And a Happy pre-Christmas Friday to you all! We were at Wide World of stuff world headquarters just finished up a wonderful Hanukkah that saw the 3-year-old wonder why we can’t get presents every night, all year, and the 7-week-old watch his brother open up all presents meant for him (“He can’t open them yet so I’ll help him.”) Me? I’m thrilled with my “haul,” which included the all-time great game Mattel Classic Football 2, a tiny, incredibly archaic little gem that I spent hours and hours of my childhood playing, often in the backseat of the car on family road trips (Seriously, it’s awesome. Any man between ages 35-45 would light up now talking about it)
Anyway, hope your holiday is going great, let’s get to some excellent Good news Friday stuff this week.
First, Cole Hamels is a former star major league pitcher who, along with his wife Heidi, made an awesome gesture recently. They were trying to sell a $10 million mansion they owned in southwest Missouri, but recently they came up with a much better idea on how to use this enormous property: They are donating the house to a charity that helps children with special needs and chronic illnesses.
It’s called Camp Barnabas, and it does amazing things for families.
“There are tons of amazing charities in southwest Missouri. Out of all of these, Barnabas really pulled on our heartstrings,” Hamels, who turns 34 later this month, said. “Seeing the faces, hearing the laughter, reading the stories of the kids they serve; there is truly nothing like it. Barnabas makes dreams come true, and we felt called to help them in a big way.”
Very, very cool gesture. The house looks amazing, too.
**Next up today, this is an amazing story from the BBC. A young girl named Kati Pohler was given up for adoption by her Chinese parents, and adopted by a couple from the U.S., who raised her in Michigan. Twenty years after being adopted, Kati went looking for her biological parents. This is her amazing story in the 5-minute video above. What a wonderful tale, beautifully told.
**There are so many holiday traditions that I love, but my current favorite one involves the amazing Steve Hartman of CBS News, a wealthy Secret Santa, and the incredible joy he spreads every year, handing out $100 bills to strangers in December.
This year, Secret Santa went to help the good people of Beaumont, Tex., whose town was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. As always, the looks of surprise, then gratitude on the faces of those he’s helped make it all so worth it.
So much more good than bad in this world. So, so much.
Wide World of Stuff 