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The Secret of Soul, Walnut Park, CA (2025)

07/20/2025

My Son
By Joseph J. Mazzella • January 17, 2024

When I was 21, I sat in a hospital waiting room, trying to keep calm. My wife was pregnant, but our son was three weeks overdue. Complications had forced them to do an emergency C-section, and I didn’t know if either my wife or son would survive. After what felt like forever, they brought my son out, healthy and breathing. My fear disappeared, and my heart swelled with joy I had never felt before. I sighed in relief and thanked God for my baby boy.

Three years later, I sat in a car holding my crying wife. Our son wasn’t speaking like other children, and his behavior seemed different. We took him to a specialist who told us he might be mentally handicapped. It felt like the world was crashing down around us. I didn’t know what to do, so I just cried as I drove us home.

As the years went by, I learned to accept my son for who he was. I started to see how much of a blessing he was, not just to my wife and me, but to everyone around him. He had a gentle spirit. He laughed easily and gave hugs and love without asking for anything in return. He learned to speak, and though he never discussed anything complicated, he became great at small talk. He touched the hearts of everyone he met. His mom, me, his sister, his little brother, his school helpers, his teachers, and his classmates all loved him for the simple joy he brought to their lives. He became the manager for the football and girls' basketball teams. He lifted the spirits of the coaches and players. And when he graduated high school, I got him a job at a special workshop where he could continue to share his love and light.

Yes, my first-born son might be seen as limited by the world, but in God's eyes, he is limitless. He has shared more love, joy, and laughter than I ever could. If I had one wish, it would be for everyone to love as freely and happily as he does. May we always appreciate the "special" teachers of love in this world. They are truly a gift to us all.

Sunny Skyz

07/20/2025

"This is John and he works at enterprise. He's also a twin and his twin sister is his best friend. While he helped me with my rental due to a hit and run accident, he held one of my twin sons as I don't have a double stroller. One of the most compassionate and caring people I've ever met. We need more people like John who go that extra step. Be a John."

Credit: Coty Vincent

07/20/2025

I couldn't resist sharing my daughter's junior prom pictures! She and her best friend spend tons of time at our local used bookstore so they decided to do pictures there and I love them.
Definitely captures my bookworm well!
I love how much she loves books - the majority of her spending is on books and now that she's older I love reading her recommendations.
She's very low key, painted her own nails, her best friend's 14-year-old sister did her hair etc so these pictures truly capture her essence.
Credit: grownandflown

07/20/2025

My aunt taught five-year-old children in kindergarten for 30 years. She was a master at knowing how to work with children.

During an overnight visit, they took my daughter for a walk. My daughter was 2 at the time and knew a rarely used shortcut to a nearby park. In order to reach the park using this shortcut, one had to walk across a short narrow bridge with no railing. The drop was only 4 feet, about as wide as the bridge, but in those days regulations weren’t nailed down as tightly as they are today.

Lauren is three-years-old in this photo. It was that phase in her life when she wasn’t too keen on having her photo taken.

When they reached the bridge, my aunt was positively brilliant. Instead of taking my daughter’s hand whereupon she could draw her little arms about her body and refuse to be treated like a baby, my aunt said this, “Oh, dear. I’m afraid I might fall. Would you hold my hand while we cross the bridge?”

Of course, my sympathetic child immediately reached up and took hold of her “nervous” aunt’s hand and they crossed the bridge together.

Without saying a word, my daughter grabbed hold of her great-aunt’s hand on the return trip as well.

My aunt applied wisdom born of experience in handling this situation.

I wrote this 5 years ago.
Credit- Kathy Pennell

07/19/2025

Every month Martín’s parents took a trip to see Grandma and came home on the same train the next day. One day the child said to his parents:
“I'm already grown up. Can I go to my grandma's alone?"
After a brief discussion, his parents accepted. They stood with him as he waited for the train to exit. They said goodbye to their son and gave him some tips through the window. Martin repeated to them:
“I know. I've been told this more than a thousand times."
As the train was about to leave, his father murmured in his ear:
“Son if you feel bad or insecure, this is for you!"
And he put something in his pocket.
Now Martin was alone, sitting on the train as he had wanted, without his parents for the first time.
He was admiring the landscape out the window. Around him some unknowns pushed themselves in. They made a lot of noise. They got in and out of the train car. The conductor made some comments about him being alone. One person looked at him with eyes of sadness.
Martin was feeling more uneasy with every minute that passed. And now he was scared. He felt cornered and alone. He put his head down, and with tears in his eyes, he remembered his dad had put something in his pocket. Trembling, he searched for what his father had given him. Upon finding the piece of paper he read it:
“Son, I'm in the last train car!"
That's how life is, we must let our kids go. We must let them try new things. But we always like to be in the last car, watching, in case they are afraid or in case they find obstacles and don’t know what to do. We want to be close to them as long as we are still alive.

