Students help injured classmate complete project and graduate [Video]

This is a a great one! If you are soft-hearted, get the tissues ready.

Last January, a Seneca Valley High School student was killed in a tragic accident on I-79 while driving to a sporting event.

But her best friend, a passenger in the vehicle, survived serious injuries and is now looking forward to a bright future.

Family, friends and teachers say it’s nothing short of a miracle to see Dana Hughes, a Seneca Valley High School senior, up and walking again. Two months ago, the teen was critically injured in an auto accident while heading to a lacrosse match.

As a senior, in order to graduate, Hughes had to complete her senior project of training and competing in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s ”Just A Short Run” marathon at North Park.

However, the accident left her not well enough to run so about 90 of her classmates got permission to complete the project for her.

“She’s like a big sister to me. All my life, she’s always been my role model, so I wanted to do something for her,” said one of Hughes’ classmates, Megan Condit.

Hughes, just out of rehab, was able to walk five miles of the marathon, and dedicated the effort to in the memory of Quail. And today she had a chance to thank all of her classmates and friends who supported her.

“Everything that I got when I was in Pittsburgh Institute, in the hospital, the prayers especially helped,” she said. “I think, God was shining over me. I know he was.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but I never thought I’d be so excited to go back to school,” added Hughes.

Read more and watch this heart-warming story:  Students Help Injured Classmate Complete Project

Young at heart: Elderly librarian says kids keep her alive [Video]

Here is a library worker who is older than many of the books on the shelves but she says her elementary students keep her young at heart.

Arlene Greene turns 82 this summer and she credits the kids at Wengert Elementary for her new lease on life. “When I first came here to Nevada I was sitting around, doing reading, watching T.V. and I was slowly dying and my daughter said, mom, ‘you are going to die like this. You’ve got to volunteer.’”

Greene now volunteers five days a week. Wengert’s principal, Suhaila Mustafa, says, ”She is very sweet, very kind to them.’ Mustafa says Greene resembles grandma and provides a family atmosphere.   

Greene is no push over, though, and the kids know it. A book overdue is a book overdue. And she is a stickler when it comes to saying “please and thank you.”

Greene says, “I would encourage everybody who doesn’t know what to do with themselves, who have nothing, their children have married or gone away, jump into a school. Volunteer and work with the kids. It’s like living all over again.”

Read more and watch this story: Cool at School: Young at Heart

Photo: Flickr user apdk

84-year old woman gets the ride of her life for her birthday

What do you get an 84-year-old lady for her birthday? That’s what Carol Brown was thinking a few weeks ago. Her mother, June Pearce, was turning 84. The idea of buying and giving more stuff just didn’t appeal to Brown.

“When you’re 84, what is there?” she thought.

Pearce lives in a slow-paced retirement area near Lake Okeechobee in rural Florida. She’s been married to the same man, Fred, for 64 years. Pearce is a wife and a mother. She’s had a few strokes, which have robbed her mind of short-term memories. Lung cancer has claimed much of her strength.

 

But one memory has stuck with her: riding on the back of a boy’s motorcycle in the 1930s.

“I wasn’t scared at all,” Pearce remembers.

It was exciting, possibly one of the most thrilling moments of her life. Pearce remembered sliding off the bike and the pain of scraping her leg, but loving it just the same. She told this story so many times that Brown can recite it by heart.

“It was during the depression,” Brown said. “Not a lot of excitement happened then.”

Brown thought of that story as she racked her brain, wondering what to do about the birthday. Then she had an idea.

“Come Give Granny A Ride On Your Hog,” she typed into an ad on Craigslist.

In the Internet posting, Brown asked if anyone would be willing to ride out and give Pearce a ride for her 84th birthday. She got one response, from a man named Ron Borowski. He said he’d ride his Harley-Davidson Low Rider — electric blue, with dark blue flames and a chrome kickstand shaped like a skeleton’s foot — from his house in Palm Beach County to June and Fred Pearce’s home, some 65 miles away.

“My mom passed away from cancer, so the ad touched me,” said Borowski, 45. “I just figured it would be an adventure.”

Read more and see more pictures from the wild ride: Woman, 84, gets the ride of her life for birthday

91-year-old sprinter sets track record [Video]

Grace Foster is now known as “Amazing Grace”. The 91-year-old New Jersey resident has set a new world record in the 60 meter sprint, shattering the previous record for her age bracket.

Her son Greg was waiting for her at the finish line.

“When she across the line and gave me a hug, I was happy,” he said. “And then the record on top of that was just a bonus.”

Grace exercises daily, but didn’t take up track until last month.

“I’ve seen a lot of people much younger than I am act much older, so maybe I’ll be a help to some people. Keep moving,” she said.

Read more: 91-year-old New Jersey sprinter sets track record

Now with Video: 91-year-old New Jersey sprinter sets track record

70-year-old woman fights off 4 robbers with saucepan [Video]

You can probably tell by now that I love stories where would-be victims get the upper hand. This is a great one!

The 70-year-old wife of a Lorain County Family Court judge meted out a little domestic justice of her own Tuesday afternoon when she fought off four robbers with her favorite saucepan.

Ellen Basinski refused to be intimidated by a man and three boys who forced their way into her house on Columbus Street and demanded money.

“One of them picked up my purse and just dumped it out,” she said Wednesday. “Now, my purse is like Fibber McGee’s closet, it’s got everything in there. I got very angry.”

Before she even gave much thought about what she should do, she grabbed an Emeril Lagasse 5-quart sauce pan.

“I picked up the saucepan and smacked him right on the head,” she said. “He looked at me and said, ‘Lady, why did you do that?’ And I hit him again.”

The robber’s friend threw a bottle of Jack Daniels at the woman, striking her on the foot. He told police he was trying to distract the woman so his friend could get away from her.

The intruders realized Basinski was no easy prey and ran. They didn’t get far. The four were quickly caught by police with the help of neighbors who told police where they ran.

Read more and watch her interview (good stuff): 70-year-old Elyria woman fights off 4 robbers with saucepan

Updated information: 70-year-old woman fights off 4 robbers with saucepan [Update]

The elderly fight back with Cane Fu [Video]

Mark Shuey doesn’t do much hobbling with his cane. He wields it like a weapon.

“People like my father, he got a cane and had bad knees and had an aluminum one. He wouldn’t carry it because it was geriatric,” said Shuey, a champion martial artist and black belt in Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido.

Shuey developed a self defense system close to 15 years ago that incorporates canes into martial arts and fitness. He calls the system Cane Masters. Others have called it Cane Fu.

“I was visiting my brother in Palm Springs and (heard) that weekend three woman were raped and three of them had canes. They didn’t have the slightest idea what they had in their hand.”

Watch this gem of a story: The elderly fight back with Cane Fu