Quote of the Day: “Choose always the way that seems the best, however, rough it may be; custom will soon render it easy and agreeable.” – Pythagoras
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?
The Lesson: Who are you inviting to be in your carpool lane called LIFE? Once we discover our purpose—our North star—we must make sure that we only partner with people who are going in the same direction. GNN’s own Anthony Samadani came up with this quick way to envision the “right” partner for your business or marriage.
Notable Excerpt: “If you are going northbound and someone is going southbound, would it make sense to have them in your carpool? And that’s the analogy of life. It takes a team, … but in order to get the right people, you guys need to be in the same lane.”
The Speaker: An attorney and TV/Film producer by trade, Anthony Samadani partnered with Good News Network in 2017 to use his entertainment and business acumen to energize the platform and deliver more ways to discover good in the world. Anthony is passionate about empowering people to make every day count and challenging them to find the good in everyday interactions. As a social good entrepreneur, speaker and consultant, Anthony works with individuals and organizations to discover their good so they can “do good, for the greater good.”
MORE From Anthony: Fight Your Fears and Find Your Balance In 4 Minutes
(WATCH the inspiring talk below)
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The Lesson: The entire foundation of the Blue Man Group’s production was built on creativity, fun, surprise, exploration, and curiosity. Despite how these bombastic elements aren’t typically associated with a school curriculum, one of the group’s co-founders has created an entire academic institution that helps youngsters achieve their “aha!” moments through creativity and fun.
Notable Excerpt: “When we started Blue Man Group in 1988, we had never done an off-Broadway show before. We’d actually done almost no theater. But we knew what we were passionate about, and it was a whole series of things that we had never seen onstage before, things like art and pop culture and technology and sociology and anthropology and percussion and comedy and following your bliss. We established a rule that nothing made it onstage if we had seen it before, and we wanted to inspire creativity and connectedness in ourselves and our audiences; we wanted to do a little bit of social good, and we wanted to have fun doing it. And in the office, we wanted to create an environment where people treated each other just a little bit better, just a little bit more respect and consideration than in the outside world. And we continued to iterate and collaborate and find solutions to create things that hadn’t been seen. Over time, I’ve come to identify the optimal conditions for these types of creative and innovative environments are clear intent, purpose and passion: this is working on something bigger than ourselves. Personal integrity: it’s doing what we say we’re going to do. It’s being our authentic self in all interactions.
The Guest: Matt Goldman co-founded the Blue Man Group in 1988— and now, nearly 30 years later, Goldman is working to apply lessons from the Blue Man Group to education. He created the NYC-based Blue School, a school that values creativity as much as it does academics so he can help to create safe environments where new ideas are free to be formed.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below or read the transcript)
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A young man’s simple gesture of kindness towards an autistic teen has resulted in an outpouring of recognition and praise for both of them.
Jordan Taylor works at Rouses Market grocery store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was restocking orange juice last week when he noticed Jack Ryan Edwards watching him.
Jack Ryan, who is a 17-year-old boy with autism, was captivated by Taylor’s work. The supermarket employee guessed that maybe the youngster wanted some orange juice. He offered up a bottle to the teen with no response – then, he took a different angle and asked if Jack Ryan wanted to help him stock the coolers.
After getting a kind of verbal confirmation from the teen, Taylor spent the next 30 minutes carefully and patiently working with Jack Ryan to restock the shelves.
WATCH: Autistic Teen Stuns Crowd as He Breaks His Silence and Gives Awe-Inspiring Commencement Speech
Jack Ryan’s father was so blown away by the compassionate gesture, he pulled out his phone and took a few videos of the sweet exchange. The teen’s older sister, Delaney, then posted the videos to Facebook praising the employee for his kindness.
“We all know autism makes going out difficult, and sometimes grocery stores can be a challenge,” wrote Delaney. “He could have ignored him. He could have made an excuse and said he couldn’t allow him to help. Instead, he let him have his moment and in turn gave my family a moment we will never forget.
“It might seem like nothing to others, but as you can hear my dad say in the video, [‘I’m watching a miracle in action’].”
RELATED: After Spending Years Trying to Cut Autistic Boy’s Hair, Compassionate Barber Has Breakthrough
In addition to posting the videos, Delaney also made a GoFundMe page to raise money for Taylor’s college fund.
