Blog Posts by Nadine Kalinauskas

  • Newfoundland girl, 7, raises almost $7,000 for cancer fundraiser, shaves head

    Ryann Fradsham, 7, has her head shaved during the Shave for the Brave fundraiser at the Avalon Mall in St. John's on Saturday.
    Ryann Fradsham, 7, raised more money than anyone else in the country for this year's annual Shave for the Brave fundraiser for Young Adult Cancer Canada: more than $7,000.

    This Saturday, the grade 1 student from Paradise, Newfoundland, had her head shaved in front of a crowd of supporters at the Avalon Mall in St. John's.

    "We are so very proud of Ryann. She decided this year for her birthday instead of gifts she wanted to donations so that she could participate in Shave for the Brave. She just wanted to be able to help people and decided this was how she wanted to do it," Ryann's mother, Melissa Fradsham, wrote on Ryann's fundraising page.

    "I'm very nervous — she doesn't seem to care," Melissa told CBC News before the event. "She says, 'Mom, it's only hair and I get to help people with cancer,' so we're just so proud — we're overwhelmed."

    "She's just a good little girl, and she wanted to do this really badly, and she did it," Ryann's grandmother, Mona Fradsham, added.

    Once Ryann's

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  • ‘Rock Bob,’ school janitor, dances while he mops

    If you've got the Monday blues at the office today, here's someone who seems to really enjoy his job.

    School janitor Robert Clark, aka "Rock Bob," puts a fun and healthy twist on a chore many of us would consider mundane: mopping the floor.

    A video of Rock Bob dancing with his mop is now going viral.

    "Keeping healthy at work, putting a positive spin and having fun. Listen to the song, it means a lot to me. How as you grow older, or no matter at what age, respect is important. No matter what your job or stage in your life, work hard and you will get there!" Clark writes on YouTube.

    "I decided to start working out a little mopping the cafeteria floor. Working all the time gives me no time to spend on exercising, so why not!"

    Watch Rock Bob dance to Billy Joel's "Vienna" below:

    Rock Bob's moves don't go unnoticed by the students at his school.

    "I love Janitor Bob! He talks to me every day and is the nicest and craziest person I know! He never stops dancing notated what he's doing! He

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  • Is a 94-year-old quilter the coolest person on Twitter?

    Muriel B. is one of the funniest people on Twitter at the moment, with almost 30,000 followers. She loves to quilt. And she's 94 years old.

    With the handle @QuiltingMuriel, she describes herself as "94 years young. I don't repeat myself. My dog Tiger gets me, my children aren't even on twitter! I'm 94 years young. I'm a champion quilter & baker. I'm 94."

    A sampling of her wit on Twitter:

    [ More Good News: Sweet reason behind Mister Rogers’ gesture ]

    Born and raised in Brooklyn, Read More »from Is a 94-year-old quilter the coolest person on Twitter?
  • ‘Are you my mother?’ Duckling waddles after cat

    Here's a little cuteness for your weekend.

    A video of a duckling waddling after a cat has gone viral more than four years after it was first posted on YouTube.

    In the adorable footage, the bird can't seem to get enough of her feline friend's warm belly.

    YouTube uploader ddddducks shared more of the story in the comments:

    "I bought the duckling because my male Pekin lost his mate to ovarian cancer. So this is a female Pekin. She grew up and became the mate."

    ddddducks added that the ducks are still "getting along fine together."

    The animals' owner then clarified that while the cat might look annoyed by the eager duckling, the pair get along quite well:

    "She loooves (sic) the duckling. She just wanted some space as all mothers do."

    And, no, the duckling did not become dinner:

    "No, I would never eat duck. No the cat does not eat duck. No, they are not best friends because the baby duck was adopted to a loving home. Moon Ami the cat enjoyed mothering and playing with the duckling but with

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  • Sweet reason why Mister Rogers always told viewers he was feeding the fish

    Our childhood hero really was a great as he seemed.

    In his "neighbourhood," the legendary Mister Rogers' didn't just feed his fish, he told viewers he was doing so. Ever wonder why?

    Redditor nchammer326 shared the story behind the feedings, as shared in the book "Dear Mr. Rogers, Does It Ever Rain In Your Neighbourhood?," a collection of children's letters to the television host.

    "Please say when you are feeding your fish, because I worry about them. I can't see if you are feeding them, so please say you are feeding them out loud," a young blind fan named Katie wrote.

    Rogers immediately complied with her wishes:

    "Since hearing from Katie, I've tried to remember to mention out loud those times that I'm feeding the fish. Over the years, I've learned so much from children and their families. I like to think that we've all grown together," Rogers wrote in his book.

    Watch some memorable moments, some of them including his fish, below:

    The post on Reddit earned hundreds of comments from

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  • Super-daughters to the rescue! Teens lift 3,000-pound tractor off dad

    Jeff Smith, 36, of Lebanon, Oregon, is one lucky man.

