And some people say there are no such things as miracles! I guess this guys time just wasn't up, huh? What a wonderful Christmas story.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
A second chance at LOVE Couple whose courtship was cut short by WWII married at last BY KARA MCGUIRE Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
MINNEAPOLIS Timing is everything. And for Rita Miskimen and Vernon Braun, it took more than half a century for their life together to fall into place. Miskimen, 85, and Braun, 89, said “I do” in a wedding ceremony earlier this month at St. Rose of Lima Church in Roseville, Minn. There was barely a dry eye in the small crowd of friends and family who watched the pre-World War II sweethearts marry 68 years after their first date. She wore a cross he made from the windshield of a downed German plane. He held her hand as if he’d been waiting for this moment his entire life. The pair can’t remember exactly how they met. It was a long time ago, after all. But both agree it was the summer of 1940, probably at a 4-H event in Doyle, a small railroad town in southern Minnesota that’s no longer there. She was 18; he was 22. Their “country courtship,” as Rita calls it — walks down long, dusty driveways and a movie or two — was cut short by World War II. The two wrote letters during the 51 months Vernon spent overseas. He carried her notes as well as a lock of her red hair from Salerno, Italy, all the way to the Alps. GOING THEIR SEPARATE WAYS One of Vernon’s letters asked to make the relationship “more permanent and have me visit his jeweler uncle,” Rita recalled. But she was working on an air base in Dayton, Ohio, and said no when Vernon popped the question. “I wasn’t ready to get married; so we went our separate ways,” she said. He was heartbroken. “But that’s the way it was,” he said. In 1946, Vernon married Irma, a neighbor who was smitten with the black-haired, blue-eyed veteran. Rita met her husband, Jim, a physicist and Air Force man, on her one and only blind date. Vernon bought a farm south of the Twin Cities near Montgomery, Minn., and fathered a daughter and a son. Rita raised four daughters in Dayton. “And I forgot all about him,” she said. Vernon didn’t say the same. Decades passed. Both lived full, separate lives, with the keepsakes of their young romance stuffed away. Rita’s daughters would occasionally come across Vernon’s picture when rummaging through a box of aging photos. Vernon stored the wartime bundle of letters, photos and Rita’s red tendril in a trunk. It wasn’t until after his wife died in 2001 that Vernon held that wisp of hair once again. I want to find Rita, Linda Pollari recalls her father saying. With some sleuthing, Pollari, of Roseville, found Rita’s phone number on the Internet and left a message. Rita’s husband gave her the go- both did an awful lot of praying, and one night I looked at my [first] husband’s picture and it was just like he said, ‘Rita, do it,’ ” she said. She said yes in October. Rita, who is keeping her last name, said she’d like to write a book about Vernon’s war experiences. He hopes she’ll join him on his daily twomile walks. But even if she won’t, he’s happy as can be. Said Vernon about his new marriage: “I think it’s a good way to spend the rest of my life.” of her senior apartment complex, many of whom are widows longing for a companion. “I said at Thanksgiving [2006] what my dream of the rest of my life was,” Vernon said. Will you marry me? he asked. She said no. “[Marriage is] not something you think about when you are over 80 years old,” she said. But he persisted, giving her a cross that he had carved for her decades ago out of the windshield of a German bomber plane and a heart-shaped locket engraved with his pledge of eternal love. “We did an awful lot of talking, and we ahead to rekindle her friendship with Vernon as platonic pen pals. When Jim died in 2004, Rita moved back to Minnesota to be near family members. HAPPY AS CAN BE Vernon decided that this time, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He came to Roseville to visit her regularly, bearing dozens of roses, thoughtful trinkets and greeting cards. Rita became the envy. JOEY MCLEISTER/MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL STAR TRIBUNE Rita Miskimen and Vernon Braun, center, were all smiles as the family gathered for wedding photos after their ceremony at St. Rose of Lima Church in Roseville, Minn. They dated during World War II, Rita turned down Vernon’s marriage proposal, then they both lived separate lives — until being reunited after their spouses died in recent years.
If you read the front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.
She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps
that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and radioed an environmental group for help.
Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her.
a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around --- she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
Stranger donates kidney to 8-year-old girl Woman felt she had to help after seeing Sarah’s smiling face on a flier
Laura Bolan saw the flier created by 8-year-old Sarah Dickman's parents and decided to donate one of her kidneys to Sarah, who was born with the genetic disease juvenile nephronophthisis, which slowly destroys the kidneys.
ATLANTA - The picture of the smiling little girl on the flier was more than Laura Bolan could take.
