“True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to others,” Alek Wek.
They say Christmas is that time of the year when miracles take plays, and this story is yet another proof of that.
A man named Ben Hendley went shopping in Walmart, Canton, Texas, around Christmas in hopes of getting all he needed for the holiday. Little did he know, however, that he would witness and act of kindness unfolding just in front of his eyes.
As he headed towards the register, he heard beeping. He then noticed that the card of one couple kept getting declined.
“And this couple (passing through from Fort Worth, Texas) are trying to get their kid’s presents as they travel to their family get together (they live2 hours away). And his card gets declined. Again. And again…,” Ben posted on Facebook.
Source: Pexels/ Karolina Grabowska
The beeping continued in the next couple of seconds. As the husband and wife started feeling anxious, the lady standing right behind them decided to step up. “You know what? It’s Christmas! I’ll pay for it,” she said.
The wife said that they couldn’t possibly accept someone to pay for their stuff because what they had in their cart cost a couple hundreds of dollars.
“Oh, no! I don’t think you know how much this is! Let me see if I can put it on my credit card,” the wife said as she gave the cashier her card.
Sadly, they all heard the bleeping once again. According to Ben’s post, it turned out that there was a problem with the card reader, but no one knew that at the time.
The woman, who was later identified as Joyce Hargrave Felton, said, “It’s a couple hundred dollars. So? God’s blessed me, so I’m going to bless you?” and paid for the couple’s things although they didn’t feel comfortable letting a complete stranger give them that much money at first. Joyce, however, assured them that it was all fine. “Hush. I don’t want to hear any more. I’ve got this,” she said.
Everyone at the store praised Joyce’s act.
Ben wanted to learn more about her and followed her outside the store. To his surprise, her license plate read, GOD SNT. Was that a sign of a Christmas miracle? Maybe someone wanted Joyce to find herself in the right place at the right time. Who knows!
Ben felt the urge to post this story on Facebook. In a short period of time, it reached a huge number of people, among which Joyce herself. Later, when media outlets reached Ben for more on what he witnessed, Joyce shared the articles and tagged Ben in each of them.
“Remember; always make a difference no matter what happens,” Joyce wrote.
Stories which remind us that humanity is still alive are the best of all.
Recently, a number of people ended up stranded on the Interstate 95 in Virginia. They were forced to spend a day and a half inside their vehicles. Among the people there were a number of children, as well as pets, who didn’t have anything to eat or drink.
The freezing temperatures made road conditions hazardous along the 50-mile stretch in Stafford County and the heavy snow, rain, and sleet caused a number of vehicles to jackknife and block the roads on Monday morning. That prevented salt trucks and plows from approaching the area in order to clear the snow.
Source: Facebook/ Casey Noe
One of the trapped drivers was a woman named Casey Noe. She, just like most of the people in her position, ran out of food and felt exhausted from the waiting.
“After almost 21 hours of being stuck on 95 South, sleeping here over night, not having access to food or water, and all of the nearest towns being out of power we were tired, frustrated, and hungry.
“Many of the people stuck out here had small children, were elderly, had pets in the car, and hadn’t eaten in almost a whole day,” she wrote on Facebook.
Luckily, Noe noticed a bread truck nearby. She decided to call the company which owned the truck, Schmidt Baking Company, and ask if they were wiling to share some of the bread with everyone around. The owner, Chuck Paterakis, was more than willing to step up. He called the driver and told him to open the back of the truck so that people can get as much bread as they needed.
“This was one of the kindest moments I have ever witnessed,” Casey said in her post. “Thank you Schmidt.”
Her post attracted the attention of thousands of people who took their time to react to it and re-share it.
Luckily, none of the stranded people got injured, and after long hours, they were all able to head home.
Ever since he landed the role of Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes in Lost, Jorge Garcia became one of our favorite actors. His acting talent took him where he is today, on the list of celebrities we all admire.
Over the years, he struggled to lose weight, although he never really spoke openly about it.
