Kindness is not weakness
Vol. 5, Issue 13
“Kindness is not weakness, it is resistance. It is the decision to have hope when cynicism feels easier. Choosing to lend a hand, offer a word of encouragement, or making a difference when others look away. That’s real strength.” —Marquita Herald
THE GOOD NEWS
To the moon and back
The next time you look at the moon, will you think of Carroll?
Earlier this week, the astronauts on the Artemis II space mission set several records, including the first crewed flight to the moon in over half a century, the farthest distance from Earth ever traveled by humans (252,756 miles), and the first humans to lay eyes on some parts of the far side of the moon. All of these accomplishments are noteworthy and certainly wonderful achievements for humankind.
But the most memorable moment of the trip so far occurred on Monday when Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen suggested a couple of names to Mission Control for some craters on the moon. He proposed that one crater be named after their spacecraft, “Integrity,” and a second crater be named “Carroll” in honor of Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman’s wife, Carroll Taylor Wiseman, who died in 2020 of cancer at the age of 46. This crater can sometimes be seen from Earth.
“A number of years ago, we started this journey in our close-knit astronaut family, and we lost a loved one. And there is a feature in a really neat place on the moon, and it is on the nearside/farside boundary. In fact, it’s just on the nearside of that boundary, and so at certain times of the moon’s transit around Earth, we will be able to see this from Earth. And so we lost a loved one. Her name was Carroll, the spouse of Reid, the mother of Katie and Ellie,” Hansen said, his voice thick with emotion.
“And if you want to find this one, you look at Glushko, and it’s just to the northwest of that, at the same latitude as Ohm, and it’s a bright spot on the moon. And we would like to call it Carroll,” he added.
The four astronauts then floated toward each other for a group hug. After nearly a full minute of silence from Mission Control, Capcom Jenny Gibbons replied: “Integrity and Carroll crater, loud and clear. Thank you.”
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A rescue to remember
Jessica Johnston and her dog Molly were recently enjoying a hike in the wilderness on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island when everything went awry.
On March 24, Johnston and the 4-year-old black-and-white Border collie were walking across mountainous terrain in a remote area of the Arahura Valley when Johnston slipped off the edge of a cliff and fell about 180 feet down a waterfall.
Amazingly, Johnston survived. After floating about 65 feet downstream, she got out of the water and turned on her personal locator beacon. Although Johnston had suffered injuries to her head, elbow and toe, she didn’t break any bones during her fall. However, when help arrived to airlift her to safety, no one could find Molly.
Lilly Newton and her father, Matt Newton, of Precision Helicopters, heard about the incident and decided to help. They flew over the valley several times looking for the dog, but had no luck. Each flight cost nearly $1,400, and the Newtons couldn’t afford to keep up the search without help. So Lilly put out a call on Facebook, and within eight hours, about 160 people had crowdfunded to help pay for additional flights.
Many also volunteered to assist with the search. Georgina Du Val, a thermal imaging specialist from Christchurch who is trained in veterinary nursing, grabbed her hand-held thermal camera and drove more than four hours to assist in looking for Molly. Wayne Holmes, a helicopter crewman involved with Land Search and Rescue, a volunteer organization in New Zealand, brought his terrier because he thought seeing another dog might help make Molly feel more comfortable if and/or when they found her.
But then stormy weather kept them grounded for several days. By the time the rain finally let up, Molly had been lost for an entire week.
All of these volunteers -- the helicopter crew, the thermal imaging specialist, the determined searcher and a dog named Bingo -- refused to give up. On March 31, the team climbed into a helicopter and began scanning the base of the waterfall.
They found Molly after just 30 minutes, resting near the spot where Johnston had fallen. She was cold, wet and shivering, but uninjured.
As Matt Newton hovered over the area, Holmes climbed out of the helicopter with Bingo under his arm. Once on the ground, they carefully walked toward Molly and offered her a piece of sausage. Then, he picked up both dogs and they all climbed back into the chopper.
