# Your feel-good story for the day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 16, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110 "2025-04-16T17:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/141 "2026-02-02T23:05:55Z")
astonishing - they all could have died had he not made it….🤩 > **[Teenager makes 'superhuman' swim to save family swept out to sea](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-02/geographe-bay-rescue-boy-superhuman-swim/106296100)** > > A 13-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after swimming four hours through rough seas to get help for his mother and two siblings, who were swept out to sea on an inflatable paddleboard in WA's South West. I understand him ditching the life jacket. I’ve been snorkelling for 70 years….I still recall practising putting my face in the water in the bath tub when I was 8. Opened a whole new world …we lived near Lake Erie so it was a regular thing and I’ve snorkelled all over the world. I’d never worn a life jacket but when I was 72 and out of practice for some reason I decided to wear one on a guided early evening swim on the Great Barrier Reef which I now live near. Now yeah, out of shape but had snorkelled successfully for a few hours the day before and earlier in the day without issue. But damn I barely made that guided swim….realized to late to do anything about it what a drag the life jacket was. Just the water resistance with it on was running me out of puff ( I had tachicardia if my heart rate got too high). Lesson learned but have not been out on the reef since and sold my big fins with a whinge. Still kept my good mask and snorkel tho….hoping dottor will come out again to visit and we can go out together. We had a magical overnight on the reef 40 km from shore with Magellenic Clouds and a meteor shower. If that closes off my lifetime of snorkelling, so be it but I sure recall that swim with the life jacket….not too old to learn… ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/142 "2026-02-02T23:46:42Z")
That one made me cry. As a mother I can’t imagine how stressful it was to have to keep your two kids together and pray your other kid made it back alive. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/143 "2026-02-03T18:22:22Z")
Wow. Isn’t that shark country ? ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/144 "2026-02-04T23:34:38Z")
Yes it is and if the initial story brought tears…get out the hanky. > **[How a teenager who failed swimming lessons pulled off miracle ocean rescue](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-04/austin-appelbee-13yo-boy-swims-to-shore-to-save-family-australia/106301468)** > > Austin Appelbee, 13, has made international headlines after swimming for four hours in rough seas to save his mum, sister and brother stranded in the ocean. How did he do it? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/145 "2026-02-04T23:44:36Z")
Hanky definitely needed. I can’t help thinking — he did his absolute best, and his best was utterly amazing. Way beyond anything anyone could have expected. But it still might not have worked. And what would he have had to live with then? Would he ever have been able to believe it wasn’t his fault, even though it wouldn’t have been? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/146 "2026-02-04T23:49:06Z")
If it hadn’t worked, presumably he would know that _at least he tried_. And how would it have been his fault? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/147 "2026-02-05T00:02:11Z")
It wouldn’t have. As I said. But a lot of stress in the story is on the fact that he saved them. That’s what makes it a feel-good story, after all. And he’s even quoted in the story as saying that while he was waiting in hospital for them to be found > “I had a lot of guilt in my heart. I thought, ‘Oh man, I wasn’t fast enough.’” People feel that way even about things that aren’t their fault. It’s very common. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/148 "2026-02-05T00:08:19Z")
Great risk great reward and he went for it on his own with moms approval. I thought losing the life jacket iffy but also understand it from my own experience ….he may not have made it if he kept wearing it as he was swimming against the wind and the life jacket would have hampered him. 4 hours….damn. 🎇 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/149 "2026-02-06T03:10:12Z")
This is so silly I just had to share it. > **[A Harry Potter villain is now an unlikely new-year mascot in China | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/world/draco-malfoy-china-new-year-mascot-intl-hnk)** > > With the Year of the Horse galloping into view, an unexpected face has emerged in China as a symbol of fortune: a villain from Harry Potter’s wizarding world. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/150 "2026-02-18T19:47:12Z")
A wolfdog named Nazgul came in third in an Olympic skiing event: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo\_jyxSnk2Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo_jyxSnk2Q) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/151 "2026-02-18T20:21:35Z")
Aw, sweet thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/152 "2026-02-19T18:32:34Z")
Ohio hockey star Laila Edwards’ family cheers at Olympic debut, thanks to Kelce brothers and a GoFundMe: [Ohio hockey star Edwards' family cheers at Olympic debut](https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2026/02/19/ohio-hockey-star-edwards--family-cheers-at-olympic-debut) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/153 "2026-02-26T20:21:53Z")
Four years old, but funny: memorable typos in [the British newspaper _The Guarniad_, er, _Guardian_.](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/may/12/guardian-200-typo-negative-best-worst-grauniad-mistakes) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2026, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/154 "2026-02-28T03:40:27Z")
It’s good to have a friend in the Statehouse… > **[‘PB4WEGO’: New York governor tells man he can keep his funny license plate...](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/02/26/pb4wego-new-york-governor-tells-man-he-can-keep-his-funny-license-plate-after-dmv-objected/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=organicclicks&tbref=hp)** > > A New York grandfather will be allowed to keep his custom license plate that the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had deemed “objectionable.” ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/155 "2026-03-03T22:53:41Z")
Hopefully this is accessible. If not, let me know and I’ll try to find another source. > **[Maidstone dog owner says pet saved her life by detecting cancer](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy8g1y9vkwo)** > > Colleen Ferguson says her German Shepherd kept sniffing her breath, prompting her to have tests. j ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/156 "2026-03-03T23:50:51Z")
I can see it. Sweet doggie! ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/157 "2026-03-04T02:58:37Z")
I hit a paywall with the BBC link, but found another article ‘My dog saved my life’: Teacher says German shepherd sniffed out lung cancer before it spread - The Mirror ['My dog saved my life': Teacher says German shepherd sniffed out lung cancer before it spread - The Mirror](https://share.google/mwLu9qDfbA6DgtJZb) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/158 "2026-03-04T03:04:39Z")
I first posted this in 2021. Worth another look. 😍 > [@Happy post: Japanese Octogenerian Sits in with New Orleans Jazz Band](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-post-japanese-octogenerian-sits-in-with-new-orleans-jazz-band/930259): > > I saw this on reddit this morning (that board is good for some things…). It’s so wonderful. This Japanese woman was a jazz drummer in her younger days, and she and her late husband had always dreamed of going to New Orleans. Her granddaughter asks the band if they will let her sit in. They escort her up to the stage, along with grandpa’s picture. The video is fuzzy, but so worth watching. The whole thing is about 6 minutes; advance it to 3 minutes if you want to skip the lead-in. Made me cry. … [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YZqGCpyzGTE/hqdefault.jpg "Japanese Grandmother Plays Jazz and Stuns Audience") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqGCpyzGTE) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/159 "2026-03-04T03:53:23Z")
Dusty in here — ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110/160 "2026-03-04T14:04:29Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > I hit a paywall with the BBC link, but found another article Thanks! j [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-feel-good-story-for-the-day/1017110.md?page=9)