This teacher's written belief in her student reaps benefits - at Harvard

Back in 1997, Judith Toensing wrote on the report card of one of her sixth-grade students: "It has been a joy to have you in class. Keep up the good work! Invite me to your Harvard graduation!" 

Twenty-one years later, Christin Gilmer did just that.

Now 33, Gilmer kept the note all these years, touched that someone aside from her own mother could believe so strongly in her dreams and her abilities. So when she graduated with a doctorate in public health from Harvard last week, she invited Ms. Toensing to attend.

In fact, Gilmer personally delivered the invitation to Ms. Toensing, who describes her reaction as "flabbergasted and humbled." What's more, Harvard Dean Michelle Williams got wind of the invitation. In her commencement speech, Dean Williams thanked Toensing by name, as well as all public school teachers. She said, "You don’t just teach young people. You inspire them, and you propel them along a path of fulfillment and service to others. Your work is what makes our work possible. Thank you for everything you do, and please keep sending students our way!"

Gilmer believes Toensing also influenced her chosen field. "She lit a fire in me that helping people is a powerful tool, and through education, you can better serve populations in need." 

Fish seller buys 70-pound octopus just to release it back into the sea

Giovanni DeGarimore, owner of a fish market in Morro Bay, California, got a call from a local fisherman. A 70-pound octopus had been caught in a crab trap and he thought DeGarimore would be interested in buying it. He was indeed interested, and paid the fisherman a couple hundred dollars for it.

Truth is, DeGarimore does not sell octopus at his market. A few years ago, he met an octopus face-to-face while scuba diving in Fiji and was impressed with its playfulness. That led him to read more about the creatures, including research findings which point to their intelligence. They can navigate mazes and solve problems, and are well-known for their skill as escape artists. 

So DeGarimore bought the octopus, named it Fred, and kept it safe at his shop for a day or two. Then he transported Fred to an undisclosed location far from possible predators and released it into the sea. 

“I can’t be a savior to everything, so I had to pick one thing and do what I can," he told local news. And to his followers on Facebook, he said, "It'll hit me in the pocket, but I'd rather stand for something." No doubt Fred appreciates DeGarimore's conscience.

If you're as fascinated with these creatures as I am, you'll enjoy the amazing National Geographic video below.  

NY couple finds rusty safe in their backyard filled with money and jewelery

Since they moved into the house four years ago, Matthew and Maria Colonna-Emanuel of Staten Island, New York knew there was a rusty metal box behind some thick shrubs in their yard. They figured it was an old electrical or cable box and left it alone. 

Deer ate the shrubs and the couple hired a landscaper to clear the area out and replant it. The landscapers uncovered the rusty box, obviously an old safe. Using a pickax, the couple opened it.

Inside were $16,000 in soggy hundred dollar bills, plus diamonds, jade, and gold jewelry. While the smelly bills were peeled apart and laid out to dry, the couple found a document linking the box to their neighbors. 

Matthew knocked on the neighbor's door and asked if they'd ever been robbed. They said they had, back in 2011. NYPD confirmed that this neighbor reported theft of their home safe seven years ago. 

Matthew and Maria returned the $52,000 worth of treasure to their neighbors. When the press asked if they considered keeping the items, their answer was unequivocal. "It wasn't even a question," Maria said. "It wasn't ours."  

"The reward is karma," Matthew added. "Good karma."

On hiatus

I'm currently traveling in Ireland, so I won't be blogging for a bit. When I return I have some commitments for my volunteer work followed by a three day Pennwriters conference. Hopefully I'll be back on track in a couple weeks!

Man sees puppy stuck in drainage ditch, builds a drone to rescue it

Out for a morning walk, Milind Raj heard a strange sound. A puppy had fallen into a filthy drainage ditch 20 feet below street level and it lay in the mucky water, whimpering. Unable to reach the animal himself, Raj had an idea and hurried to his lab.

An engineer who works in robotics and artificial intelligence, Raj worked for six hours. He returned to the site with his invention: a drone with a robotic arm. 

Raj flew the drone into the ditch and lowered the robotic arm into place. The arm, equipped with an AI heartbeat sensor to monitor the puppy's condition, grasped the pup around the middle. Raj used the AI information to judge the arm's grip. Once he had the pup secure, Raj used the drone to lift it from the ditch and fly it across the street to safety.

Even better than the rescue, Raj has adopted the pup. Its name? Lifted.  

Woman gives her raincoat to Boston marathoner, he finishes

Near mile post 18 at the Boston Marathon, Renee Bercury stood with family members to watch for her son. A number of the runners who passed them were struggling with the cold rain and the bitter headwind. One runner looked especially desperate. He approached several groups of bystanders, asking, "Can I have a jacket? Can I have a jacket?" When he approached Bercury's spot, she took off her yellow raincoat and gave it to the stranger. The runner was so weak, Bercury's nephew had to help him get it on. Judging by the man's exhaustion, Bercury didn't know if he'd be able to finish the race, but she was glad to see her yellow raincoat moving away from her in the pack. 

Back home in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania several days later, Bercury got a message from her son. Several news outlets had picked up the social media story of a runner seeking the kind woman who had literally given him the coat off her back. Bercury's son recognized his mom's 20-year-old LL Bean raincoat. 

Bercury and the runner, Steven Stallis, connected by phone. Stallis told Bercury he had indeed finished the race thanks to her kindness and her jacket. Bercury told Stallis the history of that old raincoat, how she'd worn it on a couple decades worth of hikes through national parks and that he could keep it. Stallis insisted on sending it back to her. He told the Boston press, “Now it’s crossed the Boston finish line, so it’s a new story for her to have that jacket back.”