Back in April, 2018, the life of one family changed forever. As the Clemens were driving home from vacation, about a half-mile south of Sterling City, one Chevrolet Tahoe driver lost control of her vehicle and crushed into the family’s Chevrolet Suburban. Unfortunately, Jim Alan Clemens, 31, his wife Karisa Brianne Clemens, 29, and their 2-month-old daughter Juliana lost their lives, and the rest of the children, Angela, 8, Zachary, 5, Wyatt, 4, Nicholas, 2, were left fighting for their lives.
Jim and Karisa Clemens Memorial
They all suffered serious injuries. Angela was in a coma due to severe brain damage, but she was able to wake up. Now, she started school again and is able to read and sing. However, no one is certain if the injuries will affect her life in the future.
Zachary broke his back. After numerous surgeries he can now walk and run again, although he has to wear a vast.
Little Wyatt suffered multiple strokes and was paralyzed on his left side, but managed to recuperate.
After Angela woke up from coma, she and Zachary held hands, and that image was so impactful that people said it spread hope.
The kids’ great aunt, Teresa Burrell, was the one to share the photo. She was also the one who set fundraiser for the orphaned children who needed finances, love, and prayers more than ever before.
Jim and Karisa Clemens Memorial
“All 3 kids that are receiving medical care at Cook Children’s are now on the same rehab floor and were finally reunited a few days ago! Wyatt is doing so well. He suffered paralysis on his left side, but through PT has regained strength and movement. He can walk with a spotter, and they are having a hard time convincing him he shouldn’t be running! He is a great comfort and support to his older siblings,” Burrell wrote on Facebook.
“Zach is struggling. He has had trouble eating and they have given him a feeding tube to make sure he is receiving adequate nutrition. He is also fighting off infection, and as a result has had a high fever for the past few days. He is in a lot of pain – both physical and emotional – and is our greatest concern at this point.
“Angela continues to improve. She is talking more and more each day and is able to read fluently for short stints at a time. She took her first wheelchair ride outside yesterday to check the weather and was glad to be in the sunshine. They are still working on managing her pain as her legs are healing from severe injuries.
“As can be expected, all 3 children — especially Zach and Angela — are struggling with grief as they are coming to accept the loss of their parents and baby sister.”
Jim and Karisa Clemens Memorial
The entire community gathered together to show these children they are not alone. We truly hope their future is bright.
Children can be mean towards one another, so many teens find school a dreading place where they need to look impeccable in order not to get teased. Most are self-aware and tend to fit in with the crowd and that can easily lead them to trouble.
An Indiana middle schooler student named Anthony Moore broke the dress code after he refused to take his hat off during lesson time. Teachers demanded that he get rid of the hat, but he wasn’t about to listen to what they asked him to do.
After speaking with the dean, he was taken to the principal’s office, a place where no student wants to be. But as Anthony expected to be scolded for being defiant, the principal, Jason Smith, who seems to understand students quite well, opted for a different approach. He started talking to Anthony in a friendly manner because he could sense there was something more behind his behavior.
Source: YouTube/ WTHR
“I sat across from him and asked, ‘What’s wrong? Why are you being defiant, why are you refusing to take your hat off? It’s a pretty simple request,’” Smith said. “And he explained that his parents took him to get a haircut and he didn’t like the results.”
As it turned out, Anthony hated his hairline and was willing to face the consequences of wearing his hat at school if that meant his classmates wouldn’t make fun of his disastrous haircut.
Smith was aware the student was worried about social acceptance, so he made him an offer.
“I told him, ‘Look, I’ve been cutting hair since I was your age,’ and I showed him pictures of my son’s haircuts that I did and some of me cutting hair in college. And I said, ‘If I run home and get my clippers and fix your line, will you go back to class?’” Smith said. “He hesitated but then he said yes.”
Source: YouTube/ WTHR
Smith rushed home to take his clippers although the weather was tough and snowy. In the meantime, Anthony’s parents were contacted by a school’s representative who explained to them the entire situation and asked for a permission for their son’s hair to be cut properly. Not only did they agree but were thrilled by how the principal handled the situation.
“He (Smith) handled it very well to keep him from getting in trouble at school,” Anthony’s mom Tawanda Johnson said. “I’m just glad that he was able to handle that without being put in in-school suspension.”
Source: YouTube/ WTHR
Smith knew exactly what Anthony was going through.
“He didn’t say straight out, but I feel like he didn’t want to be laughed at,” Smith said. “The barbershop and haircuts as Black males is very important in the community and looking your best and being sharp — it’s just a cultural aspect. Just from my being a Black male myself and coming through that culture and you know, I really think girls matter at that age, which [means] appearance then could matter. He was scared he was going to be laughed at and we were pretty sure no one would notice, but he was looking through his lens.”
Not everyone is good at dealing with young children and their problems, but Smith is one of those people who know how to show understanding and compassion for the students at his school. He is the kind person we all wish our children to have in their lives while dealing with insecurities at school.
For more on this heartwarming story check out the video below.
If you are thinking of going on vacation and leaving food in the freezer, this is an article you should not miss. Today we shares with you a simple trick that will tell you if it is safe to consume the food that you left in the freezer.
Sometimes when we’re away from home, the power goes off and we never know about it. However, this can cause food stored in the freezer to defrost and deteriorate.
One woman has came up with an ingenius trick on how we can now check if our refrigerators are still in optimal working condition – with just a single mug of water and a penny! With such an experiment, you’d never have to worry about having spoilt vegetables or fruits in your fridge again.
An idea developed by Sheila Pulanco Russell, she demonstrates a fridge-mug experiment with simple tap water. It is an extremely easy experiment – if the penny freezes, its a good sign – your fridge’s able to keep your groceries well-chilled and frozen. If it isn’t, it probably tells you that you’d need to buy a new refrigerator to prevent food spoilage – try this at home now!
Source: Sheila Pulanco Russell (Facebook)
In a Facebook post which quickly received hundreds of thousands of reactions and shares, Sheila explains how to proceed. She writes:
“For those of you that are evacuating from the coast, I just heard a great tip. It’s called the one cup tip. You put a cup of water in your freezer. Freeze it solid and then put a quarter on top of it and leave it in your freezer. That way when you come back after you’ve been evacuated you can tell if your food went completely bad and just refroze or if it stayed frozen while you were gone.
If the quarter has fallen to the bottom of the cup that means all the food defrosted and you should throw it out. But if the quarter is either on the top or in the middle of the cup then your food may still be ok. It would also be a great idea to leave this in your freezer all the time and if you lose power for any reason you will have this tip to fall back on.
If you don’t feel good about your food, just throw it out. The main thing is for all to be safe. Please SHARE this on your page. 😀”
In any case, if you’re not sure whether food is safe, throw it out. The most important thing in life is, and will always be, your health.
When someone experiences fame early in life, it can be either a good thing or something that leads to destruction. The reason why is because most children can’t cope with all the pressure from the media and being under the limelight.
Being a huge name in the film industry during the 50s changed the life of child actress Lauren Chapin forever. Before the age of 10, she was cast in the TV series Father Knows Best and appeared in 196 episodes of the 203 in the series. It was her mom Lauren who took her to audition together with Lauren’s brother Michael who read for the role of Bud in the same series.
