Good News Stories Thread: Updated often with links to new good news stories.

[Rachel20]

Surfing Dog Grants Wish For Teen With Brain Cancer



A Florida teen with terminal brain cancer recently had one of his dreams come true, thanks to a surfing dog named Ricochet.
Last July, when 15-year-old Caleb Acosta was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer, he told Make-A-Wish Foundation that he wanted to catch waves with a surfing dog he once saw featured on ESPN.
According to Ricochet's website, she is the "only dog in the world who surfs with kids with special needs, people with disabilities, wounded warriors, military families and veterans with PTSD."
Acosta joined those special ranks last week when the foundation flew him and his family from Apopka, Florida to San Diego, Calif., to meet the famous four-legged surfer.
"My son is an amazing kid," the teen's mother said in a video posted on Ricochet's YouTube. "Despite all his pain and all of his difficult situations, that smile that you see, it's always there. He always has it."
Acosta was definitely all smiles as he was wheeled out into the ocean and helped onto a longboard, with Ricochet always nearby.

When he was asked how it was out in the waves, he replied, "Super fun!"
"I just felt almost normal, finally. It felt really good to be free, not worrying about anything, having someone to keep my balance."
Acosta's family adventure was more than just an awesome surf session. According to the PrayForCaleb Facebook page, the family was able to experience all that southern California has to offer. They stopped by Disneyland and California Adventure and went fishing at Huntington Beach pier and sightseeing around Hollywood.
Cathy says that the family doesn't know what Acosta's life expectancy is and that they "are not interested in hearing it" so they can continue "believing and living each day to it's fullest." [sic]
After his surf session, a news reporter asked Acosta how he stays so strong.
"It's just, I don't know," he replied with a smile. "Just with God's help, everything is possible. So I know he has a plan for me."

 

[1still_waters]

Trash Collector Finds and Returns Valuable Gift

CLEVELAND, OH -A Ohio woman gets quite the surprise when a lost gift is found.
And she has a city worker who was determined to do the right thing to thank.


It was a usual work day for Josh Kerns until the Medina sanitation worker saw something unusual in the trash.
"As I dumped it, I noticed something purple standing with a bunch of white. And, as we went to the next stop, I kept looking at it. It didn't look right and I noticed the name Lucy," Kerns said.
Before the trash got compacted, Kerns took the purple envelope out of the truck.
"Something told me to grab it. So, I just grabbed it."


The envelope stayed unopened until Kerns finished the route. Then he and his co-workers were surprised to find fifty dollars

inside.
Kerns knew he had to try to find the rightful owner of the birthday card..


"I asked ‘are you Lucy?' She responded yes that has my name on it, and I just said ‘Happy Birthday'," Kerns said.
"I just thought it was great that they went above and beyond to come back out and find me and make sure that he gives me the card back because it had money

in it," Hamer said.
Hamer didn't even know about the birthday card from her sister-in-law. It had been put in with a gift for her son. She simply threw out it out with the trash.
Bob Depew, assistant foreman at the Medina Service Department, believes this was all fate.


"Somebody directed Josh's hand to that envelope. That's just my personal feeling. That was meant to get Josh to get it back to the people," he said.
Hamer said it is good that there are still honest people in the world. And, this birthday gift returned from the trash is sure to be treasured for a long time.


Read more: Trash Collector Finds and Returns Valuable Gift - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

 

[1still_waters]

Calif. Couple Strikes $10M Gold-Coin Bonanza Near Sacramento

A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their property stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree.

Nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them. Although the face value of the gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece.

"I don't like to say once-in-a-lifetime for anything, but you don't get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever," said veteran numismatist Don Kagin, who is representing the finders. "It's like they found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow."
Kagin, whose family has been in the rare-coin business for 81 years, would say little about the couple other than that they are husband and wife, are middle-aged and have lived for several years on the rural property in California's Gold Country, where the coins were found. They have no idea who put them there, he said.

