Good News: Things to smile about this week, December 13, 2020

By Nanci Dixon
In the midst of an abundance of bad news – rising COVID numbers, unemployment, evictions, homelessness and hunger – some good news stories still bubble to the surface.

We find ourselves mostly posting bad, sad or frustrating news in our Sunday newsletter. It’s not our fault, of course, but we want to make sure you come here and smile too. That’s why we’re bringing you this “Good News” column.

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” —Tennessee Williams

Lynn Marchessault was not intending to depend on the kindness of strangers, but that is exactly what happened when she was driving with her two children, two dogs and Midnight the cat from Georgia to join her husband, a U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. After waiting months for their travel documents, she filled a U-Haul with their stuff and headed north… really north. Once she reached the Canadian border, the border patrol told her that she needed to keep up a good pace. Due to COVID, she was allowed only five days to drive across Canada. Her husband couldn’t get into Canada to join them and help.

The weather was bad. Driving through the snow, she couldn’t see through the slush on the windshield and the tires were slipping everywhere. Collapsing in tears, Lynn stopped at a gas station. A woman came out to ask if she was okay. She quickly saw that Lynn was trying to battle the icy, slippery, snowy Canadian roads with summer tires on her truck. Lynn gave up. She couldn’t drive anymore.

Someone posted their dilemma on Facebook. Gary Bath, a Canadian ranger, saw the post and knew he could help. He and his wife met with Lynn’s husband virtually and agreed to drive his family the remaining 1,000 miles.

“If you can’t pay it back, pay it forward.” —Catherine Ryan Hyde

And speaking of giving, this line of cars paying it forward brought a lot of cheer and surprise to the Dairy Queen customers in Brainerd, MN, last week. A customer offered to pay for the car behind it in line and that lead to a string of cars paying until the end of the night, with $10 left to start again in the morning. Someone heard about it and called in $80 to keep paying forward, or, in this case, paying backward (going towards meals the next day). In all, more than $10,000 of food was paid for by over 900 customers.

Where do penguins go to the movies? The DIVE in!

A lot of people, including me, have bucket lists. 99-year-old Joyce Garner got to check off one of her wishes – meeting a penguin – thanks to the Bernadette House care facility in the UK. It took three months of planning but resulted in Joyce getting to meet three penguins. She said she “Always loved animals and especially penguins. To meet one in real life was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”

Oh, and speaking of penguins… Watch these penguins play with bubbles at the Oregon Zoo earlier this week. It’s adora-bubble!

What do you do call a Labrador that becomes a magician? A Labracadabrador!

This exceptionally giving Golden Lab did not pass muster as a guide dog due to a bum leg, but he has been providing much-needed blood for other dogs needing emergency transfusions. At nine years old, he has donated blood more than 100 times! Having a negative blood type allows him to donate blood to any dog – and he is considered the United Kingdom’s most prolific dog blood donor.

I would never vaccinate my children; I let the doctor do it!

As we are nearing the much hoped for COVID vaccine, this is the doctor I hope I can get to vaccinate me! Wish he would have vaccinated my kids too.

This is the guy that needs to be vaccinating everyone from aww

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” —Josh Billings

This was one happy homecoming. Who can deny the bond between man and dog? And of course, the bond between father and son.

Literally stopped in its tracks from aww

Read previous Good News posts here.

Hear a “Good News” story? Please use the form below to tell us about it. Include a website or link to a video. Thanks!

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