The week's good news: June 30, 2022

1. Woman discovers the vintage skates she bought online belonged to her 40 years ago

While growing up in Nova Scotia, Renée Forrestall loved roller skating, enjoying the peace and quiet that came as she sped past the waterfront. She sold her beloved skates 40 years ago during a yard sale, but always regretted it, so to celebrate her 60th birthday, she recently decided to pick the hobby back up. As she explained on TikTok, Forrestall didn't like the new skates she bought, and after returning them, set off to find some vintage skates. She began browsing online, and discovered a pair of old skates that had just been put up for sale two hours earlier. The seller wasn't sure of the size, but Forrestall liked that they looked like her original pair, and bought them. When they arrived at her home, it was a "Cinderella slipper moment," she told Today. It soon became clear why they fit her perfectly: her name was written inside each skate. She couldn't believe that her old skates had found their way back to her, four decades later. "It reeled me right back to my youth," Forrestall said.

Today

2. 'Tech Fairy' fixes old computers and gives them to neighbors in need

Craig Clark is using his skills to give new life to old computers. Known as the "Tech Fairy," this computer technician from Florida puts out a call on the Nextdoor website for laptops and desktop computers in need of repair. Once he's done fixing them, Clark gives the computers away to people who need them, with the goal of "hopefully improving their lives," he told USA Today. Clark has distributed more than 430 repaired computers, with one going to Melissa Servetz's daughter for school. Servetz, a single mom of four, and Clark became fast friends, and her kids now call him Grandpa Craig. "We've become like family," Servetz said, adding, "the minute you meet him, you're inspired." Clark said he doesn't want to be the only Tech Fairy around, and would love it if more people joined him in fixing up old computers. "You'll be amazed by the results that you get," he said.

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USA Today

3. Retired kindergarten teacher's last class has a final surprise for her

A retired kindergarten teacher was stunned earlier this month when several students from her final class came parading through her yard, donning caps and gowns from their high school graduations. Her daughter, Kim Hamilton, captured it all on camera, and shared the surprise on TikTok. In the video, the former teacher is seen waving to one former student and telling her, "Congratulations, that's cool!" Then, she spots another student, and another, before nearly a dozen teens come through a gate into her yard. There were plenty of hugs, with Hamilton's mom saying, "Oh my gosh, I love you all. Oh my gosh, you're all just gorgeous." Hamilton let her mother know she was in on it, saying, "Your last graduating class, mama. That's your last group of kindergartners." The video resonated with other educators, with one person commenting, "The best gift a teacher can receive is seeing her former students bloom."

Yahoo

4. Dolphins are returning to Lisbon's Tagus River

It used to be that dolphins would appear just a few times a year in the Tagus River in Lisbon — but now, locals say that because of a reduction in pollution, they're spotting them at least a few times a week. The water quality has been steadily improving over the last few years, and it made a huge difference in the beginning of the pandemic when there were no cruise ships coming through and only a few commuter ferries. There has also been an increase of fish in the area, which draws in dolphins from the Atlantic. Bernardo Queiroz, a local sailor and guide whose tours focus on finding bottlenose and common dolphins, told The Associated Press that "in the past 10 years, with the water improvement, we started seeing wildlife much more frequently. We used to see [the dolphins] 10 times a year and now we have [them] 200 days a year." Next week, the U.N. Ocean Conference will kick off in Lisbon, with the intention of reaching an international agreement on how to best protect the world's oceans.

The Associated Press

5. Wisconsin town celebrates 100-year-old woman with fire truck ride

As the mother of a retired fire chief and aunt of several volunteer firefighters, Fidalia "Dale" Breunig thought the best way to spend her 100th birthday this spring was by driving all over town on a fire truck. While the Sauk City, Wisconsin, resident made her way through the streets, she was greeted by friends, family, and strangers who wanted to wish her well. "I loved it," she told Fox News Digital. "We drove around and people were out at the curb and they all waved and it was just like some parades." Breunig was accompanied by her four children, and everyone made sure she was treated like a "queen for the day," her daughter, Eileen Ripp-Emerson, told Fox News Digital. After her ride on the fire truck, a party was held for Breunig at the care facility where she lives, and she was visited by her four younger siblings. "I'm enjoying life," Breunig said, and she plans on "staying around as long as I can."

Fox News Digital