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Car Dealership’s Generosity Makes Her Forget Walmart Insurance Headache

By
Terry Turner
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Roberta Slang new truck screenshot KXAS

After an oil change left a florist’s delivery truck destroyed, a local salesmen tracked the woman down and gave her some good news to make her forget about Walmart’s mistakes.

Roberta Slang suv damaged screenshot KXASIt’s not clear exactly what happened to Roberta Slang’s 1998 Expedition after she dropped it off for an oil change at Walmart. But when she came to pick it up, it was clear the truck was not going to be drivable again.

Walmart turned the case over to their insurance company — and didn’t immediately provide money for a rental vehicle, which could have helped her to make flower deliveries. She ended up turning away business for two weeks.

Walmart’s insurance offered her $3,200 to replace the 1998 Ford Expedition, but she couldn’t find a replacement for sale for that amount.

That’s when a local dealer, 1And2 Automotive, stepped in with a huge gesture to help.

“We happened to have an Expedition in stock, and I instantly thought, ‘Why don’t we just give it to her?”’ David Kost, owner of the Dallas, Texas car dealership told Driving Sales News.

“She was so excited she couldn’t believe it,” Kost said.

Kost invited her to his dealership, where he sold her a used, 1998 Expedition for one dollar. Then, gave her the dollar back and told Slang to keep the insurance money and “put it to good use.”Michelle-Garn-family-van-Facebook-Garn-cropped

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A small businessman outshining the world’s largest retailer may have spurred Walmart to come up with a higher insurance payoff for Slang — they bumped up their offer to $6,200.

(WATCH the video below from KXAS News) Photos: KXAS video — Story tip from Joel Arellano

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‘Play Music On The Porch Day’ Builds Musical Community Worldwide

By
McKinley Corbley
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play-music-on-the-porch-day-the-andrew-smith

In case you missed it, musicians everywhere were grabbing their guitars and hitting the decks to celebrate National Play Music On The Porch Day last week.

People from close to 20 different countries participated in the second annual event by playing music across a variety of genres and styles, using every instrument imaginable.Rockin1000-youtube-guitars

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Instagram has been flooded with videos and photos tagged #PlayMusicOnThePorchDay, successfully creating an online community of talent celebrating music from all over the world.

Whether an artist is solo, jamming with their friends, spinning off covers, or playing hits off of their own albums, the holiday has given a voice to Instagrammers everywhere.

Check out some of our favorite #PlayMusicOnThePorchDay submissions below:

 

Photo Credit: The Andrew Smith  Story Tip: Mary Mallman

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Amy Poehler Online Community, Smart Girls, Urges Teens to Be Themselves

By
Sheila Key
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Smart Girls three women Amy Poehler's Smart Girls website

Amy Poehler loves “weird and wonderful” more than Leslie Knope loves waffles.

Which is why she started Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, an online community for adolescents where intelligence and imagination are valued over “fitting in,” and where curiosity is so much cooler than gossip.

Poehler is the name and public face of Smart Girls, of course, but she has lots of help behind the scenes. Her best friend—longtime TV producer Meredith Walker—co-founded Smart Girls and runs the operation from her home base in Austin, Texas.

Fast friends from the moment they started working together on Saturday Night Live, in 2001, Poehler and Walker sowed the seeds for Smart Girls over a glass or two of wine one night. Recalling their own adolescence, they agreed that the teen years are a rough patch no matter who you are—the queen bee or the wannabe, the popular girl or the loner.

“We remembered very much how older girls paying attention to us sort of broke the spell,” Walker told the Daily Dot. “We thought, ‘What if we could be that surrogate older girl for people in some way?’”colored-hair-girl-friends-Facebook

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Thus was born Smart Girls at the Party, a YouTube series. Smart Girls, the website and Facebook page came later. At first, it was just a “Charlie Rose-type interview show for girls that ended in a spontaneous dance party,” as Poehler described it in her first book, Yes Please, out last October.

Seven years later, the videos have racked up more than five million views on YouTube, and more than a million “Smarties” now follow the movement on Facebook.

The Smart Girls website features plenty of geeky science experiments, brainy book reviews, and heartfelt poetry. It even features Poehler’s own advice series, “Ask Amy,” where she answers questions via Skype.

