Remember no politics!

My volunteer little sister entered a scholarship contest and because of an extra, large donation, all 25 kids (all were participants in the mentorship program) who entered got scholarships instead of the original 5 winners that they had planned on

A classic piece of advice from Mr Rogers always comes to mind when I’m feeling particularly upset about my fellow humans:

Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

I started a free art supply locker where people can leave and take any art supplies, no questions asked. I thought I'd have to put in more work to keep it stocked, but every time I check I see the community is keeping it stocked on their own.

That's what I follow as well! I always look for them after

Oh that's just lovely!

Came in a bit late here, but this is too nice.

So, while I was getting water, I heard a commotion. A cat YOWLING like nobody's business, then a sort of hue and cry. When I filled the bottles and started back, I looked around for the source of the trouble as I rounded the corner.

This gets a bit complicated to picture, but I'll try my best.

A cat had somehow jumped out of a window on the fourth storey. (There's two kids in the apartment of just about the right age to carelessly leave windows and screens both open.) Most windows at 4th storey down, for historical reasons, have grilles built around them with a tin rain roof. This was in the past an anti-burglary thing, but these days is mostly used to extend the window space for hanging clothing, growing plants, etc. As such the bottom of the grille is usually layered with things like tile or wood or such to give pots a safe place to sit.

This grilled was no exception except ... right in the middle, right about where the cat would have jumped out, the grille didn't have a bottom, and the cat apparently leaped JUST RIGHT to slip straight through the grille and fall ...

... onto the tin rain roof of the window a storey down. So the cat was fine but obviously TERRIFIED OUT OF ITS MIND, lying down, as it was, on a thin strip of metal three storeys up with no way down. It didn't dare take any steps because aside from a very thin patch along the wall, the roof curved away and down, so it was just cowering and yowling its little heart out.

And dozens of people, like easily three our four dozen, came running. While I stood there and watched they suggested and tried at least a half-dozen ways to rescue the cat. I eventually had to get back home so I didn't see how it ended, but I'm pretty sure it ended OK because the last thing they tried was slipping a basket between the bars, tied to a net, and were trying to coax the poor kitty into the basket. At that moment it was too frightened to see the route to escape, but it was by far the best plan tried and I'm pretty sure as the cat calmed down it would have spotted the path to freedom that had been given it.

And I just found it so heart-warming that so many people were there trying to help. (Sure some were there as witnesses to the drama, but most were milling about making suggestions, getting equipment, and otherwise trying to help.)