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Her Small Act Of Kindness Went Viral. Now, She Has A College Scholarship…!

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Her Small Act Of Kindness Went Viral. Now, She Has A College Scholarship

A young restaurant worker in Texas who spent the past year saving up for college is now one step closer to her dream – all thanks to a small act of kindness she performed. Evoni Williams, 18, went viral earlier this month for helping an elderly customer at the Waffle House Texas eat his food. A picture of Evoni, an employee of the Waffle House, cutting up food for a customer who was unable to do so himself, was clicked by another customer and shared on Facebook. The picture went viral with thousands of shares and even earned Evoni a scholarship to the Texas Southern University.

The incident took place on March 3 at La Marque in Texas, USA, when Adrian Charpentier came into the restaurant. He had recently undergone surgery, which made it difficult for him to cut his food, reports the Daily Mail. Evoni cut up his food for him, and her small act of kindness was captured on camera:

I don’t know her name but I heard this elderly man tell her his hands don’t work too good. He was also on oxygen and struggling to breathe. 😔 Without hesitation, she took his plate and began cutting up his ham. This may seem small but to him, I’m sure it was huge. I’m thankful to have seen this act of kindness and caring at the start of my day while everything in this world seems so negative. If we could all be like this waitress & take time to offer a helping hand….🤝 #wafflehouse#kindness #givingback #offerlove #bekind #goodnews 

As the post gained attention, praise started pouring in for the teenager. “She’s an angel,” wrote one person. “That was very kind and sweet,” said another.

It eventually caught the eye of Texas Southern University, and they decided to present Evoni with a $16,000 scholarship. “Her act of kindness went viral on social media, and today Texas Southern University returned that act of kindness by surprising Evoni Williams with a scholarship,” they said.

Not only this, she was also honoured by the mayor of La Marque, Bobby Hocking.

It just came from the heart,” Evoni said to ABC 7 about her now-famous act.

Source….www.ndtv.com

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Australians Rescued A Giant Spider. The Rest Of The World Wonders Why….?

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AUSTRALIA:  For the past day, people around the world at least the ones who can get past a certain spider video without screaming “kill it with fire!” have been engaged in a rigorous debate about whether Andrea Gofton is one of the most compassionate Australians on her continent, or simply insane.

This month, her community has endured its worst flooding in almost a decade nearly 20 inches since March 1

Australians Rescued A Giant Spider. The Rest Of The World Wonders Why.

Homes and roads are flooded; students on a field trip to Echo Creek Adventure Park got more creek and more adventure than they were expecting; and towns have been declared a “disaster area.” Still, all things considered, the waterlogged population has escaped mostly unscathed.

At least the humans. It is a tough time to be an air-breathing animal in northeast Australia. Dens and burrows are flooded. Food sources are underwater and water-adept predators, particularly crocodiles, sharks and snakes, are riding newly-created waterways in search of unsuspecting prey.

But Gofton’s ethical dilemma came in the form of a not-so-tiny spider found clinging precariously to a tree branch: A giant Australian tarantula called the bird-eating spider.

It is, of course, almost instinctual for humans to want to save animals, even when they don’t do a particularly good job of it.

But there are some things about the spider that Gofton encountered that people need to know before deciding to reject the offer from #TeamKillItWithFire.

It is huge: The spider can grow to be the size of a man’s hand, a two-inch body with six-inch legs. That is bigger than some chihuahuas.

It has giant, venomous fangs. The tarantula’s fangs are nearly half an inch long, about a sixth the size of its body. The Queensland Museum says the tarantulas “can be quite aggressive if mishandled” and that the bite is “quickly fatal to dogs and cats,” but rarely causes serious illness in humans.

It has a deadly, if inaccurate nickname.Scientists have pointed out that the name “bird-eating” spider is, technically, a misnomer. The giant Australian tarantula only occasionally eats birds. Instead, it feasts on lizards, frogs and other spiders, a correction that is not at all reassuring.

It is standing right behind you. Okay. That one is technically a lie, but not as much as you think.

It hisses. Although some have said it’s more of a bark. Either way, the sound is nature’s way of saying “Don’t save me from this raging river, Andrea.”

But some people don’t listen.

Gofton and her friend Andrew Giliberto encountered the arachnid outside a SPAR Supermarket in the town of Halifax. The creature’s legs were intertwined over a flimsy branch, which was the only thing stopping it from being swept away by the water below, according to 9News Australia.

One of the Aussies filmed, while another put a hand close to the spider, apparently to see if it would latch on. It didn’t. So they snapped the branch that it was on and carried it to a nearby avocado tree, where they set it free.

They’ve spent the subsequent 24 hours going back and forth with ardent supporters of spider-cide, arguing that their actions were heartwarming, not horrendous.

Clearly, critics argued, Gofton had not gotten the message that giant spiders are notour friends.

