A young man who recently graduated from high school risked his life to save a wheelchair-bound woman from her burning home in Nampa, a small town near Boise.

He calmly explains that he couldn’t see anything because of the smoke, and yet he not only rescued the woman, he went back into the burning house to get her wheelchair. Amazing!

What an inspiration he is. I commend him and his parents–they’ve obviously raised him well. What a genuine hero he is!

From KTVB:

Around nine o’clock Monday, 18-year-old Tristan Reding was driving near Skyview High School, when he saw flames over nearby rooftops. He arrived in front of a home on South Garland Street, and said he saw a tornado of fire, “There were flames flying probably 100 feet in the air… I just wanted to make sure everybody was out and safe.”

Fire trucks were on their way, but not there, yet. So, he went around back, and that’s when he heard two explosions, which turned out to be oxygen tanks. He also heard screaming. Despite seeing a wall of fire and smoke, he ran in. “I jumped the fence, and I kicked in the back door.”

Tristan couldn’t see anything inside, just black smoke. But, he could hear the wheelchair-bound woman, and that was enough. “When I found her, her hair was singed and her arms were burnt up, and every time I picked her up, she screamed because it hurt so bad. She just kept saying, ‘Help me. Help me. Get me out of here. And, I got her out.”

When asked if he could see anything, he said, “No, just the light to get out the door, barely.”

He then went back and even got her wheelchair out. Neighbors helped Tristan get the woman clear of the fire. He said, “Firefighters were all giving me handshakes, and they were like, ‘You saved somebody’s life today.’ It just didn’t feel real.”

But, it was. Now, everyone from the woman’s family to emergency responders to strangers are calling Tristan a hero. He brushes off the label, and his dad says, he was just being Tristan, “He’ll give you the shirt off his back. He’s just that kind of kid… He just did what he thought he should’ve done.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Incredibly, the woman was released from the hospital Tuesday. Reding was checked out and released Monday night.

Meridian, Idaho

Cat stories have been in the news recently:

• A dentist paid $50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.
• Three police officers (who make $50,000 a year)  in Mountain Home,  Idaho, rescued two kittens that had been abandoned.

Cecil was a local celebrity and well loved. He lived safely in a refuge,  but he had been lured out of the refuge so that the hunter could claim his trophy.

Obviously we don’t know the whole story about the hunt,  but I have a hard time believing that a person who would spend $50K on a hunt and go on multiple similar hunts in his lifetime would not have the equipment and the wherewithal to know that he was doing something wrong in the wrong place.

The kittens found in Mountain Home were malnourished, dehydrated, and frightened in 100^o heat.

The female had climbed a road sign while her brother stayed nearby.

I don’t know who is worse,  the hunter or the abandoner.

But I do know who the heroes are. Those who rescue animals,  those who work to save endangered species, and those who are feline (and all animal)  friendly folks!

From KTVB.com:

ELMORE COUNTY — Officers with the Mountain Home Police Department spotted something unusual during a routine drive on Sunset Strip Friday afternoon.

Officers Robert Elom , Josh Martinez and reserve officer Annette Bigalow stopped when they saw someone on the side of the road attempting to rescue a kitten who had made its way to the top of a speed limit sign.

Mountain Home public information officer Melanie Broughton said the kitten had been exposed to the severe heat for an unknown amount of time.

“That poor thing was gasping for air,” Broughton said.

Officer Elom made his way up the sign and was able to rescue the kitten.

The kitten and its brother, who was also in the area, were found to be dehydrated, malnourished and scared. Both were taken to the Mountain Home Animal Shelter.

The Mountain Home Police Facebook page added that animal safety is a priority.

“The safety of our animals is important to us and we will not turn away from those that are in danger or in need.”

Meridian, Idaho

Ever wonder how your random acts of kindness continue to ripple through other’s lives?

I think all of our acts of kindness ripple exponentially through time. Here’s a great story showing exactly that!

From SunnySkyz.com:

A Waitress’s Kind Act Moved These Tired Firefighters To Tears

July 25, 2015

After a long night on the job, New Jersey firefighters Paul Hullings and Tim Young stopped at a diner looking for a hot meal. What they got was much more.

