The coronavirus pandemic caused many businesses to close down, and as a result, many people lost their jobs and struggled to make ends meet.
Families were left without their loved ones and a number of people were emotionally affected because of the lockdowns and the curfews imposed by the governments in an attempt to stop the disease from spreading any further.
Many people lost their homes unable to pay rent and mortgage. One of them was a woman named Hannah McGee, a mother of a four year old girl. Hannah worked at a restaurant but lost her job. Sadly, with no money on her bank account, she couldn’t afford to pay rent.
The landlord, in whose house she has been living for the past three and a half years, asked to be paid in full. As she couldn’t find the funds, he took drastic measures and took away her front door.
Speaking of him and shis action, Hannah said, “He’s always been a good landlord. I guess it just took one slip up. I’ve lived here without a problem, no incidents whatsoever. I’ve been on time every month, but since COVID happened, I lost my job. I was working in a restaurant.”
In order to keep her daughter warm, she was forced to move the closet where the front door used to be in order to prevent the cold wind from entering the place. Sadly, that didn’t help much. “At night, it gets definitely really cold. It’s kind of unbearable without it,” she added.
In hopes of not getting evicted and keeping the Michigan apartment she lived at, Hannah contacted attorney Rob Swearingen, who claimed that the number of people who found themselves in a similar situation as Hannah was way bigger than anyone thought.
Speaking to Fox 59, Swearingen said, “We try to call landlords and inform them that they’re violating the law by illegally evicting people. You can only be evicted by court order, and with the sheriff present while executing an eviction, and right now, that can’t be done in St. Louis City and St. Louis County. The landlord needs to realize that the landlord has committed a tort and is liable for anything that happens to this tenant. It’s more than negligence, it’s the intentional infliction of emotional distress. It’s a violation of Missouri statutes and its unlawful eviction.“
The landlord refused to comment on the matter and stood silent while interrogated. Hannah, however, had a lot to say. “I would never be able to do that to somebody, just make things even harder on them, especially with everything going on. My Christmas tree is right next to my door frame where there’s no door. I don’t know how we’re going to open presents on Christmas like that. At least we have three walls. All I can do is find the humor in it and try to get by. I mean, a lot of people go through worse.“
As many people heard of Hannah’s story, the landlord decided to place the door at its place.
In the meantime, one of Hannah’s friends has started a GoFundMe page which helped her cover around $9,000 in just a matter of days.
Please SHARE this story with your family and friends on Facebook to see what they think? Did the landlord went too far or he was right to undertake such action in attempt to get his money.
Not many people are lucky enough to find a soulmate who will understand their pain and laugh at their jokes no matter how dull they are.
Phedre Fitton and her husband Nigel spent a lifetime together, until the day she lost her battle to cancer. Nigel was left devastated and could barely cope with the loss of his loving wife. However, before she died, she had one final wish, and that was for Nigel to take good care of the plants she kept in the bathroom by watering them regularly.
Needless to say, it became Nigel’s everyday activity. He wouldn’t spend a day without checking on them.
“They were together since they were 16 years old and he was devastated when she died. So he just did what she had asked him to do.” said her daughter Antonia Nicol.
Phedre was known for her witty personality and a good sense of humor, but no one could imagine she would continue make the family laugh even after her passing.
As time passed by, Nigel would remember his sweetheart whenever he was around her lovely flowers.
At times, he could notice water running down while he was watering them but it wasn’t until he decided to move places five years after his wife’s death that he realized she played a prank on him.
“They looked so amazing he decided to take them to his new home,” said Nicol.
He finally understood those plants were plastic. But he wasn’t mad at all, on the contrary, he was sort of glad Phedre could come up with something so vicious and funny at the same time.
“I wondered why they still looked so good,” he said.
Nicol shared a photo of her dad actually watering the plants, and people find it quite cute that he was so committed in answering his wife’s final wish.
“We really laughed about it and it was lovely to think that my mum was still there with us,” Nicol continued.
This made the whole family took the time to recall all the fun things their mother and wife did while she was still among them.
Her vibrant personality was unlike any other’s and she will always be remembered as a lovely woman who wanted to make those around her happy.
They are sure she’s chuckling from above watching her hubby realizing he had been pranked.
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Freya Thorpe of Upper Heyford, Oxon, UK, was only four years old when she became a big sister. Her parents welcomed twins and the entire family was overjoyed. They were very happy and felt complete. Unfortunately, their happiness was shattered in a blink of an eye after Freya lost her life in what detectives described as a freak accident.
The sweet little girl was out riding her bike when she decided to climb a tree in the neighbor’s yard. Somehow, her foot slipped and the stripes of her unicorn helmet got caught in a branch and started strangling her.
After she was found, Freya was rushed to the hospital. Doctors fought for her life for two long days, but nothing could be done. Freya died and left her family heartbroken.
Source: GoFundMe
Detective constable Bryn Smith spoke of the incident and said: “Due to the sheer nature of the tree bark, not channeled or grooved as some bark is, it would have been a bit slippery to climb without appropriate footwear,” as reported by the Daily Mail. “This was nothing more than a child climbing a tree, perhaps losing her footing resulting in her helmet getting stuck in a branch and the helmet straps strangling her. It is cruel and it is unfair but this appears to be a terrible accident.”
The horrific accident which took Freya from her parents took place in September 2019. Today, two years later, her parents still live in agony.
The grieving mother, Elise Thorpe, still suffers “terrible pain and flashbacks” from the incident.
“I am a broken individual, caught in a hellstorm of grief,” Elise wrote on Facebook, as quoted by The Sun. “We live every day and night in hell, torture, sheer shock and grief that cant be comprehended.” She can never forget the moment her husband entered the house and said: “Freya’s hung herself in a tree.” In that moment, their world crashed. “Imagine being in your home so happy and on top of the world one minute and then in space of a second; never to return home again to a house,” the mother shared.
When the little angel was pronounced dead, it marked the beginning of “a life sentence of hell.”
“I have never been more suicidal in my life,” Elise shared. “I wake up to the same daily routine, I’m frightened to sleep for nightmares, frightened to wake to the terrible pain and flashbacks.”
The twins are now 2 years old and when she sees them grow, Elise says: “I see traits of Freya in them, characteristics and looks and all without Freya by their side. We are incomplete. Every milestone, birthday, Christmas… wondering how she would have looked and what she would have become is torture.
“Had I not given birth only 10 days before we would have taken our lives in the hospital that night, without a shadow of a doubt,” the heartbroken mother said.
And as if their pain of losing a child is not enough, Freya’s parents get even more heartbroken when people judge their parenting. “We have… experienced scrutiny and abuse from people who asked ‘Where were the parents? How could they let her out alone!?’” Elise admitted.