The pair are choosing to remain anonymous, Kagin said, in part to avoid a renewed gold rush to their property by modern-day prospectors armed with metal detectors.

They also don't want to be treated any differently, said David McCarthy, chief numismatist for Kagin Inc. of Tiburon.
"Their concern was this would change the way everyone else would look at them, and they're pretty happy with the lifestyle they have today," he said.

They plan to put most of the coins up for sale through Amazon while holding onto a few keepsakes. They'll use the money to pay off bills and quietly donate to local charities, Kagin said.

Before they sell them, they are loaning some to the American Numismatic Association for its National Money Show, which opens Thursday in Atlanta.

What makes their find particularly valuable, McCarthy said, is that almost all of the coins are in near-perfect condition. That means that whoever put them into the ground likely socked them away as soon as they were put into circulation.
Because paper money was illegal in California until the 1870s, he added, it's extremely rare to find any coins from before that of such high quality.

"It wasn't really until the 1880s that you start seeing coins struck in California that were kept in real high grades of preservation," he said.
The coins, in $5, $10 and $20 denominations, were stored more or less in chronological order in six cans, McCarthy said, with the 1840s and 1850s pieces going into one can until it was filed, then new coins going into the next one and the next one after that. The dates and the method indicated that whoever put them there was using the ground as their personal bank and that they weren't swooped up all at once in a robbery.

Although most of the coins were minted in San Francisco, one $5 gold piece came from as far away as Georgia.
Kagin and McCarthy would say little about the couple's property or its ownership history, other than it's located in Gold Country, a sprawling, picturesque and still lightly populated section of north-central California that extends east of Sacramento to the Nevada line, running through the hills and valleys of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, set off the California Gold Rush of 1848.
The coins had been buried by a path the couple had walked for years. On the day they found them last spring, the woman had bent over to examine an old rusty can that erosion had caused to pop slightly out of the ground.
"Don't be above bending over to check on a rusty can," Kagin said she told him.

Calif. Couple Strikes $10M Gold-Coin Bonanza Near Sacramento | NBC New York

 

[1still_waters]

New Testament stops bullets, saves man


A public transit bus driver in Dayton, Ohio, was attacked by three teenagers early Monday morning after his bus broke down on the side of the road, police told CNN affiliate WHIO.

Rickey Wagoner, 49, was shot three times at point-blank range and stabbed in the arm, but survived because both bullets aimed at his chest were stopped by a New Testament devotional Bible in his front pocket, according to WHIO. The third bullet struck him in the leg.
“There was obviously some kind of intervention involved in this incident, because he probably should not be here,” Dayton Police Sgt. Michael Pauley told WHIO.

Wagoner told police he believes the assault was part of a gang initiation. Wagoner said he heard one suspect tell another that he needed to “kill the polar bear” in order to be “all the way in the club,” according to WHIO.

Dayton police, however, said it was too early in the investigation to draw any conclusions about the motive.
During the attack, Wagoner told police, he used an aluminum pen from his pocket to stab one of the teenage boys in the leg, according to WHIO. The suspects dropped the gun and fled as Wagoner picked up the weapon and opened fire.

Wagoner was transported to a hospital and was being treated for a bullet wound to the leg, among other injuries, according to WHIO. His injuries are not life-threatening, police said.

Police were searching for the three male suspects.

The condition of the book, which police described as a religious devotional entitled “The Message,” was unknown. “The Message” is a translation of the Bible into contemporary language by Eugene Peterson.

New Testament stops bullets, saves man | WTKR.com

 

[wisebeardman]

now why can't I end up lucky finding something worth millions. blah

 

[1still_waters]

Tiny houses help address nation's homeless problem

While tiny houses have been attractive for those wanting to downsize or simplify their lives for financial or environmental reasons, there's another population benefiting from the small-dwelling movement: the homeless.

There's a growing effort across the nation from advocates and religious groups to build these compact buildings because they are cheaper than a traditional large-scale shelter, help the recipients socially because they are built in communal settings and are environmentally friendly due to their size.

