All of Katie Keizenber’s friends know that the senior at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma loves Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She can recite the lines to his movies, she’s followed his wrestling career and believes that he is an all around super guy. Most of the world agrees with that these days.
Her love for “The Rock” is what made her do it. She couldn’t think of anyone she would rather go to the senior prom with than the wrestling superstar. Katie gathered up all the courage she could and wrote to Mr Johnson asking him to be her date. When he responded you won’t believe how he did it… this is something she will always remember.
Katie assumed he was too busy since she didn’t hear back from him. It made perfect sense because of his schedule. Then something perplexing happened. Katie was sitting in her classroom one ordinary day. Just like every other day the announcements started over the speakers in the class. Katie knew that was not the regular kid that was doing the announcements. There was a different yet familiar voice echoing in the the room.
It was her beloved Dwayne! He had called to the Stillwater High administration and secretly recorded the daily announcements. First, Dwayne greeted the student body and wished them well. Then he turned his attention to Katie! The moment Dwayne mentioned her name, the entire classroom turned around in shock! Was she dreaming? Could this be happening? The Rock regretfully had to decline the invite due to some schedule conflicts. But he did have something special up his sleeve for Katie!
Watch as Dwayne surprises Katie. This is how more of Hollywood should treat their fans instead of ignoring them. Dwayne is a stand up guy, going above and beyond for his biggest fan.
If you want to see what “The Rock” did for his biggest fan check out the video below.
How far would you go to help a complete stranger? A woman named Amarri Hernandez and her boyfriend were at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport when they witnessed a heartbreaking scene.
An elderly couple were about to walk through the security gate when the man was asked to leave the package he was holding in his hands behind. He asked whether it was possible to leave it at “lost and found” because it was a gift for their granddaughter, but the security guard told him to put it in “File 13,” and pointed to the trash.
The elderly man didn’t have a choice but to get rid of the gift. His eyes went teary and it was very obvious that his heart broke into a million pieces.
Realizing that the package meant a lot to the elderly couple, Ammari decided to take it out of the trash. When she opened it, she saw a beautiful snow globe with a photo of the couple on one side, and another photo of a beautiful girl and a dog on the other. At the bottom of the snowball there was an engraved message which read: “We love you, Katie. Nana and Papa.”
Ammari was determined to help find the elderly couple and return the gift which obviously meant a lot to them.
All she needed to do was post a plea on Facebook and the Internet community did its magic. In a very short period of time, the post was shared over 40,000 times. One of the people who stumbled upon it was an employee at Things Remembered, where the snow globe was made. He gave Ammari the contact number of Linda and Bill Modry who purchased the gift from their store.
Ammari contacted Linda and returned her the gift. Linda explained that it meant so much for them because it was for their granddaughter whom their son adopted.
This story goes to show that there are still good and decent people out there.
To see Linda’s reaction on getting the gift go to the video below.
21-year-old Annabelle Stephens from Idaho ordered some food from Door Dash. As she was waiting for her delivery, she heard the doorbell and checked her front-lawn camera to see who it was when she noticed an elderly man at her door. Confused, she opened the door and soon realized that the man was in fact the delivery guy.
What caught Stephens’ attention was that the man was in his seventies. She felt sorry that someone who was supposed to enjoy his old days was for some reason forced to work so she gave him a $30 tip for her $21 order.
Source: YouTube/ Inside Edition
Stephens’ couldn’t stop thinking of the delivery man. She then thought of a story she stumbled upon about another elderly man who struggled to make ends meet and worked for a delivery company. That man’s life changed after an unexpected meeting with a customer who stepped in for him. Stephens’ wanted to do the same for the Door Dash employee so she decided to share his story on the social media after she managed to get in touch with him through his employer.
The man’s name was Kerry Judd. He explained that he had to work because he was still taking care of his two older children but didn’t want to reveal more.
Source: YouTube/ Inside Edition
After his wife passed away in 2011, he struggled financially and needed to work. However, being a delivery guy wasn’t his only job. He explained that he also worked as a security guard. That was too much physical and emotional pressure for someone his age.
In order to ease his life, Stephens started a GoFundMe page hoping people would be willing to donate money so that Kerry could at least quit one of his jobs. So far, over $100K has been raised.
Source: YouTube/ Inside Edition
Kerry was extremely grateful for the help. What’s most, he and Stephens became good friends. She has invited him over to dinner and the two enjoyed each other’s company.
Isn’t it amazing to witness how a person’s life can change for the better when we care for one another?
Source: YouTube/ Inside Edition
For more on this heartwarming story go to the video below.
No matter your age, chances are you are very familiar with the sequel The Karate Kid. At the time the first film was released in 1984, it became a commercial success and one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing movies of the year. It followed teen Daniel LaRusso, portrayed by Ralph Macchio, and his journey towards mastering the art of karate in order to be able to stand against his bullies. LaRusso’s love interest in the film was Ali Mills, a beautiful blonde girl played by Elisabeth Shue.
Shue rose to fame almost overnight and The Karate Kid opened the doors to a successful career for her. All of a sudden, all eyes were on her. She became America’s sweetheart as she resembled a typical girl-next-door everyone fell for.
The Karate Kid
As her career proceeded, she landed roles in a number of movies which are considered Hollywood classics, among which Cocktail, in which she starred alongside Tom Cruise, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future II and Back to the Future III.
When she was offered the role of a prostitute who falls for an alcoholic in the film Leaving Las Vegas, Shue showed everyone that she could play any character. For this role, she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Instagram / itsan80sthing
Shue is married to film director Davis Guggenheim. The two tied the knot in 1994 and have three children together. Speaking of her life as a wife and a mother, Shue told People in 2007: “I play tennis for two hours every day. I want to compete at the lowest level of pro tennis — it’s my own personal goal. Once I accomplish that, I quickly take care of my job as an actress, then I become just a regular mom.”
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In 2000, Shue completed her B.A. in Political Science at the prestigious Harvard University. In fact, she studied there for some time right after high school before she decided to take a break and focus on her career. Luckily, she was able to pick up where she left off.
”It wasn’t easy at first,” she told NZHerald. ”I did make friends [at Harvard], but I couldn’t hang out the way I used to when I was in my 20s, I had to go home and take care of my kids at the end of day. But it was really nice being with kids who were different ages.”
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One event that changed and affected Shue’s life forever was the passing of her eldest brother Will. He died in a freak accident in 1988, two days before turning 27. According to the siblings who witnessed the tragic incident, Will was swinging over a pond by clinging to a rope. Unfortunately, the rope broke and Will was pierced on a tree branch. He died at the scene.
This caused immense pain and heartbreak at Shue and the rest of her siblings because they all considered Will the leader of their family, especially after their parents’ divorce when Shue was just nine years old.
“Will was an exceptional person,” Elisabeth told NJ Monthly in 2007.
“He was incredibly loving and very protective of us. I think because our parents were divorced, it was tough on all of us as we tried to find a safe haven. At times, Will would take the place of our parents and he would be our friend. He never stopped looking out for us.”
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From 2012 to 2015, Shue played Julie Finlay in CSI. Right now, she is part of the American superhero drama television series The Boys and reprised her Ali Mills role in the third season of Cobra Kai.
Speaking of the fame she gained during the 80’s, Shue recalled: “All those movies from the ’80s, like Adventures in Babysitting and Cocktail. [Fans] will say, ‘I had such a crush on you when I was 7. I wanted you to be my babysitter.’ Now they’re in their 30s, and I feel so old!”
Shue is 58 and looks as stunningly beautiful as always.