“In fact, one day when he and Lauren were both reading, [producer] Mr. Rodney told me you might hit the jackpot and have two of your children in this series”. It turned out, however, that Michael looked too mature for the part,” Lauren’s mother recalled.
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Lauren couldn’t even read when the producers of the show decided to give her the role of Kathy “Kitten” Anderson, turning her into a child star who ended up winning five Junior Emmys for Best Child Actress.
Lauren starred alongside Robert Young, Elinor Donahue, and Jane Wyatt.
She remembers the years on the set as one of the best of her life. On her 12th birthday, the producers surprised Lauren with a trip to Disneyland. She went there with a friend of hers and the moment they arrived and stepped out of the car, even bigger surprise awaited them. Elvis Presley presented her with a cake and sang her “Happy Birthday.”
“We were so enamored with him. It was just amazing,” Lauren said. “I think the both of us were running fevers.”
Youtube/Manu Carneiro da Cunha
Everything seemed perfect in the life of Lauren, at least until the show that helped her rise to stardom was on. Unfortunately, once Father Knows Best was canceled, it was the start of the downfall of Lauren Chapin. As everyone saw her as Kathy from the show, she had a hard time finding a job and that affected her relationship with her mother.
“I couldn’t get a job; I’d been typecast as Kathy Anderson,” Lauren said. “The more I didn’t work, the more my mother drank, and the more belligerent I became, I started running away from home. I became an incorrigible child.
“I want to be married, have the piece of paper, the ring on the finger, and have a neat partnership.”
Youtube/Haveyouseenthis
Eventually, she ran away from home and married one of her classmates at the age of 16. The marriage only lasted 2 years. As time passed by, she replaced her depression medications with illegal substances and ended up in a mental institution.
“I saw these people walking around wearing diapers and baby bonnets and sucking from bottles, and I thought, “Oh my God, I’m in the nuthouse, and I’ll never get out,” she said in a 1983 interview with Reading Eagle.
“But they train you to give up all your identity and go back to the beginning. A lot of people don’t make it, but the ones who do, make it for life.”
Youtube/Laurenchapin
Luckily, after that dark period, she managed to regain control of her life. In 1989, she co-wrote the book Father Does Know Best: The Lauren Chapin Story, in which she wrote about her life on the television show and the horror that faced her when she left.
Lauren became a mother of two, son Matthew and daughter Summer.
“I know that Matthew and Summer are going to hear bad things about me from their friends. People can be so cruel sometimes. But, again, I have to trust Jesus to solve the problem,” Lauren said.
“I really can’t blame anyone but myself for the past,” she added. “And I can’t thank anyone but Jesus for the present and the future. My goal now is to spread His word and honor His name.”
Today, Lauren Chapin is 76 and works as a motivational speaker and is focused on helping others.
That life is unpredictable and full of surprises isn’t something we aren’t fully aware of. Many times, most of us have plans for the future, but things don’t always turn out as expected, and we find ourselves in situations we never imagined we could experience.
Liz Smith, director of nursing at Franciscan Children’s hospital in Brighton, Mass. has seen her siblings and friends getting married and having children, and that’s exactly what this 45-year-old woman wished herself. She knew deep down she would be a great mother one day, hopefully as loving and as dedicated as her late mother. Smith’s parents got divorced when she was 19, and she recalls how her mother would always make sure their home was filled with joy and laughter.
Source: Instagram
“My mom was a pediatric nurse who always put others first,” said Smith. “So I grew up wanting to be a nurse, too.”
Smith is the best aunt in the world for her 13 nieces and nephews and everyone agrees how this lady is the most caring person they’ve ever met. Smith’s sister, Elly Smith, says how her sister is a nurturer by nature and if given the chance to become a mother, she’d play that role just perfectly.
Smith believed that in vitro fertilization could help her conceive, but her health insurance wouldn’t cover the expensive treatment, and she couldn’t afford it either. Although she wanted children badly, she never considered fostering or adopting, until that serendipitous encounter with the 8-month-old Gisele, the girl with bright blue eyes and an angelic face.
(Photo) Liz Smith with her daughter Gisele, who was 9 months old when Smith brought her home from the hospital.
Smith first saw the sweet little baby while one of the nurses at work was wheeling her down the hall. Smith remembers asking, “Who’s this beautiful angel?” The answer she got, “Her name is Gisele” wouldn’t stop ringing in her head. She wouldn’t forget Gisele’s single soft brown curl either.
It appeared Gisele was transferred at the hospital where Smith worked when she was only 3 months old . She was born prematurely back in July 2016, and only weighted 2 pounds at birth. She experienced breathing problems as a result of her mother’s drug abuse during pregnancy. The poor baby had a feeding tube and not a single visitor during those long five months she spent at the hospital.
It was then that Smith learned how the state of Massachusetts and the social services were in search of a foster home for Gisele. And this woman who’s biggest wish was to be a mother knew that was it. She told herself, “I’m going to foster this baby. I’m going to be her mother.”
“I never imagined becoming a mom would be a challenge,” Smith said. “It’s a desire you can try to push away and fill with other distractions, but it never goes away.”
“Since the moment I met her, there was something behind her striking blue eyes capturing my attention,” she said. “I felt that I needed to love this child and keep her safe.”
Source: Instagram
“She was behind developmentally, and I wanted to get her out of the hospital and get her thriving,” Smith recalled.
In April 2017, Smith was given permission to take Gisele home. However, she was told how the state would do anything in their power to reunite the baby with her biological parents.
“Leaving the parking lot of the hospital with Gisele and a car full of baby stuff, I was in shock that it was happening,” said Smith.
Source: Instagram
She took some time off in order to take care of her new baby. Her friends and family were all very supportive of Smith’s decision to foster the infant, and they even organized a baby shower and bought her a bunch of baby stuff.
“I was excited but nervous, realizing that I was committing everything I had to this child who might not be in my life forever,” she said.
The baby’s parents were granted weekly supervision visits, but the state determined they weren’t capable of taking further care of their biological daughter so their parental rights were terminated, which meant Smith could apply to become Gisele’s mother legally.
“The day I got the call that their parental rights were terminated was very sad,” she said. “My gain was another’s loss. It’s a feeling difficult to describe when you are experiencing this life-changing moment that someone else is as well, in the opposite way. The bottom line is: It’s devastating for another family.”
Thanks to all the love Smith and her brother Phil showered little Gisele with, she showed amazing progress and by the time she turned 15 months, she could walk and even say a few words. Smith recalls how her daughter’s first word was ‘badoon’ for a balloon.
October 18, 2017 was the day when these two loving ladies officially became a mother and a daughter and it was the best day of their life.
(Photo) Liz and Gisele Smith celebrate the day the adoption was made official.
“This is the mother-daughter relationship my sister has waited a long time for,” said Phil Smith, 44. “It’s plain to see that they have brought a completeness to each other.”
Even though Gisele is still using a suplemental feeding tube at the age of 2, her days are filled with lots of laughter. She enjoys eating cheese and pizza and is the sweetest little lady.
“Her new favorite song is ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ ” said Smith. “And every time she sings it, I think to myself, ‘You have no idea.’ ”
We are so happy things turned out great for both Smith and her daughter Gisele. Now they have each other to love and care for.
