Sullenberger is the pilot who safely landed the plane on the Hudson.
Sullenberger contacted librarians and asked for an extension on the loan and a waiver on the overdue fine. The reason? The book is in the cargo hold of the US Airways plane that made an emergency landing last month in New York’s Hudson River. Sullenberger is the pilot who made that landing. No one was seriously injured.
Fresno State library officials were impressed with Sullenberger’s sense of responsibility… and waived all fines and fees, even the one for losing the book. The library’s going one step further: when the replacement book goes up on the shelf, it will have a special template in front, dedicating it to Chesley “Sully†Sullenberger.
Oh, by the way. The topic of that book? Professional ethics.
As we all know by now, many small businesses were attacked on Wednesday night in the midst of the protest that turned violent on the streets of downtown Oakland. Walking through downtown yesterday morning made be both sad and angry. There was glass everywhere, burnt debris in the street, garbage cans still tipped over, and store owners surveying the damage.
But now it’s time to come together as a community to try to make things right again. We need to support these locally owned businesses that have already been struggling through this difficult economy and now have to deal with this additional economic and emotional hurdle.
You may or may not know all that’s been going on with the shooting death of Oscar Grant in Oakland and the subsequent protests that turned into vandalism (see some info here: Perspective from a Protester). Becks of the blog Living in the OÂ decided not just to talk about how awful that is, but to do something about it. She (I think? I am so sorry if this is wrong!) is getting the community together to get locals to increase patronage to the vandalized stores.
Turning tragic events into a way to proactively organize a community and do good is so amazingly made of happy. Thank you, Becks, for doing this for our community. I am an Oakland local so this means a lot to me.
Leonard Riggio, the chairman of Barnes and Noble, made a $20-million contribution. WOW. This story came out right around Christmas, but it’s still awesome. I will break my resolve to spend less money and buy a book from B&N this week. 🙂 Thanks, Mr. Riggio, for making Katrina families so happy!
Bren Bataclan’s cheerful cartoon creatures have been exhibited in some high places: at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in Logan International Airport and even on a Girl Scout patch.
But lately he’s been leaving his artwork outside unemployment offices and closed-down retail stores across the country bearing the note: “Everything is Going to Be Alright – This Painting is Yours to Take.”
“The economy is so bad now. People are losing their jobs, so this is how I can help,” said Bataclan, 39, as he propped an acrylic painting of a horned creature with googly eyes and fangs next to an Embarcadero BART ticket machine on Friday.
[snip]
Since 2003, the Smile Boston Project has taken him around the world. Wanderers have found his paintings at the Eiffel Tower, on park benches in Japan, at Graceland, along the canals of Venice, in penguin territory in Antarctica, on a cafe table in New York.
“I never in my life thought I would be doing this full time, but it’s the best job I’ve ever had,” Bataclan said.
A newlywed who adored, but couldn’t afford one of Bataclan’s paintings of a husband and wife later found the art piece on a park bench. The first person to take a free Bataclan had just had her first chemotherapy treatment.
See his art (I couldn’t find any photos of his art that I would be allowed to post here) and the rest of his project at http://bataclan.com/. They are incredibly cute. The SF Gate article above had a video segment where people find his art at the Embarcadero BART station: video link.
He leaves a note with the paintings that says, “this painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often.” On his site, you can see the stories of people who have found his paintings.Â
Thanks, Bren Bataclan, for being so awesome and giving people a little bit of a bright spot in these dreary times. You are not only made of happy, but you’ve made others happy.
Look, I used an exclamation point in the title. This should tell you how awesome this news is! The baking/cookie company, Archway, in Ohio had shut down abruptly back in October, leading to 300 people losing their jobs. The method in which they did it was particularly hard on the workers: they had changed their locks overnight and people found out when they showed up for work and tried to get inside.
“Wait,” you say. “Gladmin,” you say, “this isn’t made of happy! This is made of crappy!” Hmm… a new idea for a blog shows up in my head… *shakes head* No, no, this IS made of happy, I swear. Bear with me! *growl* Sorry, dumb pun.
