A handful of stories have made me feel good in some way this week and I’m hoping that sharing them gives you a few feel-good moments too.
Thank you Michael and Ernie Johnson
I saw this one in my social media travels and it pulled me in, like I *had* to know more. The video is 8-minutes long, and worth every second.
Three takeaways for me:
It’s easy to get annoyed, it’s hard to find value. The hard things are almost always worth it. Do the work, see the good…find the value.
Don’t believe everything you hear. Don’t allow the thoughts and ideas of others lead you to foreclose on your identities, opportunities, hopes, and dreams.
Say I love you.
Saving Julius
It’s probably no surprise that someone with an odd fixation on death also has an odd fixation on death row. I watched the Julius Jones story unfold with a pit in my stomach and was relieved to hear that his execution was halted and his sentence commuted (from death to life in prison without possibility of parole…which I don’t get the “without h possibility of parole” part because he seems innocent to me, but this is a feel-good post so I’m gonna stop yammering and just be glad his life was spared). I guess believe in the death penalty. Until I don’t.
Run for your life
A 105-year old woman with the nickname of “Hurricane” set a record in the 100-meter dash…and is disappointed in her performance. No woman has even been in in the 105+ age bracket before, so saying she’s an inspiration is an understatement. Full story is here. Watch her race below…you may want to stretch first.
Lyrics, schmearics
Wait, what? This isn’t a remake of the Lionel Richie classic? Oh shit. I’ll just wing it. No one will notice. Or maybe they will. “Hello from the other side…I ate some M&Ms and cried…woooo, oooh, oooh…” (Don’t forget Adele’s new album just dropped…I’m heading to Spotify momentarily.)
Dinner with strangers => dinner with friends => dinner with family
5 years later and it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without people clamoring to know what Wanda and Jamal are doing for dinner. After a wayward wrong number text (Who dis?) ended up with Jamal joining Wanda (“Grandma”) and her family for dinner in 2016, it has officially become a tradition. The families have confirmed they are scheduled to sit down for their sixth Thanksgiving together—they’ve gone from literal strangers to chosen family. I don’t think happy accidents are accidental at all…that’s the way they look to us, but The Universe has other plans. So go with it!
As the great Peewee Herman says, “I love that story.” And I love all five of these, in different ways.
Thanks for being here…and I love you too. (IYKYK. Hint: watch the first video above.)
Cheers to the weekend, freaks! See you Monday!