Every father of a daughter dreams of the moment of walking their princess down the aisle one day. Seeing their girls growing up and being ready to embark on the adventure called marriage fills fathers’ hearts with joy and overwhelms them with mixed emotions.
Todd Bachman got to experience that bliss as his daughter’s wedding day was there. However, when he walked her down the aisle, he realized something was wrong, something was missing. So he wanted to make things right, and his unorthodox action stunned the guests.
Todd walked to his daughter’s stepfather, reached out his hand, and pulled him down the aisle to walk their daughter Brittany together.
One of the guests who shared the lovely story said, “NOT A DRY EYE at the ceremony..including me! Families are what we make them…make it about your kids and not your ego. Congratulations Todd Bachman on showing your kids what true love really is…love for your children. Please share so that we can spread kindness throughout!”
Before you go to the pictures below, make sure you grab a tissue, this is going to melt your heart.
Some actors identify themselves with the roles they play to an extent that it changes their lives forever. Gary Sinise is definitely one of them. After he landed the role of Lieutenant Dan, a wounded Vietnam veteran, in the award winning film Forrest Gump, Sinise made it his life mission to help as many veterans as possible. Through his Gary Sinise Foundation he changed the lives of a huge number of veterans, defenders, first responders, their families, and those in need.
For his incredible work, Sinise has received many awards. His hard work and generosity have been recognized by the society and the country and I honestly believe that no matter what we do, we can never thank this man enough.
WASHINGTON — Gary Sinise and The Lt. Dan Band perform at the Pentagon. Theevent, sponsored by America Supports You, was in recognition of National Military Appreciation Month. Sinise supports the military through various shows at military bases and has taken three USO sponsored trips to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2020, this Hollywood hero received yet another recognition and it came in the form of the highest honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Patriot Award.
It was actor Joe Mantegna who presented the award to Sinise. During his speech, he said: “As you all may know, not all heroes are made on the battlefield,” and added: “All I can tell you is knowing this man for as long as I have, for 40 years, his status as a patriot is only equaled by his status as a husband, as a father and as a friend.”
No other person deserves this award more than Lt. Dan.
Gary Sinise, actor and humanitarian, addresses the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore’s 35th Annual Awards Dinner, Arlington, Va., March 21, 2017, after receiving the Legacy of Hope Award for his contributions to service members through volunteering with the USO. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill)
Previously, he was acknowledged by his friends, among which were a number of celebrities, as well veterans Sinise has helped throughout the years.
Emmy award winning actress Kristy McNichol entered the film industry from early age and became famous with the role of tomboy “Buddy” in the hit series “Family” which aired from 1976 until 1980. This role made her a teen star of the era and all eyes were on her.
In fact, Kristy only became an actress because her mother pushed her into it. Her mom wanted to be part of the Hollywood glam herself, but only managed to play an extra in some movies, so she somehow wanted to compensate for her ‘failed’ career through her kids.
After “Family” was over, Kristy’s career was just beginning. She went on to be part of very successful movies, including the box office hit “Little Darlings” with Tatum O’Neal. Other movies Kristy starred in were “Women of Valor”, “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “Two Moon Junction”, as well as the television series “Empty Nest”. She and her brother Jimmy even tried themselves in the music industry, releasing a disco album and the hit song “He’s So Fine.”
However, as fans believed everything was going smooth for their favorite actress, the truth was that Kristy was facing struggles in her personal life. She was having hard time revealing her true sexuality and dated men, including actor and television director Scott Baio whom she got involved with in 1977 and singer and actor Leif Garret.
Fans and magazines speculated that she dated women after that. According to DatingCelebs, Kristy fell in love with actress Ina Liberace during the 80’s and was later associated with Canadian actress Elisabeth Brooks, who sadly passed away at the age of 46 in 1977.
Below is a photo of Kristy and Baio the Sixth Annual People’s Choice Awards, at the Hollywood Paldium, on January 24, 1980.
Kristy had her demons. She had a hard time finishing filming a movie in France and took a year off before she could return on set again. Back then, not much was known of her psychological condition as bipolar disorder wasn’t something medicine was still familiar with back in the day.
Speaking of that experience Kristy told NewsAmomama, “I couldn’t eat, and the whole month I was in France I hardly slept. When I did sleep, I was dreaming strange things. I was crying all the time. My weight dropped down to about 96 lbs. Nonstop anxiety. I was always shaking like a leaf. Freaking out, crying, confused, I didn’t know what was going on.”
Finally, after number of speculations, Kristy spoke openly about her sexuality in 2012. She told her fans and the world that she was married to the love of her life, Martie Allen. And that’s about all we know of Kristy’s private life that she tends to keep it exactly that, private.
We are glad she played all those roles that were part of our lives and wish her only the best. However, we do feel sorry she’s no longer part of the movie industry.
Annette Funicello rose to stardom almost overnight after she became a mouseketeer on the original “Mickey Mouse Club.” Although she was just 12 years old when Walt Disney himself discovered her at a recital, she became an icon adored by millions. All of a sudden, she became every boy’s crush and all the girls wanted to be like her.
Her acting and dancing talent helped her get a 7-year contract with Disney.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Annette’s smile was so enchanting and energetic, that she soon became a symbol of beauty. She was given her own series titled “Annette” in which she played the role of an orphan girl with the same name who left the country for a big city and went to live with her aunt and uncle.
As she grew older, she starred in a number of films, including a series of Beach Party movies with Frankie Avalon which led to another 7-year contract, this time with American International Pictures.
JAN 30 1975, FEB 24 1993, MAY 14 1995 Annette Funicello – Actress- Wikipedia
Before tying the knot with agent Jack Gilardi, with whom she welcomed three children, Annette dated singer Paul Anka who always spoke of her with much admiration. “Not a malicious thing (was) ever said about her,” the singer said. “All of a sudden, you had this cute-looking, lovely person with a great soul that emerged and stepped out from everyone. Her loveable personality, and her sincerity, people just gravitated to it.”
When her marriage of 18 years ended with divorce, Annette married racehorse trainer Glen Holt with whom she stayed until the rest of her life.
Gene Lester/Getty Images
It was withing the first year of her second marriage that Annette started experiencing health issues which involved dizziness, balance problems, and headaches. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis which she tried to hide from everyone for five years. However, her unbalanced movements were related with alcohol use by the media and in order to put a stop to the rumors, she was forced to reveal her diagnosis with the world.
Her life was filmed as a television movie with A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story (1995) co-starring her good friend, Shelley Fabares. Eventually, as the disease progressed, Annette was wheelchair-ridden and went into complete seclusion.
Over time, she lost the ability to speak, but she was never alone in her fight against MS. Her husband never left her side and was there for her every step of the way. “When she got diagnosed … I told her, ‘I will take care of you, and I’ll do everything I can,’” and that’s exactly what Holt did.
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During those 25 years that they were married, he constantly tried to search for a cure for his wife.
“I see changes. And you know to me when you can see some changes like they always say, where there is smoke, there is fire, I see something that is very positive, and it needs to be researched further,” he said after all the surgeries and tests.
Sadly, the actress passed away on April 8, 2013, at the age of 70.
