This is up late tonight, but it’s been a long day and I had to reconfigure this post after the Blogfather asked us not to post more than a couple of tweets. But it will give you something to come back to after reading Adam’s nightly post, which is coming right up. Enjoy!
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This one was all over the news here and it will just melt your heart. (And thanks Steeplejack for also sending it me):
Remember the girl who was devastated when Steph missed the last game in Denver? Steph Curry just made her year. pic.twitter.com/c9iyGJhuAx
— Mike Singer (@msinger) March 11, 2022
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Embra sent me this wonderful story:
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Remember the kid’s Pep Talk hotline from this weekend? Frosty sent me the entire story of how it came to be and you can read it here.
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Finally, my comfort show for the last few years has been The Repair Shop – talented people doing good deeds, preserving precious memories for people who really need them. Netflix had it streaming for a while, now Discovery is running episodes and they can be streamed on Discovery+. Also plenty of clips on Youtube, like this one that had me reaching for the tissues:
That’s it for tonight! I don’t have any pet stuff for you, I’ll make it up to you later this week.
Thanks for sending me the kindness posts, keep ’em coming.
SiubhanDuinne
Steph Curry is a mensch.
dmsilev
TaMara, are you a crossword person? If so, today’s NYT puzzle would probably speak to you. Ducks. Lots of ducks.
Ohio Mom
I had no idea musk oxen protected their young from wolves by encircling them.
Toddlers — it’s amazing anyone gets through those years. They are always doing something stupid or dangerous or both.
HumboldtBlue
You Tube coughed up this video of humans helping animals, figured it was a really good fit here.
Suzanne
@Ohio Mom:
Funny you mention. About four weeks ago, Spawn the Youngest grew tall, strong, and flexible enough to hoist herself over her baby gates. So, Mr. Suzanne decided, in a moment of insanity, to cover them in coconut oil, hoping that she wouldn’t be able to get enough of a grip on them to climb. Anyway, it took her about thirty seconds and she jumped her little ass right over. Then, of course, she was slimy, and the gates were very moisturized.
Also, I was just eating trail mix and she asked for some. I gave her an almond. She put it in her mouth, chewed it, and just sat there with it. Mr. Suzanne asked her if she liked it, then she leaned over, spit the pieces into his hand, and asked, “What color is it?”.
Little turds.
Salty Sam
I don’t know if this counts as “act of kindness”, but… backstory: when this morning’s thread after Zelenskyy’s address turned into an orgy of pronunciation pedantry, I rolled my eyes, and prepared to go about my day.
This afternoon, I went to my appointment with orthopedic doc for my jacked shoulder. Turns out, she’s a lovely young woman from Ukraine, named Yulia. After she finished torturing my shoulder, we chatted a bit- I told her I’d wept during her courageous President’s address this morning, she told me about her Mama staying near Lviv because “who would feed my cats if I leave?”. When I left, I told her “Slava Ukraine!”, and we both teared up.
So, I just want to thank you pedantic jackals for letting me know the proper pronunciation- it made my day.
HumboldtBlue
@Ohio Mom:
Here’s a reindeer cyclone. Pretty fascinating.
TaMara
@Salty Sam: Made me tear up
Gin & Tonic
@Salty Sam: As I was one of the pedants in that thread, I’m delighted it did some good.
debbie
@Ohio Mom:
I have watched enough Nature episodes to know many animals do that same thing. Animals value their young!
James E Powell
@SiubhanDuinne:
He is. Since he has beaten teams I care about, I want to hate him (sports hate), but I can’t.
Not sure everyone knows this, but a young girl wrote to Curry asking why his shoes didn’t come in girl’s sizes. Curry’s response was pure superstar.
debbie
@Suzanne:
I worked in the Scribner building in NYC. It was only 10 stories. Thieves started breaking in over weekends to steal typewriters and other office equipment. Tony the maintenance guy was so ticked, he greased the entire length of the fire escape. It actually worked!
debbie
@James E Powell:
I love that “Be bold” on the inside of the shoe.
Salty Sam
@Gin & Tonic: I almost specifically credited you, but there were others. But thanks.
Raoul Paste
Loved the Muskoxen story.
Suzanne
@debbie: My toddler is stronger and crazier than thieves.
cope
Thanks for the kudos for “The Repair Shop”. I’ve mentioned it a few times on these august pages with naught but crickets in reply. Just about every episode has at least one very moving story and the skill, knowledge and patience of the repairers themselves is amazing.
It’s a very calming, insightful show and doesn’t really compare to any other I have seen.
Mousebumples
@Suzanne: my daughter is 2-1/2,and I totally feel this. Though she’s less interested in jumping the baby gate (it’s at the top of the stairs, so maybe that’s why?), but today she decided that the baby bassinet (setup for Little Brother… whenever he ends up arriving, lol) is for her, and she’s a baby again.
I had thought she was climbing from our bed to the nearby bassinet, but nope. She just hooks a foot over the top and climbs in. She’s like a little monkey sometimes, lol.
Steeplejack
For non-basketball fans: The background on the Steph Curry story is that the uber-fan kid’s parents got tickets for a game in late December, which was postponed because of COVID. They rescheduled for a game a week or so ago, but Curry was held out because the schedule was jammed up and he would have had to play two days in a row on no rest. That’s when the girl was heartbroken. The next game was a few days later, and the Warriors, Curry’s team, got the family tickets and set up the meeting with Curry.
More videos at this link.
James E Powell
@cope:
This is the first I’m hearing of it. I see that parts of Season 6 are available on my directv on demand. I will check it out.
Steeplejack
@cope:
It helps to remember that there are a lot of lurkers who read the threads and never comment at all, but they still get the message.
Steeplejack
@Suzanne:
My brother used to report being freaked out because his daughter started scaling her crib at an early age, and he would wake up early in the morning with her standing with her face a foot from his beside his bed.
mrmoshpotato
@Suzanne:
Hahaha
mrmoshpotato
@Salty Sam:
I guess it was after dark somewhere!
El-Man
A little late here, but I’ve been wondering what might be involved in creating an American version of The Repair Shop? There must be similar stories for American craftspeople to tell. Some sort of licensing deal with the producing company?
Jude
Oh, thank you for The Repair Shop link, @tamara ! My family and I watched it religiously on Netflix and then poof, it was gone. I figured the pandemic ruined it, but now I know I can catch a few episodes on Discovery+. Yay.
AM in NC
OMG! Good friends just got me and my husband hooked on The Repair Shop, starting a few weeks ago. It is the BEST. Skilled and talented people doing really good work, very thoughtfully and compassionately. You get both the technological repair side, and the emotional feel-good side, because the people who bring their items in are just so, so, so moved by having their items brought back to life.
As a review we read said, “The Repair Shop makes the Great British Baking Show look like The Sopranos”. But in a good way!
cope
@Steeplejack: Thanks for the validation, I”ll try to tell myself that more often. I suspect it goes with the mood of the day for me which can vary considerably these days.
Thanks again.