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Leave your troubles outside

So, life is disappointing?

Forget it!

In here, life is beautiful — Emcee, Cabaret

We’re not making light of the current condition of our nation or of anyone’s individual situations that no amount of good news and/or money could remedy. We just want to stop and help all of us remember that life is still worth living, maybe even celebrating. So, share some good news with your friends and family as we tell you some of ours. Then we can go back to doomscrolling and fighting back wave upon wave of nausea every time a certain felon’s name is mentioned, and it’s mentioned a lot. Way too much. So, good news, it is.

And before you mention it, yes, I know how Cabaret ends, with brownshirts in the audience and our heroes outfitted in prison garb with yellow stars on their chests. No one here is advocating for forgetting the fight, but it’s at this moment, when we find ourselves in the fight of our lives, that we should pause to take a gander at all that we’re fighting for. And it’s a lot. Namaste. — Anthony Mariani, Editor

Luka Uni Magic

When we heard that former Mav Luka Dončić had donated to a local GoFundMe campaign shortly after having been traded to the Lakers — yeah, we’re all still sore about that messed-up situation — we thought surely this is old news, or fake news, or just wishful thinking. No. Dončić has a big heart, and that’s one of the reasons he’s still so beloved among local fans (who may or may not find themselves rooting for L.A. now). It’s true. The girls basketball team at Crowley High School was surprised by a donation from him for some much-needed new uniforms just days before he came back to North Texas to face off against his former teammates for the first time. Could you kindly return him to us now? Asking for an entire metropolitan area. Thanks! — Jennifer Bovee

Captain Saginaw-Adjacent Fort Worth

I did something nice the other day. Amazing, since I’m normally so self-involved. The guys pruning our next-door neighbors’ front tree ran out of gas. I don’t know how I was out front, but I was at one point, wandering, wondering — and that’s when one of the workers asked me if I had any gas for my lawn mower that he could borrow for his leaf blower.

“I only have a little bit left,” I said sheepishly, squeezing my thumb and index finger together to show him precisely how much, like he was an idiot. “I’m so sorry.”

Smiling, he said OK and returned to cleaning up the neighbors’ sidewalk and driveway.

Once I was back inside my house, it hit me: How would I feel in his shoes? Or his work boots, as it were. Macho was one thing. Another was scared. Maybe by not leaf blowing, this hardworking compadre would earn himself a negative review online, thus ruining not only his week but possibly even his entire business!

I bolted to my shed out back. Let’s see, I’ve got to mow a day or two from now — will I have enough gas for me and him? Should I just give him what I got and go gas up at some point between now and my next mow?

I zipped back out front with my mostly empty gas can, holding it high like a pitcher of margaritas, and caught the guy pulling away in his pickup hauling a mess of tree limbs. Happily, he pulled over, got out, undid the nozzle on his leaf blower, and held it up to me. All it took was a couple of pours, not even enough to fill a coffee cup. My man was especially grateful, and I felt as if I’d performed a Festivus miracle. In a world that forces us to feel bad about ourselves and our situations, doing a little something nice for someone else, particularly a stranger, breaks that sickening spell.

I had thought that I’d helped The Struggle with my writing, and maybe I have. Still, no amount of strongly worded columns matches a good deed. Now, I’m like Captain America of Saginaw-adjacent Fort Worth: picking up litter, closing open trash lids in the rain, making sure my sidewalk is free of debris. My young son and I even returned a lost dog to its owner on the way to school the other day. My Captain America-ing is super-little but way more than what I had been doing with my mornings at home: sitting on my brains indoors doomscrolling. Not anymore. — A.M.

Sonic Boom for Classrooms

When it’s time for 50-cent corny dogs at the Sonic by the Weekly offices, you’d think it was a national holiday. (You can buy only 12 at a time, by the way, but I digress.) Beyond providing a way to get a good meal with the change in your glove compartment, the company does great things for the community. In late April, the Sonic Drive-In franchisees from North Texas sent 100 local teachers to a training workshop via a $250,000 scholarship program.

“At Sonic, we are incredibly fortunate to have local franchisees who deeply value the importance of giving back to the communities we serve,” said Jared Ervin, Dallas-Fort Worth Sonic Franchisees Area President. “Teachers represent the backbone of our communities, and we are honored to support their vital efforts in the classroom.”

Teachers from 61 different public schools in Texas attended the Ron Clark Academy Experience, a dynamic two-day training in Atlanta that gives educators an immersive experience to bring powerful teaching techniques back to their local classrooms. The Ron Clark Academy is a highly acclaimed nonprofit middle school that doubles as a demonstration school — a place where visiting educators engage in a vibrant professional development experience by observing best practices in action before participating in hands-on workshops. Over the past 16 years, more than 150,000 superintendents, district-level administrators, and teachers have participated in the RCA Experience to learn new ways to engage students, promote academic excellence, build relationships, and create a positive classroom culture.

Guests can join Sonic in supporting teachers and local public schools by ordering their favorite drink at the drive-in. Every time guests purchase a Sonic drink, Slush, Blast, or Shake, the brand donates a portion of proceeds to the Sonic Foundation, which is used to support public education through Limeades for Learning. Since 2009, Sonic has donated more than $30 million to fund local classrooms, becoming one of the largest programs to support public education in the U.S. Learn more at Foundation.SonicDriveIn.com. — J.B.

’90s Rerun

Locally renowned ’90s cover band The Dick Beldings made their long-awaited return to Magnolia Motor Lounge Saturday night, and the show just happened to coincide with the Dallas Stars’ Game 7 against the Colorado Avalanche. As the band kicked off, the hometown team was losing 2-0 with less than 10 minutes to go. Donning a Stars jersey, the lead singer all but encouraged the crowd to keep one eye on the game while singing along. And then something magical happened. The crowd seemed to will the Stars on from afar, and soon enough the team had scored. Then came the tying goal. And another. And another. As time expired with Dallas having secured a 4-2 win and title hopes intact, the band and the crowd were one in their elation. I don’t even really like hockey, but you can bet I’ll be watching these playoffs from here on out. After the show, the DBs posted on their Facebook page: “Another playoff memory cemented in our minds during a show. Thanks to everyone who came out last night! That was a fun one.” Right on! — Emmy Smith