07/19/2025

"Her hair was up in a ponytail, her favorite dress tied with a bow. Today was Daddy's Day at school, and she couldn't wait to go. But her mommy tried to tell her, that she probably should stay home. Why the kids might not understand, if she went to school alone. But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say. What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today. But still her mother worried, for her to face this day alone. And that was why once again, she tried to keep her daughter home. But the little girl went to school eager to tell them all, about a dad she never sees, a dad who never calls. There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet. Children squirming impatiently, anxious in their seats. One by one the teacher called a student from the class, to introduce their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.
At last the teacher called her name, every child turned to stare, each of them was searching, a man who wasn't there. 'Where's her daddy at?' she heard a boy call out. 'She probably doesn't have one,' another student dared to shout. And from somewhere near the back, she heard a daddy say, 'Looks like another deadbeat dad, too busy to waste his day.' The words did not offend her, as she smiled up at her Mom, and looked back at her teacher, who told her to go on. And with hands behind her back, slowly she began to speak. And out from the mouth of a child, came words incredibly unique. 'My Daddy couldn't be here, because he lives so far away. But I know he wishes he could be, since this is such a special day. And though you cannot meet him, I wanted you to know, all about my daddy, and how much he loves me so.
He loved to tell me stories, he taught me to ride my bike, and he surprised me with pink roses, and taught me to fly a kite. We used to share fudge sundaes, and ice cream in a cone, and though you cannot see him, I'm not standing here alone. 'Cause my daddy's always with me, even though we are apart, I know because he told me, he'll forever be in my heart. ‘With that, her little hand reached up, and lay across her chest, feeling her own heartbeat, beneath her favorite dress. And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads, her mother stood in tears, proudly watching her daughter, who was wise beyond her years.
She stood up for the love of a man not in her life, doing what was best for her, doing what was right. And when she dropped her hand back down, staring straight into the crowd, she finished with a voice so soft, but its message clear and loud. 'I love my daddy very much, he's my shining star, and if he could, he'd be here, but heaven's just too far. You see he is a soldier and died just this past year, when a roadside bomb hit his convoy and taught the world to fear. But sometimes when I close my eyes, it's like he never went away.' And then she closed her eyes, and saw him there that day. And to her mother’s amazement, she witnessed with surprise. A room full of daddies and children, all starting to close their eyes. Who knows what they saw before them, who knows what they felt inside. Perhaps for merely a second, they saw him at her side. 'I know you're with me Daddy,' to the silence she called out. And what happened next made believers, of those once filled with doubt. Not one in that room could explain it, for each of their eyes had been closed. But there on the desk beside her, was a fragrant long-stemmed rose. And a child was blessed, if only for a moment, by the love of her shining star. And given the gift of believing, that heaven is never too far."
Written by Cheryl Costello-Forshey
📸courtesy of Anthony Shaw

07/19/2025

"Once when I was a kid I invited a kid that I bullied horribly over to my house for a sleepover because I was told I had to do something nice for someone I hurt by our priest during confession (I went to a catholic school)...the next day after a pretty boring night we were playing in the snow banks and I lied telling him my foot was stuck and I couldn't get it out, he ran well over a mile back to my house to get my mom to "save" me...well that kind of woke me up and made me realize "this kid isn't that bad." After that day I never bullied anyone again, and 20 years later that turd that I bullied so terribly is still my best friend, was the best man at my wedding, and the godfather of my first child."

07/19/2025

“This young man is Anthony, he works at the Piggly Wiggly on 78. On Wednesday after work I went to Piggly Wiggly to buy a few things. Before I left I pushed my buggy in the port that holds the buggies on the outside of the store. After going home I realized at approximately 9:30 p. m. I couldn’t find my phone. I started to look for my wristlet that carried my money but I couldn’t find that either. Earlier that morning Shelisa had given me 200.00 cash to get our tags, and I had over seventy dollars of my own money in there including 10.00 worth of quarters. Tracing my steps I realized that the only place I had been was Piggly Wiggly. I called them and true enough my wristlet and phone were there. What is even more astonishing is, I had all my money in the wristlet and my I Phone. I asked the store manager who turned it in, and they said it was Anthony. The picture below is Anthony. Anthony is a teenager at Central Park Christian. I went to bless Anthony today with $100.00, and I also called his mom Joyce to tell her what a great job she was doing with her son. His mom cried tears of joys. We hear very little about kids when they do something positive, it’s always lots of talk about the bad things that happen.“
Credit to the rightful owner~

