THE KINDEST PEOPLE: HEROES AND GOOD SAMARITANS (VOLUME 3)
Dedicated to Dad and Brenda
Paperback Front Cover Photograph
© Paul Moore
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SMASHWORDS EDITION
Copyright 2011 by Bruce D. Bruce
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THE KINDEST PEOPLE: HEROES AND GOOD SAMARITANS (VOLUME 3)
Preface
The best way to read this book, in my opinion, is slowly. Read about a few good deeds and heroic actions a day, and after you have finished reading it read about a few good deeds and heroic actions whenever you feel a little low.
Chapter 1: Stories 1-50
Needs of Others and Ourselves
Rabbi Israel Lipkin Salanter once preached a sermon about our concerns regarding body and soul, saying that all too often, we are concerned about the needs of our body and the needs of the soul of our neighbor. However, the opposite should be true. We should be concerned about the needs of our soul and the needs of the body of our neighbor. (1)
“I’ve Lived My Life”
Stacie Crimm, age 41, who is from Ryan, Oklahoma, did not think that she was able to conceive a child, and she was both surprised and happy when she became pregnant. But a few months after she became pregnant, she learned that had head and neck cancer, Chemotherapy would give her a chance a life, but it would risk the life of the girl she was carrying. She opted not to have the chemotherapy in order to protect the fetus growing inside her, saying, “I’ve lived my life.” The cancer was aggressive, and in August 2011 she fell at home and was taken to a hospital where doctors performed a C-section. Her daughter, Dottie Mae, was 10 weeks premature and weighed only two pounds. Shortly afterward, Stacey fell into a coma and three days after the C-section she died. Her brother, Ray Phillips and his wife, Jennifer, will take care of Stacey’s daughter. He remembers when she called him after discovering that she had cancer: “She called me crying. She would say, ‘I’m not going to live long enough to have this baby.’” Before she died, she did get to hold her daughter, who had been taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Nurses wanted her to see and hold the daughter for whom she had given so much, so they wheeled Dottie Mae in an incubator to Ms. Crimm’s bed in the hospital and put her on Ms. Crimm’s chest. A nurse said, “It was just one of those things you know you have to do.” Her brother saw her hold her baby. He said that she “lifted up her hands and just held her and just looked at her and smiled.” He added, “I felt like it was probably the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.” (2)
A Killer Joke
In August 2010, British comedian Eddie Stapleton, age 77, was onstage in the Welsh holiday resort of Tenby telling jokes about snakes when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed. Fortunately, Guy Jackson, from Stourbridge, England, realized what was happening and gave him CPR. Mr. Jackson said, “He was getting to the punchline at the end of a monologue about snakes, when he suddenly keeled over sideways and crashed through an exit door. My initial reaction was that it couldn’t be part of the monologue—and I ran forward to help. It was obvious that he wasn’t breathing and he was turning blue. I just automatically started CPR.” Mr. Jackson had learned first aid because his job is transporting prisoners for private security firm Reliance. He said, “Life is precious as far as I am concerned, and I wasn’t prepared to give in. I am just so glad that my company is so keen on First Aid training for staff, and that I took note of what I was taught.” Mr. Stapleton said, “I just keeled over, and the doctors later told me if Guy Jackson hadn’t stepped in I would have been a goner. Guy gave me CPR and got my heart going before the paramedics arrived. I will always be grateful for that. I came close to dying onstage in the middle of my act, just like comedy legend Tommy Cooper.” (Mr. Cooper died live on British TV of a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers.) Mr. Jackson said about an upcoming meeting between him and Mr. Stapleton, “He’s warned me he had a cracked rib because of the CPR I gave him—and he now he wants revenge!” (3)
A Red-Carpet Guest
On 10 December 2009, University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow attended the 2009 Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show at Walt Disney World. As he walked the red carpet, at his side and holding on to his arm was a fan: 20-year-old Kelly Faughnan of Clifton, Virginia. Ms. Faughnan had recently had surgery for a brain tumor, which left her body with a tremor. After her surgery, she asked her parents to take her to Walt Disney World, where she hoped to meet Mr. Tebow. There, she wore a button expressing admiration for Mr. Tebow. She also met him, he liked her, and he asked her to walk the red carpet with him. (4)
Jeremy Shockey: Hero
In August 2011, NFL player Jeremy Shockey saved the life of his Carolina Panthers teammate and fellow tight end Ben Hartsock, who was choking on a piece of pork tenderloin. Mr. Hartsock tried drinking water, but that did not work. His Chicago-based agent, Mike McCartney, said that “he couldn’t breathe. Some new guy came and tried to give him the Heimlich. It didn’t work. Then, Shockey hit him in the back pretty hard and out came the meat. The Panthers told me it was really scary. Ben told me Shockey came over and gave me the Heimlich maneuver and saved my life. He was in good spirits and he’s real thankful for Shockey.” Mr. Hartsock was teased good-naturedly during practice, as his teammates occasionally told him, “Don’t choke, Hartsock.” Writer Brad Biggs pointed out, “The story serves as a good reminder that it’s important to know how to administer the Heimlich because you never know when a friend or teammate could be in need.” (5)
Jack Meets a Soccer Hero
