the BETTER side of humanity...

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

'scuse the pun, but shit yea!




Tazer

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Local Business Gives Free Roof to NC Grandmother Who Only Had $300



It’s a Christmas miracle come early for a North Carolina grandmother.
Barbara’s roof was leaking over her bed and throughout the house, so she went to see All About Roofing, located in Elon. With only $300 to pay, owner Jeremy Lee realized she needed help. That amount would not even begin to address the roof’s problems.
So he decided to give her a roof free of charge, reports WGHP News.
(follow link for video)

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Want to Be Happy? Be Kind and Grateful

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1772769

SEE IT: Softball players carry opponent around to bases after she hits home run and her knee goes out

Kara Oberer of Eckerd College had an injured knee during the team’s game against Florida Southern College, but she continued to play. After hitting a three-run homer, Oberer got stalled in between plates, so the opposing team’s pitcher — Chelsea Oglevie — ran over to help carry her around the diamond to home plate.

Tazer

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

This Hotel Is 'Saving Lives' By Matching Guests With Rescue Pups

LOS ANGELES (AP) — At this hotel, guests get welcomed with a wagging tail or a warm lick to the face.
A dog will bound out from behind the registration desk, clad in an "Adopt Me" vest, as visitors arrive at the Aloft hotel in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, believed to be the only hotel in the U.S. where guests can adopt the dog that greets them when they check in.
But the hotel doesn't overwhelm road-weary travelers to this mountain tourist mecca, where people come to tour the nation's largest home, the Biltmore estate; cast a fly-fishing rod; or hoist a beer in what has been dubbed "Beer City USA." There's only one adoptable dog at a time, and it's always on a leash.

The pooches at the Aloft Asheville Downtown hotel are part of an adoption program run by the hotel and Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue. The rescue saves the pets from possible euthanasia at area shelters.
"We feel like we are saving lives," said Christine Kavanagh, Aloft's director of sales.
Hotel and rescue workers hope the program not only becomes permanent but spreads to some of the chain's other locations, too. The Asheville hotel, which also allows guests' pets to stay for free, opened in 2012 and has not received one complaint about allergies, messes or dueling dogs, Kavanagh said.
The adoptable dogs have space set aside at the registration desk, on the roof, third floor and in certain employee areas. They can't stay in guest rooms at night but can go with visitors to the restaurant, bar and other spots if they're on a leash.
"The guests love it. It shows up on guest reviews and consumer surveys," Kavanagh said.
Caren Ferris of Amherst, Massachusetts, and her husband certainly did. The couple were staying nearby when they met a 4-year-old terrier mix named Ginger in the hotel bar and cozied up to the pooch sporting an "Adopt Me" vest.
After a visit, "I got up to leave and told her goodbye. She sat up, looked me in the eye and kissed me on the lips. So I called the shelter, thinking maybe we should adopt the dog," Ferris said.
She and her husband filled out the adoption papers, paid $175 in fees and waited to be approved before they were able to take Ginger home to meet their other dogs.
Charlie's Angels has tough adoption standards, including a home visit. If a potential owner is from another state, the rescue will ask a shelter there to do the check.
The restrictions haven't stopped 14 dogs from finding homes since the program started in July, said Kim Smith, president of Charlie's Angels. The rescue's placements have doubled since the hotel started stationing the dogs.
Jan Trantham and her husband, from Atlanta, adopted a 2-year-old Shih Tzu named Jackson. They fell in love with him when they checked in, she said.
"Every time we went somewhere, one of us would say, 'Let's go back to the hotel and see Jackson.' l couldn't stop thinking about this dog," Trantham said.
It's also a wonderful way for the dogs — and the guests — to socialize, Kavanagh said.
"We have a little playpen by the front desk. At times, there's a crowd around the pen because the dog is a conversation starter," Kavanagh said. "Our hotel draws people together so they can mix and mingle and maybe adopt a dog."

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Alaska Men Save Moose from Avalanche

Protocol normally dictates that you stay away from a moose in the wild, but three men in Alaska threw caution to the wind when they encountered one of the giant creatures buried beneath an avalanche on December 28.

