The Time I Couldn’t Help

Ya know, as I blog about the heroes of the world, I always imagined what I would do if I was ever in a situation where I would have to step out of my comfort zone.

About a couple of months ago, something like that happened.

I’m used to be able to help people. Early on as a Boy Scout and as recent as being a church usher, I am always looking to make a situation better. This time, I couldn’t help. And it killed me for a time. This is the first time I’m talking about it. I wouldn’t say it scarred me, but, I think it definitely impacted me.

My memory tells me that it was a Monday. I walked out of CVS after getting some snacks for my mommy and sisters. I got in the car, turned it on, put it in drive, and began to accelerate until I heard some yelling behind me.

I glanced at my mirrors to see what was going on and saw a young woman running towards my car in tears.

Continue reading →

The Daily Positive: Teen Gets Hit By Truck, Still Manages to Save Man

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Wait what?

You read that right. When I saw the headline, I had to give it a click. Maybe there was a mistake. But no, this kid gets hit by a truck, and still goes to save this man.

Here’s how it went down.

Dalton, the teen, pulled up to what was a car accident involving Duane, the 73 year old and another. Next thing you know, Dalton’s car is actually rear-ended. So, we have two accidents on our hands. Dalton and Duane get out of their cars and are standing around when the truck hits one of the cars and then slams into Dalton and Duane.

Our hero was in pain. I guess so! Turned out he had three fractured vertebrae. Holy mother of pain.

Meanwhile, as it turned out, Duane was sent flying to the other side of the road. Dalton, in his pain, went over to Duane and moved him to safety.

You gotta read the entire story.

Updates Pages: Share Your Story, Writing Career, and Featured Posts

I made some tweaks to the pages I have here on DALANEL. Pretty minor.

For Share Your Story, I updated to better reflect The Daily Positive and Fearless Friday featured posts.

For Writing Career, I added Whatever A Spider Can info.

For Featured Posts, I finally added The Daily Positive.

Check out the pages if you haven’t already.

The Daily Positive: Man Waits for Over an Hour to Return Money

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Ah, the goodness of people. A woman was getting some money from an ATM. She left it by mistake in the machine. A man comes by, notices this, and holds onto the money, with the hopes that the rightful owner would return.

‘I went to pay and there was no cash in my pocket and I realised what must have happened. I went to customer services in the hope that someone had handed it in – but there was nothing. I came outside, trying not to cry, when this man came up to me and said, “have you lost something?” I was gobsmacked. He said to me, “I’ve been waiting out here hoping you’d come out. I did try and follow you but I couldn’t find you in the store.”‘

Ms Lovell said she was so shocked she forgot to ask the man his name, but says he was in his fifties, with short brown hair and brown eyes.

She added: ‘I think the fact he waited such a long time was really impressive. I think he needs recognition for being such a kind man. ‘I’d really like the chance to thank him properly.

I can only hope that Mr. Good Guy didn’t get in trouble with other commitments for waiting for the woman to return.

The Daily Positive: Boy and Father Hiking to Raise Money

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A boy, Landen, and his father, Vince, are trying to raise money for sick kids. Here’s how it started:

To understand why 10-year-old Landen Martinez has such a big, generous heart, you have to go back about eight years to when his father Vince decided to grant a wish on his own and charter a helicopter flight for young man named Ryan who had terminal cancer.

Landen was only a toddler, but he was watching.

Years later, Landen wanted to go hiking with his dad. Vince saw that the weather would be fine. It wasn’t.

He packed plenty of food and water – but no amount of preparation would stop a sudden and violent monsoon storm.

They were alone and terrified.

“I looked him in the eye and I said, ‘hold on to my hand, we’re not going to stop, we’re too far to go back.’ We kept going, we made it to the top – I thought, ‘wow, he never quit!’” said Martinez.

Only six years old at the time, Landen apparently fell in love with hiking after that trip. Now-a-days, he’s hiking for a purpose.

Then a few months ago, Vince had a proposal for his son.

“I said, ‘’let’s hike Mount Fuji, that’s a higher peak. And the first words out of his mouth was, ‘how can I help other kids through this? How can I help other kids with this hike?’” said Martinez.

It was Landen’s first instinct.

“I remembered when I was little; I remembered about the kid my dad took on a helicopter…and then I thought, ‘if I hike Mount Fuji, I could raise money for kids like that,’” said Landen.

“I almost started crying, to be honest with you. Very proud of him, big heart,” said Martinez.

Make-A-Wish Foundation is where the money’s heading. They already have $5,000 raised and plan to raise plenty more.

The Daily Positive: Girl Leaves Half of Life Savings to Charity

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A touching story. Very short but touching.

Ella Westervelt was always a planner. The little girl with a big smile had big plans to help kids. Before she died, she wrote a will, giving half of her life’s savings to the children’s cancer association. CCA helped Ella for 2 1/2 years as she battled lymphoma. In return Ella left CCA half her estate precisely $296.55.

Sweet Ella. Rest in peace.