“Nope nope, just nope,” one woman wrote on a post about the spider-save on a community Facebook group about the floods. “The tree has gotta be burnt, with a flame thrower.”

A short time later, Gofton replied: “I’m glad there are decent people out there, the negativity about an animal is beyond ridiculous.”

Of course the spider is the one who’s having the last laugh (hiss? bark?). It’s now safely weathering out what remains of the storm in the avocado tree outside the neighborhood supermarket.

That means some unsuspecting shopper may be in for a surprise, especially if the rescued spider is female.

Another fun fact about the giant Australian tarantula: Females can lay 50 eggs at a time.

Source…….www.ndtv.com

Natarajan

 

Seen the photos of Deer eating garbage in Chennai ? …Here is the story behind it …

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Over the past month, upsetting photos of spotted deer feeding on plastic and other waste in and around the Taramani area in Chennai have surfaced on social media. The deer had reportedly strayed from the IIT Madras campus or nearby areas. The loss of the forest ecosystem forces these herbivores to munch on plastic which in turn results in their death due to stomach bloating.

The pictures, which many are sharing on social media, were perhaps first postedby Facebook user Aarthi Gopalan.

Unfortunately, this is not new to a city that has witnessed several deer deaths over the years.

In fact, an RTI by animal activist Antony Rubin revealed that 220 deer and 8 blackbucks died between 2013 and 2016 on the IIT Madras campus. The campus, a thickly forested area, has increasingly come under the scanner for disrupting the ecosystem in the area with toxic waste and with garbage during its annual student fest, Sarang. After the January 2014 edition of Sarang, The Fifth Estate, a website run by IIT Madras students, reported that 21 deer had died and three were injured during the event.

Speaking to TNM, Antony Rubin says, “There is too much construction, debris and waste on campus. This has been happening for quite some time now. DLF bought a property in the area which was occupied by deer. They cleared out the entire building, so the deer came out and they are feeding on the garbage over there.”

Antony warns that trying to ‘trap them’ could prove fatal for these creatures. “Deer are very sensitive. If they are caught by force, they literally die within a few minutes because they go into shock. The death rate during translocation is about 20 to 30%. The ideal way is to slowly guide them towards Guindy National Park or IIT. There should be no traffic and it should be calm, so that the deer are not stressed.”

Animal rights activist Shravan Krishnan wrote on Facebook, “We have in fact spotted deers as far as Gandhinagar, Indra Nagar and past Kotturpuram. The main reason for these deers to stray out is because of loss habitat especially in IIT.  These deers stray out for food and water during the summers. You only see deers coming out, but we have spotted a whole lot of animals such as pangolins, jackals, civet cats, jungle cats and monitor lizards also venturing out due to habitat destruction. This problem will get worse in the coming years.

The only way to stop deers venturing out is to improve their habitat and to stop construction inside IIT and other buffer areas. (sic)”

In November last year, in response to Antony Rubin’s petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Forest Department had admitted that “due to the presence of the solid waste stray dogs are entering into the campus and they are attacking the deer and blackbucks and causing fatal injuries and in such circumstances necessary directions are to be issued to remove all the solid waste and to see that campus is free of stray dogs and protect the wildlife (sic).”

In December 2017, the southern bench of the NGT had directed IIT Madras to ensure that no further damage or injury is caused to the animals, including endangered species on campus.

IIT Madras, on the other hand, had claimed that they have an efficient process for solid waste management in place and blamed the increasing number of stray dogs on the campus for the death of the animals.

Meanwhile, the southern bench of the NGT has virtually become non-existent as its last member retired and no new appointment is forthcoming. Pending non-compliance appeals before the court are now left in the lurch.

With no way of filing appeals here, activists end up incurring significant expenditure moving the cases elsewhere. “The case keeps getting rescheduled here. So we are trying to move it to Delhi. What else can we do?” Antony asks.

Source….Manasa Rao in http://www./www.thenewsminute.com/

Natarajan

Hyderabad Girl Scripts History, Wins India’s First Gymnastics Medal in World Cup…!

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The Gymnastics World Cup 2018 in Melbourne will go down in history as India got its first ever bronze medal in the women’s vault event.

The feat was achieved by Aruna Reddy, who finished after Slovenia’s Tjasa Kysslef and Australia’s Emily Whitehead, with a score of 13.649. A total of 16 countries were part of the World Cup series event this year.

The 22-year old dedicated her stupendous win to her late father, B Narayana Reddy, who had been instrumental for his daughter’s entry into the field.                     

Aruna with her Bronze medal. Source: Facebook.

Realising that Aruna had the agility and build for a gymnast, Narayana had her enrolled at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium in Hyderabad at the age of five.