In March 2008 in Newcastle, England’s General Hospital, eight-year-old Jack Close underwent a bone marrow transplant to cure a blood condition with the scientific name chronic granulomatous disorder, which was rendering his immune system unable to fight off infections. A soccer [European football] fan, Jack was extremely happy when star footballer Steven Taylor of Newcastle United stopped by to visit him and give him a bag of goodies, including black-and-white clothing and a soccer-match program that Mr. Taylor had signed. Mr. Taylor said. “When I come here, I realize how fortunate I am. Footballers get little kicks and niggles and complain about them. When you meet Jack and hear what he has been through, you realize how brave he is. It puts things into perspective massively, what he has had to go through, and it really inspires me to see it. But he’s a Geordie [a native of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England], he’ll be fine.” Jack’s mother, Laura, age 39, who works as a dinner lady, said, “His little face lit up when we told him Stephen Taylor was coming. He was in the football club at school, but obviously he had to stop that. He’s been really poorly for the last week, but today his temperature is normal and he’s not been sick. This has really perked him up. He has been getting cards and presents through the post from people who don’t even know him, saying how brave he has been and how handsome he is. He’s taken it all in his stride.” Jack’s father, Bryce, age 48, a taxi driver, said, “When he gets out [of the hospital], he will have to stay inside for three months. All his friends will be playing football outside, so that will be very hard for him. But this will be his claim to fame. He will tell all his mates he has met Steven Taylor. We’ve only ever been to one match, but when he’s better we will take him to more.” Earlier, the Evening Chronicle of Newcastle had organized a bone-marrow-donor drive in order to find a match for Jack. (6)
“I Only Did What Everyone Would Have Done. It’s Hardly Worth Mentioning”
In 2011, Ernst Tanner, general manager of the German Hoffenheim soccer team, helped rescue a 58-year-old woman who was trapped under the rear tires of her Mercedes after she failed to set the handbrake and it rolled over off as she was shutting the garage door. Mr. Tanner was jogging at 6.45 a.m. when he heard screams. He said, “I looked around. I could not believe my eyes. My neighbor was trapped under the rear wheels of her Mercedes.” Mr. Tanner and two bin men lifted the Mercedes off the woman, who was taken to a hospital. Mr. Tanner is modest about his action: “I only did what everyone would have done. It’s hardly worth mentioning.” (7)
Babe Ruth: Writer of Treasured Letters
Babe Ruth did such good deeds as write letters to ill children. On 15 January 1932 he wrote a letter to a boy named Freddy who had polio and was in the Children’s Hospital in Boston. For a couple of moths after receiving the letter, Freddie spoke about it every day. This is Babe’s letter:
“BABE RUTH
“NEW YORK
“Hello Fred
“I have received some very nice reports about you and the nice way you are getting along. Now I want you to keep it up and it will not be long before you will be and running around.
“You are only eight years now and who knows that some day the umpire will say Freddy Clark Jr. now batting for Babe Ruth—say Freddy? Will that be great or not. Now I want you to keep your fight and think of me.
“From your friend ‘Babe’ Ruth” (8)
“I Transported Myself into Another World, Free of Boredom and Pain”
Harry Potter helped Nicholas Twynham, age 11, beat leukemia. As he lay in a hospital with his body in pain and filled with drugs, his mind escaped to the magical world of Harry Potter and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Eventually, Nicholas’ doctors announced that he was cured. Nicholas said, “In my mind I could see Harry acting out the adventures, and I imagined I was him. Reading the books took up whole days while I was ill. It was a way of getting away from the leukemia. I transported myself into another world, free of boredom and pain.” Because he had missed so much school through sickness, Marion, his personal tutor, encouraged him to read the Harry Potter books. Nicholas said that because he had to face yet another round of hospital leukemia treatments, “I felt disappointed, but then I thought, ‘I have Harry Potter, and he will help me through.’” Nicholas’ mother, Michelle, said, “Nicholas was just seven when we were told he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I was convinced my little boy was going to die. He used to say he would finish his course of treatment then have a relapse and die. It broke my heart. Friends of his on the ward died, and although he never spoke about it, I knew what he was thinking. He was in hospital for so long his immune system had been affected and he picked up bugs easily. Marion encouraged him to read as he was so far behind with his work. It gave him something else to focus on.” Nicholas wrote to JK Rowling via the Starlight children’s charity: “My big dream is to meet you.” A few weeks later, JK Rowling wrote back to set up a meeting. Michelle said, “Nicholas never imagined he would get a reply. When we went to see her in Edinburgh, she showed her cupboard full of Harry Potter books to Nicholas and they chatted. She seemed surprised he knew so much about the books and characters. After lunch when it was time to go, JK gave Nicholas a hug, kissed him on the cheek and made him promise to keep in touch.” A month later, JK invited Nicholas to the London premiere of the movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Nicholas and JK went to the premiere in a chauffeur-driven car. Nicholas sat in between JK and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe (who played Harry). After the movie and a meal, Nicholas was introduced to cast members Zoe Wanamaker (who played Madame Hooch) and Robbie Coltrane (who played Hagrid). Nicholas said, “It was amazing, just unbelievable.” Michelle said, “JK is such a wonderful woman. She inspired Nicholas to get better. He needed something else to focus on so he didn’t feel down. Thanks to JK, he had Harry Potter.” (9)