Marty Mobley (44), Rob Uphus (30), and Avery Vucinich (27) were snowmobiling at Hatcher Pass, about 55 miles northeast of Anchorage, when they noticed an avalanche in the vicinity of ski tracks and moose tracks, reports the Alaska Dispatch News. Worried that a skier had become caught, they doubled back to check. The only thing they found: the moose’s snout sticking out of the ground.

“It looked like a guy’s arm at first, because we were expecting to see a skier,” Mobley told the Dispatch. “But it was moaning and groaning and moving, and we realized it was a moose, even though only his ears and some of its snout was sticking out of the snow.”

Despite noticing that only half of the 2,500 feet or so of mountain above them had slid down—meaning there was still a threat of sliding snow—the men decided to rescue the moose. It took them 10 minutes to dig out most of the animal. “It didn’t even fight us,” Mobley recalled. “It was like, ‘Help me. Help me.’ It was totally docile and let us touch it. It just [lay] there,” Mobley said.

So far, no humans have been found injured or killed by the avalanche.

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

saw that moose pic, and it made me think of this:








Tazer

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

How I Found Humor as a Quad Amputee



This story was written and performed by Jennifer Griffin for the live, personal storytelling series Oral Fixation (An Obsession With True Life Tales) on March 17, 2014, at Hamon Hall in the Winspear Opera House in Dallas.
The theme of the show was "Elephant in the Room."
"Joan Didion wrote, 'Life changes fast.' And for Jennifer Griffin that was certainly true," says Oral Fixation creator and director Nicole Stewart. "One day she is getting ready for work when she starts feeling ill; two days later she winds up in the hospital -- and leaves as a quadruple amputee. Here she shares her powerful story and how she has found healing through humor. Read it here, and don't miss her performance in the video below."
It began on a Wednesday morning, as I was getting ready for work. My thoughts were preoccupied with the contracts that needed attention and which heels went better with my outfit. As a paralegal, my life in Dallas seemed to be all about details, organization, and yet another tough negotiation.
As my morning progressed, I began to get chills and an upset stomach, as if I was getting the flu. My first instinct was to tough it out and push through, but then I realized I could use feeling crappy as a hall pass. I called into work, explaining that I would be working from home.
By Friday afternoon, I was still sick in bed. By the time my husband Nick arrived home from work, the chills and upset stomach had evolved into nonstop vomiting and my words slurred. In spite of the previous day's visit to a clinic, where I was told to take Milk of Magnesia and all would be okay, Nick and I knew this was much more serious. Nine-one-one became our answer. In a matter of seconds, my life turned upside down.
As soon as the ambulance arrived, I tried to stand from the bed and realized I could no longer support myself. So I fell back onto the bed and let the professionals take over.
From the time I arrived in the ER, a team of people was at my bedside. The bed, the air, and everything in the room felt cold. I was still vomiting, my abdomen was very distended, and the conversations between the medical team seemed to be happening too fast. All I could see was the terror on the faces hovering over me. The doctors considered the cause of my symptoms internal bleeding, but they weren't sure. At some point, a wonderful nurse grabbed my hand and with a few comforting words soothed me into a deep sleep.
When I awoke in ICU, I had been in surgery for hours. I was scared, confused, and desperately wanting a tall drink and some good food.
But instead, I was put into a medically induced a coma, on and off, for the next eight weeks. My kidneys failed, I was on dialysis, and for all intents and purposes, I was on life support. Blood transfusions became synonymous with my name, and my family stopped counting the number of lines attached to me when it surpassed 20.
Once I was out of the coma, I learned that I did not have internal bleeding but had suffered a ruptured abscess on one of my ovaries. The infection from the abscess got into my bloodstream, leading to strep-A and sepsis (aka, multi-organ failure). Essentially, during the three days leading up to my ER visit, my body was shutting down, one breath at a time.
There was one more detail that changed my life forever. When I fell into sepsis, my body pushed my blood and oxygen to my brain and heart to keep these organs alive. Because oxygen and blood are so vital, when they are lost from the arms and legs, the extremities die. It's like water to a plant. My hands and legs had died.