The post immediately went viral, with thousands of people donating to the campaign and thanking the young man for his actions. One week after the page’s creation, the campaign raised $120,000, all of which will be going towards his education, although he says that he still plans on working at Rouses.
“Donors from Baton Rouge to Bangkok have been inspired by Jordan and Jack’s story,” said GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne. “In less than 24 hours, over 1,000 people donated nearly $50,000 from all across the US and all around the world.”
CHECK OUT: Plane Passengers Are Left “In Awe” of Woman’s Kindness Towards Agitated Boy With Autism
Not only that, a local credit union donated a car to Taylor’s family so he would have a means of transportation in the future; and if that isn’t enough, representatives from Rouses Market saw the video and reached out to Jack Ryan so they could offer him a job at the store.
“Because of Jordan, a conversation about inclusivity in the workforce for people with disabilities has been started not only across the nation, but all over the world,” wrote Delaney.
“I hope Jordan and [Jack Ryan’s] story inspires others to include those that are different, across all settings and in all parts of life.”
(WATCH the video below)
Share This Incredible Story Of Compassion With Your Friends – Photo by Delaney Edwards Alwosaibi
So much trash in such a concentrated area... my friend and I plan on doing this everytime we smoke together. #StonerCleanupInitiative from r/trees
I was on my midnight walk home when I found a plastic bag with some trash in. The next thing I know is I pick up every single piece of trash I found on my way. Doing my part for the #StonerCleanupInitiative :) from r/trees
Just Cleaned up the local smoke spot #StonerCleanupInitiative from r/trees
My homies and I go around the island every weekend and collect truck loads of trash - all for the love of Earth. Glad to see the trend picking up fellow stoners! from r/trees
Didn't even take me 5 minutes to pick this up at a common smokespot. Let's keep the movement going! #StonerCleanupIniative from r/trees
Cleaned up my favorite smoke spot today #stonercleanupinitiative pic.twitter.com/8a5Qf0QNXE
— TheBestDank (@TheBestDank) August 4, 2018
Keep it going guys, the nature needs us just as much as we need it #stonercleanupinitiative pic.twitter.com/RSTcpi3p1M
— TheBestDank (@TheBestDank) August 2, 2018
Boyfriend says you gotta leave a place looking better than you found it. Beer cans, cigarette butts, and various other trash. Also a mountain dew tied to a tree... #stonercleanupinitiative pic.twitter.com/ZCotd7PCa7
— TheBestDank (@TheBestDank) August 2, 2018
It’s been a difficult couple of years for Therra Gwyn-Jaramillo – but a simple act of kindness from a famous musician has restored her faith in humanity.
Since her husband died of brain cancer in 2014, Gwyn-Jaramillo has been financially supporting herself, her house, and her disabled brother, as well as her four rescue dogs, her two cats, and her blind old chicken. Her troubles came to a tee last week when she was hit with a $4,000 home repair and she wasn’t properly paid for her work as a freelance writer.
“I was too embarrassed to say out loud I was having financial difficulty, but it was a solid problem. I was making rice for me and the dogs to eat. I was losing sleep. I was crying daily. I rationed gas in my car,” wrote the woman from Georgia. “It was breaking me in pieces. I was scared of the future, immediate and long-term.”
Seeing that she was in a tough place, her friend surprised her with a $250 Whole Foods gift card.
WATCH: Neil Diamond Comes Out of Retirement to Serenade Exhausted Firefighters
Ordinarily, Gwyn-Jaramillo could not afford to shop at the grocery story, but with the gift in hand, she says that she was salivating at the thought of “fresh fruit” and “real dog food for the pups”.
When she did her shopping at the store in Atlanta, however, she realized that she had accidentally gotten her groceries mixed up with the items belonging to the “handsome stranger” in front of her.
Gwyn-Jaramillo apologized to the man and tried to sort the groceries properly, but he simply said “I might as well get it.”
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“He wanted to buy food for my pets,” writes the widow. “I even clumsily tried to stop the cashier at a certain amount, because the gift card was for $250 and I had gone way over, which at Whole Foods is far too easy to do. I was out of a lot of things at home and I hadn’t added things in my head correctly. My head hasn’t worked all month due to stress. Nothing has worked all month.