“He’s Actually a Nice Guy”
For years, Greg Galcik published parodies of Bil Keane’s Family Circus cartoons, using the drawings of Mr. Keane but writing new, sometimes raunchy captions. Mr. Galcik even published the parodies on his own Web site titled The Dysfunctional Family Circus. In 1999, Mr. Galcik received a letter from lawyers ordering him to take down the Web site. This made him angry, and he started to explore the possibility of fighting a legal battle to keep the Web site up and going. However, the 29-year-old Mr. Galcik changed his mind after a non-combative, 90-minute telephone call from the 77-year-old Mr. Keane himself. Mr. Galcik said, “Amongst other things, it’s surprising to hear Bil Keane say the word ‘nipples.’” He added, “When you’re the guy who runs The Dysfunctional Family Circus, and you talk to Bil Keane on the phone for an hour and a half, it really takes the wind out of your sails.” After the phone call, Mr. Galcik decided to take down his Web site. He explained, “I haven’t run this thing for four years because it’s a bastion of the First Amendment, you know? I ran it because it was fun for me.” He added that “knowing now that he’s [Bil Keane is] upset about it, I had to think: what say this did go to court, and what say I did win. Would it still be fun for me? I don’t think so.” Many, many people have parodied The Family Circus, but Mr. Keane has said about the raunchier parodies, “It hurts.” Mr. Galcik said that “as we got further into the conversation, I just realized I couldn’t really go on doing what I’m doing. He’s actually a nice guy.” The two talked about more than the Web site. Mr. Galcik said, “He goes running every other day! Damn! He probably gets more exercise than I do.” Mr. Galcik does believe that the First Amendment right of free speech protects The Dysfunctional Family Circus, but after talking with Mr. Keane, he thinks that taking the Web site down is the best thing to do. By the way, Mr. Keane thought that many of the satiric reviews of his books on <amazon.com> were funny. These reviews took The Family Circus and Mr. Keane way too seriously: “Having already taken his place among the company of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Dostoyevsky, with the publication of Daddy’s Cap Is On Backwards Bil Keane now emerges as the master of them all….” And: “The turning point of the narrative is the episode where Jeffy sells his soul to Mephistopheles for power and knowledge, yet this can be fully understood only in contrast to the many events that precede and follow it—such as the haunting scene where little Billy carries his father out of the burning city on his shoulders, or the passage where PJ, now the viceroy of Egypt, reveals himself to his brothers as the boy whom they sold into servitude years before….” Mr. Keane died on 8 November 2011. (10)
A Great and Kind Operatic Contralto
Ernestine Schumann-Heink was a kind woman as well as a great operatic contralto, and she imparted her musical wisdom to others. Music critic Henry T. Finck once introduced to her one of his female students at the Brooklyn Master School of Music. Ms. Schumann-Heink extended an invitation to the pupil: “Come to see me at my hotel tomorrow morning.” The student went, but Ms. Schumann-Heink had read a notice in a newspaper and was depressed, so she asked the student to instead stay with her all weekend at her place in New Jersey. Mr. Finck writes, “The girl did so and what she learned in those three days was worth more than a whole year’s course in the best conservatory.” (11)
A Surprise for Roy Clark
Country musician Roy Clark sometimes visits the Children’s Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1983 he saw a little girl named Davi Sallee who had been paralyzed in a car accident. She was frail and in a wheelchair, and she seemed very close to being a vegetable. Mr. Clark talked to her, although he knew that she could not respond, and as he talked to her, one of her feet slipped off a footrest. Mr. Clark lifted her leg and put her foot back on the footrest, and then he said to her, “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not proper for boys to pick up girls’ legs like that.” On an impulse, he added, “Besides, you could have done it yourself if you wanted to.” The little girl then raised her foot up and down, exciting the nurses, who had never seen the little girl make a voluntary movement since she had been admitted to the medical center. Mr. Clark and the nurses stayed in touch, with the nurses informing him of the little girl’s progress, and eventually the little girl began writing him letters. The following year, he returned to Tulsa, and he went to the Children’s Medical Center to present the facility with a check for the money that his Tulsa charity golf tournament had raised. The nurses had a surprise for him: The little girl walked down the hallway to him, and she hugged him. (12)
A $160,000 Shirt
On 9 November 2011, Andrew Tobias attended the 5th annual Stand Up for Heroes benefit. Among many, many attractions, veteran Andrew Kinard, who is legless and a student in Harvard’s joint MBA/JD program, spoke. Another attraction was Bruce Springsteen performing with the Max Weinberg Big Band. This was followed by an auction of Mr. Springsteen’s guitar. The bidding started at $10,000 and ended at $160,000—in part because of some extra added incentives to bid, including Mr. Springsteen’s harmonica and his shirt. When the bidding ended, Mr. Springsteen went into the audience and handed over the guitar, harmonica, and shirt to the winning bidder and thanked him for his generosity to a worthy cause. Despite all the cool things that happened, however, Mr. Tobias writes that “the coolest thing ever” was when the winning bidder gave away the guitar to the legless veteran, Andrew Kinard. (Mr. Tobias’ advice to Mr. Kinard is “to sell the guitar—he must feel zero guilt over selling it—and use the proceeds to help finance his bright future.”) By the way, the winning bidder kept Mr. Springsteen’s shirt—who wouldn’t? (13)