The 8-year-old on the pamphlet needed a kidney transplant, and Bolan knew she could help. She did a quick Web search on the surgery and talked it over with her husband. Then she made a phone call to offer one of her kidneys to Sarah Dickman.
The suburban Atlanta girl was born with the genetic disease juvenile nephronophthisis, which slowly destroys the kidneys. Without treatment, it can kill a child before the age of 15.
Bolan, 34, had never met Sarah when she agreed to donate the organ.
“It breaks your heart to know there’s a little girl sick out there who you could help,” Bolan said earlier this week.
Eight-year-old Sarah Dickman is readied for kidney transplant surgery at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston.
The pair underwent successful surgeries Thursday at hospitals across the street from each other in Atlanta.
Sarah was expected to be in intensive care for at least a day and then spend up to a week at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. She said she was looking forward to being free from a dialysis machine so she can spend the night at her best friend’s house.
And when doctors remove her catheter, she can take bubble baths again because there will no longer be the risk of infecting the skin around the tube.
Best of all, she can go to Kangaroo Bob’s, a children’s recreation center with inflatable slides, mazes and obstacle courses.
“I’ll get to go there on my birthday because I won’t have this anymore,” she said, pointing to the catheter.
Bolan was expected to return home after a few days at Emory University Hospital. She first saw a flier about Sarah in September at the elementary school where two of her children are students. Sarah attends the same school.
Bolan knew she had the same blood type as the little girl, so she called the number on the flier that evening.
Sarah’s parents, Lori and Joe Dickman, had added Sarah’s name to a national waiting list for transplant recipients after learning that neither parent was a match to donate a kidney. The flier was just a shot in the dark.
The Dickmans received two calls from people interested in donating a kidney. Both were tested, and Bolan was the better match. The Dickmans were relieved because Sarah’s condition was quickly deteriorating.
I was helped out on March 6 by four complete strangers as I was struggling to get out of my house to get up the street to Cumberland Farms. I’m a bilateral, below-the-knee amputee, and I don’t do so well in the snow and ice. The first two people were coming down the street in a van; I believe [they] must have seen me struggling and backed up to get out and help me! They got me past the ice on the sidewalk in front of my house and safely on the non-icy part. I thanked them profusely, and they went on their way. I got up to the store and was wondering how I was going to tackle the ice to get back into my house. By then, some of the ice had melted, but I didn’t see how to go about it. Some very nice ladies from across the street asked if I needed help, and when I said yes, they came right over and assisted me through the ice and up my steps. The one lady even asked her husband to bring over some salt for the ice — which he did. Again I thanked them profusely. I’m taking this way of thanking these wonderful people and to also say that I am overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers to help another stranger. It’s so much appreciated. TEDDIE ANN REILLY Schenectady
Man declared dead feels 'pretty good' Mon Mar 24, 10:09 AM ET
This photo provided by the NBC 'Today' television program shows Zach Dunlap during his interview.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Four months after he was declared brain dead and doctors were about to remove his organs for transplant, Zach Dunlap says he feels "pretty good."
Dunlap was pronounced dead Nov. 19 at United Regional Healthcare System in Wichita Falls, Texas, after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident. His family approved having his organs harvested.
As family members were paying their last respects, he moved his foot and hand. He reacted to a pocketknife scraped across his foot and to pressure applied under a fingernail. After 48 days in the hospital, he was allowed to return home, where he continues to work on his recovery.
On Monday, he and his family were in New York, appearing on NBC's "Today."
"I feel pretty good. but it's just hard ... just ain't got the patience," Dunlap told NBC.
Dunlap, 21, of Frederick, said he has no recollection of the crash.
"I remember a little bit that was about an hour before the accident happened. But then about six hours before that, I remember," he said.
Dunlap said one thing he does remember is hearing the doctors pronounce him dead.
"I'm glad I couldn't get up and do what I wanted to do," he said.
Asked if he would have wanted to get up and shake them and say he's alive, Dunlap responded: "Probably would have been a broken window that went out."
His father, Doug, said he saw the results of the brain scan.
"There was no activity at all, no blood flow at all."
Zach's mother, Pam, said that when she discovered he was still alive, "That was the most miraculous feeling."
"We had gone, like I said, from the lowest possible emotion that a parent could feel to the top of the mountains again," she said.
She said her son is doing "amazingly well," but still has problems with his memory as his brain heals from the traumatic injury.
"It may take a year or more ... before he completely recovers," she said. "But that's OK. It doesn't matter how long it takes. We're just all so thankful and blessed that we have him here."
