Good News: Americans Find Joy Amid Crisis, Plus Puppies And Bears

Usually, people are off on adventurous road trips or flying someplace fun for the three-day Memorial Day Weekend. The coronavirus has so disrupted holiday travel that the AAA travel organization didn’t bother with its annual forecast advising Americans of the best times to get out of town to avoid the rush, how many people they’ll encounter on the road and in the air, and how much they’ll spend for a hotel.

This year, people are finding new ways to delight themselves by staying put. One of our Patch editors in Florida asked readers for inspiration, and they responded with photos of their socially-distanced excursions.

Together, they display the incredibility of humans to adapt to the worst of circumstances.

Read it: Touching, Beautiful Moments While Staying Home, by D’Ann Lawrence White on Land O’ Lakes Patch.

Here are 12 other stories that offer inspiration and hope:

For Sure, One For The Memories

The coronavirus has upended all our lives in a myriad of different ways. Jeongmin Cho, an international student at Princeton University, and his family decided when the virus hit that he should quarantine on the New Jersey campus rather than return home to Seoul, South Korea, at the time one of the most affected countries. He decided to make the most of the situation is documenting daily life during a pandemic. By Alexis Tarrazi on Princeton Patch.

(Photo courtesy of Associated Humane Societies)

200 Tiny Gestures And A Huge Heart

An Austin sixth-grader arranged 200 tiny bouquets of flowers in 200 tiny vases, then arranged them on a hospital lawn in the shape of a heart — certainly touching the hearts not only of doctors, nurses and other medical workers, but also janitors, cafeteria workers and others on the hospital staff. By Tony Cantu on Downtown Austin Patch.

(Photo courtesy of Plainfield School District 202)

Times Are Tough, So Athlete Gets Tough

This should have been a turnaround season for a California high school student who plays outfielder for her school’s softball team. She wants to play softball in college, and this would have been the summer for scouts to check out her talent. But rather than moping and frittering away her time, she went full throttle ahead toward her dreams. By Ashley Ludwig on Rancho Santa Margarita Patch.

(Photo courtesy of the Glass Family)

Big Turnout For Vet’s Parade

A U.S. Army veteran’s 100th birthday party looked to be a bust, another casualty of the coronavirus, but Patch readers in a Virginia town responded when asked to help make it up to the gentleman. What a parade he got! By Emily Leayman on Burke Patch.

(Photo courtesy of Jeff Lin)

Stretching Her Wings

Cole Lawlor never imagined herself as an author, or that she would write a children’s book. But her message in “Baby Big Bird” is resonating with children who are having difficulty understanding why they’re cut off from their friends, school and sports. By Rachel Nunes on Cranston Patch.

(Photo courtesy of Cole Lawlor)

March For A Million Masks

Businesses are responding in various ways to the coronavirus crisis. A clothing manufacturer in Illinois has been personalizing apparel and business promotional products for nearly three decades, but pivoted to donate up to 1 million masks. By Rebecca Bream on Palatine Patch.

A Tale Of Two Bears

We get it. Sometimes, the best therapy for quarantine boredom is just to watch what goes on in nature. Bears coming out of hibernation are awaking to a quieter world in Colorado, and they’re venturing farther into neighborhoods without worry of encountering too many pesky humans. A guy in Boulder caught the most interesting scene on camera: A young bear inspecting a wooden landscaping bear. By Amber Fisher on Boulder Patch.

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