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Garcia has always been a big guy. When he was younger, he tried himself in wrestling and was called by his friends from his hometown a Baby-Faced-Killer. That nickname, however, had nothing to do with his personality, as Garcia is described by everyone that has ever met him as the nicest and most gentle guy there is.
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Although he has always been bigger than all of his friends, that never really bothered Garcia. But as years passed by and he gained more weight, his friends, family, and even his co-starts got worried for his health.
Some magazines even reported how the producers of Lost even asked him to lose weight during the filming of the series, but Garcia has denied that happened.
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Realizing that being overweight could affect his health in the long term, Garcia put his mind on turning to a healthier lifestyle, something his fans noticed and praised him for.
Garcia turned to a healthier diet which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, and food low in carbs. He often posts photos of plant-based meals on his Instagram which means he’s still on the track of keeping himself healthy. He even started working with nutrition experts and fitness coaches and stopped drinking alcohol. With a lot of discipline, despite battling food addiction, the Hawaii Five-0 star managed to lose 100lbs (45kg) off of his 400lb (181kg) frame.
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Garcia’s journey towards healthier lifestyle is truly inspirational.
Being part of a great number of movies and TV shows, including Hawaii Five-0, Becker, Nobody Knows I’m Here and a lot more, Garcia rose to prominence. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actor has a net worth of $5 million.
In 2019, Garcia, who wants to keep his life private, married his long-time girlfriend Rebecca Birdsall.
The TLC reality My 600-lb Life is one of the most inspirational shows.
It first aired back in 2012 and viewers can still watch the life stories of obese people who are doing all in their power to turn to a healthier way of living and gain control over their life again.
The doctor who helps these individuals turn their life upside down in a positive way is famous Iranian-American surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, known as Dr. Now. Many say he’s attitude towards his patients can be harsh at times, but all he wants is to be the voice of their reason and the wake-up call many of them have been waiting for so long.
Among the great number of participants on the show is a woman named Melissa Morris. At her heaviest, this Texan lady weighted 635 lbs. Eating uncontrollably became her thing and over the years, she lost the ability to perform even the simplest of tasks without the help of those around her.
Youtube/Aaron De La Cruz 2.0
Melissa’s husband, Chris, couldn’t control her eating and couldn’t say no to her, which only made things worse.
Sadly, Melissa’s obesity was standing on her way of becoming a mother, something she has always dreamed of.
Speaking of her condition and how she lost control over her body, Melissa said, “It’s not like I set out to say ‘Oh, I want to grow up to be the world’s biggest lady, I want to be 700 pounds. It just happened. For the longest time I talked myself into that I didn’t have a weight problem. I was still walking. If I had a weight problem, I would not walk.”
Youtube/Aaron De La Cruz 2.0
While she and Chris were shopping one day, Melissa could hear people speaking of her weight behind her back. That crushed her completely.
“You can think what you want in your head, whisper what you want to somebody who’s with you,” she said while crying at the aisle. “But to say that out loud is the worst. The only thing I want to do is just to fall into a deep hole and just never come up.”
Finally, after many doctors giving up on her, she met with Dr. Now in his office in Houston Texas in 2012. Melissa listened to his every advice and undergone the so much anticipated gastric bypass surgery. Following the surgery, she changed her eating habits and turned to a low-carb diet and exercises.
Youtube/Aaron De La Cruz 2.0
Over the course of seven years, or at the end of the program with Dr. Now, Melissa lost whooping 447 pounds. She didn’t only look like a completely different person, but her biggest dream, that of being a mother, fulfilled. Today, she has three children, but is no longer married to husband Chris who was by her side while she was losing weight.
I LOVE helping people on the path in life I find myself telling people all the time you can either stay where you’re at or you can go where you want to be the choice is yours. The first step is ALWAYS scary, always hard, and ALWAYS worth it. I also tell them have Faith. I don’t know how many times during my journey I would say to anyone who would ask or to my Mom I have Faith when I have nothing at all I have faith.You have made the first step coming here, calling your doctor that is the first step now you need to know”.