New details surrounding the accident on the set of the movie Rust in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins lost her life after actor Alec Baldwin shot her emerged. Following these new details, late Hutchins family filed a wrongful death suit which names Baldwin and others who “are responsible for the safety on the set” and “reckless behavior and cost-cutting.”
As reported by Fox News, the lawsuit read: “Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the Defendants had the power to prevent her [passing] if they had only held sacrosanct their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a set where firearms were present instead of cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations.”
Further, it said: “This lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused her tragic [passing].”
Shutterstock/Al Teich
From the start, Baldwin expressed his deepest condolences to Hutchins’ family but claimed he wasn’t the one to be blamed for her killing. “Someone put a live bullet in a gun, a bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property,” Baldwin said at the time, as per ABC News. “Someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me.”
Besides Baldwin, who operated the gun when the bullet which killed Hutchins and stuck director Joel Souza was fired, others are in the center of the investigation too, among them is assistant director Dave Halls who handed the gun to Baldwin claiming it was safe to use and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed who loaded the weapon.
After the shooting, Hutchins was airlifted and transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital but was pronounced dead.
Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks
Hutchins’ heartbroken husband and son aren’t the only ones who filed a suit against Bladwin and the rest of the crew involved in the incident. A month after the tragic shooting, script supervisor Mamie Mitchell filed a suit against the actor. However, no criminal charges were brought against Baldwin or anyone else at the time. Mitchell’s lawyer claimed the actor should have checked the gun before pulling the trigger. “There was nothing in the script about the gun being discharged by defendant Baldwin or by any other person,” the lawsuit read.
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“I don’t know what happened on that set. I don’t know how that bullet arrived in that gun, I don’t know,” Baldwin told ABCNews in November, “But I’m all for doing anything that will take us to a place where this is less likely to happen again.
“This was a marking rehearsal,” Baldwin added. “And [Hutchins] says to me, ‘Hold the gun lower. Go to your right. Okay, right there. All right, do that. Now show it a little bit lower.’ And she’s getting me to position the gun. She’s guiding me through how she wants me to hold the gun for this angle. I’m holding the gun where she told me to hold it, which ended up being aimed right below her armpit.”
Sam Wasson/Getty Images
An animated video reenacting the fatal shooting emerged recently. According to it, Hutchins was shot from four feet away. Special effects coordinator Thomas Gandy, however, claimed she stood even closer than that.
“Halyna was telling Alec she wanted to see his thumb working the hammer back to do the shot,” Gandy said on The Deadly Take, as reported by Yahoo News. “She stood only approximately 18 inches away from the firearm.”
Lead attorney Brian Panish told reporters: “I think it’s clear what happened. Alec had the gun in his hand. He shot it.”
Instagram/AlecBaldwin
On the other hand, Baldwin’s attorney, Aaron Dyer, said that “any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false.”
“This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, and there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone,” Dyer added. “Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use.”
At the moment, the case is still being handled by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department.
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanity had the feeling that the entire world sort of shut down. The numerous measures imposed by the governments, which included social distancing among the rest, gave everyone a new perspective on life and taught us all that we should never take things for granted, such as having coffee with friends, or giving our family members a hug when we see them.
Many businesses were forced to close and a huge number of people lost their jobs. The entertainment industry wasn’t spared either. For almost two years, there were no concerts or live performances of any sort.
Today, although the virus is still here, things started to move slowly. Many performers announced their tours, among which one of the best female singers there are, Céline Dion.
Source: Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency
Dion has a history with Las Vegas, the place she feels like home. Her story with the “Sin City” dates back to 2003, when she began a four-year Las Vegas residency which turned to be a huge success, grossing over $385 million.
Some years later, Dion returned to the Las Vegas stage for a residency at Ceasar’s Palace and broke the world record with her 1,141 performances, according to Billboard.
At the same time, the Canadian born singer holds the records for the two best-selling residencies of all time.
Source: Instagram/Celinedion
Speaking of the pandemic and her canceled tour, Dion told Today, “The tour was canceled, the whole world was shut off. It was definitely different, but for us, we were very fortunate.
“It was the old-fashioned family fun, simple pleasures of life, playing outside a lot, cooking. Honestly, making the best out of this.”
Source: Instagram/Celinedion
Dion made her fans overly-excited when she announced that her delayed tour will take place in November 2021. She was supposed to take to the Las Vegas stage for a brand-new show at Resorts World Las Vegas.
“Vegas had given us a family and an opportunity for me to be a mom, for them to be kids, for me to perform for my fans and to practice my passion,” she told Today. “And every night, come home… that is rare. I really feel that Vegas has given me motherhood and the best as an artist. The best of both worlds.
“[The new Las Vegas shows ] is going to be about energy, about starting again, about living again, about feeling that something will come out of this, hopefully.”
Source: Shutterstock/Liam Goodner
However, as everyone was in anticipation of hearing the diva perform live after so much time, she issued a statement saying that she was forced to postpone several concert dates due to “unforeseen medical symptoms.”
“Celine has been experiencing severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing,” the statement read, as reported by Entertainment Online. “Her medical team continues to evaluate and treat her. However, the symptoms she is experiencing are prohibiting her from participating in the ongoing rehearsals for the new show.”
Source: Shutterstock/Tom Rose
The star took to Instagram to tell her fans that she feels heartbroken.
“My team and I have been working on our new show for the past eight months, and to not be able to open this November saddens me beyond words. My partners at Resorts World Las Vegas and AEG have been working around the clock to get this brand-new state-of-the-art theatre ready, and it’s absolutely beautiful,” the 53-year-old singer wrote.
“I feel so bad that I’m letting them down, and I’m especially sorry for disappointing all the fans who’ve been making their plans to come to Las Vegas. Now, I have to focus on getting better… I want to get through this as soon as I can. – Celine.”
Dion won’t be able to perform from November 5 to November 20, or from January 19 to February 5.
Source: Getty Images Entertainment /Marc Piasecki
The star announced she’s also canceling her North America tour. “I was really hoping I’d be good to go by now, but I suppose I just have to be more patient and follow the regimen my doctors are prescribing,” Dion wrote in the statement she posted on her Instagram account. The tour included stops in San Francisco, LA, Denver, and other US and Canadian cities.
The “European leg” of her world tour is still planned to happen with her first concert taking place on May 25 in Birmingham, England.
When people come up with the decision to adopt a child, most look for babies or toddlers. Unfortunately, teenagers are very often overlooked and are hardly ever given the chance to become part of a real family.
When these children age out and leave their foster homes, many are homeless, jobless, and insecure. They have a hard time moving forward and staring their new life. Unfortunately, the society’s perception of these teenagers doesn’t make things easier. They are likely perceived as troublesome and are rarely given any chances.
Sharon, the woman from the below video which has been seen and shared by millions of people, is a prof that adopting teenagers is sometimes the best decision one can make.
Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona
She is an adoptive parent of three teenagers who experienced hardship early in life. Shantell, Chris, and Lex all had a troublesome childhood. As a result, they became distrustful and insecure. In fact, neither of them believed they would ever be adopted.
Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona
At the start of the video, Chris explains that it was very hard for him to tell his social worker whenever a foster family wasn’t a good fit for him.
Shantell admitted that whenever he would get into trouble, his initial thought was to run away, but then his new mom would help him overcome any difficulty.
Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona
When Lex became part of the family, he wasn’t happy. In fact, he hated Sharon and didn’t want to be adopted. Overtime, however, he learned that Sharon truly loved him and she truly cared, and he’s now happy and thriving, just like his two brothers.