"You're out of the elements, you've got your own bed, you've got your own place to call your own," said Harold "Hap" Morgan, who is without a permanent home in Madison. "It gives you a little bit of self-pride: This is my own house."
He's in line for a 99-square-foot house built through the nonprofit Occupy Madison Build, or OM Build, run by former organizers with the Occupy movement. The group hopes to create a cluster of tiny houses like those in Olympia, Wash., and Eugene and Portland, Ore.

Many have been built with donated materials and volunteer labor, sometimes from the people who will live in them. Most require residents to behave appropriately, avoid drugs and alcohol and help maintain the properties.

Still, sometimes neighbors have not been receptive. Linda Brown, who can see the proposed site for Madison's tiny houses from her living room window, said she worries about noise and what her neighbors would be like.

"There have been people who have always been associated with people who are homeless that are unsavory types of people," she said.

Organizer Brenda Konkel hopes to allay neighbors' concerns by the time the City Council votes in May on the group's application to rezone the site of a former auto body shop to place the houses there. Plans include gardens, a chicken coop and possibly bee hives and showers and bathrooms in the main building.

"I think a lot of them we can work through. I think there is some ways we can be a real asset to the neighborhood," she said.
The group has already built one house that's occupied by a couple and parked on the street. A volunteer moves it every 24 or 48 hours as required by city ordinances.

The house, which cost about $5,000, fits a double bed with overhead storage, a small table and a small room with a compostable toilet. There's no plumbing or electricity, but the home is insulated and has a propane heater to get the residents through the harsh Wisconsin winters.

Organizers want to eventually add solar panels.
Morgan, who has struggled with a spinal cord surgery, alcohol addiction and unemployment, lives in a trailer provided by OM Build. He hopes to work as a cook again.

"My goal is to go back to that and get my own place, but it's really nice to have this to fall back on," he said.
The tiny house effort in Eugene, Ore., sprung up after the city shut down an Occupy encampment that turned into a tent city for the homeless. Andrew Heben and others worked with the city, which provided them with land for the project.

Opportunity Village Eugene opened in September with little resistance, said Heben, 26, who is on the board of directors. Most of the nine huts, which are 60 square feet, and 21 bungalows, which are 64 square feet and 80 square feet, are already built.
Thirty people are living in them now, and he expects 40 to 45 residents ultimately. The houses don't have electricity, water, bathrooms, showers or kitchens, but separate shared buildings do.

They've done it all for less than $100,000, which is about half the median home price in Eugene, all from private donors with no taxpayer money. He said the story has changed from how tent cities were a problem in America to how the community is banding together.

"It's an American success story. ... Now we see in different cities people coming up with citizen driven solutions," Heben said.
Ministries in Texas and New York also are developing communities with clusters of small houses.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes plans 135 small homes and 100 recreational vehicles on 27 acres near Austin, Texas.
The Christian ministry that started 15 years ago bringing food and clothing to the homeless hopes to raise $7 million to build the homes, streets, utilities, sewers, a farming operation, medical facility and sanctuary, President and CEO Alan Graham said.
Residents would pay rent that ranges from $90 a month for a 150-square-foot home to $375 for 400 square feet.
"The goal is to reach everybody where they are economically," Graham said.

He expects a staff of 15 will run the village, with residents having the option to get paid to help with upkeep.
Community Faith Partnership near Ithaca, N.Y., has built six of up to 18 planned 320-square-foot houses as transitional living for homeless men, said Jim Crawford, the group's executive director.

The men will pay rent on a sliding scale that looks at their situation and whether they receive government aid.
The heart of the operation will be a community center where people who aren't social can learn to relate to others in a safe environment, Crawford said.

"We are bringing people into tangible housing but we are bringing them also into much less tangible human framework of social relations and that is the more difficult work," he said. "That is the more sophisticated work."

Tiny houses help address nation's homeless problem - WNCT

 

[1still_waters]

[h=3]Friendship blooms for child with disabilities at school dance[/h]

WAVERLY, TN (WSMV) -A middle school

dance in tiny Waverly, TN, is getting attention from all over the state and beyond. Something extraordinary happened at the dance that caught one mom off-guard.

