“My cousin showed up at my house. Though her voice was calm when she arrived, I knew in that moment my sister was gone. Her death would be under investigation. She’d been struggling for months.”
‘Your sister passed away.’ In a matter of years, I lost half my immediate family. This grief is not linear.’: Woman pens moving grief journey, ‘I live every day with authenticity’
‘It’s all for you, bud! It’s all for you!’ He wiped tears from his eyes.’: Woman surprises ‘joyful’ Wendy’s employee with 40,000 dollars, ‘The world needed him’
“I had to come up with some kind of lie to meet up with him. ‘This is crazy! Oh my gosh!’ I had no idea how powerful his spirit truly was.”
‘A police officer pulled up. ‘Is everything okay?’ He wanted to talk. We stood outside for an hour, discussing the issues our nation is facing.’: Man urges ‘moments like this need to be shared’
“He didn’t pull out his gun. He didn’t mace or tase me. Instead, he took the time to ask me, a minority, about the issues we are facing and my thoughts on how we can fix them.”
‘That girl’s going to wish she didn’t sit by that nasty homeless chick.’ Patrons gave me side-eye.’: Woman encourages compassion after random act of kindness for homeless woman, ‘We’ve gotten so afraid to connect’
“After I placed my muffin on the table, I noticed a pile of filthy, worn bags filled with her belongings. A large piece of folded cardboard peeked out from the top of the bag. Immediately after I sat down, she asked me a question. ‘Have you seen any phone books anywhere?’”
‘We were waiting in Christmas traffic. ‘Look over there. Something’s happening.’ Police cars were parked, lights spinning. ‘That doesn’t look good,’ I remarked. And then I saw them.’: Mom reflects on Christmas sadness
“A tall, muscular man in the center of the flashing chaos. His right arm wrapped around a beautiful, wide-eyed toddler. In the other hand he held a trash bag, stuffed with clothing. ‘Oh no,’ I murmured.”
‘I am the Jewish nurse. The one people are talking about in the Pittsburgh shooting that left 11 dead. The nurse that cared for Robert Bowers who yelled, ‘Death to all Jews,’ as he was wheeled into the hospital.’
“I’m sure he had no idea I was Jewish. I wanted him to feel compassion. I chose to show him empathy. I felt the best way to honor his victims was for a Jew to prove him wrong. Love. That’s why I did it.”