It was in the middle of the night, so Young and Hillings started talking to their waitress, Liz Woodward. After learning that they spent his night putting out a massive warehouse fire in North Brunswick – she decided to pick up the $15 tab.

“I started tearing up and it made me feel good – us firefighters are wanted, people care about us,” he told the local news outlet.

But that’s not where this story ends. Her simple but generous act inspired the firefighters to pay it forward.

After they learned that Woodward is trying to raise money for her quadriplegic father, who is in need of a wheelchair-accessible van, both Young and Hullings decided to help out.

Hullings said they will do whatever they can to help, including holding a fundraiser.

(Read more about the fund rasier…)

Meridian, Idaho

From NPR.org, an article sent to me by my sister Joanne showing us, yet again, that people are good! (Thanks, Joanne!)

Boy Who Lost Stuffed Tiger At Airport Finds Tiger Stayed Very Busy

If a boy named Owen suspects his stuffed tiger named Hobbes has a secret life, the staff of Tampa International Airport won’t disagree. Owen recently lost Hobbes at the airport — and when he reclaimed the tiger, he also received photos of Hobbes touring the facility.

Owen, 6, had flown from Florida to Texas. His mother, Amanda Lake, says that for much of the trip, Owen was preoccupied with whether his tiger was OK.

“Hobbes is one of a kind. He was made by hand by his aunt who lives in Houston,” Lake tells the Tampa Bay Times.

Not only was Hobbes OK, but after he was found by the airport’s janitorial crew, the operations staff decided to take the tiger for some gelato and on behind-the-scenes tours of the airport. Hobbes also stopped by a hotel and played Jenga.

Hobbes poses for a photo with a member of the airport’s tarmac emergency crew. The tiger was safely reunited with his young owner — along with a photo album of his exploits.

When Owen returned from Texas, he was reunited with Hobbes and given a bound book of photographs that showed what his tiger had been up to.

It was all the brainchild of Airport Operations Center Manager Tony D’Aiuto, who says he used a coupon to make the photo book at a drugstore. The story is drawing wide attention — after all, it’s rather rare to see a heartwarming story emerge from an airport, particularly at the start of the summer travel season.

“It was very, very sweet,” Lake said in a news release from the airport. “We already told him over and over that Hobbes was on an adventure so it was nice to get back and show him that Hobbes really had been on an adventure.

“Thank you to everyone at Tampa International Airport who took such great care of Hobbes. It was such a nice surprise.”

On the airport’s Facebook post about the story, the top-rated comment is from a woman who wrote, “What a great story. What a great airport” — to which the airport replied, “Thanks mom!”

I came across this on-line yesterday and found it inspirational enough to share with y’all. Hope it resonates with you as much as it does with me.

It’s a list of Melinda Gates’ “Golden Rules” for life which first appeared in the  Winter 2014 issue of PORTER magazine.

I love the simplicity of the rules, the encouragement to connect with myself and with others, and the reasons behind the truth and importance of each of the rules.

1. Trust yourself. This is the most important thing. Everybody has an inner truth and if you learn how to listen to it, you’ll be happier in everything you do.

2. Make time for quiet self-reflection. There are distractions everywhere, and you need to connect with nature and quiets truths to live a meaningful, balanced life.

3. Cultivate great friends and keep them close. Tell them what you’re learning and what you’re excited about, and they’ll do the same for you.

4. Be a lifelong learner. You’ll be amazed at what you don’t know and what the world holds in store.

5. Broaden your world view. I didn’t know anything about half of the world until I was in my early thirties. I’ve spent the last 20 years filling in that gap and its one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.

6. Connect deeply with others. Our humanity is the one thing we all have in common.

7. Get a good night’s sleep! I’m talking about eight hours. And while you’re at it, exercise. Your mind and body need it.

8. Laugh aloud as often as possible. Laugh with others. Laugh at yourself. However you laugh, do it with abandon.

9. Teach your children your values – don’t just teach them how to tie their shoes and do multiplication tables. Teach them how to think about the important things in life.

10. Read books with your friends and family and talk about them. You learn and grow more when you do it within a community.

Meridian, Idaho

I love Dove commercials. They are so heartwarming, so real, and just perfect.

Here’s one just released for upcoming Father’s Day.

Enjoy!