You see, she absolutely never thought her son would do something as simple as go to a school dance with a pretty girl.
But what seems like a big deal to adults was nothing more than the kindness and compassion of a childhood friend.

Jacob Cummings has both Down syndrome and autism. It is not an easy road. In fact, his parents dreaded sending him to middle school.
"We were scared. It is a trying time for children. They're finding out who they are. They're noticing differences. There's a lot of stereotype to keep up with. And Jacob doesn't fit the bill," said his mother, Amy Cummings.

What they couldn't possibly account for was Layla Thomas. Layla loves Jacob, and Jacob loves Layla.
So when it was time for the fifth grade Valentine's dance, Layla didn't hesitate.

"I know he really likes to dance, and he's my best friend in the world. I wanted to bring him. I was just worried that somebody was going to get to him before I did," Layla said.
Nevertheless, it surprised Jacob's mom.

She has been dedicated to making sure her son feels included, and even expects it. But she did not expect this.
"I never thought he would go to a dance. So when he did, it was the most normal thing that he's ever done. He was defying the disability, and he was overcoming it. And he was just a regular boy going to a dance with a beautiful girl," Amy Cummings said.
Jacob is outgoing and has never met a stranger. But there is no one who makes his face light up like Layla Thomas.

Layla has such a heart at an age when so many kids are only thinking of themselves. It's no wonder this dance invitation has people gushing.
"We are completely humbled by all of the amazing things that people have said," said Layla's mother, April Thomas.

The little boy they call the family

changer made everything different and everyone better. As for the little girl who surprised everyone, talk about leading a life of influence at an early age.
"Layla is just perfection. She has the biggest heart of a child that I've ever seen," Amy Cummings said.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/24834548/friendship-blooms-for-child-with-disabilities-at-school-dance

 

[GodIsSalvation]

While there is still much atrocities in North Korea and some other crazy world eventss going on at the moment elsewhere here is one little glimmer good news on CNN. North Korea has released an elderly Christian man from Australia. Though it's obviously more than fair to still be skeptical of North Korea this is still some pretty good news I thought that one good man that was jailed only for talking about the Gospel to peoples was able to be freed from utter tyranny and hope many more can be too.

North Korea frees Australian missionary - CNN.com

 

[Bridget_Left_China]

It'll warm your heart.

[video]http://www.reshareable.tv/this-pizza-party-will-make-you-cry.html[/video]

 

[1still_waters]

Mom hears noise, checks on newborn, and finds this


When a mother heard a noise coming from her newborn’s room, she went to check it out.
This precious scene is what she found.

Her 6-year-old son is cradling the infant and singing a sweet lullaby. If you listen closely, it appears to be his rendition of “No One Like You” by John Denver.

[video=youtube_share;Taqq1JKJpAk]http://youtu.be/Taqq1JKJpAk[/video]

Mom hears noise, checks on newborn, and finds this | fox4kc.com

 

[1still_waters]

Photos: Elephant cries after rescue from 50 years of abuse

[video=youtube;hhd_6pEIxZ8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhd_6pEIxZ8[/video]

Read more: Photos: Elephant cries after rescue from 50 years of abuse | Local News - WCVB Home

 

[1still_waters]

Captain buys pizza for passengers on delayed flight

(CNN) – If there is an award for “pilot of the year,” the award should go to the one who bought pizza for the entire plane.

A Frontier Airlines pilot went out of his way to provide the pizza after an already delayed flight ended up diverted because of weather.

The flight from Washington, DC to Denver could not land because of storms, so they were diverted to Wyoming to re-fuel. It was during that two-hour stop that more than 50 pizzas were delivered to the plane.

The flight finally arrived in Denver about five hours late, but who could be mad when they are given free pizza?

So far, the identity of the pilot is not known.

