True Love
A 93-year-old Georgia man proves that true love never dies. Four years ago, Clarence Purvis lost his wife of 64 years, Carolyn. But his affection for her remains on display for everyone in town to see at a daily lunch date he never misses.
Purvis takes a picture of his late wife and sets it up at the table with him during meals at Smith’s Restaurant in Reidsville, where he often ate with Carolyn. “Ain’t nobody loved one another more than me and my wife loved one another,” Purvis told local news station WTOC. “I wanted what she wanted and she wanted what I wanted.”
Hiker Carries Rooster 42 Miles to Safety
Heather Bolint was not expecting to rescue a rooster while fulfilling her lifelong dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail. The rooster, named Mason, also couldn’t have expected he’d find himself the absolute perfect rescuer. Mason was found about a half-mile north of the Mason Dixon line.
Bolint is an animal advocate. A few months ago, the 31-year-old left a job with The Humane League, working on farm animal protection measures, in order to hike the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. Still devoted, Bolint has been using this hike as a fundraiser for the animals. She’d completed 1,124 miles of her hike altogether, and was in Pennsylvania, when this very “fancy rooster,” as Bolint describes him, appeared out of nowhere.
The rooster in question was hanging around on the trail, about 30 feet from a rural road, with no houses nearby. Bolint sat on a log, while eating some snacks and waiting to see if the rooster would depart on his own or if he’d be collected by another person. Finally, holding the rooster close to her body, she proceeded along the trail and over then next 24 hours carried the rooster for 42 miles to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. There Bolint’s boyfriend, who works for another farm animal advocacy group, met them there with his car. He suggested reaching out to a farm animal sanctuary called Poplar Spring, located on 400 acres in western Maryland. There Mason has settled in well.
Anonymous Man Honors Victims
An anonymous man is just one of the hundreds of regulars who visit Maple’s, a Maine coffee shop known for its handmade baked goods and a staff who knows many of its customers by name. On a recent Saturday morning, a samaritan quietly asked to foot the bill for 59 people buying breakfast after he ordered his — one for each of the lives lost in the Las Vegas mass shooting on Oct. 1.
“This is a long-time customer of mine, who I know very well. He’s just a person that does good things for other people,” said Robin Ray, the owner and head baker of Maple’s, “He’s not a wealthy person but just someone who feels led to help others.”
ICU Grandpa Subs for Parents
When Mary Beth Brulotte’s son, Logan, was born 3½ months early and weighed a mere 1 pound, 15 ounces, she knew he would have to spend time in the intensive care unit. What the 33-year-old from LaGrange, Georgia, didn’t fully realize was how guilty she would feel leaving him alone in the hospital.
“Every mom pictures their baby in their crib all alone crying,” Brulotte said, noting that the drive from her home to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is two hours, her husband works a night shift and she has an 8-year-old daughter to care for, too. Those feelings disappeared in late September when she stumbled on David Deutchman cradling her sleeping baby at the hospital.
“I was heading in and was filled with anxiety. It was just wiped away when I saw him there holding Logan fast asleep,” she said. “He introduced himself as the ‘ICU grandpa’ and I thought, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be real. This man is like an angel.’ He said he heard Logan crying and asked the nurse if he could hold him and sing him to sleep.”
Deutchman, 82, has been volunteering at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s ICUs for more than 12 years. On Tuesdays, he spends time with older children at the pediatric ICU, and on Thursdays he makes rounds at the neonatal ICU, where he holds babies whose parents can’t be with them that day.
Very Special Haircuts
Six-year-old Wyatt needed a haircut, but for children with autism, that can be harder than it looks. Fortunately, Franz Jakob and his vintage barber shop were there to help. Pictures of Jakob lying on the ground of his Canadian barbershop while cutting Wyatt’s hair have quickly spread, but the boy’s mother, Fauve Lafrenière, has been bringing him there since the store opened two years ago.
Now, Jakob often cuts hair for other children with autism. It may have something to do with his and the store’s old-school look. “My shop is completely vintage,” Jakob said of Authentischen Barbier, located in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. “All the walls are jammed with photos and stuff from around here. I think that has a positive effect on the kids. Each time I’m doing it there are no tears, no screams. We enjoy it together. I think the atmosphere of the barbershop helps a lot. I really take my time doing it. I can take up to 90 minutes cutting hair for kids with special needs.”
There’s a certain order to things with Wyatt, according to Jakob. The young boy will wander around the store and occasionally lay down as Jakob follows, cutting his hair along the way.
Jakob, 45, has been cutting hair since he was 12. He used to charge $5 for a trim during lunch in high school; now he sees himself as a community leader. “I have a line each morning out my door,” said Jakob. “People drive three or four hours. I’m taking great pride in what I’m doing in my community.”