Nothin’ but good stuff today!

To counteract the bad/sad mojo of my post the other day, this entry is going to be filled with good mojo. And on Friday the Thirteenth, even! Yay!

First up is Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, the young man who ran in a race and became an internet meme. I don’t know why I was so charmed by this story, but it got even better when it turned out that he’s a pretty decent guy in real life, quite modest, in a five-year relationship with his girlfriend, and will soon be running a marathon for charity. He recently appeared on Good Morning America, and seemed like just a really sweet guy. When he flashes that smile, how can you not smile back? And he's been a very good sport about all of this attention (it seems that he's trying to break into public relations in NYC, so he probably doesn't mind all that much). I think a lot of us liked this story because it’s a matter of something good happening to a nice person; my buddy Mark also thinks it’s because people are tired of all the discord and just wanted a good story. They got it with Zeddie Little...but there was more to come!

Our next happy story involves the guy eating chips on the subway in New York. A fight broke out between a man and a woman, and it was starting to get seriously ugly, with kicks to the chest (and maybe elsewhere, I don’t know). Snackman calmly stepped in between the two and kept them from going at each other, without spilling a single chip. Indeed, he just kept eating those chips, imperturbable in the face of angry chaos all around him. He averted any further physical confrontation, all without saying a word. Hey, he couldn’t, because he was eating those chips! This is a great example of how people can make a difference without being confrontational (I can think of a few people who need a lesson in being nonconfrontational!) and without even saying a word. Charles Sonder’s (yes, Snackman’s true identity has been revealed) reward was not only knowing that he stopped further physical harm from happening to these people but he also became Snackman the internet meme! Thank you, Snackman. Us citizens will carry on.

But wait...there’s more! Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker (who could probably qualify as another Ridiculously Photogenic Guy) was heading home Thursday night and found that his next-door neighbor’s house was on fire. Most of the people were out of the house, but one daughter remained inside. Ignoring his security detail, who tried to hold him back, Booker entered the burning house and managed to find her in an upstairs bedroom when she cried out. He got her, slung her over his shoulder, and was able to make it out of the house. A few people, including Booker and his neighbor, were treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Not only was Cory Booker a hero during last year’s blizzard (he helped people get needed supplies when they were snowed in) and Hurricane Irene (he went knocking on doors to get people evacuated), now he puts on a superhero cape and actually enters a burning building to save one of his neighbors. Damn, Cory Booker!

These are the kinds of stories that make us all smile and renew our hope for humanity. Ridiculously Photogenic Guy may not have rescued anyone, but he’s obviously a decent person who is trying to do good for others. Snackman calmly and quietly and chippily intervened and calmed a volatile situation. And Cory Booker, well...he went into a freakin’ HOUSE ON FIRE and pulled someone out! Damn, Cory Booker! (Perhaps we’ll be referring to him as President Booker one day...! I’ve thought that ever since I started following him on Twitter, and reading more about him. He’s impressive.) With dire things happening around the globe and continued economic, political, and racial woes here in the U.S., sometimes it’s a welcome gift to hear and read something that just makes you smile. Thank you, Ridiculously Photogenic Guy, thank you, Snackman, and thank you, Mayor Booker.

On the home front, the good news continued with my lab results in from my doctor’s visit the other day. The doctor said that my results were “excellent,” and although my total cholesterol was a little high, it was because my HDL (the good cholesterol) was “so high.” I don’t know what genetic quirk causes that in me, but that’s the third or fourth year in a row with those results. The first year it happened, the wellness consultant said that those are the results of a person who works out for like six or eight hours per day. I wasn’t even working out then! So thank you, Mom and Dad, for concocting that special genetic gift! The only bad thing is that my Vitamin D levels are still low (I didn’t know she was going to run that on me, but that’s cool), so I bought a bottle of Vitamin D today. It’s called “Bailey’s.” Haha, no it’s actually a supplement, in pill form. I sure wish I liked milk more, but I just don’t. Unless it’s in White Russians!

Finally, my stupid shoes have shipped! I should get them tomorrow, although probably not in time for tomorrow’s workout. New shoes always make me happy, no matter what kind they are.
 
In a world filled with bad news, I take my good news and victories where I can. It helps to shore things up for later.