Captain buys pizza for passengers on delayed flight - WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather & sports Wilmington, NC

 

[1still_waters]

Mother and adoptive daughter found on doorstep hit milestone



ALCORN COUNTY, MS - (WMC) - A Mid-South woman thought she would never become a mother until she fell in love with a little girl abandoned on a doctor's doorstep.


Friday marks 18 years since Janessa Gibbs was abandoned as a newborn at the front of a Corinth, Mississippi doctor's office. A nearby hospital worker made the difficult choice to take her in, and it's a decision that's changed two lives forever.
Sara Gibbs isn't Janessa Gibbs birth mother.


"I had never, never let a birthday of hers pass, that I didn't think of her mother," Sara said.
Janessa was called in to work at the hospital next door where she was a nurse. So she was there when first responders found who would soon be her daughter.


"I was single. I worked night shift. I worked 12-hour-nights. There was nothing in my life that had prepared me for a baby," Sara said.


With help from her pastor and friends at the hospital, Sara received the courage to officially adopt Janessa.


"She always tells me that whoever my mother is did it for her," said Janessa.
"I feel like it was divine intervention, it had to be, because I wasn't even supposed to be there," Sara said.


Nearly two decades of memories in their baby book are proof that these two were put in each other's lives for a reason.


"She's the best mom ever," Janessa said. "She's always been my mom."
"I wanted to be the one to teach her and mold her," Sara said.


Sara Gibbs works at Methodist Hospital in Germantown. This fall she'll send Janessa off to college. They believe their bond will only grow stronger after 18 years they'll never forget.
"She truly is a momma's girl," Sara said.

Mother and adoptive daughter found on doorstep hit milestone - WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

 

[1still_waters]

‘The smell of gas was everywhere,’ driver rescues trucker after I-95 crash




HENRICO COUNTY, Va. – One driver suffered minor injuries after a tractor trailer overturned on I-95 north near Parham Rd. (mile marker 83) Monday morning.

The accident happened just before 7 a.m. Virginia State Police said a truck flipped after colliding with another tractor trailer. Worth Osgood saw the accident happen in front of his very eyes.

“The cab just shot to the left across the lane and flipped and just with that the trailer flipped too and it started to slide,” recounted Osgood.

Witnessing it all, Osgood said he decided to help the driver in the cab.
“I had to jump over a guard rail to get to him and at that point I had no idea what was waiting for me,” he said.

With fueling spilling all around him, Osgood said he yanked pieces of broken windshield from the cab of the truck and pulled the driver out to safety.

“I knew from the severity of that accident that guy was in potential peril,” Osgood said. “When someone is in potential peril, you have to do something.”

‘The smell of gas was everywhere,’ driver rescues trucker after I-95 crash | WTVR.com

 

[1still_waters]

Going for the Gold! The Transplant Games


(WGNO) - There’s a team of athletes from Louisiana who are doing something extraordinary. They are all transplant recipients and they are competing in the Transplant Games of America in Houston, Texas.


Tyrone Cooper is one of the athletes going for the gold. Cooper received a heart transplant, which he’s eternally grateful for.


“If I hadn’t got the heart, I know I wouldn’t be here, ” he said.


Cooper’s been training at Elmwood Fitness for the upcoming Transplant Games.
He received his heart from a man from Houma who had an aneurysm. The man’s family donated his organs.


Getting a heart transplant has given Tyrone a new life. He’s now using his heart in ways he never thought possible.


Tyrone’s excited to be competing in the Transplant Games.


He’s being coached by Kim Black, who won the gold medal in swimming for the 4 by 2 freestyle in Sydney, Australia at the 2000 games.


“I know what it’s like to be an underdog and accomplish something that people don’t expect,” Black said.


After winning her gold medal, Kim’s made it her mission to work with heart transplant recipients and their donors. She’s currently a social worker for Ochsner Medical Center.
“They are heroes to me. They remind me everyday of the gift of life,” she said.


“We don’t only look at Kim as an Olympic-winning athlete, but she really cares about her patients,” Cooper said.