This is Amy Poehler as you’ve never seen her—not playing it for laughs—just earnestly fielding questions on everything from anxiety and exams to love and personal power.taylor-swift-selfie-with-fan

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And her advice is just so… smart!

She answers a question from letter-writer Bridget about feeling anxious in social settings, for example, by suggesting in part that the girl shrink her scene.

Smart Girls surprise guest Amy Poehler's Smart Girls video“Don’t try to navigate the whole room, just find your little place and sit there and let people come to you,” she says, “because that’s a power move! That’s how the big dogs do it.

“And don’t forget that you can always leave!” she goes on. “Sometimes remembering that you can leave is just what you need to be able to stay,” Poehler concludes, before her real-life friend and former Parks and Recreation cast mate Aubrey Plaza jumps into the picture to add her two cents.

“If you feel like a weirdo, it’s okay, because weirdos rule the world,” Plaza says. “Also, if you get anxious sometimes, you should dance, because that’s what I do, and it helps me.”

Smart Girls was acquired by Legendary Entertainment late last year.

The plan is to cultivate a girl-powered team to become the new face of Smart Girls, working both in front of the camera and behind it. Eventually, they’d like to see Smart Girls land on TV, Walker said.

In Austin, they sometimes stage actual events out in the community, and Poehler and Walker hope to extend such programming into schools and summer camps to spread the “real-world experience” and create more Smarties throughout the country.

(WATCH the video below, or READ more at the Daily Dot)  Photos via Smart Girls on FB

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Strangers Create MACK-nificent Funeral Procession For Boy Who Loved Trucks

By
Terry Turner
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Elijah-Steffan-trucks-screenshot-KNXV

Horns honking and engines roaring, more than 100 trucks rolled down an Arizona road, giving an emotional send-off to a three-year-old boy who loved big rigs.

Elijah Steffen, who passed away August 21 from a rare disease, had been looking forward to his first monster truck show.Haylen ice cream Facebook

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Strangers from around the southwest showed up for a impromptu tribute to the little boy, after a family friend put out an appeal on Facebook, asking for one big rig to show up for Elijah’s funeral. Word spread and the turnout turned into an hour-long procession to honor the little boy and comfort his parents.

Fire departments and trucking companies sent trucks, and people who never knew little Elijah drove into the city of Mesa with anything from regular pick-up trucks to antique military vehicles.

There was even a monster truck.girl-wedding-to-favorite-nurse-AmazingAbby-FB-cropped

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Scott Campagna brought his 18-wheeler and told KNXT News his own son loved sitting in the center of the big rig next to him.

“I couldn’t imagine losing my child,” he said, choking up. “If we could make this family smile by being here, then it’s all worth it.”

(WATCH the video below from KNXV)  Photo: KNVX video


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Check Out This Yoga Studio Made Entirely of Salt For Extra Health Benefits

By
Good News Network
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Salt Yoga Class Breathe Easy submitted

There’s Bikram yoga, power yoga, aerial yoga, beach yoga….you may have think you’ve heard it all, but wait until you get a whiff of this.

To kick off the first day of National Yoga Month, I went to the Breathe Easy Spa in New York City, which has created a room made of salt to help you inhale and exhale through your Down Dog like never before.

The entire floor, like sand on the beach, is made of pink Himalayan rock salt. The walls, too, are covered with the micron-sized particles which emit naturally occurring negative ions through a process called halogenation. Touted benefits include reducing inflammation and detoxifying the lungs and sinuses. The small particles are supposed to embed deep into the lungs and once there, absorb bacteria, fight infection and help with mucus, which would otherwise block the airways. Just thirty minutes in the salt room can improve symptoms of allergies, asthma, snoring and sleep apnea, say the owners.

The teacher, Ellen Patrick, is a yoga therapist with over 1,200 hours of certified training under her belt. She helped me adjust my poses to do what works for my body and help me benefit the most. It’s a luxury not afforded in a normal yoga studio, where each person is worth a certain amount, monetarily, in square feet.

But, for the same price as a class anywhere else in New York City, I got personalized attention. In any given class, there are only four mats, total.