She then went on to say: “We gave Freya love and a life us as children could have only dreamt of – she was and still is, our world… I wonder if we ever can as we’re destroyed; but for the twins’ sake we will one day hopefully find a way.”
Source: GoFundMe
We are so sorry for this family’s loss. Rest in peace, Freya, you are missed dearly.
Please SHARE this sad story to send your prayers to the grieving family.
A loving family is a wonderful thing, but to have that and then look to adopt really is a gift. Jessica Davis and her husband Adam had a loving family of six, with four children but they have the gift of love and healing they opened their home to adopt another child.
They could really make a difference for another child, giving them a loving home, a home to a child that otherwise lived in a world of disarray, unharmonious an unloved.
Jessica wrote:
about a world… “inundated with loss, hardship, and a vast array of obstacles”
bringing… “goodness, peace, or healing to (the) world”
The Davies family took the decision very seriously, they knew they would be taking on a lot of work for many, many years to come, not just financially but emotionally too. They had done their homework and they wanted to do it!
They had been reading about Uganda and the high need there for parents to adopt children, with 3 million orphans! So they decided that was the way they would go.
The little girl was called Namata, from Uganda, they called her Mata for short, it was definitely going to be a really difficult thing to do an official and ethical adoption!
There wasn’t a single thing that was easy about the adoption at all, it was a long difficult and stressful process just to bring the little girl home with them. She was just six years old and they kept in mind the wonderful thing they were doing.
(CNN/Screenshot)
It was 2015 when Namate did actually join the family…
Jessica shared online that nothing at all could prepare her for what was about to follow!
The sweet and clever girl learned English quite quickly, once she was able to express herself she started to tell everyone for the first time about her life and her home. It was very different from what they expected!
(CNN/Screenshot)
The Davies family were told that she was an orphan, no father, and a neglectful mother, that she was taken to a local orphanage it was so bad.
They had been told that she had been abused and abandoned, never been to school and hardly given any food, The Davies family remembered the horrific picture that was painted for their benefit!
It broke Jessica’s heart to imagine Namata’s suffering and hardship she had to deal with before she came to them.
Jessica wrote in 2015:
“But I came to realize that she was telling me something vastly different—and vastly more important”
The family flew to Uganda in 2015, to see Namata, and visited her at the ‘God’s Mercy Orphanage’, where they saw this little girl in an empty room with no toys at all and bars on the walls!
When she started speaking in English she started to say that her mother was a really good mother, that she loved her and took her to school every day.
The couple re-read all their paperwork carefully to try to look for clues, things were starting not to add up in the least bit.
Jessica said:
“Everything … she unraveled to be a lie …the child we had struggled for years to adopt was not an orphan at all.”
Everything they thought was true, the trust they had in the things they were told, it all turned out to be lies, they felt so betrayed.
Adam said to the news channel:
“The only trauma this child ever experienced was because we essentially placed an order for a child. She was home and happy with her mother until they selected her for us.”
Namata’s mother believed that her daughter was being sent to school abroad, she had been told that she had a great opportunity to give her daughter a great education, she didn’t know she was signing away her rights as a mother…
(CNN/Screenshot)
The Davies family were really horrified at what had been done, a young girl was taken away from a loving family, they worked to arrange a reunion between Namata and her mother, they set-up a facetime call.
When Namata was told she could speak to her mother again she was so happy, she was giddy and full of giggles!
She said:
“I get to talk to my mother again!”
(CNN/Screenshot)
Namat’s mother told them how she had been tricked into signing over her daughter, she said she was told the Davies were sponsoring her daughter to have her education in America for a year or two only.
Keren Riley, an advocate who works on projects to reunite Ugandan children with their lost families, told the news channel that there are several organizations, all of which look to deceive families like this for profit, looking for single mothers to exploit and con them, families with more children than they can afford.
Riley said:
“It’s easy to pull the wool over their eyes”
They approach mothers at a local village, in the church, to tell them about opportunities for wonderful education for their children. They had to sign permission forms and they also falsified documents when they needed to.
All so that the children would be adopted by families who would pay out thousands upon thousands of dollars to fly these children overseas.
Jessica said to the news:
“I don’t want to see another mother go through this…”
According to the new group CNN, these children are sold to unsuspecting families for around $15,000.
(CNN/Screenshot)
The couple worked with a group called ‘European Adoption Consultants’ – (EAC), they are now under investigation in conjunction with the FBI and the State Department.
The Davies family realize they were fooled, but it is not completely clear if the EAC played a part in the child trafficking scheme or if they were themselves scammed by the Ugandan orphanages.
Since about 1990 the agency has placed over 2,000 overseas children in US homes, they have since been closed down!
They closed them down due to not ensuring that its foreign providers did not engage in the “sale, abduction, exploitation or trafficking of children.”
No matter which way you look at the agency, in some way at the very least they were at fault with the strict laws they must follow.
(CNN/Screenshot)
Stacy Wells, from Virginia West, also had dealings with the EAC, they had a girl called Violah who had been completely abandoned by her parents, so they said!
“That after the dad died, [EAC] told us that [the mother] didn’t feed them, that they were found sick, dying basically”
She really felt for this little girl, her suffering reached out to her heart, the wells brought her home to their house from Uganda.
When Violah too learned English, the stories she told were vastly different from what the family was told about her, she had a mother and sisters who loved her!
The family were horrified to learn the truth, Wells went back to Uganda with Violah so she could reunite the family she was broken apart by the untruths of the agency!
“It was very hard—I realized at that moment, she felt like my daughter, and she still does,” Wells said. “But I knew, that she was where she was meant to be.”
(CNN/Screenshot)
The Wells kept in touch with Violah by video calls and chats, the Davies also kept in touch with Namata too, the girls in the village have become good friends!
Many other stories though didn’t have such a great ending, there are plenty of children who were adopted and not returned.
(CNN/Screenshot)
There are well over one million families in the USA that look to adopt each year, and a few unscrupulous organizations like the ones here have used this fact to take advantage of vulnerable families in third world countries like Uganda.
Jessica said:
“They are taking advantage of the most vulnerable birth mothers this way so that people can profit”
You can learn all about adoption laws in the US State Department.
Watch the story below, and please SHARE with your friends and family
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Being a good parent takes a lot of hard work. Children need to be taught what is right and what is wrong from very early age, which can take a lot of time and patience. And no matter how mischievous kids can be at times, I believe there’s nothing a long and meaningful conversation can’t fix when it comes to educating and shaping little minds.
One mother from Pelalawan, Indonesia, however, couldn’t put up with her misbehaving son any longer so she abandoned him at the nearest petrol station.
She left a note next to him saying, “Child, forgive me. I am forced to leave you on the street as I’m no longer willing to see you suffer or tortured because of your mischief, every day you are causing problems. Forgive me, child. Take good care of yourself.”