Annette Funicello and husband during Disney Legends Awards at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, United States. (Getty Images)
“Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mouseketeer, and a true Disney legend,” Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said in a statement released regarding Annette’s death.
“She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent.
“Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace.”
Annette contributed to the MS research by opening the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation in 1992.
Chuck Norris is widely known as one of the best martial artists there are. He has successfully incorporated his martial-arts knowledge into a number of films which brought him recognition as a renowned actor.
However, it seems like that of all of the roles he has played over the years, he’s proudest of the role of a father.
Facebook
When he was just 18 years old, Norris married his high-school sweetheart Dianne Kay Holechek, who was 17 at the time they tied the knot. Norris and Holechek were married for 30 years and welcomed two sons together. However, while still married to Holechek, and around a year after their first son was born, Norris had an affair with a woman named Johanna while he was stationed in California in the U.S. Air Force. He never told Johanna that he was married and had no idea she was pregnant with his child until his daughter, Dina DiCiolli, contacted him some 26 years later.
As it turned out, she knew Norris was her father ever since she was 16 as she overheard her mother telling that to someone, but it took her years to gather the courage to send him a letter.
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Norris said he didn’t need a DNA test to know that Dina was indeed his daughter and said he was thankful to Johanna for keeping the child. “There might be illegitimate parents in the world,” the Good Guys Wear Black star wrote in a 2007 Daily Herald article. “I know because I was one, but there are not illegitimate children. God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives.”
When he first saw his daughter after so many years, Norris wrote that he wrapped his arms around her as tears of joy rolled down his face.
Dina is a mother of three, and recently, her daughter Gabi, Norris’ granddaughter, got married and the entire family attended the special event.
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Since 1998, Norris has been married to former model Gena O’Kelley with who she has twins Danielle Kelley and Dakota Alan, born in 2001.
On Father’s Day 2017, the actor wrote on Facebook: “Being a father is one of God’s greatest blessings a man can experience.”
Kristin Chenoweth is a much loved American actress who had her Broadway debut back in 1997 in Steel Pier, winning a Theatre World Award. Ever since, she has enchanted people from all over the country and beyond with both her acting and voice.
Among the rest, Kristin has received a Tony Award for her performance as Sally Brown in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance of Glinda in the musical “Wicked.”
Along with her shining Broadway career, Kristin decided to also pursue a career in film and has since starred in a number of movies. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC’s The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She also starred in the TV series GCB, as well as in Trial and Error.
Even though my birthday was on Friday, growing up we always celebrated on the 29th! My “gotcha day.” The day my parents adopted me and took me home 💗🎈 So, today, I send my love and eternal gratitude to my mom & dad!! pic.twitter.com/Fg8TYF0qXI
Recently, the 53-year-old actress and singer released a children’s book titled “What Will I Do with My Love Today?” which revolves around a girl named Kristi Dawn who shows that adoption is one of the most beautiful things in life after she meets a lonely dog looking for a forever home.
Speaking of her book during an appearance on the Today show, Kristin spoke of her own adoption. Namely, she was adopted by Junie and Jerry when she was five years old and always speaks with much love and pride of her parents. “My dad always says ‘Man, did we win the lottery’ and I always say ‘No, I won the lottery,’” she revealed on the show.
“It was never a surprise,” she said. “They always said ‘The lady that had you in her belly could not take care of you the way she wanted to, and she loved you so much,’” and added, “This is what my mom said, ‘She gave you life, but we get to give you a life.’”
In October 2021, Kristie got engaged to country music guitarist Josh Bryant and revealed the big news on social media. “Guess you’re stuck with me now, @joshbguitar. I love you and I’m never letting you go. A million times yes!!!” the Broadway star wrote.
Kristie definitely is one of our favorite actresses both because of her great movies and productions and for praising adoption and being forever thankful to her adoptive parents.
“No matter how life has brought us together, adoption means family, and family is forever. We had lots of love in our family before, but with you Thunder pup, we have even more,” she said of her dad. We are certain her parents are proud of her for who she is and for her heart of gold.
Sometimes life can be hard, sometimes you get a curveball and a lot of the time we do hard things to survive. For this one mother, she had to do one of the hardest things imaginable by giving up her baby boy to another family who could provide for him when she couldn’t, how brave!
Hannah Mongie and her husband had an awful decision to make when they found out that she was pregnant, what were they going to do? They recorded a youtube video where Hanna explains what they decided and why!
As Hanna speaks you can really hear that the decision was one of the hardest ever, and she did it out of love…
Hanna tells her story and explains that she met the father of the baby, called Kaden, back in 2013, then after dating for some time, in 2015 they found out she was pregnant!
Hanna says: (To Tagg)
“He loved you so much, from the very, very beginning”
She went for her eight-week checkup and sent a recording of her baby Tagg’s heartbeat to the father, he was delighted!
Two more days after this, hearing his son’s heartbeat, Kaden’s heart practically stopped…
“From the day your daddy died, I had a hard time even considering placing you with a different family when you were my last piece of Kaden …But one day, I woke up and I just knew that you were supposed to be with someone else.”
Hahhan searched to find a suitable couple to adopt him and found Emily and Brad, moving on two weeks again and all the time talking to them and getting to know them, she decided they would be great parents for baby Tagg.
Hannah said:
“Over time, me and your mommy, Emily, became really, really good friends, and she’s one of my best friends now”
Hannah says that the two parents she found for Tagg really love him already…
Hanna was so upset, she just kept telling her son over and over how much she loved him, and how much his dad loved him too, then the video ends.
Hanna wrote in the video caption:
“I hope anyone who watches this will be able to gain a new perspective on what the birth mom goes through when she places her child for adoption. It is the FARTHEST thing from a heartless act. It shows (the) definition of love. To love someone this much is to give away your happiness for them”
Her Situation is really sad, kind and loving too, but such a great shame, Hannah has so much love to give, and Tagg’s birth parents are heartbroken, the one small comfort is that its an open adoption and she can see him regularly!
Such a bittersweet lovely but sad moment, it really show’s how parenting is both difficult and carries such responsibility, please if you like this story, SHARE it with friends and family!
The saying goes that there are friends, there is family, and thenthere are friends who become family, and for one very special man who changed the world of entertainment forever, one and only Dean Martin, family was everything.
Born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917, in Steubenville, Ohio, to a father who was an Italian immigrant, Dean Martin didn’t speak any English during the first five years of his life. His classmates made fun of his accent and that made Martin shy, a trait that would become part of his character.
“When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was bigheaded and stuck up, and I wasn’t. It was because I didn’t know how to speak good English, so I used to keep my mouth shut,” Martin told Desert in 1967.
“Well, see, I’m shy,” he added. “Always been. See, if I walk into a party, I sort of go in a corner, ’cause I don’t know what to say to people.”
Henry Gris/FPG/Getty Images
When he started performing, Martin didn’t even know how to read music, yet he reached incredible heights and became the best of the best in the showbiz.
At the start of his career, he performed at local restaurants while working as an amateur welterweight fighter at the same time. Eventually, Martin signed his first record deal in 1943 with MCA Records. Two years later, a serendipitous meeting with Jerry Lewis would change his life and career forever.
