🛒 Price check on good vibes!

🛒 Checking in at the checkout. It’s like a bad dream. You get to the front of the checkout line, ring up your groceries or your medicine, and your card gets declined. Or you forgot your wallet altogether. Or even worse, you’re confronted with a dark reality: you can’t afford all of it.

For whatever reason, the front of the checkout line feels like center stage in a busy store. The lights shine brighter and hotter on your face, while the glares of the other patrons seem to bore into the back of your head. Fortunately, while there are surely some judgy Judies out there, most of the other store-goers are wincing with sympathy at your plight when payment goes awry.

Here are two incredible instances of checkout aisle kindness that will restore your faith in humanity.

In New South Wales, 34-year-old Ryan O’Donnell spotted an elderly woman struggling to pay for her groceries as her card was declined several times. While she tried to sort through the problem at the help desk, he approached and handed the cashier $50, happily paying for her. The woman wished to repay him, but he declined with a smile.

Why? She resembled his grandmother.

Here in the US, a man was picking up his prescriptions from Walgreens when he inquired nervously about the price. The $170 price tag gave him pause, and the pharmacist asked if he would prefer to purchase just a one-month supply rather than three months.

Enter the checkout champion.

A woman approached the counter to answer the pharmacist’s question with a firm “No,” insisting he get all three months at her expense.

There’s something about the checkout line. We’re captive to whatever unfolds in front of us, and, on rare occasions, we’re presented with a clear choice: can we step in and help diffuse the worst moment of that person’s day with a smile and warmth?

If you get the chance, be a checkout champion.

If, however, the other checkout nightmare occurs - namely, the cashier calling for a price check on something highly embarrassing - ignore it. Look away. At your shoes, behind you, at the ceiling…anywhere. Dissociate. Get out of there. Hide amongst the baked goods. Head for the deli!

Nobody is strong enough to bear the weight of that secondhand cringe.

🩻 A medical miracle? Or just a miracle? So often, people wait for miracles that never arrive. Sometimes, the miracle arrives, but it’s easily explained by the power of modern medicine (which is a miracle in and of itself). Other times, though, miracles occur that can’t be explained medically, at least not entirely.

Bernard Hunter is evidence.

Hunter was infected by a fungus called Blastomyces, which wreaked havoc on his lungs. He underwent several surgeries, but eventually, the infection caused a cyst to form on his spine, eliminating his ability to walk for more than a year and a half. Minnesota neurosurgeon Dr. Uzma Samadani hoped Hunter could recover some function through spinal cord stimulation and the removal of the cyst. So, he located the cyst and managed to poke holes in it. Progress, Dr. Samadani hoped.

The very next day, Hunter walked 8 feet in physical therapy. The surgeon figured there must have been a mistake in his chart. Five days later, Hunter was walking more than 100 feet. All the things he used to do but no longer could were suddenly possible again.

Samadani himself doesn’t “completely understand why he got so much better.”

Miracle.

🐶 A stroke of good fortune thanks to a good friend. When your dog jumps on your bed, adamantly pawing at you to wake up, and he doesn’t go outside when invited to use the bathroom…something is amiss.

Axel the border collie had no interest in relieving himself when his dad opened the sliding door for him. Instead, he rushed to park himself in front of 17-year-old Gabriel’s bedroom door. Inside, the high school senior was having a stroke.

It was 5 AM. Parents would need immense courage to wake a teenager at that hour, but Axel’s insistence led them into Gabriel’s room. Shortly thereafter, they were in the emergency room, where doctors noted Axel had made a significant difference to Gabriel’s prospects. Had Gabriel been left for a few more hours, his brain injury would’ve worsened, leaving him potentially paralyzed or unable to speak. Instead, he’s made significant strides in recovery, nearing a return to school and athletic activity.

Gabriel’s bedroom door is now left ajar so Axel can come and go as he pleases, monitoring for signs of trouble. Give that dog a key to the city. To all the cities. Build a monument to the goodest boy.

👮‍♂️ Reunited and it feels so good. What do two Temple University police officers consider their biggest accomplishment as partners on the job?

Ten years ago, Officers Christopher DeRose and Justin Busem were flagged down by Kamille Young and Derrick Reid. Young was in labor and on her way to the hospital.

But she wasn’t going to make it all the way there.

So the best buddy cop tandem since Starsky and freakin’ Hutch helped deliver Aamanee Young in the back of a car. Last week, the two officers were finally reunited with the girl they brought into the world. She presented her unlikely delivery staff with balloons and thank you letters, warmly celebrating their presence on that fateful day and the miracle that followed….the miracle that finally stood right before them after a decade had passed.

📱 1,000 songs in your pocket. Move over, Walkman! Step aside, portable CD player! That’s right, we don’t need to worry about Now That’s What I Call Music, Volume 1 skipping inside your absurdly large form factor anymore. Because on this day 22 years ago, Steve Jobs and Apple put 1,000 songs right in our pocket with the release of the iPod.

What seemed silly or at best wildly expensive at the time is now a clear precursor to a world in which we carry all the world’s music in our pocket. 2001 was a long time ago, but it feels shorter when you consider the progress we’ve made since.

Think about it. We started with a device that held a few gigs of songs and was wildly cumbersome to update. Now we have always-connected devices that let us not only play any song, but also connect with anyone we want, and find any piece of information we need….all with the tap of a finger.

We don’t have to connect our devices to our computers anymore. We don’t have to burn CDs. We don’t have to use Napster, or Limewire, or Kazaa (not that we would, tsk tsk). What a time to be alive.