The confused boy, 8, was spotted by the local residents who got worried after seeing him at the station all by himself during the late hours. They called the police and took the boy to the village until authorities arrived.
Police believe the real reason behind the abandonment is the abuse the boy suffered at home.
When found, he had visible marks around his mouth and a cut on his face. According to a translated report from Gridstar, the boy’s dad would get angry and violent whenever his son was reckless and misbehaved.
The report further states that what preceded the abandonment was an incident in which the boy beaten his two younger brothers so when the father came home, he hurt the boy.
“The perpetrator pinched the victim’s left little finger. The victim was already crying, but the perpetrator was still pinching the victim’s little finger and ring finger with pliers,” Pelalawan Iptu Police Public Relations Officer, Edy Haryanto was quoted saying according to Gridstar.
During the act of punishing his son, the boy’s mother got inside the house and decided to protect her son from his father by abandoning him. The parents were divorced.
At the moment, police is investigating the case. “Today his parents, the family, the head of the RT / RW, and all related parties were summoned to be examined by the Pangkalan Kuras Police,” said Edy. “This is to find out whether the child was actually dumped and allegedly abused by his parents,” and added, “Indeed, there are indications of violence against the child. But, we need to further understand what the background is, why it happened like this.”
We are sad to hear that young children are suffering from the hands of their parents. No matter how mischievous a kid is, being violent against them should never be an option.
Please SHARE this story with your family and friends on Facebook to help raise awareness against children abuse.
The world is mourning the loss of singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, the stunning singer and actress who rose to stardom with the iconic role of Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson who fall for greaser Danny Zuko, played by John Travolta, in the classic musical Grease.
Grease became a cultural phenomenon that remained popular years following its release and turned both Newton-John and Travolta into huge stars everyone talked about. The single “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” performed by Newton-John, was nominated at the Oscars for original song.
The co-stars remained very close friends until the very end. They had reunited to celebrate the movie on many occasions. Back in 2018, the two rejoined for the 40th anniversary of the screening of Grease where they showed off the dance moves from the film.
Source: Shutterstock
Following Newton-John’s family’s statement about her passing, Travolta posted a tribute on the social media.
“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever!” He signed it,” Your Danny, your John.”
Newton-John passed away on Monday, August 8, following a lengthy battle of breast cancer. Travolta lost his wife of many years, Kelly Preston, from the same disease back in 2020.
Rest in peace, Olivia Newton-John.
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Bea, a warm and friendly elderly woman was a regular customer at one restaurant. She and her husband visited the place on a daily basis and enjoyed each meal and the pleasant atmosphere the place offered. The couple even celebrated their wedding anniversaries there and had a fun time with their family and friends.
Everyone knew Bea very well. The staff would greet her and her husband and always to their time to ask how they were and what life was like.
Then, all of a sudden, the couple was nowhere to be seen. As they got worried for their favorite customers, the employees decided to ask around and learn what was wrong. It was then that they learned that Bea’s husband passed away.
Concerned for her well-being, they sent her a letter asking her to go to the restaurant and talk to them if she feels like it.
Some time later, Bea visited the place and recalled all those beautiful times she had spent there with the people who meant her the most. However, she felt a bit overwhelmed and left without paying. The staff didn’t care about the money because they knew she would get back again.
Source: newyorkcityinthewitofaneye
In the days to come, Bea visited the restaurant once again, but it didn’t resemble the same place. There were some major rearrangements done. Her table, the one next to the window, was no longer there. She took a sit at another table and smiled at the employees, but they didn’t stop to ask her how she was doing. It was a strange feeling, and she didn’t know what was wrong.
At that moment, a man approached her and told her that he was the new manager. He told her how he knew she didn’t pay the last time she was there and added that they only accept paying customers. He didn’t care that she was a regular all those years. He also forbade the employees to have any contact with the customers.
Bea couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She then took a pen out of her bag and wrote something on a piece of paper before leaving the restaurant in tears.
When one of the waiters, Robin, got to the table where the elderly woman sat, he noticed a black wallet and knew it was Bea who left it behind. Just to be sure, he opened it and it was then that he noticed the note. He took it out and what he read broke his heart.
“To the restaurant employees, I have enjoyed coming to this restaurant for over 30 years. Everything at the restaurant has changed over the years: the staff has come and gone, the menu has changed hundreds of times, but I have never left,” Bea wrote.
“I’ve had a lot of happy times here, but you’ve always been there for me, even when things were tough. Now that I am elderly and ailing, I would like to express my gratitude by giving you a substantial sum of money.
“That new floor manager, on the other hand, will not see a nickel of my money,” was scrawled in pen at the bottom of the check. “I’ll also phone the restaurant owner to tell him how I feel about that horrible man,” Bea ended her note.
When the employees shared what had happened with the restaurant’s owner and explained how much Bea meant to everyone of them, he apologized to her and fired the manager. He said that customers as loyal as Bea should always come first.
It is incredible how the restaurant employees became such an important part of this elderly woman’s life.
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A mother named Stephanie shares her son’s story in order to warn other parents of the dangers of ticks, small blood-sucking bugs which spread diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They can also cause allergic reactions, pain and swelling, a burning sensation, blisters, and shortness of breath.
Stephanie started her story by saying that her son, Collin, went to bed all smiles. He’s a joyful young boy who loves running around and playing all sorts of games. The next morning, however, when she entered his room, he resembled a completely different person. He wouldn’t move and was only staring at her.
At that moment, she panicked and called her husband Dillon. Collin was rushed to the nearest hospital. He was paralyzed and no one knew what led to such a thing. A he was unable to eat or drink and his oxygen levels kept dropping, Collin was transferred to a larger hospital.
Doctors ran a number of tests before they finally discovered the cause. The boy got bitten by a tick that was succking his blood. If they arrived later, he could have suffered a cardiac arrest.
As they took the tick out, Collin got back to normal. Doctors determined that the paralyzes was caused by the bug’s saliva.
Please SHARE this story to remind parents to always check on their kids after being out in the nature.
The trust in God and the faith in the divine can do wonders. The power of prayer should never be underestimated because even during the most difficult of times, God is always on our side and watches over us. This story is a reminder that we should never lose hope and always turn to God when everything around us is falling apart.
A woman, dressed in simple clothes and with a devastation in her eyes, entered a supermarket. She was confused and it looked like she was going through some tough times. After some time, she gathered the courage to approach the owner and ask him for some food. She explained that her husband was sick and she had seven children to feed.
She asked if the could give her some food that she could pay for some time later. The owner wasn’t happy with the request and asked her to leave the place. However, as she saw no way out of her situation, she started begging to be allowed to pay for the items once she gets the money.
The owner wouldn’t listen, saying he couldn’t help.
A customer who was listening to the conversation decided to step in and pay for the items she had listed on the piece of paper that was in her hand.
