Only Positive News

Some of us dream of dancing, others of us dream of dancing without making utter fools of themselves (myself included).  But for 15-year old Nathalie Calderon, it seemed an even bigger stretch than just learning the right steps.

She’s only got one foot.

She was born with a rare birth defect that her tibia quit growing, so a portion of her leg was amputated when she was a year old.  But that hasn’t stopped her from chasing her dream.  She wanted to dance.

With her prosthetic foot, she took and succeeded in her dance classes to the point that her instructors had no idea she was missing a portion of her lower leg.

What couldn’t we all accomplish if we refused to let our difficulties or disabilities prevent us from chasing after our hopes and dreams?

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Last Monday, millions of Americans watched as the New Orleans Saints ran with tears in their eyes into their newly rebuilt home.  After all the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints were finally able to come back to their home field.  They performed a miraculous game that many believed that the Saints would not lose no matter who the team was.  They were able to come home and beat the Atlanta Falcons 23 to 3.  The game was only one amazing part of the night as millions of Louisianans packed the stands of the newly rebuilt Superdome.  The rebuilding of the Superdome’s roof alone was $1.5 million dollars and crews worked 24 hours a day repairing the roof.  The walls were covered in a new coat of paint and after the dome had sat in 6 feet of water for seven months after the hurricane, the Saints received a new astro turf field as well.  They never believed that they would be able to repair the dome in time for the Saint’s first home game, but the crews persevered and repaired the dome faster than any other in American history. 

Rebuilding the dome showed America and Louisianans that there was still hope.  Hope that their city could be rebuilt and that their team was ushering in a new era.  Saint’s fans in the dome and at home sat with tears in their eyes as they watched the unveiling of the new dome as well as a spectacular performance of their football team.  Fans continued to occupy the dome long after the game was over.  They cried, laughed, smiled and chanted for their team and their city.

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Pat McCormick was a four-time gold medallist in diving.  In 1984, Peter Ubberoff began sending his Olympic organizing committee members, which Pat was a part of, to local schools and corporations to speak.  Pat’s first speech was at Windling Elementary in El Puente, CA.  Afterwards, one of the teachers came to her and asked if she could help out any of the children in the school.  Pat began volunteering two mornings per week at the elementary school and began refining her process.  Pat focuses on 3 key attributes in the students: You have to Work, You have to Learn and You have to Surround Yourself with Winners.  Soon after Pat began volunteering there was a dramatic increase in better grades and kids staying in school. 

Today, Pat volunteers at the Workman High School in East LA.  These students are “at-risk” students who are struggling to graduate from high school.  Pat has been able to encourage them to stop joining gangs and stop using drugs.  Pat says that her passion of excellence comes from hardships of her own.  “My father died on skid row, and that’s the motivation I have.  I want to let everyone know if you have a dream and you believe it, you will find a way.  You have to surround yourself with winners, you have to work,” says Pat.  Today, several students have followed Pat’s guidance and have gone for the gold of high school graduation.

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Some people crumble in the face of hardship, and others shine in spite of it.  T.J. Faeser of Biloxi is one of those people who shines.

He had been working as a mechanic and was in his first year of college when he lost his vision.  He’d had hopes to be nurse, but had to put that aside with his vision loss.  Instead, he clung dearly to his desire to help others and started classes to be a dispatcher with the Department of Marine Resources in Mississippi.

Would that the rest of us were so courageous to face whatever adversity came our way and find a new path for ourselves that allows us to help our fellow man.

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Mike McCoy is not just any sheriff.  He is a sheriff with a kind heart and a lot of endurance.  This Peoria, Illinois sheriff runs for the kids at the St. Jude Hospital in Memphis.  McCoy says that he runs for them because they can’t.  McCoy began staging runs in 1982.  Back then their goal was $25,000 and they were unable to meet it.  Today, their goal is $1 million and they should top it in pledges and donations. 

