Getting the Word Out

It’s been a busy summer!

So much going on it’s been a challenge to stay on top of everything. But it’s a good problem to have. I keep getting words of encouragement for HeroicStories, and as I keep saying, it feels like it’s needed more than ever.

I’ve tweaked HeroicStories’ social media to make it a little easier to get the stories and share them with your friends. Email subscriptions remain the best way (use the signup form on the HeroicStories home page) , but since many of us also spend so much time on social media that’s another great way to get the word out.

Facebook: Each time a story is published on the HeroicStories web site a notification is posted on the HeroicStories Facebook page. Be sure to “like” HeroicStories there, and then share the stories with your friends.

Twitter: New! Or rather, updated, as the Twitter account has been there, but largely ignored for a while. Each time a story is published on the HeroicStories web site a notification is now also posted to the HeroicStories Twitter account. Follow and spread the stories one re-tweet at a time. 🙂

And as always, we’re always interested in new story submissions. Check out the guidelines here. We’d love to hear from you.

On to the past several weeks worth of stories….

Unforgotten Sacrifice

A scruffy man leaves a nice tip for a waitress – teaching that we make an impact with everything we do.

Talie says: ooooo what a GREAT quote: “We make an impact on every life we interact with. It is our choice as to what kind of impact we want to make.” I’m going to internalize that one.

Two-Wheeled Samaritans

Two motorcycles help as stranded family on the dark night — the “Cosmic Exchange” was firing on all cylinders that night, and six people felt better for it.

John Craggs (the author) says: A pleasant surprise to see this getting a second outing after fifteen years. Good memories.

kaye says: A lovely story about a vanishing breed of decent folk willing to share their skills, even if they never expect to see each other again.

Leo replies: I’m actually not convinced they’re “vanishing” at all. 🙂

Getting Home

During the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake a woman makes it home safely due to the kind actions of Oakland transit service employees.

Jann says: Humanities best always arrive in the worst situations. As Mr Rogers (children’s tv show host) said, “When something bad happens, and you are afraid, look for the helpers.”

Robert Amerine says: I was as a telephone repair tech at the time of the 89 earthquake, and it was by far the most extreme one I had felt in my lifetime of 49 years. Inside a customers home in Concord, Calif, we felt the quake, and moved to the safest places we could find while the shaking was happening, and as it eased, we noticed the TV had gone dark, despite still be on. I went out to my truck and turned on the radio to find news that could tell us what happened, and I found all my San Francisco based stations were off the air as well. An ominous feeling of doubt, question and worry hit me as I wondered if SF was still there. It was, but the giant tower used to broadcast radio and TV signals, was not. We all made it without harm or damage, but, many, did not. I appreciate all those that made extraordinary efforts to help those in need, and went the extra mile to do what they could, to reduce the impact on others, as much as they could.

On the Orchard Road

Deep in apple orchard country of family is rescued from a flat tire — even though it is a holiday weekend.

Cheryl says: Wonderful story. Wonderful people.

Just Come Back Later

A young family eats a meal and only has credit cards to pay in a diner that only accepts cash! The solution? Come back later to pay!

Cheryl says: What a wonderful welcome to your new home. I’m so glad it was an example of how people are in your new community – and that you have chosen to “pass it on” every chance you get, helping to make the world a better place.

Robert says:
August 3, 2017 at 8:05 am

(Edit)
As incredible as this may seem, I was running late for work and ran off with out my wallet. However, I didn’t discover it until I got to the drive thru window to pay! Embarrassed, I asked for the manager and explained my situation, telling her I’d be back in a half hour or so, to pick up my food and pay. To my shock, she insisted I take the food and come back and pay the next time I passed their way! The biggest shocker? I Live in Southern California!!!!

Puppy Had Angels Too

When a traffic accident leaves “Puppy’s” owners in the hospital, people all over town step up to take care the dog.

Lynn Ann Griffin says: I’m crying right now. My husband an I travel with two dogs. They are our life. I just hope that if anything like this ever happens to us there will be some kind, loving people like this around. Everyday you here about the bad in the world and then a story like “Puppy” comes around and it gives us all some hope.