“I’m the Dishwasher, for Real. I Can’t Cook a Lick”
In Red Bank, New Jersey, Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi (the legal spelling of the name), opened a restaurant—not a soup kitchen. This is a place where people can eat a healthy, nutritious meal, and if they have money, they can leave money in an envelope on the table, and if they don’t have money, they can volunteer at the restaurant or volunteer at one of the Bongiovis’ charitable organizations. The restaurant is “The Soul Kitchen,” and its menus have no prices. The Bongiovis have long been active in charitable endeavors, and their Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has built 260 homes for low-income residents. Mr. Bon Jovi said, “With the economic downturn, one of the things I noticed was that disposable income was one of the first things that went. Dining out, the family going out to a restaurant, mom not having to cook, dad not having to clean up—a lot of memories were made around restaurant tables. When I learned that one in six people in this country goes to bed hungry, I thought this was the next phase of the Foundation’s work.” The menu is gourmet and features such meals as grilled chicken breast with homemade basil mayo and rice pilaf; cornmeal-crusted catfish with red beans and rice; and grilled salmon with soul seasonings, sweet potato mash and sauteed greens. Some of the ingredients are grown in the herb and vegetable garden by the restaurant. Mr. Bon Jovi emphasized, “This is not a soup kitchen. You can come here with the dignity of linens and silver, and you’re served a healthy, nutritious meal. This is not burgers and fries. There’s no prices on our menu, so if you want to come and you want to make a difference, leave a $20 [bill] in the envelope on the table. If you can’t afford to eat [and pay], you can bus tables, you can wait tables, you can work in the kitchen as a dishwasher or sous chef. If you say to me, ‘I’m not a people person,’ I say, ‘That’s not a problem. We’ll take you back to Lunch Break [which provides meals to people in need] to volunteer with those people. If you don’t want to volunteer with that, we’ll take you to the FoodBank.” People who volunteer are given a meal certificate to eat at the restaurant. Mr. Bon Jovi said, “If you come in and say, ‘I’m hungry,’ we’ll feed you. But we’re going to need you to do something. It’s very important to what we’re trying to achieve.” He added, “This is not an entitlement thing. This is about empowering people because you have to earn that gift certificate.” Mr. Bon Jovi is one of the people who sometimes works at the Soul Kitchen: “Last Friday, I was at the White House, serving on the Council for Community Solutions, got on a train, changed in the bathroom, and got here in time to wash dishes Friday night. I’m the dishwasher, for real. I can’t cook a lick.” (14)
Compassionate Letter #1
Some celebrities write compassionate letters to fans. For example, Paul Banks, lead singer of Interpol, wrote the following letter in 2010 to a downcast young woman following a concert in Boston:
“Dear Hailey,
“No matter how sad you may get, it’s always passing. You may wake up blue, and by the afternoon, everything will be rosey. Sadness is a strange companion. And a nuisance. So try not to pay it too much mind. And be present in your happy moments—and weigh them against the sad. It’s all worth it. And you will arrive somewhere wonderful with peace in your heart.
“All my love and hope to you, young lady.
“PB” (15)
Compassionate Letter #2
Here is a compassionate letter from Stephen Fry—writer, actor, comedian, and all-around good person—to a woman named Crystal Nunn, who wrote to him in 2006 when she was suffering from depression. Ms. Nunn explains, “I had no idea who to turn to. But I really needed someone to turn to and to ease the pain. So I wrote to Stephen Fry because he is my hero, and he has been through this himself. And [lo] and behold, he replied to my letter, and I will love him eternally for this [...] I though[t] that I would upload this to give other people suffering from depression a chance to read the letter which helped me so much during the deepest days of my depression.” This is Mr. Fry’s response to her:
“April 10, 2006
“Dear Crystal,
“I’m so sorry to hear that life is getting you down at the moment. Goodness knows, it can be so tough when nothing seems to fit and little seems to be fulfilling. I’m not sure there’s any specific advice I can give that will help bring life back its savour. Although they mean well, it’s sometimes quite galling to be reminded how much people love you when you don’t love yourself that much.
“I’ve found that it’s of some help to think of one’s moods and feelings about the world as being similar to weather:
“Here are some obvious things about the weather:
“It’s real.
“You can’t change it by wishing it away.
“If it’s dark and rainy it really is dark and rainy and you can’t alter it.
“It might be dark and rainy for two weeks in a row.
“BUT
“It will be sunny one day.
“It isn’t under one’s control as to when the sun comes out, but come out it will.
“One day.
“It really is the same with one’s moods, I think. The wrong approach is to believe that they are illusions. They are real. Depression, anxiety, listlessness—these are as real as the weather—AND EQUALLY NOT UNDER ONE’S CONTROL. Not one’s fault.
“BUT
“They will pass: they really will.
“In the same way that one has to accept the weather, so one has to accept how one feels about life sometimes. ‘Today’s a crap day,’ is a perfectly realistic approach. It’s all about finding a kind of mental umbrella. ‘Hey-ho, it’s raining inside: it isn’t my fault and there’s nothing I can do about it, but sit it out. But the sun may well come out tomorrow and when it does, I shall take full advantage.’
“I don’t know if any of that is of any use: it may not seem it, and if so, I’m sorry. I just thought I’d drop you a line to wish you well in your search to find a little more pleasure and purpose in life.
