteria for dogs coming into the program, that they’re on the euthanasia list. So they pair the people and dogs that have often been thrown away by society, and give them another chance to shine and succeed by being a part of each other’s lives. Working one-on-one with an inmate — it made such a huge difference for her, to shine and be who she was always meant to be.”
Q. When did you realize Vivian would make a great therapy dog?
A. “The first day I met her. I had taken my veterinary students to help socialize the prison dogs, to get the dogs used to other environments. All the dogs there were good, but they were nervous. Except for Peyton over there. There she is, laying on her back, belly up, smiling at everybody. That was my first clue that she was going to be able to adapt to most environments.”
Q. What’s a typical working day like for Vivian?
A. “Wednesdays tend to be her busiest day. We come into work in the morning, and she greets the clients I’m working with. Then we go to the Ronald McDonald House, and all the kids know that Vivian is here on Wednesdays. Sometimes they schedule their treatments around being at the house on a Wednesday, so they have something to look forward to at the end of the night.”
Q. What did Vivian think of her first time at the National Dog Show? Has all the fame gone to her head?
A. “She was great, I’ll tell ya! She certainly had never been to a dog show before. It was a new experience for both of us. I was so proud of her — she was hamming it up with everybody, flirting with everybody. She did great with all the other dogs, and everyone was just so excited to see her. She was fantastic.”
Vetstreet.com is a pet website written by top veterinarians, pet health experts and journalists
dedicated to giving you the accurate information for keeping your dogs and cats healthy.
RELATED: National Dog Show Winners – And Best In Show Is…
RELATED: 2 New Dog Breeds Debut at National Dog Show
Agriculture uses 60-80% of the planet’s scarce fresh water, but what would happen if food production used no water at all? That is what is happening right now in South Australia, and soon in Qatar.
A group of international scientists is using the sun to create something-from-nothing — fresh water for irrigation, from condensation; electricity for heating and cooling greenhouses, from a solar thermal system — all integrated to grow high-quality, delicious, pesticide-free vegetables in greenhouses year-round.
So far, the company, Sundrop Farms, has grown commercial quantities of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, using the same proven technology and close to zero fossil fuels. Salty seawater is abundant like the sun, especially with our ice caps melting away, so the venture is ready to scale up in a big way. 
CHECK Out: Diabetes Breakthrough: Scientists Coax Human Stem Cells Into Making Insulin
A 20-acre greenhouse is being built that will grow produce for supermarkets now clamoring for an exclusive contract, reports the Guardian.
“They are making food without risk, eliminating the problems caused not just by floods, frost, hail but by lack of water, too, which now becomes a non-issue,” says the head of Australia’s government-funded desalination research institute, Neil Palmer. “Plus, it stacks up economically and it’s infinitely scalable.”
(WATCH the video below or READ the feature story in the Guardian)
Agriculture uses 60-80% of the planet’s scarce fresh water, but what would happen if food production used no water at all? That is what is happening right now in South Australia, and soon in Qatar.
A group of international scientists is using the sun to create something-from-nothing — fresh water for irrigation, from condensation; electricity for heating and cooling greenhouses, from a solar thermal system — all integrated to grow high-quality, delicious, pesticide-free vegetables in greenhouses year-round.
Robert Emmons was shocked. The University of California psychologist found that after just ten weeks, people who kept a gratitude journal were 25 percent happier than people who didn’t. People who were reminded to say “thank you” at least once a day were healthier and spent more time exercising. As he writes in an essay for the Greater Good Science Center, “This is a massive difference. The gratitude group participants also experienced fewer symptoms of physical illness than those in either of the other two groups.”
15-year-old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz kid in Sierra Leone who has invented or manufactured his own batteries, generators and transmitters for radio broadcasting using spare parts he gathered from trash bins.
Completely self-taught, the boy was invited by MIT to visit America recently to expand his horizons.
Kelvin is always trying to help his community, where most days people cope without electricity.
15-year-old Kelvin Doe is an engineering whiz kid in Sierra Leone who has invented or manufactured his own batteries, generators and transmitters for radio broadcasting using spare parts he gathered from trash bins.
Completely self-taught, the boy was invited by MIT to visit America recently to expand his horizons.
Kelvin is always trying to help his community, where most days people cope without electricity.
At least four Facebook pages were created to reunite people with photographs, kayaks, wedding invitations and other cherished mementos they thought were lost during Superstorm Sandy.
The sites have reunited a woman with her wedding dress, an urn containing cremated ashes with a loved one, a mother with a baby album and the congregation of St. Elisabeth’s Chapel-by-the Sea in Ortley Beach, which was destroyed by the storm, with a plaque bearing names.