The owner agreed, but he had a condition. He told the woman to place the paper on one side of the scale and told her he would give her every items that was lighter than the paper, expecting, of course, not to give her anything.
But just as she put the paper on, the scale sank down to the disbelief of those witnessing the situation. It looked like she put a heavy rock, not a light piece of paper. The owner then placed some food on the other part of the scale, but the scale on which the paper was didn’t lift.
He thought the woman was pulling tricks on him, so he asked her what items did she list. It was then that the woman took the piece of paper and handed it to the owner. It wasn’t a shopping list, it was a prayer which read, “The Lord knows my needs, I leave this situation in His hands.”
The owner then realized that the woman’s faith in God was so huge that He made a miracle take place.
Overwhelmed, the owner gave the woman plenty of food to feed her family.
Please SHARE this beautiful story with your family and friends on Facebook to remind them to never lose hope.
At the age of 69, Pierce Brosnan, the James Bond star, still looks as stunning as always. Among the rest, it is his charm and down-to-earth personality which make fans from all over the world fall for him.
Recently, however, the actor shared some photos on his social media that caused quite a stir as he looks completely unrecognizable.
Namely, the star is filming his upcoming movie The Last Rifleman. According to Singer Studios, Brosnan would be portraying the role of 89-year-old Artie Crawford, a World War II veteran living in a care home in Northern Ireland who has just lost his wife.
As he wrapped up the shooting, Brosnan thanked his team, and called working with them “a dream.” Along with the heartfelt message, the actor shared photos dressed up as his character. Rocking a bald grey wig with matching eyebrows, he looks unrecognizable.
Earlier, he posted photos of the last day of shooting in Normandy and wrote, “Final day of filming at the Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy on ‘The Last Rifleman’ Playing Artie Crawford, 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles , retired, 92 and 3/4 years old. …six glorious weeks in Belfast in the company of great filmmakers. That’s Emma on the slate. Thank ye one and all Dear Belfast enjoyed every days work.”
It looks like he managed to combine work with please as he was spotted visiting places and surprising fans.
Adam Stockman, a restaurant owner shared with Belfast Online that the James Bond star enjoyed a meal at his restaurant, saying, “He’s literally just landed in NI, the first time he’s ever been in the country, which I was surprised about myself.
“He came in for lunch along with his personal assistant and he had a lovely couple of hours with us. He was friendly and chatting to customers and staff and he went across to chat with some ladies at table, had the craic with them and had a few photographs taken.”
Local residents said the actor showed some special ‘Irish charm.’
Please SHARE this story with your family and friends on Facebook if you too are a fan of the great Pierce Brosnan. We are looking forward to his latest movie.
Olivia Newton-John, the Australian who rose to international stardom as both an actress and a singer and whose stunning appearance took millions of breaths away passed away on Monday, August 8, her family confirmed. According to the statement released by her husband John Easterling, the star, who was 73 years of age, died peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California surrounded by family and friends.
“We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time,” the statement read. “Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer.
“Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund.”
Shutterstock
Newton-John opened up about her cancer diagnosis in September 2018 when she revealed she was diagnosed with cancer at the base of her spine which was her third cancer diagnosis.
Newton-John was considered one of the biggest pop stars of the ’70s. Her iconic role as Sandy in the movie Grease, which is until this day considered a true classic, propelled Newton-John to new heights. All of a sudden, everyone talked about the stunningly beautiful actress who starred opposite John Travolta.
“I don’t think anyone could have imagined a movie would go on almost 40 years and would still be popular and people would still be talking to me about it all the time and loving it,” Newton-John told CNN in 2017. “It’s just one of those movies. I’m very lucky to have been a part of it. It’s given so many people pleasure.”
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She started her music career after winning a talent contest as a teen. From that moment on, she started performing and sang huge hits, including three songs on Grease, You’re The One That I Want and Summer Nights with Travolta, and her swoony solo ballad, Hopelessly Devoted To You.
“I love to sing, it’s all I know how to do,” she told CNN in 2017. “That’s all I’ve ever done since I was 15, so it’s my life. I feel very grateful that I can still do it and people still come to see me.”
“Olivia is survived by her husband John Easterling; daughter Chloe Lattanzi; sister Sarah Newton-John; brother Toby Newton-John; nieces and nephews Tottie, Fiona, and Brett Goldsmith; Emerson, Charlie, Zac, Jeremy, Randall, and Pierz Newton-John; Jude Newton-Stock, Layla Lee; Kira and Tasha Edelstein; and Brin and Valerie Hall.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with Olivia Newton-John’s family during these difficult times.
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A woman named Brooke Myrick was told the news that she was expecting twins. She was over the moon and couldn’t wait to hold her two bundles of joy in her arms, but sadly, only one of her boys survived.
While Walker got to be welcomed into the world, his twin brother Willis died inside the womb when his mom was in the 24th week of pregnancy.
The reason for this devastating loss was twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a condition in which the twins share one placenta and blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients necessary for the fetuses’ growth. Sadly, this syndrome means that the blood vessels don’t distribute the necessary nutrients to all the babies equally. As a result, one of the babies receives less blood than the rest, which can easily lead to organ failure while still in the womb. The fetus that receives too much blood can also face severe consequences such as cardiac issues.
Brooke was never aware of something like this until her babies were diagnosed with it.
Source: Facebook/ Walker and Willis Birthday Walk to Fight TTTS
When Walker got bigger, his parents told him about his twin brother who didn’t make it into the world. It was then that Walker developed a strong connection to his late brother.
On the day he started kindergarten, Walker asked from his mom and dad to take him to Willis’ grave. Brooke then snapped a photo of her son which she later shared online.
“Walker was five and had just started kindergarten,” she wrote. “I found him like this after getting my baby out of the car. Walker told us he wanted to tell Willis about starting school.” She then added, “I saw him sitting there and knew I had to snap a photo.”
Source: People | Twitter
In anticipation of bringing the babies home, Brooke and her husband bought two cribs, and double of everything a baby needs.
“It broke my heart to go home and see the double outfits we had purchased the month before.”
Speaking of the syndrome that killed her baby, this devastated mother said, “We were not screened for it, nor did our doctor refer us to a specialist or even know that my boys were identical and sharing a placenta. We fight for awareness because of the lack of knowledge that our doctor possessed about this disease.”
Walker has three other siblings, but he still feels strong connection with the brother he has never met. “We always told him he is a twin,” Brooke said. “Even as a baby, I spoke of Willis and a little smile would come on his face. I think he knew who I was talking about. I think he’s always felt that loss. He didn’t like sleeping alone as a baby. And on ultrasounds, we would see him still kicking his brother, waiting for a response back.
“I think their connection is strong, even in death. Identical twins are known to carry a very strong connection and I believe it’s still there with my boys. Walker has a drive to make sure Willis is never forgotten. Willis truly lives through Walker and I think he watches over him.”
