Despite the disbelievers and doubters, in July 1995 a special couple said “I do”. There were many that thought that they didn’t have a hope of a happy future together, or could even stay a married couple.Maryanne and Tommy Pilling defied the odds and are now a wonderful example of love and how the trueness of love really does stand the test of time, defying all the people that predicted it wouldn’t last, years ago, and wouldn’t support them.After a whopping 22 years after they were married, Tommy and Maryanne are still together and live next to Maryanne’s mom in Essex, her sister lives just a few houses down the road and the happy couple don’t even argue!
What seems like a short time ago, this amazing marriage nearly didn’t come true. Tommy 59, and Maryanne 46, have overcome many challenges in their lives, both having dealt with a share of rude, mean people.Their stories of love began at a local training centre for people with learning difficulties. Its was so cute how sweet and adorable their relationship was. After just 18 months of dating each other, Tommy knew that Maryanne was his one and only love.
Tommy proposed with a toy ring bought from a vending machine, but only after he had first asked permission to marry her from her mom!
They received their blessing from Maryanne’s mom, but regretfully many others didn’t approve.
Linda Newman, Maryanne’s sister, had told everyone that their mom received “a lot of flak” for supporting them in their marriage. Thinking about how many marriages today end in divorce, theirs is definitely a love story that has stood the tests of time, without a doubt.
The relationship is pure because they don’t understand emotions of hate, their beautiful church ceremony, surrounded by friends and family showed them the love they received.
Tommy went to the jewelry shop with Maryanne’s mom where she helped buy a “proper ring”, said Linda. She told the New York Post that ever since she was a little girl, Maryanne dreamed of having a big white wedding. “That’s exactly what she had. It was a beautiful day.
Holding hands strolling down the street that make a great statement, but still some people stare, assuming that people with down syndrome and learning difficulties shouldn’t get married.
Also though, there are many well wishers who are inspired, especially people with down syndrome children, we hope that they can also fall in love and live happy lives too!
Just by looking at their wedding photos you can really tell that they share a deep and meaningful relationship right to this current day, Linda has shared their stories on Facebook and Instagram too!
They love one another dearly, respect one another and are completely honest.
My wedding was the best day of my life. I was shocked when Tommy proposed, but I didn’t have to think twice about saying yes. Tommy and I never argue. I love my husband very much. He is my best friend.
To set the scene, a man walked into the Denny’s restaurant with a very odd request, he in fact said just this:
Can I have a waitress who is a single mother?
Now, this caused a few moments of confusion but to humor the man he was indeed sent a waitress called Crystal. He sat in his seat and watched the other customers for around a couple of hours, but it was what he did next that left the staff completely dumbfounded.
Today I met an angel. You came into a Denny’s I work at in Utah. You asked me, ‘Can I have a waitress who is a single mother?’
I thought it was very odd, but I sat you in Crystal’s section. You sat there for 2 hours just watching people.
7 families came in and ate while you were there and you paid every one of their bills, over $1,000 you paid for people you didn’t even know.
I asked, ‘Why did you do that?’ You simply said, ‘Family is everything, I’ve lost all mine.’
Looking into your eyes while you said that made me tear up (It’s why I walked away so quickly) as soon as I got in the back I broke down in tears because your eyes had so much pain in them.
I just wanted to let you know, the waitress Crystal that you requested was living in a shelter with her son until she was able to save up enough to get a place.
Your bill was $21.34 and you left her a $1,500 tip, because of you she gets her new place next week, because of you 7 families ate for free.
Crystal told me she prayed the night before for a miracle and God sent you.
You left before any of us could say thank you, I hope you read this because you’re truly an amazing person and you stole the hearts of every one of us here.
Thank you.
The Storey that was shared touched everyone who read it, people shared their thoughts and commented on the post.One person wrote:
The world is a sad and scary place sometimes, and you wonder how we got here. A simple kind act or a grand gesture,it doesn’t matter,what matters is love and treating people with respect and kindness. When I leave the world I want to know I made a difference in peoples lives.
Another commented:
You have a heart of gold and some young lady will be so blessed to have you in her life…
Yet another said:
Hope you start a family of your own and have many blessings! Stories like this restore my faith in mankind!!!!!
In the Great United States of America being a Police Officer comes with many unexpected challenges and there is a narrow rope to walk between your obligatory duties and doing what is right in some situations.
Under the constant watchful eye of the media, like being in a fishbowl, the job has become more and more difficult in recent years.
There are too many people who are ready to hurt and be violent towards police officers, who just want to do their jobs and go home, and many who want return home to their own family safely at the end of each day.
Marsha Lohens, a member of the police force, has found her true calling, being part of the police force!