“I have faith in you, when you don’t have faith in yourself I have faith in you. When you are ready to throw in the towel I have faith in you, I know it is hard to believe that someone you may have never met in your life has faith in you but I do,” Melissa writes. “I know what it is like to want to quit, or you are crying because it is harder than you thought it is going to be. They did not show you all the break downs I had all the fights I had with myself over food, over the hate I had for myself because of what I did to me and my family.”
In November, 2020, Melissa posted a photo of her kids and Dr. Now and wrote just how much he helped her turn into the person that she is today. She’s forever thankful for his dedication and for changing her life and giving her a second chance.
Dr. Now doesn’t make any money from the surgeries he performs on the people on the show.
This incredible man told Houstonia Magazine, “Looking at the moral obligation that we’ve got, you see somebody who has no life who could have a life. We don’t need to be rich. We do make a living, but we don’t need to worry about making a living out of every patient we see.”
We are very happy for Melissa and hope others who struggle with their weight will find inspiration in her impressive life story. This is her today, doesn’t she look incredible?
I am sure that nothing triggers nostalgic as the old TV shows that remind us of the joy they brought while we all eagerly waited for them to start gathered around the TV.
One such series is MacGyver, an action adventure series portraying the life of secret agent Angus “Mac” MacGyver. The character was much loved and adored by everyone because of his genius-level intellect and excellent engineering and military skills. His ability to get away from any situation made MacGyver everyone’s favorite.
The show originated in the 80’s, but back in 2016, agent MacGyver got back on the screen after a reboot was filmed. This made everyone think of the original actor playing the quick-thinking agent, Richard Dean Anderson. So, we decided to do a little research and see what this actor is being up to nowadays.
When he was young, Anderson dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player, but when he was just 15, he broke both his arms and that ended his career in sports. That made him turn to other things such as art, music, and acting.
He started his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap-opera series General Hospital, and then took a role in the one-season series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Anderson played other roles and was even considered for the role of John McClane in Die Hard, which was assigned to Bruce Willis, but he shot to fame with Angus MacGyver.
Speaking of the series that was seen by the whole country and beyond and lasted for seven years, Anderson said, ”When we started in 1985, television was ready for a character that wasn’t a detective with a gun. I think we garnered a lot of attention from families, primarily because it was the kind of show that families could share.”
However, as much as he enjoyed the fame and being on set, the whole thing drained his strength. ”I was kind of fried,” Anderson said. ”MacGyver was seven years of being in virtually every frame that was shot and having absolutely no life at all.”
After the series, he took some years of rest before he accepted the role of Jack O’Neill on the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1.
But when his daughter Wylie was born in 1998, he though he had it enough from movies and just wanted to spend his time with her.
Anderson couldn’t really ditch the shows completely because they have been huge part of his life so he appeared as himself or as his most notable character MacGyver in Saturday Night Live, Don’t Trust the B- in Apartment 23, and The Simpsons.
Anderson is 70 today and still looking as charming as always. His characters played immense role in many people’s lives who grew up watching his shows and wanted to be as intelligent and as fearless as MacGyver was on the screen.
He spoke to Stuff.nz. recently about his life today and described it as a private and reclusive. “The house that I’ve built for myself here in Malibu is the perfect house for me. I have my dogs, but I don’t get to meet people. I don’t like the bar scene and I’m not a party guy – I’ve had my fill of that from the early days,” he said.
If you know a fan of Anderson, share this story with them.
Drew Carey is yet another celebrity person whose weight-loss journey stunned a huge number of fans. I guess people love these kinds of stories because they are inspirational and remind them that no matter how wealthy or famous someone is, they need to work really hard in order to look skinny and healthy.
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Carey started his career as a stand-up comedian and soon rose to fame with his show The Drew Carey Show which aired on ABC between 1995 to 2004 and revolved around a fictionalized version of the comedian. Before that, however, his name was famous from his guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.
Soon after his show aired, millions fell for the chubby actor. He, however, didn’t really feel comfortable in his own skin and wanted to change something about the way he looked. “I was sick of being fat on the camera. Really, I just got sick of it,” he told People.
