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Finding Jewels In A Soup Can… Would You Turn Them In?

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Good News Network

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Feb 1, 1998

Jeanna Dodd was worried about making ends meet so she went to the Fairfax, Va., food bank for help. And, believing one should give as one receives, she volunteered a couple of hours unloading trucks in exchange for canned goods.

Later, while at home she struggled forcefully to open one of the soup cans. But the Campbell’s lid seemed suspicious. It suddenly popped off and out tumbled jewels, gold, silver, rings, a bracelet, and a Rolex watch!

The cream of asparagus soup can was not a can at all but a trick container used to hide valuables from burglars. It seems the realistic can fooled even the owners who must have donated it to a food drive.

Dodd, 24, thought it was an answer to a prayer…she had just finished hoping to God for the ability to pay the rent that month.

But instead of cashing in, which could have netted her $7,000, she reported the incident and waited.

The true owners read about the jewelry in the morning paper, and only then came to realize their charitable blunder.

They set out, not only to claim their valuables, but to reward the good Samaritan. They presented Dodd $1,000 and a pair of gold earrings…

All-Party Peace Talks on Northern Ireland

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Good News Network

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Jan 31, 1998

Photo of dove by generalising-CC-flickr

After nearly 30 years of violence between Protestants and Catholics, a July cease-fire remains in place and Britain’s new leader Tony Blair has coaxed historic enemies to sit down at the negotiating table.

In September, leaders of Sinn Fein, the political voice of the (IRA) Irish Republican Army, joined the British and Irish governments and other parties representing all sides in the historic gathering. Sinn Fein, said they were ready to “compromise, compromise, compromise” to achieve a negotiated settlement to Ireland’s civil unrest.

Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams added that, “It is in a spirit of generosity, accommodation and preparedness to come to a compromise that we would go into these talks”. And in responding to Tony Blair’s prediction that Ireland would remain divided for some time, he confided that, “We say just the opposite… there should be and there can be a united Ireland in our lifetime.”

Former US senator George Mitchell said in late 1997 that he believed in his “heart and soul” an agreement would be reached in the Northern Ireland peace talks that he chairs.

To date, many parts of Northern Ireland have returned to near- normality while negotiations proceed, though painstakingly slow.

(Photo by generalising- CC -flickr)

Firefighters Welcome Gang Members

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AMERICAN NEWS SERVICE

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Jan 30, 1998

Fire Chief of LA via Flickr-jimw-cc

In a Los Angeles neighborhood full of gang activity, where bullets sometimes fly, Fire Station No. 68 serves the community of central Los Angeles, instead of keeping a low profile.

The Fire Department has opened its doors to the community. “It used to be we’d be out on a call and there’d be gangs shooting at each other,” said Capt. Kawme Cooper, one of the organizers of a city-wide community-based program. “We found out who the leaders are of approximately eight gangs in the district and we introduced ourselves in gang intervention meetings. Then we didn’t push it.”

Soon, said Cooper, the gangs approached the fire house. “They wanted to do a toy drive in the community.

That began our working together. Now, sometimes when we’re out on emergencies, whether it’s a shooting or fire, gang members help with crowd control and help protect us from violence when we’re on calls.”

A Society Without Criminals

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Good News Network

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Jan 10, 1998

african children sudan-pubdomain

Anthropologists once examined a society that utilized a special technique for the treatment of those members who chose to break rules or violate customs, which were predominantly children.

At the time of the offense, everyone would stop what they were doing and gather in a circle with the violator in the middle. One by one each would take their turn listing all the good qualities and past achievements of the offender.

After everyone had described as many of the person’s positive points as they could think of, they all went back to what they were doing, and made no further mention of the infraction again.

In this way the members were able to sustain a society that was virtually crime-free…

Iran’s New President Offers Reformers Hope

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Good News Network

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Jan 5, 1998

A stunning upset in the Iranian elections in May, 1997 ushered in a new moderate President, Mohammed Khatemi, and promises of reform and tolerance.

Winning in a landslide as a favorite of women and youth, Khatemi’s first move was to appoint a woman to the Iranian cabinet. A U.S.-educated professor, she was the first woman asked to join the cabinet since the 1979 revolution.

Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree

By

Nancy Arrington

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Jan 3, 1998

Chestnut tree, circa 1900

When the Europeans arrived in North America every fourth tree in the Eastern deciduous forest was an American Chestnut Castanea dentata. They were massive: up to 100 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 5 to 7 feet. In what has been called the world’s greatest botanical disaster, an Asian blight fungus, brought to New York in 1904, wiped out this majestic species– billions of trees- in only 40 years. . .

Service Animals Help Mentally and Emotionally Challenged to Function

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AMERICAN NEWS SERVICE

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Dec 30, 1997

AIRMONT, N.Y. — When Micky Niego knew she had to go out in public, the fear and stress could bring on a severe asthma attack. “I was determined to be functional but didn’t know how until somebody bought me a dog,” says Niego, who is now 45.

For the past 11 years, Niego has had a service animal to help her cope with her fears. The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1991 broadened the definition of disabled to include mental as well as physical handicaps. The act has made a tremendous difference to Niego, who now trains service animals at her business, Metropolitan Service Dogs. “I haven’t taken asthma medication in about four years, and I can’t remember the last time I had an attack,” she says.

Help Others and Recycle at the Same Time

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Good News Network

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Dec 10, 1997

recycling shoes-NIKE-700px

Here are some ways you can recycle worn out items instead of sending them to the landfill — items like shoes, glasses, greeting cards, and computers.

Participate in the Give the Gift of Sight Program, sponsered by Lions Club International, the program makes it easy for you to donate your old eyeglasses and sunglasses to needy people in developing countries. After you drop glasses off, they are cleaned, repaired, and classified by prescription, then distributed.

Annie to the Rescue: She said, Go get the Baby!

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Oct 1, 1997

dog-saves-family-nbcvid

There was a wonderful true story on TV not long ago and it makes my heart glad whenever I think of it.

Shortly after a litter of puppies was born, one of them escaped and fell down into a small drainage pipe which was recessed in a 3 foot deep concrete box. A gentleman and his daughter who lived nearby heard the cries of this puppy but were unable to rescue him. However each day they left food in this concrete enclosure and each day the food was eaten. He always returned into the small drainage pipe. Others tried calling him to no avail.

Ted Turner Donates $1 Billion to the U.N.

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Good News Network

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Sep 18, 1997

Ted Turner-cc-lukefordDOTnet — Photo by lukeford.net, CC license

“Trying to set a new standard for gallantry,” billionaire Ted Turner announced to a delighted gathering of United Nations supporters that he would donate one billion dollars to U.N. efforts “to help the poorest people of the world”.

And although Mr. Turner has enjoyed many personal successes- creating the Cable News Network, becoming vice-chair of Time Warner, and experiencing a World Series win with his Atlanta Braves- he says ” I’ve never been happier or more pleased with myself than I am today.” He concluded, “It’s the joy of giving.”

The notion of the huge award came to him after two events overlapped- He was searching for the right remarks to make at the U.N. event honoring him for global leadership…and he had just seen his financial statement which showed him to be exactly a billion dollars richer than he had been just nine months before. And he thought, “wouldn’t it be exciting to just give it all away.”

In an interview with CNN talk-show host, Larry King, Turner explained his latest spontaneous act of generosity this way: “It’s a nice round number, and I’m no poorer than I was nine months ago”. He likened his experience to that of Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ fictional character. “Remember…when he started doing things to help Tiny Tim’s impoverished family?… His whole attitude changed and he was so happy.”

RELATED: 16-Year-old Loses Legs, But Finds a Cause; Named a CNN Hero

One U.N. associate called Turner’s gift a symbol of “the best of what we all admire in America”. Another believes, “Mr. Turner will be a pioneer in encouraging people like him to support the U.N.”

In fact, Turner alerted the world’s richest people and corporations that he would be calling upon them in order to raise 9 billion dollars in additional funds because, “the world’s awash with money that people don’t know what to do with.” He said he will urge them to keep all the money they have any plans for, but give the rest away making the world safer for all, including their own global ventures.