We are so sorry for this family’s loss.
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Many people dream of becoming parents one day. Sadly, not everyone succeeds in becoming one because of one reason or another. Sometimes, they simply don’t get lucky enough to find the person they would want to share that special role with. Other times, no matter how hard they try, couples fail at getting pregnant.
A woman from Serbia named Atifa, spent most of her life trying to conceive. Believe it or not, she never stopped dreaming, and finally, her wish came true when she reached 60 years old.
All those fertilization treatments and the physical and emotional pain she was forced to go through finally paid off.
Baby Alina was born healthy, despite her mother’s age.
When the little one was welcomed into the world, everything fell into place. Or at least that’s what Atifa thought.
Unfortunately, the very moment this woman’s husband heard the baby cry, he told her that he was way too old to be taking care of a child. He couldn’t imagine spending his days next to a crying baby so he left the home.
When asked why he made such a heartbreaking decision, he said, “She got what she wanted, now she is happy,” referring to his wife of many years.
The father also claimed that he wasn’t in good health in order to be able to raise a child. Atifa also suffers from different medical conditions such as high blood pressure, but she would never abandon her child.
What is most, the father, Sherif, won’t even give his daughter his last name and doesn’t want to recognize her as his own, which is truly heartbreaking having in mind the number of years they waited to have a child.
“Whatever happens, whether Serif stays or leaves, I will raise Alina as best I can. I will live only for her. I know it won’t be easy, but I think there are a lot of people who will want to help me,” Atifa says.
We hope these mother and daughter would have the life they deserve.
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On her way to work, a woman named Malissa Sergent Lewis spotted something that stole her attention.
As she was running late to the elementary school in Kentucky where she works, she decided to take a shortcut through a back road. Little did she know that her decision would help save the life of an innocent creature. She found herself in the right place, at the right time and was willing to step in for an animal in need.
“I saw this trash bag in the road, and I thought to myself, ‘Did I just see that bag move?’ The closer I got, I realized it was moving,” she said speaking to The Dodo. “I could hardly wrap my mind around that. Something was alive in that bag, and I just knew I had to get whatever it was out.”
The video she took shows the bag moving, and it’s a devastating thing to see, knowing someone placed an animal inside and just left it there to suffocate and die.
Although she had no idea what sort of animal could be inside, she still decided to lend a helping hand and give it a chance to live. Risking her own safety, Malissa got out of her vehicle and approached the bag.
“The bag was tied off in a knot, so I carefully tore a corner and looked inside,” she said. “It was a puppy. And he sure was glad to see me. As soon as I opened it up, and he saw light, he just started wagging his tail. He knew he was OK. I couldn’t believe it.”
She took the sweet puppy to the vet’s as she wanted to make sure he was alright and didn’t suffer any injuries while tied in the bag. He even had a collar which made it obvious he was someone’s pet.
Thankfully, the puppy was perfectly healthy.
Authorities spread the story around hoping someone would come forward with any information on who the owner might be. They weren’t certain whether it was the owner who dumped the puppy or it was perhaps stolen and then placed inside that bag. But no matter who did it, if tracked down they will be charged with animal cruelty.
“Who could do something like that to any animal? I don’t care who you are; everybody loves puppies,” she said. “It’s a real coldhearted person to put an animal, any animal, in a garbage bag and dump it on the side of the road. They had bad, bad intentions doing that.”
The best thing that came out of this situation is that the puppy found his forever home with his savior. Yes, Malissa fell in love with the little boy and she couldn’t imagine someone else adopting him.
Her family was so glad she helped him and now gave him a home. Malissa’s sons say how they love Hefty (that is how they named him) and enjoy spending time with him.
“We all love the puppy,” Lewis said. “He’s going to be loved, and have a good home with us. I’m just glad I was in the right place at the right time to save him. That’s what it was.”
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McDonald’s Church Street branch in Liverpool imposed a ban which prevents people under the age of 18 from entering the place after 5 p.m. As this ban is just temporary, this will certainly help the employees who have been repeatedly subjected to abuse.
The ban comes as a result of the fast-food restaurant to reduce instances of anti-social behavior, which have been very frequent during the past period.
“Over recent weeks, we have seen an increase in the number of incidents of anti-social behavior in the area with our people being subjected to verbal and physical abuse. We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to crime and anti-social behavior, and have temporarily restricted restaurant access to U18s from 5 pm. This decision was not taken lightly and we are working closely with the police to find a resolution and help reduce these incidents,” a spokesperson for the company stated.
As most of the McDonald’s restaurants in the UK offer a 24-hour service, which makes them a popular places for youngsters who are outside during the night, the staff has witnessed a number of anti-social behavior among the customers and say they have a hard time preventing it from taking place.
Image Credits: Google Maps
The fast-food giant is planning on closing a number of places, around 36,000 throughout the world, to be exact. Around 13,000 of them are placed in the UK.
On top of this, the company made a decision to increase the prices of some the products it offers, such as the cheeseburger, which used to cost 99p and whose price increased to 1.19 pounds.
Company representatives claim that the fast-food chain is going through some turbulent times, and the inflation only adds to the issue.
“As I was leaving the security guard stopped a man he believed to be a teenager and told him they weren’t allowing people under 18 into the restaurant after 5 pm without an adult with them. The man told the security guard he was in his 20s so he apologized and explained that the new company policy meant he couldn’t let groups of teens in on their own,” a customer was reported to have said.
The Chief Executive Officer for McDonald’s UK & Ireland, Alistair Macrow, said, “At times like this, we know that providing great value is important. Since we opened in the UK in 1974, we’ve committed to offering great tasting food at affordable prices, and that commitment will not change. But today’s pressures mean, like many, we’re having to make some tough choices about our prices. This summer, our restaurants will be adding between 10p and 20p to a number of the menu items impact most by inflation. From today, we’ll be increasing the price of our cheeseburger for the first time in over 14 years, taking it from 99p to 1.19 pounds. Some prices remain unaffected, and some will continue to vary across our restaurants.”
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He was born in Canada on December 22, 1970, but his family soon moved to Houston, Texas.
As a young child and during his teenage years, Cruz wasn’t one of the popular kids. Instead, he was interested in fields which made others dub him a nerd. Among the rest, he was a member of the Constitutional Corroborators – a five-strong “unit” of high-achieving, politically-minded students, was involved in the drama club and the public speaking team.
Soon after, however, he developed a more likable personality, got rid of the glasses, and got involved into sports.
Kevin Clark/The The Washington Post via Getty Images
One of the teachers at Second Baptist School, Elsa Jean Looser, who taught English and drama, described the Senator as a “dream student” interested in history and government.
