Lola Gonzalez, when faced with making job cuts to save her company, fired herself. The owner of Accurate Background Check in Ocala, Florida said she couldn't bring herself to fire any of her employees so she walked away from her six-figure job. Believing she had hired the right employees, she felt confident they could run the business; and in spite of going to work for another company at half the salary, Gonzalez said she fired herself because it was the right thing to do. However, with her background maybe she should consider being a "right-in" candidate for political office.
Dr. Jim Withers makes house calls to the homeless. During the day he's an internist and teaching physician at Mercy Hospital. At night he usually can be found under bridges, in alleys and on streets treating the homeless. "Operation Safety Net" is a nonprofit organization of doctors, nurses and other medical experts who go out in teams of 3 or 4 nightly offering food, clothing and medical attention to Pittsburgh's homeless. In his almost twenty years with OSN, Withers has also helped more than 400 of his patients get off the street – and his street smarts weren't taught in medical school.
Sister Teresa Fitzgerald, a nun in upstate New York, helped create "Hour Children", an organization that rehabilitates incarcerated mothers and reunites them with their children. When the mothers are released from prison, Hour Children provides free housing and daycare, computer training and job placement, as well as thrift stores where the mothers can both work and shop. In New York the recidivism rate for female ex-cons is 30%. Hour Children's recidivism rate is 4%. Sister Teresa and the mothers are well matched. Women with convictions on their records are helped by a woman with strong convictions of her own.
Finally, Allen and Violet Large won $10.9 million in a Canadian lottery. However, a week before they picked up their winnings they decided to give most of the money away. They didn't buy anything because they said there was nothing they needed. The elderly couple had worked for 30 years and put away money for retirement every year. They kept $.3 million for a rainy day and gave the rest to churches, fire departments, cemeteries, the Red Cross and the hospital where Violet was undergoing treatment for cancer. The Larges believe that money can't buy happiness – but happiness can be donated.
About the Author:
Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting cards. Now she writes a 400-word, news blog three times a week. KNIGHT WATCH, a second look at what makes life interesting, takes only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com