“I turn, and I see this handsome guy in a camel’s hair coat. You can die from how handsome he was, sporting his new nose,” Lewis recalled meeting Lewis on the street in an interview with Today in 2005.
“And we became very friendly. He looked like he needed a friend, and I certainly did. And that was really the start.”
The two did show after show and reached the top, only the sky was the limit for this incredible duo. However, after being very close for years, and doing music and films together, prior to the tenth anniversary of their first show, Martin and Lewis split.
Some 20 years later, in 1976, they were reunited on stage thanks to their mutual friend Frank Sinatra. And while many found the reunion emotional, People referred to it back then as to “a forced and uncomfortable onstage reunion.”
Martin was also part of the famous “The Rat Pack,” a group of A-list show business friends who met casually at the Los Angeles home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, along with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford.
They were really close friends who showed their loyalty for one another numerous times.
Harry Langdon/Getty Images
When Dean Martin was invited at JFK’s inauguration as the 35th president of The United States, Martin declined the invitation because his friend whom he considered family, Sammy Davis Jr., was told not to attend. At the time, Davis Jr., got married to May Britt, a white actress, and their interracial relationship caused quite a stir. Apparently, Kennedy was afraid that Davis Jr.’s presence would made people from the Southern states angry, as per the 1989 book Why Me.
Martin wasn’t happy with the news and decided not to attend the inauguration himself in support of his beloved friend.
Universal History Archive/Getty Images
A new documentary by Tom Donahue, supported by Martin’s daughter Deana Martin, Dean Martin: King of Cool, speaks about this incident in more depth.
“Sammy Davis Jr. helped to get JFK elected, and then JFK and his campaign decided to pay Sammy back by not allowing him to go to the inauguration because he was part of an interracial marriage,” Donahue told Fox News.
“It was Dean Martin who stood up for his friend and said, ‘I’m not going to be part of the inauguration if Sammy isn’t going.’ That really impressed me. He had a sense of honor. The more I got to know Dean Martin, the man, the more I grew to truly love and admire him.”
Bettmann/GettyImages
Deana Martin revealed that her late father was “astounded” when he heard his friend Sammy Davis Jr. wasn’t among the guests of JFK.
“He was my uncle Sammy, he came to our house. He was family. So it was pretty remarkable,” she told Fox News.
“My dad was going to take a stand because it was the right thing to do. It didn’t matter what JFK or anyone else was going to think of him. This is Sammy Davis Jr., and that was his friend. And for family to not be invited for those reasons made my father very upset. He just said, ‘It’s not right. I’m not going.’ And that was it. He wouldn’t think about it anymore.”
Before 1961, interracial marriages were illegal and punishable by law, and even after they were legally allowed, many continued to see them as something odd and considered them taboo.
Hollywood actors Georg Stanford Brown and Tyne Daly tied the knot in 1960 and never cared what people were saying about their relationship. Being a white woman in love with a black man triggered prejudice and judgment, but Tyne never considered leaving the man who meant the world to her. Georg was as determined to stay with Tyne and their love stood the test of time.
Georg’s career in the world of film started when he was still very young, but he didn’t see it as something serious at the time. In fact, he only saw acting as a way of making easy money, but he eventually fell in love with it and decided to pursue it as a career.
In order to be able to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, he worked as a janitor. At the academy, he met his future wife, Tyne. Over the years, they both rose to stardom and became very successful actors.
Georg is probably best known for his role as Officer Terry Webster, one of the stars of the ABC television series “The Rookies,” Tom Harvey in the mini-series “Roots,” Henri Philipot in The Comedians and Dr. Willard in Bullitt among the rest.
circa 1975: American actor Tyne Daly and her husband, Cuban-born actor Georg Stanford Brown, attend a performance of the British National Theatre, London, England. Brown holds a small cigar in one hand. (Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images)
At the time he and Tyne tied the knot, she was already a celeb in her own right who had her breakthrough with the role of Mary Beth Lacey in the hit show “Cagney and Lacey.”
In an episode of “The Rookies,” Georg and Tyne shared their first on-screen kiss and that scene caused quite a stir.
Tyne often spoke of her marriage with Georg and said that she never saw him as a black man, but a human being.
Tyne Daly and daughters during The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)
They have three daughters together. When their youngest daughter was born, “on her birth certificate, under ‘race,’ we put ‘human’; under ‘sex’ we put ‘yes’, and under ethnic origin, we put ‘citizen of the world,’” Tyne said.
Georg and Tyne divorced in 1990, after 24 years of marriage, but they are still remembered as a couple who fought prejudice and that is just another reason why we all love them so much.
Frankie King married her loving husband Royce some 78 years ago. What they had was a love at first sight which lasts until today. Not many people get to spend that much time with their soulmate and the great love of their life, but these two are among the few lucky ones.
Their wedding took place during Royce’s two-day leave from his service at the Air Force. Since they didn’t have much time to organize the special event, Frankie didn’t get to wear a wedding gown and they didn’t hire a wedding photographer.
“He was stationed as a lieutenant in the Air Force… he just got his pilot wings,” their daughter, Sue Bilodeau, told CBS News. “He got a short leave. They had been engaged about six months, so they decided to have a wedding before he was deployed overseas.”
Once the war was over, Royce went back home to the small city of Oelwein, Iowa, and he and his wife welcomed two children. Today, they are being taken care of by a hospice nurse working for St. Croix Hospice.
On what was supposed to be their 77th wedding anniversary, the nurse asked Frankie to see photos of their wedding day. Unfortunately, Frankie didn’t have any because there was no photographer there on their most special day. The nurse then came up with a brilliant idea. She, together with other members of the staff at the hospice, decided to organize a real wedding for this sweet couple. She contacted Frankie and Royce’s daughters who were thrilled with the idea.
The ceremony was a beautiful one. Frankie wore a vintage wedding dress while Royce put on his military uniform, the same one he wore on his wedding day back in the day.
“…It was really sweet and touching, how she looked at herself in the gown. She said, ‘Should I wear my glasses or not? I didn’t have glasses that day.’ And I said, ‘Wear your glasses, you’re beautiful this way,'” the couple’s daughter, Sue, said.
Royce was in anticipation to see his beautiful bride and had a handkerchief held over his eyes for the “first look.” “They said, ‘Are you ready to see your bride?’ and took the blindfold off,” Sue told TODAY. “He had just the biggest smile the rest of the day. It was amazing.”
Everyone who got to attend the wedding was in delight. “How can you not have a sense of overwhelming emotion?” said St. Croix Hospice CEO, Heath Bartness. “The connectivity you almost feel that you were a part of this, and thinking back to what it was like in World War II the first time, and how meaningful and how emotional this second opportunity to do this was. There’s an overwhelming sense of pride in not just the company and what the organization did, but more so just as an act of humanity.”
It truly was a day to remember. Happy anniversary and many more to come, Frankie and Royce.
For the Gibb brothers, Barry, Maurice, Robin, and Andy, musical talent ran in the family. All four of them accomplished great things in the music industry, the first three as a group, and the youngest of them all, Andy, as a solo artist.
The famous siblings were exposed to music from the moment they were born. Their mother, Barbara, was an established singer, and their father Hugh, was a bandleader, drummer, and performer where he lived, in the Isle of Man. So it didn’t really come as a surprise that their children were gifted and interested in music from very early age.