Honoring Her Choice

A mother-in-law to be shows the benefits of an open mind and encourages her daughter to live her dreams.

John Presler says: I think one of the hardest things for a parent to do is to allow their children to make and learn from their own mistakes. This is something I tried to do for my children – Accept them for who they are and not try to make them into somebody they are not.

Bunny says: Oh I love this story! Gotta love the mamas who nudge their kids towards a broader horizon.

 

You’re Normal, Sweetie

After being sent to Child Services a young mother is validated by an understanding nurse.

Fernando Murrieta says: Incredibly, nobody teaches us to be parents; therefore we struggle with all the new things a baby brings home.

Those struggles are far more common than they seem to be, but all of us who have now grownup kids can keep an eye on the young couples when they are having their first baby. We can lend a hand or have a talk, or lend a shoulder when things seem to crumble down, but mainly we can listen and reassure them they can do it and it will get on track.

…we all can be that friend.

Looking for the Win-Win

A father looks for win win solutions with his children in the parking lot.

Ken Shaw (in New Mexico) says: This is one of the best stories ever, and I’ve been reading them since near the beginning!!! What makes it so compelling is that it was written by a 12-year-old. As Leo suggests elsewhere, there’s hope for the planet after all.

Nancy Collins says: What great reasoning Amanda’s dad has! Thanks to Amanda for sharing this idea with us.

My (late) elderly mother used to walk a shopping cart into a store, too. It steadied her as she gripped the handle and pushed the cart. I learned from her, and offer to take back a cart that a customer has just unloaded. And similar to Amanda’s dad, I feel that drivers would rather allow me to cross than dent their cars should they hit my cart!

A Generous Change of Plans

A family member changes plans so that a mother can go to her daughter’s wedding.

Celeste says: Being a caregiver is both a blessing an a challenge as this story relates. I’m so happy Linda was able to go to her daughters wedding and enjoy the whole thing with out having to be worried about her mother. It also allowed Joan to spend time with her mother, a win-win for everyone.

Respectful Treatment

A travel agent teaches a powerful lesson about how to treat other people… no matter what they look like.

Jodi Hendon says:  When I was teaching, I had students from all walks of life. Some dressed very well, but some looked like they’d just come off the street. I made up my mind that I would treat them all the same, with respect and courtesy.

At one school, a tech school, every new student would eventually be in three of my classes if he/she finished. One day, I saw a man, probably in his late 40s, walking toward me. My heart sank a little, because I knew he’d be in my classes. He had long scraggly hair and a beard and prison tats on his arms. He was obviously a biker and he looked like, as we say in Texas, “he’d been rode hard and put up wet.”

I smiled at him and said hello, and sure enough, that afternoon, he was in my class. After I took role, he motioned me over to him. He pulled something out of his pocket to show me. “Pictures of my grandbabies,” he said.

He was one of the best writers and speakers I ever had.

Ernest Bywater says: I worked in a local bank in the early 1970s and one of the customers who came in on a regular basis was an old man who grew up on a local farm and only left the area when he went away to service in the Army during WW1. He always wore an old Army trench coat with other Army surplus gear underneath and always looked like he hasn’t shaved for a few days. Tall, thin and wiry, and many of the local thought he was a hobo (what we called the homeless people in those days). He also still lived in the house he was born in and grew up in on what was left of the farm that had been in his family until it got progressively sold off as the city expanded up to and around the farm. My job in the bank was to process the long-term investments that were being reinvested, and that included the monies he’d been paid for his family farm over the last 40 plus years. Our bank didn’t have all of the family investments, just a bit over two hundred million dollars worth, and what he grew up on as a farm was, by 1970, a major industrial and residential area of what is now an inner suburb of Sydney, NSW, Australia. – You can never judge a book by it’s cover.

Two Strangers, Two Choices

A car thief is apprehended through the quick actions of a complete stranger.

Cheryl says: I love the title of this story, it is such a great example that every one chooses how to respond in any situation, and we cannot judge anyone on how someone else acts.

 

Until next time!

Leo A. Notenboom
Publisher: heroicstories.org
Co-Conspirator to Make the World a Better Place