11 Good News Stories: Attitude Check; A Welcome Purse Of Worms

ACROSS AMERICA — Mary Reid-Schweiger admits she was sporting an attitude when she walked into a Hillsborough, New Jersey, supermarket to pick up a few items for her Fourth of July party.

The mother of four’s mood darkened as the items added up in her cart.

Then an unexpected thing happened. After flashing a kind smile her way, a stranger paid for her groceries, explaining he was just doing what his mother raised him to do.

“This was expensive — this was a lot of money in my cart," Reid-Schweiger told Patch. “It was weird. I was just floored. … I was in shock. I didn't know what to say.” By Jeff Arnold for Hillsborough, New Jersey, Patch

Worms In Her Purse

Worms had taken up residence in a Wheaton, Illinois, woman’s purse before she got it back. It had been stolen in a residential burglary in August 2019, emptied of its valuables and stuffed into a storm drain. The owner’s driver’s license was still inside the grimy, wet purse, a longtime public works employee for Wheaton told Patch, and she was finally able to get answers about the security of her identifying information. By Lisa Marie Farver for Wheaton, Illinois, Patch

Parade Of Heroes

The last time ticker tape fell on New York City’s Canyon of Heroes — the blocks of a stretch of Broadway with more than 200 black granite plaques embedded in the sidewalks to commemorate every ticker tape parade in the city’s history — was in 2019 after the U.S. women’s soccer team had just won the World Cup. This week, the Hometown Heroes Parade feted the front-line workers who pulled the city through the coronavirus crisis. Appropriately, given the enormity of their assignments during the pandemic, it was one of the largest in the city’s storied history of ticker tape parades. By Sarah Belle Lin for New York City Patch

Smell This Unexpected Sightseeing Tour

Two great days of adventure for Kevin Thompson and his family started with a whole lot of frustration. First, their flight out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was canceled as severe thunderstorms moved through the area. Their luggage was still with the airline, but they checked into an Arlington hotel to wait out the storm. To get back home to Arkansas, they’d have to fly through Charlotte, North Carolina, and they wouldn’t be able to do that for another two days. So they decided to take in the sights around Washington, D.C., and created memories Thompson said will stick with his kids for a long time. "It's been a crazy adventure but the kids loved DC despite the smell from our 3 day old clothes,” he tweeted. By Michael O’Connell for Arlington, Virginia, Patch

Christmas In July

Camryn Cox was 7 when she was shot in the face by her cousin at a birthday party in Monee, Illinois. She spent 27 days at University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital and underwent multiple surgeries. Three years later, the 10-year-old decided to host “Christmas in July” survivor party to show her appreciation to her caregivers and those who sent gifts during her recovery. "She looks at herself as a survivor, and we want her to see herself as a survivor," Raeann Cox said of her daughter. "She wants to share her story as much as possible to save other children's lives, which I think is amazing. She has said that since she was 7." By Yasmeen Sheikah for Oak Forest, Illinois, Patch

Health Care Outreach On 2 Wheels

Jeff Salter, the chief executive for a network of private-duty care franchises that keep older Americans in their homes, is taking a cross-country tour on his electric bicycle to visit each of the company’s 45 locations to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary. Salter, who started his journey from McAllen, Texas, on April 5, is raising money as he pedals — $30,000 so far, enough to install grab bars to improve safety in clients’ homes. He also gets to chat with folks along the way. “And just about every person I've met has had some experience with an older loved one that's dealt with the challenges of living at home and trying to stay independent,” he told Patch. “And for many of them, grab bars or something like that would have benefited them." By Christopher Boan for Tucson, Arizona, Patch

Personal Vision A Community Mission

For Elaine Helms, the executive director of a foundation that supports LGBTQ youths in the Greater Newark, New Jersey, area, the construction of an affordable housing building is a watershed moment. "This much-needed supportive housing project has been a personal vision of mine for a long time, and it's incredible to see how it has become a community mission," she said at a groundbreaking ceremony. By Eric Kiefer for Newark, New Jersey, Patch

A Slice Of A Cop’s Life

Police officers in Tampa, Florida, wear body cameras to document arrests and increase the department’s transparency, but sometimes the devices capture an interesting slice of life or touching moment in an officer's day. That was the case when officers were called to rescue a kitten that had fallen into a storm drain. Here’s what happened. By D’ann Lawrence White for Tampa, Florida, Patch

Final Curtain Won’t Fall Just Yet

Director Quentin Tarantino has saved the historic Vista Theatre in Hollywood and plans to reopen it near the end of the year. The iconic venue, which opened in 1923, had been closed since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. In 2007, the “Pulp Fiction” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” director bought and reopened the New Beverly Cinema, which mostly plays older films. “The Vista is like a crown jewel kind of thing,” he said. “So it will be the best prints, we'll show older films, but they'll be like older films where you can hold a fortnight engagement." By Kenan Draughorne for Hollywood, California, Patch

Hobby ‘Blows Up’

Newt Grover decided to learn the ins and outs of glass blowing as a hobby, but now the 64-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona, artist’s work has become a mainstay in Southwestern art. Grover has been featured on a variety of documentary and news programs, including "Handcrafted America" and "Arizona Highways.” Now his passion will be featured in an upcoming documentary film put together by horticultural film studio PlantPop, which filmed Grover's array of floral glass art installments earlier this year. By Christopher Boan for Scottsdale, Arizona, Patch

America’s Longest Married First Couple

Seventy-five years ago Wednesday, Eleanor Rosalynn Smith and James Earl Carter Jr. tied the knot. That U.S. Naval Academy graduate and his bride would go on to be better known as President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter. In their 90s (President Carter is 96, while Rosalynn Carter is 93), the pair are the longest-married first couple. By Marcus Garner for Atlanta Patch

Want more good news from your hometown? Patch is in more than 1,000 communities across America. Find your community and see what's happening outside your front door.