First responders have one of the toughest jobs there are. What they do for their communities is priceless and we should be very thankful for their dedication and hard work.
After battling intense fire at a warehouse in North Brunswick, New Jersey, for over 12 hours, firefighters Paul Hulling and Tim Young needed to take some rest and have something to eat so they stopped by Route 130 Diner. There, they talked about their day, and the waitress who served them, Liz Woodward, overheard their conversation.
Source: YouTube/ ABC News
When they were about to leave the place, instead of a receip, Liz handed them a hand-written note which read, ”Your breakfast is on me today. Thank you for all that you do, for serving us and for running into the places everyone runs away from. No matter your role, you are courageous, brave and strong. Thank you for being bold every day.”
This kind gesture warmed the firefighters’ hearts. Hulling was so touched that he even started to cry. Liz’s act showed that someone appreciated their work, and that meant the world to them.
Source: YouTube/ ABC News
They were very grateful, but gratitude wasn’t the only thing they offered. On the contrary, Young decided to share the note on Facebook and called his friends to visit Route 130 Diner if they have a chance and tip Liz big is she happens to be their waitress.
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Besides that, they learned that Liz had started a GoFundMe page in order to help her wheelchair-bound father. As it turned out, he was left paralyzed by a brain aneurysm and she was doing all in her power to gather money for a wheelchair-accessible van.
”He needs access to the outside world. He needs to see the world outside his hospital bed,” Liz wrote in the description of the fundraiser. Her initial goal was to raise $17,000, but after Hulling and Young spread the word, she managed to raise over $86,500.
”I don’t even know what to say to that,” Liz said, as tears of joy were rolling down her face. “That’s incredible — what a way to wake up today. I had no idea today was going to go like this.”
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She posted an update on GoFundMe which read, “Our family has witnessed an outpouring of love & support from around the world, and I want to thank each and every one of you beautiful human beings for making this dream possible!”
Speaking of the incredible experience and her act of kindness which went a long way, Liz told WPVI, ”All I did was pay for their breakfast, and I didn’t think anything would come about it except they would leave with a smile.”
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For more on the story go to the video below. Inspiring, isn’t it?
Being a parent means going above and beyond for your child’s well-being. Sometimes, it involves learning school subjects in order to be able to help them with their school work and tests, and that is exactly one father named Corey Simmons did.
Corey was on the subway holding a bunch of papers in his hands. Another passenger, Denise Wilson, who was sitting opposite him, could tell by the look of his face that Corey was sort of confused. She could see the papers were filled with numbers so she just assumed he was a teacher going through his students’ papers. But that was far from reality. In fact, Corey was studying fractions because his son struggled understanding how they worked and failed his test.
A couple of minutes later, another man, who had also noticed the confused look on Corey’s face, sat next to him and offered to help. He took some time to explain how fractions worked and some other math rules. In order to be sure that Corey understood the material, he even quizzed him a couple of times.
Source: YouTube/ CBS New York
“I overheard the conversation and Corey saying that his son failed a math test and he was relearning math so he could help his son and that he hadn’t done fractions in years,” Denise said.
Watching how a complete stranger offered help to this father made Denis deeply touched. For once, she admired Corey’s dedication as a father, and she also loved the fact that this other man stepped up.
Source: YouTube/ CBS New York
Speaking to Inside Edition, Denise said,“He was explaining to him the things he got wrong and breaking it down to him so he could get a better understanding. I had to capture that moment because it was too heartwarming. It was amazing to me.”
“I was like ‘wow’ because I feel like a lot of dads don’t get enough credit and in our community there is not a lot of active fathers and for him to make the effort to relearn math touched my heart,” she added.
Believing this encounter of two strangers was a true definition of humanity and being there for one another, she decided to snap a photo she later shared on Facebook. To her surprise, it caught the attention of over 155K people.
In a follow-up post, she wrote, “I really just wanted to shine light on hard working hands on fathers, they go unnoticed, I really want to let the active fathers out there know you’re more powerful than you may think you are. Also to shine light on our city NY is not what people make it seem to be, we really do care about each other, we really hold each other up.”
Source: Facebook/ Denise Wilson
Corey explained that the man who helped him was a retired teacher, but he didn’t take his name. He then added, “It’s been around thirty years I would say, since I did fractions. It doesn’t matter if you fail, it’s what you do after you fail,” he told his son, as per CBS New York.
“You need help sometimes, and you shouldn’t want to bite your tongue to not ask for help. So don’t feel shy to ask someone for help, it’s okay. I got a better understanding [of the math] and was able to relate it to my son.”
Source: YouTube/ CBS New York
This story is the perfect example that we as humans should watch each others backs and be there for one another, although we may be perfect strangers.
I have a feeling that as years go by, people become more and more distant, which is probably a result of their hectic schedules. The ongoing pandemic, the lockdowns, and the social distancing only made things worse when it comes to human relations, and that is the reason why the following story brings a ray of hope.
Had it not been for a waitress who cared, a life could be lost.
Source: YouTube/ On Demand News
Doreen Mann, an 87-year-old pensioner from Essex is a regular at Tomassi’s in Southend. She has never missed a Sunday to go there and have a piece of her favorite cake. So when she didn’t show up for a couple of days, it raised red flags for waitress Sonia Congrave, who has been working at the coffee place for over 15 years. She knew Mann lived alone after her husband moved into a care home and worried that something bad could have happened.
In order to be sure nothing was wrong, Congrave called the police and asked them to check on her regular customer.
Source: YouTube/ On Demand News
When they went to Mann’s home, they noticed the front door wasn’t locked. Once they entered, they saw the poor woman stranded in her bathtub. It was October 10, and she was there since October 7. Her knees were bruised from trying to get out.
Mann managed to stay hydrated by drinking tap water and kept herself warm by refiling the bath with warm water. She also had some towels nearby.
She explained that she entered the bath and could no longer feel her legs all of a sudden.
Source: YouTube/ On Demand News
Luckily, she was now safe all thanks to Congrave.
“And I just think it would be nice for us all to just take a bit a bit time out and remember your neighbors or remember the lady down the road you haven’t seen for a few days. Just give a knock or a phone call and just say ‘Are you alright?’” Congrave told On Demand News.
Mann was very happy and extremely grateful for the care Congrave and the rest of the staff at Tomassi showed. “I do not know what I would do without Sonia and the rest of them because it is my second home, they are my second family,” she told The Sun.
Source: YouTube/ On Demand News
The truth is that there are a huge number of elderly people who live alone and without anyone by their side to step up in times of need. That is why we should always pay attention and react if we don’t see or hear from them often.
Marine Sgt. Nick Walsh was just 26 years old when he got killed by a sniper in Iraq. His wife Julie was left all by her self to take care of their son Triston who was 4 at the time.
Growing up, Triston never forgot his father. Although he wasn’t around, Triston held the memory of him close to his heart.
One thing that Marine Sgt. Walsh loved so much, besides his family, of course, was his 1991 Ford Bronco. Triston knew that very well and couldn’t wait to get a driver’s licence in order to be able to drive his late father’s valuable possession.
The car stood parked in the garage for many years, and Julie wasn’t sure if it was in a good condition. She even though of selling it, but she knew just how much it meant to her son, so she couldn’t do it. Instead, she asked from local mechanics and dealership owners to help her have it restored.
When Triston asked about the Ford Bronco, Julie told him she sold it because she wanted to buy him a new car with the money. Triston got really mad. He couldn’t believe his mom would do something like that. Of course, he didn’t know his mom wasn’t telling him the truth because that would spoil the surprise.
“If looks could kill…just hatred in his eyes…tear rolled down his cheek,” Julie said, adding that her son didn’t speak to her for two weeks.
Once the car was fully restored, Julie was ready to show it to her son. But before that, she contacted her late husband’s marine buddies, who were more than willing to take part in the emotional surprise.
The restoration cost between $10,000 and $12,000, and it was all covered by the dealership and local mechanics who were more than happy to step in.
Seeing his dad’s car made Triston emotional. It was the best gift he could ever get.
“I just feel (Nick) around us so much … I know he’s sending all of us signs he is still here and looking out for us. It’s a really comforting feeling to have. It really is,” Julie said.
Triston added, “Every time I’m going to drive this…I feel like he’s with me…sitting right over there.”
He was also very happy because of his father’s friends.
“It’s just to show the boys, no matter where they go, no matter what they do, somebody’s going to look out for them,” said one of his Marine friends, with another adding, “For him to be able to have his dad’s vehicle was just a full circle.”
You can see the heartwarming video below. Isn’t this one of the best surprises you’ve ever seen?
Radio commentator Paul Harvey had a prophetic warning to America in a radio broadcast from 1965. From the 1950’s through the 1990’s, his programs reached nearly 24 million people per week. Although he was very accurate on everything he had to say, no one could imagine that his words from 53 years ago would become the reality of today.
When people recall or get to listen to this speech, it gives them chills.
He starts his ‘prophesy’ by saying: If I were the Devil… and then continues discussing issues that are these days ours to face.
“If I were the devil, I would whisper that the Bible was a myth. I would convince them that man created God, instead of the other way around.
I would soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves.
I would make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.
I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned and that swinging is more fun, and what you see on TV is the way to be…”
This is only a short part of what he believes is a devils deed that knocked on our doors and we somehow welcomed it.
Listen to the whole speech in the video below and share your thoughts with us.
Every love story is beautiful in its own right, but some are a bit more special than the rest. That of a man named Bud Caldwell and his late wife Betty spanned decades. These two spent every single moment of every single day by each other’s side and loved one another unconditionally.
Bud never stopped having feelings for Betty, not even after her passing.
Betty’s favorite song was “Daisy a Day.” She loved these flowers and Bud would bring them to her whenever he could. He would also serenade her and remind her how much she meant to him. Betty’s passing left a huge void in this man’s heart. He was heartbroken and wondered how he would manage to continue with his life.
YouTube
In order to honor their love, Bud purchased a memorial bench at Lakeside Park in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin. On it, there was a plaque saying, “In loving memory of Elizabeth “Betty” Caldwell. From her loving family.”
Bud visited the bench as often as he could. Many times, he would bring daisies and speak of the weather, as though Betty was by his side.
However, when the show fell and covered everything in a thick white coat, Bud was unable to spend time at his favorite bench.
YouTube
What he didn’t know, however, was that two complete strangers had noticed him visiting the bench. Seeing just how much those visits meant to him, they decided to step in for him. Their kind act left Bud in tears. Honestly, we couldn’t help but shed tears of joy, too.
They cleared the path, so that Bud could visit the bench whenever he wanted.
To see his reaction and gratitude go to the video below. You are going to love it.
Dogs are the best! I just can’t imagine my life without one in it. Lovable, adorable, loyal…well, the list can go on and on.
However, besides being the best pets there are, dogs can be misbehaving, too. Just like this adorable Black Labrador from the video below.
When no one was looking, he decided to undertake an investigation mission and dig in the trash. Needless to say, he turned the kitchen into a complete mess and knew he was in trouble the moment his human mommy laid eyes on him.
However, this smart dog had an ace up his sleeve and knew exactly what to do in order to avoid being told off.
Source: Rumble
“You made this mess and I have to clean it up,” she could be heard saying. “I want you to sit here and you think about what you did.”
So, he did exactly that. He was standing in the corner, pulling off a sad face, as though he wanted to tell his owner he knew he was guilty.
Then, all of a sudden, the smart Lab thought of offering an apology in the best way possible. He gently raised his paw and pointed it towards his mommy. Seeing him doing that, she accepted the paw.
We are so glad this lovely “incident” was caught on camera.
The body found in a park in Baytown, Texas, on Tuesday, December 28, identified as 15-year-old school track star Jania Tatum-Scott, reports say.
Details regarding her death haven’t been released yet, but according to the Baytown Police Department, they are investigating it as a homicide. Allegedly, young Jania had been shot in the chest and there was blood all around her at the time she was spotted, just three days after Christmas.
It was about 8:15 a.m. when police were called to Tejas Park in the 500 block of Hafer Ave, across the street from the girl’s mother’s apartment.
Jania’s mother, Angie Tatum, told ABC13 how her girl was loved by all her teachers at school and had big dreams of joining the Navy one day.
She added that her best friend had been taken from her.
In the meantime, she started a GoFundMe page to help her with the expenses. The page reads:
“Hello my name is Angie Tatum I am asking for help with financial responsibilities due to the brutal murder of my 15 year old daughter Jania.
“On the early morning of December 28, 2021 Jania was found deceased from a gunshot wound in her favorite park across the street from my apartment. Jania was a Sophomore at Sterling High School in Baytown Tx.
“She had many friends and she was loved by everyone including her teachers, coaches and the admin staff. This has devastated my family and the city of Baytown. I would greatly appreciate anything you can donate.”
Source: GoFundMe
According to the mother, she last saw her daughter on Monday, around 11 p.m. when she went to bed. She believes Jania left the house to meet up with someone that night because there was a half-eaten plate of food left behind.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Jania’s family. We hope the murderer would soon be brought to justice and receive the punishment they deserve. Rest in peace, Jania.
One of the reasons why some TV series are more successful than others are the characters of the show. Most times, it is because of this why more and more people tune in week after week.
People are eager to see how the characters’ lives unfold right in front of their eyes, and all the drama that follows. Of course, the actors behind those roles make the entire experience more attractive and more memorable.
Speaking of such shows, we can’t help but think of NCIS. Ever since September 2003, wide audiences from all around the world get to see how the lead investigators and their teams respond to intense criminal cases. The series was such success, that spin-offs followed.
Shutttterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency
One of the people who is in the core of this series is actor Eric Christian Olsen. Charming and talented, he had it all to make it big in the industry, and so he did.
Born on May 31, 1977, in Eugene, Oregon, to a father who was a professor of English, young Olsen became interested in storytelling. When he was in fourth grade, he took part in a school musical and that’s when his parents realized he could sing and act.
“I didn’t know he could sing. And he comes out on the stage, and I’m so nervous. And he turns around and faces the audience, and he puts his arms out, and he starts to sing,” Olsen’s mom told Entertainment Tonight. “I literally stood there with my mouth open because of his presence. And he wasn’t scared, he wasn’t nervous at all.
“His dad said to him, ‘If you’re a little nervous, that’s a good thing because that makes you better.’ And he got off the stage later and said, ‘I was really nervous, then I wasn’t nervous.’ He was just a natural. That’s when I knew there was something special about this kid.”
Photo by SGranitz/WireImage
His parents have always been very supportive and encouraged Olsen to pursue his passion.
While at university, he got enrolled on a 75 percent scholarship. In order to be able to pay for the rest, he turned to commercials which led to minor TV roles, including those in ER and Get Real.
What followed was his role in Pearl Harbor, which became a huge hit eventually and brought Olsen the recognition he deserved.
However, despite his success, he didn’t drop out of university. Although it took him some time, he graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in 2007.
“All those movies I did between ’98 and 2007, I was at the same time kind of juggling school. The reason that I finished, people kept saying, ‘Why are you continuing to go through school? You’ve done these movies, you’ve done this television, just forget about it.’ The reason I didn’t is because I think it’s probably the most important thing that we can do,” Olsen told LexDarling about his education.
“Especially right now in today’s job market, there’s nothing better than, I mean, whatever it takes. You take out the loans, we all do, we put ourselves in debt, but everyone that asks me, ‘I wanna be an actor, what should I do?’ I say, ‘Go to college.’ If you can go to college in Los Angeles or New York, where you can possibly do commercial work and audition at the same time, do it. Find something else that you love, that you’re passionate about, and major in that.”
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As he was in the process of making a good career for himself in Hollywood, he also put his knowledge from the culinary lessons he was taking into practice and worked as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu when he wasn’t filming.
“I knew I was going to be doing a pilot season, and the idea of just doing that without scattering in new information didn’t sound appealing,” he shared with Vulture.
“At culinary school, none of the things we use to define ourselves outside that world — actor, producer, student — none of that matters. It’s a magical art form.”
“I was only in there for six weeks of an eight-month course before I had to drop out to start filming, but I’ll go back,” he added. “You’re doing five hours a night, and you’re doing three entrees and two appetizers and side dishes and sauces, and you’ve got six stoves going, and there’s fire everywhere — and it becomes zen. It’s like a runner’s high.”
Shutterstock/Silvia Elizabeth Pangaro
Eventually, he landed the iconic role of Marty Deeks in NCIS: Los Angeles. And the rest…well, it’s history.
Besides building a successful career, Olsen also found time for love. He and his wife, Sarah Wright, tied the knot in 2012 and have three children together.
The story of how they first met is a great one. It was during the filming of The Loop in 2006 that they first laid eyes on one another. However, it wasn’t love at first sight. On the contrary, he believed that she only got the role because of her incredible looks, not her talent, and she thought he was a jerk. But soon after, he approached her and apologized.
The couple is one of the most adorable in Hollywood. They often share photos of themselves and their children.
Olsen shared a photo of him and his daughter having fun at the beach with the caption, “One of the benefits of heavy workouts during the pandemic is that you have the strength to huck your children higher into the sky…And that’s really the end goal of conscientious parenting, is it not?”
Sammy Davis Jr. was a versatile singer, dancer, and actor who shone to glory in a much different America than that of today. Being a black man in what many considered a white world forced Davis to overcome numerous obstacles throughout his life. Despite that, he still remains one of the greatest entertainers of all time. What Davis had to offer the world brought him international acclaim and he was awarded a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
Bert Verhoeff / Anefo
Davis was born in Harlem, New York, in 1925 by vaudeville performer Sammy Davis Sr. and vaudeville dancer Elvera Sanchez, who separated when Davis was just three years old. With parents who made a living from dancing, it wasn’t surprising he chose the same path and followed into their footsteps.
After the divorce, Davis lived with his dad and the two were touring around, with the public falling in love with then very young Davis who debuted by the name “Baby Sammy.” Soon after he experienced the world of entertainment, little Davis became part of the Will Mastin Trio consisting of him, his dad and ‘uncle’ Will Mastin.
Collections of the Black Film Center/Archive
Until he reached 18, Davis didn’t really experience any racism as his dad and Will did their best to protect him from the racist comments and people. But then, when the war started, Davis became part of the Army’s Special Services branch, which provided entertainment for the troops. Those years were filled with horror for young Davis. He was ridiculed by the soldiers because of his skin color. In his autobiography, Sammy: An Autobiography: with Material Newly Revised from Yes I Can and Why Me? he recalled how he was treated with disrespect. In one occasion, soldiers broke his nose and even painted him in white color.
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”Overnight the world looked different. It wasn’t one color any more. I could see the protection I’d gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I’d never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I’d walked through a swinging door for 18 years, a door which they had always secretly held open,” he wrote.
At that time, there was this sergeant Williams who stood by Davis’ side and taught him to use his talent and powerful vocal in the fight against those who disrespected him for who he was. “My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man’s thinking,” Davis later said.
Wikipedia Commons
After the war was over, Davis turned to the Will Mastin Trio again which opened for Frank Sinatra at the Capitol Theater in New York. This performance would change the life of Davis forever as he would become a member of the famous The Rat Pack, a club of entertainers led by Sinatra.
Apparently, Sinatra was stunned by Davis’ talent and the two became best friends eventually, with Sinatra always sticking to Davis’ side and standing for him whenever Davis experienced racism. According to Davis, Sinatra would refuse to sleep in hotels where Davis wasn’t welcome because of his skin color and he would tear up contracts if Davis wasn’t allowed on stage.
“With all the racial tension I endured, I never turned around and hated right back,” Davis once said. “There was always some white guy like Sergeant Williams or Frank Sinatra, who helped me back up.”
Wikipedia Commons
Besides his huge success, Davis’ life was always followed by controversies. From converting to Judaism, to marrying the Swedish-born white actress May Britt, the singer of all-time hits ”What Kind of Fool Am I?,” ”Candy Man,” ”Mr. Bojangles” and ”I’ve Gotta Be Me,” had to overcome a number of obstacles. In 1954, Davis was involved in a car crash where he lost his eye. He also underwent a hip replacement surgery which prevented him from dancing on stage.
ABC Television
His interracial marriage wasn’t embraced by the wide public who believed back then that a black man wasn’t worth marrying a white girl. As a result, Davis’ performance at the President Kennedy’s inauguration was canceled as it was believed it would ruin the ball. This incident was later confirmed to be true by Davis’ daughter Tracy who published a book about her father. The book is based on conversations the father and the daughter had over the years. “He wanted me to keep it going. He wanted people to know his music and what he stood for and what he did and what kind of person he was. And I think he knew intuitively that I was the one to do it,” she later told CBC.
Tracy was Davis’ only biological child, but he had three adopted sons as well.
Davis died of throat cancer on May 16th, 1990 at 64. He refused to have a surgery because he wanted his voice to remain intact. Instead, he had undergone a number of chemotherapy treatments but the cigarettes that he enjoyed smoking, the alcohol, and the drugs took their toll. When he passed away, the city of Las Vegas turned off all its neon lights on the strip in his honor.
Wikipedia Commons
Davis will always be remembered as “Mr Show Business” and “the greatest entertainer ever to grace a stage in these United States,” and most of all, as someone who dedicated his life to make people happy and fight racism the best he could. Rest in peace, Sammy Davis Jr., you are a legend.
A Safe Haven law, or a safe surrender law, allows a parent to surrender their baby at a designated location without fear of being charged with abandonment. No question asked, the person surrenders their baby to someone who will know just what to do and how to act.
The law aims to prevent newborns from being dumped and placed in life-threatening situations.
Some five years ago, one desperate mother rang the doorbell of Station 75 fire department in Santa Ana, California. When Capt. Daryll Milliot who was on duty that day went out, he saw the woman holding a 15-hour-old baby. It was the first time for an infant to be surrendered at this safe heaven, that’s why this experience was unique for everyone involved, including firefighters Michael de Leon, Tyler Green, and Shawn Stacy.
YouTube / CBS Los Angeles
These men did their best to comfort the baby girl named Naomi while they were waiting for the social workers to arrive. Although they spent a very short time with the sweet baby, they still consider themselves “unofficial uncles.”
Shortly after Naomi was taken under the wing of the social services, she was adopted. Krysten and Kurt Snyder, who were in the process of adopting a 1-year-old boy at the time, were told about Naomi, and they didn’t hesitate before they said yes to adopting her as well.
“It’s so crazy — one moment we say, ‘Yes, we are taking a baby,’ and the next moment you are packing the car up, making the list for Target of all the things you need to get,” Krysten said.
YouTube / CBS Los Angeles
On the day of the adoption ceremony, the Snyders invited their daughter’s “uncles” to share the joy with them.
“It’s one of the highlights of my career by far, going to that ceremony and seeing her again because when it happens you don’t know what’s going to happen to the baby,” Michael de Leon told CBS LA.
YouTube / CBS Los Angeles
We are sad Naomi was surrendered just hours after she had been welcomed into this world, but we are at the same time happy she found a loving family to call her own.
George and Bonnie Miller are a loving elderly couple who has had a happy marriage. They were living independently from their son until old age took their freedom from them. Being 87 years old, both George and Bonnie have experienced health issues which make the living on their own quite impossible.
Among the rest, George suffers from memory loss, and Bonnie experiences difficulties walking on her own. On top of that, she has a broken shoulder. That is why their son Schon couldn’t leave his parents on their own.
As sending them to a nursing home wasn’t an option, this incredibly devoted man came up with an incredible solution that left his mom and dad in tears of joy. “One can’t live alone without the other and we didn’t want either one to end up in a nursing home,” Schon told StoryTender.
One of the things Schon and his wife Jennifer considered doing was buying an in-law suite, which is a small house located next to or attached to a single family home.
However, after they failed to find a suitable attachment, they did something even more amazing. They decided to clean their home’s basement and turn it into a refurbished suite for George and Bonnie. That way, Schon’s parents would be next to him and he could help them with their everyday tasks.
“We decided to blow a hole in the basement wall, get rid of our fun stuff like pool table, instruments, and karaoke area and move them in so we can take care of them,” Schon explained.
The moment the elderly couple realized what their son and their daughter-in-law had done for them, they just couldn’t hide their excitement. Luckily, the beautiful surprise, and even more beautiful reactions, were caught on tape.
Isn’t this how we all should treat and respect our parents? You can take a look at the heart-melting video below.
The attacks which took place on September 11, 2001, were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the militant Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States of America. 9/11 is the day no American will ever forget. It is one of the saddest events for the country because of all the lives lost and the panic and the terror which filled every citizens’ heart and life.
At the time the two hijacked American Airlines Flights crushed into the Pentagon, around 140 little children were at the Defense Department’s Child Development Center which is located approximately 200 yards from the Pentagon.
Among them were two sisters, Heather and Hanna Born, who were four months old and three years old at the time. Although they were way too little to remember that day, Hanna does have recollections of what was happening when they heard the crash.
On September 11th, 2001, terrorists hijacked American Airlines flight 77 and then flew it into the Pentagon. Hanna & Heather Born were in the Pentagon’s daycare center that day. 20-years later, they are carrying on the legacy of the members of the military killed in the attack. pic.twitter.com/UOJ5UOSIeK
Speaking to CBS News, Hanna said: “I was at the daycare facility playing and dancing with several of my classmates. We were having fun with the dancing ribbons, and the next thing I remember is standing in the hallway.”
All of the children were evacuated, and luckily, none of them was injured.
Remembering the brave service members entering the daycare center and making sure everyone was safe and sound inspired these two sisters to become members of the military themselves.
“I don’t think we know really any of the names of anyone involved,” Hanna said. “Despite not getting any public recognition for what they did that day, I just hope they know how their actions have inspired my sister and I and how we hope to pay it forward.”
2nd Lieutenant Hanna Born and midshipman Heather Born (Naval Academy’s class of 2023).
Today, Hanna is a Second Lieutenant. She’s also in graduate school at Georgetown University studying data science and analytics, dreaming of becoming a search-and-rescue pilot. Her sister, Heather is a midshipman in the Naval Academy’s class of 2023.
These two young ladies’ parents were part of the military as well, so they have role models to look up to and learn how to serve their country the best they can. Thank you!
When the time comes for expectant mothers to finally give birth to their new baby, the excitement involved in meeting this new form of life is overwhelming to many. For most mothers, it could also be a stressful period as nobody knows exactly how their labor is going to turn out. For Mercedes Casanellas, she went into labor 5 weeks earlier which required an emergency C-section.
The first time mother hailed from El Savador, and she was very excited to meet her newborn son. Like all mothers, she would endure anything in order to have a healthy baby. After giving birth to her new baby boy, she gave him a kiss before he was wheeled into the nursery. The next day, Mercedes instantly knew that something was wrong.
YouTube / ABC News
Her husband Richard Cushworth, from the U.K., was away in Texas at that time when his son was born. Therefore, he was not able to make it to the hospital in time for the delivery.
Thus, Mercedes had to endure her labor without him.
YouTube / ABC News
The morning after the C-section, a baby was brought back to her – but she noticed something different about him. She suspected that it was the wrong child. However, doctors insisted that it was the right baby, even blaming her suspicions on the medications she had been administered during and after her labor.
After a few days, Mercedes and her husband Richard flew back home to Texas with their baby. As the child grew older, he started to not resemble either of his parents.
DNA test
This led to Richard and Mercedes deciding to go for a DNA test to find out the truth – for once and for all. When the results came, their suspicions were confirmed to be correct. It was not their child whom they had been raising for 9 months, according to The Guardian.
YouTube / ABC News
An investigation was carried out to locate the couple’s biological son in El Salvador. After DNA testing all the mothers who were in the same maternity ward as Mercedes, the local authorities had managed to locate and contact the biological mother of the baby Mercedes and Richard took care of.
Reunited more than a year later
That mother on the other hand, raised Richard and Mercedes’ biological son. After some paperwork, Richard and Mercedes were able to finally bring their biological son, Moses, home to the United States. It was more than a year after she had given birth to him, and this story comes with a happy ending.
YouTube / ABC News
Watch this couple’s incredible story in the video below:
Never question a mother’s instinct – I cannot imagine how hard it must be to suspect that you’re raising the wrong child!
Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, also known as Dr. Now, is one of the best bariatric surgeons there are. Over the course of his long and successful career, he has helped many people change their lives drastically. He has also been part of the TLC reality show My 600-lb Life.
He is often times harsh with his patients only because he wants them to understand how serious their condition really is. Dr. Now is known as someone who has never turned any patient down, but sometimes, as he says it himself, there is nothing he could do for those who don’t want to help themselves.
Source: YouTube/TLC
One of those people who appeared on the show and clashed with Dr. Now is Marla McCants.
When she applied to be on My 600-Lb Life, she weighted staggering 800 pounds. She was morbidly obese and was eating practically all the time. She even had a small fryer that she kept next to her bed and fried chicken all the time. She wasn’t able to stand up and relied on her daughter Sierra for everything.
After undergoing the bariatric surgery, Marla refused to cooperate and stayed at the hospital longer than the rest of the patients. At one point, Dr. Now decided enough was enough and discharged her. However, Sierra begged the doctor to take her mother in again and a follow-up of Marla’s story was shot.
At this point, Marla already lost a significant amount of weight but she still refused to get out of bed and still had her fryer next to her. She was hoping to get an excess skin removal surgery, but she didn’t lose the desired amount of weight needed in order to be eligible for it.
Source: YouTube/TLC
Almost a year after she had undergone her bariatric surgery, Marla still couldn’t stand up.
“A couple of months ago, I was kind of depressed because things weren’t going as I thought they would go, but it is getting better,” she said. “I’m getting stronger.
“I came to Texas so I can get my life back and be here for my grandkids, but I still don’t feel like I am able to be in their lives like I should. So I can’t wait to get that surgery done,” she said in the follow up episode.
“I still have cravings, miss fried chicken,” she added. “I was trying to find a way that I can eat that, I tried using olive oil, but it don’t taste the same, and just eating meat is a little frustrating.
‘”All I can say is that I am human. You don’t have to starve yourself; you just have to make better choices.”
Source: Facebook/MarlaMcCants
The great thing is that everything turned out for the best for Marla eventually. She understood she had to let her daughter move on with her life and didn’t want to be burden any longer.
She even claimed that the production of the show manipulated with her case. Speaking to Rickey Smiley in a YouTube interview, she said, “Like, the scene where I was in the hospital. And I wouldn’t get up. You all don’t know why I didn’t get it up. First of all, they put it out there a year ahead, when actually it was only one month after I had the gastric bypass.
“I had lost seventy pounds the first month. I had my surgery February 13th of 2015; that episode aired March of 2015. So I had just lost seventy pounds. I was malnourished, I was in the hospital, and he wanted me to get up? Seriously? I’m bleeding on the bed and you want me to get up?”
Source: YouTube/SisterCircle
After the show, she lost 580 pounds and looks unrecognizable.
When she appeared on the show Sister Circle in 2019, she recalled the time she struggled with her eating disorder.
“I never want to go back to that place,” she explained. “The way I was treated. I never want to go back there. It’s lonely.
”I firstly want to get out there that food is an addiction. I’m always going to have that mindset. I struggled with it,” she added.
”The way I was treated…you never want to go back there. You should never judge a book by it’s cover. Everybody has a story, everybody has roots that they have to get to.
“For those people [who think it’s gross with people on the show], they are just ignorant,” she added. ”You can overcome your struggles and fears, you can do what I did.”
Marla regained control of her life and is now a true beauty and a huge inspiration for others who are about to go through the transformation she went.
Everybody knows that dogs ‘have a thing’ for delivery men and women and UPS drivers. Leo, a lovely Pit Bull, is not an exception. Throughout the years, he and his human mommy Tina Rummel formed a strong bond with a UPS driver named Katie Newhouser.
“He would always start barking as I pulled into the condo complex……He would always jump into my truck when I stopped,” Katie wrote in a Facebook post.
Honestly, every dog owner on her route can tell you how their pets love Katie as she never visits them empty-handed but gives them a bunch of treats.
Source: Animal Channel
One day while on the job, Katie passed by Leo’s house and learned the devastating news of his human mommy’s passing. Sadly, it meant Leo was now all by himself as Tina’s son Conan was serving in the Marines away from home. Worried for the animal’s well-being, Katie made sure to check on him regularly. But, it wasn’t until Leo got inside her vehicle one day refusing to leave it that Katie realized he needed a new home.
She agreed to take Leo in until Conan gets back home. In the meantime, Leo was happy and formed a perfect relationship with the rest of the dogs in Katie’s household.
Source: Facebook/ Katie Newhouser
There were days when Leo would sob after Tina, but his furry siblings were always there to comfort him.
Seeing all her dogs showing so much affection for one another, Katie knew that separating Leo from them would be the worst thing that can happen to him.
Source: Facebook/ Katie Newhouser
Thankfully, she was able to adopt him eventually and that means Leo would spend his life around Katie and her dogs who all love him so very much.
Dogs are super special, don’t you think so? Having them around is a true blessing as they are the only creatures who can fill all your days with happiness and who can put a smile on your face even when you feel blue.
Now, if you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to dogs and their super powers of cheering you up, you may have to think twice. Well, unless you’ve already seen the most hilarious video ever. Believe it or not, it has been seen around 200.000.000 times, and people say how they return to it over and over again.
It depicts a dog and his human. The two are having a very serious conversation with the dad telling his furry pal how he had eaten a bunch of things from the fridge, including bacon, and he had even given some to the cat. The ‘talking’ dog’s reaction is pure gold. He doesn’t seem happy with what he hears and his comeback is going to make you burst out laughing.
Doing a voice-over on animals has never been this cool, trust me.
Take a look at the ultimate dog tease in the video below now and you can thank us later!
Life is unpredictable. In one moment you have it all, and in the next, everything turns upside down leaving you wonder how things can get a wrong turn in such a short time.
Dakota Nelson’s life changed in an instant after his loving wife passed away. He was left to take care of their seven children all by himself. The sad event happened earlier this year when the couple spent the day cleaning around the garage. Dakota went to the house to quickly grab something and when he returned he saw Ream lying on the floor. She was unconscious, her face was blue, and she wasn’t breathing.
He did all he could to try to save her, including CPR, but once the paramedics arrived at the scene they told them how her brain went without oxygen for around 20 minutes. She was taken to the hospital where she spent several weeks in coma, after which she left this world. What caused her dead is still a mystery.
Source: YouTube / Inside Edition
Dakota found himself in a desperate situation. He knew he had to make sure he provides a nice life for his kids aged 1 through to 16. So, he started working three part-time jobs in order to be able to pay for the bills. He was torn between bunch of commitments and all the errands he had to run every day.
But this grieving widower and a single father never lost hope.
Anonymous donor
A random stranger stumbled upon the story of Dakota and decided to do something amazing. With Christmas just around the corner, his deed was a real holiday magic that will change this family’s life and will significantly ease the financial pressure Dakota was feeling.
The “Secret Santa” handed Dakota an envelope with $10,000. This money were more than enough to cover some of the family’s expenses and came just in the right time.
Source: YouTube / Inside Edition
This made Dakota shed tears of joy. He couldn’t believe there are still loving and compassionate people out there.
If you’d like to help Dakota out in anyway, head over to the GoFundMe page created by Ream’s sister.
We live in a world where people tend to lessen our value and make us feel worthless for the sake of reaching their personal goals. This sort of treatment that involves humiliation is also known as bullying.
Bullying can happen to everyone. It’s present in the everyday life of people, but I guess it mostly affects little children who are vulnerable and many times unable to take a stand and speak for themselves.
3-year-old Noah Gilbert is a sweet boy with a ginger hair. And although he used to love the way he looks, some rude people made fun of the color of his hair and that crushed his self-esteem. His mother is now trying to share Noah’s story and raise the voice against bullying.
The unpleasant incident took place while Noah and his mom Lauren boarded a bus. There, a group of teenagers started laughing because of Noah’s hair color and made some nasty comments that broke the boy’s heart.
Some of the gruesome words that spoke were, “I would hate my child to be ginger, I would kill it” and “all kids with ginger hair should go straight to social services.”
Although he’s just three years old, Noah could perfectly understand that they were speaking about him and he couldn’t understand why would someone say such bad words.
The boy got so upset that once he reached home, he started asking why he couldn’t have blonde hair like that of his brother.
His brother’s answer was a poignant one and that made Lauren write a Facebook post that vent viral in a blink of an eye.
She wrote: “He hasn’t stopped asking me why people don’t like his hair. He asked me if I could change it for him so people will like it. I can feel my heart breaking every time he asks me.
“It isn’t okay to bully somebody for their hair colour, not now. Not ever.”
People took their time to defend Noah saying he’s the cutest little boy out there and his ginger care makes him even more special.
“This has had such an effect on Noah, it’s just unfair,” Lauren continued. “I have naturally ginger hair too and I remember being bullied growing up, but not as young as three.”
Lauren wants the teens to apologize for their words. She even reached the principal of the school they attend.
She wants to raise awareness of the problem because this type of harassment takes part every single day and it makes little children question their value and their qualities. What’s most, the effects bullying has on children as well as adults can be long lasting and affect their self-confidence for life.
Stories of how huge names in the film industry found their place in Hollywood are one of my favorite because they remind us that these celebs that we all admire weren’t given everything on a silver platter. On the contrary, most of them struggled at the start of their careers, but it was their determination that helped them reach for the stars.
For actor Lorenzo Lamas, acting seemed to be written in the stars because both his mother and father were involved in the film industry. His mom, Arlene Dahl, an American actress of Norwegian descent was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era. His father, Fernando Lamas, an Argentinian who worked as an actor and director and was also known for his turbulent love life was Lorenzo’s idol.
“I idolized my father, especially as a young boy. He was bigger than life. He commanded the room. He’d done everything, seen everything,” Lorenzo told Fox. “It’s pretty heady stuff to grow up with.”
Getty Images
After his parents divorced when he was just two, Lorenzo and his father eventually left California and moved to New York. At the time, his father married actress Esther Williams. One thing Lorenzo remembers from that period of his life is that when Esther’s children visited, he wasn’t allowed in the house.
“He was many things, but he was also fair, so if he wasn’t going to allow another man’s children in his house, then he couldn’t allow me in the house,” he said of his father.
“So my roommate was a Rolls Royce. I had a key that let me in the backdoor where there was a guest bathroom. But I came from military school, so living in a garage in Beverly Hills was plush to me. I had shared a urinal with 30 guys for the last four years. Looking back, I know that’s not normal. I know that I would never do that to my kids. I run my three teenage daughters around like a chauffeur.”
Jack Mitchell/Getty Images
Lorenzo had his big breakthrough playing the role of Tom Chisum in the iconic film Grease. He played Sandy’s boyfriend, and that role, although rather small, secured him his place in Hollywood.
“I’m amazed by the longevity. It keeps finding new generations of people,” he told Studio 10 about Grease.
For the role, he had to dye his hair lighter because the producers didn’t see Sandy’s boyfriend as someone with dark hair, but that didn’t bother Lorenzo at all.
“I would have dyed it green, fuchsia, anything,” he told People.
What he loved most about his role was that he got the chance to work alongside Olivia Newton-Jonh, his childhood crash.
“I was 19. It was only the third thing I’ve ever done. And I was at the Paramount lot, meeting my childhood crush, Olivia Newton-John, and Mr. Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta. So I was kind of in a complete zombie state, to begin with,” Lorenzo recalled. “I couldn’t take my eyes off her,” he told Studio 10.
Youtube/Josodoyo
After Grease, Lorenzo landed the role of Lance Cumson on Falcon Crests where he starred alongside actress Jane Wyman. It was her who helped him get on track and take control of his life after he appeared high on set because of his addiction
“This is what we’re going to do. We’re going to take a 15-minute break. You’re going to memorize your lines. And you’re never going to come to work high again,” Lorenzo quoted Wyman saying.
After starring in whooping 228 episodes, what came next was the drama show Renegade which was also a huge success.
Lorenzo was married five times and has six children, with his last wife, actress Shawna Craig, being 30 years his junior. “It [complicated the family dynamic] initially,” Lorenzo told Entertainment Online in 2015. “Of course it would. My friends said, ‘What could you possibly have in common with a person that’s 30 years younger than you?’ I told them, ‘Everything.’”
The couple divorced in 2018.
Instagram/LorenzoLamas
Today, Lorenzo has put most of his time and energy working as a helicopter flight instructor and an airplane pilot. His charity organization Angel Flight provides free, medical-related air transport for people in need.
“Pilots like myself donate our planes and time to get people around the country for medical treatment,” he told Soap Opera Digest.
“I would fly people from their hometowns to the cities where their hospitals were located. I’ve also flown disabled kids to camp because riding in a car would be too uncomfortable for them, but the parents just couldn’t afford the [commercial] airfare.”
“There’s no way that you can avoid getting emotionally involved,” Lamas added. “There’s plenty of travel time for conversation, so you get interested in their lives, and you want to know all about them.”
With a career that has spanned 75 years across film, TV and the stage, Angela Lansbury is an award-winning actress who is stealing our hearts over and over again.
Earlier in October, the Murder, She Wrote star turned 96 and is still looking as incredibly beautiful as always.
Born Angela Brigid Lansbury on October 16, 1923, in London, England, she suffered a huge heartbreak when her father died. She was just nine years old at the time and the loss affected her childhood and life a great deal.
In an attempt to cope with her grief, young Angela found solace in performance, and that saved her. She would later describe it as a “defining moment of her life.”
“Nothing before or since has ever affected me so deeply,” she told Closer. “I became something of a dreamer, lost in my grief [and] much more interested in acting, following the example of my mother.”
“At the age of 11 or 12, I remember sitting on buses and trying to look interesting. Or I would get people’s attention by saying something kind of outlandish that simply sounded as if I knew something they didn’t know.
“[I was] taking on the emotional and mental aspects of somebody other than Brigid. So I was acting through a great deal of my life without even realizing that that’s what I was doing.”
Angela’s mom was a well-respected actress, so when the family was forced to leave England for America, she found herself working on Broadway. It’s safe to say that Angela inherited her mom’s acting talent and found her place under the Hollywood sky.
Angela had her big breakthrough acting alongside Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight. At the time, she had just turned 18.
“That was a thrilling experience, to work with Ingrid [Bergman], who was so kind. It was sort of a dream world,” she recalled.
“I was so young; I was really awed by what I was being asked to do. And when you’re challenged like that, you damn well do your best.”
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After appearing in her first movie, she was nominated for best supporting actress for an Academy Award. She continued her career during the ’60s and ’70s and appeared in a number of television projects such as The King and I and Sweeney Todd. in 1945, Angela received her second Oscar nomination for her supporting performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
She won five Tony’s, six Golden Globes and one Oliver Award.
Besides all her legendary roles, she is probably best known for the series Murder, She Wrote.
Already a famous name in the industry back in 1983, Angela was offered two roles at the same time, that of writer Jessica Fletcher and another in a sitcom. Her manager was convinced she should accept the role in the sitcom, but she felt that playing the role of a widowed former school teacher turned successful mystery writer and amateur sleuth would be the right thing to do. Years later, her decision turned faithful.
For her role in Murder, She Wrote, Angela was nominated for Prime Time Emmy 12 times, but she didn’t win any.
“It pissed me off!” she told the Radio Times in 2017.
“Because I just didn’t add up at all in Hollywood. Everywhere else in the U.S., Murder, She Wrote was huge, but not in Hollywood — no, no, no, they didn’t want to know. I wasn’t upset… Well, I was upset, really. It rankled me. I can’t say it didn’t.”
Before she turned 94, Angela said, “You know, I don’t make movies anymore, but that’s okay. My voice is not my fortune, but certainly, my voice is the thing I’ve been able to keep going and even though I’m going to be 94 next month, I don’t feel anything like that.”
When it comes to her private life, Angela was married twice. In 1949, tied the knot with her second husband, British actor Peter Shaw, with whom she had two children, Anthony and Deirdre. The two were married for over five decades before Shaw passed away in 2003.
Their relationship resembled a fairy-tale.
“We had the perfect relationship,” she said of their marriage in 2014.
“Not many people can say that. He was everything to me: we were partners at work as well as husband and wife and lovers. I don’t know how we had such a long marriage, but the simple fact was that we were devoted to one another.”
Source: WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Angela looked back on her beautiful marriage and the wonderful years she got to spend with Peter.
“I had a wonderfully happy marriage to Peter. We were both doers, we had the same sort of energy. We did everything for the family, and that was our mutual thrust at all times.
“We had our moments when we could have hit each other out of the ballpark, but it didn’t allow us to think that we couldn’t make it through.”
These days, she spends her time with her children and grandchildren. “As she’s getting older, she wants to be with her kids and grandkids,” Angela’s stepson David Shaw told Closer. “She’s a great lady. She always put family first.”
Being 96, Angela says age doesn’t define her.
“I’ve never been particularly aware of my age. It’s like being on a bicycle – I just put my foot down and keep going,” she said, according to Express.
“I never look at my face and think, ‘God, you’re getting old or think of running out of steam.”
The Murder, She Wrote star is believed to have a net worth of $70 million.
Acting talent definitely runs in the blood of the Fonda family. From Henry Fonda, his children, actor Peter Fonda and actress Jane Fonda, to his granddaughter Bridget, this name has always been sort of a synonym for the movie industry.
Bridget, who retired from acting, has captivated the attention of many with her incredible looks and skills.
Being born in the famous family of distinguished actors, her career was somehow determined from the moment she was welcomed into the world. Her passion for acting and the excitement she felt when she was cast for her school’s, Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles, production of Harvey was more than enough for young Bridget to be absolutely sure that embarking on a career as an actress was her calling.
