"I'm Big Joe. 58. Long-haul trucker.
Been driving 18-wheelers for 34 years. Sleep in my cab. Eat at truck stops. Talk on CB radio to stay awake.
Lonely job. But someone's gotta move America's stuff.
Two years ago, I'm driving through Nebraska. 2 a.m. See a car pulled over. Hazards on.
Woman standing outside. Looking scared.
I pulled over. She backed away when she saw me. I'm 6'4", 280 pounds, covered in tattoos. I get it.
"Ma'am, I'm not stopping to hurt you. I'm stopping to help. What's wrong?"
Her car died. Phone dead. She'd been there three hours. Nobody stopped.
"Where you headed?"
"Hospital. Omaha. My daughter's in emergency surgery. I have to get there."
No hesitation. "Get in. I'll take you."
"In your truck?"
"Safest vehicle on this highway."
She hesitated. Then got in.
Drove her 60 miles out of my way. Got her there in time. She hugged me hard.
"Nobody stops anymore," she cried. "Thank you for seeing me."
Got back on the road. Couldn't stop thinking about it.
Got on the CB. Told other truckers. "We see everything out here. We should do something."
Started a code. "Code Angel" we call it. When truckers see someone broken down, stranded, in trouble, we stop. We help.
Word spread. Truckers across the country joined.
Last year, we helped 1,200 people. Dead batteries. Out of gas. Medical emergencies. Domestic violence victims escaping. Runaways needing safe transport to shelters.
We've got a network now. Truckers, CB radio, truck stops. Someone needs help? We mobilize.
Saved six lives last year. People broken down in dangerous spots. Diabetics in crisis. A kidnapping victim we spotted and reported.
But here's my favorite story.
Last month, I'm at a truck stop. Young kid approaches me. Maybe 19. Scared.
"Are you Big Joe?"
"Yeah."
"You know how to ride in a truck?"
His eyes filled. "You'd help me?"
"That's what we do."
I didn't go to San Francisco. But I got him to a trucker who was. She took him the rest of the way.
He made it. Safe.
Now there's 4,000 truckers in Code Angel. We've got an app. Dispatchers. Resources.
News called us "Guardian Angels of the Highway."
But we're just truckers. Doing what's right.
That woman in Nebraska? Her daughter survived surgery. She sends me Christmas cards every year.
The kid I helped? He's in college now. Studying social work. Says he wants to help invisible people like truckers helped him.
I'm Big Joe. I drive a truck. Sleep in parking lots. Smell like diesel.
But I learned something.
The loneliest roads are where people need help most. And the scariest-looking people are sometimes the ones who stop.
So tomorrow, if you break down, if you're stranded, if you're running from something bad,
Look for the trucks. We're watching. We're listening.
We might look rough. But we'll get you home.
Because the highway doesn't have to be lonely.
Not when 4,000 truckers refuse to drive past people in trouble."
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Let this story reach more hearts....
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Ai image is for demonstration purpose only.
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By Grace Jenkins
Lacht mich ruhig aus. Diese vier Tiere saßen in meinem Büro. Sie blickten von der kleinen Couch in Richtung der Wand.
Irgendwann störte mich das. Warum sollten Sie die ganze Zeit die Wand anstarren.
Also brachte ich sie ins Wohnzimmer und setzte sie so, dass sie ins Grüne schauen können.
Je nach Tageszeit sollen sie aber auch nicht in die grelle Sonne schauen müssen.
Tja. 4ever Single würde ich sagen. 🤝
Ian Fleming's original James Bond novels haven't aged well. For example, Moonraker - published almost exactly 70 years ago in April 1955 - features a villain who's a super-rich industrialist and rocket-maker seeking to cause chaos because he's a secret Nazi. Such a silly idea!
WELT: "Riskieren Sie mit dieser Maßnahme nicht, sich unbeliebt zu machen?"
#Habeck: "Wenn wir in Zukunft nur noch Politiker wählen, die ihr Geschäftsmodell darin sehen nichts zu tun um möglichst beliebt zu sein, dann können wir den Laden dicht machen."
Most soldiers serve for a few years.
He served in the French Army for 90 years.
Born in 1698, he fought under Louis XV, Louis XVI, and even Napoleon.
This is the incredible story of France’s most loyal soldier (you'll want to bookmark this):
Ich rechne damit, dass heute, wenige Tage vor der Bundestagswahl, Vorwürfe gegen meine Doktorarbeit, die ich vor 25 Jahren in Hamburg geschrieben habe, veröffentlicht werden. Ich habe mich entschieden, das Ganze transparent zu machen. Denn ich kenne die Vorwürfe – und konnte sie vorab prüfen lassen.
Das Ergebnis: Die Ombudsstelle der Universität Hamburg hat die Vorwürfe entkräftet und bestätigt, dass kein wissenschaftliches Fehlverhalten vorliegt. Ich habe auch den Präsident der Leopoldina, der Nationalen Akademie der Wissenschaften, um eine Einschätzung gebeten. Auch er hat keine Zweifel an der Eigenständigkeit der wissenschaftlichen Arbeit.
Die Anschuldigungen – übrigens nicht wie sonst Textplagiate, sondern Ungenauigkeiten in den Fußnoten – stammen vom Plagiatsjäger Stefan Weber. Wer ihn beauftragt hat und wer ihn bezahlt, weiß ich nicht, da er seine Geldquellen ja im Verborgenen lässt und über seine Geldgeber keine Transparenz herstellt. Einmal konnte durch journalistische Recherche aufgezeigt werden, dass es das Nachrichtenportal NIUS war.
Ein letztes: Herr Weber wird auch Vorwürfe gegen die Doktorarbeit meiner Frau erheben. Meine Frau kandidiert aber für kein politisches Mandat. Sie ist nicht Teil dieses Wahlkampfs. Ich bitte darum, meine Familie rauszuhalten.
Just saw Robert Eggers' Nosferatu.
As a historian, more than any other director, I trust Eggers to capture the "vibes" of a historical setting, even a fantasy one like this.
From the standpoint of capturing the 1830s in Germany, this film is great.
🧵 1/25
In 2021, I organized Afghanistan's first all-female flight together with Kam Air. Many media outlets covered the event and the video reached millions of people but what happened to the women after the Taliban took over and where are they now?
A Thread 🧵
I’ve had a look through chapter 12 of Nicholas Rodger’s new naval #history book, The Price of Victory. There are errors. Not a huge number, but enough. Some of them are his sources’ fault, and some of them are clearly his. Read on and judge for yourself.
"When I came to this and gave up anonymity, my children were ashamed to have the name Pelicot. But I have grandchildren who are called Pelicot. I want them not to be ashamed to have the name. i want them to be proud of their grandmother. I want people to remember Madame Pelicot not Monsieur Pelicot."
Gestern hat Gisèle Pelicot das letzte Mal im Vergewaltigungsprozess gegen ihren Ehemann das Wort ergriffen.
Liebe @DB_Bahn .. wenn man uns schon in Au a.d.S. rausschmeißt, bitte bitte organisiert doch Busse...
Nach 2 Stunden warten im Regen macht das keine Lust mehr