Salt Yoga breathe easy submitted
Photos courtesy of Breathe Easy

Ellen started off by pointing out that like our other muscles, our diaphragms are always working for us—unlike your biceps or your hamstrings, it is, like your heart, never able to really rest.

RELATED: Yoga May Be As Good As Aerobic Exercise for Your Heart

However, you can actually give your diaphragm a moment of relaxation, if you know how. When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts downwards, and when you exhale, it releases upwards. If you hold the breathe for a beat of two to four seconds before releasing, you give that muscle a chance to rest.

After realizing that something was going on with my feet and ankles—which is why I’ve had trouble in balancing poses for the past year—she also helped me understand why I should or when I shouldn’t bend my knees in order to stretch my back and open up the lungs.

I learned some new stretches, felt totally relaxed, and I slept soundly like a baby.

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The Perfect Healthy Breakfasts When You’re in a Hurry

By
Jenn Espinosa-Goswami
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big breakfast CC Rene Schwietzke

I’m sure you’ve heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but do you know why?

According to researchers at the National Weight Control Registry, over 73% of respondents who have maintained a 30 pound weight less for at least one year eat breakfast every day.

I have always been a breakfast eater, even when there is no time. In fact, my family often had what we called “Big Breakfasts” which was a smorgasbord of eggs, potatoes, bacon, and tortillas. turkey meatballs CC meal makeover moms

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Not everyone is ready to stuff their face when they get up, or spend more than 10 minutes getting breakfast ready in the crazy morning rush, so here are some easy solutions.

Have Easy Grab-And-Go Options On Hand

smoothie CC Pamela BatesSmoothie blended instantly with berries (frozen ones are great, too), yogurt or milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla, honey or stevia.

Greek Yogurt (full fat) with unsweetened coconut chips, nuts, or flaxseed. Drizzle with honey like the Greeks do.

Babybel cheese, which is pre-wrapped in individual tiny rounds and ready to go, and handful of nuts, like cashews, pistachios, almonds. (Or, prepare any cheese to go, tossing a thick slice into a bag with nuts.)

DIY Oatmeal packets: mix steel cut oats with protein powder and cinnamon. Add hot water or cook in microwave for several minutes. Add nuts or berries on top.

egg-muffinsMake a batch of these Egg Muffins to last all week: mix your favorite vegetables such as mushrooms, peppers, or broccoli, add seasoning and mix with 10-12 eggs. Fill up a 12-muffin pan and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Jennifer Espinosa-Goswami is a health coach and motivational speaker who escaped morbid obesity over 14 years ago. A member of the National Weight Control Registry, and Move It Monday Ambassador, she loves dancing in her living room and eating bean burritos. 

Photos by Rene Schwietzke, Jonathan Lin, CC licenses

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Global Outpouring for Refugee Father and Child Selling Pens on Street

By
Terry Turner
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Abdul and Reem 1 Indiegogo BuyPens

A photo of two exhausted Syrian refugees, a father holding his daughter while trying to sell pens on the street, inspired a worldwide outpouring of sympathy and compassion – raising more than $150,000 to help them start a new life.

Gissur Simonarson, a human rights activist in Norway, was moved to help the man when he saw a photo series on social media. After sharing the pictures, he was flooded with requests from others who wanted to help the man, but Simonarson had to track him down first.

He turned back to social media, creating a Twitter account named #BuyPens and asking people to help identify the man in this picture.

 

Within 24 hours, Simonarson had found and identified the pair — Abdul Halim, a single father of two children, and his four-year-old daughter, Reem — Syrian refugees living in Beirut.

Simonarson made contact and started an Indiegogo account, hoping to raise $5,000 to help the man out. His campaign reached its goal in just 30 minutes, and money has kept pouring in — from more than 5,900 people so far. As of this morning, the total was $162,147.bonded labor brick Facebook Humans of New York

Humans of New York Raises $2M for Pakistanis Living in Bondage

He wants to make sure Abdul isn’t taken advantage of, and he’s also looking into setting up an account that will give the man and his kids monthly payments, so Abdul won’t have to carry so much money around with him.