“We all knew he had political ambitions simply because of the direction he was taking. He wanted to do well in all his classes, which he did, he wanted to go to fine schools, he wanted to build a good resumé,” Looser shared with The Guardian.
“He was a tremendous debater. His whole life was just being directed that way. There was no question he was aspiring to be a lawyer and then move into the political arena,” she added.
“He gets bad press, which is so sad because he’s just doing what he said he would do.”
Shutterstock/Joseph Sohm
After earning an undergraduate degree from Princeton University, Cruz earned a law degree at Harvard Law School and became a clerk for Chief Justice Rehnquist, before moving to work in private practice.
Being interested in politics ever since he was still young, Cruz embarked on a journey into that world as a policy advisor in the George W. Bush administration before serving as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008.
While working on Bush’s presidential campaign in Austin, Texas, Cruz met his future wife, Heidi, who recalled him being “super-smart,” “really funny,” and looking like “a 1950s movie star.”
Alex Wong/Getty Images
“It was love at first sight,” she added, speaking to The Atlantic.
After some time, he gathered the courage to ask her out and they went to a bar named The Bitter End. He wanted to know everything about her, which she found a bit awkward at the time.
“I found Ted very compelling,” Heidi said.
“He is a warm person, he’s friendly, he is someone who’s clearly smart, and an incredibly sharp mind, very articulate, but he’s also a guy that likes to have fun.
“We sat down and just had a really, really in-depth, long conversation,” she added. “He wanted to know all about my family, our background — what my interests and goals were.”
He then asked her about her 10-year-plan and 20-year-plan.
The two married just a year and a half later, and they are still together. The couple has two children together, daughters Caroline Camille Cruz and Catherine Christiane Cruz.
At one point in their life, they worked at different places. Cruz became the solicitor general of Texas in 2003 and moved to Austin, Texas, while Heidi remained in Washington. They seemed to be doing fine at first, but shortly after, they both realized that long-distant relationship didn’t fit either of them.
“And then it wasn’t just that,” Heidi said of that period. “It was, like, all of this – like, ‘Why am I here? And by the way, I gave up living where my family is to come here, so that I could sit on [the] 290 freeway every week to go work for a company that’s actually headquartered in New York, and I could be in headquarters if I wasn’t here with you.’”
Shutterstock/Harry Thomas Flower
Even today, these two are very much in love with one another. “Ted is the easiest person to live with. He’s very even-tempered. He’s totally unflappable. He never gets mad. And you’ve seen that publicly. There have been a lot of names that Ted has been called. There are a lot of things that his Senate colleagues have said about him. It’s because they feel threatened by the truth that has been his political career, and by what he is trying to do. Ted never responds in kind.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ted Cruz has a net worth of around $4 million
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In matters of taste, there can be no disputes. This maxim holds so much truth in itself, because the fact is that what is considered beautiful by some can be easily found unattractive by others.
When a Russian couple shared photos of their special day on the social media, little did they know that those photos would go viral for reasons they never thought of. The physical appearance of the bride was found funny by many, especially because she was quite chubby and relatively bigger than the groom. Soon after, the internet was flooded with negative comments about the couple and they became an object of ridicule and mockery.
Only few people close to the couple shared their congratulations and stood by their side.
There were lots of mean comments. Some even claimed that the groom was marrying the woman because she was probably rich and he loved her for her money, which was far from the truth.
This unfortunate event took place around six years ago, and despite all those years, the photos still get reshared every now and then and the comments are still as mean as when the photos first emerged on the social media.
Recently, a reported stumbled upon the viral photo of the couple and decided to do some research in order to learn if they are still together.
What he discovered was that the couple is still very much in love as day one. What shocked him, however, was the incredible transformation the woman has undergone during the years since her photo went viral and she was dubbed “the ugliest bride in the world.”
Today, it is very hard to tell that she is the same woman the internet mocked for the way she looked. She’s totally unrecognizable.
Not only she lost a significant amount of weight, but she changed her hairstyle and the way she dresses.
How many people can say they have undergone through such a drastic change in their life? Not many, I guess. It truly takes and incredible amount of devotion to be able to achieve something like that.
No one really knows what triggered the urge for the change. After seeing the new photos, many claim it was the pressure from the social media that forced the woman to lose weight although her husband loved her the way she was.
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The power of prayer should never be underestimated. Even during the toughest of times when we believe that there is no way out, the trust that God has our back can do wonders.
Hayley Oliveri and her husband Nathaniel witnessed a miracle taking place right in front of their eyes because they never lost faith that things would get right.
When their baby daughter Gabriella was born, they were over the moon. Their hearts were filled with joy and they couldn’t wait to hold their bundle of joy in their arms.
“When Hayley was in labor, the nurses kept commenting on how peaceful we were — they weren’t used to that. And then I would pray for her, and they definitely weren’t used to that,” Nathaniel said.
Baby Gabriella looked perfectly healthy. Unfortunately, just 30 minutes into the world, she suddenly experienced breathing problems and doctors needed to put her on oxygen support.
Sadly, things didn’t look bright. In order to help maintain the necessary oxygen levels, Gabriella needed to be sedated and intubated. But just as they did that, her heart stopped.
Doctors and nurses feared for the girl’s life and thought they lost her, but her parents stayed calm. Instead of crying and panicking, Hayley and Nathaniel held hands and united in prayer while doctors performed CPR on their girl. Their midwife Amy Plowman prayed along with them.
At that moment, Hayley claimed she had a vision of a figure that resembled Jesus Christ entering the room. She could clearly see Him placing his hand on Gabriella’s tiny body. What followed stunned everyone in the room. The baby girl regained her pulse and started breathing again.
These parents’ prayers were answered. After four long minutes, Gabriella was there again, and she was there to stay with her mom and dad who never lost hope nor faith.
Things like this are hard to be explained by the scientists. Even they dub them miracles.
For more on this incredible story go to the video below.
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Planet Earth, the only planet we can ever call home is facing a number of issues that can easily change the way we live. Despite global warming, which is something very real and affecting all living creatures, what concerns the scientist is that our planet seems to be spinning faster than ever before.
Does this mean that the global clocks would have to be sped up?
The most recent data shows that the Earth completed an entire rotation of 1.59 milliseconds under 24 hours and this raised red flags.
“This would be required to keep civil time—which is based on the super-steady beat of atomic clocks—in step with solar time, which is based on the movement of the Sun across the sky,” Time and Date reported.
Earth is spinning faster than it has in the last half-century, igniting a fiery debate about what we should do to keep the world on track. pic.twitter.com/3v0A6ru1gI
Many experts claim that this phenomenon is affected by the climate change, but no matter what the cause is, it could be devastating.
Over the years, the Earth’s rotation has been slowing down. The atomic clocks, which measure its rotation, needed to be fixed during the last 50 + years as a result of the leaps of 27 seconds since the 1970. That is the reason why the speeding comes as a shock as Earth records its shortest day since the atomic clocks have been in use.