Today, all three of these guys have a productive role in society.
Source: YouTube/ Aaskarizona
Sharon encourages others to follow her path and open the doors to their homes and hearts for older children.
When we say I do, we hope it’s for a lifetime, but how long a lifetime is?
The longest-living married couple in the United States celebrated their 86th wedding anniversary recently. Well, that truly is a long time to spend with one person, but when the love is real, that’s more of a blessing, don’t you agree?
Ralph and Dorothy Kohler, who live in Indio, California, tied the knot when they were 18 and 17 respectively. That was back in 1935. When they went to the court, they were denied a marriage license because the court official believed they were both way too young to get married. However, that didn’t stop them from going elsewhere for a permission.
Today, Ralph is 103 and Dorothy is 102 years old.
Source: YouTube/ KESQ NewsChannel 3
So what’s the secret behind their long and happy marriage? They both agree that letting their spouse follow their passion is one of the things that kept them going strong for so long.
“Love for one thing, and we enjoy the same thing. And if we didn’t, we accepted it,” Ralph told WOWT. “Dorothy loves ballroom dancing, and I loved shooting clay targets. I joined her with ballroom dancing, and she joined me with trap shooting.”
The current record for the world’s longest marriage is held by Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of the United States. They were married for 86 years and 290 days when Herbert died on February 27, 2011.
As for Ralph and Dorothy, we wish them more happy years together.
For more on their story check out the video below.
Actress Felicity Kendal had her major television breakthrough with the 1975 television series The Good Life which became a “landmark light entertainment” in Britain and won the hearts of millions across the globe. Some years later, it aired in the US under the name Good Neighbors, but never reached the enormous popularity it enjoyed in the UK.
As a young child, Kendal, who was born in September 1946 in Birmingham, spent a lot of time in India together with her family. Her father owned a touring theater company there where they performed Shakespeare for royalties one day and entertained farmers from the desolate countryside the next.
Kendal was part of those performances from early age and was somehow destined to become an actress.
”When we weren’t performing we were travelling: long, tiring journeys the length and breadth of India on trains and buses, on which the routine never varied,” she told the Daily Mail in 2012.
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Although she enjoyed India very much, at the age of 17, Kendal contracted typhoid fever in Calcutta. Speaking of her struggle with the highly contagious and life-threatening infection, the actress revealed it was the “closest” she had ever been to dying.
On The Good Life, Kendal portrayed the role of middle-class suburban housewife Barbara Goode. She and her on-screen husband Tom, played by Richard Briers, decided to live off-guard and surrounded themselves with chickens, goats, pigs, and homegrown vegetables.
According to the actress herself, people loved her character so much because of her loyal, cheerful, and sexy bearing.
British actors Penelope Keith, Richard Briers (1934 – 2013), Paul Eddington (1927 – 1995), and Felicity Kendal, in the BBC sitcom ‘The Good Life’, 2nd September 1977.
As her on-screen marriage flourished, her real-life relationship with her then husband Drewe Henley, was disintegrating. “The show was the very opposite of what was going on in my home life,” she confessed.
Her personality was also far from the one her TV character possessed. “I always did have affairs when I wanted,” she told Daily Mail. “It’s just how you are at the moment. Look, the aura of sweetness and light associated with Barbara Good has got b****r all to do with my life.”
Kendal and Henley divorced in 1979 after 11 years of marriage. They welcomed son Charley, a prestigious special effects technician who worked on Gladiator, the Harry Potter movies, and Prometheus among the rest.
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In 1983, Kendal married her second husband, Michael Rudman, a US theater director with whom she welcomed her second son, Jacob. Kendal converted to Judaism and claimed it had nothing to do with her marriage to Rudman, but she did it because she saw it as a connection to India, the place she holds dear to her heart.
She divorced Rudman in 1990 and dated other people, but in 1998, she reconnected with him and they are still together.
”Michael is the big love of my life. We have a history together: going through a divorce is like going through a tragedy and if you come out the other side it really does bind you together,” Kendal told The Guardian.
Felicity Kendal with her husband and sons / Getty Images
One thing that affected Kendal’s life deeply was the passing of her sister Jennifer who died of colon cancer at the age of 51. “These days, we are so much more open about serious illness and death. Back then it was almost seen as an embarrassment. I was with Jennifer when she was diagnosed and told her cancer was likely to be fatal. The doctor couldn’t even meet her eyes,” Kendal told Express in 2009.
Jennifer Kendal/ IMDB
Today, the actress is 75 years old. She keeps herself in shape by exercising three times a week. She also admits she uses Botox for her face but has never undergone any major plastic surgeries.
“There was a time when you’d think, I’m over 60, I can not possibly wear a short skirt again because of my crinkly knees. Then you come out the other end and say, f *** it, I’ve got good legs, I’m going to put on tights and a short skirt,” she says.
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Felicity Kendal has starred in a huge number of stage productions over the years and doesn’t plan to retire any time soon.
One family, the McIntosh, has fostered 125 children over the years, but it was one very special boy named Jordan who stole their hearts forever.
The moment Ingeborg McIntosh held Jordan in her arms for the first time ever, she described it as “love at first sight.” What’s most, they knew Jordan belonged with them and they did all in their power to adopt him. What they didn’t know, however, was that the love they have given him would be returned to them in a way no one could ever imagine.
This story is all about love, kindness, and a saved life.
YouTubeAlthough Jordan was fostered by this loving family, his biological mother didn’t want them to adopt him. The reason why was that she wanted her son to be raised by black parents.
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After failing to find such family, she eventually agreed the McIntosh to adopt Jordan. At the time he officially became part of their family, Jordan was four years old.
“He was a part of the family, no matter what.”
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Two decades later, Ingeborg received awful news. She was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease and needed a kidney transplantation. Jordan decided he couldn’t stand by and watch his mother suffer. He decided to act, without his mother even being aware of his plans.
He booked an appointment to see if he was a match for transplantation. The tests showed that he was.
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“I feel like this was my calling in life, I guess,” Jordan said.
“Hopefully I can do more for her as I get older, but for the moment, it’s the least I could do.”
Ingeborg insisted Jordan not give her a kidney because she didn’t want him to go under the knife, but he was determined to save her life.
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When speaking of the love he has for his mother, Jordan can’t hide his tears.
“Everything she’s done for me since I was a kid, I just wanted to give it back to her, and show her how much I appreciate her,” he said.
This family raised a wonderful boy who turned into a caring man. Way to go, Jordan, you are the son every parent would be happy to have.
Not everyone is born under a lucky star. Some people have it easy in life and are able to afford nice houses, vehicles, and a number of commodities, while others have a hard time putting food on the table and struggle to make ends meet.
A teenage boy named Chauncy Black didn’t have much while growing up. He and his mother had a place to call home, but struggled to make enough money for food. Black, although just 16 years old, decided things needed to change. He couldn’t stand seeing his mother feeling guilty for not providing him a better life.
One day, he decided to take bus to a place where there was lots of food, a Kroger grocery store in an affluent neighborhood. He managed to save enough money for a bus ticket and had a plan to offer help to strangers in an exchange for some food. Little did he know that this pan of his would change his life forever.
Facebook/Jody Callahan
Once at the store, Chauncy noticed a man carrying a bunch of bags so he approached and asked if he could help him carry his groceries to his car in an exchange for some donuts.
The stranger, Matt White, agreed.
“This kid looked like he had been turned down 100 times. He looked ashamed, hungry and broken. In my heart I screamed a loud “yes!”, but to him I just chuckled and said, “yeah dude, we’ll get you some donuts,” Mark recalled.