    Last Monday, Smith was trying to pull a stump out of his garden when the old 3,000-pound tractor he was driving flipped. The steering wheel of the 1949 vehicle pinned his chest to the ground.

    He screamed for help.

    "I was losing more and more breath every time I screamed," he told the Albany Democrat-Herald.

    Smith's daughters, 16-year-old Hannah and 14-year-old Haylee were walking the dog nearby. They came running, called 911 — and then they lifted the tractor off his chest so he could breathe and wiggle free.

    "It was almost instantaneous relief. If these two hadn’t have been here to hear me," Smith told the Albany Democrat-Herald, his voice trailing off. "They saved my life."

    Hannah then hopped on a four-wheeler and found a neighbour who used his own tractor to help finish freeing Smith, whose arm was still stuck beneath the machine.

    "It's amazing. You hear about this kind of stuff — this adrenaline rush, being able to pick cars up

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  • On October 12, a Massachusetts man named Carlos discovered more than $20,000 in a hollowed out book he found while rummaging through discarded books in a dumpster in Wellesley.

    The Brazilian immigrant felt compelled to find the money's original owner:

    "My point of view is, I want to see because if someone maybe who separated the money to buy a house, put a down payment for the house," he told UPI. "What if that happened to me, if it was me? I"m going to go crazy, alright?"

    He pledged to search for the rightful owner of the small fortune for six months. At that point, he would decide whether or not he should keep the money.

    At the time, he told Wicked Local that he'd probably donate a portion of his findings to charity and keep the rest if no one stepped forward.

    He advertised an email address — ipatimaga2005@comcast.net – in a Wellesley newspaper and then sorted through more than 180 responses from around the world, many of them making false claims on the money.

    "They tried to explain

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  • Utah grocery store replaces young customer’s stolen iPad

    Fresh Market in Riverton, Utah, went above and beyond for a young customer after his iPad was stolen — by buying him a new one.

    On Monday, Penny Tucker was loading groceries into her car with her four children, all of whom have Down syndrome, when she discovered that her son, Raddy, was without his iPad.

    Tucker told Peter Samore of KSL that each of her kids have their own iPad to help them with learning and coordination. Only recently had they learned to capture family moments and make their own movies on their iPads, too.

    "For kids with special needs, (the iPads are) a learning tool," Tucker said. "They're how they can function. ... They learn their ABCs and they can do puzzles and play games, which is good hand-eye coordination."

    Tucker's 12-year-old daughter Abby alerted her that the iPad wasn't just missing, it had been stolen.

    "The blonde lady took it," Abby responded when asked what happened to her brother's tablet.

    Fresh Market's surveillance cameras didn't capture the theft.

    "I

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  • Brotherly love: Air Force pilot films midair wedding speech for brother’s wedding

    Brandon Krivohlavy got married last weekend. His brother couldn't be there.

    Instead of missing out on the day altogether, Krivohlavy's brother, an Air Force pilot currently deployed in Afghanistan, sent the happy couple a video of his wedding speech — from the air.

    "My brother was deployed in Afghanistan during my wedding this past weekend, so he surprised us with this very heartfelt video he made from the cockpit of his harrier. Needless to say, it brought everyone to tears," Krivohlavy wrote on YouTube.

    Watch the sweet wedding message below:

    The video, which was also posted on Reddit, immediately went viral. Unsurprisingly, many of the comments spiralled into political debates. Other viewers were simply moved by the touching gesture.

    "This video brought me to tears at work. God damn. I have a brother who I don't talk to very often. Thank you for sharing," redditor movieguy1991 wrote.

    "You have a great brother, I wish him a safe deployment and hope he gets back soon. Best wishes

    Read More »from Brotherly love: Air Force pilot films midair wedding speech for brother’s wedding
  • Charlie Polk, 11, saves mom’s life after car crash

    Lisa Polk, a mother from Cumming, Georgia, can't remember the car crash that almost killed her.

    "I don't remember going off the road, I don't remember being in the helicopter, nothing," Polk told 11Alive News on Monday.

    On March 27, she was driving her son Charlie, 11, to his brother's soccer game when she lost control of her jeep. It slid down a steep 30-foot embankment and landed upside down in a creek.

    Charlie climbed out of a broken window and up the embankment to get help. His quick thinking saved his mom's life.

    "I would have drowned. I was completely under the water," Polk told NBC affiliate WXIA on Tuesday.

    "I tried to look for a hole and I crawled out," Charlie told WXIA. "When I looked down I saw my legs had a bunch of blood all over them and I crawled and got help."

    A good Samaritan heard Charlie's cries for help and ran to Polk's aid, holding her head above water until emergency crews arrived.

    Polk, who suffered several broken bones, was airlifted to Grady Memorial

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