11 Good News Stories: A Truck, A Laundromat And A Table Of Hope

ACROSS AMERICA — We don’t need to remind you of everything you have to navigate.

The struggle is real. And not just for us human primates.

A Saw-whet owl was living his life in a beautiful spruce tree near Oneonta in upstate New York, just doing what far-sighted owls do from the high perch, moving his head from side to side to get a good look at the deliciousness waiting on the ground below. And then, bam, the 11-ton tree was felled, loaded on a truck and sent on a three-hour, 170-mille journey to Midtown Manhattan, where it would be decorated in an annual holiday tradition at Rockefeller Center.

That was Saturday. Two days later, Ellen Kalish’s phone rang in Saugerties, about two hours away. She and her husband specialize in birds of prey at their wildlife rehabilitation center, and she quickly fetched the hungry, thirsty owl and gave it water and some frozen mice. Once they’re sure the owl wasn’t injured when the tree fell, they’ll release him. Owls aren’t creatures of habit when it comes to migration, so this raptor will be able to fly wherever he wants. By Nick Garber on Midtown-Hell’s Kitchen Patch

Americans weary of the coronavirus pandemic and its various complications may want to adopt the owl — associated with wisdom and good judgment, and known for it sharp vision and keen observation —as their spirit animal. As we continue our selection of inspiring stories from Patch editors across the country, who (did you see what we did there?) doesn’t need one more owl story?

A Phoenix Rises

Firefighters were checking for hot spots after a wildfire near Irvine, California, when they heard a harsh scream of distress from a barn owl that was unable to take flight. Its wingtips were singed, and burns covered its body. Rescuing it was a little like wrangling chickens, one of the firefighters said. The now-recuperating Smokey the Owl is like the mythological phoenix rising from the ashes — and gaining quite a bit of fame on social media. By Ashley Ludwig for Lake Forest Patch

Trucking Hope

Ron Williams of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, knows the route to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota pretty well by now. Williams, who is of blended Native American descent, has made several trips in a rented truck filled with food, toys and heaters since 2015, when he joined tribes gathering against the Dakota Access Pipeline and was “blown away by the amount of poverty” on the reservation. He and his wife live on a fixed income, but they’re doing what they can to help the Oglala Sioux Tribe, one of the poorest in the country and especially hard hit by the pandemic. By Marlene Lang for Malvern Patch

No Piece Of Trash Was Safe

As most adults on New York City’s Upper West Side were drinking their first cups of coffee Sunday, the 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds of the Purple Circle Early Childhood School got to work cleaning up the neighborhood. No piece of trash was safe. Why? “For the good of a neighborhood,” a 4-year-old named Nico told Patch matter-of-factly. By Gus Saltonstall for Upper West Side Patch

How To Love In A Pandemic

Call it love in the time of the pandemic: Greenport, New York, businesswoman Sharon Sailor has quietly set up a table outside her restaurant to share things she and her family no longer need but that might mean everything to someone in need. "I love to repurpose," she told Patch. "I had things that I, and some family members, were no longer using. They were nothing 'special' to us, just everyday items we had outgrown or replaced. Yet I thought to myself that something that's so benign and that we take for granted can be life-changing to others." By Lisa Finn for North Fork Patch

This is Love, Too

The Blue Bear Laundry Room at Barringer High School in Newark, New Jersey, isn't just about clean clothes. It's about empowerment. Newark schools recently teamed with Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville to build a free laundromat at the school. It’s intended to provide a big boost for young adults who are housing insecure and may not have access to a washing machine at home. It's much more than a clean pair of socks, organizers said. For students, it can also mean improved attendance, boosted confidence or an end to bullying. By Eric Kiefer for Newark Patch

Joy 3X

The news coming out of America’s health care centers is especially grim as the pandemic rages. But one development coming from an Austin, Texas, hospital — where identical triplet boys were just born — is nothing short of life-affirming. Devon Bernier was in her 40s when she married and soon after went through in vitro fertilization, using an egg donated by her sister. Soon, doctors detected not one but three heartbeats. By Tony Cantu for Austin Patch

“We Did It, Guys”

If you’ve been following the progress Nova Rae Schott, who was born about three months early, here’s some wonderful news: She was discharged from the hospital where she spent the first 77 days of her life and is at home in North Fork, New York, with her parents, Christian Schott and Jess Dunne. To her husband and daughter, Dunne said: “I am so honored to be in this life with you two. A quote that has seen to be very relevant in my life the past few years: 'It's always darkest before the dawn.' Thank you to our community and friends for constantly praying, donating, and following our journey. God is good. Nova Rae Schott, You, my girl, you are a force to be reckoned with. We did it, guys. We made it out!” By Lisa Finn for North Fork Patch

This Tiny Baby’s Birth Is Big

More than 10,000 miles from Borneo, the only place on Earth where a rare orangutan species is found in the world, a cheer went up at ZooTampa in Florida. First-time mom Randee gave birth after a courtship carefully arranged under the Species Survival Plan for critically endangered Bornean orangutans, which are disappearing from the rainforests of the giant island in Southeast Asia’s Malay Archipelago at a rate of 2,000 to 3,000 a year. One of the biggest threats to their survival is the destruction of habitat to make room for plantations to satisfy the huge market for palm oil, which is found in about half of the packaged goods sold in U.S. and European grocery stores. ZooTampa supports conservation efforts both philosophically and in the sale of products using sustainably grown African oil palm trees. By D’Ann Lawrence White for Tampa Patch

A Grounded Veteran

Chuck McCloud, a 70-year-old Vietnam combat veteran, was selected to board an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., early next year, but the flight has already been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Veterans Day could also have been a lonely affair given the restrictions, but he opened his mailbox to find a bag of treats. That was a sweet gesture, but the note left by the seventh-grade student at a Palos Hills, Illinois, middle school was even sweeter. By Lorraine Swanson for Palos Patch

Kelly Clarkson Drops In

Amanda Brex-Castillo has dealt with countless technical difficulties and surprises leading the South Elgin, Illinois, High School choir in virtual classrooms. The most recent surprise wasn’t another problem to solve, but a surprise visitor. Grammy Award-winning singer Kelly Clarkson dropped into her virtual classroom. She had been invited by the students to let Brex-Castillo “know how much she is appreciated and that we see her hard work,” said Paige Erath, a 17-year-old at the high school. By Jason Addy for Elgin Patch