He will set up a foundation to work with U.N. committees. He sees this way that the money does not go to administrative costs, and insists,”that’s why the United States has still got to pay up what it owes”, which is $1 billion in back dues. Turner, 58, admires the U.N.’s reach and the fact that “it covers virtually the entire human condition, everything from land mines, nuclear weapons, environment, population, poverty, disease and inoculating children…”

Turner said he knows that giving is something people need to work at when everyone loves their money so much. He has always donated a tenth of his income, mostly to support environmental concerns, and that will continue. But he’s just learned how to give by experiencing firsthand the joy that comes with heartfelt giving. His wife, Jane Fonda “broke into tears” when he told her of his plans, “I’m so proud to be married to you,” she said.

Is he optimistic? He believes the world is experiencing a “new dawn of an age of enlightenment, where war is becoming a thing of the past. Democracy and free enterprise are winning out all over the world. Things are really looking up,” he beamed.
(Photo by lukeford.net, CC license)

Construction Worker Acts on Kindness Urge During Lunch Break

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Good News Network

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Sep 1, 1997

construction workers lunch-Flickr-CC-Denise~~

A family’s car ran out of gas on a midwestern road. And it was decided that the father would walk the long way to the nearest service station while the mother remained with the children.

It was a sweltering hot day. The man hauled a heavy steel gas can while trudging past a construction site where the workers were lounging eating their lunches.

Pricked by compassion, one of the workers threw his keys over, offering the man his truck.

A couple hours later the grateful family returned with the vehicle.

All the family members today feel a special appreciation in their hearts whenever they pass a construction site.

Submitted by Tee Corbley, Fort Myers, FLA

Traditional Medicine Looks to Alternatives

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Good News Network

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Sep 1, 1997

acupuncture-point-chart

Americans spend tens of billions of dollars on alternative therapies, usually out-of-pocket. But now, Oxford Health Plans, the nation’s ninth largest managed care company, offers coverage for visits with acupuncturists and chiropractors. Oxford, responding to studies which show stress to be a leading cause of 75% of doctor visits, is now offering reduced premiums to those engaged in stress-reducing yoga and massage therapy.

And medical schools are beginning to see ‘alternatives’ as important for doctors whose patients are helped by them. For example, Columbia University introduced seminars covering meditation and medical hypnosis.

And in furthering the development of bedside manners, Case Western Reserve University medical school in Cleveland was the first to get first-year med students “out of the dissecting room and into the delivery room.”

Dr. Nathan Berger, the dean, tells Parade Magazine, that “the premise was that it might be better to start studying the living rather than the dead.” Each student is assigned to give care to a woman through pregnancy and right throught the labor and delivery. The look on a student’s face during a delivery reveals a condition which hopefully will remain with them through the rigors of the coming years.

Rewritten from an article in Parade Magazine, June 8, 1997

Tiny Mite Saves African Crops

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Good News Network

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Aug 31, 1997

African women drying cassava in DRC

Crop yields of Cassava, the main staple in the diets of 200 million Africans have rebounded since the introduction of a mite from across the ocean. Cassava has thrived in the poor drought-hardened soils of Africa without any of its natural pests since its introduction in the 15th century from Latin America. That was true until the 1970’s when the Cassava Green Mite arrived on the scene wiping out half the cassava yields and endangering the livelihoods of poor farmers who relied on the crop.

Researchers at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria have succeeded in finding a natural preditor for the grreen mite among the fields of northeastern Brazil. And employing the control mite has already improved yields by one-third, the rapid response surprising even the entomologists.

They began looking for this solution in 1983 determined to avoid the use of chemicals and pesticides which are expensive and labor intensive. And with the new mite a permanent part of the landscapes of Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana (thus far), the cassava plant continues to thrive as a local food source for millions.

_{-Kudos to the National Zoo’s Amazonia Lab for displaying the New York Times article by Henry Fountain; May 25, 1997}

Photo credit: Drying cassava in the DRC

Nature’s on the Rebound Thanks to DDT Ban

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Good News Network

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Aug 30, 1997

short tailed albatross photo by USFWS

June 14, 1997 marked the 25th anniversary of the banning of DDT. Bird species nearly wiped out by the pesticide have rebounded remarkably, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

For example, Bald Eagles have increased tenfold, to more than 5,000 pairs in 1996 from fewer than 500 pairs in 1963. Peregrine Falcons jumped from a 1975 low of 39 breeding pairs, all of them in the west, to 993 pairs in 1996, including 153 pairs newly re-established in the eastern states. The Osprey count is up from fewer than 8,000 breeding pairs nationwide in 1981 to 14,246 pairs in 1994.