The Ultimate Biography of The Bee Gees: Tales of The Brothers Gibb reveals a fun story related to how Barbara realized her boys were talented. Namely, one day when she got home she saw her father-in-law watching TV as loud singing could be heard coming from the other room. She supposed it was the radio, so she offered to lower the volume down, not realizing it was her sons who produced the beautiful sound. At the time, Barry was 9, and the twins, Maurice and Robin, were only 6.
GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty
That was an incident that made her and her husband understand that their children were meant for great things, and they were right as their group, Bee Gees, would become one of the most famous and most renowned ones there are, with selling more than 200 million records worldwide.
In 1957, Barry formed his first group together with his brothers and two other friends. It was named The Rattlesnakes, but it didn’t last long because the Gibb family moved to Australia and left Manchester behind. Once in their new home, Barry decided to change the group’s name and that’s how Bee Gees was born.
“Though it is widely believed that the Bee Gees first got their name from being the Brothers Gibb, this meaning did not come until a few years after their founding. When the brothers moved to Australia in 1958, they began playing on the radio with friends Bill Goode and Bill Gates,” the group’s website explains the story behind the name.
The group’s name was originally The BG’s – contrived from the common initials between Barry Gibb, Bill Goode, and Bill Gates. The name then evolved from The BG’s to the Bee Gees, which eventually came to mean the Brothers Gibb!”
In 1975, Bee Gees had their first No.1 with Jive Talkin. One year later, they again topped the charts with You Should Be Dancing.
Responsible for embodying the disco era of the late 1970s, the group’s remarkable music made them known and loved worldwide. Not only they wrote each of their songs, but they did music for other authors as well. Their 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack represents the turning point of their career, with both the film and soundtrack having a cultural impact throughout the world, enhancing the disco scene’s mainstream appeal.
Hits like Staying Alive, Night Fever, and How Deep Is Your Love topped the charts.
Youttube/BeeGees
They won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Group in 1977, and two for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo in 1978.
The Bee Gees were awarded the Grammy Legends Award in 2003. In 2015, they received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
As these three brothers conquered the world of music, their youngest sibling, Andy Gibb, was pursuing a career on his own, and he was very successful at what he did.
When he performed in Australia, he was usually introduced like the youngest brother of the Bee Gees. That wasn’t something that bothered him, but at the same time, he felt like he wasn’t acknowledged enough as a musician on his own.
Michael Brennan/Getty Images
“I was a Gibb, but out in the bush or the sticks of Australia, you know, you could be anybody,” Andy said in 1985.
“So the ‘Bee Gees’ was a selling power, but let’s be honest, in the long run, it has been nothing but a great advantage. Because I wouldn’t, who knows what would have happened, I might be here without their help, but I mean the fact is they did help me, and it was a tremendous start, it was a tremendous success.
“Looking back, almost a little too much too soon, too young, because I peaked and then I died for a while and I am just now starting to try and get my feet back on the ground, but other great advantages are just having wonderful musically gifted brothers who always help me and always advise me on anything.”
Andy couldn’t cope with the fame and turned to drugs and alcohol, addictions that would lead to him losing his life just five days after turning 30.
In March, 1988, Andy complained of severe chest and abdominal pain and was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he passed away three days later of inflammation of the heart, officially resulting from a viral infection.
His passing affected many. His many fans were devastated to hear the news, and his brothers were left utterly heartbroken.
It looked like Andy’s ex-wife Kim Reeder, with whom he had daughter Peta Gibb, was the only one who wasn’t surprised.
“I always knew that one day I’d get a call with news like this,” she told People. “It was only a matter of time.”
Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty
Barry Gibb was crushed. He had a hard time coping with Andy’s loss, just like the rest of the brothers.
Unfortunately, Maurice and Robin died too. Maurice died after collapsing in his home in Miami in 2003. Robin died in 2012. Barry is the only living brother of the Gibb family.
Losing the siblings with whom he reached the starts was a huge shock for Barry. Even today, he feels deep sorrow and immense grief, especially because at the time of their passing, he wasn’t in good terms with any of them.
“My greatest regret is that every brother I’ve lost was in a moment when we weren’t getting on, so I have to live with that, and I’ll spend the rest of my life reflecting on that,” Barry revealed in an interview with Australian show Sunday Night.
“I’m the last man standing. I’ll never be able to understand that as I’m the eldest.”
Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency
With tears in his eyes, Barry explained how close the brothers were throughout the years.
“Nobody ever really knows what the three of us felt about each other,” he said. “Only the three of us knew.
“It was such a unifying thing. The three of us became one person. We all had the same dream. That’s what I miss more than anything else.”
Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “as an iconic group that produced a decades-spanning catalog of timeless music.”
The role of the police officers is to keep the community safe, so using them as a scare tactic when your children misbehave is never really a good idea. Kids should learn how to trust the members of the law enforcement and turn to them when they feel something isn’t right.
One South Hill, Virginia officer named C.B. Fleming, who has been part of the department for over 15 years, went an extra mile in order to convince a group of kids that police officers aren’t bad people, on the contrary, their job is to serve the citizens at the best of their ability.
Source: Metro.co.uk
Just recently, officer Fleming answered a call about a gas leak at an apartment complex. Once there, a woman named Iesha Roper-Boswell told him how the kids from the neighborhood, including hers, were afraid of the police.
Officer Fleming didn’t think twice before he decided to change the way those kids perceived men in uniform. He noticed two girls playing with their dolls, carefully approach them, started talking to them, and then got on his belly on the sidewalk and started playing with them.
Source: Facebook/ Iesha Roper Boswell
After that, officer Fleming saw some boys working on their art project. He got on his knees and helped them finish it.
Source: Facebook/ Iesha Roper Boswell
The incredible sight was caught on tape by Iesha, who shared the video on the social media.
From someone they feared, the kind officer became a hero in the eyes of the kids he met that day. We definitely need more people like officer Fleming.
A false alarm gas leak turned into a full out play session in Mecklenburg Manor today! We definitely need more cops like him!!! Thanks for taking the time out to play with the kids!!
One of the scariest things a parent can ever experience is their child to wonder off and get lost. Sadly, the family of 10-year-old Malachi Bradley was forced to endure such terrifying occurrence after their son separated from them while they were walking in the High Uintas, Utah, and was nowhere to be seen.
They feared the worst and prayed for the searchers to find him as soon as possible because the thought of him being completely alone in the woods was terrifying all by itself. The day turned into a night and Malachi was still lost. A number of people gathered together to help authorities locate the boy, and some 30 hours later, he was spotted from a helicopter.
What surprised everyone was that besides a few scratches on his legs, the boy was completely uninjured. Asked how he managed to survive the cold and long night in the wilderness, Malachi said that he remembered all of the surviving tips his dad taught him.
He explained that he used his jacket to filter some fresh water and hid behind rocks in order to keep himself safe from the strong wind. “I had to keep switching positions because the wind kept switching,” the boy said.
His incredible story was shared online and has been seen by more than 13.8 million people so far.
Once his teachers and schoolmates heard Malachi’s story, they organized a welcome party at the school and chanted his name.