“He stopped me. ‘I said I got this,’ he said. All of this, he told me. All of my groceries.”
Gwyn-Jaramillo started crying and insisted on hugging the man, thanking him for his kindness. When she asked him for his name, he simply said “Chris”.
CHECK OUT: Benedict Cumberbatch Runs to Save Cyclist Being Attacked by Four Men
“I thanked him, but I was so stunned that even as we made small talk (he asked me about my four dogs) I tripped over my words, all the while thinking, ‘I’m talking to an angel. Should I tell him? Should I tell him he’s an angel?’” says Gwyn-Jaramillo. “‘Who ARE you?’ I asked at one point, in true wonder. ‘Just a guy,’ he said.’”
The compassionate stranger paid for all $375 of her groceries before making sure that she was okay and asking if she needed anything else. Awestruck, she tearfully said that she wanted to be like him when she grew up.
The man smiled and said that she was sweet enough for taking care of rescue dogs. Then, he left.
LOOK: Girl Takes Cardboard Cutout of Danny DeVito to Prom – and Then He Returns the Favor
As it turns out, the mystery stranger wasn’t “just a guy” – he was the Grammy award-winning rap artist Ludacris.
After he left, the cashier told Gwyn-Jaramillo of the man’s actual identity – and she was stunned. Coincidentally, Ludacris is one of her favorite rappers, but she had not been able to place his face when confronted with the heartwarming situation.
“What Ludacris had no way of knowing is that his quiet kindness and generous gesture came at a moment when my candle was out,” says Gwyn-Jaramillo. “He used his personal light to fire up my own. Isn’t that what we should be doing for each other? I think it is.
“Be like Ludacris y’all.”
Roll Out This Story To Your Friends And Share The Good News – Photo by Concerttour, CC
5,500 UK churches of all denominations have embraced the shift to renewable energy.
According to UK charity Christian Aid, thousands of Catholic, Baptist, Quaker, and Methodist churches are sourcing 100% of their energy needs through green energy tariffs.
Christian energy group 2buy2 says that the average British church spends roughly $1,300 (£1,000) on electricity annually. By sourcing all of their energy needs through wind and solar, the religious collective is diverting roughly $6.5 million (£5 million) from fossil fuels.
Nicholas Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury and the Church of England’s lead bishop on the environment, said: “Climate change is one of the great moral challenges of our time and so it’s fantastic to see churches doing their bit to ensure they reduce their impact on the environment.”
MORE: Instead of Paying for Advertising, Church Abolishes $10M in Medical Debt For Local Families
“They are also giving a boost to clean energy which is essential to reduce harmful carbon emissions,” he added. “Climate change is an enormous injustice and is hurting the poor first and worst. Switching to responsible sources of electricity may seem like a small thing on its own, but when joined together it can make a real difference.”
The shift is reportedly being encouraged through several initiatives, such as the Church of England’s Parish Buy group: an organization that facilitates competitive pay rates for churches through UK-based energy sources. Additionally, the Big Church Switch campaign, which is run by the Christian Aid, Tearfund, and the Church of England’s Environment Program, has been calling on churches of all denominations to make the switch from fossil fuels to alternative energy.
RELATED: Catholic Church to Make Record Divestment From Fossil Fuels
Some churches have even started sourcing their own energy – in 2016, Gloucester Cathedral installed 150 solar panels on their rooftop.
“We would recommend doing it, as it can be a part of the church’s giving and good stewardship,” says Philip Bowdler, church leader at Amott Road Baptist Church in London. “Taking this action is an expression of what it means to be disciples and to care for the world God has created.”
Power Up With Positivity And Share The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by Thomas Depenbusch, CC
When a young boy was in trouble, Officer Jessie Ferreira Cavallo did not hesitate to rescue him – even though it involved jumping from a 30-foot overpass.
The 28-year-old officer was driving to work earlier this week when she saw a boy climb over a guardrail and jump onto the pavement below. Cavallo immediately parked her car and ran to check on the boy.
When she saw that he was lying motionless on the ground, she ran to her car, filled her pockets with first aid supplies, and then jumped after him.