I left a 3.5-month hospital stay in July 2007 as a 35-year-old quad amputee.
What the hell just happened? In 90 days I went from being an independent adult to being a very needy childlike person. I found myself rediscovering how to brush my teeth, eat, shower, write, and drive.
I decided to learn from it and move forward. After being home for a few days, I realized that I hadn't really looked in the mirror. So, after returning from my first night out, I walked into the bathroom with my head down; after a few minutes I got the courage. Standing face to face with my reality, I discovered that I had lost so much of my hair from all the medications and that I looked like a little girl starting puberty. I weighed 95 pounds. My hair was so thin, dry and just not me. The back of my head had spots of baldness and resembled a path of bunkers on a golf course.
Since hospitals don't provide haircuts or styling techniques with the extended care package, I decided to fix this little detail on my own by purchasing a wig. My beautiful mom and Aunt Martha took me shopping. I actually had fun trying on different colors and styles. I embraced the freedom of seeing myself in a new light. The wig I ultimately decided on was a longer bob with wispy bangs. The compliments I received on my new look boosted my confidence and made the unnatural feel very natural. It had so much sass I felt unstoppable, like I should have a one-word name like Beyoncé.
Once the wig was set, Mom and Martha thought it time to tackle my unattended eyebrows.
At the salon, they sat by my side laughing and talking. The lady helping us looked at my hands but never said a word, and thanks to my prosthetics she didn't even notice my legs. I started to fall into a long overdue relaxation. She massaged my face and rubbed oil on my neck. As I leaned my head back on the chair for the brow waxing, a look of "OMG, did that just happen?" was plastered on everyone's face. Somehow my wig had slipped off my head, taken a dive to the floor, and I never felt its absence.
My mom smiled, Martha tried not to laugh, and the lovely lady experiencing this with us was somewhere between laughing and crying. At this moment, I started thinking, This must be what my life is going to be like now. Where do I go from here?
I felt so vulnerable and exposed. It's not like I could have reached down to grab it. Not only was I missing a wig, I was missing my hands, too.
But soon the awkward moment was broken by our laughter. Between my mom and Martha the wig was caught and gently placed back on my head as if nothing ever happened. And my eyebrows turned out fabulous. My life had changed beyond the obvious, and I made a conscious choice to find the humor in it, making laughter my new drug of choice.
This was just the first of many awkward moments, which continue to permeate my life. One day I picked up my car from the valet line, and as I pulled up my skirt to step into the car, one of my legs fell off. Thankfully my leg fell standing upright so that I could recover quickly. But I could not, in any way, recover from the sound the leg made as it hit the ground or the bewildered stare the valet attendant and I were locked into.
I was in shock, and didn't know what to explain first. I had a lot going on. The valet, well, she was just in shock. Yes, this elephant was as big as Texas, but after the embarrassment subsided and the valet attendant realized it wasn't a party trick, I realized just how funny it was. In the end, she offered to help and I drove off with the confidence that connecting with strangers about the absurdities of my life had become my new normal.
Children have also been great teachers. I was in the grocery store and a mom passed me with her toddler riding in the cart. Once he saw my hands, he cupped his hands to her ear, and thinking he was whispering, said, "Mom, she doesn't have hands." The elephant? It came out like he was talking through a megaphone being played through a loud-speaker. His mom just gave me a deer in the headlights look and we chatted for a few seconds about nothing at all. I learned in this moment that the older we get, the more we shelter ourselves from real conversation, maybe to protect others or ourselves from hurt feelings. But kids have no filter, and maybe there is something we can learn from that.
When situations like these occur, we are all faced with a psychological challenge. I could have become really embarrassed and closed off and decided never to go out in public to prevent my leg or wig from falling off or to prevent hearing the words "she has no hands." But wouldn't that be avoiding life?