The “For Shore” Project was set up by a woman who found remnants of other people’s lives in her yard. She wanted to reunite those photos with their owners. The “Hurricane Sandy’s Lost Treasures” page allows thousands of members to post about things they’ve found and storm victims to browse with hope. There are more popular sites that also feature news and information about the region’s restoration, where lost-and-found posts are helping families get their possessions back.
(READ the AP story at USA Today)
For a blissful 36 hours beginning on Sunday night, there was no gun or knife violence reported in New York City.
Officials couldn’t remember the last time that happened. But it may not be as rare in the future. Homicide rates in the Big Apple have fallen continuously since the 1990’s.
This year may hit a record low annual rate of just over 400 murders, a number not seen since about 1960.
For a blissful 36 hours beginning on Sunday night, there was no gun or knife violence reported in New York City.
Officials couldn’t remember the last time that happened. But it may not be as rare in the future. Homicide rates in the Big Apple have fallen continuously since the 1990’s.
This year may hit a record low annual rate of just over 400 murders, a number not seen since about 1960.
Cheating, lying and stealing among American students are all less prevalent nowadays, according to a new report.
The 2012 “Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth” suggests that young people’s morals have improved in recent years. The survey, conducted every two years by the Los Angeles-based Josephson Institute of Ethics, found that 51 percent of students in 2012 admitted they cheated on an exam in the past year, which is down from 59 percent in 2010.”
Belmont Abbey College will cut its tuition by $9,000 joining a new national trend, said officials at the private school in North Carolina today.
“Fees in the United States have increased more than 440 percent.”
“That’s not sustainable for the average American family so it’s time to reverse the trend.”
A montage of sparkling people and places found around the globe is a fitting background for this gentle and wise reminder of how to see your life in a new way.
Make each day fresh with thoughts of gratefulness and appreciation for the coolness that is life on planet Earth.
Dr. Joseph E. Murray, the Nobel laureate who conducted the world’s first successful organ transplant, died Monday at the Boston hospital where the pioneering surgery was performed.
On Dec. 23, 1954, in Operating Room 2 of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Dr. Murray took the healthy kidney of Ronald Herrick and sutured it into the donor’s dying identical twin, Richard. With that 5½-hour operation, Dr. Murray and his team saved a life and opened medicine to a new frontier.
Within a decade, Dr. Murray’s clinical work and his collaboration with scientists on drugs to prevent rejection of donor organs had expanded the pool of transplant candidates beyond identical twins. Dr. Murray was also credited with the first successful transplantation of a kidney from a nonidentical twin and from a cadaver.
But the doctor led a fascinating life outside of science, as well.
(READ the powerful tribute in the Boston Globe)
To help combat the mild depression commuters may experience when the sun only rises for five hours per day in one northern Swedish town, a local energy company has installed ultra-violet lamps at about 30 bus stops.
“This is so people can get a little energy kick as they are waiting,” said a spokesperson for Umea Energi.
Orders by U.S. companies for core capital goods like machinery, considered a proxy for business investment, rose 1.7 percent in October, the best showing since a 2.3 percent rise in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
U.S. factory activity also grew in October for a second straight month, according to the Institute for Supply Management.
Jia Jiang has designed a unique type of therapy to address his fear of rejection. As a young businessman, he wants to toughen himself for the inevitable “No’s” that await him in the future.
For 100 days he is aiming to endure one rejection per day by making all types of crazy requests, such as asking a stranger if he can borrow $100. (The stranger said no.)
“My goal is to desensitize myself from the pain of rejection and overcome my fear,” he wrote on his website, www.entresting.com.
He is also wearing a hidden camera which makes it a very entertaining blog.
The second day he requested a “burger refill” at a restaurant.
But the third day, he was destined to meet Jackie Braun, a shift leader at a Krispy Kreme with such kindness and can-do spirit, that he was never going to get a ‘no’ from her, if the request involved doughnuts.
His angle here was to ask her to make him 5 interlocking pastries resembling the Olympic rings. Surely this wacky request would succeed in coaxing from her a ‘no’.
Or, it might teach some other valuable lesson for business owners.
Braun, who was determined to please, grabbed a piece of paper and started imagining how she might create the custom order and even googled the image to find out what colors to use on the rings.
Jiang, was so impressed by her effort that he launched a Facebook page called “Give Jackie at Krispy Kreme a Raise.” He also later returned to the Austin, Texas store to thank her again.
The story has elicited cheers from everyone who views it.
(WATCH the video below)
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