the BETTER side of humanity...

[Jeff]

/\ Awesome story. I hope that kid felt like a million bucks, because he was worth it. I wonder if we will hear the results of the job interview?

[Darth_Primus]

Right? I hope the kid got the job.

[Space Cop]

Heroics of engineer recounted after deadly New York train crash

By Sebastien Malo

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (Reuters) - The engineer of a New York commuter train that plowed into a vehicle this week at a suburban rail crossing picked up an injured passenger and carried him off the train as it became engulfed in flames, federal investigators said on Friday.

The heroics of Metro-North engineer Steven Smalls Jr., 33, a married father of two, were described at a news conference held by the National Transportation Safety Board three days after the deadliest rail accident in the New York area in more than three decades.

Six people died on Tuesday evening after the rush-hour train, traveling from New York's Grand Central Terminal, struck a Mercedes sports utility vehicle that became stuck on the wrong side of a crossing gate in the Westchester suburb of Tarrytown.

After exiting the engineer's compartment moments after the crash, Smalls helped five or six passengers escape the first train carriage and then noticed a passenger who was unable to walk crawling toward the door, said NTSB member Robert Sumwalt.

"He picked him up and held him in a fireman's pose," Sumwalt said.

"It goes without saying he's very traumatized," Sumwalt said at a final press briefing a few miles away from the crash site in Valhalla, New York. ...

[Darth_Primus]

It's difficult not to get jaded working in a large city as you regularly see the homeless and the needed on almost every corner. However, this morning on my train ride to work it warmed my heart to set several other passengers attend to a man that passed out. Everyone nearby helped in getting the man off the floor and onto a seat and then proceeded to fan him and we arrived at the next station where medical help was standing by.

[Space Cop]

Dog drowning in frozen river saved by heroic shirtless owner smashing through ice

By Kara O'Neill
The man swam through the freezing water to help his dog, who had become trapped by the thick sheets of ice

A man smashed his way through a frozen river as he risked his life to save his drowning dog.

The poor pooch had become trapped between the thick sheets of ice covering the water, prompting the man to jump in to save it.

Thought to have been filmed in Russia, the clip shows the topless man smashing the ice with his fists, as he made the way into the middle of the river.

Pulling the dog under his arm, he then had to swim back through the frozen slush, until he was close enough to the bank to stand and lift the dog out.

The fifty-seven minute footage was added to viral video site LiveLeak.com, and has racked up almost 89,000 views since.

[Mister Ed]

Sheriffs Deputies Save Birthday Party For Boy With Autism After None Of His Friends Show Up

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...20114605152694

I have to say, though, what parent just sits there and assumes that some kids will show up, despite a total lack of RSVPs, especially when their kid is OBVIOUSLY so excited about the prospect? I would have been on the phone with at least SOME of the parents, trying to convince them to come (or at least confirming that they weren't) long before the day arrived, so I could manage my kid's expectations.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Mister Ed

Sheriffs Deputies Save Birthday Party For Boy With Autism After None Of His Friends Show Up

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...20114605152694

I have to say, though, what parent just sits there and assumes that some kids will show up, despite a total lack of RSVPs, especially when their kid is OBVIOUSLY so excited about the prospect? I would have been on the phone with at least SOME of the parents, trying to convince them to come (or at least confirming that they weren't) long before the day arrived, so I could manage my kid's expectations.

That is cool, though, how the community came together to help this little guy out, when the few who were invited didn't even bother to call to cancel.

[Mister Ed]

Yeah, the response of the larger community is why I put it in this thread. It really sucks that none of his classmates showed up, but the fact that a bunch of strangers stepped up makes it heartwarming instead of sad.

[Jeff]

A little to the left of humanity, but touching all the same.

Dog Finds A Tiny Kitten, Risks Everything To Save Her

Animal control officers in Anderson, S.C., thought that a barking shih tzu was stuck in a ravine. Turns out, she was there nursing and protecting a tiny abandoned kitten she had found.

Animal control officer Michelle Smith got a call about a yelping dog behind a Home Depot. She climbed down a steep embankment to find a shih tzu, tangled in a mess of briars. But she looked more closely, she realized Goldie had a friend: a tiny kitten who was nursing at the dog’s side.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Smith told Fox News 10. “I was shocked and surprised and then of course, awww.”
“I think it would have been OK for the dog to walk down the hill,” Smith told Fox Carolina. “But it just didn’t want to leave the kitten”
The dog and kitten were taken to the Anderson County P.A.W.S. shelter, where they remained inseparable and the dog continued to care for the kitten as one of her own. Eventually, the pair were taken to a foster home — together, of course.

[Jeff]

[Mister Ed]

I think it would be better to say, "Don't take it to heart".