Facebook
When she was just eight years old, Bridget’s parents divorced. During her young years, she remained in a closer relationship with her mother Susan Brewer, an artistic soul, than with her father. Later, however, she and her dad reconnected and she would often say how she was ”constantly surprised how much I’m like my dad.”
Bridget’s first noteworthy role was that of Mandy Rice-Davies in Scandal for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Other prominent films that shaped her career are The Godfather Part III, where she played a journalist, Single White Female, Singles, Point of No Return, an American remake of the 1990 French film Nikita, and more. Her last movie was Snow Queen, which aired in 2002, after which she hasn’t appeared on screen.
Bridget Fonda, 1989
During her acting career, Bridget turned down many roles in TV series because she wanted to focus on movies. One such role that she said no to was that of Ally McBeal in the same name series, which was later offered to actress Calista Flockhart. Ally McBeal was a huge hit and was loved worldwide, so we aren’t sure whether Bridget regretted not taking that role.
A year before she decided she had it enough of filming, gorgeous Bridget appeared as a Christmas lingerie model for H&M. She once said, ”Nudity is who people are at the most interesting point of the evening, when they take off their protective layer, when no one is watching.”
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In 2003, the actress was involved in a serious car accident but only suffered minor injuries.
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When it comes to her private life, she has always wanted to keep things exactly that, private. But being a celebrity and a huge name during the 80’s and the 90’s, hiding her love life from the public eye was practically impossible.
She dated actor Eric Stoltz and they were together for eight years. In 1999, she was in a relationship with country musician Dwight Yoakam. The two seemed very much in love and spoke of getting married, but instead, they broke up and Bridget said, “Um, yeah, but for some reason I just can’t seem to do it. Well, obviously not. (laughs) Somebody said the people who don’t get married are can’t get married people. This was somebody’s theory. And so I thought I must be a can’t.”
However, just a year later, in 2003, she settled down with composer Danny Elfman with whom she has son Oliver and is still married to.
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Rumors are that the reason she left acting was that she wanted to devote to her family completely.
Bridget’s career might have ended sooner that any of us ever expected or wished, but who knows, maybe she will make a comeback in the years to come.
Barbara Mandrell, “The Sweetheart of Steel,” could read music sheets before she could read words, and when she was just five years old, those around her knew she would be a great name in the music industry. When she was eleven, Barbara had already mastered the steel guitar so her father took her to a music trade show in Chicago where her undeniable talent was spotted by legendary country guitarists, Chet Atkins and “Uncle” Joe Maphis. That’s how her career as a country singer started. And even today, this incredible artists is still charming audiences with her unique voice and her huge hits.
Barbara Mandrell Appreciation Page
Her dad, who never stopped believing in his daughter’s abilities, became her manager, and together they reached many great things.
Back in 1968, Barbara’s family moved from Houston, Texas, to the country music capital, Nashville. It was then that her first records topped the charts and more and more people heard of her.
Facebook / Barbara Mandrell Appreciation Page
When she started performing with the Mandrell Family Band, her father hired Ken Dudney to play the drums. Later, he became Barbara’s husband and the two have been happily married for 53 years.
When they first met, Barbara was just 14, and Ken was 21. At the time, he was engaged with another girl but decided to put an end to that relationship, and four years later, on May 28, 1967, Barbara and Ken tied the knot.
Facebook / Owen Bradley’s “Quonset Hut”
”He was smart enough to be kind and polite but cool. When I fell, I fell hard. We went together all through high school. We were very much in love, and we very much wanted to get married. I very much had to graduate from high school first,” Barbara told CBN.
Barbara also said how Ken always supported her career. At one point of their relationship, when she was focused on producing music, Ken served in the Navy.
Facebook / Barbara Mandrell Appreciation Page
Being separated from one another was hard, but these two never lost their love and passion for one another. They have three kids, Kenneth Matthew Dudney (b. 1970), Jaime Nicole Dudney (b. 1976), and Nathaniel Mandrell Dudney (b. 1985).
When asked of the secret to a lasting and happy marriage, Barbara told the Boot, ”There are times when Ken and I would like to put each other through a wall!It happens, but we married for forever, and keeping God at the center of our lives has made it work and made it blessed and happy. Ken and I both are outgoing people — we’re yellers and screamers! But we’re also passionate at making up.”
Barbara would always say it was God who kept them together and helped them overcome every obstacle life has put on their way. Back in 2002, in an interview with CBN, she said, ”By our Heavenly Father and only because of God, only because of God. We’re like other couples. We do not get along perfectly; we do not go without arguments and, as I call them, fights, and heartache and pain and hurting each other. But a marriage is three of us.”
Barbara Mandrell at the CMT Giants honoring Reba McEntire. Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, CA, in 2006.
During her career, Barbara received many awards and recognitions for her role in the country music. Among the many, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
This lady is still very beautiful and charming at the age of 71. Asked how she keeps herself in such shape she says, ”As far as beauty goes — my mother is just really cute. At one time, I had her figure. When I was working, I was very disciplined and was doing 90 minutes of aerobics at every show. So I was lean and mean! My mother is maximum a size 2 — it just makes me sick! [laughs] So I keep hoping one day I’ll just turn into her.”
Facebook / Ken Dudney
Barbara and Ken are a perfect example of a happy couple who learned how to stay in love during all those years. We wish them many more anniversaries.
It was during a really hot day in Anaheim, California, when two patrolling officers noticed something that caught their attention. An elderly man was out on the heat, mowing the lawn. We all know that extreme heat can be dangerous, and even fatal. It can increase body temperature which can lead to heavy sweating, clammy skin, dehydration, tiredness, headache, dizziness, and a bunch of other conditions.
That is the reason why officers Alex Ungureanu and Lorenzo Uribe decided to stop their car and check on the elderly man who was wearing a button-down shirt and jeans, not really breathable type of clothes.
Source: YouTube/ CBS Los Angeles
As it turned out, the man, Lupe Robles, was mowing his friend’s lawn completely for free, and this wasn’t the first time for him to be helping the members of his community.
The officers wouldn’t let Robles stay under the hot son any longer and offered to finish the job for him. He was really glad someone lent him a helping hand because he wasn’t used to that. He was used to helping other his entire life. In fact, once this story spread around, Robles’ neighbors said that he had a reputation of a person who loves being there for those in need.
Source: YouTube/ CBS Los Angeles
The officers were happy to help and said it’s part of their job to assist in little things. Well, they did swear to protect and serve, didn’t they?
As for Robles, he was very happy he made new friends. “I was very grateful, I was very happy. They are totally awesome…good friends now,” he said.
Source: YouTube/ CBS Los Angeles
For more on this inspiring story check out the video below and don’t forget to share it with your friends.