“I owe everything to him, and if he had been alive and seen me on the podium today, he would have been so happy. He was there in my days of struggle, but couldn’t watch me win,” said an emotional Aruna to The Indian Express.

The Hyderabadi lass, who is a former black belt and Karate trainer, had initially trained under the guidance of coaches Swarnalatha and Ravinder. Later, Swarnalatha’s husband Giriraj took over as Aruna’s mentor after realising her immense potential and was her instructor until his untimely death in 2008.

Then, coach Brij Kishore took Aruna under his wing, and it is under his guidance that the budding gymnast blossomed and went on to clinch many medals at three National Games she had participated in, with the first one being in 2005.

In 2014, Aruna had aroused some hope for Indian gymnasts when she secured the 14th position at the qualification round of Vault apparatus at the Commonwealth Games along with a ninth place finish at the Asian Games.

Aruna came back to the fore when she had finished sixth in Vault during the 2017 Asian Championships.

The young athlete is determined to give her finest performance in the upcoming international events.

“The sad thing about this sport is that once you cross the age of 23-24, it becomes difficult to perform because the body doesn’t remain as flexible. A gymnast’s career is short. That’s why I want to make the most out of things before I turn 23,” she told Deccan Chronicle.

Aruna is also part of the Indian gymnastics contingent for the 2018 Commonwealth Games which will be held in Gold Coast, Australia.

We congratulate the young woman on her extraordinary win and wish her luck in all her future endeavours.

Source….www.the betterindia.com

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THE ANCIENT STONE IN LONDON THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPORTANT BUT NO ONE REMEMBERS WHY…!!!

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Sitting in the heart of London since long before anyone can remember, theories regarding the London Stone range from Roman ruin, to Druidic icon to a talisman of good fortune.

Although many point to John Stow’s Survey of London(1598), where he sets the 10th century as the first mention of the stone in print (he claims he found a mention of the stone in a document from the 900s AD), others feel more comfortable citing a list of Canterbury Cathedral’s properties from somewhere around the turn of the 12th centuries, where it lists Eadwaker æt lundene stane.

Regardless, by medieval times, the London Stone was a fixture in the city, so much so that residents even incorporated it into their names, such as Ailwin of London Stone. Clearly important, by the 15th century the landmark was seen as a symbol for London, and perhaps England; this helps explain why, when Jack Cade led a rebellion against Henry VI in 1450, he reportedly struck the London Stone with his sword in claiming the city for himself, as immortalized by Shakespeare in King Henry VI, Part II, Act IV, Scene VI.

In the 16th century, one popular theory for the stone’s origins was that it had been used by the Roman’s during their occupation (approximately 43 AD – 410 AD) as a millarium or central milestone from which all distances were measured. Charles Dickens even cited this explanation in his Dictionary of London (1879).

During the 18th century, some were speculating that the stone was used in worship by the Druids, although there is no evidence to support it.

In the 19th century, as interest in spiritualism became more widespread, some theorized that the London Stone was a Palladium or talisman dating back to Roman times and Britain’s legendary founder. It was during this time that the now well-known saying appeared: “So long as the Stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish.”

By the 20th century, serious archaeologists began digging into the London Stone’s origins, and some found that it is situated at the center, or at the gate, of where a large Roman structure, sometimes identified as a Governor’s palace or pretorium, had been.

Today, those who believe in ley lines, straight “lines” that connect sites of historical or geographical significance, claim that the London Stone is transected by several of these lines, while others have posited that the stone was set in the center of the old Roman city, in homage to Jupiter.

 

 

 

 

 

Source….www.today i foundout.com

Natarajan

 

Unlike the Super-Rich defauters ,this Ex-PM”s familyHonoured their loan liability ….

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These are not good times for the Punjab National Bank, which is embroiled in an 11,400 crore-scam allegedly perpetrated by diamond mogul Nirav Modi and his maternal uncle, Mehul Choksi.

For the average citizen, this is yet another instance of a wealthy man swindling public money through dubious loans issued by these banks, and leaving the country without paying back his dues.

Unlike Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya, the PNB, which is India’s second largest public-sector bank, also had famous personalities and their families as customers who have honoured their loans.

Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had taken a car loan of Rs 5,000 from PNB. After his sudden demise on January 11, 1966, the former prime minister’s widow Lalitha paid back the loan from the pension she received, reported Times of India.

“We went to St Columba’s School on a tonga. Once in a while, we used the office car, but my father did not allow us to use it regularly for any kind of private work. There was a demand at home that we should buy a car,” said Anil Shastri, his son and senior Congress politician, to the publication.

In response to his family’s demands, Shastri approached a senior official from the PMO and discovered that a new Fiat would cost Rs 12,000. Since the family had only Rs 7,000 in the bank, the prime minister decided to apply for a Rs 5,000 loan which the bank sanctioned that very day.