“Very best wishes
“[Signed]
“Stephen Fry” (16)
Kindness in the Face of Tragedy
The two children of modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died tragically in a train accident. Many people comforted her, and telegrams and letters of condolence arrived to her from most parts of the world. Some art students even placed white roses and lilacs on the shrubs and trees of her garden. (17)
A Benefit Gala for a Great Ballerina
Near the end of Margot Fonteyn’s life, much of her fortune had been spent in taking care of her husband, Tito, a Panamanian politician who spent the last 25 years of his life in a wheelchair after an attempt to assassinate him. In May of 1990, her long-time partner, Rudolf Nureyev, and many others danced at a benefit gala held at Covent Garden. The gala raised £250,000 to pay to treat her cancer. By the way, at the end of an October 1964 performance of Swan Lake in the Vienna Staatsoper, Rudolf Nureyev and Ms. Fonteyn took a world-record 89 curtain calls! (18)
Keanu Reeves and New Yorkers: Masters of Etiquette
In August 2011, actor Keanu Reeves was riding a subway in New York City. He noticed that a woman did not have a seat, and he gave up his seat for her. Also doing a good deed were the New Yorkers. They had to have recognized the famous actor but did not bother him. (One person did unobtrusively videotape him from a distance, hence the evidence of his good deed.) (19)
Elizabeth Taylor: Twice a Hero
Elizabeth Taylor displayed great heroism at least twice in her life. In 1967 in Salzberg, Austria, her then-husband, Richard Burton, and some friends were having drinks at the hotel when a very drunk Englishman got annoyed at Mr. Burton and pulled a gun and told him, “I don’t like you very much.” Two hours went by, and Elizabeth, who was upstairs and ready for bed, tried calling to her husband to come to bed, but of course he was in no position to go to her. Annoyed, Elizabeth came downstairs wearing a see-through chiffon nightie and robe. She saw the Englishman and the gun and walked up to him and said, “Put that thing down!” She took the gun from the man and put it on a coffee table, and then she told her husband, “I want you to come to bed now, buster.” They left, and later the Englishman was arrested. And in 1970 in Yugoslavia, where Mr. Burton was playing Marshall Tito in a movie in a remote location, Ms. Taylor and fashion designer Vicky Tiel used to have a helicopter take them and a lunch each day to their husbands. Unfortunately, the helicopter was rickety, and on one flight a door fell off. Vicky was sitting next to the door, and she felt herself being pulled by the air out of the helicopter, but Ms. Taylor grabbed the poncho Vicky was wearing and kept her in the helicopter and alive. Vicky says, “Hooray for top-quality clothing—and a strong-willed woman who can save your life.” (20)
An Eight-Year-Old Fan of 999 Lifesavers
In March 1998, Jean Ross, age 69, went into a river in New Forest, England, to rescue a dog. Unfortunately, she was then unable to climb up the slippery, seven-foot bank of the river. Fortunately, her grandson, eight-year-old Joshua Edwards, enjoyed watching the British TV series 999 Lifesavers. He went to find help, running for 10 minutes to a nearby house. Jean said, “Like the cavalry, he turned up with a couple who hauled me out. I couldn’t believe a boy of his age kept so calm.” (21)
How Much is a Piece of James T. Kirk Worth?
How much is a kidney stone worth? My kidney stone: nothing. Captain James T. Kirk’s kidney stone: $25,000 for charity. When actor William Shatner, star of Star Trek, passed a kidney stone in 2005, he got the idea of selling it to raise money for charity. The online casino GoldenPalace.com bought it, with the proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. Mr. Shatner said, “This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?” GoldenPalace.com has a notable collection of oddities, among them an image of the Virgin Mary on a partially eaten cheese sandwich. GoldenPalace.com Chief Executive Officer Richard Rowe said, “This is a bold new addition to our fleet.” Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions, which auctioned the kidney stone, said, “This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone.” Ms. Shatner said that the stone he passed was huge, so huge that “you’d want to wear it on your finger.” He added, “If you subjected it to extreme heat, it might turn out to be a diamond.” (22)
Roger Moore and Audrey Hepburn: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
Actor Roger Moore, who played James Bond, aka 007, in several movies, remembers the bad reviews he has received and jokes that he has received no good reviews. He says, “One review I had for Bond said I looked like a floor-walker who had had three facelifts. You’ve got to laugh.” When asked how he wants to be remembered, he says, “As somebody who never walked past a beggar.” He serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, having been recruited to the cause by fellow actor Audrey Hepburn, who died in 1993. He says, “We all have a responsibility in life to do what we can to help those less fortunate. Audrey Hepburn originally asked me to get involved with UNICEF. She was my neighbor in Switzerland; at the first press conference we did together, everyone only wanted to ask us about movies, but she wouldn’t let them. She’d turn every question back to the problems facing the world’s children.” On 13 June 1989, as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Hepburn addressed members of the United Nations Staff. This is an excerpt from her remarks: “The question I am most frequently asked is: ‘What do you really do for UNICEF?’ Clearly, my task is to inform, to create awareness of the need of children. To fully understand the problems of the state of the world’s children, it would be nice to be an expert on education, economics, politics, religious traditions, and cultures. I am none of these things, but I am a mother. There is unhappily a need for greater advocacy for children—children haunted by undernourishment, disease, and death. You do not have to be a ‘financial whiz’ to look into so many little faces with diseased, glazed eyes and to know that this is the result of critical malnutrition, one of the worst symptoms of which is vitamin A deficiency that causes corneal lesions resulting in partial or total blindness, followed within a few weeks by death. Every year there are as many as 500,000 such cases in countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Ethiopia. Today there are in fact, millions of children at risk of going blind. Little wonder that I and many other UNICEF volunteers travel the world to raise funds before it is too late, but also to raise awareness and to combat a different kind of darkness, a darkness people find themselves in through lack of information on how easy it is to reach out and keep these children. It costs eighty-four cents a year to stop a child from going blind—the price of two vitamin A capsules.” (23)
Edwin Forrest and the Edwin Forrest
When the steamship Edwin Forrest was in trouble, the towboat Ajax sailed out to help it, but all the pilots of the Ajax drowned. The actor Edwin Forrest, after whom the steamship was named, made sure that each pilot’s widow received $1,000, a lot of money in the 19th century. (24)
“It was Like a Battle When the Books Got Burned. I Imagined that Those Books, Those History and Culture and Philosophy Books, were Crying, ‘Why, Why, Why?’”
