Joanne Smith Mooney🇺🇸

[The Gentlemen's Guild @TheGentsGuild]

In 1984, Paul Newman took the watch off his wrist and handed it to a young man who'd just told him he didn't own one. Thirty-three years later, it sold for about $17.8 million.

It was his Rolex Daytona, a gift from his wife, Joanne Woodward. It was probably worth a few hundred bucks at most at the time. On the back, she'd had it engraved "DRIVE CAREFULLY ME" on three separate lines, because he raced cars and it frightened the life out of her.

Newman wore it every day for years. Then one summer, his daughter's boyfriend, James Cox, was rebuilding the family tree house when Newman asked him the time. James said he didn't know and didn't own a watch.

So Newman took the Rolex off his wrist and handed it over:

"If you can remember to wind this each day, it tells pretty good time."

No photographers present, no fuss, just a spur-of-the-moment gift to his daughter's boyfriend.

In 2017, James sold it for about $17.8 million, a world record for a wristwatch at the time. He then reportedly donated a large portion of it to the Nell Newman Foundation, Newman's daughter's charity.

That was typical Newman. Newman's Own, the food company he founded, gives all its profits to charity and has handed over hundreds of millions. He was also known for giving privately, without letting anyone know it was him.

What a great example. Anyone can be generous with a camera on them. A true gentleman does it when no one's watching.

[Hosna ⚖️ בניטה @DOGEQEEN]

On Christmas Eve in 1975, Dan Fogelberg’s mother ran out of whipping cream. He drove through the snow to the Convenient Food Mart in Peoria and turned down the frozen foods aisle. Standing in front of him was the girl he had loved in high school.

Dan was born in Peoria in 1951. His father was a high school band director. Dan taught himself guitar and piano, formed a band at fourteen, and left for Colorado and California in his early twenties. Before the albums there had been Woodruff High School and Jill Anderson. They dated, graduated in 1969, and then went to separate colleges. The distance pulled them apart. Jill married and moved to Chicago. Dan built a music career.

That night they recognized each other immediately. Every bar in Peoria was closed. They bought a six-pack of Olympia beer, sat in a car in the cold, and talked until there was little left to say but goodbye. She told him about her marriage. He told her about the music and the road.

Five years later he released *Same Old Lang Syne*. It reached number nine on the charts and became a December song across America. He changed two small details. He wrote that her eyes were blue; they were green. He wrote that her husband was an architect; he was a physical education teacher. Apart from those changes, the story was true.

Jill heard the song on the radio while driving to work and recognized herself. She told no one. Dan confirmed the song was autobiographical but refused to name her. She respected the decision. She had her own life. He had his.

She was divorced by the time the song came out. Years later she saw him backstage at a concert. They spoke briefly. She became a teacher in Missouri. He kept writing and never revealed her name.

In May 2004 Dan was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He died on December 16, 2007, at 56. Six days later Jill Greulich, formerly Jill Anderson of the class of 1969, spoke to the Peoria Journal Star for the first time and confirmed the story. She corrected the two details he had changed.

“I’ll always have a place in my heart for Dan,” she said. “He would be a very special person to me, even without the song.”

The street where the store stood is now called Fogelberg Parkway. Every December the song plays across America. Most listeners never knew the woman’s name. Dan made sure it stayed that way.

[🎸 Rock History 🎸 @historyrock_]

Imagine walking down the street and running into one of the greatest legends in Rock History...

[Ryan Fournier @RyanAFournier]

🚨 ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED!

Oregon politician Nafisa Fai holds a rally disrespecting our nation with an UPSIDE-DOWN FLAG while refusing to speak English!

If you come to America, you respect our flag, honor our traditions, and ASSIMILATE.

America First—ALWAYS! 🇺🇸

[Alva Myers @tizintest]

Today was opening day for the American Made store they just built across the street from our development. I stopped in and it does only sell products made in America. Lots of candy, building supplies, storage buildings, household items, and a great ice cream bar (they were giving out free cups of ice cream, I had the black walnut). They also sell farm fresh eggs, whole milk from an Amish dairy, cheeses, and lots of canned products from Amish supplies. Prices were normal and not exhorbitant. It's a hit. This is in Duenweg, Missouri.

[Catturd ™ @catturd2]

But the Doomer grifters said MAGA is dead.

[Nick Sortor @nicksortor]

You know, I THOUGHT I saw Floyd Mayweather sitting a few rows away at Trump’s rally, but determined “there’s no way”

WELP. President Trump just brought him on stage! 🤣

“If I died and came back a million times, I will ALWAYS choose America. It was great to represent this country in the 1996 Olympic Games, to go out there and represent the red, white, and blue. And we couldn't have chose a better president twice than Donald Trump.”

Patriot 🇺🇸

[Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson]

The media will never show you this picture…

It’s President Trump at 4 AM this morning arriving back at the White House. The President had just returned from hosting back-to-back massive rallies in Alaska, Arizona, and Montana.

All in just 24 hours. Thousands of miles and 3 rallies across America in just a day.

A grueling schedule that would leave most people completely flat on their back.