Halim is overwhelmed by the generous support from upwards of 6,000 people in more than 100 countries. He says he’ll use the money to send Reem and his eight-year-old son, Abdalla, to school.Boy studying on street Facebook

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“This campaign will change my life,” Halim told NBC News, “I want to help my siblings and help the Syrians here in Lebanon.”

(READ more at the Independent)

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Paris Without Cars? Oui Oui! Next Month, Walkers Will Rule for a Day

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Good News Network
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paris aerial shot CC Priscilla Jordão

If you’ve been planning a trip to Paris, you will want to be there on September 27—just don’t arrive that day, cause you’ll be walking to the hotel from the airport.

Thanks to a movement called “Paris Sans Voiture,” or “Paris Without A Car,” vehicles will not be permitted on the streets of Paris for twenty-four hours. Instead, people will be encouraged to roam free and check out music festivals and other events planned throughout the day.

“Teach your children to ride a bike, and let go of their hands safely, if they want to draw a giant hopscotch,” the website reads (translated from French into English).Prodiges-flashmob in Paris-Youtube-cropped-850px

Flash Mob of Child Musical Prodigies Wows Crowd in Paris

Although a stroll down the middle of the Champs-Élysées will be romantic, the organization Paris Without A Car cites the project as symbolic of their support for the fight against climate change and pollution.

Check out their Facebook page for more info.

Photo by Priscilla Jordão, CC

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Fighter Gives Up Stardom to Bring Dignity to the Pygmy People

By
Good News Network
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Justin Wren pygmy kids in Africa-FB

He was a star on the professional fight circuit, a mixed martial artist who dominated the competition. But Justin Wren gave it all up to help a little known and long suffering group of people in the remote rainforests of the Congo. They captured Wren’s heart and changed his life just as he changed theirs.

It all started back in 2011, when he was faced with a decision to accept a new fight. He had already conquered the drug addiction and depression that took its toll following a painful injury and his stint on a Reality TV fight show.

He prayed for guidance and says a vision came to him. He saw himself in the jungle, and there were hurting people who were sick, withering from hunger, and enslaved by people who “just hated them.”

When he finally revealed the vision to his friend, he was told, “Oh yeah, that’s the Pygmies.”

pygmies with Justin Wren Facebook Fight for the Forgotten

Wren had been searching for meaning and purpose in his life, so he decided to forego the fight and fly to Africa. He found his life’s calling among the Mbuti Pygmy people of eastern Congo, the oppressed, ethnic group that he now calls his “family.”

Wren with kids on jeep Facebook Justin WrenBefore Wren arrived, thousands were living in poverty, clean water was scarce, and according to human rights groups, they were often victimized and enslaved by those who consider them subhuman.

For the past four years, Wren has helped them dig wells for clean water, grow and harvest their own food, and buy back land that was taken from them. He’s also working to replant trees in areas deforested by companies seeking to exploit the minerals there.

Before he came along, the community didn’t know how to grow any food. They just foraged and hunted. Now, they harvest ten different types of crops, including yams, potatoes, corn, peanuts and bananas.

Justin Wren building wells Facebook Fight for the ForgottenAt 6-foot-three, 246 pounds, Wren may look out of place among the pygmies, but the bearded, heavyweight fighter formerly known as “The Viking,” is now affectionately called, “The Big Pygmy.”

He started a charity called Fight for the Forgotten, dedicated to helping the Pygmies, who describe themselves as “the forgotten people.”

Last week, after a five year absence, Wren jumped back into the mixed-martial arts cage to do battle, not for himself but to bring attention and money to their cause. He won his fight and will donate 100% of his victory bonuses to the creation of more wells. He’s also written a book, Fight for the Forgotten, about his adventures with the Pygmies to raise even more money.

“It’s an opportunity to fight for something much bigger than myself, and fight for my Pygmy family,” says Wren, who thinks each victory in the cage will fund 5-8 new water wells.Tebow-Hospital-Photo-Credit-Tebow-Foundation-Photo-Credit-sportiqe-CC

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Wren’s foundation, in partnership with the non-profit group Water4, has deployed 20 full-time employees. They have dug 25 wells and purchased nearly 2,500 acres of land for his growing family.

