Only Positive News

Finally, something proactive to stop drunk driving before it starts… Nissan Motors in Japan is thinking about installing different features to make it more difficult for drunk drivers to even start their cars.  One of the options is using a breathalyzer that requires drivers to blow into a straw-like tube and if they are intoxicated, the car will not start.  Another option would be to make the drivers enter a personal identification number before starting their car (something that might prove difficult for people who’ve had too much to drink).  The good news is that if it’s happening in Japan and it’s successful these technologies will likely spread to other parts of the world.

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David Woodhouse, 58, left his family in the U.K. for Australia in the 60’s.  34 years later he has returned to donate his kidney to his 37-year-old son, Mark.  Mark decided to track down his father after becoming very ill and suffering from kidney failure.  Mark, with the help of the Salvation Army, was able to track his father down to New South Wales, Australia. 

Mark had been on a transplant waiting list for a new kidney for 3 years.  He has a wife, Jane, and a 5-year-old daughter, Holly.  When asked to donate his kidney, David did not have to think twice.  He flew back to the U.K. and prepared for the surgery with his son.  The transplant was successful and reunited the father and son.  David said that there was not a day that had gone by that he had not thought of his son and he was happy to be able to insure that his son would be able to watch his daughter grow.

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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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Dick Hoyt has described himself as a “porker.�  Middle-aged and out of shape, Dick Hoyt would have never dreamed of running a marathon.  That is until his son, Rick, wanted to go running. 

 
This story is interesting because since that day Rick wanted to go running, they have gone over 26.2 miles in a day and eight times he has not only ran 26.2 miles but also swam 2.4 miles and pedaled 112 miles-all in the same day.  Rick, however, enjoyed the ride from his wheelchair, a dingy and on the handlebars of a bike. 

 
At birth, Rick was choked by the umbilical cord.  Cutting off oxygen to his brain, Rick was diagnosed as brain dead. Dick Hoyt and wife were told that he would be a “vegetable� for the rest of his life and that they should just put him in an institution.  This family was not satisfied with such a diagnosis and they decided to find out how they could make Rick communicate with them.  They had seen his eyes follow them through the house and they knew that he was really thinking about things. 

 
After being told that there was no way Rick could communicate with them, Dick set up a computer for Rick.  Rick’s first words at eleven years of age was “Go Bruins!�  When a student was killed in a car accident at his school, the school set up a charity run.  Rick’s next comment was “I want to do that.�  Thus, Dick and son Rick began running.  Dick would push Rick in his wheelchair and Rick would feel as though he was not disabled.  The two loved running with each other so much that they began doing triathlons.  In turn, Dick could no longer call himself a “porker� as running with his son put him in the best shape he had ever been.  Dick suffered a mild heart attack in a race and was told by doctor’s that had he not been in such good shape he would have probably died.

 
At ages 63 and 43, Dick and Rick still compete and placed 5,083^rd out of 20,000 at the Boston Marathon.  Dick would never compete by himself as he does it purely for Rick.  Rick wishes that one day he would be able to push his dad in the wheelchair. 

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The CLIMB Wyoming program gives single mothers the opportunity for better paid jobs.  It trains single moms for the workforce and helps them find jobs substantial enough in pay to support their children.  Their training is for non-traditional jobs with increased pay scales.  After a two year pilot program, the average pay for the single mothers in the program has increased $5 an hour.  The program also seeks to close the gender wage gap in their state.

 
A positive program meeting the needs of the state and the people ought to be modeled across the country, allowing its single mothers to hold their heads high and climb above the shackles of the poverty level.  Programs like CLIMB Wyoming are a great first step.

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On July 1st, a new federal law went into action that will now require schools to look at their policies and make changes to develop wellness policies.  The point is to make the schools a healthier environment for kids as well as to help teach kids healthy living skills.  Since studies have shown that kids who consume less sugar can concentrate more and that obese children miss more school than their non-obeses counterparts, this is great news!!

What’s even better is that some states are making their own laws to work with the federal law.  Some states require school lunches to be more colorful than white and brown to give children opportunities to “eat their colors” while other districts are replacing soda machines with milk and water vending machines.

 Additionally, many teachers are seeing the benefits of having their students get up and get moving throughout the day.  This means incorporating classroom activities that get them out of their desks and doing more hands-on learning.

While this new law doesn’t mean that all schools will be “wellness machines” immediately, it is a great start to changing the attitudes, lifestyles and futures of our children!

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It is always great to hear about people working to preserve their hometown and historical landmarks.  It’s even better when it is the local children of the town.  In the town of North Hampton, New Hampshire, the children have raised over $300,000 to preserve the White Island Lighthouse. 

 
Sue Reynolds, a New Hampshire teacher of 40 years, had grown up on the New Hampshire coast and always enjoyed the view of the lighthouse.  The lighthouse is the only lighthouse in New Hampshire.  She thought of the idea to raise money for preservation of the lighthouse and decided to involve her school kids.

 
The kids soon became known as a group called the “Lighthouse Kids.�  They began hoping to raise $5,000 or $10,000.  Her first class raised $400.  Six years later they have raised $300,000.  The kids are seventh graders at the North Hampton School and Sue Reynolds regularly uses the lighthouse and Star Island for fieldtrips. 

 
The money that the children have raised has paid for many renovations and repairs of the tower and for part of the lighthouse keeper’s cottage.

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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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