The amazing feeling of capturingthe bad people of this world and helping others in need is her passion, helping those around her when things go wrong, by all accounts, she was put here on earth by a higher force!She patrolled her jurisdiction in Charleston, South Carolina, although one of her most recent encounters was so incredibly powerful that she felt obliged to share it on Facebook.
I was debating whether or not to add this photo because I didn’t want to seem like I was looking for recognition. I don’t care for that. But I think this picture my partner took is too powerful to keep hidden.
And I care to show the good in police work.
This is Priscilla and she is a well-known member of our community. She chooses to sit in an old rotting chair under a bridge every day. Her legs are swollen three times their normal size. She’s mentally ill. She will curse you up and down if she doesn’t like you but she is the sweetest human ever if you get on her good side.
Believe me I spent many of our initial encounters asking her not to call me the ‘B’ word.
I check on her regularly because she has an infection on her foot. The flesh is rotting away, it seeps liquid, and the bugs are constantly inside of it. She refuses to go to the hospital although I have called an ambulance for her several times.
I have begged her to let me take her to the hospital but she’s so stubborn and I can’t force her.
The other day I brought her bactine spray to hopefully help heal her foot and keep the bugs away. She was almost crying because she was so scared it would sting, so I had to spray it for her. I brought her hot cheetos and beef sticks, but she proceeded to yell at me for not getting her pizza.
I absolutely adore this woman, y’all.
She’s one of the most amazing souls I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. But as I was kneeling there cleaning her foot, I couldn’t help but think of the song ‘Who Will Be Jesus To Her?’
Sometimes it feels as if the whole world is against my Blue Family. We are hated and wished to be dead. We are called racist murderers, robots and pigs. Yet, out of the public’s eye, we get on our knees in the dirt to show love by washing the feet of those others would reject.
Moments like these are the reason I am so passionate about what I do. I have never felt closer to Jesus than when I don my uniform and serve those who just need to be loved. God put me on this earth to be a police officer. And though we are despised and rejected, my heart remains at peace because I know I’m doing God’s work.
As is every man and woman I proudly serve beside. This is the side of police work you don’t see. This is our every day shift. Don’t forget that we are human, and we are called to serve as well as protect.
UPDATE: I went back and saw Priscilla again today because I was going to bring her medicine, and she had a bandage around her foot. I was informed that for the past month (unbeknownst to me) Charleston County EMS has been making daily checks on Priscilla while I have only been checking on her once or twice a week.
I didn’t know because she takes her bandage off by the time I get on shift because it ‘gets dirty.’ But they provide her with more medical care and attention than I am able to. They also feed and clothe her (today she told me ‘don’t I look sexy in my new dress?’)
I don’t know exactly who responds to her, but they are the ones who deserve the recognition. They are the real representations of Jesus and should be thanked a hundred times more than I. If anyone knows who is assigned to her, please let me know.
Officer Lohnes wasn’t obliged to pull over or help Priscilla, but she knew her work was a true calling, and God’s work!
Looking after Priscilla was a big job but thankfully there were other kind souls also looking after her too, with their efforts all put together, she will get better and better!Without the work of our men and women in blue, the world would truly be a sadder place.
Darci Miller had unfortunately suffered traumatic and severe burns back in 2015, but stepping forward to when she met an orangutan, thankfully someone was filming for the world to see!What is completely amazing is that when Rocky the orangutan met Darci for the first time, he knew exactly how he should react. Orangutans are incredibly intelligent and very good at reading us humans and our emotions.
After many surgeries Darci has received over the years she has had many white knuckle emotional experiences, but she has learnt that getting motivated and out of the house, especially as a burns survivor, is not just necessary, but absolutely vital for her emotional well being.
So, with this in mind she and her fiancé joined each other together at the Indiana Zoo for the day with the two great bonuses of Exotic animals and the glorious sunshine could it get any better?
As it happens Darci had no clue that she would have an experience that would completely change her life outlook forever.The very second Darci entered the orangutans exhibit, Rocky, being so curious, came straight over, and seemed to be very interested in the bandage that covered Darci’s neck and shoulder.
Then things took a turn that really was astounding, Rocky pointed to the area, curious, like children would be curious…
Hesitating at first Darci wondered if the orangutan had some level of understanding that she had pain there, under the bandage. Rocky was insistent so Darci slowly peeled off the bandage to show Rocky under the bandage.
I think that this really does show that primates like Rocky really do understand more that with think!
See the amazing and emotional video and feel the compassion and intelligence that orangutans can show, see the expression Rocky shows.
https://youtu.be/PhrEBhF-c4Q
Marc Mero was known in the business as “Johnny B Badd”, his long wrestling and boxing career made him a very unlikely candidate for motivational speaking, even more so an amazing motivational speaker!
Marc travels all around the United States giving lectures about WCW and WWE since he retired from the leagues of a professional wrestler.
