A generous eavesdropper

Ella Johannessen graduated from college last year, and like many folks just starting out, she has money worries. While on a train from London to Leeds last weekend, she spoke to her mom by phone about her financial concerns. Specifically, a bank transfer of £35 (about $50) did not go through as expected and Johannessen poured out her heart to her mom long distance. Then she fell asleep. 

When she awoke, she noticed something in her lap. Under a napkin was £100 ($141) in cash. No note. No explanation. No witnesses. 

Johannessen wept. 

She posted the story of the Good Samaritan on Facebook. She'd like to thank the generous person, and to let them know she is paying it forward by volunteering with a local charity. 

Kids move into action when they learn of a 60 year old wrong

Reverend Gilbert and Grace Caldwell are frequent guest speakers at schools near their New Jersey home. At one such event last year, they told the fifth graders at Bear Tavern Elementary School in Titusville what happened to them on their honeymoon. 

It seems the couple was married in North Carolina, then drove eight hours north to honeymoon at Mount Airy Lodge in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Despite showing a copy of their reservation, the couple was turned away at the door. It was 1957. The couple is black. 

They spent their honeymoon at a black-owned hunting lodge. 

When the fifth graders heard the story, they were understandably horrified. Unlike dozens, possibly hundreds of others who had heard the Caldwells' story, those kids decided to do something about it.

Their research showed that the old Mount Airy Lodge closed down decades ago. A newer Mount Airy Casino Resort, no connection to the old Lodge, is now nearby. The students wrote individual letters to the current Resort's administration sharing the story of the Caldwells experience. One student's letter landed on the desk of Matthew Magda, the Resort's Vice President of Operations. Magda wrote back to the students, giving an offer the Caldwells won't refuse. A car will pick them up from their home and take them to the Resort for an all-expenses paid second honeymoon. The resort is even throwing in some casino spending money.

Of course, nothing can truly right the wrongs of decades past. But these students have had two important lessons reinforced: speaking up against injustice is powerful, and it's never too late to treat people decently.  

The power of defiance and solidarity

His moral stance could easily have gotten him killed, and a thousand other US soldiers with him.

Reverend Chris Edmonds knew his late father, US Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, had been captured by Wehrmacht soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge. He'd been taken to a German POW camp and held there for 100 days. Sure, there were a couple diaries his father had kept during his time in the camp, but they held few details. His father, who died in 1985, spoke little of it.

As chance would have it, some years later Rev. Edmonds read an article online which mentioned his father. In it, a prominent New York attorney credited Sgt. Edmonds with saving his life and that of about 200 other Jewish American POWs. Rev. Edmonds dug deeper, and what he learned amazed him.

U.S. soldiers knew that Jewish soldiers among them would be in danger if captured by the Nazis. Many had already destroyed their dog tags so they would not be singled out as Jewish. So when the POW camp commander ordered Jewish American soldiers to identify themselves, Edmonds and everyone else knew what was at stake.

As the ranking officer, Edmonds told the other POWs, "We are not doing that, we are all falling out." The other men complied. So Edmonds and 1000 other American POWs stood in front of their barracks to face the commander.

"They cannot all be Jews," the commander said to Edmonds, to which he replied: "We are all Jews here." The officer held a pistol to Edmonds' head and repeated his demands. Edmonds refused to give anything but his name, rank and serial number. The officer backed down. The camp was liberated several weeks later. 

Yad Vashem has added US Army Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds to its list of Righteous Among the Nations for his role in protecting over 200 Jewish soldiers that day. His fellow POWs who turned out in defiance of the Nazis and solidarity with their comrades remain anonymous. 

Father-son business shatters stereotypes

Like most people, John Cronin wondered what he would do after graduation from secondary school. He approached his father, Mark Cronin, about going into business together. Mark has a history of helping niche business start-ups and was delighted to entertain John's ideas. He made it clear that the passion for the business product or service had to come from John; he would provide the business know-how.

John's first idea was a food truck. This was scrapped quickly, as neither of them can cook. John's second idea was a 'fun store,' and Mark encouraged John to define what product he thought would be fun to sell and fun for people to buy. That's when John hit on the idea: we should sell socks.

John loves socks, the crazier the better. He has a long history of wearing holiday socks, character socks, socks with sports images, etc. Mark agreed to the business idea and John's Crazy Socks was born.

The business launched locally on Long Island in December 2016, with John delivering orders in person. That same month, their fledgling online store shipped over 400 pairs of socks.

Their company's mission, spreading happiness through socks, extends further. They donate 5% of their profits to Special Olympics. They have also partnered with Down Syndrome Awareness, Autism Speaks, and William Syndrome Awareness to donate a portion of the sales of socks with each organization's special designs.

Over a year later, John's Crazy Socks offers over 1200 styles and sizes of socks, each of which come shipped with a handwritten thank you note and some candy. To date, the company profits are over one million dollars.

In writing this post, I did not mention something you might think important. John has Down Syndrome. 

Man gives stranger the boots off his feet, literally

Jessica Bell was on the Chicago subway Friday night on her way home from work. The attorney and advocate witnessed a spontaneous act of kindness which brought tears to her eyes. She snapped a quick cell phone photo and shared it on Facebook. 

