⭐️ Open this for some five-star vibes

⭐️ One-star mistake, five-star apology. People aren’t always fond of speaking to customer service representatives. By the time customers speak to a rep, something isn’t working the way it should, they’ve consulted the website, and they’ve dealt with a robot on the phone asking if they’ve consulted the website.

We should all strive to exercise the utmost patience with reps - they’re earnestly doing their best and likely dealing with some rude folks - but oh, buddy….I’ll give that robot a piece of my mind!

“AGENT!“ “REPRESENTATIVE!” “HUMAN BEING, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE!”

But when you get that one customer service rep that not only solves your problem but does it with a demeanor that instills you with a renewed optimism about life, it changes your entire day. Maybe your week. And the last thing you’d ever want to do is give that person a bad review.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Samantha Brown did….by accident.

She thought 1 Star was the top rating, but alas it was the worst, a mistake she quickly realized in horror. Fortunately, Samantha is a travel host with some social media clout. She took to TikTok, detailing her mistake for Delta and describing “Julie,” the representative who helped her, in great detail to ensure the review wouldn’t impact her standing in any way.

@samanthabrowntravels

Oct 3 6:45am.her name Julie. She is a Five!

Delta saw the video, and they not only disregarded the poor review, they threw a 5-star surprise party for Julie at headquarters, complete with balloons, cupcakes, and a special guest: Samantha. Samantha was able to thank her for her outstanding service in person.

As for Julie, well, she’s an absolute treasure. She’s worked for Delta for 25 years, and outside of work, she dedicates her time to fostering abused and abandoned dogs.

Five stars aren’t enough. We need more stars for Julie! All the stars! Somebody get a customer service rep on the line!

🎄 Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree. Before a gigantic Christmas tree becomes the centerpiece of a town’s holiday spirit, it has to grow for about 50 years.

In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Cornelius Smaxwill and his wife Frances planted a Colorado Blue Spruce in their yard that long ago, before they were married. They bought the tree for $9 from a closing nursery on the last day it was open. Over those 50 years, the tree grew almost 50 feet.

Sadly, Frances passed away a year ago, leaving an unfillable void in Cornelius’s life. But the tree remained, and it towered over an impressed city employee who asked Smaxwill if he would be willing to donate it. Closing a chapter that began decades ago, the tree was cut down and mounted in front of the town’s museum, where it will be wrapped in more than 1,000 lights to share its warm glow with the town for the next few months.

Smaxwill says Frances would call it “the most beautiful Christmas tree she’s ever seen.” It certainly has the most beautiful story, having overseen the wonders of life unfolding for one lovely couple.

👁️ An eye for an eye. Our eyes are perhaps the most miraculous tools we have. Sustaining damage to one or losing one altogether must be devastating.

But today, there’s hope.

Six months ago, surgeons at New York University Langone Health completed a 21 hour operation in which they performed the first ever whole-eye transplant. Here’s the thing: the doctors never really expected it to work; they did it mostly for cosmetic reasons, and any function would be a bonus.

Remarkably, the early signs are promising. The eye has functioning blood vessels and the patient is beginning to develop sensation, though he can’t yet see out of it and may never be able to. Still, the achievement is remarkable and unlocks incredibly exciting possibilities.

The last piece in the puzzle is the restoration of the connection between the brain and the optic nerves, a feat research teams are already striving towards. The next few decades will see more sight restored than ever in history. That’s a precious gift rarely matched in its emotional significance.

🎨 Live and in living color. Restoration of sight comes in many different forms, and it’s tough to find one more wholesome than this.

Jaron Casillas’s 5th grade classmates discovered he was colorblind when they were discussing their favorite colors and he revealed he didn’t have one. For good reason: he couldn’t see them. Kids that age have incredible purity of heart, though, and they embarked on a secret mission to help their friend see the world the same way they do, in full color.

They pooled their allowances and took donations to buy Jaron corrective glasses. His gratitude will light up your morning:

“I was just like, ‘Is this what everyone else was seeing this whole time?’ It just makes me feel thankful because I didn’t know they would do this for me. I know my friends are true for doing this for me.”

As true as they come. Their compassion and kindness is a sight as beautiful as any.

🔔 Before he was big, he was just Ben. On this day in 1856, one of the most famous landmarks in the world, the great bell of Big Ben chimed for the very first time. Before the extravagant and recognizable Elizabeth Tower was even erected to house the bell, Ben rolled its trademark “BONG” onto the Thames, and the river hasn’t known quiet on the quarter-hours since.