The Transplant Games are raising awareness about the importance of organ donation.
“I want to celebrate life. I’m tired of seeing my patients die. The only way to change that is for more people to be registered donors. More than 120-thousand people are waiting for a transplant and just one organ donor can save as many as 9 lives,” she said.


Tyrone’s days away from competing in the Transplant Games, but in the game of life he’s already a winner.


“I already won the game, when I was able to have a donor donate an organ to me,” Cooper said.


The Transplant Games take place from July 11-July 15.

Read more: Going for the Gold! The Transplant Games | WGNO

 

[1still_waters]

Re: Good News Stories Thread: DAILY NEW LINKS TO GOOD NEWS STORIES



GARDEN CITY, Mo. (WDAF/CNN) -- A 6-year-old boy in Cass County, Mo., is on a mission to make sure all cemetery graves have flowers. Braden Johnson's mom said he has sold lemonade and brownies, among other things, for the past three years to raise the money. He said he just wants to make sure no one is forgotten. "I wanted to honor the people that passed away," Braden said. One woman was so touched by Braden's compassion, she wanted to pay it forward. She informed a news station about his good deeds, and he was awarded $300 for his kindness.

Read More at: Braden Johnson: 6-year-old raises money to put flowers on flowerless graves - Local 12 WKRC-TV Cincinnati

 

[1still_waters]

Mickey Mouse among victims of Bellevue identity thief

BELLEVUE, Wash. —
Bellevue police recovered hundreds of false ID cards, driver’s licenses, documents and forged checks, after stolen construction signs led investigators to the discovery of an identity theft operation.


Among the driver’s licenses was one with a photo of Mickey Mouse that said he was born in 1928, lives on Disneyland Drive in Anaheim, is 5 feet 2 inches tall, 110 pounds and is apparently an organ donor.


On July a resident at the Hidden Creek Condominiums in the 800 block of 126th Place Northeast noticed what appeared to be two stolen road construction signs in an adjacent patio.


The resident contacted the construction company that owned the signs and confirmed they had been stolen from a job site. The company then contacted Bellevue police.


After an officer contacted the neighbor, an investigation led to three people being arrested on outstanding warrants. A fourth person was arrested after admitting to stealing the signs, according to investigators.


Three fake Washington ID cards were found on one of those arrested and a search warrant was obtained for the condominium.
According to police, the search yielded 39 false Washington ID cards and drivers' licenses, 67 fraudulent credit cards, 28 various false government ID cards, seven false Social Security cards and several hundred forged checks.
Bellevue police are in the process of contacting victims in this case.


"It appears that most of the victims in this case had their identities stolen after their mail was stolen or their cars were broken into by these suspects,” said Lt. Lisa Patricelli. "This is a good reminder for people to consider buying locked mailboxes, and to never leave valuables in our vehicles."


It is not known if Mickey Mouse had reported a car prowl or mail theft.

Mickey Mouse among victims of Bellevue identity thief | www.kirotv.com

 

[skipp]

Love the story about the kid raising money for flowers for people's graves. He has a good heart.

 

[1still_waters]

Dad makes daughter a princess, claims 'no man's land' in Africa

ABINGDON, VA (RNN) - One Virginia father and former congressional candidate fulfilled a request for his daughter, trekking to Africa to make her a princess.

In a June 16 Facebook post, Jeremiah Heaton, 38, wrote how he wanted to make the dreams of 7-year-old daughter, Emily, of being a princess a reality after a father-daughter playtime last winter.

"Emily, like most little girls, has a dream to become a princess. While playing one day she stopped and posed a question, 'Daddy, will I ever be a real princess?' The only answer I could give my sweet little girl was 'Yes, of course you will be a princess one day!'" Heaton wrote.

It was Emily's "heartfelt desire" that Heaton wanted to fulfill.