Mark realized the kid had no money, only a bus pass to get back home where his hungry mother was waiting for him.
Facebook/Matt White
Feeling the urge to step in for Chauncy, Mark decided to repay for the teen’s help not only by getting him donuts, but a bunch of other things too.
“So, needless to say, he and I went on a shopping spree. We had so much fun! We got cereal and chips and frozen veggies, pizzas, Cheetos, melons and pasta, peanut butter, milk, soap, tooth brushes, just a little bit of everything,” Mark explained.
While they were shopping, Chauncy told Mark how he was an A-straight student and was doing all in his power to get a job in order to help with the rent.
“This kid was amazing. Chauncy kept calling himself poor, but he told me that one day he was gonna be wealthy and own his own businesses so that he could help other people in his neighborhood and buy them groceries like me. I was in awe.”
Facebook/Matt White
Mark even offered Chauncy a ride home. Once there, he noticed that the boy’s mother was very ill.
“I gave him a ride home so that he didn’t have to take the bus and when we got to his house I was truly humbled. He wasn’t kidding. He and his mom had nothing. They didn’t even have beds or furniture. They were sleeping on pads made out of sleeping bags, they had two lamps and nothing in their fridge.”
Chauncy’s mother was shaking uncontrollably because of the condition she suffered from. She was fragile and in need of medical assistance.
Facebook/Matt White
Chauncy was extremely thankful to Mark. No one has ever done anything so generous for him and his mom before.
“As I was leaving I gave him a hug and told him how much God loved him and that he was going to grow up to be an incredible man. I’ll never forget that hug. It meant more to me than any possession I have.”
Mark couldn’t stop thinking of the poor life conditions of Chauncy and his mom. He knew he needed to do something in order to ease their life as much as possible so he started a GoFundMe page.
In no time, this teen’s story went viral, and support and donations came pouring in. An incredible $341K was raised in response to this family’s basic needs. On top of that, Chauncy could now afford to buy the necessary equipment for his lawn mowing business he was planning on starting long time ago.
Facebook/Matt White
One serendipitous encounter changed it all for this brave teen. For more on his life story go to the video below.
One of the few people who didn’t pass unnoticed by the wide public thanks to their turbulent life, unique style, and the controversy that surrounded their life is Cayetana Fitz-James, or better known as the Duchess of Alba.
This woman, who held the most hereditary titles in the world, led quite a life. Born as a royalty, she was direct descendant of King James II and Queen Victoria Eugenie, Cayetana attracted the attention of many. She was friends with many celebrities, including Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn, but most of all Princess Margaret. Both the Duchess of Alba and Princess Margaret are widely known for “breaking” the royal protocol numerous times, all because they wanted to live their lives by their own rules.
Cayetana received most of her titles after her mother’s passing. She caught tuberculosis at the time the disease was a pandemic and died of pneumonia. Cayetana was just 8 years old at the time. What helped her move on was the fact that she had close relationship with her father, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba.
However, when the Spanish royalty was forced into exile in 1931, Cayetana and her father moved to France. She wasn’t fond of the country’s capital, Paris, and the two soon moved to England. Once in London, she received formal education and learnt several languages.
Cayetana with her father in London / Getty Images
At the age of 21, Cayetana married her first husband, Pedro Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artacoz, who came from a noble Spanish family. Their wedding was dubbed the most expensive in the world, with a huge number of people watching the Duchess arriving at the cathedral of Seville in a horse-drawn carriage. Cayetana and Pedro had six children together, and a marriage easily described as picture-perfect. Unfortunately, Pedro died in 1972, at the age of 53. As a couple, they were a powerful one and got to hang out with some of the most influential celebrities and politicians in the world.
Cayetana, for one, hosted Jackie Kennedy in one of her castles during her visit of Spain.
Jacqueline Kennedy and the Duchess Cayetana of Alba at a charity party for the Red Cross Foundation at the ‘Casa de Pilatos’, 1966, Sevilla, Spain / Getty Images
After the passing of the love of her life, many believed Cayetana would never marry again. But they were very wrong. In fact, it was because of her second marriage to a former pastor who wasn’t in any way related to the royalty of Spain that she started being considered controversial. Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zarate was 11 years her junior, which only added to the gossip that he was a toyboy and a gold digger.
“Some people will not forgive me for having married an intelligent man. We are very happy together; we do not need anyone else,” Cayetana told People in 1979.
The marriage, sadly, ended with Cayetana’s husband passing. She experienced another heartbreak, and what followed was her most controversial marriage of all.
The Duchess of Alba with her first husband / Getty Images
When she met public servant Alfonso Diez Carabantes and wanted to marry him, all her children were strongly against that decision. The reason why was that Cayetana was 85 and he was 25 years younger than her. The couple became so talked about that even the king of Spain himself took a stand. He dubbed Alfonso a gold-digger. In order to settle the dust, The House of Alba released a statement saying that the relationship “was based on a long friendship and there are no plans to marry.” That, however, didn’t turn out to be true because the marriage did happen eventually.
It was a hot topic not only in Spain and Seville, but all over the world.
Although the ceremony was a small gathering, hundreds of people gathered around the Palacio de las Dueñas to see the Duchess of Alba. As a thank you for the people’s support, she performed a quick few steps of the flamenco dance for them.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Alba watch a flamenco performance at the Flamenco Museum in Madrid / Getty Images
Sadly, she got to enjoy her marriage for three years only. Duchess of Alba died on November 19, 2014, at the age of 88.
She left all her fortune and her assets to her children. She was believed to have had a net worth of between €600 million and €3.5 billion.
Cayetana owned numerous castles all over Spain, with her most famous property being the Liria Palace in Madrid, built around 1770. Inside, it was believed there were around 249 oil paintings by artists such as Rembrandt and Rubens.
Cayetana, however, never spoke of her fortune and claimed she wasn’t that rich. In one occasion she even said, “I have a lot of artworks, but I can’t eat them, can I?”
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Besides her controversial marriages, her many titles, and her connections and friendships with influential individuals, one thing that marked Cayetana’s life was the plastic surgeries she had over the years.
Although she never confessed going under the knife, it was very much obvious she had undergone procedures.
The Daily Mail once described her as a “Pekingese with Botox” and wrote how she was an extreme example of what can go wrong in the world of plastic surgery.
One thing is certain, Cayetana was happy with her looks and her life, and at the end, that’s what matters the most.
When you think of golf, the name Tiger Woods is probably the first thing that comes to your mind. This golfer who is currently ranked 14th is still one of the best and most famous in the world of this sport. His rich and very successful career made him a billionaire. In fact he earned his first billion 14 years after being a professional.
Despite being very successful at what he does, Woods showed many times that he cares for the community, thus he founded The Tiger Woods Foundation that helps children worldwide with their education.
Despite all this, some people don’t really have a nice opinion of the golfer all thanks to the infidelity scandals he was involved in.
Back in 2009, while he was still married to the Swedish beauty Elin Nordegren, Woods was reported to be cheating on her. What’s most, tabloids claimed he was involved with 18 different women during his marriage. This news shocked the world, especially his fans who believed he was lucky to be having such beautiful wife and family.
When Woods and Nordegren first met, she had a boyfriend and worked as a nanny for the Swedish professional golfer Jesper Parnevik. It was reported at the time how she didn’t have intentions dating Woods, and he was okay with that. “Tiger was OK with that,” Mia Parnevik, Jasper’s wife, said. “There was a big line of single golfers wanting to meet her. They were gaga over her. “
But then, the two somehow fell in love and got engaged in 2003 during a four-day vacation on a South African game reserve.