McCoy has always said that nothing would keep him from running for the kids.  However, this year McCoy’s pledge was tested when he was hit by a truck in January.  The truck hit both him and another runner shattering McCoy’s pelvis and almost killing him.  The doctors believed that he would never be able to run again but McCoy wasn’t going to let that happen.  He may be slower than he was in the past, but he is more motivated than ever.  He believes that he has been given a second chance for the children he dearly loves and cares for.

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Some people have no problem living with guilt.  They go on living as if they had never done anything wrong.  For others living with guilt is not that simple. Guilt nags at the mind and at the soul.  One Logan, Utah man had that problem.  As a child, he would steal candy in his backpack with his friends.  Shawn Seamons and is friends would steal more candy than he and his friends could eat in one week.  “I think we would just stash our backpacks full of candy, and just have an afternoon of sugar high and absolute fun,” says Seamons. Joanne Hansen, the owner of The Island Market where they stole their candy, never even knew that the kids were the candy thieves she had been battling.  The guilt weighed on Seamon’s mind for six years until yesterday when he came into the store and wrote a $200 check for Hansen.  He felt that he needed to pay her back for the years of candy that he and his friends had stolen.  “They would’ve never known. I know,” says Seamons and that is why it makes a difference.  Seamons could not bear to live with the guilt of knowing that he stolen candy from the store and paying Hansen back helped him to relieve some of that pressure.

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Three years ago, he was lauded as a hero.  But today, he continues to help others, though not in means most people would consider brave or noteworthy.

Michael Travis, along with two friends, pulled a man from a fiery tanker about to explode in September of 2003.  He received nationwide recognition for his heroism.

These days you’ll find him looking for new places within Detroit for vegetable beds.  He’s working as the co-director of Urban Farming, whose goal is to reintroduce growth to the inner city, while producing edible goods for others.  The harvested produce is donated to area food banks and homeless shelters.

His day to day work is a new brand of heroism: living and working to improve the lives of others, while bettering the urban area he calls home.

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In Hutchinson, Kansas, an Applebee’s bartender named Cindy Kienow received a $10,000 tip on a $26 dollar bill.  The customer was a regular at the Applebee’s and left Cindy the tip on his credit card.  As a bartender, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of regulars that come in and to apparently have a major impact on somebody’s life.  Kienow believed that the customer was just happy that she spent the time to talk with him and get to know him. 

 
After the restaurant verified the charge and taxes were taken out, Kienow received a check for $6,300.  Kienow has worked for Applebee’s for over 8 years and her loyalty has apparently paid off. Kienow says that she got the impression that her customer wanted her to buy herself something special and she is considering buying a Jeep that she had been thinking about. 

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There aren’t words enough to express the intense sorrow felt in the wake of the 9/11 attacks five years ago.  Some people felt the grief more deeply than the rest of the country.  They lost immediate family: children, parents, spouses.

But even after tragedy, the human spirit perseveres.  This month, a book written by four of the victims’ widows will be released.  Pattie Carrington, Julia Collins, Claudia Gerbasi and Ann Haynes collaborated on a work entitled Love You, Mean It.  It details how friendship gave them the strength to carry on with life, making them more aware of others around them.

Despite the overwhelmingly horrific loss of their spouses to a terrorist attack, these women embody the best of humanity, opening up their lives and hurt to others so that they too can overcome what life may bring.

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Sometimes it just pays to get up off your feet, take a stand and make a move to action.  Especially when the stand isn’t for yourself but others.

After 44 days, four high school students have arrived at Ground Zero.  Their inspiring walk started at their home in Rossford, Ohio, 650 miles away from their New York destination.  Tad Millinger, Chad Coulter, Dustin Dean and Brandon Reinhard took inspiration from the heroes of 9/11, deciding to walk to the site of the World Trade Centers to raise funds for the new memorial.

Not only have the young men received accolades for their selfless venture, but they also raised more than $20,000 with more pledged to their cause.  Their donations came from your average Americans, not corporate sponsors.

If four students can brave rain, heat, blisters, pneumonia, tendonitis, and impending make-up homework, so can we.  So get up and use your spare time to do something for your fellow man.   Even a small step can reap a large impact on your world.

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