For the man who says he once felt like he had a “hole in his soul,” helping to restore dignity to these vulnerable people has also satisfied his own search for the most important fight of his life.

(READ more at Bleacher Report and WATCH more below) Photos by Justin Wren – Story tip from Andy Corbley

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Tribute to Motivational Author Wayne Dyer (1940 — 2015)

By
Terry Turner
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Wayne Dyer Facebook Wayne Dyer

A self-help guru whose advice helped millions has passed on to his “next adventure.” That’s the way Dr. Wayne Dyer looked at death, merely as a transition to something new.

His long time publisher, Hay House, announced the news on Facebook, saying in part, “Wayne has left his body, passing away through the night…  Our hearts are broken, but we smile to think of how much our scurvy elephant will enjoy the other side.”jrr-tolkien.jpg

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He had been a leading figure for nearly 40 years in the New Thought movement — a century-old spiritual school of thought that believes God is everywhere, individuals have the divine spirit within themselves, and one’s thinking has the power to change one’s world or heal disease.

Dyer earned his doctorate in educational counseling from Wayne State University before serving as a professor at St. John’s University in New York.

Dyer broke onto the scene in 1976 with his book, Your Erroneous Zones, which sat atop bestseller lists for 64 weeks and sold 35 million copies since it was first published. It summed up his ideas as a professor teaching counseling education.

Dyer spent much of his life until he was 10, growing up in an orphanage after his alcoholic father left him, his mother, and two brothers. Two years before writing his breakthrough book, Dyer found out his father had died and went to visit his grave. He recounted feeling outraged and angry until a sudden calm came over him.

“From this moment on I send you love,” Dyer said, “And I forgive you for everything that you have done.”

The gravesite encounter launched his writing career and changed his life. It happened on August 30, 1974 – exactly 41 years to the date before he passed away.

His epiphany led him to stop drinking, got into shape, and begin work on “Your Erroneous Zones”. He wrote the book in just 14 days and pushed it onto the bestseller lists driving cross country and selling copies from the trunk of his car.

During his life, he authored 42 self-help and motivational books, including five specifically for children. Twenty-one of them made the New York Times bestseller list.Babbettes-Seeds-of-Hope-Sunflowers-kissing-elderly

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Dyer’s teachings were largely shaped by Swami Muktananda, founder of the Siddha Yoga spiritual path. He also listed Saint Francis, one of the most venerated figures in Christianity, and the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, in shaping his teachings.

Year in and year out for decades, Dyer’s motivational talks produced for PBS were some of the most dependable and successfulWayne Dyer CC Officer Phil fundraisers for U.S. public television stations.

He struck up personal friendships with Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Degeneres, even officiating at her wedding with Portia de Rossi. Winfrey tweeted: “RIP Wayne. You brought the Light.”

Dyer pointed out there’s nothing to take with you on your next adventure, except what’s inside already.

“The last suit you wear, “ Dyer once said, “You don’t need any pockets.”

(WATCH the video below from USA Today)  Photos: (top) Wayne Dyer, FB; (bottom) by Officer Phil, CC

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“On Second Thought” App Lets You Take Back What You Text

By
Sonja Schulken
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texting CC Mariah Dietzler

If you’ve ever wanted a “do over” when it comes to texting, an innovative app may be your new best friend.

“On Second Thought” is a chance to avoid texting pitfalls — a digital grace period to take back rash replies, less than sober thoughts and embarrassing auto-corrects.

The app allows users to recall messages up to one minute after sending them— before they reach the recipient. It imports all of your contacts and text messages, and works even if the other person doesn’t have the app.UVU text lane - Utah Valley University

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There’s also a curfew option that automatically sends your text messages to a draft folder at a certain time of night.

“It’s for those nights on the town when you know you might have a bit too much to drink,” Maci Peterson, the app’s creator, told BlackEnterprise.com. “Just go to your ‘On Second Thought’ settings, determine the time you’d like your ‘curfew’ to start, and all messages you try to send after that time will be held until the next morning.”