For more on the story and Malachi’s survival tips go to the video below.
Being forced into the foster system can be heartbreaking for many children. Getting used to the life with different families is tiring and not every child feels loved and accepted. The sad reality is that many of the foster children don’t get the chance to be adopted. As a result, a lot of them age out and end up without a roof over their head.
A girl named Akyra has spent a number of years moving from one family to another. As she reached 16 and changed 24 families, she feared that no one would be willing to adopt her and she would be forced into homelessness. But then, something truly serendipitous happened.
Katie Holstein, a woman who has fostered 16 kids since 2017, got a call about Akyra. Her “favorite social worker” had a special request. “I know you don’t do teens, but I have this girl. She’s great, her and her current foster family just need a break. What about just for the weekend?” the social worker told Katie.
As she felt sorry for the teen, Katie agreed to welcome Akyra into her home for a week. At the time, Katie was fostering five children all under the age of five and couldn’t possibly take Akyra in for long. However, knowing how important it was for the teen to have a place while at high-school, Katie allowed her to stay as many times as she needed it.
Around a year after they first met and 3,739 days in the foster system, Akyra gathered the courage to ask Katie a very important question. She asked if Katie was willing to adopt her. “I think that was an important moment for her, because that decision came completely from her. After so many years of having no control over where she lived, she got a say in what she wanted,” Katie told Love What Matters and added that her answer was a resounding ‘yes.’
A few days before turning 17, Akyra, or Okra as her new mom calls her, officially became part of Katie’s family.
On the same day when she adopted Akyra, the single mom also adopted 1-year-old Thomas, a sweet boy she looked after since he was under a week old.
“Even though she’s been in foster care for so long only to be disappointed, she took a chance on me and my family and let herself be loved again,” Katie said of her daughter.
“She’s got a lot of her own life experiences and opinions and I respect that, I’m not a domineering mom. It was a learning curve for us both, and we’re still learning now, but it’s worth it.”
Source: Love What Matters
This single mom who entered the world of fostering children by chance because she wanted to have children and was tired of waiting for Mr. Right now has a family to call her own.
This family is such an inspiration. We are so happy for them.
From the moment she first appeared on American Idol, Kelly Clarkson has stolen millions of hearts. Some 20 years later, she’s still considered an American sweetheart and one of the best female singers there are.
Kelly was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas. She has always loved singing and performing, although she only did it at home until her music teacher, Cindy Glenn, heard her sing in the hallway of Pauline Hughes Middle School. Kelly was offered a place in the school choir and soon after everyone learned how talented she was.
What caught her teacher’s attention was the mesmerizing vocal range Kelly possesses. She showed she could move between low and high notes with ease and she enjoyed it.
Shutterstock/FeatureflashPhotoAgency
During a school show, Kelly performed Mariah Carey’s song “Vision of Love,” and received standing ovations. Among the crowd was an elderly man who Kelly believes was the grandfather of a student from the school. The man approached Kelly and told her: “That was so amazing, you’re gonna do this for the rest of your life.” At that point, these encouraging words meant the world to Kelly and had a huge impact on how her career unfolded over the years.
Becoming aware of her inner talent, Kelly starred in some musical productions while studying at Burleson High School, but that was it. She tried getting contracts and sent a number of demos to a number of people from the music industry but luck wasn’t on her side at that point of her life.
Some years later, Kelly, who tried pursuing a career in Los Angeles and worked as an extra for some TV shows, returned to Texas. Once home, her friend’s mother told her about this new show, American Idol. It turned out they were looking for talented singers and were having auditions all over US, including Texas.
Shutterstock/FeatureflashPhotoAgency
Well, as we all know, getting accepted into the show and winning it was the start of an incredibly successful career for Kelly Clarkson.
She received a million-dollar RCA record contract and became known worldwide almost overnight. Her first single reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and new hits and albums followed.
Kelly has won numerous awards over the years, including two Grammy Awards in 2005 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (“Since U Been Gone”) and Best Pop Vocal Album, and two Daytime Emmy Awards in 2021 for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Shutterstock/Debby Wong
One thing that makes Kelly a much-loved celebrity is her humble nature. She never let fame change her. Instead, she remained as grounded as always. Of course, staying true to herself wasn’t an easy thing to do because a number of people tried to change Kelly over the years. They wanted her to act differently and dress differently, but she always feels most comfortable wearing her natural look.
“Everybody would always micromanage everything and try to get you to be somebody that you’re not, and the hardest part has been being me,” the 39-year-old singer told Yahoo. “So, I think that’s been the hardest challenge; I guess I’d say, with mental health.”
Shutterstock/Leonard Zhukovsky
Speaking about her beginnings in the industry, she recalled: “I was sitting in a room full of – no offense, I love men, I love older men, they’re great – but I was sitting in a room full of men that were far older than me telling me what I should be like, what I should say in interviews, what I should sing, and I’m like, ‘Y’all don’t even listen to me. You’re not even my core audience. Like, how would you know?’”
She often appears without makeup in public and feels confident about the way she looks. And when she’s on TV and has to put all that makeup on, she says it makes her feel like “Harry freaking Potter just got ahold” after seeing herself in the mirror.
Not only that, but she has never had a surgical procedure to improve her looks either. She confesses she’s terrified of needles and would never go under the knife for beauty reasons.
Shutterstock/Tinseltown
In 2013, Kelly married Brandon Blackstock, the son of her manager Narvel Blackstock. They welcomed two children together and Brandon had two children of his own from a previous marriage. However, Kelly filed for divorce in 2020 and cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason. The divorce was finalized this year and Kelly was granted primary custody of her two children.
Youtube/thekellyclarksonshow
The entertainment industry is a tough place to be for many who are dreaming of reaching fame, but Kelly Clarkson is the perfect proof that you can still succeed while being yourself.
The abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman that took place back in 1996, made the U.S. Government think of ways of locating missing and kidnapped children with the help of the general public. That’s when the AMBER alert system was first introduced. The acronym also stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. Messages with information about the victim and the suspect are sent via e-mail, TV stations, radio stations, and on people’s phones.
Many of us opt to ignore these messages, but those who choose otherwise may play crucial role in helping solving the case.
When war veteran Steve Adams received an alert on his phone, he was certain he wouldn’t be of any help, as the abduction took place in Knoxville, TN, and he was in Ohio at the time. However, he never takes these messages for granted, and is extra cautious when driving or walking around.
The child that got kidnapped was 2-year-old Brooklynne Enix. Her dad, Tyler Enix took the child and flee the scene after killing the girl’s mother and his ex-wife Kimberly.
”Bring Brooklynne to someone safe. Take her to someone safe. Take her to a hospital, take her to a fire hall, drop her off with someone safe,” said Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch according to WMC5.
This got him concerned for the girl’s safety, but knowing he could do nothing, he drove his car and looked for an exit. But as he lifted his head, he could see a tiny hand waving at him from a car that passed by him.
Steven got his phone, read the message alert again, and realized the girl fit the description. The person driving the car looked exactly like Brooklyne’s father, and the licence plate was of Tennessee.
He was determined to follow the vehicle, even though he wasn’t 100% sure it was the AMBER Alert that he spotted. But he didn’t want to risk losing the girl from his sight.