Thanks to the kindness of strangers, Johnston and her dog were soon reunited.
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THIS WEEK IN (POSITIVE) HISTORY
On April 9, 1962, Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno became the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award for playing Anita in “West Side Story.”
On April 10, 1872, Nebraskans celebrated the first Arbor Day. They planted more than 1 million trees across the state.
On April 11, 1921, the first live sporting event was broadcast on the radio. KDKA in Pittsburgh aired a boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee. Pittsburgh Daily Post sports editor Florent Gibson provided the play-by-play commentary. The match ended in a draw after 10 rounds.
On April 12, 1981, NASA launched Columbia, the first space shuttle.
On April 13, 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament. He was 21.
On April 14, 1910, William H. Taft became the first president to throw out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game. The Washington Senators defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 3-0.
On April 15, 1924, the “Rand McNally Auto Chum” was released; it was the company’s first road atlas.
THIS WEEK’S FUN HOLIDAYS
April 9 is National Cherish an Antique Day, National Chinese Almond Cookie Day, National Library Outreach Day, National Name Yourself Day and National Unicorn Day
April 10 is Global Work From Home Day, National Bookmobile Day, National Cinnamon Crescent Day, National Encourage a Young Writer Day, National Farm Animals Day, National Hug Your Dog Day, National Poem in Your Pocket Day, National Siblings Day, Support Teen Literature Day and Take Action for Libraries Day
April 11 is International Louie Louie Day, National Barbershop Quartet Day, National Cheese Fondue Day, National 8-Track Tape Day, National Living Donor Day, National Pet Day, National Poutine Day and Dog Therapy Appreciation Day
April 12 is International Day for Human Space Flight, National Grilled Cheese Day, National Licorice Day, National Only Child Day, Drop Everything and Read Day and Hamster Day
April 13 is International Plant Appreciation Day, National Peach Cobbler Day and National Scrabble Day
April 14 is International Moment of Laughter Day, National Dolphin Day, National Donate a Book Day, National Gardening Day, National Laver Bread Day, National Look Up to the Sky Day, National Oreo Cookie Cheesecake Day, National Pecan Day, National Reach as High as You Can Day, Good Deeds Day and Perfume Day
April 15 is World Art Day, National American Sign Language Day, National Glazed Spiral Ham Day, National Rubber Eraser Day and Jackie Robinson Day
HOW TO SPREAD JOY/KINDNESS
* Plant some milkweed for the monarch butterflies
* Plant flowers like anise hyssop, astilbe, bee balm, blue wild indigo, blue vervain, borage, coral honeysuckle, cosmos, dill, dogwood, fennel, foxglove, Joe Pye weed, lavender, lupines, mountain mint, narrow leaf sunflowers and nasturtiums for pollinators. Find the best ones for your area here.
* Avoid using any herbicides in your garden.
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MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Thanks to NASA, Unsplash, Marquita Herald, The Art of Resilient Living, Wikipedia, NPR, the Canadian Space Agency, YouTube, The Virginian-Pilot, The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Reid Wiseman, Instagram, SpaceQ, Jessica Johnston, Facebook, CNN, Precision Helicopters Ltd., The Washington Post, Guardian Australia, The Dodo, New York Cares, History.com, This Day in History, Britannica, Time and Date, On This Day, the Library of Congress, IMDb, This Day in Music, National Today, National Day Calendar, Holidays Calendar, Ninthgrid, The Moonlight Reader Society, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, The Edgy Optimist, Emily Charlotte Powell, While I Was Drawing, Counting Beans, Canva and Deposit Photos for art and story suggestions. Note: Generative AI was not used during the ideation, creation or publication of this newsletter.
Also… Congratulations to Jenna T., whose name was randomly selected in our monthly giveaway for paid subscribers. The April prize: “The Comfort Book” by Matt Haig.
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