The famous couple got the attention of many people and the paparazzi. Their life resembled a fairy tale. The two got married at a private ceremony at the 19th hole at the Sany Lane resort in Barbados. Among the guests were Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.
In 2007, Nordegren gave birth to their baby daughter, Sam Alexis, and two years later, the couple welcomed their son into the world, Charlie Axel.
Then in 2009, Woods’ affairs were exposed and the marriage burst like a bubble. The Parneviks felt the guilt of introducing Woods to Nordegren. However, it wasn’t their fault because they couldn’t possibly know of the secret life of their friend Woods.
”I’m kind of filled with sorrow for Elin since me and my wife are at fault for hooking her up with him, and we probably thought he was a better guy than he is,” he said.
Woods tried to fix things, but the pair eventually split. After their divorce in 2010, Nordegren got $100 million and she and the kids moved to Florida. Over the years, Woods and Nordegren managed to smooth things down and remained friends for the sake of their kids.
“Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic. She’s one of my best friends. We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. We both know that the most important things in our lives are our kids. I wish I would have known that back then,” Woods told Time.
”My relationship with Tiger is centered around our children, and we are doing really good – we really are – and I am so happy that is the case. He is a great father,” Nordegren told People in 2014.
It looked like Nordegren could now take time for herself. She finally made her wish of becoming a child psychologist true after she graduated from Rollins University.
She was such an inspiration for many other moms out there that she was asked to give a speech during the graduation ceremony. ”I was surprised when they called and asked if I wanted to give this speech. In the press I have been called a woman of few words and criticized by the media for not talking very much. A commencement speech is meant to inspire. And when I started to think what I should say to you all today, I got a little scared. What words could I use to inspire us all after a long journey in college? One week after that phone call, I got off an American Airlines plane and one of the flight attendants gave me a note. I hurriedly took the note and said a quick ‘Thank you’ and continued to pick up my bags. Later, I finally had time to read what it said. The note read: ‘Thank you for being my inspiration, greetings from another single mom.’ I was touched by the beautiful words from a total stranger.”
Although she has always tended to stay out of the spotlight, one thing about beautiful Elin Nordegren that caught our attention recently is the new house she bought. After she sold her $50 million dollar estate, she chose a new one, again in Florida, in the prestigious Old Palm Golf Club gated community.
The six bedroom place has been newly renovated. It has a breathtaking view and looks at a pond on the community’s own golf course.
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Everything inside, from the lighting to the security system, could be controlled with a phone as the place is integrated with a smart home Lutron HomeWorks System.
There is also a gym inside, an office, an elevator, and a huge media room for movie nights with the kids. The backyard is as breathtaking as the rest of the home. There is a pool there, a spa, and an outdoor kitchen, while the inside kitchen is huge with a state-of-the-art dual island, a coffee bar and a grill. The best thing of all, however, must be the glass-enclosed refrigerated wine room.
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Thanks to the huge windows, there is plenty of natural light in the house. As of Nordegren’s master bedroom, there is a fire place which makes the room cozy, a separate sitting room, custom closets, and over-sized dual bathrooms.
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On the property, there’s also a separate one-bedroom apartment and a couple of garages.
What makes a good neighbor? Is it someone who is friendly and helpful, or someone who minds their own business and doesn’t care about those living around them?
Canyon Chasers could be one of the best people you would like to be neighbors with. If you wonder why, just hear his story.
Namely, Chasers would get a motion alert from his driveway security camera every single day. After checking it out, he would see the same kid riding his bike on the flat concrete. At first, Chasers found those alerts annoying. But then, his wife came with an absolutely incredible idea.
Source: YouTube/ Canyon Chasers
“Every night I would get an alert from my driveway security camera, and at first I was a bit annoyed, but then I found myself looking forward to the evening alert. And then inspiration struck, in the form of my wife giving me this great idea,” he explained in a video he shared on YouTube titled: “How I Deal With Kids Playing in My Driveway.”
Now many would think he came up with a way of chasing the boy away, but he did the complete opposite.
Source: YouTube/ Canyon Chasers
Chasers waited for the night to come in order to get out and create a fun makeshift course for the kid. The following day, he waited to see the little one’s reaction. When he and his mom arrived in front of Chasers’ driveway, they were both stunned by the sight. The boy had the time of his life trying to follow the hand-drawn track.
But this wasn’t a one time day of fun. Whenever it rains or the track gets erased, Chasers draws a new one and improves it each time.
Source: YouTube/ Canyon Chasers
There is a starting point, a hairpin turn, a corner labeled “eyes up,” and even a “for the win” part.
What is best is that many other kids and even grown-ups, including moms with strollers, use the track.
Source: YouTube/ Canyon Chasers
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the cool video has been seen over 14.6 million times. You can check it out below.
“True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable,” the saying goes. We would add to this that true friendship comes when differences between two people are embraced.
Jia Sarnicola and Zuri Copeland, both eight years old, are classmates and best friends. What’s most, the two consider themselves twins, despite their different skin color.
“They will tell you that they are twins and they have a long list of reasons why to back it up,” Jia’s mom, Ashley, told BuzzFeed News back in 2017 when the girls caught the attention of the media.
Jia Sarnicola and Zuri Copeland believe they are twins.
An older kid told them they couldn’t be twins because they don’t have the same skin color…Jia broke down and said, “You don’t know what you are talking about… we are twins because we share the same soul.”
The two are born two days apart and have celebrated their birthdays with joint parties over the years. Both Jia and Zuri believe they look alike. They even wear matching outfits and share a number of traits. Their families describe them as positive and outgoing.
“[They have] the same vibrant energy, intelligence, heart to take care of others, and both [are] extremely vocal about their needs,” Ashley said.
“We have always taught the girls that being different is cool, and to make friends with new people every day,” she added. “In their class at school, there are six different languages between the 15 kids.”
In 2017, Jia Sarnicola and Zuri Copeland said they are not just best friends but twins. They were just 4-years-old at the time of this story by @SteveHartmanCBS. But their message could teach us “grown ups” a lot today. https://t.co/dz0oKtUJ8m
The girls’ families grew close over the years as well. They are happy their girls are besties, but they are also worried for the comments made by other kids at school.
Once, while at a birthday party, one of their classmates told them they couldn’t be twins because they have different skin color. This made Jia very said and she started crying, but her answer to this comment left everyone in awe. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re twins because we share the same soul,’” Jia replied.
Zuri’s sister, 23-year-old Victoria Williams, found this exchange so sweet that she felt the urge to share it online. These two girls really teach us a valuable lesson on friendship. “We have a lot to learn and we can learn from children,” Zuli’s mother, Valencia, said, as per CBS News.
My sister and her bestfriend think that they’re twins because they have the same birthday and this was the outcome.. pic.twitter.com/x1dCZmIip3
The most unlike friendships are at the same time the most beautiful ones. A sweet 2-year-old boy named Deacon Ross made friends with the garbage collector Oladele Olurunrinu, known as O’Dee.
O’Dee picks up the trash from the Ross family every Friday, and the toddler is eagerly waiting for each encounter with his favorite friend.
Source: YouTube/ Humankind
“He’s really just struck up this friendship with O’Dee. Looks forward to Fridays,” Deacon’s mom, Summer, told WFAA ABC 8. “I think this is Deacon’s first friend [where] he really understands what friendship is.”