That’s when he contacted the police. During the whole time, he was giving location updates to the 911 dispatcher, hoping the case would have a happy ending.
The cops were finally able to pull the murderer’s car and take the girl to a safe place. Thanks to the kind-hearted and courageous veteran, Brooklynne was unharmed.
The police were thankful for all the help Steven provided them with.
”He kept level headed, follow it, gave us everything we needed”, County Sheriff Steven R. Brenneman said.
Brooklynne’s family is also very grateful the girl is by their side again. They say how Steven is their hero.
We need more people like him, who care for the well-being of the others.
Some shows get so popular and last for so long that when they end, or a character leaves, we can’t help but feel as though we lost something or someone we love.
If you are a fan of NCIS, which you probably are because who isn’t, you probably felt devastated by the news that the lead star of the show, actor Mark Harmon, who played Leroy Jethro Gibbs, left the series after whooping 18 seasons.
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
This is all you need to know about one of TV’s most famous investigators.
Growing up, Harmon didn’t know his parents were famous. In case you didn’t know, he’s the son of football player Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox. Speaking to TV Insider, Harmon recalled, “My parents kept things real. I had no idea they were famous.
“In fact, it didn’t hit me until one day when I was riding in the car with my father in Ann Arbor, Michigan – I was maybe 8 and could barely see above the dashboard – and we stopped at a crosswalk.
“Suddenly we were surrounded by people who recognized my dad and were really thrilled to see him. I remember looking at this man I thought I knew so well and thinking, ‘Who are you?’”
Shutterstock/Vicki L. Miller
Harmon was great at football, just like his dad, and he could easily choose a career as a football player, but instead, he started dreaming of a bigger stage after he was asked to fill in a role in the spin-off of Ozzie’s Girls his brother-in-law Ricky Nelson was working on at the time.
This experience was the turning point for Harmon. He realized acting was his calling and started taking acting lessons. Luckily for him, he made friends with Michael Caine and Jaso Robards, who became his mentors and helped shaped his skills. “They were all humble; they all gave me valuable time and camaraderie and advice,” he recalled.
What followed were roles in movies such as 240 Robert, Flamingo Road, several appearances in The Love Boat, and St. Elsewhere.
Youtube/SeriesTV
However, as he was working on his career, Harmon also started a family with actress Pam Dawber. The two got married in 1987 and welcomed two sons, Sean and Ty Christian.
Harmon had a hard time balancing between acting and his family life so he decided to take things easy with his career. But then, he received the script for NCIS and he could feel the role would be perfect for him.
“For a moment, when I started getting interested in doing it, the name changed to Bob Nelson or something, and I just said, ‘Eh…please, can you put the name back,’” he shared with Parade.
NCIS aired in September 2003 and became a huge hit eventually. Hollywood Reported reported that the show is licensed in over 200 countries, along with the spin-offs.
The show received and was nominated for a huge number of awards over the years, and Harmon himself won the People’s Choice Award in 2017 for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actor.
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
Harmon has had a great relationship with everyone on set. Well, except for his co-star Pauley Perrette who played the role of Abby. She left the show back in 2018 because of an incident involving Harmon’s dog. Apparently, he brought his Pit Bull on the set and the dog attacked a member of the crew. She believed he wasn’t supposed to bring his dog there again, but he didn’t listen, which Perrette found inconsiderate behavior.
Shutterstock/Joe Seer
After 18 years and 418 episodes in which he appeared, Harmon announced on October 9 that he’s leaving the show. CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl confirmed the news in a statement to Deadline.
“Mark’s always been part of the show, Mark’s always going to be part of the show,” he said. “In terms of his on-air appearances, we’re just going to have to see how it plays out going forward.”
NCIS executive producer and showrunner Steven D. Binder said that the doors are always open if Harmon decides to return to the show.
“Our north star has always been staying true to our characters, and that truth has always guided the stories we tell and where those characters go,” he told Hollywood Reporter.
“So regarding the future of Gibbs, as long-time fans of the show may have noticed over the years … never count Leroy Jethro Gibbs out.”
Shutterstock/Joe Seer
Recently, it was revealed that Harmon asked from the producers his exit from the show not to be a dramatic one. Nothing could reveal that he was saying goodbye to the series, and as it turns out, it was all part of the plan.
According to Entertainment Tonight, he requested his exit not to be advertised, which caught fans of the series off guard. According to the source, it was “crucial — especially with social media — that any hint of a twist be omitted.”
We believe Mark Harmon did an awesome job playing the legendary character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and we hope we see him in other projects and films soon.
Shark Tank and its British counterpart Dragon’s Den are reality shows which attract a huge number of viewers. Why? Because the concept behind the shows is fun, sometimes intense, and we never know the outcome when an innovator or a business person stands in front of the Sharks or the Dragons.
The Sharks give budding entrepreneurs the chance to secure business deals that could make them millionaires. The aspiring entrepreneurs offer part of their business in return of an investment that would help their business expand. Sometimes, they ask investors to invest in a business concept or an idea.
Whether they get the money or not depends on many things. The most important of all is the amount of money the investors expect to get once the business grows.
Source: Facebook/ Virality
During an episode of Shark Tank, a humble farmer from Florida named Johnny Georges presented something unique and most likely life-changing for thousands of fellow farmers in America and all around the world.
Namely, Georges asked for a $150,000 investment in his company “Tree T-Pee.” He presented an invention that is a game-changer in plant irrigation and saves thousands of gallons of water for farmers every year. The only problem was that Georges spends $2.95 in order to produce a single item and then sells it for $4.50. This didn’t sound like a good investment for the Sharks who asked Georges to make the selling price $12.
Well, the issue with that number is that he didn’t want to overcharge for his product because he knows how hard farmers work in order to put food on everyone’s table.
Georges became nervous and tears started rolling down his face. He was convinced he would leave the show empty-handed, especially when one of the investors was out.
But then, another investor decided to give Georges the entire sum of money he requested. Not only because his invention was brilliant, but because they understood how much it meant to this humble and kind-hearted farmer.
George didn’t bend his morals for money, and he stood up for every farmer in the country. His act truly deserves all the praise.
A truly tragic incident during which an 11-year-old girl lost her life took place in the small town of Parachute, Colorado, on Thursday.
Annaliese Backner, a sixth grader at Grand Valley Middle school in Parachute, was running to catch the school bus when she tripped and fell under the moving vehicle. Unfortunately she died at the scene due to blunt force trauma.
As the community mourns her tragic passing, her family requested that her photo and identity be released to the public.
Parachute police said Annaliese Backner was running to her school bus when she fell underneath while the bus was moving. https://t.co/wfljCMbX6w
Brad Ray, superintendent for Garfield County School District 16, described the event as a “sad day for all.”
“Today is a sad day for all,” he said during a press conference.
“It’s a sad day for schools, it’s a sad day for our community, and it’s sad day tonight in households. Our primary responsibility moving forward is to honor the families privacy and care for our students during this tragic loss.”
Parachute Police and Grand Valley Fire came to Annaliese rescue but nothing could be done to save her life.
At the moment, the death of the girl has been investigated as an accident and a final autopsy report is expected to be revealed in the weeks that follow.