(Idea submitted by Amy Grant)

New York Cab Driver Returns Bag of Cash, $32,859

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Good News Network

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Aug 30, 1997

taxicab interior

On Sunday night, July 13, a 71-year-old woman left a leather satchel filled with her life’s savings in cash on the back seat of Qurbe Tirmizi’s cab. Despite the circumstances, she said she felt in her mind she’d get it back. When 20-year-old Tirmizi found the bag he had no trouble deciding what to do next: He took it to the police.

Later officers found identification leading them to the woman who was brought in to collect her money and meet the cab driver.

“He’s a very nice, kind gentleman,” the woman said. “I don’t think there’s six like him… I love him.” When she tried to give him a reward, he refused it, saying he just needed her blessings to help him through his studies and succeed in life.

Qurbe Tirmizi is a gemology student and aspiring jeweler at the Gemological Institute of America, driving a cab on weekends. Born in Pakistan, he moved to the United States when he was two. He was raised with his brothers and sisters in an apartment in Kew Gardens in Queens.

”I’m very proud of him,” said his father, Syed Tirmizi. “We are Muslims, and we try to go according to the teachings of God and the prophets. One main thing is to be honest, just and honest.” A neighbor who has known the younger Tirmizi for years said, “I would have expected him to give the money back. Money is nothing, honesty is more important.”

Mayor Rudolf Giuliani invited Tirmizi to City Hall to congratulate him. (The New York Times reported Tirmizi was apparently reluctant to cut his gemology class so the mayor invited his teachers along as well!) “This really demonstrated what most of our taxi drivers and citizens are like,” exclaimed the mayor!

The woman had been unhappy with her bank and closed her account of $32,859.05. She decided the money would be most safe if she carried it around with her. Police said they were helping her to convert the bag of money into a check and open a new bank account. “I learned my lesson,” she said.

(From a story by MICHAEL COOPER in the New York Times)

Jerry “the Nose Picker” Finds Acceptance in School Thanks to Classmate

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Good News Network

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Aug 10, 1997

angel of lights

A 17-year old girl from a suburb in Michigan, who wanted to remain anonymous, sent a letter to Oprah Winfrey thanking her for her inspiration.

Oprah’s “Angel Network”, started this fall, exhorts the audience to “extend themselves to help create mini-miracles in others’ lives”. The teen must have taken the message to her heart.

While sitting in the cafeteria with her many friends, she noticed a boy eating all alone. She went over and plopped down next to the shy boy, with downcast eyes.

She recognized him as “Jerry, the Nose-Picker”. She smiled a warm smile. Though uncomfortable at first, eventually he realized that she was sincere. They started talking and she found him to be one of the most interesting and intelligent boys she’d ever met.

Now, he always has a group of friends eating at his table. And while, before, he would timidly walk down the hall trying not to be noticed, now, he walks with his head held high and enters a classroom with so much confidence…. She thanked Oprah for presenting her with the opportunity, the inspiration, to actually change someone’s life.

(And guess who else’s life is changed? The universal law of giving makes it certain that her life was enriched tenfold.)

Photo by John Stone – eyeclectic.net

CEO Shares $1 Million With Employees

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Good News Network

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Jun 15, 1997

Boss Says Thanks a million

It was a company picnic they’ll never forget. On June 14, Arie de Jong handed out $1 million in bonuses to his company’s 170 employees thanking them for their dedication during the twenty years he owned the business.

Everyone at the San Diego-based Coast Waste Management Inc., even those earning as little as $5.50 an hour, received between $3,000 and $15,000.

“I’ve done well,” de Jong said, “and I’m very grateful.”

Arturo Anguiano, an employee for more than 15 years, was given $11,000.

“I called my wife because I couldn’t believe, and she thought it was a joke,” he said.

Anguiano, 36, is a supervisor earning $18.50 an hour.

Coast Waste was acquired on May 30 by Texas-based USA Waste Services Inc. De Jong said he would remain on board as a consultant and a major stockholder.

(Source: Washington Post; June 15, 1997)

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