‘Noisy Neighbor’ Turns Out to Need a Friend

Heidi Widmer drove seven days across the country with her dog, starting over in Los Angeles after a divorce. Her first night in her new Culver City apartment was rough. From upstairs, she kept hearing what sounded like a bowling ball.

Weeks later, Heidi finally met the source of the noise: an 86-year-old British woman named Carole, shaking so badly from Parkinson’s disease that she spilled her recyclables outside Heidi’s apartment. Heidi helped pick them up and asked if Carole had any family nearby. “No. I’ve been alone for years now,” Carole told her.

From there, Heidi started cooking for Carole, cleaning her apartment, and helping with medical benefits and legal matters. Her landlord stepped in too, with plans for an AC unit, new carpet, a screen door, and a stove. Social media posts about their friendship have drawn nearly 30 million views, and a GoFundMe has raised more than $50,000. Letters for Carole have arrived from around the world.

Carole now calls Heidi her granddaughter. When asked what she’d say to Heidi, she didn’t hesitate: “I’m deeply grateful for all you have done for me, and I love you dearly.”

Heidi said the friendship has changed her life too. “She’s definitely saved me.”

Fishermen Survive 5 Days in Cooler

Two Mexican fishermen survived five days adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a large fishing cooler without food or water after their boat sank in the middle of the night. Daniel Guerrero Martínez, 53, and José Luis Portelas Villegas, 32, had set out from the fishing town of Paredón, Chiapas, before a wave struck their vessel. It sank in less than five minutes.

“The only thing we could do was empty the cool storage box and climb in,” José said. They had no radio, no drinking water, and no food. For five days, they drifted in the cooler, surviving the scorching sun and severe dehydration before being found about 150 miles from shore.

Mexico’s navy located the cooler and brought both men to safety. They were airlifted to port and treated for dehydration before being reunited with their families.

Blind Musician Masters 6 Instruments

Angel Paez was born blind and grew up fascinated by the instruments he heard at church. “I remember listening to all those different instruments and being so curious as to what they looked like, what they felt like,” he said. “I wanted to know how to play.“

So he taught himself. Starting with piano, then accordion, then violin, Angel eventually learned six instruments by ear. His family entered him in a local Spanish-language radio contest in Charlotte, and he won. He later performed at the White House and was twice nominated by the Carolina Country Music Awards for Musician of the Year and Best Fiddler of the Year.

Angel, who now plays in the country and bluegrass scene in North Carolina, said his dream isn’t fame. “I just want to have enough to take my family out to dinner every now and then,” he said. “I never know what I’m going to get into until I try it.”

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Feel Good Flyover Podcast. Clicking the link will take you directly there:

➤ Harvard spent 85 years studying the same families, helping uncover the seven things that make a happy life. (See List)

➤ The world’s oldest person just celebrated a record-setting birthday. How old are they? (Hear How Old)

➤ One Georgia State University teenager compressed a four-year math degree into a schedule her department had never approved before. (Hear Details)

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➤ Most people slow down at 93, but one man in England is easing his Parkinson’s symptoms through a weekly weightlifting class, recently lifting 88 pounds off the floor in one motion despite arthritic knees. (See Photos)

➤ Freshmen at an Oklahoma high school can’t start their first day until they kiss their moms goodbye, a 26-year tradition in which seniors surround incoming students’ cars and won’t let them out without a public peck. (Watch Video)

➤ Strangers across the internet showered a DoorDash driver and his fiancée with wedding gifts after his handwritten note, explaining that tips were helping fund their big day, landed in a bestselling author’s order. She found the couple’s registry and shared it with her millions of followers. (More)

➤ Fishermen off of Mexico’s Baja coast rescued an exhausted dog they spotted swimming alone a mile from shore, reviving him with fresh water and two burritos. Their new good luck charm delivered, with the crew catching a full bag of fish by 10 a.m. (See Photos) 

➤ After unknowingly leaving a son in Germany while stationed there as a soldier, one American father got the reunion of a lifetime when an Ancestry kit connected them 55 years later. More than 60 relatives gathered in Texas to welcome the man home. (Watch Video)

➤ Customers at an upstate New York gas station busted a move for 20 percent off their bills in a viral “Dance for a Discount” challenge, with anyone willing to boogie for at least 15 seconds at the register earning the savings. (See Story)

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Neighbors in Arenys de Mar, Spain, came together to give Maria a joyful celebration for her 100th birthday.

video via goodnews_movement – Instagram

Which letter of the alphabet has the most water?

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“And you know who the happiest people are in this whole thing? … The mothers. This is a big moment for them, especially if this is their first child or their last child.”

— Sister Mary Hanah, president of Bishop Kelley High School, on the school’s first-day tradition for incoming freshmen.