When the prime minister passed away in Tashkent, where he had gone to sign the declaration of peace between India and Pakistan after the 1965 war, the loan remained unpaid. “It was repaid by my mother from the pension she received after my father’s death,” said Anil Shastri.                                                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This 1964-model Fiat with the plate number DLE 6 is today exhibited at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial in the national capital.

Source….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

 

At 103, This Karnataka Man is one of the oldest Drivers on the Country”s streets Today …

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Willy’s, Morris Minor, Fiat, Austin, Ferguson, Mercedes Benz, Chevrolet, Volkswagen – these are just among the few brands 103-year-old CSR Michael D’Souza has driven.

A veteran of World War II, Michael has been driving for the last 85 years.

But giving up his car keys is simply not an option for him. “I enjoy driving and never got tired of it. I will continue to drive till the lord sends me his vehicle,” he smiles.

A native of Ooty, Michael was born to Charlson and Mary D’Souza on October 16th, 1914. Michael’s first tryst with a vehicle was at the age of 18, when he and his 13 siblings drove around Ooty in his father’s truck.

“The licence issued then was a page-long and it was applicable for all vehicles. Unlike today, there was no such thing as a licence based on vehicle category,” he says.

In 1932, he was enlisted in the British Army for 10 years and during his service he travelled to different parts of the country.

“However, due to the loss of my original military documents during transit in Visakhapatnam, my post-service benefits were denied to me. Though I appealed to my superiors for several years, I gave up realising it was a lost cause,” he says.

Meanwhile, Michael married Eliza, and the couple moved to the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Though they had no children, it was a happy marriage, he says, and they regarded the children of his elder brother as their own.

A few years later, Michael joined the Public Works Department (PWD) in Mysore and later he was transferred to Mangalore. At PWD, Michael had the chance to drive the general purpose vehicle, affectionately called ‘Jeep’ (GP). He also was given the opportunity to drive a truck, tractors and even road rollers.

“It was quite an experience, since the department barely had qualified man-power to operate such heavy-duty machines. I was asked to drive everything and I took the opportunity to make the most of it,” he laughs.

In fact, several roads in Mysore, Udupi and Mangalore were first asphalted and sealed when he drove the road roller over them.

In 1982, he retired from service, but the couple stayed on in Mangalore.

Michael got his first license in 1959, and he has renewed it constantly since then.

“On my last visit, the RTO inspector said in jest that should I make it for my next renewal in 2019, then he will award me the permit driving for a lifetime,” Michael smiles.

Considering he has driven so many vehicles, which one does he prefer?

“The GP,” he says, without missing a beat. “It does not skid and in unstable territory you can also shift to a lower gear and drive.”

He has only driven a two-wheeler once. “I got so dizzy, I stopped immediately. I am only cut out to driver vehicles with four wheels or more,” he says.

Except for a brief period in 1993 when he had a cataract surgery, Michael has never stopped driving. At the ripe age of 103, his medical records show that he is incredibly fit for his age and shows no signs of age-related ailments.

His secret, he says, is his diet, which comprises rice, curd, chapathi and bread. Although, up until a couple of years ago, he used to consume meat frequently, lately he has reduced his intake of non-vegetarian food.

“As our age progresses, I believe we should not strain our stomachs. Therefore, nowadays I eat meat only rarely,” he says.

He is also incredibly active – no matter the number of floors, he always takes the stairs.

After Eliza passed away in 2013 – at the age of 83 – Michael’s routine changed. He now wakes up at 4 am every morning to tend to his garden and feed his cat, dog and birds. “Earlier, I used to even have a goat, a chicken and a duck. My wife was very irritated with the tortoise I had, so I had to give him up,” he says.

Always dressed in a formal shirt, pants and a golfer’s hat, Michael still works – he now drives for a local banker and his family. The one concession he does make for his age is that he now avoids going on long drives and driving late in the night.

What does Michael think of drivers today? “Terrible!” he shakes his head. “People just don’t follow lane discipline any more. It’s horrible the way autorickshaws and two-wheelers switch lanes these days. One of the main reasons I don’t drive in the evening is how people thoughtlessly switch on their high beams even on well-lit roads. It can easily lead to an untoward incident.”

In his 85 years behind the wheel, Michael says he has been fined only once for not wearing a seatbelt. “Three months ago, when I was fined, I went to the station to pay the fine. The inspector took the receipt, laughed when he saw my age and the fact I was being fined for the first time, and said he will pay the fine on my behalf and let me go,” smiles Michael.

Ironically, Michael does not own a car, although the centenarian does not regret it. “As long as I am allowed to drive a car, I don’t have any qualms about it,” he says.

Content provided by Story Infinity (Subs and Scribes Media Ventures LLP).

Source….Harsha Raj Gatty in https://www.thenewsminute.com/

Natarajan