In a war, libraries and books can be destroyed. Knowing that, Alia Muhammad Baker, the chief librarian of the Central Library in Basra, Iraq, worried about the entry of the armies led by the Americans and the British into Iraq in a successful effort to topple the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein. In the library were books in English, books in Arabic, and a Koran written in Spanish. Also in the library were manuscripts that were hundreds of years old, and in the library is a book about the Prophet Muhammad that dates from about the year 1300. In early April 2003 the British came into Basra, and Ms. Baker determined to save the books. She ended up saving approximately 30,000 books, which was about 70 percent of the library’s collection. It is fortunate that they moved as many books as they did because the Central Library burned down. She mourns the books that were destroyed before she could move them: “It was like a battle when the books got burned. I imagined that those books, those history and culture and philosophy books, were crying, ‘Why, why, why?’” She points out, “In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was ‘Read.’” Before the war started, she tried but failed to get permission from the governor of Basra to move the books to safety. When the war started, an antiaircraft gun was placed on the library’s roof, making it a military target. Ms. Baker began smuggling books out of the library, placing them in her car, and taking them home where they would be safe. On 6 April 2003 British soldiers entered Basra, and she became even more worried about the books, especially with looting going on in the city. By then, government and military officials had abandoned the library. Next door to the library was a restaurant: the Hamdan. She asked one of the owners for help. Looters had taken away the library’s carpets, lights, and furniture, and she wanted to save the books. Mr. Muhammad said, “What could I do? It is the whole history of Basra.” Mr. Muhammad, his brothers, and his employees helped to move books from the library, over a seven-foot-high fence, and into the restaurant. Hussein Muhammad al-Salem al-Zambqa, a shopkeeper, said, “The books related to Saddam Hussein, we left them.” Iraqis heard about what was going on, and they helped, including some Iraqis who were illiterate. Mr. al-Zambqa said, “The people who carried the books, not all of them were educated. Some of them could not write or could not read, but they knew they were precious books.” Once Basra grew calm, Ms. Baker and her husband had the books moved to their house and entrusted some books to friends and library employees. In 2004, the library was rebuilt and Ms. Baker again became chief librarian. (25)
“I Can’t Believe She had the Guts to Do It. I’m Very Proud of Her”
On 22 January 2010 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 11-year-old Catherine Davis was riding a school bus with 22 other students when the driver made a wide turn, hitting a pole and a vehicle. The driver’s seat belt gave way, and he fell to the floor while the school bus was still in motion. Catherine got into the driver’s seat, turned off the engine, and applied the parking brake, bringing the school bus to a stop. Catherine said, “I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was surprised I could do that. Mr. Frank [the driver] calls me his hero now.” Battalion Chief Gene Large of the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department said, “For someone as young as Catherine to maintain her composure and recognize that the bus driver was not within his faculties—she basically saved lives.” Fort Walton Beach Mayor Mike Anderson said, “Catherine is a true hero. She stepped up and did what needed to be done. It’s incredible.” The bus driver had taught the students what to do in an emergency situation. Catherine gave credit to other students, including friends and her twin sister, Julia: “I was really nervous, but my sister pushed me to go. I was so nervous I forgot what to do, so my friends and my sister had to tell me what to do.” Catherine’s mother, Mary Davis, said, “I can’t believe she had the guts to do it. I’m very proud of her.” (26)
“I Don’t Remember Anything After That”
On 26 September 2011 in Maus Middle School in Frisco, Texas, 12-year-old Kylee Shea fell unconscious in a school hallway. Kylee felt short of breath that morning while walking. She said, “I sat down, then I fell over, and I don’t remember anything after that.” Kylee began having convulsions and turned blue. Fortunately, two teachers there, Kristen Goodgion and Brent Reese, were well trained in emergency procedures. Mr. Reese performed CPR on Kylee, and Ms. Goodgion got the school’s automatic external defibrillator (AED). Mr. Reese said, “When I saw Kylee on the floor, just a million things are going through [my] head. You just kind of go into shell shock, and you kind of just reboot and we went back to the training.” The two teachers hooked the AED up to Kylee. The AED read her vital signs. Ms. Goodgion said, “It told us to shock, and we both looked at each other in shock, like, ‘This is really what we need to do right now?’” They shocked Kylee twice, and then the AED read, “No shock required.” Ms. Goodgion said about Kylee, “She started groaning and we’re still thinking, ‘Did we do this right?’ [But] it worked.” Kylee was diagnosed with a heart condition and fitted with a pacemaker. The state of Texas requires that an AED be placed in every school. Kycee’s mother, Sheryl Shea, said, “I think it should be a nationwide mandate. I think every state should be required to have these in schools and public places.” Without the two teachers’ quick action, Kylee would have suffered brain damage or death. Ms. Goodgion said about the teachers’ training in CPR and use of the AED. “[It’s] extremely important. We get trained every two years, and that literally is what we fell back on. It kept us calm; we had something to [fall] back on, to know what to do.” (27)
Honorary Junior EMTs
On 5 October 2011 in Lowell, Massachusetts, Sovannida Vann began choking on her lunch at Hellenic American Academy. Fortunately, representatives of Trinity EMS had been to the school and given presentations on CPR and Choke Saver. Two boys, 8th-grader Kris Anderson and 7th-grader Zach Gaudet, came to Sovannida’s rescue. They used techniques that they had learned from Trinity Education Specialist Dan Scanlon when he had given a presentation at the school in June. Mr. Scanlon said, “It’s one thing to teach kids the techniques and information regarding CPR and Choke Saver. It is a whole other thing to have them actually use it in a hectic setting and save a life.” Kris used the Heimlich maneuver on Sovannida. Meanwhile, Zach notified the school nurse. The Heimlich maneuver worked: Sovannida was breathing normally when the school nurse arrived. For their heroism, both Kris and Zach were given plaques naming them “Honorary Junior EMTs.” (28)
