Doctors who never give up on their patients, no matter how helpless things seem, are angels sent from Heaven. Such is plastic surgeon Peter Grossman. This incredible man did the impossible for a young girl whose life went miserable and unbearable in the blink of an eye.
This is the story of Zubaida Hasan from Afghanistan, but it is at the same time a story of compassion, hope, and not giving up.
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When she was nine, back in 2001, Zubaida was involved in a horrific accident. As she lit the small gas stove, it suddenly exploded and left her with severe burns. Her skin practically melted and left one of her arms glued to her body. Her chin got attached to her chest and she was unable to close her eyes or her mouth.
Muhammad, her father, took her to the nearest hospital, but he was told by the doctors that nothing could be done, thus advised to let her die. He, however, never thought of giving up on his daughter and took her to the US military base in Kabul. The devastated man begged the doctors to help Zubaida. They don’t work with civilians, but seeing the pain the little girl was going through was more than enough for the doctors to agree to take her in and do all in their power to ease her pain.
Soon after, they arranged for Zubaida and her family to go to America where Dr. Grossman was waiting for them.
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Over the course of a year, Zubaida undergone 11 surgeries, with more to come. Despite the pain, this girl showed remarkable strength because she knew each surgery will take her a step closer to gaining her old life back.
Dr. Grossman helped Zubaida look normal again. Her transformation was incredible. Not only he changed her life and gave her a second chance, but he and his wife enrolled her to the local school where she learned to speak English in just 12 weeks time.
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Believe it or not, Zubaida could run, dance, and sing again. Her heart was filed with delight and enormous gratitude for the doctor and his team.
After the time spent in America, it was time for her to get back home to Afghanistan, with the promise that she would come to visit her doctor again. He, on the other hand, said his house is always open for Zubaida who can go to America whenever she wants.
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Take a look at the incredible story in the video below. This is definitely worth sharing with your family and friends.
Thinking of all those shows from the 60’s and the 70’s, it’s safe to say they were very different from what we are offered on the TV program nowadays. Unlike these modern films, most of what was filmed in the past was promoting true life values and family life. The series Bonanza, which ran from 1959 until 1973 was one of them.
It told the story of a father, Ben Cartwright, and his sons Joe, Adam and Hoss and depicted their life on the ranch along with all the difficulties they were forced to overcome.
Bonanza was a much-loved show and the acting crew was adored by large audiences. One of the actors there was famous Pernell Roberts.
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Roberts was born in Waycross, Georgia in 1928. His father was a salesman at Dr. Pepper and Roberts showed great interest in music and acting from very early age. In 1946, he became part of the Marine Corps Band where he played tuba, and headed to Broadway once his service was over. From what he had to offer on stage, it wasn’t surprising he managed to make a name for himself in a short amount of time.
In 1958, Roberts signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and had his first debut in film in a “Desire Under the Elms”, starring Sophia Loren and Burl Ives.
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After that, he got the role of Adam in Bonanza, and the rest is history. Although he wasn’t fond of portraying that role, it stuck with him until the rest of his life and many know him from that series.
It was around 1965 when he left the show and left fans wondering where he was and what he was up to. According to his family, Roberts didn’t like the show’s concept because there was not much of a change in it.
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Speaking to New York Times, the actor himself said, ”I had six seasons of playing the eldest son on that show. Six seasons of feeling like a damned idiot, going around — me, like a middle-aged teenager, saying, ‘Yes, Pa,’ ‘No, Pa’ on cue. It was downright disgusting — such dialogue for a grown man. I felt I wasn’t being taken seriously as an actor, and that’s like death to one’s talent…Stuck as Adam Cartwright, I was only able to use about one-tenth of my ability.”
In 1965, he told Popular Culture, ”I feel I’m an aristocrat in my field of endeavor. My being part of Bonanza was like Isaac Stern sitting in with Lawrence Welk.” He believed the series limited his character and didn’t give him the chance to show all he could, so he didn’t see himself as part of it any longer.
What Roberts also disliked about Bonanza was there was the lack of black actors playing in the series. He was a huge supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and walked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the historic Selma to Montgomery march in 1965.
Johnny Gregory wrote of Roberts in the book Pernell Roberts Stories. “With fans on set of Bonanza, Pernell couldn’t be nicer. One day, at lunch two friends he’d invited to join his table were actually a pair of hitchhikers in their late teens that he’d met just a few hours before. They were on their way north, hoping to work in a lumber camp for the summer. At lunch, Pernell willingly signed autographs at the boy’s request, and patiently and politely answered the fan-type questions they asked him. There was certainly no aloofness whatsoever in his manner, and when the boys had to continue on their way after lunch, he heartily wished them good luck in the search for jobs.”