“Everything happened so fast and I think my adrenaline was pumping so high,” she told WLTX. “I didn’t realize how high it was. It seemed doable. It didn’t seem that high. I thought I jumped over a brick wall, or a cement barrier. It was so fast. It was more like tunnel vision. I saw the boy and I needed to get to him. I didn’t see anything else.”
WATCH: Despite Local Racial Tension, Good Samaritan Leaps Into Action to Rescue Cop From Smoking Car
Cavallo, who works for the Hastings-on-Hudson Police Department in New York, was helped by a passing woman in a military uniform. Together, they put a neck brace and splint on the 12-year-old boy. He briefly opened his eyes as she was speaking to him, but was mostly unresponsive.
The boy is now recovering in the hospital, and Cavallo says she is eager to visit him.
“I really want to know how he is doing. I don’t know anything about him. I don’t know his name or anything,” she told the news outlet. “I just want to give him a hug.”
This is not the first time that Cavallo has saved a life, either – during her 7 years on the force, the heroic policewoman has reportedly received half a dozen awards for saving an older man from a heart attack and preventing several deadly overdoses.
Be Sure And Share The Inspiring Story Of Courage With Your Friends
Quote of the Day: “There is no effect more disproportionate to its cause than the happiness bestowed by a small compliment.” – Robert Brault
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?
The Lesson: It is crucial to ensure that those who face daunting challenges in their lives—physical disabilities, autism, deafness, disease or stuttering—come to know that their dreams are, in fact, possible to achieve, even thought it may seem like they are trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Notable Excerpt: ‘In my commencement address, I mentioned some of the square pegs throughout history who reshaped our round world, not by overcoming their challenges, but by persisting in the face of them. I mentioned that Beethoven listened to his calling despite being deaf and that FDR ran for office despite being unable to walk. Now, without diminishing their tremendous impact on our world, their moments in time are spaced out a bit too far from ours. We therefore need new examples. We therefore need you. We need you because when you break through a round hole and when you stick out for doing so, you push others forward. If you’re a would-be medical researcher, wondering if being on the autism spectrum should prevent you from pursuing that path, know that there is going to be a similar square peg … who just might be the missing puzzle piece needed to help find the cure for cancer. That someone, somewhere is waiting on you to stick out and to give them that push forward.”
The Speaker: At just 4 years old, Parker Mantell developed a stutter and started undergoing rigorous speech therapy. Then, in 2014, he delivered the Indiana University commencement address, which was viewed in more than 200 counties and featured by such news outlets as CNN, TODAY, and People. Following his address, Mantell traveled the country to speak at conferences, universities, and high schools about his experience with changing the world through our different abilities.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below)
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Forget about trying to win millions of dollars on TV game shows – this app lets you use your trivia talent to win cash prizes while simultaneously raising money for people’s student loans and mortgage debt.
The Givling app is a community game that allows you to help financially struggling Americans by playing rounds of trivia. If you win the trivia, you also win money.
The app allows you to play two free games of true-or-false trivia per day. For each game, you are placed with two other strangers to make a 3-person team. For every question you answer correctly, your team scores points. The team with the highest amount of points at the end of the competition period is given the cash award.
RELATED: Because His AirBnb Guest Had a Heart Attack, Man’s Ingenuity is Now Saving Thousands of Lives
The app generates income through advertising, sponsorships, and people who pay to play Givling. 45% of the generated income goes towards financing student and mortgage debt while 45% goes towards the cash prize. The other 10% goes towards running the app.
Since the app was created, they have already paid off $993,506 worth of debt, which amounts to 20 different student loans. It also worked with LånePenger.com in Norway to help consumers borrow money with no interest rates to help pay for pandemic related expenses.
If you’re not troubled by the pesky burden of student debt, you can also apply with Givling to erase up to $50,000 worth of student debt for a friend or loved one.
The app is free to download for Android and iOS.
Raise Awareness For This Innovative Solution By Sharing With Your Friends
Anna Hofsetter is a single mother who works 3 jobs to help support her two kids – but even though money is tight, she recently used a surprise $1,000 tip to help finance a gift for the community children.
