The week's good news: May 4, 2017

(Image credit: Jeff Gentner/Getty Images)

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1. Pen pals meet in person after 42 years of exchanging letters
2. These dogs with disabilities are being trained as therapy animals
3. Girl performs song at talent show asking stepdad to adopt her
4. Yale-bound Ohio quadruplets sticking together for 4 more years
5. This Metallica cover band's gear was stolen, so Metallica offered to pay for it

published 4 May 2017

1. Pen pals meet in person after 42 years of exchanging letters

After 42 years of writing letters back and forth, George Ghossn and Lori Gertz were finally able to update each other on their lives in person. Ghossn, 56, lives in East Islip, New York, and Gertz, 54, resides in San Diego. They finally met when Gertz and her son traveled to the East Coast. "We just hugged and we cried," Ghossn told ABC News. "It was very emotional after all the years." They were brought together through a chain letter, and continue to write once a month. Ghossn and Gertz have kept all of the letters they received, evidence of a deep friendship; Ghossn, whose parents and brothers have all died, views Gertz as a sister. "I love George," Gertz said. "George is a staple in my life. My whole family knows George ... it's my longest relationship that I've had with anybody. It's beautiful."

A special bond is developing between the dogs at Dharma Rescue in Southern California and kids and adults with disabilities. Most of the dogs are partially paralyzed after sustaining injuries or enduring abuse by their previous owners, and have received special customized wheelchairs that allow them to move quickly outside. They are being trained as therapy dogs, and spend time at hospitals, schools, and the Advantage Day Program in Torrance. There, the therapy dogs snuggle with special needs adults and go on walks. "They're giving them kisses, they want to be pet, they want to be loved," Cherisse Anel, activities director, told ABC 7. "To them, there is no disability."

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Hailey Quinones, 12, stunned the audience at her school's talent show when she sang a song she wrote for her stepfather, asking him to adopt her. In front of 150 people in Stockton, California, Quinones performed her original song, which included the lyrics "I would be so pleased if you would adopt me." Quinones even came armed with the paperwork necessary to start the adoption process. Both Quinones and Gomez were in tears, and Gomez, who has been in Quinones' life for 10 years, happily agreed to formally adopt her. Alishea Conroy, Quinones' mother, told Inside Edition her daughter doesn't like to let people know when she is feeling sad or sentimental, so the public request came as a huge surprise. "She is one of a kind," Conroy said.

The Wade quadruplets were accepted into a combined 59 colleges, but they all settled on the same one: Yale University. The 18-year-old brothers from Liberty Township, Ohio, said they not only felt comfortable on campus, but they received an "extraordinary" financial aid package. "The school treated us like family," Nigel Wade said. The brothers — Nigel, Zach, Aaron, and Nick — are all proud of each other, with Nigel telling NBC News, "We are more collaborative than competitive." Aaron, a pianist and singer, wants to study artificial intelligence, while Zach, a discus star, will likely study chemical engineering. Nick has studied Arabic in Morocco and wants to become a diplomat, and Nigel plans on studying neuroscience in order to become a doctor.

The members of Metallica tribute act Blistered Earth have a new reason to love their heavy-metal heroes. After the Washington-based cover band played a gig in Portland, Oregon, last month, their van was broken into and $20,000 worth of gear — their guitars, amps, and drums — was stolen. Blistered Earth wrote about the theft on Facebook and were stunned when Metallica's management got in touch to say that the metal legends wanted to pay for all the missing gear to be replaced. "It's pretty awesome that they would do that," says Blistered Earth drummer Shawn Murphy.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.