“You’re Not Supposed to Die at 15”
In October 2010, a 15-year-old boy suffered cardiac arrest after jogging a quarter-mile during gym class at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in Plainsboro, New Jersey. Gym teacher Trevor Warner performed CPR on the student, whose face was turning blue, and saved his life. Mr. Warner said, “I got over top of him and started my compressions.” He added, “I’m saying, ‘Don’t leave me, stay with me. It’s not your time. Keep going, keep going.’ I just kept talking to him. I didn’t want him to hear my voice as the last voice that he heard. I wanted to do everything I could to sustain his life. You’re not supposed to die at 15.” He performed CPR for approximately four minutes, and he said, “The sound of the ambulance … that was the greatest sound I can ever remember hearing.” As a gym teacher in New Jersey, Mr. Warner must be recertified in CPR every two years. He said that he would like everybody to have that training in case of an emergency: “It might be somebody at the workplace. It may be somebody at the mall, any walk of life. Somebody may require your help, and it would be a shame if somebody were there and didn’t know what to do.” The teenage boy recovered and had a pacemaker installed. (29)
Thanksgiving Water
On 22 November 2011, an anonymous woman walked into the Iowa City, Iowa, City Hall and donated $1,639.57 to pay the overdue water bills on 17 local water utility accounts. This ensured that those families had running water for Thanksgiving. Iowa City Revenue and Risk Manager Melissa Miller said, “We were just in shock. She obviously wanted to help these individuals out, and we tried to make it as easy as possible for her.” Eleven of the accounts had had their water already shut off, and the other six accounts would have had their water shut off before Thanksgiving. Once the woman paid the overdue balances, the water was turned back on for the 11 accounts whose water had been shut off. Public Works Director Rick Fosse said, “It was a wonderful thing that she did. And the timing was just perfect with it being just before Thanksgiving. Our folks went back out and turned [the water] back on so they did have water for the holidays.” The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, paid her water bill and then asked if anyone else needed assistance in paying their water bill. Ms. Miller said, “I’ve never seen it happen, and the majority of my staff has been here much longer than I have, and they haven’t heard of anything like it either. It was a wonderful gesture.” Ms. Miller added, “She just really wanted to help these people.” (30)
Little Dresses
During Thanksgiving week in 2006, Rachel O’Neill, who lives in Trenton, Michigan, decided to make dresses and give them to little girls who live in the southeastern African nation of Malawi. She made and gave away many dresses, and in December 2010, NBC Nightly News aired a story about her, and then people began sending her dresses. From December 2010 to December 2011, she received over 400,000 dresses from people in all 50 states of the United States. She takes them personally to Malawi. Anthony Galloway of NBC Nightly News writes, “In a place like Thobola, a brand-new, handmade dress is not just a piece of clothing. It’s a symbol of hope and a gesture of friendship from women 8,000 miles away. It’s one small thing a girl can hold on to as the sun sets and Rachel O’Neill prepares to make the long journey back to Michigan, knowing her little idea brought happiness to thousands of little girls today.” (31)
Letter to Santa Goes South, But Ends Up in the Right Hands
In these hard economic times, some families need a little help at Christmas to provide presents for little children. One such family was the de Beyes family, whose five-year-old daughter, Helen Berence Reyes Cardenas, wanted a few presents for Christmas. Helen’s mother, Rosa Elena Cardenas de Beyes, was not sure that they could get the presents for Helen. Rosa has been out of work for nine months because she fell down some stairs and tore a ligament. Her husband recently got a job, but the family has an overdue $500 electric bill to pay. Rosa said, “Right now I don’t have a job. I am incapacitated; I need surgery.” She added, “I didn’t know what to do. So I always told her we would send a balloon to Santa because that was a tradition when I was little.” Helen wrote a letter in Spanish to Santa: “Para Papá Diosito, I want a doll, a tea set, tennis shoes, and pants.” They attached the letter to two pink birthday balloons and let them go on 2 December 2011. As the balloons rose in the air, Helen called out, “I love you, Santa.” Rosa said, “I felt satisfied when I saw my daughter’s happiness as she let the balloons go. To me, my first priority has always been my kids’ happiness. They are my biggest love.” The balloons traveled from Auburn (a suburb of Seattle), Washington, 684 miles to a ranch near the small town of Laytonville, California. Frank Sanderson said, “My son Lane just came home [for] Christmas, so we were out on the four-wheeler in the middle of our 17,000-acre ranch, when we saw what we thought was garbage.” The deflated balloon and weathered letter were not garbage. Lane knew a little Spanish, and he realized that the letter was to Santa. A ranch hand translated the letter, which contained a telephone number and address. The Sandersons decided to buy and mail the gifts that Helen had requested. Dennis Dodd, a friend of the Sandersons, learned about the letter. He said, “Things have been tough down here, too. Christmas is a little different out here this year with the economy, so this letter hit us all hard.” Lane, his brother, and his mother (Julie) bought the gifts and mailed them. Julie said, “We’re just hoping the gifts get there before Christmas. For the balloons to make it this far down here and for us to find it [the letter], is just unbelievable.” Meteorologist Theron Hodel said, “It’s kind of impressive that the balloons made it all that way. Because they are just regular birthday balloons, for them to travel high enough to catch an upper wind pattern is impressive. Usually they would just get tangled in a tree or something, but it’s been dry and we’ve had a northerly flow that pointed it in a south direction, which made it possible.” (32)
Secret Santas and Layaway