YoutubeHe has admirably also created a non-profit organization which focuses on the fight against bullying, called Champion of Choices.
The amazing work Marc does extends to all ages and focuses on positive thinking, and making the very best positive life choices as well as love and caring.YOutube
The now retired “bad boy” of wrestling decided, in honour of Mother’s Day this past May, to deliver a sincere and powerful message to 6th, 7th and 8th graders in their school auditorium.
Focusing on somewhat dark and deep themes of death, regret, love and forgiveness the young growing people listening were deeply moved to tears.YOutube
By explaining the relationship between himself and his mom he tells a storey of being embarrassed by his mother’s support during his teen years and explaining how he was annoyed by her non stop checking up on him when he only wanted to drink and party.
Marc continues the stories about when he received the fateful news about his mom, he was at a wrestling tournament in Japan when he got the news of his mother’s death. He says:
I just threw the phone down. I ran out of my hotel room. I took the elevator to the lobby. When the doors opened up, I just ran out in the street … I walked down the middle of the street in Hiroshima, Japan, and I remember looking up and I remember saying, Mom, I am so sorry.
It was in this precise moment that he started to cry, the emotions of the moment grew as he then elaborates about his mother’s funeral saying:
I was so nervous to walk up to her casket, so I just stood way in the back. I kept thinking to myself, Mom, please wake up. Please, get up.
His whole life was about being a millionaire and “winning the race”, but since then he has had a bigger realization of the real value of life and family and how quickly you can lose something you didn’t realize you had until you lost it!
He left the teens with a final message:
I no longer live in time, I live in moments. And it’s not what’s in your pocket that matters, it’s what’s in your heart that truly matters. Love is just a word until somebody comes along and gives it meaning. You, you’re the meaning.
Plastic water bottles are so common nowadays and it’s incredibly important to recycle them responsibly, but who would have thought that it was so important to remove them from your vehicle, and your life may depend on it!A man from Idaho learned his lesson when that fateful discarded plastic water bottle in his car didn’t just make the car untidy, but it can really cause serious damage. How possibly can a water bottle be so dangerous you say? After all isn’t water good for you?
That innocent water bottle acts just like a magnifying glass, it can concentrate the power of the sun into a fine beam of light that can start a fire frighteningly quick! All of a sudden you’re back seat or flooring are on fire, and when the fire starts it really is surprising how quickly it can engulf the whole car!
Idaho Power’s employee had a glimpse of this scarey experience and so the company decided to raise awareness and share the story on Facebook. Many people were not aware of this danger and the video has had 1000’s of views and 100’s of shares!
The technician, called Dioni Amuchastegu, was in his truck on a lunch break when he noticed smoke out of the corner of his eye, but he was unaware of the true gravity of the situation. As he looked carefully he saw the water bottle concentrating the sunlight to the point of burning the passenger seat.
Light was just shining through the driver’s side window and shone right through (the water bottle) and burned those two spots in the seat right there.
The two burnt and blackened holes in the technicians seat show that without a doubt this unexpected accident was the result of simply leaving a water bottle laying in the vehicle.
Many people have commented about the Facebook post and this unexpected occurrence, before this I bet none of them had even considered this could happen, a water bottle starting a fire in your vehicle, who would have thought it right?
Moving between two homes for the remainder of their young years, like things couldn’t get any worse between quarreling parents, but then they start dating! Love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage? But, divorce rates in America over the last few decades are around a staggering 50 percent!As emotions escalate between husband and wife it’s the children who feel the repercussions of a shattered world around them. That, and when the parents start dating as if things could really get any worse?
Well, we don’t normally hear about or even see broken families that are perfectly happy, however, in this case, there are really amazing stories from a mom, divorced, who has discovered a great way to cope with ex-husband’s new girlfriend.The past was not how Brittney Johnson had envisaged it would be, her marriage with her hubby had come to an all but abrupt end, but gifted them a beautiful daughter Payton, some small reward for their time together maybe.
Brittney recently wrote on facebook and gave a shout out to the perfectly unlikely father in her daughter’s life, daddy’s newest girlfriend, called Kayla. So, starting with such a simple, however, profound question:
“To all of the mothers out there who throw a fit when another woman treats your child as her own …why isn’t that exactly what you want?”
Now, this is plenty, meaningful, sincere words to leave a lot of us speechless right? After all, there really is no good enough motive, besides sour grapes and vengeance, but, it doesn’t stop there.
Brittney continues to elaborate, throwing a spanner in the works, she says that all her prayers have been answered in the type of woman her ex-hubby is dating:
“I prayed one night for the type of woman my daughter’s father would be with, knowing that she would be raised in two homes.”
“Kayla has been a gift of so much more than I could have hoped for.”
Facebook/Brittney JohnsonBack to Kayla, who is a nursing student, and is a great example to their daughter Payton. Every single day Payton sees Kayla working tirelessly towards her goal, on top of giving love and consideration towards the family.