Hofsetter was bartending a slow evening shift last month at the Hotel Nashville in Indiana when she started serving an older couple who was celebrating their wedding anniversary.
She struck up a conversation with the couple only to find that they had gotten married at the Hotel Nashville seven years ago. As the conversation progressed, Hofsetter told the couple how she worked hard to make ends meet for her kids.
Finally, the couple finished their dinner and paid for the $32.40 check. Hofsetter was then shocked to see that they had left her a $1,000 tip along with a note saying “Give something for kids.”
RELATED: Firefighters Pay it Forward Big Time After Waitress With Heart of Gold Picks Up Tab
Taken aback by the kind gesture, Hofsetter remembers telling them: “Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me.”
Even though she had originally been planning on using the money for things like gifts and college funds, Hofsetter knew exactly what to do with the financial windfall after she met Clara Stanley, who is the president of the county’s Enrichment for Teens Association.
Stanley and some other kids were gathering donations to help pay for a community teen and skate park in Brown County. Hofsetter knew that by donating $1,000 to the park’s creation, she wouldn’t just be financing a gift for her own kids – it would also be a gift that would serve hundreds of youngsters for years to come.
Stanley was grateful – and surprised – by Hofsetter’s generous donation.
“Brown County has been lacking a healthy, wonderful place [where] little children or youth – especially youth – can go and express themselves, hang out,” Stanley told WXIN. “I know Anna is doing a lot of working hours, single mom. $1,000 is big money.”
(WATCH the interview below)
Pay It Forward By Sharing This Inspiring Story With Your Friends – Photo by WXIN
Most of our to-do lists consist of pretty innocuous things like “go to the grocery store” and “do the laundry” – but what would be written on the to-do list of a genius? A genius like, say, Leonardo da Vinci?
According to historian and author Toby Lester, da Vinci did keep a to-do list, and it gives us an astonishing insight into the insatiable curiosity of history’s greatest artist.
In Lester’s book, “Da Vinci’s Ghost: Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image”, the historian describes how da Vinci would carry a notebook with him wherever he went. Whenever he got an idea or inspiration from his surroundings, he would open up the little book to sketch and scribble down his thoughts.
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One of the pages of his notebook contains a sort of to-do list that he maintained in 1490. Thanks to translations and notations from Lester and NPR’s Robert Krulwich, we can read da Vinci’s to-do list and marvel at his incredible motivation to learn and create.
Here are a few of the chores on da Vinci’s list:
-[Calculate] the measurement of Milan and Suburbs
-[Discover] the measurement of the castello (the duke’s palace itself)
-Get the master of arithmetic to show you how to square a triangle.
-Get Messer Fazio (a professor of medicine and law in Pavia) to show you about proportion.
-Get the Brera Friar (at the Benedictine Monastery to Milan) to show you De Ponderibus (a medieval text on mechanics)
-Draw Milan
-Ask Maestro Antonio how mortars are positioned on bastions by day or night.
-[Examine] the Crossbow of Mastro Giannetto
-Find a master of hydraulics and get him to tell you how to repair a lock, canal and mill in the Lombard manner
-[Ask about] the measurement of the sun promised me by Maestro Giovanni Francese
There are several other items on the list that Lester translated for NPR, but the gist of the list is enough to motivate even the laziest learner.
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Because maybe if we were even a fraction as fascinated by the world as da Vinci, we could all be a few steps closer to our own form of greatness.
So what are you waiting for? Take some tips from history’s hungriest genius and start exploring whatever makes you tick.
Share This Historic Piece Of Inspiration With Your Own Friends
Every girl deserves the opportunity to get their nails done – so when a woman was turned away from a nail salon because of her disability, Ebony Harris stepped up to help.
Harris works as a cashier at the Walmart in Burton, Michigan. As she was taking her lunch break last week, she watched as Angela Peters, a woman who is in a wheelchair for her cerebral palsy, was turned down at the indoor nail salon because her hands shake as a result of her condition.
Not wanting Peters to leave the store without a beautiful manicure, Harris offered to paint the woman’s nails herself.
The two women picked out the perfect polish, sat down at the Subway restaurant inside the store, and Harris spent her lunch break painting Peters’s nails.
