Good Words, Good Deeds, Good News

Man Decorates Home For Halloween To Raise Money For Charity

Kieron has gone overboard in his Halloween decorations! The idea to raise money for charities in Kent, England came last year when people started offering donations for his decorations. He could have kept the money, of course, since the decorations cost money to make, but the family decided to donate it to a local children's hospice. Last year they made about $3,100, and hope that they did better this year. They have also set up a Just Giving page.

Woman Builds Her Autistic Brother A Cottage

Tiffany moved back to Maui from New York to help out her brother Chris, who is autistic. He said he didn't like the residential home he was in. Adopted by the same parents, they hadn't lived together for 15 years, but she knew that his behavior could be challenging, so she and her boyfriend built a small cottage at the back of their property for Chris to live in. He got to choose the colors for the structure and even help out with the construction.

Living there, she says, he has become more independent, doing chores and taking care of himself. It's good that he's so close, in case of problems, but it's also good that he has his own place, as she and her boyfriend recently welcomed a new daughter.

Dog Finds Forever Home After 2,555 Days In Shelter

Flip the dog had lived in an Ohio shelter for 2,555 days (7 years), and Jennifer had recently lost her pet due to illness. When she saw the photo of Flip that was posted on the shelter's Facebook page, she knew she wanted to adopt him. When she contacted the shelter, they said they thought he might have been abused years earlier, but she could adopt him.

She drove three hours to pick him up and there were no problems when she took him home. He is now a permanent resident of Jennifer's home.

Writer Finally Reunited With Teacher Who Taught Him To Read

Author Jamil Jan Kochai had been searching for his second grade teacher, Mrs. Lung. He was in her class when he first came to this country as an immigrant, and she used her after school time to teach him to read and write English. Amazingly, she accomplished it in that one year. After he became a published author, he searched for her to thank her for all she had done for him.

He had been contacted by her husband in 2020, and he had spoken with her on the phone, but they decided not to try to meet because of COVID. Recently, he was at a book signing for his new book 'The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories', when (in his words) "Mrs. Lung's husband, Allen, rushed up to me, introduced himself, and brought me over to Mrs. Lung, and seven-year-old-me finally got to hug my 2nd grade teacher again."

He signed a book for her, saying all the things he'd been wanting to tell her for many years.

Hero Trucker Rescues Trapped Police Officer

A Texas trucker named Gary was chosen as a Highway Angel in Arkansas after helping a police officer who was trapped in his vehicle. Gary saw the police vehicle at the side of the road, but didn't know why it was there. Traffic was heavy and moving slowly, which allowed him to see that there was an officer inside. He stopped his truck and went to the vehicle, discovering that the officer was pinned inside, and looked to be injured severely. "Some of the stuff I noticed was insane--no one's calling the police, cars are driving by, and no one stopped to help him." He called 911 to get someone out to get the officer freed. The officer had to be airlifted to a hospital.

He's still upset that no one stopped, and had no idea what caused the accident, but said he is usually the one that helps. "I'm that idiot that runs into burning buildings and pulls out pets. When I see something like that, I can't keep going on about my day."

He was named a Highway Angel for his heroic efforts.

Man Saves Siblings From House Fire

Brendon was driving one night and made a wrong turn. As he drove past a house he noticed that flames were coming across the porch ceiling. He exited his vehicle and ran to the front door, pounding on it in an attempt to alert anyone inside. Four people escaped from the house, a 22-year old man and his three younger siblings. The parents were out of town, but were able to watch the video footage from the Ring doorbell. The mother told News Nation, "Pulling up the Ring video footage and watching it, I was in shock. It was horrible but knowing they were safe, I mean, we're sitting here and there's six of us in a camper and we still feel blessed."

For some reason, the smoke alarm didn't activate. The family is very grateful to Brendon for his quick action. "He's part of the family now."