Tag Archives: Inspirational

http://www.impactlab.com/2010/01/09/a-mothers-love-carries-son-on-her-shoulders-for-35-years/

January 9th, 2010 at 7:10 am
A Mother’s Love – Carries Son On Her Shoulders For 35 Years

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Xiong was brought up in three damp, dingy rooms in the Taluo mountain village, Nanpeng county, southwest of Chongqing municipality.

“But we were later told that he is deformed, which sentenced Xiong to being unable to stand up for life. Many neighbors have suggested I abandon him for his own sake as well, but how could I ever do that?” said Wen.

She said since then, she knew the child needed to be helped for the rest of his life.

“I think every mother would do the same thing.”

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[JR: This tugs at the heartstrings and makes one marvel at dedication of this woman. And, woman and mothers in general. This is heroic. And, I know lots of Moms who do similar stuff. To varying degree. But it does make me wonder if I could be that dedicated?]

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http://www.impactlab.com/2009/12/23/do-hearts-store-memories-heart-transplant-recipient-develops-cravings-of-donor/

December 23rd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Do Hearts Store Memories? Heart Transplant Recipient Develops Cravings of Donor

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A heart transplant patient is craving the food his donor used to eat, prompting questions over whether the organ has a ‘memory’ of its own.

David Waters cannot stop eating an Australian-made snack food called Burger Rings, and he has now found out that the teenager whose heart he received was always eating the same snack.

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[JR: How little do we really understand? Medicine keeps trudging along, but we get anecdotes that indicate so much more left to discover.]

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http://www.wpbf.com/news/21986951/detail.html

Treasure Coast Dog Helps Save Baby’s Life
Hound Leads Owner To Drowning Baby
POSTED: 6:59 pm EST December 16, 2009
UPDATED: 9:28 am EST December 17, 2009

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A Treasure Coast dog is being hailed as a hero for helping to save a baby’s life this week.

Reyna Zurita said she had just walked into her Port St. Lucie home when her 2-year-old hound, Hunter, suddenly ran out the door.

“I run behind my dog because that’s for my kids and I don’t want to lose my dog, and I run behind” Zurita said in broken English. “I say, ‘What happened? Stop,’ but he never listen to me.”

Hunter ran for nearly half a mile and led Zurita to an infant who was lying on the ground after nearly drowning.

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[JR: Great story. A lot of questions. BUT, (there is always a big butt), in my mind, what drew the dog to the baby over a half-mile away. (A flunked out dog for that matter. Gives hope to us low grade point injineers.) Our current thinking affords NO explanation. Perhaps an angel. “Birds of the air” comes to mind. Makes one wonder. Least it does me. Maybe one of our smarter fellow alums will have a better explanation?]

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http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091213/D9CIFSU80.html

Stephen King to pay for troops’ holiday trip home
Dec 13, 9:47 AM (ET)

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BANGOR, Maine (AP) – Author Stephen King and his wife are donating money so 150 soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard can come home for the holidays.

King and his wife, Tabitha, who live in Bangor, are paying $13,000 toward the cost of two bus trips so that members of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Unit can travel from Camp Atterbury in Indiana to Maine for Christmas. The soldiers left Maine last week for training at Camp Atterbury. They are scheduled to depart for Afghanistan in January.

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[JR: Small action; big reward. Dona Nobis Pacem.]

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113357239&sc=nl&cc=es-20091025

Boy Lifts Book; Librarian Changes Boy’s Life
October 2, 2009

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“She said, ‘My first thought was to go over there and tell him, boy, you don’t have to steal a book, you can check them out — they’re free.’

“Then she realized what my situation was — that I could not let anybody know I was reading.”

Grady told Neal she decided that if he was showing an interest in books, “she and Mrs. Saunders would drive to Memphis and find another one for me to read — and they would put it in the exact same place where the one I’d taken was.”

So, every time Neal decided to take a book home, the pair would set off to the city to find another book for him.

“You’ve got to understand that this was not an easy matter then — because this is 1957 and ’58,” Neal said. “And black authors were not especially available, No. 1. And No. 2, Frank Yerby was not such a widely known author. And No. 3, they had to drive all the way to Memphis to find it.”

But the women’s efforts paid off: Neal went on to attend law school and later became a judge, retiring as an appellate judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

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First, it should be NOBODY’S business what anyone reads.

Second, it was a great tale. Unlike today’s busybody society, people could think and react positively.

Third, I wonder how many “turn offs” could be “turned on” with the right “librarian”.

I know my fellow Jaspers would be a lot better at this than I could be.

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http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9AGG9JO0&show_article=1

Jews who escaped Nazis as kids recreate train trip
Sep 4 08:15 AM US/Eastern
By KAROLINA TAGARIS
Associated Press Writer

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LONDON (AP) – A vintage train carrying Holocaust survivors pulled into London on Friday, ending a three-day trip across Europe that marked the 70th anniversary of their extraordinary rescue by a young British stockbroker.

Waiting to greet them at London’s Liverpool Street Station was Nicholas Winton, age 100, who organized the rail “kindertransports” that carried hundreds of mostly Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to safety in 1939.

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Winton’s wife persuaded him to have his story officially documented. A film about Winton’s heroism won an International Emmy Award in 2002, and then-Prime Minister Tony Blair praised him as “Britain’s Schindler,” after the German businessman Oskar Schindler, who also saved Jewish lives during the war. Winton rejected the comparison and the description of himself as a hero. Unlike Schindler, he said, his life had never been in danger.

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[JR: A good man who did what he saw as right. Way too few. Inspiring? Hopefully, we can all see our duty and do it as well. Regardless of the personal consequences.]

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Man builds working replica of Noah’s Ark (exact scale given in Bible) in Schagen , Netherlands.

[JR: This may be an internet spoof. But I remember some Brother in grammar school in Math class making us work out the "modern dimensions" of the ark. In English and metric measure. Then we had to find approximations in terms of equivalents. From that I came to the conclusion, Noah was either inspired or delusional. Here's another fellow who's either too. One has to follow one's dreams and inspiration with enthusiasm. Regardless of how it looks. Not everyone gets a Burning Bush or a smackdown on the road to Tarsus. I hope all my challenges are little ones; I'm very sensitive ego-wise. I can hear you laughing now.]

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/poor_economy_drives_down_new_j.html

Poor economy drives down New Jersey divorce rate
by Joseph R. Perone/The Star-Ledger
Sunday August 09, 2009, 8:55 PM

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Couples in New Jersey are divorcing at a lower rate this year as the recession takes its toll on family finances and raises the cost of splitting up.

The number of new divorce cases filed during the first six months of the year fell 9 percent — to 28,579 — compared with the same period a year ago, according to the latest figures from the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

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A small gift. A chance to perhaps reflect on the decision. The possibility of avoiding the disaster?

One can only pray.
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