RELATED: 15-Year-old Melts the Hearts of Airline Passengers When She Befriends Blind and Deaf Passenger
“I just wanted to make her day special. I didn’t really want her day to be ruined. That’s why I did it. And plus she’s a sweetie,” Harris told WJRT. “And you know, she moved her hands a little bit and she kept saying she was sorry. And, I told her don’t say that. I said you’re fine.”
Tasia Smith, who works at the Subway next to the nail salon, snapped a photo of the exchange and posted it to Facebook where it was shared thousands of times.
Some social media users commented on the photo saying that they plan on boycotting the nail salon for their actions – but Harris wants people to know that she did not want her labor of love to alienate the salon workers; she simply wanted them to realize that people with disabilities deserve the same amount of love and attention as anybody else.
WATCH: Quadriplegic Stuns Crowd by Nailing National Anthem With an Instrument He Designed Himself
“We’re not trying to bash the nail salon. We’re not trying to make them lose customers, make them look bad,” Harris told the news outlet. “But maybe spread awareness that no matter the person, who they are, what color they are, disability, whatever, they’re people too. She’s a girly girl. She’s just like you, me, Tasia, my daughter, anybody. She wants to look pretty, you know, and so why can’t she?”
According to WJRT, Peters and Harris have become friends after their initial encounter, and they already have plans to get dinner together in the near future.
Share This Sweet Story Of Inclusivity With Your Friends – Photo by Tasia Smith
Quote of the Day: “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” – Andy Warhol (on the 90th anniversary of his birth)
Photo: by Travis Wise, CC license
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?
An exciting new body of research shows that while America is becoming safer, with historically low crime rates—it is also becoming more progressive in its criminal justice system, with more than two-thirds of states having reduced both crime and imprisonment in the past decade.
The Pew Research Center published a study earlier this week describing how rates of recidivism dropped by 23% over the course of a 7-year period between 2005 and 2012. Pew analyzed more recent data, too, from the 23 states with reliable reporting, and found double digit declines in both recidivism and crime.
They found that investment in evidence-based programs to reintroduce the formerly imprisoned men and women into society have led to measurable success, which also happened right alongside declines in crime.
Several states have cut return-to-prison rates dramatically, including Georgia (35% between 2007-2016) and Michigan (43% between 2006-2015). In five more states, including Texas, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and South Carolina, recidivism has also significantly declined (according to several measures), while violent crime rates have dropped by double digits. (FBI crime statistics show that the combined national violent and property crime rate dropped 26 percent from 2005 to 2015).
RELATED: “Hangover” Producer Brings College Program to Juvenile Inmates, Changing Lives
In the decade after 2001, Arizona experienced a 13-percent decline in the rate of those reincarcerated within three years of release—and it’s also seen a 24% drop in the violent crime rate since then. They attribute much of the turnaround to changes in their probation services. They also used federal grants to support nonprofits offering mentoring services and providing technology career training.
Programs for inmates themselves have also shown great results. Actor Tim Robbins has dramatically cut in half repeat offender rates for California prisoners who take his acting class behind bars. Prisoners in North Carolina have transformed their lives, by becoming expert braille transcribers. And, prison gardens have taught inmates to grow their own food—and skill set, at the same time.
SEE More Heartwarming Stories About Prison Relief and Heroic Prisoners on GNN
Equally positive is the rate at which black adults are imprisoned. It has declined 29 percent over the past decade, and fell 4 percent from 2015 to 2016.
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This guy’s shocking dumpster discovery was the beginning of a fascinating chapter in his life—and turned trash into American treasure. Hear The Good News Guru tell the incredible tale (from the August 3, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio).
READ the full story, here, on Good News Network…
LISTEN to this story here, as told by The Good News Guru, from Friday’s radio broadcast with Ellen K and the GNN founder, on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)
In a small town near Lake Tahoe, one man’s trash turned out to be another man’s incredible piece of American history.
Back in December 2014, Max Brown was rummaging through a dumpster for a community service project when he spotted a pile of ancient books hidden under some thrown-out cassette tapes.
As it started to rain, the 37-year-old gathered up as many books as he could carry and took them to safety.
For six months, the collection of decrepit volumes sat on Brown’s shelf in Incline Village, until finally, he and his friend cracked them open to check out the delicate pages. It wasn’t the books’ contents that caught Brown’s attention, however—it was the message that was written inside the front cover.