"I am an inquisitive person, and I searched for free land that was not claimed by any man," Heaton said.
He discovered the term terra nullius, Latin for "no man's land," while researching possible areas, and found the eastern
African region of Bir Tawil, a 796-square-mile region between Egypt and Sudan. Because of a nearly 100-year-old dispute, Bir Tawil was one of the three remaining non-claimed parcels of land in the world, according to The Global Post.

"Over the years a few arm-chair explorers have attempted to 'claim' Bir Tawil by simply writing a blog entry or creating a website. These half-hearted, illegitimate claims have not been recognized by any government," Heaton said.

Heaton had to secure permission from the Egyptian government to travel to Bir Tawil, and said they couldn't have been more hospitable.
"Amazingly, Bir Tawil is the very last piece of Earth unclaimed by any nation or man," Heaton wrote.
The area now known as Bir Tawil is now being called "The Kingdom of North Sudan" by the Heatons. In the Facebook post, Heaton asks friends to formally address his daughter as "Princess Emily." Naturally, Heaton is the king.
"Long live the Kingdom and the love it was founded upon," Heaton wrote.

Heaton said he wants to use the land to advance agricultural technology for the surrounding areas. Heaton wants to have an energy-efficient nation based on renewable sources.

"The plan is really in the early stages, but I have friends who are scientists who will help us finalize things," Heaton said. "I may be the leader, but I by no means have the knowledge alone. But, we are going to find ways to physically grow food and use their knowledge to grow crops."

Heaton says he hadn't considered the potential backlash of a white man purchasing land in Africa, and that it's not about that or just making his daughter a princess.

"I don't see color, and we as a world are beyond that," Heaton said. "I think people will see past the fact that I am a white man, and see that this was a act of love."

Heaton also dismissed the claim of colonialism, and calls the land claim "the lost and found of Earth." He also said he isn't spoiling his daughter.

"We are really good people," Heaton said. "I am not some super-rich guy that spends a bunch of money on Sweet 16 parties. I just wanted to do something very special for my daughter, and leave a legacy of love for my children."

Heaton, who had an unsuccessful run for Virginia's 9th District's Democratic nomination in 2012, currently works in mining, according to the Bristol Herald Courier. His sons, ages 12 and 10, helped design the flag with their sister.

He is set to make the phone calls to the two embassies Monday morning to begin setting up the details with the Egyptian and Sudanese ambassadors.

University of Richmond political science professor Sheila Carapico told the Bristol Herald Courier that "it's not plausible" for the land to be claimed without the "legal recognition of the neighboring countries, the United Nations, or other groups."
As for Emily, who is a bashful princess, she only had one thing to say about gaining her kingdom.
"I think it's cool," Emily said.

Dad buys land in Africa to create kingdom for daughter - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

 

[1still_waters]

Meet the Gerber Baby, 87 years later

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The most famous face in baby food, the Gerber Baby, is now 87 years old -- and still smiling.
"I was a happy, healthy baby and I think that's why the drawing has been so appealing to people. Because everybody wants their baby to be happy, healthy looking."

Her name is Ann Turner Cook and her portrait was drawn in 1927 by a friend of her father, who started by filming her.
"And she'd freeze the action when she wanted to catch an expression," Cook explained. "She caught the expression she wanted."

The expression that became the Gerber icon.
"The simplicity of the sketch, I think, appealed to them and it's appealed to an awful lot of people ever since."
Cook says that, years ago, Gerber wanted to keep her a secret so no one would know if the Gerber baby was a girl or a boy. But when she became a teacher, the secret got out.

"Of course the students knew," she said, insisting, "I didn't tell them."
So teaching high school English, she began every year by answering every question every student had about the baby that everyone knew.

"And then I would say, 'Now we won't talk about this anymore' because I didn't want it to monopolize the time I had with my students."

Nowadays she's free to talk about being the Gerber baby.
"I had four of my own," she continued. "There's nothing I'd rather be than associated with babies."

She has great-grandchildren now -- generations since the drawing that made her face famous forever.
"That's my immortality, yes," she laughed. "I've become a symbol for babies, which couldn't be anything nicer than that."


Meet the Gerber Baby, 87 years later - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5