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From 1979 until 1986, Roberts played in the CBS drama series Trapper John, M.D. after which he left Hollywood.
Roberts was married four times and only had one child, son Chris, with his first wife Vera Mowry who a professor at Washington State University. Unfortunately, Chris lost his life in 1989 after being involved in a motorcycle accident.
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The actor who captured the hearts of millions Americans and who was one of the most charming faces and characters on TV was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and passed away three years later, in 2010.
“The cool, bright face that didn’t ask for anything, that simply existed, waiting – it was an empty face he thought; a face that could change with any wind of expression. One could dream into it anything. It was like a beautiful empty house waiting for carpets and pictures. It had all possibilities – it could become a palace or a brothel.” This is how Erich Maria Remarque spoke of beautiful Marlene Dietrich, the German-born actress who changed Hollywood forever.
Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich on Dec 27, 1901 in Berlin, she decided to combine her two names and started calling herself Marlene when she was 11. Her beauty and talent for singing and acting were more than enough for director Josef von Sternberg to fall for her charm and make her one of the greatest stars ever born.
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The moment von Sternberg spotted her at a cabaret show, he sent Marlene’s test screening footage to Paramount Studios, and they hurried to offer her a contract. That meant that Marlene was leaving Europe to pursue the American dream. At the time she was discovered, gorgeous Marlene was married to film production assistant Rudolph Sieber and had her daughter Maria Riva.
During the 1920, she was already a huge star in Germany, and it was now the time for the whole world to hear of her.
“Marlene Dietrich is no ordinary woman; her ability to enrapture our jury of peers is remarkable,” Von Sternberg wrote in his autobiography Fun in a Chinese Laundry.
“Her constant praise is rated as one of her admirable virtues – by others, not by me. She has never ceased to proclaim that I taught her everything. Among the many things I did not teach her was to be garrulous about me.”
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Marlene’s first big role in the States was that in legendary movie Morocco where she starred alongside Gary Cooper. This role brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. It’s safe to say that each movie which followed was only popular because she was part of it.
Speaking of her famous mother, Maria Riva, who is now 95, wrote in her book Marlene Dietrich – My Mother from 1992, “Marlene Dietrich the film star was always just the person in the mirror, but never her real self. She was a totally normal schizophrenic.”
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Marlene’s impact on Hollywood was bigger than anyone could ever imagine. She was a trendsetter who “ruled” how everyone would dress and how they’d live. Celebrities looked up to her lifestyle, her clothes, her make-up, and felt the urge to follow her every step.
When it came to the way she dressed, Marlene once said, “I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men. If I dressed for myself I wouldn’t bother at all. Clothes bore me. I’d wear jeans. I adore jeans, I get them in a public store – men’s, of course; I can’t wear women’s trousers, I cant remember when I last got a new pair. They last so long and get better and better. But I dress for the profession. I get my clothes in Hollywood and Paris, and if I can’t come to Paris, I wait.”
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Her popularity made her homeland, Germany, ask from her to return home and continue her career there. But talented Marlene saw her life in Hollywood and got American citizenship. That led to her films to be banned in Germany.
Marlene hated how her native country treated the Jews and spoke openly against Hitler. She even created a special fund to help Jews escape Germany during the war and entertained American troops for what she was given the US Medal of Freedom.
″I felt myself responsible for the war which Hitler had caused and I wanted to help bring it to a close as soon as possible,″ she wrote in her memoirs, Marlene Dietrich, My Life, published in 1979.
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In the period between the 50’s and the 70’s, Marlene worked as a cabaret artist. Her on-stage performances were remarkably dazzling to the extent that she was described by great author Ernest Hemingway as “If she had nothing more than her voice, she could break your heart with it.”
At the age of 73, Marlene broke her leg prior to a concert in Australia and that was the end of her career.
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Marlene spent the last years of her life in Paris, but barely left her apartment. In 1984, film director Maximillian Schell made a documentary, Marlene, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and a number of awards. Marlene refused to be filmed for it, but she did agree to speak.
Marlene Dietrich passed away in her Paris apartment in May, 1992, at 90 years old of “old age.” Before she died, she made a final call to friend David Bret, biographer, and said, “I have called to say that I love you, and now I may die.”
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This iconic actress’ style, glamour, and beauty will live forever. She truly was one-of-a-kind.
Kristin Pitzen, a radical leftist teacher working at Back Bay High School, Orange County, California, enraged a huge number of parents as well as people from all over the country after she posted a video on TikTok explaining how she forced the kids pledge allegiance to the LGBT rainbow flag she put in her classroom before taking the Star-Spangled Banner down.
In the video, she could be seen laughing as she’s speaking of the incident. The school, however, didn’t find her action funny. On the contrary, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District removed Pitzen from the classroom as an investigation regarding the incident is being carried out.