07/19/2025

"As a school bus driver, I would like to explain something.
My job is to transport your child from point A to point B safely, on time and ready to learn.
That is all...
What do I mean when I say safely? Let me explain. Safely means I pre-trip my bus daily to ensure it is running properly and that it hasn’t been tampered with. Safely means my eyes are constantly scanning all 7 mirrors, blind spots, and the road in front of me.
I’m NOT a babysitter.
I’m NOT a mediator.
I'm a BUS DRIVER...
I would absolutely love to be able to watch and hear each and every little thing that goes on in the 40 feet of school bus behind me, but while I’m watching Johnny jump across the seat, I just missed a car pull out in front of me. And oops, while I’m yelling at Susie to keep her hands to herself, the light changed and now I’m slamming the brakes to stop in time at the intersection. And what’s that? Now Joey has a nose bleed? And now someone dumped all of Katie’s stuff out of her bookbag, and “bus driver, Bobby is flicking me”, and “bus driver, Lily said she doesn’t like me anymore”, and what’s that? While I'm looking in the mirror behind me reprimanding your perfect children, a car just ran my reds and Sally almost got run over!
It’s Never Ending to us...
And that doesn't even include the way the children speak to us. I'm pretty certain they don't speak to other school faculty like that. And certainly don't speak to their parents the way they speak to us.
So please, parents, tell me ... where do you want me to look? Behind me? In front of me?
Would you prefer I pull over each and every time someone yells “bus driver”? Because then YOU will complain that the bus is never on time, and trust me if I did pull over every time, we wouldn’t even make it out of the school parking lot before I'd have to stop. Incase you didn’t know, your children are not perfect...no one is...
Would you rather I continue down the road watching what’s going on BEHIND me more than what’s going on with other vehicles on the road around me? Because I can assure you, if I’m not scanning every angle around the bus, there WILL be an accident, and then I will again be to blame, because I should’ve been paying attention to the road...
Now, on top of that, we see your children for less than 30 minutes a day, in most cases. Please teach your child to respect the bus driver, and to behave themselves when riding the bus...because we want to return them to you, SAFELY.

07/19/2025

"Amidst the disgust of people calling us every day to leave their dog at the shelter, how much beauty is there in an 80-year-old lady who asked us to adopt a dog of her age!!! And so an elderly dog that was thrown out of a car on the highway 15 days ago is now a life partner to a very nice grandma!
Live happily together! "
Credit to the rightful owner~

07/18/2025

“While out riding with a group of friends today, there was a lady that approached us in the Go Mart parking lot in Clay, WV. She asked if one of us would give her a ride around the parking lot for $20. She explained to us that this was on her bucket list. She wanted to send a picture to her son of herself on a motorcycle. I told her that one of us would take her for a ride. I told her to just follow me over to the bikes. This is when she told me that she was blind and would need help walking over to them. She latched onto my arm and we walked to the bikes. I told her she could ride on mine if she was able to get on. She didn't need to give me any money to go for a ride, but she insisted. I asked her if she was sure twice and she said, 'Yes, just keep it.' At this point, I told her I was going to back my bike up and that my friends would help her get on and how to hold onto me. She was so excited once she finally got on the back. I asked her if she needed to let her friend know where she was, but she said, "no, she will see us!" Her friend walked out of the gas station, so the lady yelled, "quick, get the camera!" As we started moving she let out a 'Woohoo!' We went around the lot and when we came back to park, she couldn't stop smiling. Not only did this make her day, but it made mine as well.”

Credit goes to the respective owner

07/18/2025

I came across a few men sitting on a street in Atlanta one day. "How y'all getting along?" I asked them.

One of the guys said, “Not sure yet. They have not opened the doors to the shelter, and we probably can't get in because it fills up quick.”

I said, "I have something I would like to give y'all if you’re cool with that."

I handed each one a Goodness Bag. One man saw the $5-dollar bill and smiled. He asked, "What else is in here?" Then he opened the bag and found gloves, socks, toothpaste and other items that so many of us take for granted.

"Y'all gonna be alright?" I asked, as I reached out to shake his hand. He looked me square in the eyes and said, "Kevin I don't want to shake your hand... I want to hug you." He put his arms around me and said, "Thanks man. You don't know, you just don't know! Thank You so much!"

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