💸 Great deal on good vibes inside!

📞Wrong number, right outcome. We’ve all received text messages from the wrong number. Most of us might ignore it or address the mistake with a simple reply, but few could imagine it changing their Thanksgiving plans for the next 8 years.

In 2016, Wanda Dench texted her grandson to invite him for dinner. At least…she thought it was her grandson. She had actually texted a 17-year-old named Jamal Hinton. Responding with a selfie to reveal that it was not, in fact, her grandson, Jamal coyly asked, “Can I still get a plate though?”

Dench’s reply? “Of course, that’s what grandmas do…feed everyone.”

What could’ve been enjoyed with a laugh and soon forgotten as a funny folly instead became a standing tradition. Jamal became close with the Dench family, and when Wanda’s husband Lonnie passed away from COVID in 2020, Jamal assembled a care package with recorded condolences from sympathizers worldwide. And sure enough, Jamal was at the table for the hardest of Thanksgivings for Wanda.

This year, they expanded their “family” gathering, inviting a new stranger into the fold via an Airbnb listing. With the greatest respect to John Candy and Steve Martin, we need a new Thanksgiving movie, and we have the makings of a beautiful script right here in this incredible story.

Wanda and Jamal’s annual reunion is just as sure a thing as any of our own Thanksgiving family gatherings, and it was born from nothing - a mistaken text message, received by the right person at the right time. We can find friends and even family in the most serendipitous ways - there are miracles in the opportunities presented everyday if we treat them as such.

I might even consider not sending unknown phone numbers straight to voicemail this week, but I’m not sure I’m that brave.

🥤 Tumbler half-full. The Stanley Stainless Steel Tumbler, dubbed the “Quencher,” is the most comically large drinking vessel in existence. It’s a cup frequently parodied on TikTok through the use of a water cooler jug with a PVC pipe thrust into the opening to approximate a straw. And yet, while the ladies of America may be an easy target for jokes as they recklessly thrash their Stanleys about our hallways, public transit, and city streets, they may be onto something.

Daniela’s car recently caught on fire, wreaking carnage on the interior and leaving utter destruction in its wake. But proudly stood like a flagpole that survived a tornado was Daniela’s Stanley, untarnished and large as ever, protruding from a cupholder still struggling under the weight of its top-heavy girth.

Not only did it survive….it still had ice in it!

@danimarielettering

Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup

Internet commenters urged Stanley to bless Daniela with a replacement tumbler to reward her for the best free advertising imaginable. Stanley’s President, Terrence Riley (really, you should be contractually obligated to change your name to Stanley if you ascend that throne, but I digress) took to the company’s TikTok to announce that they would indeed be sending her some Stanleys. To me, that’s more blessing than curse; how can any mere mortal store that many gargantuan tumblers? Is Stanley also going to give her a bigger house in which to hold said Stanleys?

No, no they’re not.

But they are going to replace her car!

Daniela was overcome not just with the incredible gesture, but with all the commenters who had made her feel so seen, particularly as someone who often felt invisible. Suddenly I’m parched, and it seems the only prescription is a Stanley Quencher.

🪟 Friendly fix-up. Persistent vandalism is a sad reality facing businesses in many American cities. Multiple times in the course of a month, Blane Hartleb’s car stereo store - located in Portland, Oregon - was vandalized by would-be thieves hoping to steal its products. The second time, they smashed his glass front door but were denied access by the store’s security system.

But just the right person was watching the news when the vandalism was reported: Matt Sliney, owner of another local small business, Town & Country Glass.

Matt called Blane and offered to fix the glass door free of charge, overcome with sympathy for yet another business plagued by break-ins. Surely, multiple occurrences of vandalism might demoralize any business owner, but the kindness of a peer who understands the struggle offers a potent antidote. Matt’s colleagues showed up to repair the door that very same day.

The repair was not an isolated act of generosity from Matt Sliney; he frequently makes the same offer to local businesses affected by vandalism. If certain cities are to not only survive but thrive once again, it will be in large part because of the selfless and community-oriented efforts of those willing to extend a hand and pull their colleagues to firmer ground.

Blane is making his own contributions to the community: in exchange for each customer review, he donates $5 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and $5 to the Oregon Humane Society. The tally for each organization over the last year reached $5,175.

Cities have their struggles, but the spirit of community is alive and well, and so long as that’s the case, the community can overcome adversity.

🗽 Kindness, immortalized. In this newsletter, we frequently insist that statues be built or parades be thrown in honor of Great Samaritans or, perhaps more often, dogs. Though they deserve them - especially the dogs - our suggestion is tongue in cheek, mostly because we don’t expect towns to haphazardly erect permanent monuments on the basis of a good deed or two.

More than 1,000 good deeds, though, does in fact merit a statue. That’s exactly what Sebbie Hall is getting.

At age 17, Sebbie dedicated himself to helping others. His list of achievements is long and impressive. Here’s an abridged version:

• 400 coats and blankets donated to homeless charities

• 800 toys gifted to children’s homes

• 52 teddy bears given to displaced Ukrainian orphans

• A foundation formed for vulnerable youth

KIND Snacks set out to identify the kindest person in the UK, and after an extensive review, Sebbie won the honors. The recently revealed statue, featuring superhero Sebbie with a cape, will sit beneath Tower Bridge in London before being moved to a long-term residence in Lichfield.