“A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern,” the official account for the district stated. “Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff. We take this matter with extreme seriousness and are investigating and addressing it.”
Teacher mocks the American Flag and suggests to students they can say the Pledge of Allegiance to the pride flag: pic.twitter.com/1QTS5xjPln
In the one-minute video, the teacher explains that the American flag had made her feel “uncomfortable.”
“My kid today goes, ‘Hey, it’s kind of weird that we just stand and we say it to nothing.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh well, I gotta find it. I’m working on it. I got you,’” Pitzen says in the video while laughing. “In the meantime, I tell this kid, ‘We do have a flag in the class that you can pledge your allegiance to,’” she continues.
“And he like, looks around and goes, ‘Oh, that one?’” she says as she point the camera towards the rainbow flag.
The parents of the kids from Pitzen’s classroom, as well as other members of the community, decided to express their anger and disapproval of the teacher’s act by decorating the school area with American flags. They also included rainbow flags in an attempt to spread a message that they don’t have anything against the LGBTQ community, they only want the Star and Stripes to be respected as expected.
A personal post by a teacher about the American flag is causing alarm/concern. Respecting our flag is a value we instill in students and is an expectation of our staff. We take this matter with extreme seriousness and are investigating and addressing it.
The follow up story was shared on TikTok by the same user that shared the video of Pitzen.
“I’m in full support of the Pride community, but I don’t compare the Pride flag to the American flag — they’re apples and oranges,” Stephanie Cox, one of the mothers who helped spread a huge American flag on Monday explained.
“Have the Pride flag, but we’re not saying the Pledge of Allegiance to it. That’s for the flag of the United States of America,” she added.
Another woman, Julieanne Papa, said: “We live in a free country, so people can do what they want, but they should be respectful of others. It’s like they’re pushing their own agenda on these kids, and it’s their personal view, nothing they should be teaching in school.”
Back Bay High School, where Kristin Pitzen worked, was decorated in American flags by community members. Patriots 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/A1vAO3NZcy
Newport-Mesa school board President Karen Yelsey said she was very disappointed and outraged especially because this comes at a time when the nation is still mourning the loss of the 13 soldiers who lost their lives in the Kabul bombing.
Many times, even the tiniest acts of kindness can go a long way, and although those who do good deeds don’t really expect anything in return, paying them back must feel great.
It was September 2, 2018, when a woman named Daryn Sturch from Chili, Indiana, was on the road with her daughter. As they were driving, they came across an accident on the road. Being a nurse, Daryn knew she needed to get out of her car and provide help to the injured passengers. She ran towards them as fast as she could and did all in her power to keep them awake until ambulance arrived.
“I told my daughter I need to help and ran up to assist,” Daryn recalled as speaking to WRTV. “I learned later that the victims were affiliated with a group called Miwaukee Iron.”
“I stayed with them and did the best I could to triage them and keep them awake and calm,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Eager to learn if everyone was safe and sound, Daryn got in touch with the bikers through their Facebook group. Luckily, they all survived and were doing great. The best thing is that they all remained very good friends.
One day, around a year after the accident, the bikers decided to do something for Daryn and her daughter Bryanne. Namely, they learned that 8-year-old Bryanne decided to hold a lemonade stand in order to raise money for equipment for her horse. The bikers Daryn and told her they will be there for some lemonade on September 15.
Believe it or not, around 30 bikers got in a queue waiting to get a glass from Bryanne. It truly was a sight to behold. Needless to say, the girl was over the moon to have so many costumers that day.
“[Bryanne] was so happy and surprised, and afterwards she told me she thought there were nice people in the world,” Daryn said. “They came through and made her day.”
Some of them were the victims of the accident that took place a year prior and Daryn was glad to see them.
It looks like that despite their rough looks, most bikers are just gentle giants.
“I think it’s a perfect example of how just because you don’t look the same way or dress the same way or have the same hobbies or interests doesn’t mean we don’t have the same core values inside us,” Daryn said. “We shouldn’t make assumptions about people, we should just love each other.”
PE teacher Byron “Tanner” Cross was placed on paid administrative leave after he took a stand during a board meeting back in May and refused to refer to the transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns. Among the rest, Cross said in his speech: “I’m a teacher, but I serve God first, and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it’s against my religion.”
Once he was forbidden to step on the school’s ground, he sued Loudoun County Public Schools for violating his right to free speech and free exercise of religion as granted under the Virginia Constitution.
After Loudoun County Circuit Court ruled in favor of Cross, now the Virginia Supreme Court has done the same.