But then Lance Inc., a Charlotte, North Carolina-based snack food company, purchased Archway at a bankruptcy auction. And last week 60 workers were asked to return immediately, with perhaps more coming back in the months ahead.
That’s wonderful. But wait, there’s more!
When it promised to reopen the bakery, Lance gave all 300 former Archway workers a $1,500 prepaid debit card.
“I was crying,” Devan says of the gift. “I am like, ‘What are these people doing? They don’t know me. They don’t know us. They don’t know any of the Archway people. And they are giving each and every one of us $1,500.’ ”
Sexton — the woman who’d been preparing her kids for a meager holiday — says of the $1,500 gift: “It was awesome. My first thought was, ‘I can give my kids a Christmas.’ ”
David Singer, CEO of Lance, says the gift cards were a way of letting Ashland know the new owners are different. “We wouldn’t do it willy-nilly,” Singer says. “We do want to make money. But this is the pool of folks that we intend to hire. We just wanted to let them know who we were.”
The 60 workers rehired so far are earning their previous salary and retained their seniority. They also were provided health insurance from day one.
I am totally going to buy a cookie from Archway and Lance! You are such awesome employers! Like Sears, David Lance & his company are doing right by the people who make up their business, even though they don’t know them from Jack. You guys are so made of happy! And so are the employees and their families!
Last year, this man’s program gave away 1,416 bikes to kids!Â
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Alex Cook provides bikes for less fortunate families.
Alex Cook remembers the disappointment of waking up on Christmas and not finding a bike, every single year of his childhood.
That’s why about nine years ago, he personally bought 10 bikes to give away to less fortunate families. Alex owns a barbecue restaurant in Tampa and stored the bikes there leading up to Christmas. When his customers started asking questions about the bikes and he told them what they were for, those 10 bikes turned into 182 bikes in just two weeks thanks to their generous donations.
This particular story is important to me because I know the woman who did this. I was working at a company in 2006. The front desk administrator was a very friendly, kind-hearted person. She always made sure to arrange blood drives and charity drives. And you could truly see that she was always doing these things because she wanted to see good in the world.
In December of 2006, I had heard from others in the office that Dottie was going on medical leave. I was worried that something bad had happened to her, but it turned out that she was going to donate one of her kidneys to her friend. She was out for several months before returning to the office.
Hearing that she was doing such a thing for a friend, not even a family member, was truly inspiring. In fact, at first, it was a bit mind-boggling. But Dottie had always been such a giving, strong person that it made perfect sense.
Her speech to an elementary school starts at 1:07. Thank you, Dottie, for being such an inspiring individual. Your friend Don, who sings Elvis for the kids at the same event below, is clearly made of happy. 🙂
He could have looked the other way, but a good Samaritan saved a woman from being butchered on a Harlem street – then chased the attacker after getting slashed.
Aboubacar Lah, 23, was waiting for a bus Thursday at about 12:30 p.m. when he saw a young woman jump Staff Sgt. Sarah Charles, 27, as she left her Air Force recruiting office on W. 125th St.
A Comcast crew showed up… by scriptingnews
Note: Pic is not truck of actual Comcast guy. 😀
Good Press for Comcast: Heroic Deed
A Comcast employee turns nonchalant hero while on his morning rounds.
Brennon Slattery, PC World
PC World
Tuesday, December 9, 2008; 12:19 AM
If you’re counting the signs of the apocalypse, add another to your list: Comcast is getting good press.
The Washington Post reports that Comcast repairman Jorge Rivera saw black smoke rising from a Silver Spring, Maryland apartment complex on Saturday, so he pulled over and used his truck’s ladder to save six people from the flames. The fire ended up injuring two people and displacing a dozen families.
After Rivera’s heroism, he stuck around the scene to answer questions and talk with reporters. When asked if he’d continue working that day, Rivera said yes; he had an appointment right down the street.
What’s going on here? Not only is Comcast working on a Saturday and saving lives, they’re keeping an appointment schedule?