Held–and chances are–deleted in the cold light of day.dog-in-pool-with-toy-AllPaws-FB-permission

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Peterson says the current Android version of the app is performing well and she has plans to launch the iPhone version by the end of the year. She hopes eventually the technology will be snapped up and that the ability to have good judgement at your fingertips will become standard with all phone messaging services.

(READ more at ChicagoInno) Photo: Mariah Dietzler, CC

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Strangers Show Up on Elderly Man’s Roof, Restore More Than Just Shingles

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Good News Network
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Roof volunteers Facebook David Perez

Man on roof Facebook David PerezAs he watched his frail 75-year-old neighbor painstakingly laying down shingle by individual shingle, David Perez knew he wanted to do something to help, but he didn’t know a single thing about roofing.

So, the California man snapped a picture of the white-haired neighbor working on the roof (right) and reached out to his Facebook friends, asking if anyone knew a roofer who might be willing to donate time and labor to help.

His post was shared more than a thousand times, and he hoped that roofers would came out of the woodwork.

Saturday morning, Perez didn’t know if anyone would show up at 9, the agreed upon time…but when he awoke at 7, people were already up on Mr. Dubiel’s house, working.

roofing volunteers Facebook David PerezRoofing trucks clogged the cul-de-sac in front their Fremont homes, as volunteers laid out donated food for the workers to eat when they were done. The whole roof was finished by noon.

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They asked Dubeil to come up on the roof one last time, and ceremoniously handed him a nail gun to attach the final shingle himself.

He said the strangers coming out to fix his roof also repaired his faith in humanity.

“I’m just in awe,” Dubiel told KNTV news.

(WATCH the KNTV News video) — Photos: David Perez, Facebook — Story tip: Jim Kelly

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“Look At The Stars, Man”…The Encounter That Inspired An Iconic Song

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Good News Network
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stars over beach CC Vjeran Pavic

My boyfriend and I were in Long Branch, New Jersey for a wedding a couple of weeks ago. The morning after the celebration, we headed down to breakfast at the inn, and fortunately, the only two seats left were next to a man reading a newspaper who invited us to join him.

I commented on the headlines of his newspaper, then told him I worked for Good News Network– all good, all the time.

“It’s all about perspective,” said the man, whose name I later learned was Vinnie. “Which reminds me of a story from years ago.”

It was the early 1960’s, and Vinnie, a retired salesman who now takes people out on boat rides near Atlanta, Georgia, had ridden his motorcycle, decked out in leather, to visit a girl in Cape Cod. 

Surrounded by preppy guys in arrowhead shirts and khakis, he noticed the only other guy wearing leather—a guy named Bob—grabbed a bottle of rum from behind the bar, and headed for the beach.

That night, there seemed to be billions of stars in the sky, and they all looked like diamonds.

Bob was laying next to him, talking about the poor and downtrodden of the world, how they’ll never get a chance in life.

“Bob, you’ve got it all wrong. Look up at the sky, man. It’s beautiful. It’s all about perspective,” Vinnie said.

The two continued to talk, and to drink, and eventually they danced, arms above their heads, taking turns holding and swigging the rum, until the wee morning hours.Bob_Dylan_-_Highway_61_Revisited

SEE More Inspiring Stories About Rock and Roll at Good News Network

Years later, an iconic song was released into the lexicon that was the 60’s, and the lyrics were:

The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow

There’s no real way of knowing if Bob Dylan was, in fact, talking about a night with Vinnie, in Tambourine Man.

What you choose to believe all depends on your perspective.

Share This Perspective (below)… Photo by Vjeran Pavic, CC

“The Aussies Are Coming!” Overseas Firefighters Arrive in WA

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Good News Network
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oregon_wildfire-National Interagency Fire Center

Seventy Australian and New Zealand firefighters arrived in the United States last week, ready to go wherever wildfires were burning, reports the Associated Press.

Grateful Firefighters in Washington state welcomed the reinforcements from Down Under, as they battled the largest wildfire in the state’s history.

“‘The Aussies are coming!” said Rick Isaacson, a spokesman for the Okanogan wildfires.Aceh-boat-on-roof-iloveacehDOTblogDOTcom

The Boat That Landed on a Roof and Saved 59 People

The Canadian neighbor to the north sent more than 30 BC firefighters last week to join the efforts on the front lines.