Dunlap now has the pocketknife that was scraped across his foot, causing the first reaction.
"Just makes me thankful, makes me thankful that they didn't give up," he said. "Only the good die young, so I didn't go."
In a day and age when it’s all too convenient to blame young people for a variety of societal ills — I know, I’ve done it myself — and consider the “older generation” paragons of wisdom and maturity — I know, I’ve done it myself — I’d like to set the record straight. I was the unwitting witness to a display in a supermarket by one of our “senior citizens,” who if she wasn’t endowed with wisdom, certainly has lived long enough to have acquired maturity. She complained loudly and vehemently from the time she entered the checkout line until she exited the store. She was especially outraged that her eggs had not made it into her cart — and, yes, of course, she had put them in there — and/ or they had been placed on the bottom and had suffered a predictable fate. What made the whole rather ugly episode so mesmerizing (there were other displays of temper, but in the interest of brevity I won’t go into any more of the details; I’m sure you get the picture) was the way the young man who bagged her groceries handled himself and the obnoxious shopper. He very patiently looked for the eggs, talking to her in a calming tone of voice; went back to get more eggs, carefully placing them into a bag on the top of her cart; and helped her from the store, continuing the same soothing tone of voice. And all this was done with the utmost respect, compassion, kindness and no hint of a patronizing attitude. When I commended him on his handling of the incident, his response was, “Well, I figured there must be something making her act that way. Maybe she didn’t feel good.” None of this probably sounds important enough to address in a letter to the editor venue; perhaps it’s a case of “you had to be there.” But what struck me was the effect that young man had on me. Not only were his compassion, maturity, modesty, understanding, empathy and kindness inspirational; but he reminded me that generalizations are almost always fallacious and that perhaps we should spend less time giving the anti-social teens the attention they don’t deserve and more time acknowledging, and imitating, the exemplary teens, like Justin at the Hannaford on Route 50 in Glenville, who do deserve our time and admiration. And Justin’s parents, whoever you are, should be proud of yourselves for the values you have obviously passed on to your son and of your son for putting them into practice. JUDY LATRIMORE Burnt Hills
I usually walk to Price Chopper to get my groceries. I am a senior citizen, and recently on my return trip I became very weary, so I decided to take a rest on a neighbor’s doorstep. I was watching the cars pass by when to my surprise, a “Good Samaritan” backed up her car and wanted to know if I was in distress. I told her how very weary I was, so she insisted on driving me the rest of the way home. I did not ask her name but was very grateful to her. It is very refreshing in this chaotic world to know that there are still people out there who sincerely care.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, I don't think I would have accepted the ride. But I do commend this "Good Samaritan" for helping Ms. Rullen and for Ms. Rullen for sharing her story.
Floating among the stars Boy's night to remember at Yankee Stadium
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer First published in print: Thursday, July 2, 2009 Guilderland
For most people, a darkening sky over a baseball game would be bad news.
But as the rain began to fall over the Bronx on Tuesday night, delaying the Yankees game for an hour, 10-year-old Ben Grant just took shelter in the home team's dugout, adding to what already had become a memorable evening for a dedicated young fan.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was there with him, and when Ben's parents went searching for him, he triumphantly held aloft a baseball bat.
Not just any bat.
The one Derek Jeter -- his favorite player -- gave him after the shortstop and team captain cranked a home run with it during batting practice.
Ben, a soon-to-be fifth-grader at Westmere Elementary who is battling leukemia, was treated to Tuesday's game against the Seattle Mariners by the Starlight Children's Foundation's Great Escapes program. The foundation sponsors special outings for seriously ill children.
Escorted by Romo, a Starlight spokesman, Ben discussed some of the finer points of the game on the field with Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Johnny Damon and manager Joe Girardi.
"We talked about some things," including his own baseball exploits, Ben said.
To escape the weather, the family retreated to one of the brand-new stadium's luxury suites, then returned to their seats a few rows behind home plate as the weather cleared in time for them to see Alex Rodriguez hit his 565th career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Asked if he was concerned the Yankees would lose after reliever Brian Bruney swiftly gave up the two-run lead, Ben hesitated only for a second.
"Well, I don't know. I thought they would win," he said, his voice growing more sure. "I thought they would win."
The whirlwind day stretched early into the next morning, when the family arrived home around 2:30 a.m., in time for Ben to attend treatment Wednesday, Gina Grant said.............>>>>............>>>>.............http://www.timesunion.com/AspS.....mp;newsdate=7/2/2009
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