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During his younger days, Carey served in the Marine Corps for six years and was very fit, but once he turned to acting he somehow forgot to mind what he was eating. His diet consisted of junk food and soda most of his days.
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In 2007, the comedian started dating Nicole Jaracz, who had a son, Connor, from a preveious relationship. Although the two separated in 2012, Carey still considers Connor his son and the two are very close. In fact, it was this boy who inspired the comedian to turn to a healthier lifestyle. He knew that if he continued eating junk food and gaining weight, he wouldn’t be able to see Connor growing up.
“That was a terrible feeling. I thought, I’m never going to see him graduate high school,” Drew told Parade after he was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and heart problems.
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The actor’s weight loss journey started back in 2010, and today, he looks unrecognizable.
Carey stopped eating carbs and said goodbye to the junk food. “I have cheated a couple times, but basically no carbs, not even a cracker. No bread at all. No pizza, nothing. No corn, no beans, no starches of any kind.” Believe it or not, the “Price is Right” host managed to lose over 100 pounds and dropped from size 44 to size 34. ”I’m not diabetic anymore. No medication needed,” he told People.
Drew Carey / Instagram
”I like being skinny,” the actor added. “I was sick of being fat on the camera. Really, I just got sick of it. Once I started losing weight, again, like once I started dropping a couple pant sizes, then it was easy ’cause once you see the results, then you don’t wanna stop.”
Besides a diet that includes lost of eggs, Greek yogurt, grilled chicken and lots of fruits and vegetables, the secret behind his awesome looks is lots of cardio.
Drew Carey / Instagram
And yes, he also changed his style and grew beard. Drew Carey is a very handsome man.
The name of iconic actress and Princess Grace Kelly still stands for everlasting beauty, even years after her dead. This incredible woman whose career only lasted for around six years marked the period of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
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Kelly was born on November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, John B. Kelly, was a gold-medal winning oarsman, and her uncle was the playwright George Kelly. It was George who was Kelly’s biggest support. He truly wanted his niece to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress and monitored her rise to fame in Hollywood.
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Throughout the years that she was active on the screen, Kelly played alongside huge names in the industry. She made her debut with a role in Fourteen Hours, but made her breakthrough as Gary Cooper’s Quaker wife in High Noon in 1952. From that point on, Kelly stared in a number of famous films such as the adventure romance Mogambo with Clark Gable and Ava Gardner. This role brought her the Golden Globe for best supporting actress. Other significant movies Kelly played in are The Country Girl for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the comedy musical High Society, and three Alfred Hitchcock movies Dial M for Murder; Rear Window; and To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant.
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When she was just 26, Kelly already earned herself the status of highest-paid and most respected actress in the world. Then, however, she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco during a photoshoot at the Cannes Film Festival in France. She married him and became the Princess of Monaco.
Tying the knot with a prince meant her acting career was over.
Kelly did resemble a princess her whole life. She wasn’t only beautiful, but elegant, gracious, and loved by many. She and Prince Rainier had three children together, Caroline, Princess of Hanover, Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Princess Stéphanie.
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When she was just 52 years old, Princess Kelly was killed in a car accident after suffering a stroke and losing control of the car. Luckily, her daughter Stephanie who was in the vehicle survived.
Kelly had 11 grandchildren, all of which inherited her beauty and style. One of them, however, 20-year-old Camille Gottlieb, daughter of Princess Stephanie, seems to resemble her famous grandmother the most.
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Camille’s incredible looks and the fact her grandma was one of the most beloved actresses in America made her sort of famous as well. She loves posting photos of her and her family on her Instagram account which is followed by over 70,000 people.
Many agree that her blonde hair and her blue eyes remind them of those of Kelly. We can definitely see the resemblance.
When Camille’s parents had her they weren’t married, so that means she’s not eligible for the Monegasque throne, but that doesn’t make her less of a princess.
Although he dreamed of becoming an actor when he was young, Adam Richman eventually found his way to the TV screens not through film but through the reality show which enchanted many food lovers, Man v. Food.