Meanwhile, about a dozen American Samoa crew members were flown in to battle the Horse Fire burning in Northern California since mid-August.

Idaho, West Virginia and other states have also sent devoted fire crews to help out.

Fifth Train Attack Hero Speaks Out For the First Time

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Good News Network
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Mark Moogalian-hero-social-cropped

The French hero just released from a hospital after he was shot trying to subdue a gunman on a train, talked to Le Figaro about the experience and the American who helped save his life.

Mark Moogalian was the first to become suspicious of the gunman August 21 on a train from Amsterdam to Paris. He spotted a rifle carried by them man emerging from the restroom. After he grabbed the gun and ran, he was shot by an additional handgun carried by the attacker.

That’s when the three Americans and British passenger charged at the man, disarmed him and knocked him unconscious. The four were later awarded the Legion of Honor for their actions.Kidnapping Thwarted - Malyk Bonnet - Laval Police Facebook

Quick-Thinking Teen ‘Befriends’ Couple to Thwart Kidnapping in Progress

Moogalian, a 51-year-old French-American professor, living in Paris, recalled the man who saved his life: USAF Airman First Class Spencer Stone.

The 23-year-old California native trained in emergency rescue, placed his hands on the man’s neck wound that was spilling blood.

People magazine translated a bit of the interview from Le Figaro:

“He kept talking to me to keep me conscious. He said ‘So, you’re from Virginia? I’m from California! Look, man, you’re a hero.’”Catrambone-Family-migrant-rescue-Photoby-MOAS

Wealthy Couple Buys Search-and-Rescue Ship to Save Migrants at Sea

“You’ve saved lots of lives. When all this is over, we’ll go have a beer together.”

Moogalian also will be awarded France’s highest honor for his bravery.

Dentist Gives Full, New Smile to Man Who Helps the Homeless

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Good News Network
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homeless-man-new-smile-WFAAvideo-mashup

Harvor Davis, who drives a food ambulance around town to feed the homeless, now has a reason to break out his smile, rather than hiding it.

The Plano, Texas man knows their struggle because he, himself, was homeless five years ago.

Years of dental neglect, though, kept the man from sharing any grins with those whom he uplifted every day.Saudi-street-refrigerator-feeds-needy- Akhbaar24-

Town Installs Outdoor Refrigerator so Locals Can Feed the Hungry

Earlier this month, a kind dentist, Dr. Lee Fitzgerald, changed Davis’s outlook and countenance, by giving him a new smile.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from WFAA) Story tip from Renee Morin

Inspire Someone With this Smiling Face… (Click below)

Girl With One Leg Breaks Swim Records

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Good News Network
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Swimming is a hard sport but Christina Lang makes it look easy–even with one leg.

Set to start her senior year at Dunedin high school in Florida, she competed in YMCA national meets over the summer and either broke or set records in four different events.

“In each race, spectators are in awe at what the 17-year-old can do,” reports WTSP news.Azza Faiad 2 screenshot CNN

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She’s done a lot of things, like rock climbing, that even able-bodied people would find difficult, since losing her leg as a toddler to disease.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from WTSP) – Story tip from Rae Hunt

Middle-Agers Are Fending Off Dementia With Healthy Living: Study

By
Sonja Schulken
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If you needed one more reason to give up the fried food, put out your cigarette, and go for a walk, look no further than a new study showing the rates of dementia in some populations may be actually decreasing.

It suggests that middle aged people in Europe are lowering their risk of developing dementia later in life by keeping their blood pressure and cholesterol low, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and not smoking, or drinking to excess.Mediterranean diet-veggies-dips-mealmakeovermoms

Diet May Cut Risk of Alzheimer’s by 50% (Long-term Study of 900 Seniors)

Alzheimer’s disease accounts for most cases of dementia, which is an overall term that describes symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.

Despite predictions that the incidence of dementia would rise, a Cambridge University study shows the proportion of people over 65 with the condition has fallen.