It’s difficult to imagine London without that great gold beacon, especially since the tower has been used in nearly every single establishing shot of the city in TV and film for decades. It’s even harder to imagine a world without the Big Ben Twitter account.

It’s not the most eloquent voice on the internet, but it makes its point as effectively as any.

🚲 Back on his bike. If it wasn’t for a Good Samaritan, Murray Kennedy-MacNeil might have been trapped under his bike in a bush for who knows how long.

Kennedy-MacNeil describes himself as “slightly disabled” and pedals a motor-assist custom bike around Vancouver Island. He recently hit a bump as he was coming off a local bridge, tipping the bike over and sending him into the bushes underneath it. Because of his disability, he was stuck.

Thanks to “Marty,” the predicament was short-lived. Marty saw what happened and immediately pulled over to come to Kennedy-MacNeil’s aid. He freed him from the bike, righted it, and set him on his way after ensuring he was okay. As with so many Great Samaritans, Marty didn’t do it for plaudits; he declined an interview with the local newspaper, The Record.

Kennedy-MacNeil recounts that every time he’s taken a fall, community members have come to his aid. Props are due both to the community members, who answer the call and reinforce our belief in humanity, and to Kennedy-MacNeil who continues to happily mount that bike and graciously accept the help of others, undaunted by a few tumbles which might embarrass some off the bike for good.

🏄‍♀️ Surf’s up! In the movie Point Break, Lori Petty’s character Tyler says “big wave surfing is for macho assholes with a death wish.”

Tsk tsk, Tyler. They don’t have to be macho! But like Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi said, “if you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price.

Australian surfer Laura Enever was willing, and she recently set the world record for the largest wave ever paddled into by a woman. Enever surfed a 43.6 foot (13.3 meter) wave in Oahu, Hawaii, eclipsing the prior record by about a foot.

Taming one of the fiercest waves Mother Earth can muster is the ultimate, and Enever did just that. As for us, we’ll be shoreside boogieboarding with Koonu. We’re not ready to ride giants.

🏀 Never give up. The James Madison University men’s basketball team trailed Kent State by 5 points with 3.8 seconds left. Just days earlier, JMU had upset Michigan State, earning a dream start to the season by toppling one of the top teams in the country. But in 3.8 seconds, Kent State would douse the dreamers in cold water; the odds of overturning that kind of deficit are almost nonexistent.

Almost.

With exceptional execution and a bit of good fortune, 3.8 seconds might just be the exact amount of time you need.

It’s so easy to surrender when faced with the same long odds. Why bother if success is near impossible? Because it’s only near impossible, and there’s always the chance you could be that one-in-ten-thousand outcome. Next time things start feeling impossible, don’t wave the white flag. Yours could be the next improbable comeback willed into reality.

⛳️ Playing for something bigger. When Erik van Rooyen sank a walk-off eagle to win the World Wide Technology Championship, a “silly trophy” was the last thing on his mind.

Van Rooyen was playing for something far bigger.

When asked how he was able to remain so calm when the stakes are the highest, he acknowledged there are bigger things in life than golf. Van Rooyen was playing for his friend, Jon Trasamar, who is suffering from melanoma and, in Van Rooyen’s words, “isn’t going to make it.”

With each shot, Van Rooyen’s thoughts centered not just on the white ball at his feet but on his dear friend and his quest to honor him. Those purest of motivations, looming large relative to prize money and rankings, inspired Van Rooyen to victory and to an unforgettable gift given through the game of golf.

⚽️ Libertad Para Papa. Last week, we shared Liverpool winger Luis Diaz’s emotional tribute to his kidnapped father in Colombia. This week, the news we have to share far surpasses a goal scored in his honor.

Diaz’s father finally secured his safe release last week, ensuring a joyous reunion with family and friends after a horrific ordeal.

He will have been thrilled to see his son’s goal in last week’s match with Luton, but better yet, he’ll have the thrilling experience of watching all the goals still to come. As for Luis Diaz, the world as he knew it was threatened beyond belief over the past two weeks - to have it restored once more will produce a feeling of unmatched gratitude.

But (thankfully) we don’t need to endure the terror of a kidnapping to realize we should appreciate and treasure our time with loved ones while we still have it.