It seems two men sat across from each other in the same subway car as Jessica. One, apparently homeless, was older, and his worn sneakers were folded down in the back so they could slip on and off like a pair of bedroom slippers. Jessica noticed he wore several pairs of socks, limited help against the cold Chicago winter. 

The man sitting across from him, later identified as Maurice Anderson, was younger. Not only was he dressed for the weather, he carried a suitcase containing a weekend worth of clothing. Bell reported that, before she could really register what was happening, Anderson asked the older man what size shoes he wore. Twelve, came the answer. So Anderson unlaced his own heavy black boots, size 12-1/2, and gave them to the man. From his suitcase, he pulled out a spare pair of shoes and slipped them on his own feet. Before he left the train, he gave the older man an extra pair of socks, too. 

Bell documented the kindness, and tracked Anderson down to thank him for his generosity. She later told reporters, “The reason I posted about Maurice is because we’ve all given, or see people give food, or money to the homeless. But I have never seen someone give the clothes off their back so unselfishly and so humbly.” 

Home health aide sees empty fridge, fills it

Amanda Perez wanted what most of us want - a nicer home, a new car, an updated wardrobe. But the financial demands of her growing family easily used up her salary as a home health aide.

One day, a client asked her to clean out his refrigerator. When she opened it, she was stunned. It was nearly empty. She turned to the elderly man and asked him who buys his food. He said that he bought it himself when he had the money. He looked ashamed, and Amanda's heart broke. She was ashamed of herself for wanting more material goods when this man had so little.

After work, she knew she couldn't go home, not yet. She went to the grocery store and filled a cart with easy-to-prepare food for the man. Then she returned and filled his refrigerator. Seeing his level of need had cut her to the quick, and she vowed to be more grateful for what she already has.

As much as I celebrate Amanda's change of heart and applaud her kindness, hers was a short-term fix. I sincerely hope her home health agency referred the man to his local Senior Services, Meals on Wheels, and Food Bank. Those agencies may not fill his fridge as completely as Amanda did, but they certainly offer a better long-term solution to the man's needs.

Gym chain bans cable news - is that censorship?

I totally get it. Gyms are all about health promotion. Cable news channels send a constant stream of high drama and negativity into the airwaves. Absorbing all that results in stress, which in turn adversely affects a person's health. 

So when the executives of Life Time Fitness decided to ban CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNBC from TVs in their 128 gyms, they did so with the stated goal of health promotion. USA, A&E, Discovery, HGTV, ESPN and local over-the-air stations remain. 
  

As I said, I get it. The philosophy of minimizing negativity as a way of health is my philosophy as well. It's the driving force behind this blog and the articles and books I write. 

But banning a news outlet, even one with dubious credulity, is censorship. Period. Whatever their intention, this action removes choice from the hands of individual members and places it in the hands of a corporation. It's a slippery slope. 

As a nation which prides itself on freedoms including a free press, we need to keep our eyes open to the insidious creep of censorship. 

School custodian stocks 'care closet' with clothing, food, and school supplies

About three years ago, two students at Tucker High School in Tucker, Georgia approached the school custodian, Carolyn Collins, with a problem. They were homeless and hungry. Carolyn sprang into action and provided for their immediate needs, but she realized the problem was bigger than just the here and now. Knowing other students would also be in need, she started to stockpile supplies in her custodian's closet. 

Since that time, she has helped between 20 and 30 students a year with food, clothing, toiletries, school supplies, you name it. Some items are donated, others she buys with her own money. In recent months, her 'Care Closet' has gotten some press, resulting in monetary donations to buy more supplies. 

Carolyn thinks desperation created by homelessness, hunger, and an uncaring community leads to violence such as the home invasion which took her son's life several years ago. The Care Closet is her way of letting even the most desperate teens know that someone is indeed in their corner. 

Girl asks Santa to fix the hole in her roof, community responds

A few weeks ago, 9-year-old Betzabe Gomez was visiting the home of a neighborhood friend. The children wrote letters to Santa and asked her friend's mom, Araceli Ramos, to send them off. Ramos read the letters, and Betzabe's letter about broke her heart. 

Dear Santa,I need help in my house because when it’s raining, the rain comes in. When I look at it, I am sad. This is why I want help and what if it floods in there. Also, we don’t have no concrete under the carpet. Also, when I come next to the wall the thing is, it’s a giant hole. Anyway, when I come close to the room and the hole I can feel the rain and when It’s raining we have to put a bucket.P.S. I will leave milk, cookies and carrots and water.From: Betzabe Gomez

Ramos knew a bit about the Gomez' situation. The family's home had been damaged by Hurricane Harvey, and FEMA had denied repairs declaring the home was still safe. Betzabe's father was ill and on dialysis, and the family of seven subsisted mainly on his disability checks. A frequent community volunteer, Ramos got to work.

She contacted the children's school as well as non-profit agencies and businesses. Word spread and support arrived. First there were Christmas gifts wrapped in Sponge Bob paper for Betzabe and her siblings. Then state Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston learned of the family's predicament, and he started making calls. While the political wheels turned, Walle took matters into his own hands. He showed up at the Gomez house with a ladder, a blue tarp, and cinder blocks, a temporary fix to be sure, but a fix just the same. 

Donations of clothing, shoes, flooring, and money have made the holidays brighter for this family. As of today, over $28K of a $35K goal has been raised, thanks to a little girl who asked and the tender-hearted neighbor and community who answered.