Researchers looked at dementia occurrence in five studies–in the UK, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands between 2007 and 2013–and found none that showed the dramatic increases in dementia that were predicted in the 1990s. Rather, they report stable or reduced prevalence over the past few decades.old-couple-Flickr-CC-bravenewtraveler

Memory Loss Associated with Alzheimer’s Reversed for First Time

The UK data from 1991 suggested that by 2011, 8.3 percent of British people over 65 would have dementia. The rate turned out to be just 6.5 percent. Nearly a quarter less than expected, and almost the same as in 1991, despite more elderly people over 65 in the population.

The study from Spain also showed a drop, but only in men aged 65 and older, for which the prevalence went down by about 43% between 1987 and 1996.

The old studies that support the idea of a ‘dementia epidemic,’ are out of date, due to improvements in “life expectancy, living conditions, and improvements in health care and lifestyle,” says the study’s lead author Carol Brayne.letters screenshot CBS

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How to reconcile this relatively optimistic picture with shocking figures that have been published pointing to dramatic increases in dementia prevalence? One reason, say the researchers, is the failure to recognize the complexity of diagnosing dementia. More people are now diagnosed with very early dementia, for example, even though it may or may not progress into more severe forms.

With more people in the world reaching age 85 today, the overall numbers will continue to rise. While there is still no way to absolutely prevent dementia, the findings suggest it may be possible to stave off the condition–and enjoy a fuller life, longer. That’s why the researchers want to encourage health officials to spend more money encouraging lifestyle changes, rather than only looking for new drugs to fight the condition once it develops.

The study was published in The Lancet. (Photo by Robert Agthe, CC)

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Dutch Duck Posing in Photo Shoots is Instagram Hit

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McKinley Corbley
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guues-the-duck-astronaut-instagram

There is a duck named Guus who’s taking Instagram by storm.

Guus the duck, named after Donald Duck’s cousin in Holland, has been dressing up in a different costume every week to the delight of over 2,500 Instagram fans from around the world.

His caretaker, Sam Pronk, uses her knack for arts and crafts to give the fashionista his stunning props, starting in the beginning with a tiny Donald Duck costume.

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“I am really creative and love to make things out of nothing. On holidays, I decided to make Guus hats and take special pictures,” Sam told the Good News Network. “On Kingsday in Holland, everyone wears an orange outfit, so I made Guus an orange shirt. I quite liked it, and Guus did too. He didn’t want to take the shirt of all day.”

Then came the Donald Duck costume. “After that one, it got a bit out of hand!”

guus-the-duck-motorcycle-InstagramBecause Sam uses a mannequin with his measurements to make the outfits, Guus only has to shake his tail feathers in front of the camera for two minutes before he’s rewarded with mealworms and corn.

As fate would have it, this dynamic duo came together because of a bet that Sam won between her and her friend.

“I said if I win, you have to buy me a duckling! Which he agreed to because he was sure I wouldn’t win. The next day I went to pick him up from the train station and he was carrying a small box. He handed me the box and the cutest little ball of yellow fur with blue eyes was looking up at me!”

Guus is now one year old and constantly spoiled by his adopted human mother. He lives out his days sharing a garden and private kiddy pool with Sam’s three chickens, three bunnies, and two dogs. Check out more fun photos:

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Follow Guus on Instagram.

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When Couple’s Proposal Goes Awry, Strangers Jump in (the Water) to Help

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Good News Network
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wedding-proposal goes awry-Kayla Harrity-released

As he was attempting to propose to his girlfriend while on vacation at the beach, Matthew Picca made one miscalculation–and it turned into a memory to last a lifetime.

He was down on one leg on the dock of the Old American Fish restaurant asking Kayla Harrity to marry him and the ring slipped out of box, through the crack in the boardwalk, and into the sea water.Woodstock-couple-Courtesy Bobbi and Nick Ercoline

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After the initial shock, people watching from the patio in the Southport, North Carolina bar came down and jumped into the water fully clothed to help fish the ring out of the Intracoastal Waterway.

proposal goes awry-Kayla Harrity-releasedA local ran home to get some goggles and several flashlights were donated to the search crew.

“After one-and-a-half hours of searching in the water…the ring was found!” Kayla said.

Everyone at the bar cheered, and began chanting ‘Propose again!’

So he did.

(READ the story from WECT news) Photo credit: Kayla Harrity

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