This show is one of those realities which became huge hits practically overnight. Seeing Richman exploring different cultures and visiting restaurants offering plenty of unique dishes is what turned him into a celebrity loved by many.
Man v. Food first aired on the Travel Channel in 2008 and was on for four years during which a huge number of people saw their favorite host not only present them with distinct food from all over the country, but getting engaged in eating challenges.
So how did it all start for Richman and how did he find himself in the show?
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As a young man, Richman got to visit plenty of places. Whenever he would try anything new, he would keep track of that experience in a food journal.
“It happened randomly. I had a monster break-up with a Jewish girl from New Jersey. I bought one of those Moleskine books probably to write, like, kind of douche-y, sappy, college-boy broken-heart poetry,” he told Heeb Magazine.
“And then I just kept doing it and then eventually that journal became a reference tool, if you will. I kept it up through living in all these places.
“I kept auditioning, kept acting. Got into Yale. Got agents out of school. Began doing regional theater and television and in so doing, again, augmented my journal.”
Richman earned a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama and had several appearances in some TV series, but he never got a role that would path his way to Hollywood. However, that didn’t bother him much because the audition for the new food show caught his attention and he decided to try his luck.
“I had nothing to do with the conception or the creation of it at least in the initial stages. I auditioned. It was a six-round process. No challenges along the way, it was just talking about food,” Adam recalled. “So you had to eat this-and-that and the other and they needed to see that you can eat.”
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He passed several stages of the auditions and the last screen test was taking place at the famous Kat’z Deli in New York.
“If you’re a New York Jew, you know f***ing Katz’s. I went there a day before, learned it, just fine-tuned it and came in,” Richman told Heeb Magazine.
“And I came in and I worked out like a beast that morning, didn’t eat that much the day before, and I walked into Katz’s and that smell was like ambrosia. To be given a reuben and fries and slaw and whatever from Katz’s deli for free — it wasn’t a challenge.
“And it was interviews, screen tests, this-that-and-the-other and they said basically “You have the job, provided there’s a job to have.”
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Although the show was an instant success, it did take its toll. Richman was consuming plenty of food, in fact, those were unhealthy amounts of mostly junk food. As a result, he gained weight and started feeling bad about the way he looked.
“When I started the show before the first episode was filmed, I went to specialists ahead of time because I wanted to start with a baseline of good health, versus correcting bad health down the road,” he told ESPN.
“Plus as a single man, I wanted to bring sexy back a little bit. I enjoy seeing my toes in the shower.”
All those eating challenges didn’t only affect Richman’s physics, but his mental health too.
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In 2012, he felt like he couldn’t do it any longer, not because of his health, however, but because of other reasons. He believed it was time to turn to other projects, so Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America, Food Fighters and Man Finds Food followed.
“A lot of people thought the transition to [Man Vs. Food Nation] was motivated by health, doctors, me having a premonition of death. Quite frankly, I felt it’s incumbent upon me as a producer to stay ahead of the curve and bring something new to people,” Richman told Chicago Tribune.
“How much of the same guy doing the same stuff can anybody watch? I was talking to my co-(executive producer), one of my best friends, Dan Adler, and said ‘Dude, let’s just get back to basics’.
“People tell me they use Man v. Food for a travel guide. I said ‘Dude, let’s just show the best sandwiches in America. Every culture has got a sandwich, every income bracket has a sandwich.’ And that’s how it was born. “
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Ever since he left the show, Richman lost around 60 lbs and is now looking better than ever. At the moment, he’s hosting the History Channel show Modern Marvels.
Speaking of Man v. Food, the host revealed to Cooking Light, “I mean, I miss my crew. We were very much a family, and we’re still in touch. But I miss them very much. I miss going to the mom and pop restaurants very much. People always wanted me to say, ‘Oh! I love having all the barbecue. I love having all the fried chicken.’
“That’s cool. But anyone can go to these restaurants and buy that. But it was the people and seeing the country, I think, that I miss and value the most.”
We are always more than happy to see Adam Richman on our TV screens.