Instead, we just have to battle chronic eye strain and a scrolling addiction. Fair trade!

Anyways, hope this newsletter turns out better than Stewie’s iPod commercial.

👵 A guardian angel’s anonymity. When 90-year-old Leah Betts fell down her front steps, she lay immobile in excruciating pain, hoping anybody would find and help her.

Her hopes were answered by a woman in a black car who scrambled to her aid. The woman - still unidentified - stayed with Betts until emergency care arrived, reassuring her throughout what must have felt like an eternal wait. Betts had broken both her hip and femur. After surgery and physical therapy, she’s on the mend and even standing up to do her ironing. She credits wonderful care from all the professionals at the hospital for her recovery.

But one thing still nags at Betts.

She hasn’t had the chance to thank the anonymous great Samaritan who shepherded her through those most panic-filled moments. But the great ones rarely do it for the thanks or the press. They spring into action because it’s the right thing to do. Because they don’t know an alternative.

She’s the hero Milford, MA deserves and the one it needs right now. She’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. No, not a Dark Knight, but a knight in a dark-colored car nonetheless.

🏌️‍♂️ Drive ‘em crazy. There are few feelings more satisfying than launching a golf ball into orbit with your driver. For most of us, a couple hundred yards qualifies as “orbit,” our “launches” happen once every 50 shots, and the satisfaction lasts only until we duff the next swing.

Most of us aren’t Kyle Berkshire.

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Berkshire set the world record for the longest drive ever recorded last week, hitting a ball 579 yards. Not since Happy Gilmore have we been so captivated by the long ball. It’s a bad day to be a Titleist whenever Berkshire is around; earlier in October, he etched his place in history with another world record, producing a ball speed of 241.6 miles per hour.

Those seeking a goal more attainable to mere mortals might look to Patrick Koenig. Koenig set the record for most 18-hole golf courses played in a year by teeing it up at 450 courses. In doing so, he becomes the envy of middle-aged dads everywhere who hope to escape for one “quick” round a month. I imagine the record-chasing excuse won’t go over well with most wives, who know those “quick” rounds are often all-day events.

“Well, babe, sure there’s the round itself, but you have to get beers after to recap the round. Sullivan’s short game was on point today, babe. You don’t understand. Can’t leave him hanging.”

👋 Let’s do the wave! (Not the lame one). Kinnick Stadium, home of Iowa football, directly abuts a children’s hospital. One of the most wholesome traditions in sports sees spectators and players alike wave to children gazing down from the hospital windows. Unfortunately for the kids, Iowa football isn’t the most exciting brand in the nation. The team boasts a solid 6-2 record but ranks 113th in the nation in points per game. Touchdowns are in short supply.

There was no shortage of points scored when the Hawkeyes women’s basketball team took to the court inside the stadium last weekend. With 55,000 people in attendance, the Hawkeyes delivered a 94-72 win over DePaul, led by superstar Caitlin Clark’s 34-point triple-double. Whether it’s football or basketball, tradition is tradition, and the Hawkeye ladies capped off a triumphant afternoon with a friendly wave to the special fans in the hospital above.

⚽️ Sticking her neck out. In October of 2021, Liverpool women’s goalkeeper Rylee Foster was hurled from the backseat of a car through the windshield in an accident. She fractured seven bones in her neck. When you break your neck in seven different places, survival is the primary objective, closely followed by avoiding paralysis.

Playing soccer again is pretty far down the list, particularly when you also sustain damage to your hip, quad, and shoulder. Oh, and add lingering concussion symptoms to that injury stew. Foster spent months in a halo to stabilize her spine and avoid further damage; by the time it was removed, she could barely hold her head up.

She endured a lengthy course of rehab. Despite ample opportunity and appreciable justification for giving up, Foster persisted through countless ailments. Eventually, she earned an opportunity with Australian club Wellington Phoenix, and last week, the comeback was completed as Foster returned to competitive action.

Her teammates will never have to worry about her mental toughness. They will, however, have to think twice before offering a complaint about their necks hurting after sleeping on them funny.

Imagine traveling Foster’s road to recovery. I tweak my neck sneezing too hard and think about throwing in the towel. Next time that happens, I’ll shake my head in disgust (well, not literally…you know, on account of my neck hurting), and I’ll remember Foster’s remarkable resilience.

⚾️ Good luck charm. I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious. If I was a baseball player that started mashing home runs after putting on a bracelet though, that stition would very quickly become one of the “super” variety.

In September, Jayce and Wyatt Anderson sent Phillies superstar Bryce Harper a red, white, blue, and green rubber band bracelet. The bracelet was accompanied by a letter wishing him luck in the playoffs and letting him know they’d be rooting for him, their favorite player. Kids often send fan-mail with high hopes but limited expectations, understanding their heroes are busy with the major league grind.

Imagine their delight, then, when they saw their bracelet on Harper’s wrist as he walloped two home runs against the Atlanta Braves. Harper, one of the biggest stars in the sport, has been having an otherworldly postseason, all while wearing his gift from the Andersons. If the Phils go on to win the whole damn thing, Philadelphia might just have Jayce and Wyatt to thank.

Hey, if you guys are reading this, I’ll take one of them bracelets. Their powers probably only apply to cool stuff like slugging dingers and not newsletter-writing mundanity, but it can’t hurt right?! Worst case, I become an absolute menace on the wiffleball diamond.