To my mind, taking it personally doesn't necessarily mean you think it is valid or deserved. I just means that you recognize the offender meant it personally. If somebody says they think I'm a worthless person, I take that a bit personally, since it was obviously meant personally (unless I have reason to believe they didn't really mean it). But that doesn't mean I accept their evaluation by any means.

Taking that statement personally doesn't change how I feel about ME, but it sure changes how I feel about the other person. (Which is kind of what I think this quote is getting at.) To me, not taking something personally means I don't think the nastiness was actually MEANT to be personal. So, if somebody treats me poorly because they just have awful social skills and treat most EVERYBODY poorly, then I don't take THAT personally. But if they target me specifically for poor treatment, I take that personally. But yeah, it obviously says far more about them than about me.

[Darth_Primus]

Yeah, it would be difficult not to take something directed at you personally.

And I agree about the later part of the statement as I've been saying for years that when someone makes racists or disparaging remarks about other people it says more about them than the people who are the subject of their comments.

I also kind of believe in the comment of local sports radio talk host when he closes the show with, "adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it."

Watching how people react to misfortunes, set backs, obstacles, difficulties, etc. certainly tells some many things about them. I mean, you get to see who are the people that are complainers and set blame on others, and those that will wipe the dust off of adversity and get up to change the situation for the better.

[Space Cop]

"Everything is personal if you're a person."
--Fallen

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Darth_Primus

Watching how people react to misfortunes, set backs, obstacles, difficulties, etc. certainly tells some many things about them. I mean, you get to see who are the people that are complainers and set blame on others, and those that will wipe the dust off of adversity and get up to change the situation for the better.

Question: what category(ies) would you put people with clinical mental diseases such as but not limited to: Severe depression, Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attack, PTSD, Bi-Polarism, suicidal tendencies, Schizophrenia, and the like?

[Darth_Primus]

People with clinical mental diseases most likely would need professional help and probably would have a separate category.

[Jeff]

[Agent Purple]

Angry principal calls cyberbullies "pathetic cowards"

[Jeff]

[Mister Ed]

Originally Posted by Agent Purple

Angry principal calls cyberbullies "pathetic cowards"

And they are.

[Space Cop]

Originally Posted by Mister Ed

And they are.

Indeed. The media overuses the term "bully" when applying to cruel acts, but cyber bullying definitely fits the bill.

[Jeff]

Hollywood Superheroes Visit Children’s Hospital After Football Bet



Hollywood superheroes Chris Evans, who plays the role of Marvel’s Captain America, and his friend Chris Pratt (who plays Star-Lord in the film Guardians of the Galaxy) made good on a friendly Super Bowl bet on Saturday visiting Seattle Children’s Hospital bringing gifts and joy to young patients and their families.
Evans, a New England Patriots fan, and Pratt, a Seattle Seahawks fan, both wagered on who they thought would win the Super Bowl. Depending on the outcome, they promised to either visit the children of Christopher’s Haven in Boston (Evans’ charity of choice), or patients in Seattle. After the Seahawks lost, Pratt stuck to his word and joined Evans at the Boston home for kids with Cancer — and even wore a Tom Brady jersey, to sting his wound a little more.
But in true superhero fashion, they announced that both of them would visit both charities. The staff and patients were thrilled.

“I was so excited when I heard the news,” said Maggie Mittelstaedt, an 18-year-old patient at Seattle Children’s getting a hip replacement. “Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avenger movies are my favorites, and they were so nice to spend time with me.”
The actors brought superhero toys to hand out donated by Marvel and Disney.

“Meeting them was a nice reprieve for us,” said one 7-year-old’s mom. “So many of our visitors are doctors, and the conversations are medical. I can’t wait to watch the Captain America movie with her son. It will be like he knows him personally now.”
“We were so surprised,” said the mother of a boy who is receiving a bone marrow transplant at the hospital. “It gave Tyler five minutes of happiness. This situation will never be normal, but their visit helped make us feel special.”
Since the initial bet began in January, Pratt and Evans also raised thousands of dollars for Seattle Children’s Hospital and Christopher’s Haven through TEAMPRATT and TEAMEVANS fundraising pages. (Donations will be accepted through the end of the week.)

[TazzMission]

Originally Posted by Agent Purple

Angry principal calls cyberbullies "pathetic cowards"

sounds like 2 posters on this forum.

[TazzMission]

try not to tear up and this is really touching

+ YouTube Video

[Darth_Primus]

Man returns to Golden Gate Bridge 10 years after attempting suicide

IT GETS BETTER: On March 11, 2005, a CHP sergeant convinced a suicidal man that life was worth living. 10 years later, that man, Kevin Berthia, returns to the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. He reflects on that painful day and share his hopes and dreams for the future.

+ YouTube Video

[Jeff]

/\. I read about this story not too long ago, and it's a total win. It gives hope to those who feel they have none. Good post, man. :thumbsup: