1. 72-Year-old Graduates from College with His 99-year-old Mom Cheering Him On
Sam Kaplan of Lawrenceville, Georgia has added many items to his resume over the years. But on May 11th, in his 72nd year of life, he added a particularly late line item—a college degree. Alongside classmates 50 years his junior, Kaplan crossed the stage in cap and gown to receive an undergraduate degree in Cinema and Media Arts from George Gwinnett College. His 99-year-old mother was there to see it all and cheered as well as she could.
2. Minnesota Cat Sanctuary Unveils New Outdoor Playground for Feral Rescues
At the outdoor cat shelter at Furball Farm, in Faribault, Minnesota, the staff and volunteers built this impressive outdoor structure to allow their dozens of feral rescues a place to play and learn to be around humans. Most of the cats at Furball Farms were once unapproachable and definitely untouchable, CBS reports, but now the majority love human visitors.
Founder Julie Maverts, who started the farm in her separate garage 6 years ago, says the outdoors is where most feral cats will have grown up, but allowing them to enjoy nature, wind, sun, and birdsong with love, gentleness, and affection has been a great sort of rehabilitation.
3. Mom and Daughter Reunite With Nurse Who Saved Their Lives 30 Years Ago–Now as Co-Workers
30 years and a continent separated Catherine Conteh, her daughter Regina, and a nurse named Aly who was visiting their home in Sierra Leone and saved her life by funding an emergency surgery. Regina wasn’t born on the day of that fateful meeting, technically, because Catherine was dying after four days in labor. Unable to afford a Caesarean section, that might have been the end if not for Aly Hogarth-Hall, then in her 20s, who was visiting the hospital from a nearby charity.
She managed to acquire the £70 cost for the surgery in 1993 and formed a close bond with Catherine and her new baby Regina, but lost touch. Then 18 months ago, as Catherine and Regina prepared to go to work aboard a charity called Mercy Ships, which operates a hospital ship on the coast of Sierra Leone, they got to see Aly—now 52—as she climbed aboard for a stint of volunteer work.
