Yesterday was something of a trying day. We were holding vigil with friends all over the country as their little girl fought for her life. This adorable little 3-year-old suddenly got ill. It seems the first hospital missed something big and by the time the next morning rolled around bad had gone to worse and now tragic.
It has shown the best of us, though. People who are hurting for their friends now suddenly dealing with this huge hole in their world. And strangers who are generous because they read a good appeal and they saw a few beautiful photographs. Folks who empathized, maybe, because it could have been their child. In two days the Internet has helped raise almost $50,000 for that family’s hospital bills. You people are quite remarkable.
We’d ordered some things on Amazon to have shipped to them at the hospital. And then suddenly the facts on the ground made the shipment seem inappropriate, so we tried to cancel them. Four items were in the pipeline. I called Amazon, and Rachel told me that they have a half-hour cancellation policy. However, she was able to cancel three of the orders while we were on the phone. This, I thought, was great. The fourth item, though, had already passed Go. She contacted the merchant and the shippers this morning and got that item stopped. Amazon and Rachel didn’t have to do that, but they did. And she called to tell me about it this afternoon.
(Also, we spend so much time complaining about customer service, we should compliment the good examples, too.)
We ran today. I got in 4.25 miles, chasing The Yankee around the local running trail and down an adjoining road. I outran two horses. Of course they were being walked, slowly, but let’s not concentrate on that.
Also, at the pool yesterday, I swam 1.29 miles. Swimming is supposed to be mentioned in yards. I count it in laps. My online tracker uses miles. It was 2,250 yards if you’re interested.
Most important was that I did half of that freestyle. That’s 1,125 yards. My shoulder isn’t limiting me. Muscle fatigue, that’s a different story. Also, there was an Olympic swimmer on the pool deck. And I was told that my stroke looked good.
The Olympian didn’t say that, but it is pretty awesome when it reads that way, right?
Things to read … which even Olympians care about.
Alabama looks for next generation of farmers:
Farming and forestry are big business in Alabama. Combined, they account for nearly 12 percent of all of the state’s economic activity.
But after generations of change, the state’s bell cow industries may need some nurturing.
Over the past half century, the number of Alabama farms has dwindled from about 250,000 to around 60,000. Large farming operations have thrived but many medium-sized, family farms died away, said Alabama Cooperative Extension System Director Gary Lemme.
Department of Justice finds conditions at Julia Tutwiler Prison to be unconstitutional:
The U.S. Department of Justice said today that conditions at Julia Tutwiler Prison violate the Constitution, citing what it called “a history of unabated staff-on-prisoner sexual abuses and harassment.”
DOJ sent investigators to Tutwiler last April and reported their findings in a 36-page letter to Gov. Robert Bentley.
“The women at Tutwiler universally fear for their safety,” the report stated.
The New York Times’ Most Popular Story of 2013 Was Not an Article:
Think about that. A news app, a piece of software about the news made by in-house developers, generated more clicks than any article. And it did this in a tiny amount of time: The app only came out on December 21, 2013. That means that in the 11 days it was online in 2013, it generated more visits than any other piece.
I’ll repeat: It took a news app only 11 days to “beat” every other story the Times published in 2013. It’s staggering.
You don’t know them, but do a little dance — or a few burpees, she liked burpees — for ZB and her parents. Pink and purple were her favorite colors. Wearing those might be a nice touch.
