Good News Journal

Americans Enjoy 100 Extraordinary Days a Year

According to a new survey one-third of your month is bound to be extraordinary. 

If you believe a poll of 2,000 Americans, conducted by prestigious Talker Research (formerly OnePoll U.S.), commissioned by Santa Margherita, the average person has 10 extraordinary days per month, or 120 extraordinary days every year. And if you live in Hawaii, Idaho or South Dakota you can bump that up to 13 days per month.  

Although living a joyful lifestyle is subjective and unique to everyone, there are certain touch-points most people agree on: 

What is a joyful life?

Feeling Happy (77%)

Being Healthy  (71%)

Having positive personal & family relationships  (69%)

Feeling comfortable (69%)

The survey also aimed to figure out exactly how often Americans treat themselves, and which occasions call for indulgence.

Results found that half believe “any day is a good day” to treat themselves, and they enjoy spending their most joyful days with family and friends (62%). Fully 76% said they prefer sharing their joyful feelings with others whenever they can. 

When are you Likely to ‘Treat’ yourself?

During my birthday (66%)

While on vacation (59%)

When I’m having a good day (48%)

Sixty-one percent say they consider a nice meal to be the perfect treat for an extraordinary day, alongside a nice beverage.

More than seven in ten (71%) said indulgences like these are best shared with others, especially their significant others (75%), family members (72%) and close friends (65%).

Over three-quarters (78%) like to host family and friends in their home for dinners and a similar (80%) believe pairing food and wine typically enhances the overall dining experience and makes the meal feel fancier.

“The answer to what makes life sweet and extraordinary is a little different for all of us, but at its core, it’s about appreciating the simple things around us,” said Jane Scott, Marketing Vice President at Santa Margherita USA.  

Centenarians Battle for SkyDiving Immortality

First it was Alfred “Al” Blaschke who  earned the Guinness Record of being the world’s oldest person to skydive, which he won in 2020, when he skydived at the age of 103 to celebrate his grandsons’ college graduations. But the ink was barely dry on the Guinness Book of Records when Swedish woman Rut Linnea Ingegard Larsson broke his record in 2022 at the age of 103 years and 259 days.

Both of their records were in jeopardy of landing in the dust when a Chicago woman, Dorothy Hoffner, after leaving her walker on the ground just short of the plane, performed a tandem jump in Northern Illinois at the age of 104.

“Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!” She yelled just before she jumped from the Skyvan airplane.

“Age is just a number,” Ms. Hoffner told a cheering crowd, upon garnering her Guinness World Record, moments after touching the ground at SkyDive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois. 

Hoffner first skydived when she was 100 and had to be pushed out of the aircraft. On her record breaking jump she was tethered to a U.S. Parachute Association certified instructor, where Ms. Hoffner insisted on leading the jump from 13,500 feet.   

But Al Blaschke was not about to be outdone and reclaimed the Guinness Record for being the world’s oldest person to tandem skydive out of an airplane in November 2023, when at the ripe old age of 106 years and 327 days he jumped out of a plane in Fentress, Texas. 

“I don’t know why I’ve lasted this long,” said Mr. Blaschke. “I suppose I have a real good body. And I believe people should practice the things they love. Everyone is more capable than they think,” the resident of Georgetown, Texas, remarked upon landing. “If you think you can’t, you’re just underestimating yourself. You just need to make the decision to try.”  

Cafe Owner Gives Free Coffee to Dancing Customers

Coffee Milano, in Middleboro, Mass. offers a free cup of joe to any customer that enters the shop and dances for five seconds on the way in.

The inviting deal has been taken to heart by a number of Middleboro locals, but the impromptu dancers have gained their 15 ‘seconds’ of fame as the powers of social media brought in a much larger audience. A compilation of the best dance moves has gone viral on TikTok. 

The widely viewed video shows people of all ages rolling into the coffee shop strutting their stuff in all sorts of ways: 

Set to the song “Macarena,” a woman kicks off her shoes to perform a bit of a moonwalk; followed by a man who does an Irish Jig; and an older couple waltzing in as if they were at the Governor’s Ball, followed by a mother with her toddler also putting on the ritz; while still another gives her best John Travolta Saturday Night Fever performance.   

Shop owner Josh Rashid credits another business with starting the trend. 

“We saw a pizza shop do it. And I’m like, Let’s do that for coffee,” Mr. Rashid explained the origins of the idea. “I decided whoever shows up and dances gets a free coffee. And people really love it. They just dance and smile away.” 

For Mr. Rashid, the idea is a way of bringing joy to those who need it most.

“I come here every day for coffee in the morning and then lunch in the afternoon,” remarked one customer. “We need a little more softness in this world, that’s for sure.” 

The shop never seems to run out of free coffee for their dancing customers

$20 Bill Found Leads to $1M Lottery Win

A North Carolina master carpenter found a $20 bill on the ground of a parking lot in his hometown of Banner Elk and spent it on a scratch-off lottery ticket that won him 

$1 million.

Jerry Hicks had no idea luck was riding on his shoulder that fateful morning as he used the 20 bucks to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off at the convenience store he was heading into when he stooped down to pick up the Andrew Jackson.

“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead,” the lucky man said.

Mr. Hicks claimed his prize at the North Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters. He chose to receive the prize as a lump sum of $600,000 instead of an annuity over 20 years. After taxes, he pocketed $429,007.

Mr. Hicks plans to use the money to help his children and retire as a carpenter after 56 years. 

     But before that, Mr. Hicks wants to enjoy his win with a little celebration.

     “We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got,” he said.