Taking off the crankypants...

For the last few days I've been very cranky. Since I'm not four, I have refrained from stomping my feet and screaming; instead, I had the adult version of a tantrum - sulking, not talking to others and taking out the stupidest things on other people who didn't deserve my nonsense. The reasons for being cranky varied, but it became clear this morning while reading an interview on msnbc.com that all of those "reasons" were pathetic when compared to things other people have going wrong in their lives.

Bob Woodruff was a journalist embedded in Iraq when he suffered brain damage after being caught in a roadside blast. He developed aphasia, which results when damage occurs to the part of the brain that affects speech. Here was a man who made his life's work explaining what was happening in the world to other people, and now he couldn't form the sentences he wanted to? Fortunately, Woodruff recovered and is now using his fame and reach to help wounded soldiers and their families receive the help and medical care they may not get using just their own resources. 

The city of Montreal is taking a novel approach to reducing, reusing and recycling its own resources. United Press International had a story earlier this month on the new Bixi program in Montreal. Members of the subscription service can pick up city-owned and maintained bicycles, ride them wherever they need to go and then return them to kiosks. You can do this as many times as you want per day. The pick up/return stations are all solar-powered, so they can be placed all over the city without the need to dig up anything. It's kinda like ZipCar but better for the environment and your health. 

A group of 293 fourth- through eighth-graders proved children are still very interested in improving their intelligence. Last night Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, was crowned the champion of the 82nd Scripps National Spelling Bee. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, she earned the honor after correctly spelling Laodicean, which means halfhearted in respect to religion or politics. Nearly all of the words in this article cited as ones the kids had to spell would have been too difficult for me, so hats off. While it's unfortunate most kids are attracted only by glitz to pursuits that used to be attractive in and of themselves, I'm glad the bee had a good time slot on a major network so it will continue to attract children's interest.

(Photo credit: Philly.com)

The science of entertaining children...

A while back I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with my little cousins, and it is one of my favorite memories with them. The boys love animals and wildlife and facts about animals and wildlife, and the aquarium then was hosting an exhibit on seahorses. There were loads of different varieties in all sizes and colors. The boys (and I) were fascinated. 

I was intrigued by a story on the Top 10 New Species of 2008 I found on CNN.com first because I live with three physicists and used to live with one marine biology PhD candidate. I was curious to see what new things were found. But when I saw one was a very tiny seahorse, I got very excited and nostalgic for the day I took my cousins to the aquarium. 

In another fun combination of children and science, I found a review of a show in Malaysia that seems to be the latest incarnation of Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye, the Science Guy - depending on your generation. : ) The Star Online reported Dr. Bunhead (real name: Tom Pringle) kept children entertained with loud explosions and lighting bubbles on fire (among other things) and managed to teach them some basic science as well - delighting both the parents and children in attendance.

Myron Rolle was another child whose interest in science and biology was encouraged, and he turned out to not only be a star safety for the Florida State football team but also a Rhodes Scholar. Yahoo! Sports had a fairly lengthy and good article on Rolle and how his tremendous family influence as well as his personal drive and intelligence propelled him toward a feat as unusual as a shooting star - being an elite student and an elite athlete. As much as the NCAA does not like to admit it, those two things are usually mutually exclusive. But Rolle is a wonderful exception to that, and to him I wish nothing but the best of luck. 

Little faces...

Over the weekend I found out that one of my favorite relatives (yes, I know it's bad form to admit you have them, but come on, people, everyone does) is pregnant. Yay for more good news. : ) 

Britain's The Sun had a story two days ago on a single mother of five who won the lottery in December to the tune of 7.5 million pounds, which to my guesstimate is about $5 million. I don't know if there is a British equivalent of Sally Struthers, but the lotto winner was affected all the same by the commercials about poor children in Africa. She committed some of her lotto winnings to help orphanages and organizations that help orphaned children in Ethiopia.

11alive.com, a TV news channel in Atlanta, has a lovely little story about five year-old Maddi Goss. When she was three, Maddi was diagnosed with liver cancer but received a life-saving liver transplant. This story seems to catch up with her as she celebrates her fifth birthday, cancer-free.

The story of Tustin Mains, a six year-old Nebraska boy, is showcased on allheadlinenews.com. His father was driving home with Tustin and his three year-old younger brother when the father passed out from low blood sugar. Tustin climbed up front,  took the wheel and guided the truck along the road until he was spotted by a passing police officer who stopped the car. The local police chief hails the little boy as "a very special young man."

(Photo credit: The Sun)

Best weekend in recent history...

This past weekend I had Memorial Day off for the first time since I graduated college. I decided to go home and surprise my mom for her birthday. It was a total success, helped along by the fact her birthday is not until next weekend. : ) 

Memorial Day itself isn't necessarily a happy day since it is set aside to remember both the surviving veterans and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during war. Even though it has come to signify a day of leisure, all the stories I found on the day's celebrations, including the one I cite from the San Francisco Chronicle just below, served to remind me there are still people out there who remember the true meaning of the day and are grateful for what the men and women in the military give up on a daily basis. 