“A negative leap second would mean that our clocks skip one second, which could potentially create problems for IT systems,” the Time and Date website warned. So what does that mean? According to the founders of Facebook, the negative leap second can have a “devastating effect” on software relying on precise timers and schedulers and it can do more harm than good.
⏰ If it feels like there is never enough time in the day, there may be a reason.
According to Time and Date, these changes in the speed of the planet’s rotation can be a result of the Earth’s “inner or outer layers, oceans, tides, or even temperature,” but that’s just a suggestion.
Scientists will discuss the issue at the upcoming annual meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society. Among them, renowned scientists Leonid Zotov, Christian Bizouard, and Nikolay Sidorenkov, will argue that the change in spinning might be related to the small and irregular movement of the geographical poles across the surface of the globe, or better known as “Chandler wobble.”
“The normal amplitude of the Chandler wobble is about three to four meters at Earth’s surface,” Zotov explained for Time and Date. ‘”But from 2017 to 2020 it disappeared.”
Spinning faster: Earth has recorded its shortest day since scientists began using atomic clocks to measure its rotational speed. Why is this happening? We check the latest numbers: https://t.co/iD4K9rnaiy
From the moment she landed her role in Fantastic Voyage and later in One Million Years B.C in 1966, gorgeous Raquel Welch, who will be turning 82 in September of this year, attracted the attention of millions of people worldwide. No one really cared that her character only had three lines of dialogue in the film because it was her stunning appearance in her undergarments that stunned the audience.
“I had no other credentials as an actress outside of that one laughable line of dialogue: ‘Me Loana… You Tumak.’ It felt like I’d stumbled into a booby trap – pun intended. I’m a living proof that a picture speaks a thousand words,” Welch said.
Soon after, images of her in the doe-skin bikini became best-selling posters that turned her into an international sex symbol. Playboy Magazine gave her the title of “the most desirable lady of the decade” in the year 1970 and she truly was one.
Her roles, through which she portrayed strong female characters, helped break the mold of the traditional sex symbol and end Hollywood’s vigorous promotion of the blonde bombshell.
Throughout the years, Welch took part in many films and she even got her own television program called Raquel! Her healthy lifestyle and her passion for yoga resulted in her publishing a book with exercises.
Men’s Health named her second hottest woman of all time in their 2014 issue.
During the last three years, Welch stood out of the limelight and we haven’t seen much of her. Recently, however, she was spotted visiting the J&J Beauty Lounge nail salon in Beverly Hills, a favorite place of the residents of the wealthy neighborhood. The model and actress was caught going through a series of different emotional states while she was having her nails done.
What many noticed is that although she’s still the same stunningly gorgeous woman she has always been, her looks did change over the years and she doesn’t truly resemble her old self.
Most recently Welch appeared in a sitcom titled Date My Dad where she reunited with Robert Wagner on screen, four decades after starring together in The Biggest Bundle of Them All. The same year, 2017, she acted in How to Be a Latin Lover.
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Celebrities share their outrage over the devastating ruling of the Russian court to sentence America’s brightest WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison.
Earlier in February, Griner was detained after custom officials found vape canisters containing cannabis oil inside her luggage. Griner pleaded guilty but said she did an ‘honest mistake,’ as she had no idea the vape was inside her bag. She claimed that she left it there by mistake as she headed to Russia where she was supposed to play during the WNBA off-season.
“I still don’t understand how they ended up in my bag,” she was reported to have said.
Griner was prescribed the medical marijuana in the United States to help relieve her pain from chronic injuries. It is not uncommon for America’s elite athletes to be using this treatment as it has fewer side effects than conventional medicine.
During the closing arguments on Thursday, Griner’s attorneys asked for leniency. “In sprinting there is Usain Bolt, in Formula 1 Michael Schumacher, and in women’s basketball there is Brittney Griner,” her lawyer Maria Blagovolina said.
Griner said she doesn’t want to become a political pawn.
“Russia became my second home. I remember vividly coming out of the gym and all the little girls coming out and waiting on me. That’s what kept making me come back here.
“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club and the city for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought,” she said among the rest.
President Biden denounced the sentence and claimed Griner has been “wrongfully detained,” as Washington is doing all in their power to bring the star home. The deal for an exchange of Griner and another American for a Russian who is serving a sentence in the States has been on the table for two weeks, but there has been no progress made.
Justin Bieber, Mia Farrow, and Andy Cohen were among the celebrities who took to social media to show their support and ask justice for Griner.
On his Instagram story, Bieber posted, “THIS HURTS! If anyone knows of anyway I can help please let me know.”
Farrow dubbed the verdict ‘heartbreaking’ as she tweeted: “The Russian judge ignored everything Britney Griner had stated. He sentenced her to 9 years in a ‘penal colony.’ For carrying 2 vaping cartridges – medically prescribed. Damn. Heartbreaking.”
Others, like Cohen, tweeted: “BRING BRITTNEY HOME,” adding an American flag and a praying emoji.
Actor Eric Idle joined those who supported our star and said: “Brittney Griner: Basketball star jailed for nine years on drug charges. So for invading a neighbor country that would be about 90,000 years for Putin on the same scale.”
Jada Pinkett Smith shared a photo of Griner and referenced the latest developments in the Breonna Taylor case as she wrote: “On the same day where we finally got some Justice for Breonna… I find out that Brittney Griner just got 9 years in Russia.” She added Free Brittney hashtag and broken heart emojis.
There were also those who believed the WNBA star should knew better than carrying drug in Russia, especially during these times when the country is in war with Ukraine and the States slam Puttin for the conflict. Comedian Tim Young wrote: “Brittney Griner is not a political prisoner… she carried drugs that were illegal with her in Russia and was arrested – there’s nothing ‘political’ about that.”
We honestly hope that the Russian government would come to terms with America’s plea to release Brittney Griner.
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The Duke and The Duchess of Sussex decided to step down from their royal duties back in 2020 and settle down in America where they moved together with they son Archie. In the meantime, their royal family got bigger for another member, sweet baby girl Lilibet Diana, whose name is a tribute to both her late grandmother, Lady Di, and her great-grandmother, the Queen of England, whose nickname as a young child was Lili.
The Sussexes announced they were expecting their second child on Valentine’s day through a statement which said, “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”
Fast forward to June 4, 2022, the girl turned a year old and celebrated the milestone in her father’s homeland while the family visited Britain for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Meghan and Harry threw a picnic party and invited friends and members of the royalty. However, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their three children weren’t in attendance. Apparently, they traveled to Wales at the time of the celebration.
As the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have three children, many have wondered if Harry would follow into his brother’s footsteps when it comes to the number of children he and Meghan have.
