Day 3630: Courage

 

 

"Hanging on": photo

 

 

Want music?

Click here: Don Ho, I'll Remember You.

then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?

 

 

 

  2GN2S ... 

Acts of Courage.

"Two weeks ago, my 90-year-old mother, Catherine Ritchie, was preparing herself for bed at around 9pm. After brushing her teeth and hair, she turned around to find her bed completely engulfed in flames. She made an attempt to extinguish the flames herself by throwing blankets and pillows on the fire. The smoke and heat were so overwhelming that she immediately got disoriented, gave up fighting the fire, and decided to flee. She pushed the emergency call button she wears on her necklace, called 911, and attempted to get out of her now engulfed bedroom. She walked into the closet several times thinking it was the door that leads to the hallway. It wasn’t. She couldn’t find her way out. She was stuck. Smoke everywhere.

Across the street, 4 boys saw the smoke and reflection of flames. Not an adult in sight. 4 kids who took immediate action to save an elderly woman who they couldn’t guarantee was home and who 3 of them had never even met. One started breaking the glass on the front door. One called 911. One went to the back door and began kicking it in. One went to the neighbors for an ax and help. Within minutes, a door was kicked in by a 14-year-old child who found my mother in the hallway outside of her bedroom and picked her up in his arms. Kids who are told about all the things they aren’t old enough to do saved the life of the most precious and beloved woman we know. Courageous young men. Young men who risked their own lives, their own safety, perhaps their good standing with their parents who might have chosen for them to do otherwise, and they carried my mother out of her burning home into the street, where firetrucks and ambulances would soon arrive.

Dylan Wick – 16 years old, Nick Byrd – 14 years old, Seth Byrd – 16 years old, and Wyatt Hall – 17 years old, thank you! Thank you for your selfless acts of heroism and courage. Thank you for not allowing this to be the tragic end to our mother’s amazing life. Thank you for staying with her, hugging her, and helping her feel less alone until we could get to her. Thank you for being the kind of young men who thought about another person above yourselves. Thank you for staying safe yourselves as well. Thank you to your parents who obviously raised you in such a way that lead to you making life saving and heroic decisions on behalf of someone else. Thank you for more than we know how to thank you for! We will forever be indebted to the time you bought for us and the example you set for us. God Bless each of you for being such a blessing to us.

 

Sincerely,

Michael Ritchie, Karen Ritchie Sontag, Pat Ritchie, Jimmy Ritchie, Kelly Ritchie, John Ritchie, Tim Ritchie, Tom Ritchie, Missy Ritchie Nicholas, Ryan Ritchie, and 42 very grateful grandchildren."

 

 

2GN2S #2 ...

This 13-year-old is headed to medical school a year after graduating high school.

  This 13-year-old girl has been accepted to a medical school program only a year after graduating high school. 

Alena Analeigh Wicker shared the news on Instagram with her more than 20,000 followers.

thebrownstemgirl

"Today I'm just grateful. I graduated High school LAST YEAR at 12 years old and here I am one year later I've been accepted into Med School at 13. I'm a junior in college. I've worked so hard to reach my goals and live my dreams.Mama I made it. I couldn't have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful. You cheered me on, wiped my tears, gave me oreos when I needed comfort, you never allowed me to settle, disciplined me when I needed . You are the best mother a kid could ever ask for. MAMA I MADE IT! You always believed in me.You allowed me space to grow and become, make mistakes without making me feel bad. You allowed me the opportunity to experience the world." And the teenager posted below a picture of her program acceptance letter. 

 

She was accepted into the Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Heersink School of Medicine, the school confirmed in a statement to CNN.

The program is a partnership between the medical school and HBCU’s across Alabama, and it provides early acceptance to the students who meet the requirements for acceptance and matriculation, according to their website.

In an interview with the Washington Post, she said, “I’m still a normal 13-year-old.” But not quite. She’s currently a student at both Arizona State University and Oakwood University earning two separate undergraduate degrees in biological sciences, according to the Washington Post.

And yet, how does she do it all at such a young age? “I just have extremely good time management skills and I’m very disciplined,” she told the Washington Post.

She also created “The Brown STEM Girl,” to engage, empower and educate girls of color in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to its website.

The Brown STEM Girl Foundation honors the legacy of Katherine Johnson, a trailblazer for African-American mathematicians at NASA.

Alena keeps the public updated on her journey, posting on her Instagram and Facebook page, where she expresses her love and passion for STEM, NASA and Legos.

Alena’s mother told the Washington Post that she noticed her daughter’s intellect since the science buff was a toddler. “Alena was gifted,” her mother, Daphne McQuarter, said. “It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books.” 

 

 

Throwback Thursday ...

 

 

 

After class, Honbu Dojo, Santa Ana, CA. 1985

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A scary 1+minute video, Bear chase, here.

 

Just because ...

 

Rainbow Harpy Eagle

 

 

Smiles for Thursday ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

                                                               Thanks for coming by today