What a Wonderful August

The world is not an ugly place. It's beautiful and full of inspiring people who do amazing things. We all know they're out there, but it's a shame we don't hear about them more often. This week was a difficult one, as horrible news hit us from all over. But you know what? There's plenty of good that happens. You've heard about the Americans and the Brit who disarmed the would-be terrorist on the train in France?

But do they have to all be so dang handsome? So unfair!

We need more of this. More to hope for. More to live for. Let's be further reminded that our world isn't as bad as we sometimes feel.

1. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson - Role Model for Troubled Young Men

I always hesitate to place any celebrity on a pedestal. However, there are some out there who use their money and influence for good. I have always enjoyed Dwayne Johnson as an actor. He's a fun guy to watch and has really developed his craft over the years. Today he is one of Hollywood's favorite leading men in action roles, but he hasn't let it change his focus to being a ROCK for his family and troubled young people. Six months ago Johnson began working on a documentary focused on a rehabilitation program run by the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department that was about to close due to lack of funding. Every day for six months he spent time with the youth offenders in the program, offering encouragement, motivation, and guidance.

Johnson, having many run-ins with the law since his early teens, takes this mission very personally. "When I was 13 or 14, I started getting arrested, doing a lot of things I shouldn't have been doing," he said. "And I wanted them to know that life does go on and they're going to have another opportunity." He hopes to raise awareness for these programs through this documentary. He attended their graduation last week, and wanted the boys to know how proud he is of them.

The Rock, being awesome. Click for the original Instagram post.

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" will be coming soon to HBO.

2.  Firefighters Heroically... Mow A Man's Lawn

Ok, so mowing a lawn isn't very heroic. We all know firefighters place themselves in danger all the time in order to serve our communities, but let's remember what kind of people these are. Florida firefighters responded to Ralph McRory's call when he began to feel chest pains while mowing his lawn. After tending to the man, the firefighters told his wife they wanted to help and asked where the lawnmower was. Their good deeds caught the attention of the McRory's neighbor, Jacob Shipp, who took pictures of the public servants finishing McRory's yard work.

More pictures can be found on Shipp's Facebook page.

Knowing how hot it's been in Florida lately, I'd say this is a pretty heroic act!

3.  A Woman Adopts a Furry Hero

25-year old Georgia Bradley was on vacation in Crete when two men approached her and asked to have a drink. After refusing, one of the men grabs her arm, which is probably one of the scariest scenarios a young woman can face in a foreign country. Just then, a little stray black dog ran over and started barking at them. She stayed with Georgia until the men went away.

That's right! Keep walkin'!

Georgia returned home to England soon after, but she couldn't stop thinking about her little hero. So she went back to Crete as soon as she could to begin what ended up being a five-week mission to find the dog she began calling Pepper, flying back and forth from England to Crete whenever possible. "It was a real risk because we may never have found her again." she told the Plymouth Herald. "But when we saw Pepper on the beach, it was the best feeling ever." Georgia had a bit of trouble trying to adopt Pepper. She finally found a vet willing to treat the abandoned dog, getting her chipped and vaccinated. Finally, after a necessary 21-day quarantine, Pepper was ready to fly to England to live with Georgia. After spending thousands of dollars and flying thousands of miles, Georgia gave Pepper a home, and Pepper gave Georgia a litter of six puppies! That's some surprise!

Pepper, you little dog, you!

Georgia seems fine with it, though. "It has been such a crazy journey, but I am over the moon! Pepper has settled in brilliantly."

4. Brooklyn Man Stops Sexual Assault

I've heard stories from New Yorkers about minding their own business when riding the subway. Stories tell of people who become seriously injured or worse when stepping in to break up a fight or offer any other kind of intervention. So apparently it's dangerous to be a good Samaritan, which is why I applaud Maurice Osborne for stepping-up when he noticed a woman in distress. Alvaro Dennica, who had been reportedly fondling himself in the rear car, chased the woman onto the platform at a stop and jumped on top of her. When Osborne heard her scream, he jumped off the train and grabbed Dennica by his collar. He then dragged him up the subway steps and turned him in to police. The victim followed close behind so she could tell investigators what happened.

He received six stitches above his eye, a swollen left hand, and a place among heroes. 

Osborne, who lives in a Brooklyn shelter while studying to be a medical student, hopes New Yorkers will follow his example and help others in need when the opportunity arises. "I like helping people." he said. "It makes me feel useful." People who have heard his story want to help Osborne in return. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to assist with his tuition, with over $20,000 in donations thus far.

5. Sierra Leone Releases Last Ebola Patient

Hey everyone, remember Ebola? I know that it seems problems go away when media coverage drops, but unfortunately things don't work that way. Ebola was one of the biggest crazes of 2014, but has dropped out of the limelight due to not being a man who wants to be a woman, or a dentist who shoots a lion, or a racist cop (take your pick), or any media flavor of the week. Ebola was sooo last summer! Only, it wasn't. For many people, it was still very real for quite a while. And for one 35-year old Adama Sankoh, it was still trying to pull her into non-existence, right up until this very week when she was released by her doctors.

Go ahead and celebrate some life, Adama!

The world isn't out of the woods yet. The neighboring country of Guinea is reportedly on watch for potential Ebola breakouts. But for now, we'll go ahead and celebrate a human victory over this terrible virus.

6. Police. Because Police.

It's easy to admire firemen. Very easy. We smile at them. We shake their hands. We swoon over them and call them heroes. Many of them are. They are civil servants who often put themselves in harm's way to protect the lives and property of others. Soldiers are also easy to love. We pay for their drinks, we give up our seats on the train, and we thank them for their service. But what about the other group of men and women in uniform? 

There are so many sensationalist stories about police these days. Conversations about race are at an elevated level, and many people have given up the idea that police want to protect us. In fact, I myself, who in the past has been a huge proponent of police, have had personal dealings with a shady cop who lied about an incident just to protect his own skin (he was found out, and I assume justice was served). For a while I was also turned away from my good feelings toward them. However, when you stop to really look at what they do, and I mean REALLY look for yourselves rather than the stuff spoon-fed to you by national media, you start seeing stories like this, this, this, and this. And it goes on and on and on. And these are just a few I found that happened THIS MONTH! Think about this, friends, especially if you're one of the ones looking at this saying, "Sure, it's their job to help people!" Their job... 

A policeman just doing "his job."

When you do your job, what happens? Does someone get their food quickly with a smile? Is someone now happy with their invoice? Did you point someone in the right direction? Did you sell someone a toaster? Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with these jobs. Not at all. When I do my job, some numbers go to a place electronically, where they sit until somebody doesn't read them again. Some of us are teachers, nurses, counselors, and stay-at-home moms, and that's all really great. But nothing, NOTHING is as dangerous as the every-day job of someone tasked to protect a population that hates them.

"Their job" is to protect these guys. Seriously.

These aren't robots, friends. These are real men and women, the vast majority of whom can only do what their training and nerves allow them to do. Every day, in uniform or civilian clothes, at the precinct or on the beat, on a call or at the grocery store, they are at work. And while at work, they are faced with the challenge of trying to process a thousand things at once to keep us safe as well as themselves. If we couldn't count their "everyday" victories among the others in this list, then our world would truly be a bad place. Fortunately we are above that and can think for ourselves. Just like the bad stories in the media, there are bad people who become police officers. But just like the vast majority of great, uplifting stories not covered by the media, there are a vast majority of great people who become police officers. It is a sin to not recognize this.