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In two of the books he found hand-written inscriptions that said: “From the library of Thomas Jefferson.”
Excited about the prospect of owning a piece of American history, Brown reached out to several appraisal experts to get the signature verified. One of the appraisers told him the handwriting didn’t match and the books were fake.
Several months later, though—in a lucky twist of fate—he was watching an episode of “Pawn Stars” when someone on the show brought out several volumes that belonged to Jefferson—and their inscriptions looked identical to the ones on Brown’s shelf.
CHECK OUT: Woman Accidentally Buys the Same Book She Sold 5 Years Ago and Finds Mother’s Last Words
According to the Sacramento Bee, Brown started researching the former president’s literary habits and learned two important facts. Jefferson would often initial the pages of his personal books and, when rebinding them, he would put the first page of the text into the middle.
Both of Brown’s books—volumes of Pierre Charron’s philosophical “De la Sagesse” series—had these unique modifications.
WATCH: Trash Man Creates Free Library Out of 20,000 Books Found in Garbage
Rekindled with hope, he emailed an expert at Jefferson’s presidential library and asked if she could verify the books’ origins. (This time, he did not mention the fact that he found them in a dumpster.) The woman declared that they had, indeed, been purchased—in 1818—by the famous Founding Father who authored the Declaration of Independence.
Brown auctioned off the books for $8,000, saying the money was helpful to his financial state at the time, according to Inside Edition. Yet, he will forever own an incredible story to tell about the treasure—found in a pile of trash—that became a fascinating chapter in his life.
Help Your Friends Find This Fascinating Story By Sharing To Social Media – Photos by Max Brown
When hikers found an injured dog on the side of a mountain, one determined woman slung the 50-pound animal around her neck in hopes of reuniting him with his family.
Tia Vargas found the pup when she was hiking through the Grand Tetons in Wyoming on an annual trek with her father last month. Tia wanted to travel all the way up to the 11,000-foot peak, while her father decided to wait on the trail as she soldiered on ahead.
One mile up, she found a concerned family standing next to an injured English springer spaniel. The dog was limping, but the owners were nowhere to be found in the surrounding area.
Tia then took it upon herself to literally shoulder the burden and carry the dog named Boomer back down the mountain.
When she rejoined with her father and continued heading down, the journey became excruciating. Occasional rain and snow made it difficult for them to find their way back, and they got lost twice in the inclement weather.
“Every time I put him down so I could rest, it was difficult,” Ms. Vargas told Mother Nature Network. “And every time I got down on my knees to put my head under his belly and try to use neck and body strength to lift him it was painful and difficult. I thought we would see people on the trail on the way down to help. But that wasn’t the case.”
Finally, with the help of her father’s constant humor and encouragement, Tia and Boomer made it down the 6-mile trail. Once they reached the bottom, they saw a “Lost Dog” flyer with a family’s phone number.
Boomer’s owners were overjoyed to be reunited with the pup. They explained that when they had been at the top of the mountain the day before, he had fallen off a 100-foot cliff and rolled 200 more feet down the mountain. The family rushed to find him, but he was nowhere to be found.
Coincidentally, Boomer’s owners told Vargas that they were moving to Arizona – and though they loved the dog very much, they were not allowed to take him with them and he was in need of a new adopted family.
Though they had prospective caretakers lined up, it was clear that Tia and Boomer had a special bond. Without hesitation, she adopted him.
LOOK: Heroic Puppy Saves Owner by Jumping in Front of Rattlesnake
The spaniel was taken to the vet and diagnosed with a torn ligament and a dislocated joint, but his leg is now healing in a little doggy cast. Despite the fact that it took his injury to bring them together, Vargas says that the incident could not have been more fortuitous.
“His personality is perfect with mine and the kids. We all love him so much,” Vargas says. “They begged me for a dog and I was worried because it’s a lot of time and work. I told them ‘no’ for so long. And I said if we get a dog it would have to be dropped in my lap and already trained. And he is both of those and so much more. He feels like one of my kids now.”
Share The Pawesome Rescue Story With Your Friends – Photo by Ted Kasper
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