I doubt Sebbie embarked on his crusade of kindness to impress a high-end granola bar company, but good on KIND for celebrating his incredible selflessness and generosity. Now if Sebbie could convince them to charge a less extortionate price for those snacks, he might be due a global honor.

🎉 The parade begins. If you watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade last Thursday, you were one of a record 28.5 million people to do so. It was on this day in 1924 that the tradition began, leaving the parade just shy of its 100th anniversary.

Though tastes change quickly and modern attention spans are short, the wholesome fun and wonder of the parade has persisted as a stanchion of holiday tradition. Generations have happily enjoyed the procession of familiar characters and friendly faces towards Manhattan’s Herald Square; a leisure activity weaving a common thread through a century of American history is increasingly rare and therefore increasingly special.

Thankfully, the parade’s rise is credited with the eventual decline in popularity of Ragamuffin Day, a trick-or-treating predecessor that saw children dress as beggars and homeless people seeking candy. Canceled to the moon. Instead, we’re left with two far superior traditions: Halloween as we know it and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

🦶 One foot in front of the other. After a dozen years of serving the homeless in Mobile, Eric Overstreet lived among them for 90 days. While he learned that addiction and mental illness were certainly prevalent, he also discovered that the streets are filled with wonderful people.

One such wonderful person is Travis Reagan, who Eric met all those years ago when he first started. He calls Travis the most lovable person you’ve ever met in your life, adored by all that meet him. Unfortunately, during his time on the streets, Eric also learned that the feet are in severe peril in those circumstances, with shoes wearing through, socks getting dirty, and replacements of both fitting poorly. Those challenges affected Travis, who was noticeably limping.

When Eric asked about it, Travis noted his foot was about to fall off, taking off his shoe and sock to reveal a horrific infection. Eric immediately brought him to the hospital for care, and he’s now recuperating following a partial amputation. To ensure this incident isn’t a mere beginning to a longer string of worsening issues, Eric is raising funds with friends to pay for further care and to keep Travis from returning to life on the streets.

Sometimes the road to recovery is paved with kindness, and following it starts by putting one foot in front of the other.

🧱 Jenga! It’s officially Hallmark Christmas Movie season, and this year, there’s a new story gracing our screens. Finally, it’s not the tale of a busy city woman who gets stranded in a rural town, only to fall in love with the gruff-but-handsome, sweater-wearing local. There is no movie poster of the couple embracing next to a Christmas tree, coy smiles across their faces.

Instead, this flick is based on the achievements of one incredible teenager with autism.

“A World Record Christmas” released on November 16th, taking inspiration from 15-year-old Auldin Maxwell of British Columbia. Maxwell is a Jenga legend, establishing the world records this year for the most standard-sized pieces stacked on a single block (1,820) and the most giant pieces stacked on a single block (900).

I’m so glad we resurrected Jenga from the ‘90s, and I’m even more glad that Maxwell’s story has been heartwarmingly and no doubt cornily captured by the fine folks at Hallmark.

🏈 Quite the kicker. It came down to a game-winning field goal kick, but Washington’s undefeated season and playoff hopes are alive. It was the leg of Grady Gross, technically a walk-on. that propelled the Huskies to victory over their rival Washington State Cougars.

Playing hero in a crucial rivalry game is about as good as it gets. What could be the cherry on top of that near perfect day? Well here’s the kicker: after the win, Gross received the news that he earned a scholarship. See the emotions for yourself.

Hey Grady, how was your Saturday? “Well I nailed a kick that will immortalize me as a hero in the state of Washington, and I found out my education is being paid for in full, so…..pretty good. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.”

🦃 Giving back after being given away. Shaq Leonard received dispiriting news last week. After six years, the Indianapolis Colts were releasing him.

While many players - or anyone who had just been unceremoniously let go from their job - might take the next few hours to gather themselves, assess next steps, or simply wallow, Leonard had already made plans. His time in Indianapolis was over, but that wasn’t going to stop him from giving back to the community. He spent those hours, the emotional wound still gaping, with his now-former teammates, handing out turkeys to Indy locals in need.

Perhaps that was the best possible medicine, offering valuable perspective on life’s wide variety of adversities and the ways in which we depend on each other to overcome them. Wherever Leonard lands, that city will be getting a good one.

⚽️ Apology accepted. The global reach of sports and their associated passion never ceases to amaze. Last year, Ghanaian member of parliament Isaac Adongo likened a fellow politician’s economic management to Manchester United center back Harry Maguire’s play on the pitch. That analogy was not meant to flatter the politician, nodding to some of Maguire’s more shambolic exploits in defense.

But even when it seems like the whole world is piling on, it’s not too late to prove them wrong. And on the flip side, it’s never too late to apologize and to admit you might have been wrong.

That apology would not be offered to the target of the analogy, Vice President Mahabad Bawumia, but instead to Maguire. On the parliament floor, Adongo took the opportunity to repent, hailing Maguire as a “transformational footballer” after a recent improvement in form.

Maguire, who has often attracted widespread, loud, and largely undeserved abuse, graciously accepted the apology on Twitter, with a friendly and warm suggestion that he’d see the MP at Old Trafford soon. We all say things we wish we could take back, but all we can do is try to right our wrongs and hope that the wronged are as forgiving as Maguire.