When someone asks Deacon who his best pal is, he’s screaming: “Oooooo Deee.” In fact, he loves being around O’Dee so much that he wants his future brother to be called like that.
Source: YouTube/ Humankind
O’Dee would see Deacon waiting for him in front of his Texas home, but he had no idea just how much the little guy was fascinated with him. “I didn’t know, but I can see it,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Ross family is soon moving to a bigger house and that means Deacon and O’Dee won’t be seeing each other.
“O’Dee! Him coming! Him coming, him coming. Collect our garbage!” Deacon said when he saw his friend for the last time.
In order to express her gratitude to O’Dee, Susan decided to throw a goodbye party. She prepared bags with gifts and candies for O’Dee and his colleagues and Deacon couldn’t wait to give them to them.
Source: YouTube/ Humankind
The two friends had some fun time for the last time and O’Dee said he will miss the Ross children so very much.
“I was teary the whole time,” Summer said. “Just trying to relish the moment.”
Source: YouTube/ Humankind
One person who stumbled upon this uplifting story and who works as a waste management driver took the time to comment. “As a driver for Waste Management, I can tell you from personal experience this is the highlight of my day when the little ones come out and talk to us, watch the truck, give us water, snacks. I love being able to light up their day with the air horn, or letting them watch the truck ‘eat the trash’ as they say,” he wrote.
You can take a look at the whole story in the video below. Cute beyond words!
Ever since he released his first song Killer at the age of 27, Seal made a name for himself in the music industry. He, however, didn’t have it easy growing up and worked several jobs before he decided music was his thing.
Born Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel on February 19, 1963 in London, England, the singer-songwriter, who has sold over 20 million records worldwide, grew up in a foster care. He later moved in with his father and his stepmother and because his dad was many times harsh on him, he was afraid to show his musical talent to him and those around him.
Youtube/SiriusXM
Seal remembers the time he performed in front of his parents for the first time, referring to is as to “the scariest moment” of his life. He performed a Johnny Nash song during a Parent-Teacher Association event when he was 11 and after he was done, everyone was clapping while his parents were shocked by his voice and talent.
“I closed my eyes, sang the song, and at the end of it everyone clapped. My parents were just shocked,” he recalled.
“And it turned from the scariest place in the world to the most welcoming place. I never forgot that feeling. It was a spiritual feeling, it was healing, it transcended the physical and became more of a cathartic balm or elixir for my spirit, for my soul.
“Music has always had that. I think that’s been my ‘MO’, because I don’t know any other way, for better or worse.”
Over the years, Seal received a huge number of awards, including three Grammys, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Speaking of his love for music, Seal, who has a degree in architecture, said: “I just assumed at an early age that that was the ‘why’ behind music. Not necessarily what it would do, but why it would do. ‘Why do I sing, why do I have a voice, why does it connect with people?’ And I always assumed that that was why.”
“That one was meant to offer that same relief, give that same compassion, and make that same connection available for everyone else. I guess my songs reflect that. They have been less religious and more allegorical, offering an account of life as I’ve been experiencing it. The older I get, I’ve come to understand it’s not all that different from anyone else’s, to be honest,” he explained.
Besides for his incredible music and number one hits, Seal is also known as the ex-husband of supermodel Heidi Klum with whom he has four children. Leni, the oldest, is the daughter of Heidi and Formula 1 manager Flavio Briatore, but Seal adopted her.
What Seal and Heidi had was truly unique. They seemed to click the moment they first laid eyes on one another. That’s why many were in shock when the “super-couple” announced they were getting a divorce after seven years of marriage, back in 2012.
“While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart,” the statement released by the couple read.
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Many fans of Seal can’t help but wonder how he got the scars on his face, which he embraces and which became his trademark.
Seal opened up about it and explained how his scars are a result of discoid lupus, which causes coin like scarring of the skin. He was diagnosed with it at the age of 21. “Something that had kind of been initially traumatizing turned out to be something that has made me instantly recognizable,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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He also spoke openly of his battle with panic attacks. He first had a huge panic and anxiety attack while at a recording studio and mistook it for a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital and says he’s learning how to cope with it.
“It’s given me such empathy and understanding for people who can’t get help,” Seal told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“There is no shame… there is no guilt in asking for help and talking about it, whether it’s therapy or it’s a friend. It needs to be shared.”
Seal is such an inspiration. Not only he is successful and brave enough to speak openly about his mental health, but he is also helping young musicians make a name for themselves.
This story is so touching that it brings tears to our eyes. It speaks of one teenager’s selfless act during the most difficult of times.
In the midst of the battle for his life, 19-year-old Rhys Langford, who was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, put all his savings towards helping a little boy, 6-year-old Jacob Jones, who has been battling neuroblastoma.
Jacob was diagnosed with the disease at the age of two. He was then cancer free for a year before his parents noticed something was wrong again. Sadly, the cancer returned.
When Rhys learned of Jacob’s life story, he was heartbroken. “Rhys found the story of little Jacob. He called me upstairs and he was crying in bed reading the story,” the teen’s mother Catherine recalled.
Initially, Rhys gave up £1,000 of his life savings to set up a fund and raise money for Jacob’s treatment in America.
“He said, ‘Mum, I want to donate some money to him. He’s six years of age and he’s been ill since he was two. I’d be over the moon if someone would save him.’ I couldn’t believe he was thinking about someone else when he’s on death’s door himself,” Catherine said of her selfless son.
The GoFundMepage dedicated to Jacob has raised £66,185 so far.
Although both boys are from Ebbow Vale in South Wales, the two never met, but that didn’t stop Rhys from helping as much as he could.
“Reading about little Jacob and his own fight and his cancer relapse has really upset me. I know nothing can be done for me now but as one of my many last wishes, I would like to help Jacob and help him fight this awful disease… Jacob is now six and has been fighting this disease most of his life. It should not be this way! Jacobs’ family is looking to raise money again for treatment. I have transferred £1000 to Jacobs family privately but it’s still not enough. Please help me, help Jacob! ❤️” the page read.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Rhys’ mother added: “He said, ‘There’s nothing more they can do for me so if I can help save this little boy.’ Our hearts are breaking because we are losing our son but bursting with pride because considering his diagnosis he is thinking of other people.”
Unfortunately, Rhys lost his battle.
“My warrior, my hero, my son, my baby, has given up his fight. He lay down his sword and died peacefully at home with all his family around him, he closed his eyes for the last time at around 7 p.m. yesterday evening,” his mother shared in a heartbreaking post.
Born on January 19, 1946, in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, as one of 12 children, Dolly Parton‘s family struggled to make ends meet at times, but they were very close and the children grew up in a loving home where music was always present.
Dolly’s mom had a lovely voice and sang to her kids whenever she could. Dolly herself started singing at the church when she was very young and was always excited to see an instrument. Her love for the music was so strong, that her uncle Lewis decided to give her his little Martin guitar, and she considered it her treasure. Her other uncle, Bill, helped her get into the music business, and by the age of 10, Dolly had already performed on local TV and radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Source: Instagram/ dollyparton
When she turned 13, Dolly made her debut on the national country radio station, Grand Ole Opry.
Dolly was the first person in her family to graduate from high school, but she didn’t attend college because she wanted to fully focus on her music career. “I had a dream,” she recalled. “And I had a talent, I thought. And I really believed it was going to happen.” And it did happen as Dolly Parton’s name is until this day one of the most famous names in the music industry.