Brittney said:
“… I’m raising a strong girl, a smart girl, and a sweet girl. And I want nothing more than for her to be surrounded with role models who are exactly that.”
“Thank you Kayla for showing Payton how to chase her dreams, how to work hard and stay up late to study for a test.”
“Thank you for still making time to ride her bike with her and make her mac and cheese even in one of the stressful times of your life.”
Kayla had even bought a nurses uniform for little Payton so they could play nurses together, this surely is a huge sincere gesture in many ways, and also a way to make a proud mother of her little girl.
Brittney went on to say about Kayla:
“You’re a true role model and an amazing bonus mom and we are so proud of you!”
Facebook/Brittney JohnsonBrittney’s powerful words, as parting advice, seem to be as sincere as the question she asked at the start of her post.
So she asks all parents in a similar position:
“If you’re co-parenting, and seeing your child doing things like this doesn’t bring a smile to your face, reconsider what’s truly best for your child.”
“Payton has more people to love her this way, and what more could a mother ever want for her child?”
“Being best friends with me AND being best friends with Kayla, is exactly where P deserves to be. It takes a village, and I happen to love mine.”The message Brittney posted has gone viral, shared by almost 50,000 times with 100’s of thousands of people reacting to it on Facebook, what a powerful message don’t you think?
A Russian Man by the name of Slava, whilst driving his car one day saw something weird on the road in front of him. It was a cold snowy day being the third day of January (2017), he was reported to say;
I thought it was an animal and it must be freezing in this weather
The frozen fur ball was in fact a kitten crying for help, but cars kept passing without paying any attention to it. Slava said;
It was very cold, so I wrapped her up in a towel and brought her back to my car. I turned up the heat to full capacity to help remove the frost on her coat
Slava then took the fur ball of a kitten home with him and dug out some warm soft blankets, a lamp, and a small radiator, the cat who he decided to call “Nika” was showing her appreciation, she could not stop pushing herself against Slava affectionately, purring contently and constantly.He took her to the vet to get her checked out properly and unfortunately she had to have her tail amputated!
She knew that we were trying to help. She was patient, did not complain and was very sweet the whole time
Nika really is one happy content cat with an amazing home with Slava, who dotes over her, and what an amazing day they both found each other. It just goes to show that a cold winter’s day can ultimately bring joy in the most unexpected ways!Slava, a Russian man saw something in the road while he was driving…“I thought it was an animal and it must be freezing in this weather”Many cars passed but Slava was the only one to discover it was a kitty cat!“It was very cold, so I wrapped her up in a towel and brought her back to my car”Then, took her home with him and dug out some warm soft blankets, a lamp, and a small radiatorThe cat he called Nika saw the vet and they amputated her frostbitten tail“She knew that we were trying to help. She was patient, did not complain and was very sweet the whole time”Nika really is one happy content cat with an amazing home with Slava, who dotes over her!It just goes to show that a cold winter’s day can ultimately bring joy in the most unexpected ways!Watch the video here:
Yet another said:
After many surgeries Darci has received over the years she has had many white knuckle emotional experiences, but she has learnt that getting motivated and out of the house, especially as a burns survivor, is not just necessary, but absolutely vital for her emotional well being.
So, with this in mind she and her fiancé joined each other together at the Indiana Zoo for the day with the two great bonuses of Exotic animals and the glorious sunshine could it get any better?
As it happens Darci had no clue that she would have an experience that would completely change her life outlook forever.
The very second Darci entered the orangutans exhibit, Rocky, being so curious, came straight over, and seemed to be very interested in the bandage that covered Darci’s neck and shoulder.
Then things took a turn that really was astounding, Rocky pointed to the area, curious, like children would be curious…
Hesitating at first Darci wondered if the orangutan had some level of understanding that she had pain there, under the bandage. Rocky was insistent so Darci slowly peeled off the bandage to show Rocky under the bandage.
I think that this really does show that primates like Rocky really do understand more that with think!
See the amazing and emotional video and feel the compassion and intelligence that orangutans can show, see the expression Rocky shows.
https://youtu.be/PhrEBhF-c4Q
“I thought it was an animal and it must be freezing in this weather”
Many cars passed but Slava was the only one to discover it was a kitty cat!
“It was very cold, so I wrapped her up in a towel and brought her back to my car”
Then, took her home with him and dug out some warm soft blankets, a lamp, and a small radiator
The cat he called Nika saw the vet and they amputated her frostbitten tail
“She knew that we were trying to help. She was patient, did not complain and was very sweet the whole time”
Nika really is one happy content cat with an amazing home with Slava, who dotes over her!
It just goes to show that a cold winter’s day can ultimately bring joy in the most unexpected ways!
Watch the video here:
