Good news!

[Rewind]

Lately we've been bombarded with bad news: Fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, school shootings, workplace shootings, terrorist attacks, airplane crashes, bus crashes, boat crashes, drug deaths, sexual abuse, political scandals and many other downright depressing dismal doings. It's time to, as Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters sang in 1944, Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive. This thread is devoted to good news. And it would be good if other Sirius Buzz members besides myself would participate here. I know I'm not the only person who can find positive uplifting stories to share. Here we go:

Waitresses learn sign language to wish hearing-impaired 4-year-old boy a happy birthday
CBS News, Jul 23 2018

Octavius Mitchell Jr. went with his mother, Shatika Dixon, to Texas Roadhouse in Murfreesboro, Tennessee to celebrate his fourth birthday. A waitress, Kathryn Marasco, realized it was Octavius' birthday and that he was hearing impaired. She asked her fellow server, Brandie White, if she knew how to say "happy birthday," in sign language. White, who is studying Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology at Middle Tennessee State University, pulled up YouTube on her phone and they quickly learned how to say "happy birthday" in American Sign Language.

The servers went to Octavius' table to show him what they had learned. "Happy birthday to you," the waitresses signed. Octavius and his mom were very impressed. Not only had the waitresses acknowledged the 4-year-old's birthday, they took the time to celebrate it in a way that was special to him. Octavius' mother said this was his first time signing with people other than herself and his teacher. It was a simple phrase but an enormous gesture to Octavius. Thanks to the two kind waitresses, his fourth birthday is one he and his mom will remember for a lifetime.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/waitres...appy-birthday/

[Rewind]

San Diego State grad finally gets his diploma — at age 105
San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug 17 2018

At age 105, Bill Vogt has learned a thing or two. Until Thursday afternoon, though, he'd never held in his hands the piece of paper proving what he'd known to be true about himself since 1935: That he is a graduate of San Diego State University. At a small gathering on campus, school President Adela de la Torre gave him a diploma made to look like what he might have received 83 years ago.

School officials believe he is the oldest of their alumni and maybe the only one still living who attended when the campus was a teachers' college located in the University Heights neighborhood. He started there in 1931 and when the college moved to its present site he went with it, majoring in business -- or, as it was called at the time, "commerce."

In what should have been his final semester, one professor was so unimpressed with Vogt's academic performance that he refused to give him credit for a class, leaving him a few units short of graduation. He had to go back for another term to take a replacement course, finishing up in midyear. The next graduation ceremony was months away. He had other things on his mind than where to pick up his diploma, such as finding work in the middle of the Great Depression.

Vogt got a job with a title company in town, then worked on several education-related New Deal projects around the state. With World War II looming, a Navy friend of his father's suggested that he sign up for officers school. Assigned to naval intelligence, he spent the war in various postings. He also served in the Korean War and then went to the Pentagon, where he had a front-row seat for the Cuban Missile Crisis and the seizure in 1968 of the USS Pueblo by North Korean forces.

Vogt retired from the military in 1970 and settled back home in San Diego. Over the years, he kept tabs on his alma mater. He cheered for the football and basketball teams. He marveled at how big the campus was getting. In May, he decided to join the alumni association as a life member. He was enticed by an offer of a free wooden diploma frame for anyone who signed up. Now all he needed was a diploma.

Sandra Cook, associate vice president for enrollment management, had her staff search the archives to find his academic records, confirming that he had earned a bachelor of arts degree. Her office then put together the diploma, made to look as much as possible like the ones handed out in 1935. After receiving the diploma during the gathering, Vogt joked about being the only person ever to have a private graduation ceremony. "I'm going to hang this diploma on the wall with pride," he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...105/ar-BBM1Z95

[Rewind]

I wonder what "charge" the police "arrested" her for. Pushing her walker at an unsafe speed? Possession of Lyrica and Celebrex with intent to distribute? Anyway, she had fun.

Maine woman who loves Cops gets 'arrested' for her 93rd birthday
Fox News, Aug 20 2018

For her 93rd birthday, a Maine woman got "arrested" — and got a kick out of it. Anne Dumont good-humoredly arranged with the Augusta Police Department to "gently arrest" her mother, Simone, who loves watching the TV show Cops. "She goes on about how the police have the worst job and what they have to deal with and she wondered what it was like to be arrested and sit in the back seat," Dumont said.