As it turns out, Harry and Meghan have already given the answer, and not once.
During the infamous Oprah interview, when they exposed many “dirty” secrets about ‘The Firm,’ Harry told Oprah, “To have any one or any two, but to have a boy and then a girl—what more could you ask for? But now we’ve got our family. We’ve got the four of us, we’ve got our two dogs. Done.”
“Done—two is it?” Oprah asked.
“Two is it,” Meghan said.
Further, how the couple feels about the number of kids they wish to have was once again confirmed during Harry’s interview with the British Vogue. Discussing the climate changes with Dr. Jane Goodall, the Prince said he now sees things from a different perspective than back in the day.
“It does make it different,” he started. “I think, weirdly, because of the people that I’ve met and the places that I’ve been fortunate enough to go to, I’ve always had a connection and a love for nature. I view it differently now, without question. But I’ve always wanted to try and ensure that, even before having a child and hoping to have children…”
“Not too many!” Goodall said laughing.
“Two, maximum!” Harry said. “But I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation.”
Given this, the Sussexes are happy with the number of children they have and don’t plan on having a third child. But we never know, they may change their opinion in the future.
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Christie Brinkley’s modeling career, which spans decades, started totally unplanned. While in Paris, where she studied, Christie was spotted by photographer Errol Sawyer. She was carrying her dog in a bag and was headed to the vet’s when Sawyer asked her to take a few photos of her.
When she agreed, Christie had no idea that it would be a start of something huge. Ever since that serendipitous meeting, which took place back in 1973, this typical American beauty’s face was all over the magazines.
”I was basically a surfer girl from California. I never looked like a model,” she told New York Magazine in 2008.
The photos Sawyer took of her helped Christie sign with three major American advertising companies. So, the Michigan native soon found herself on the cover of one of the most prestigious magazines, Sports Illustrated.
”When I started out, I remember very clearly a group of successful models saying, ‘You will be burned up and thrown away by the time you’re 30,” Christie told People in 2011.
A lot of people told her how her fame would last for just a couple of years, but she proved everyone wrong and remained one of the most famous and most wanted models in the world.
What’s most, she became a symbol of the entire decade. New York Magazine wrote that Christie’s look defined the Reagan Cold War years and that she was ”a kind of aggressively innocent American sunniness.”
Wikipedia Commons / John Mathew Smith
Once she reached enormous success in the fashion and modeling industry, Christie decided to try herself on the big screen. One of the movies she starred in is National Lampoon’s Vacation from 1983 in which she played opposite Chevy Chase as ”the girl in the red Ferrari.” She later reprised the role.
Her record-breaking contract with the cosmetic brand CoverGirl lasted for 25 years and is one of the longest lasting model contracts ever signed.
Christie was married four times. Her first marriage, with Frenchman Jean-François Allaux lasted from 1973 to 1981. The two didn’t have children together.
In 1982, Christie met another Frenchman she fell for, the Moët-Chandon Champagne fortune heir, Oliver Chandon de Brailles. The two met during an event at the famous Studio 54 in New York. They were very much in love with each other, but Oliver tragically died in a car crash on a racetrack in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was into racing and skydiving and adored Christie. Speaking of her, he once said that he loved her “for her simplicity,” to which she added: “He doesn’t mean simpleminded!”
When Christie learned of the horrific crash in which her boyfriend lost his life she was utterly heartbroken.
Christie Brinkley and French racing driver Olivier Chandon de Brailles / Getty Images
Later in 1983, the famous model met singer Billy Joel. They welcomed daughter Alexa Ray Joel in 1985. It is believed that Billy’s famous hit Uptown Girl was written for Christie.
Their marriage ended in divorce, but the two remained very close friends. What’s most, Billy was among the guests on the Christie’s wedding ceremony to her third husband, real estate developer Richard Taubman. Shortly before marrying him, Christie, Richard, and some of their friends suffered a helicopter crash. He ended up with a broken rib and collarbone and a punctured lung. She suffered minor injuries, but was forced to undergo a hip replacement some years later. ”I had my surgery at Thanksgiving and I was dancing in my kitchen by New Years Eve and today I put on my long fins and explored the coral reefs propelled by my new hip,” she wrote on her Instagram.
The marriage lasted for a year. Christie and Richard have son Jack Paris Brinkley together.
Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel and Billy Joel / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival
Her last marriage, to architect Peter Halsey Cook, lasted for 12 years. Their daughter, Sailor Lee Brinkley Cook, was born in 1998 and has followed into her mom’s footsteps.
The marriage ended after it was revealed that Peter had an affair with an 18-year-old woman whom he met at a store and later hired as his assistance. The divorce was a long and a nasty one.
According to the divorce settlement, Christie gained full custody of the children and the couple’s properties. Peter had a financial payment of $2.1 million and ”parenting time.”
”I din’t want this trial. It’s humiliating for all of us,” Christie said.
Shutterstock
Today, Christie is 68 years old but she looks as stunning as ever. She lives in a 20-acre gated mansion located in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York that she bought some 23 years ago for $3.2 million.
”I like to exercise so I am always able to move and go with the flow, and I like to eat foods that are healthy so I am fueling my body and I must say, usually I am the one still going when people younger than me are fading!” she said in an interview with Hello Magazine.
Raising a child is not a walk in the park, but it looks like not many people understand that. The truth is that most parents would go above and beyond for the happiness of their children, and yet, there would be those who would judge their parenting and slam them for their decisions.
Life with five children under one roof must be challenging, and a father named Jordan Driskell, 31, knows that all too well. He and his wife are parents to 5-year-old quintuplets, and even a simple shopping trip to the nearest market can be hard to organize because the children are very much curious and it takes a lot of multitasking to keep them together and make them behave.
Zoey, Dakota, Hollyn, Asher, and Gavin used to go out in a 6-seat stroller, but as they grew up, they prefer to walk. On top of that, the stroller was too big and ludicrous to bring everywhere.
In order to have them right in front of his eyes at all times and make sure none of the kids wanders off, Jordan is using a child leash and says the kids adore it.
Last year, he posted a video online of the quintuplets on a leash during a day excursion to an aquarium which has recently gone viral with over three million views and counting. For most part, Jordan was ridiculed and criticized for using a leash.
“They are humans, not dogs,” one person commented. “Can’t you just properly train your children?” Discuss to them why fleeing is risky,” another added. Great part of the comments were negative.
“If you can’t manage the pressure, don’t have so many kids,” someone posted.
“That’s a disaster. If you can’t handle that many kids, don’t get kids at all,” another person stated.
While people judged Jordan for his parenting, expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa, a parenting and adolescent development specialist, says this is an inventive issue solution. She does not believe that the kids are treated like animals, on the contrary, she believes their parents simply had to find a way, and this is better than opting to keep the children at home.
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