“Cross was opposing a policy that might burden his freedoms of expression and religion by requiring him to speak and interact with students in a way that affirms gender transition,” the 14-page justices wrote, as reported by The Washington Post. “Although the [Loudoun school] Board may have considered Cross’ speech to be ‘a trifling and annoying instance of individual distasteful abuse of a privilege,’ we believe Cross has a strong claim to the view that his public dissent implicates ‘fundamental societal values’ deeply embedded in our Constitutional Republic.”
Good news! The Virginia Supreme Court rejected Loudoun County Public Schools’ appeal, affirming the Circuit Court’s decision to reinstate Leesburg Elementary School teacher Tanner Cross.
Cross is now again able to do his job as a PE teacher as his lawsuit proceeds through county circuit court.
“Good news! The Virginia Supreme Court rejected Loudoun County Public Schools’ appeal, affirming the Circuit Court’s decision to reinstate Leesburg Elementary School teacher Tanner Cross,” Alliance Defending Freedom Vice President Michael Friel tweeted. The ADF is known for getting involved in lawsuits that question the rights of transgender people.
As reported by Fox News, Tyson Langhofer, ADF senior counsel, wrote in a statement that “teachers shouldn’t be forced to promote ideologies that are harmful to their students and that they believe are false, nor should they be silenced for commenting at a public meeting.”
For more on the story go to the video below. You can take a look at Cross’ speech from May this year here.
A lot of parents have trouble accepting the fact that their children grew up and are no longer their little babies. And occasion when reality hits hard is when the kids are about to leave the family home and go to college where they experience what it feels like to be independent.
David and Whitney Scott of Arkansas made the most of it when their daughter Emma headed to college this year and decided to play around with her and make some incredibly precious memories along the way.
Being professional photographers, David and Whitney knew that Emma’s reaction to their surprise would end up with some cool photos, but what they didn’t know was that those photos will go viral for all the right reasons.
“As Emma heads to Harding University next week to begin her Freshman year, Whitney was looking for something for her dorm room that would convey love, provide reassurance as possibly embarrass her to her core,” David posted on Facebook on August 11. “I think we found it. And yes, she’s thrilled.”
Along with this caption came a hilarious photo of Emma posing next to an enormous blanket with a life-size photo of her parents and a pillow with her brother’s and her dog’s faces printed on it.
Emma probably expected something like this because her parents have always “teased” her, like when they yelled “I love you” at her from the school drop-off line. Of course, she doesn’t get angry at them, on the contrary, she loves their spirits.
“Since before she was born, we have looked forward to the teenage years when we could have a little fun embarrassing her with all our parental love,” Whitney told Fox News.
“It’s done,” David posted on August 18. “Our sweet girl is off on a new adventure at Harding University. It was a long day of travel, unpacking and decorating, but that’s the way we wanted it. Every moment is a blessing. She made it! We made/will make it. Most importantly, that blanket and pillowcase made it!”
Although Emma rolled her eyes at the unusual present, her mom and dad say she secretly loves it.
One thing is certain, this girl is lucky to have David and Whitney as her parents. They rock, don’t they?
Why people engrave epitaphs on their loved ones’ gravestones is because they want to leave words of wisdom, share the most important values of the deceased, or simply summarize their life. We have seen unusual gravestones over the years, but that of a couple named Kathryn “Kay” and Wade Andrews is not only uncommon, but truly beautiful too.
During her life, Kay used to make her special fudge for her family for every occasion, whether it was a celebration of some sort or just a quiet and relaxing day at home.
Source: Tumblr – Peter Morwood
When her husband died in 2000, she and her children decided to engrave images which reflected milestones from his life on the gravestone. That is when Kay decided to share with her family how her gravestone should look like. She asked them to place her famous fudge recipe on it. When she died, her five kids did exactly that.
Now everyone who visits her and Wade’s grave can see the famous recipe.
Source: YouTube Screenshot – FOX 13 News Utah
In case you wonder what it takes to make the perfect fudge, according to Kay’s gravestone, that’s two squares of chocolate and two tablespoons of butter. Once the butter melts on low heat add in a cup of milk and bring it to a boil. Next, add three cups of sugar to the milk and butter, a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Then beat the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency.
For the chocolate, cook it to a softball stage and place it onto a marble slab. Next, simply “cool, beat, and eat,” exactly as Kay’s gravestone says.
Source: YouTube Screenshot – FOX 13 News Utah
Kay and Wade fell in love with each other the moment they laid eyes on one another. At the time, she was studying fashion design in New York and he was serving in the Air Forces. And although they were forced to be at different places, they knew they were meant to be.
When the war ended, they got married and raised five beautiful children together.
Source: YouTube Screenshot – FOX 13 News Utah
Their legacy will live forever through their gravestone which describes the lives they lead.