Guess what Trump did?

And at 80 years old, he went right into work in the Oval Office while most of America was sleeping.

And this is why I will NEVER regret my vote for Trump. No president in history has ever worked harder for the American people. Trump took a bullet for America. He’s willing to die for our country. He’s giving this job everything he’s got.

The least we can do is vote Republican in the midterms. Please vote 🇺🇸

[Juanita Broaddrick @atensnut]

America should do the same.

[FeelGoodThoughts @feelgoodtale]

“So this happened in Montana. I'm on my way to go to my interview this morning when I get pulled over by a police officer.
I am native American and my friend that was with me is black. Just saying.
Both brake lights decided to go out this time.
As he walked to the car and I was pulling out my stuff, he quickly said,
"Don't worry about pulling anything out. I just want you to know that your brake lights are out."
So I'm immediately upset, because I just got them replaced like last month.
So I explained to him how Firestone wants to charge me $600 just to run a test on the wiring of the car.
He looked at me like 😨 and told me to pop the trunk.
He checked the lights in the trunk and tapped them, but they didn't come on.
So he told me to pop the hood to check the relay box then asked me to get out to check the other one.
Then worked on the wiring under the dash.
He could've easily given me a ticket, but Officer Jenkins stepped out of the officer role, and into the mechanic role, and human role to make sure I was straight.
By the way, HE FIXED THEM. Not everyone is racist or a bad cop.”

Credit to the Respective Owner

[Nate Atkins @onlynateatkins]

So I was home last night making dinner. Just as I was pulling the delectable frozen pizza from the oven my daughter called. She said she and her boyfriend were at Bryant Lake Bowl (a local bowling alley here in Minneapolis). They were 90% certain that Robert Plant was there bowling.

At first I scoffed. But she insisted and as we talked her boyfriend chimed in that he was positive that indeed it was Mr Robert Plant.

My heart raced. Led Zeppelin was the first band I obsessed over. The first vinyl I bought was Led Zeppelin III. A couple years later it was the same album I chose as my first CD purchase in 1989. They were foundational in my life and inspired my love of great music.

So I abandoned my dinner and took off in my truck to get there and possibly *fingers crossed* snag a picture with Mr Plant.

Along the way my daughter called, warning me to hurry as it looked like Mr Plant and his entourage were getting ready to leave.

I floored it.

I scored a parking spot right on Lake Street in front of Bryant Lake Bowl. Yes!

I calmly raced into the bowling alley and found that my daughter and her boyfriend with 2 lanes down from Mr Plant. They warned me that Plant's manager was preventing anyone from approaching Mr Plant.

But I knew I had to try. This was Robert friggin Plant, after all. How could I find myself so close to someone so foundational to my life and not try to at least express my gratitude for him and the music he created?

So I calmly approached Mr Plant. His manager obstructed me, shaking his head, "No, mate". I pleaded, "I just need to tell him how much his music has meant to me." "No, mate" his manager said again while shaking his head. I could tell I wasn't going to get anywhere and ultimately I chose to respect his boundaries and move on. I bowled a few rounds with my daughter (with Mr Plant a couple lanes over - and bowling better than me, I might add!), downed my beer and headed home.

I woke up this morning to this picture. It turns out my daughter's boyfriend (who plays in a bluegrass band here in the Twin Cities) struck up a conversation with Mr Plant's bandmates. They spoke for over an hour. Just as Mr Plant and his entourage were getting up to leave my daughter's boyfriend tried to ask for a picture. The manager re-buffed him. But, Mr Plant shrugged him off and motioned them over for a photo.

So this is them, with Mr Plant posing with their leftover nachos.

I wish I was there but it warms my heart that my daughter got to meet a living musical legend.

[visionaryvoid @Visionaryvoid]

Susan Levin was on a treadmill when Robert Downey Jr. asked her to dinner.
It was 2003, and they were both working on the thriller Gothika. She was one of its producers. He was the actor, fired from Ally McBeal two years earlier and coming off court-ordered rehab. A group of them worked out together after each shoot. “Levin, you wanna go to dinner?” he said. She answered with a shrug, something like “Eh, I’ll grab something to eat.” Then he came down the stairs to meet her in the lobby, and she thought, He’s really cute. Until then she had seen him as a professor, or someone’s older brother.
When filming ended, the old trouble came back. Susan has said she met what he calls “Darth Vader,” his darker side, for about a minute. She admits she knew almost nothing about addiction. She didn’t make a speech or stage an intervention. She just said it: this isn’t going to work. To stay with her, nothing could happen.
It landed.
He was driving along the Pacific Coast Highway when he pulled over at a Burger King. He threw his drugs into the ocean. “I have to thank Burger King,” he said later, joking that the burger was disgusting and he feared something bad was about to happen. His publicist said the story was “not as simplified as described, but true enough.”
Susan has her own view of why it worked: “I think he saw what we had.”
They got engaged that November, a few months after meeting. They married on August 27, 2005, in the Hamptons. She produced Sherlock Holmes, and in January 2010 he won a Golden Globe for it. That year they started Team Downey, their production company. Their son Exton was born in 2012 and their daughter Avri in 2014. Susan also built a close bond with Indio, Robert’s son from his first marriage. Around Hollywood she became known as the miracle that saved him.
On March 10, 2024, Robert Downey Jr. won his first Oscar, Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer. He thanked his “terrible childhood” first. Then he turned to his wife: “She found me a snarling rescue pet and you loved me back to life.”

