It’s going to be a rough year.
It doesn’t matter where you are on the political spectrum, it just seems like this election year in the United States is going to be … well, I’ll just say “challenging”. It’s pretty clear it’ll be full of negativity, name calling, finger pointing and much more – mostly because it already is.
As venerable radio broadcaster Paul Harvey would occasionally say after reporting a particularly challenging story, “Now, wash your ears out with this…”. That was one of his ways to transition to a new story that would be significantly more positive.
I hope HeroicStories can do that for you. These are stories that can give you hope that, here in the real world, people are good, good things still happen, and the mud being slung by the politicians and others is easily washed away.
Share HeroicStories with your friends. The world needs a reminder that there’s a lot of good going on – no matter what those soliciting your votes might say.
On to the last month’s worth of stories…
I Just Got To Thinking
Gratitude is all in the way you show it!
JSB says: A great story, probably my favorite since the restart of Heroic Stories!
To Protect and To Serve
Quick action by a police officer clears a highway of debris.
Michael T Smith comments: I’ve witnessed state patrol doing the same moves on the turnpike in New Jersey. I don’t know why they were doing it, but it obvious they wanted to slow traffic.
Cheryl adds: What great thinking – I would have had no idea how to stop multiple lines of traffic. And getting out of a vehicle on a highway is dangerous. I’m so glad it was effective and he was able to safely do this good deed.
My Friend Nancy
It’s wonderful to have a fearless friend who helps people in need.
Dave Freitas says: “What if I get sued for just trying to help?” More places need “Good Samaritan” laws to protect people who try to help in such situations. Not that it would make such actions less heroic but it might encourage more “Nancys”.
More than She Bargained For
Unexpected generosity makes a young girl’s day!
Suzan says: I had a somewhat similar experience. I took a wish from a Christmas tree at work. I was a librarian at the time so I took a wish from a 12 year old girl who wanted some books for her Christmas gift. I bid and won and auction and mentioned to the seller why I was buying the books. She sent me twice the amount that I’d won!
Cheryl adds: Kris is a real hero!
Crossing the Tracks
Segregation does not stop a woman from doing the right thing and saving a child.
Kathy comments: Wow! What a window into a different world from today. What a wonderful human being she was. She saw a child in need. The story has been told in the author’s family for a century. I wonder if the same is true in her family. Or if her actions were commonplace for her. Great story!
Terry says: What a beautiful story. I was fortunate to grow up with absolutely no sense of color difference. I was not even aware that there was a color problem until I went to college in the sixties. I was always taught that people were just people.
A Small Detour
Helping a stranger brings warm memories for a lifetime.
Annette N says: Being a good guy —–what a wonderful memory for you to hold. Thanks for sharing.
Mike Wunderlin adds: I had a similar incident in Pittsburgh. I was in a gas station fueling up for the 250 mile drive home and someone came up and asked me if I knew were Kennywood Park was (an amusement park near Pittsburgh). I said yes, but you are completely on the wrong side of town. I was heading more or less in the same direction (although not the route I normally take home) and so I told them I could get them to the Interstate exit for the park and they could follow the signs from there. I gave them my cell number in case they got separated in traffic and we headed out. I pointed them towards the exit, waved and continued down the road to go home. Imagine my surprise when about a week or so later, an envelope arrived in the mail from a name I didn’t recognize. Inside the envelope was a picture of the couple I helped on the roller coaster in Kennywood. Inside was 2 tickets to the park, and a note that said “thank you for helping us have a great day at the park. We never would’ve made it without your help” and explained that he was a volunteer at the police dept where they lived and he looked up my license plate to get the address.
Dial a Sailor
A city erupts in protest… and also has many kind, generous people willing to share.
Martin says: I love how this story highlights the basic goodness of people no matter what country you’re in. It echoes my experiences in almost every place I visited during my time in the Navy. International disagreements tend to disappear when regular people get a chance to meet each other. As Mark Twain said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
Charles Buckley relates: Talk about deja vu. I loved reading this because I was on board the USS Bainbridge and along with the Enterprise and Long Beach, forming Nuclear Task Force One in August 1964, we also anchored in Wellington. Nasty, blustery day. My mate and I went ashore and an older lady came down the pier and asked us if we wanted to have dinner at a private residence. She took us out to the street where a boy of 18 and his dad met us. I was aged 24 then. While Hugh had friends that were anti nuclear, he was a member of the New Zealand-American group that looked upon America as friends that saved them from the Japanese in 1943. The dad and I became close friends and he was indeed my best friend for the next 30 years until he died.
Mike Gilligan says: As a Kiwi, I am proud my country citizens showed such hospitality. I think it has contributed to how Kiwi’s are viewed in other countries around the world…, at least by my experience. I have travelled several places. It feels good to be welcomed anywhere I travel. I’m glad to represent New Zealanders’ & hope my small attempts contribute so that others would benefit in the future too. There’s many of us from here who travel around the planet. It is a small island paradise… I hope you will come some day…
Strike!
Young protestors learn a lesson from a staunch bus driver.
Michele Barnett says: Ah, yes. The best lessons are taught by example. Cheers for your Mom for teaching (even though she didn’t know you were there!), and cheers for you getting the message on several levels!
Ron Davis adds: I am torn by this story. I highly commend the students for protesting that war, which was disastrous for both (all) sides. Against that, I understand that the strikers’ motives were not entirely sincere, and that their insincerity was visible in several ways. The moral issues in this story are much more complicated than in most of this excellent series. What the mother did gave the right message, in this mixed symbolism, but the strikers would have had to think to understand it. Apparently, at least one of them, and therefore probably many, did.
Do you have a story to tell? Check out the HeroicStories Submission Guidelines and share it with the world.
Until next time,
Leo A. Notenboom
Publisher: https://heroicstories.org
Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place