It's never too late, Trapped in a funnel cloud
A 90-year-old Florida man has finally received his high school diploma, 70 years after dropping out.
A 90-year-old Florida man has finally received his high school diploma, 70 years after dropping out. During the Great Depression, John Locher had to quit school to help feed his family in Detroit; he spent 38 years with General Motors and retired to Cape Coral, Fla. But this year, at the urging of Locher’s family, his alma mater, Detroit Southwestern High School, decided to award him an honorary degree for “life credits.” Locher attended the school’s graduation ceremonies this week, accompanied by his wife and five of his eight children. He said he feels “100 percent lighter.”
Emily Vinette and Michaela Murphy, both 26, have been friends ever since meeting in fifth grade in Syracuse, N.Y. They played together, watched boys, and often finished each other’s sentences. Then, in January, Vinette’s kidneys began failing; added to a waiting list four years long, she began looking for a donor herself. It turned out that Murphy—whose own mother had died while waiting for a liver transplant in 2000—was a match. In a successful surgery last month, Murphy donated a kidney to Vinette, and both are doing fine. “I knew right away I would do whatever was needed,” said Murphy.
A dog in Illinois suffered only minor injuries after literally being swept up by a tornado. Sandra and Sidney Holmes of Richton Park had forgotten to bring in their 125-pound Rottweiler, Chase, when the storm hit last week. Neighbors soon spotted him trapped in the funnel cloud. “I saw him twirling around,” said 10-year-old Helena Bulliner. “He kept getting higher and higher. I didn’t know where Chase was going to go.” The tornado carried Chase a few hundred feet and plopped him down into a marshy area, where Sandra Holmes found him soaked and shivering. “He didn’t even know where he was,” she said. “It’s a blessing from God that he wasn’t hurt.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Biden tackles campus protests, deplores 'chaos'
Speed Read Students have a "right to protest but not a right to cause chaos," the president said
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Xi comes to Europe: what's on the agenda?
The Explainer China's president visiting for first time since 2019, with spotlight on support for Russia over Ukraine and trade tensions with EU
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The laws of finding – and keeping – treasure in Britain
In the Spotlight Amateur archaeology is on the rise but flouting the laws can land you in prison
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published