The trick is to take the elephant out of the room by acknowledging it, so others feel comfortable, and help change the way the elephant is viewed. Even though I have had my days of frustration, I've learned this can be the difference between the elephant gaining weight and taking up the whole room or the beast kneeling down to let you gently escape.
So if you see me reaching out to shake your hand or asking for a bowl of nuts in a cup or soup in a mug while visiting a five-star restaurant, it's just my way of saying, "It's OK. I got this." Yes, my path has been altered, but we get only one life. This month is my seventh year anniversary of being a survivor. And I'd rather have this life embracing my challenges, than no life at all.

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

A little boy by the name of Liam Porter was presented with a very cool 3D printed Star Wars clone trooper prosthetic arm and helmet. This is part of an "international effort to harness new technology to help those who need prosthetics they otherwise couldn't get."
The arm was created by John Peterson after learning a group of volunteers called E-Nable, who print arms and hands for kids. He built the arm in classic black and white and presented it to Porter alongside the 501st Legion in Augusta, GA. The Legion is a group of Star Wars enthusiasts who do good while wearing Storm Trooper outfits.
You can watch the event in the video below and see Liam use his arm to pick up cups and other things for the first time. I love inspiring stories like this of people using their talents to help make the work a better place.

+ YouTube Video

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

+ YouTube Video

Tazer

[Darth_Primus Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Darth_Primus]

Florida teen rescue police officer while he's being booked

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --
A Florida teen who was processed into the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department Booking Facility is set to be commended later this month for heroically helping to save the life of an officer who collapsed while booking him, an incident that was captured on surveillance camera.

According to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, on Sept. 10, 2014, Officer Franklin Foulks was in the process of booking 17-year-old Jamal Rutledge, when the cop collapsed. Rutledge, still in handcuffs, got up to check on Officer Foulks, who police say was losing consciousness.

As the video shows, Rutledge "immediately began to kick the security fence and yell to alert officers in the area," police said in a news release.

Two officers quickly came running in. Sergeant Todd Bunin cut off Officer Foulk's shirt and Officer Robert Norvis began administering CPR. Officer Ramond Ketchmark brought in an AED -- an automated external defibrillator.

Paramedics quickly took over and rushed Officer Foulks to the hospital.

Doctors say had it not been for the teen's yelling, and the quick work of the other officers, Officer Foulks could have died.

Det. DeAnna Greenlaw told ABC News that Foulks is now on light duty, but expected to return to full duty by the end of the month.

"We are incredibly happy and fortunate to this officer back to work," she said.

She told ABC News that the police officers who assisted Foulks as well as Rutledge will be receiving the life-saving award, as well as being awarded officers of the month.

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

Dad calls out daughter's bullies on viral Youtube video


I won't shed a tear if that gang of bigots is forced to move completely. Hate only makes you miserable.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

Oddball story, but still nice.

Teen With Autism Who Has A Passion For Vacuums Gets Ultimate Birthday Surprise: A Kirby

[Tazer That Evil, Yellow Bastiche Find all posts View Profile Close Tazer]

Yo.

Dad calls out daughter's bullies on viral Youtube video

I won't shed a tear if that gang of bigots is forced to move completely. Hate only makes you miserable.

I dont have as big an issue w/bigots as I do w/bullies; bullies make me reach for sturdy objects that can be swung around.

however, I found my reaction to the following interesting:

In the video, Knudsen names the father, and their hometown of Prior Lake, Minnesota. Less than 48 hours after the video went live, the father was fired from his job, though Knudsen told WCCO that wasn’t his intention. Instead, he said he wants to raise awareness and that he and his wife have decided to start a twice-weekly forum to discuss race issues.

on the 1 hand I cant help but @ that father who d.g.a.f. if his responses were aired out to the public, but otoh I cant help but think that him losing his job was an OVERLY harsh punishment to have to suffer since it affects his whole family, and this is *still* not a climate in which ya can easily find a job......and those other kids just might blame all of that on HER, which would mean her life would remain problematic still, meaning NOTHING was ultimately gained in the matter.




Tazer