Dumont’s mother told her the surprise gift on July 7 "made my life." Dumont said, "She happily got to see the inside of the police car, front and back, and also pushed the siren button until it wailed. A momentous event." Simone now refers to the patrol car’s owner, Officer Paul Doody, as "my cop" and she even got an authentic Augusta police junior officer decal as a present. The Augusta Police Department wrote on Facebook that it was "very proud to have been invited" to be a part of the birthday celebration.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/20...-birthday.html

[Rewind]

Here is some good news for everyone who wants to hear good news:

Google Assistant’s latest feature delivers just the 'good news'
TechCrunch, Aug 21 2018

You’re not the only one feeling run down by the news of the day. The folks at Google apparently believe we could all use a dose of good news at times. The company today announced it's testing a new Google Assistant feature called "Tell me something good" that will allow users to hear a summary of more uplifting news stories. The stories will focus on people who are "solving problems for our communities and our world," says Google.

To activate the feature, Assistant users in the US can say "Google, tell me something good" to kick off the daily briefing of happy stories. The stories are selected and summarized by the nonpartisan nonprofit Solutions Journalism Network and will be chosen from a wide range of media outlets.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/08/21/go...the-good-news/

[Rewind]

Here is the third birthday story of the past two days -- but, considering every living person on earth has a birthday once a year, it isn't surprising that birthdays would figure in to a lot of news stories. This one is a real-life version of Red Sovine's 1976 hit Teddy Bear:

Truck drivers go the extra mile for a boy's birthday surprise
CBS News, Aug 21 2018 7:08 PM

Dakota "Bubba" Cadd often sits in his back yard along Wisconsin Highway 26, hoping truckers will blow their horns for him. On Saturday, those truckers went the extra mile to surprise him for his birthday.

Bubba has cerebral palsy and Dandy-Walker syndrome, a congenital brain malformation. He was greeted by hundreds of trucks and thousands of people. But the birthday gathering started with with one small act of kindness.

"Dakota was out in his normal spot, sitting there, pumping his arm, and I noticed there was a bag on the ground," said Peg Cadd, Bubba's mom. "It was a little semi truck and I realized that somebody had taken the time to stop on the highway and throw this package over the fence for my son."
She posted about finding the present on Facebook, saying whoever left the gift was awesome. The post went viral and eventually was seen by truck driver Mark King.

"I've always had a soft spot for children in wheelchairs, probably because I grew up with a sister who was handicapped," King said. Other truck drivers whom he told about Bubba wanted to come out and support him, too. Cadd said, "What child ever gets something so special like this? To see people embrace my son, giving him hugs and wishing him happy birthday -- it's amazing that there are people like this out there."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/truck-d...hday-surprise/

[Penguin]

Here is a good story about volunteers who are making thousands of care packages to send to the firefighters who are battling the big wildfires in California. There is a website for anyone who wants to help with the care packages.

https://www.dailynews.com/2018/08/22...oods-and-love/

[Rewind]

A Utah woman went on Amazon and ordered a Barbie doll for her daughter. The daughter, who obviously knows how to use a computer, saw the page and ordered more dolls -- a lot more. The mother wanted to return all the dolls but the father had a better idea:

This 6-year-old ordered $350 worth of Barbies from Amazon. Here’s what her parents did with them.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...hem/ar-BBMjZMD

[Rewind]

This Chicago teacher says "sometimes our jobs go beyond the classroom." What a nice contrast to the many teachers who go on strike demanding higher wages. Because of her, a young woman (and new mother) has a job.

A teacher sat in her car with a former student's baby so the new mom could attend a job fair

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...oSfu?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

Carolyn Collins would like to see "giving closets" established at other high schools. Now that her story has been published, I'm sure that will happen.

This high school janitor has quietly been giving homeless students clothes, food, soap and more from her 'giving closet'

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...R669?ocid=AMZN

[Rewind]

I'm assuming this dancing doctor is a nice guy and doesn't charge patients an extra fee when he dances for them. (Yes, I'm being cynical again.)

'Dancing Doc' at Orange County children's hospital helps pediatric patients smile through the pain

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...fHpw?ocid=AMZN