On a similarly patriotic note, I saw a story in the LA Times about the upcoming reopening of the crown of the Statue of Liberty. Closed since the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the crown viewing station will reopen on July 4, 2009 to small groups. The rest of the lower viewing platforms have already reopened. 

Not all war news is unhappy. NJ.com had a story posted this morning on a reunion of Army National Guard troops and their families at Fort Dix yesterday. These men and women were the first wave of returning soldiers in New Jersey's largest National Guard deployment since World War II. All in all, nearly 3000 NJ National Guard soldiers were deployed. The remaining 2500 will be returning in the next two weeks. 

(Photo credit: San Francisco Chronicle)

Angels in the Outfield...

They must put something in the water up here in Boston. Hatred for the Yankees is practically viral here. I'm not even from New England, and somehow it sucked me in during college. I have since regained my level head (after graduating and moving back down south), but now I'm back up here, and I just have to shake my head at the potency of "us vs. them" mentality. 

Regardless about how you feel about the pin stripes, this story from MLB.com (and the follow up in Newsday) is amazing. Yankee Brett Gardner made what, at the start, was probably a routine community service visit to a local hospital. While there, he met a special little girl who had been waiting 107 days for a heart transplant. She gave him a Project Sunshine bracelet and told him if he held onto it, he would hit a home run. Gardner is no power-hitter, but he is apparently very speedy. In his next game, he hit a looping shot to the warning track and flew around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. He went 0-for-4 in his next game but found out afterwards the little girl had received her new heart that day and was doing better. 

England's Daily Mail reported on a woman who turned her grief at the loss of her husband into a 'round-the-world trek to raise money for prostate cancer. After losing her second husband to the cancer, Rosie Swale-Pope ran 20,000 over five years on a continuous solo trip around the world. I'm still trying to decide if this was foolish or inspirational, but her story is quite amazing.

My last article for today is from NJ.com, and it highlights a bat boy. Ty Godfrey is 13 years old and collects bats and shags flies with the Monmouth University baseball team. That all sounds normal, but he was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 7 1/2. He has gone through chemo, radiation and rehab to learn to walk again. He's also on growth hormones, but he goes out every chance he gets to the ballpark. The little boy and the team really seem to have bonded. 

(Photo credit: Star-Ledger)

Make way for ducklings...and cats...and horses...

I'm not sure if this says more about me or others, but within the last year I've been appalled to come across two people who live in Boston (though are admittedly not natives) who have never read "Make Way for Ducklings." It is a classic children's story set in Boston about a family of ducks that makes its way from the Charles River to its new home in the Public Gardens. There's even a set of bronze statues in the Gardens commemorating the ducklings and their mama. I have the book on my shelf and am perfectly willing to lend it to anyone in the area who wishes to read it. 

Recently I posted a story on a police officer on Long Island who rescued ducklings from a sewer. It turns out those lucky ducks (sorry, I had to) were not that far from my college roommate's current address. Today I found a story on a man in Spokane, Wash. (far from anyone I know...I think) who helped 12 ducklings off a ledge. According to United Press International, the mama duck had made her nest on the concrete ledge of a downtown office building. The ducklings' birth and subsequent lives were recorded by the office workers and posted online. When it came time for the ducklings to jump 12 feet to the ground to go to water, Joel Armstrong caught each one and put it on the ground then, with the aid of some co-workers, stopped traffic so the little family could go to a nearby pond. 

I spotted a potential new entry into the Guinness Book of World Records when I logged onto my email this morning. A video on CNN.com shows Bitsy, a 6-inch, 1.5 pound cat, who lives in Pensacola, Fla., and is a contender for world's smallest full-grown cat. The kitty is very feisty, but half the fun of this particular video is watching Anderson Cooper try to contain his annoyance at having to report such a fluff piece. 

As part of MSNBC's "Making a Difference" segment, the station told the story of a woman who suffered the loss of her beloved show horse at the hands of a tornado. The community rallied around her, and in a miracle of science, she now has a piece of her lost companion alive and well and prancing around the pasture.

(Photo credit: www.nas.org)

Classic American Inspiration...

Browsing through the stories today, I came across a link to US Magazine's story about the 25th anniversary of the first season of the classic '80s TV show, "The Cosby Show." I loved this show. I mean, flat out loved it. It is a fond piece of my childhood, so I was delighted to see the article about the cast reuniting on the Today Show this morning to talk about the show. 

CNN.com had a great story on a 20-minute "Pumpkin Pickle Pop Cookies Opera" performed by 10 four and five year-old visually impaired children in Atlanta. It was a "thank you" to their parents at the end of the program's session for all the time and work the parents put in to help the children get ready for kindergarten. The program helps children, who range in age from newborn and up, and their parents adjust to the visual impairment and excel despite it.

The last story is actually courtesy of a friend of mine at Drexel. Each year the Honda Inspiration Award is given to a senior female student-athlete who best exemplifies excellence on the field/court and in her personal life. Drexel's Nicole Hester battled Hodgkins Lymphoma her junior year of college then returned to lead the Dragons' women's basketball team to its first CAA Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Hester has also been honored by her athletic conference, the Philadelphia Sports Writers' Association and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

(Photo credit: US Magazine)