[Ravious101 🦅🇺🇸 @Ravious101]

High schoolers in Arizona skipping class for a Trump rally in Bullhead City isn’t just “kids being kids” or a cute field trip story.
When students who can’t even vote yet are willing to take the attendance hit because they believe the election directly shapes their schools, jobs, and future that’s a different level of engagement than the usual adult-organized walkouts.
It suggests a chunk of Gen Z is treating politics as personal stakes, not abstract homework.

[Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman]

🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just told Arizona exactly what he wants on Election Day.

President Trump: "We want Arizona in a landslide... Give some of those votes to Andy."

That's Andy Biggs for governor.

Arizona, get out and vote!

[Nick Sortor @nicksortor]

🔥 President Trump just riffed on stage for almost TWO HOURS STRAIGHT in Arizona, and danced all the way off the stage

Meanwhile, the MASSIVE crowd of people was STILL present, and STILL fully engaged.

Dude’s a TRUE entertainer 😂🤣

[Juanita Broaddrick @atensnut]

Let’s GO, Arizona !! ELECT Andy Biggs.

These people love Trump. They know Katie Hobbs is an illegitimate Governor and is destroying their state.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

My son is a senior in high school who works thirty hours a month at a sporting goods retailer.

He submitted a written time-off request four weeks in advance for his high school graduation ceremony and family dinner. The supervisor signed the paper and pinned it to the bulletin board.

When the weekly roster was posted, the store manager had scheduled him for a closing shift right through the exact hours of his graduation ceremony.

When my son brought the signed approval sheet to the manager’s desk, the man shrugged and said:

"Business needs change. If you don't show up for your shift, consider it job abandonment. In the real world, you learn that your job comes before personal plans."

My son sat in the car in our driveway, completely defeated, genuinely believing he had to choose between walking across the graduation stage or keeping his job.

I walked into the store with him, found the manager, and had my son hand over his nametag and uniform shirt on the spot.

I looked the manager in the eye and said:

"In the real world, you are a retail manager attempting to manipulate a teenager into missing a once-in-a-lifetime milestone he worked twelve years to earn, all to fold sweatpants on a Friday evening. His resignation is effective immediately."

The manager stammered, turned red, and started offering to find shift coverage on the spot. We walked out.

Teach your children early: an hourly job that demands you sacrifice your education, your milestones, and your self-worth does not value you as a human being. Never let an entry-level supervisor convince your child that their future is negotiable.

[Farm Girl Carrie™️👩‍🌾 @FarmGirlCarrie]

The Barbary states declared that the
Quran gave them the right to seize Christian ships and enslave their crews.
And the Pasha of Tripoli demanded tribute and declared war on America in 1801
Jefferson refused to pay. He ordered the Marines and the fleet to Tripoli instead.
That's why the Marine Corps hymn still sings
"…to the shores of Tripoli." We didn't negotiate with jihad. We ended it with cannon fire and steel.
America's first war as a free nation was fought against Islamic piracy and slavery.

[Ryan Fournier @RyanAFournier]

The energy in Arizona is OFF THE CHARTS! 🚨
Supporters are driving 4-5 hours all the way from California just to see President Trump!
The movement is bigger than ever and nobody can stop the Trump Train! 🚂🇺🇸

[Trump Girl @TrumpGirlLove]

A Tennessee truck driver named Tony Alsup didn’t wait for official rescue teams when Hurricane Florence bore down on the Carolinas in 2018.

He bought a used school bus, stripped out every seat, and pointed it straight at the storm.

He called the stripped-down bus Noah’s Ark. Inside it, he loaded 53 dogs and 11 cats—64 animals in all—taken from overcrowded shelters that stood in the path of rising floodwaters.

He deliberately chose the ones most shelters struggle to place: older dogs, animals with medical conditions, and the “leftovers” that often get left behind when space runs out.

Cages stacked along the walls, blankets spread across the floor, and dogs standing on the seats he had left in place turned the bus into a rolling kennel.

Alsup drove the animals out of the danger zone and delivered them safely to a receiving shelter in Foley, Alabama.

From there they were dispersed to facilities across the country that still had room. He covered the fuel costs himself. The trip was not a one-off. After earlier storms—Harvey, Irma, and Maria—he had already begun hauling supplies into disaster areas and pulling shelter animals out of them.

Florence simply gave him a larger vehicle and a clearer target.

The image of Alsup sitting in the driver’s seat of that bus, dogs peering over seat backs and carriers lining the aisle, captures the scale of what one person decided was possible when the water started rising.

The animals reached dry ground. Most of them eventually found homes. The bus, for a few critical days, did exactly what he built it to do. ❤️🐾