On 5 December 2011, a woman who was in her 30s walked up to the layaway desk of Big Kmart in Plainfield Township, Michigan. Kmart employee Dannell Goddard said, “This lady came up randomly and said, ‘Can I, you know, pay off some people’s layaway?’” At first, Ms. Goddard was confused. She said, “I was like, ‘Well, are you trying to pick them up? ’Cause you can’t pick them up if you don’t have an ID. And [the Good Samaritan] replied, ‘Nope, I just want to help people.’” The woman, who wanted to be anonymous, picked out three layaway contract tickets, making sure that they contained toys, and paid most of the balances off (for approximately $500), leaving only $10 to be paid on each ticket. Ms. Goddard said, “It was really crazy the way she did it. She was so excited and so happy to do it. She had a great heart, and I told her that I felt like she had a great heart, and she said she doesn’t want to take appreciation for it. She just felt that she was blessed and she wanted to bless others.” One recipient of the good deed was Mary Chapin, who said that it “restored her faith in people.” Her layaway consisted of toys for her 12-year-old autistic son, David. She said, “They [Kmart] said that someone had paid $180 on my layaway and there was only $10 left. I thought it was a joke. She knew that it was not a joke when she saw the receipt, which contained the message, “Happy Holiday from a friend.” Ms. Chapin said, “I thank her. It’s the best gift that I ever received, and it’s the gift of believing in people. And believing that there’s good out there, ’cause you don’t always see that.” She called the woman an “angel” and added, “Even though we're all in the same boat, nobody’s thinking about anyone else, it’s every man for himself. To have somebody come along behind, and just do something that’s totally unnecessary but so appreciated, it just really made a difference.” By the way, after this story appeared on the local news, another Secret Santa used approximately $2,000 to pay off 13 more layaway bills. (33)
Good Samaritans at Christmas
For Christmas of 2011, several Good Samaritans paid off or nearly paid off the bills of many layaways that contained toys and clothing for young children. In Omaha, Nebraska, a father with three young children was making a payment on his layaway. He was wearing worn-out boots. A woman next to him—a stranger—said, “No, I’m paying for it.” Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the Kmart store in Indianapolis, Indiana, said, “He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn’t, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears.” The woman did other good deeds that day. She paid off the layaway orders for several other people. She gave away $50 bills, and she paid for two carts of toys for a woman. Ms. Deppe said, “She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn’t going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, asked people to “remember Ben.” Other Good Samaritans also paid the layaway orders of strangers. Dona Bremser, a nurse who works in Omaha, received a telephone call at work telling her that a Good Samaritan had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway, which contained toys for her four-year-old son. Ms. Bremser said, “I was speechless. It made me believe in Christmas again.” Salima Yala, Kmart’s division vice president for layaway, said, “It is honestly being driven by people wanting to do a good deed at this time of the year.” At an Omaha Kmart, Karl Graff, the store’s assistant manager, called a woman with the good news that she had been helped. He said that “she broke down in tears on the phone with me. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to pay off their layaway and was afraid their kids weren’t going to have anything for Christmas. You know, 50 bucks may not sound like a lot, but I tell you what, at the right time, it may as well be a million dollars for some people.” He added, “To be honest, in retail, it’s easy to get cynical about the holidays, because you’re kind of grinding it out when everybody else is having family time. It’s really encouraging to see this side of Christmas again.” In Missoula, Montana, a man spent more than $1,200 paying down the layaway balances of six customers. One of the customers was telephoned at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where her son was being treated. Store manager Josine Murrin said, “She was yelling at the nurses, ‘We’re going to have Christmas after all!” An employee at a Kmart in Plainfield Township, Michigan, called Roberta Carter with good news: A Good Samaritan had paid $59.60 of her $60 layaway. Ms. Carter, who has eight children, said, “My kids will have clothes for Christmas.” Angie Torres, a mother of four young children, learned that a woman next to her was paying off Ms. Torres’ layaway account. Ms. Torres said, “I started to cry. I couldn’t believe it. I was in disbelief. I hugged her and gave her a kiss.” (34)
The Man Who was Singing “Frosty the Snowman” Gets His Wallet Back
On 15 December 2011, Joseph Love from Lansdowne, Delaware County, lost his wallet on a SEPTA bus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fortunately, two SEPTA employees made sure that he got his wallet back in time for Christmas. He said that he boarded the bus, and “Ten minutes later I was like, ‘Where’s my wallet?’ I looked all over and I said to myself, ‘Oh, man!’ I usually keep it in a zipper pocket, but I didn’t that day. I was feeling panicky because I knew it was a million-in-one shot that I would get it back.” His wallet contained $140 in easy-to-find cash, a $500 money order, and $500 hidden to provide Christmas for his kids. Mr. Love said, “So I called SEPTA, and they said, ‘Call Wade.’” Wade Gordon, the district clerk receiver for SEPTA, immediately contacted the bus driver, Bryan DeLoatch, who fortunately had already found the wallet. Wade called Mr. Love, who recounted, “He said, ‘I got your wallet!’ I was, like, in shock. I said, ‘You sure you got my wallet?’” Mr. DeLoatch remembered Mr. Love being on his bus. He said, “When I saw his ID, I said, ‘This is the man that was singing ‘Frosty the Snowman.’ This is going to make his holiday extra special.” (35)
“That’s the Way I was Brought Up—to Do the Right Thing. That was the Right Thing to Do”
Chris Swank, a New Hampshire veteran with five deployments with the U.S. Marine Corps, lost his wallet after filling up at a gas station in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The wallet contained a lot of money. Mr. Swank works as a bartender and attends college. He said, “I had a couple good days bartending so I had close to $600 in the wallet. I had gift cards from that day at Christmas.” After filling up, he left his wallet on the car, and it fell off onto the double yellow line of Route 38 where Paul Batalis, an unemployed maintenance worker, found it. Mr. Batalis said, “I just picked it up. It was a brand-new wallet. I just opened it up, and it was full of cash, credit cards, and everything.” He found ID in the wallet and returned the wallet to Mr. Swank. Mr. Batalis said, “That’s the way I was brought up—to do the right thing. That was the right thing to do.” Mr. Swank said, “I was like, ‘Thank you so much. God bless you. Can I do anything for you?’ He was like, ‘No. Merry Christmas.’” Mr. Swank said he hopes that Mr. Batalis will find a job soon: “Everybody should know how amazing of a person he is. I know if I was an employer and I saw somebody like this, with the type of character he has, I would put him on my team.” (36)
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