Source: Instagram/ dollyparton
She knew that if she wanted to be heard, she should move to the center of the country music, Nashville. There, she worked with Porter Wagoner on The Porter Wagoner Show, and the duo became very popular. It was the start of a career which spans decades. What’s most, Dolly doesn’t seem like she’s planning to slow down. She’s still writing music and performing, and that’s awesome because we can never have enough of her voice, her music, and her energy.
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Speaking of one of her most famous songs, Jolene, Dolly shared the story behind the name. “One night, I was on stage, and there was this beautiful little girl — she was probably 8 years old at the time,” she told NPR Music. “And she had this beautiful red hair, this beautiful skin, these beautiful green eyes, and she was looking up at me, holding, you know, for an autograph. I said, ‘Well, you’re the prettiest little thing I ever saw. So what is your name?’ And she said, ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. ‘That is pretty. That sounds like a song. I’m going to write a song about that.’”
As for the lyrics, they were inspired by a bank teller who had crush on Dolly’s husband and greatest love of her life, Carl Dean.
“She got this terrible crush on my husband,” Parton said. “And he just loved going to the bank because she paid him so much attention. It was kinda like a running joke between us — when I was saying, ‘Hell, you’re spending a lot of time at the bank. I don’t believe we’ve got that kind of money.’ So it’s really an innocent song all around, but sounds like a dreadful one.”
Source: Instagram/ dollyparton
Jolene was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (both studio and live version). Over the course of her career, Dolly has won eight Grammy Awards, has written over 3,000 songs, and has sold more than 100 million albums. She has topped the country chart 25 times.
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When Dolly was 18, and already a famous singer, she met her husband of more than 50 years, charming Carl Dean. Speaking of their first encounter, Dean recalled how he knew he would marry her and how he thought she was the most beautiful girl.
They tied the knot in May, 1966, in a private ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.
In 2016, on their 50 year anniversary, Dolly and Carl renew their vows. They are in love with one another as day one, but decided not to have children. Doll didn’t speak of this decision much, but recently, speaking on Today, she shared that she gave up having kids because of her career.
“I’ve made sacrifices, but I think, like I said, I believe what I know I’m supposed to do,” she said. “I’ve made the sacrifice of time… and not having time to spend with family, and you give up family and friends, vacation, and work without end, 24/7, 365, but you got to make the sacrifice.”
Source: Instagram/ dollyparton
In one occasion, Dolly told The Guardian how she and Carl have always wondered how their children would look like.
However, although she doesn’t have kids on her own, Dolly is making sure millions of children receive high-quality books through her program. She says she started it because of her dad and added: “So, he got to live long enough to see it really take off and start doing good, and so he loved it when the kids called me the Book Lady. He was prouder of that than saying that my daughter’s a star: ‘My daughter’s the Book Lady,’” as per NCSL.
Dolly is a true legend. Besides being one of the most famous musicians of all time, she’s also an actress and one of the most caring and most beautiful women we know.
Wendy Williams started her career as a DJ and a radio host before she moved to television and rose to stardom.
Williams was born on July 18, 1964, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Ever since she was a young girl, she felt like she stood out from the crowd. However, what she didn’t know at the time was that being sort of different would help her become the celebrity that she is today.
She used to describe herself as a “misfit.” In her memoir, Wendy’s Got The Heat, she wrote she was “the big girl in a family of perfect bodies.”
“I was a misfit basically from the time I came out of the womb,” she explained. “My parents are perfect, my sister, Wanda, who is seven years older than I am, is perfect. My brother, Tommy, the only boy and namesake to my father, is perfect. Then there is me.
“I was an outcast in my own home, and when I got to school, I didn’t quite fit in anywhere there, either,” she added. “I was the Black girl in a practically all-white school. And among the handful of Blacks, I was the ‘white girl,’ the outcast. I spent most of my youth in my room, rocking back and forth for endless hours, plotting my future. I knew that one day my being different would pay off.”
Al Pereira/Getty Images/Michael Ochs Archives
While at university, she never saw herself as part of a sorority. Instead, she got heavily involved with the student radio channel WRBB 104.9 FM. This experience only made her even more convinced that being a radio personality was her thing. At the same time, she knew she needed to work really hard in order to become successful and reach for the stars.
“It made it wonderful because I got involved with something that I thought, back at that time, would serve me better in the future than hanging out with a bunch of people at parties or even being a sorority girl. I got involved with something that would be germane to my future if I just focused,” she shared with WRBB.
Besides the student radio channel, Williams worked for other radios while at university. Then, in 1984, she became an intern for Matty in the Morning on KISS 108 in Boston. That was her first real job.
Dominik Bindl/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows
After becoming a famous DJ, Williams turned into a radio celebrity. She interviewed famous people and never asked soft questions, something which made her listeners fall for her even further. Williams earned a Billboard Radio Award and was honored as the R&B Major Market Radio Air Personality of the Year. Williams was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame once her radio show was over.
Later on, she turned to television with her show The Wendy Williams Experience on VH1 which attracted 12 million people daily.
In 2009, she started her show The Wendy Williams Show which brought her even more success and a nomination for an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment four times.
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Williams was married twice. Not much is known of her first husband with whom she stayed together for two years. Her second husband and the father of her only son has caused heartbreak at Williams over the years. Kevin Hunter has cheated on Williams, but she decided to forgive him each time.
They stayed together for 21 years before they finally filed for a divorce in 2019.
“If you told me when I was 25 years old or 30 years old that I would stay around for a cheater, I would have been like you are lying,” Williams told Essence.
“I’ve got way too much to offer a man to stick around for him cheating on me. At that particular time, I had my career in radio, I was making a great salary, I had vacation property of my very own, and the world was my oyster, so I definitely thought I wasn’t staying around for some cheating. But I did, and I don’t regret it.”
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In 2017, it was revealed that Hunter cheated on Williams again, this time with a massage therapist named Sharina Hudson. It was also reported that he impregnated her.
“He’s my best friend, he’s my lover, he’s all this, and he’s all that,” Williams said at the time. “Anybody who’s been married for five minutes or 500 years, you know marriages have ebbs and flows. Marriages are not easy.”
However, they eventually divorced in 2020. As Hunter had equal shares in the Wendy Williams Productions Inc. and the two had shared property, they needed to split assets.
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According to Page Six, she ended up with their New Jersey home which was listed for $1.7 million, but gave him $250,000. Further, he got their other home.
Williams and Hunter settled for her to be the sole owner of the Wendy Williams Productions Inc. and pay him for his shares.
She also kept him in on her insurance policy and will continue cover his health insurance. She also got the money from their joint account.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the host is worth $40 million.
Koko, the gorilla we all loved so much, was one of the few apes that was able to communicate using Gorilla Sign Language, a modified version of the American Sign Language. But she became even more popular after she made friends we the man who will always be remembered not only as one of the greatest actors of all time, but an amazing humanitarian who made many laugh too, one and only Robin Williams.
The first encounter between Koko and Robin, that later turned into a special friendship, took place back in 2001.
Speaking of the unique opportunity to be around Koko, late Robin said, “I recently had a mind-altering experience communicating with a gorilla. Her name is Koko.”
Why Robin made a choice to pay Koko a visit in the first place was because he cared about others so very much and was always to go above and beyond to see both people and animals thriving. He learned Koko was devastated and depressed after her playmate died, so Robin somehow knew he could make a change in her life, and he was right.
Six months after she lost her childhood friend, Koko laughed for the first time when she met Robin.
The video of the two meeting is incredible. They look at each other and sit next to one another, holding hands and laughing.
“Notice that Robin made Koko smile — something she hadn’t done for over six months, ever since her childhood gorilla companion, Michael, passed away at the age of 27,” said Francine Patterson, Koko’s caregiver. as reported by Today.
Source: YouTube Screenshot – kokoflix
Everyone could say they had fun and a huge impact on one another. Koko tried Robin’s glasses and “stole” his wallet.
“Robin’s ability to just ‘hang out’ with Koko, a gorilla, and in minutes become one of her closest friends, was extraordinary and unforgettable,” Patterson said. “But not only did Robin cheer up Koko, the effect was mutual, and Robin seemed transformed.”
“We shared something extraordinary – laughter. Koko understands spoken English and uses over a 1,000 to share her feelings and thoughts about daily events, life, love, even death,” Robin said at the time.
Koko was born at the San Francisco zoo and spend her whole life around humans whom she loved. Her caregivers reported that when she heard of Robin’s tragic passing, she signed, “cry.”
(SAN FRANCISCO | Koko the gorilla, who learned sign language, dies at 46) has been published on STL.News,…
Koko truly was a very special animal. Experts who got to work with her said her intelligence matched that of a 3-year-old child. She understood around 2,000 words of spoken English and expressed human-like behavior.
“Through mastery of sign language—the familiar hand speech of the deaf—Koko has made us, her human companions, aware not only that her breed is bright, but also that it shares sensitivities commonly held to be the prerogative of people,” Patterson said.
One of the most famous photographs of Koko which brought her even greater popularity is the one where she was posing with a camera, taking picture of herself in the mirror, which was on the cover of the National Geographic magazine published in 1978.
Cover gorilla for National Geographic Magazine, zoo-born Koko took this selfportrait in a mirror—hence the reversed…
What was even more incredible about this world-famous ape is that she had a cat pet that she took care of and raised like her own child, named All-ball. “The cat was a Manx and looked like a ball,” said Ron Cohn, a biologist with the foundation. “Koko likes to rhyme words in sign language.”
Once, Koko ripped a steel sink from the wall and signed, “the cat did it.” The relationship between Koko and All-ball is still dubbed as one of the most unusual and sweetest friendships between animals of different kind.
Koko & All Ball, her Manx kitten
my favorite celebrity from childhood
Machete saves the day yet again! The actor who played in a huge number of movies and is a true Hollywood legend, one and only Danny Trejo, showed us yet again why we all love him so much.
As he was on his way to have his car worked, he witnessed an accident. A driver went through a red light and crushed into another vehicle. Unfortunately, a grandmother and her special needs grandson found themselves trapped inside their overturned car.
Source: YouTube/ ABC7
Trejo rushed to help together with another witness named Monica Jackson. Having worked with children with special needs before, Trejo was aware he needed to make sure the boy stayed calm.
“He was panicked. I said OK, we have to use our superpowers. So he screamed ‘superpowers,’ and we started yelling ‘superpowers,” Trejo said. “I said do this, with the muscles. He said, ‘muscles’. We got kind of a bond. I kept facing him away from the accident.”
Source: YouTube/ ABC7
Firefighters arrived just in time to help release the grandmother. During her rescue, Trejo stayed by her grandson’s side.
Following the positive outcome, Trejo praised the first responders for their quick acting and reminded everyone of the importance of safety while driving.
“Pay attention. And the only thing that saved that little kidwas his car seat, honest to God,” the actor said.
Trejo is known as someone who does a lot for the community and for people in need. He is a great humanitarian and a drug counselor who helps many young people overcome their addiction. Being sober for over 50 years, he’s aware that the support of those around is crucial for staying on the right path.
He might look like a tough guy, but Trejo is in fact a person with a heart of gold and a gentle personality who works with a number of charities. Among the rest, he donates hundreds of meals from his restaurants Trejo’s Tacos. During the pandemic, he donated meals to frontline workers.
“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else,” he often says. We believe that’s a good rule to live by.
We wish more celebrities follow this actor’s example.
For his first stand account of the incident go to the video below.
Can we ever repay mothers for everything they do for us? I guess not, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try doing that.
As a thank you for everything she did for him throughout the years, one devoted son from South Carolina decided to give his mother the surprise of her life. Malcolm Jenkins has been deaf since he turned three years old. Despite that, he has lived a fulfilling life and has a successful career.
After working hard for years, he could finally help his mother, Claudia Smith, 59, pay off her mortgage.
With the help of his two sisters, Natasha and Claudia, named after her mom, he managed to make his mother’s day in the best way possible.
They told her how they were making a small contribution towards her mortgage payment and called the bank to inform them about that while the mother was listening. But instead of a tiny contribution, Natasha told the bank representative: “I actually want to use it to pay off the account.” Claudia couldn’t believe her ears. Her initial reaction was a loud “What???” followed by a happy dance.
“My brother lost his hearing at three years old, but that never stopped him from living and excelling in life. He saved his money from working to do something like this for our mother,” Natasha said of her brother’s lovely gesture. “My mom made sure as we all grew up that there was nothing we could not accomplish despite any odds that may have been stacked up against us. He is a true example of doing anything you put your mind to. The moment her mortgage was paid off was priceless!”
We are so glad this beautiful surprise was caught on tape. A lot of people commented under it saying that Claudia raised her children right.
“We can never repay her for all of the sacrifices she has made for us over the years – there is no monetary amount large enough to do that,” Natasha told Happily News. “To this day she is a great support to all of us with anything we want to do, we are all adults but she is still as present as she was when we were growing up. We love her wholeheartedly and this was just a small way to show her that,” she added.
Dogs are man’s best friend, and that’s the only truth when these incredibly friendly animals are in question. Their love for their humans is overwhelming and genuine. Dogs truly make the best pets one could ask for. Besides being loyal to the core, dogs are also very intelligent.
When they are forced to live on the streets, they are able to fend for themselves. They are capable of looking for food and shelter as well as help from humans, just like the canine from this story.
The day started like any other for Dayse Ferreira, a veterinarian who works at a clinic in Juazerio do Norte, Brazil, until an unexpected visitor stopped by her clinic.
To everyone’s surprise, one dog entered the place all by itself. As they were all waiting for the owner to follow after him, no one was around, and that’s when Ferreira realized the dog was a stray in need of help.
“When he came in, he put the injured paw forward, as if to say hello and to show that he was hurting,” Ferreira told The Dodo. “We were surprised because he knew where to ask for help.”
Source: YouTube/ MY WORLD
She approached closer and decided to take the dog in for examination.
“Right away, I felt that he needed help and I invited him in,” she shared with Bored Panda. “He kindly let me examine him and after some tests.”
After thorough inspection, Ferreira realized the dog had a tumor on his paw. He was also covered in fleas. The good thing was that the tumor was treatable.
The first thing Ferreira did was treat the dog, whom she named Quindim, a bath. Needless to say, he loved being around people and showed everyone around how lovable and friendly he was.
“He is doing very well now, reacting perfectly to chemotherapies, to the drugs he has been taking and so far he has had no adverse reaction,” Ferreira told Bored Panda. “He is loving, very playful, he is very outgoing, runs, plays and socializes well with other animals.”
Source: YouTube/ MY WORLD
More good news followed once Quindim’s story went viral. Many fell in love with his bubbly personality and intelligence and adoption requests came pouring in.
“Quindim is now for adoption. We already have around 10 people from Brazil all interested in giving him a loving home,” Ferreira said, adding they were looking for a local adopter.
“The most admirable thing is that he came on his own. His intelligence is beautiful,” Ferreira told The Dodo. “I’m sure he will find a home that will welcome him and receive him with all the love he deserves.”
What an amazing story. For more go to the video below.
