Steve Hartman's 2023 "On the Road" stories

beautiful music can soothe the soul bring a smile to your face or even a tear to your eye cbs's Steve Hartman has the story of a Young musician that will do all three in tonight's on the road to 11-year-old Jude Kofi of aora Colorado this surprise was music to his eyes obviously whoever said the best things come in small packages was never gifted a grand piano judee's father Isaiah so one day it just shows up at the house yes all for free who does that the answer in a moment but first the reason about a year and a half ago Jude's dad heard a noise coming from the basement there was an old keyboard down there but no one knew how to play it certainly not his autistic son Jude or so he thought Isaiah then got Jude a larger keyboard to see what more he could do and boy could he do the kid never had a lesson no one taught him any of this how do you explain that you're as good as you are it's a miracle you think it's a miracle that's what I prefer Bill Magnus prefers that too is he special he Beyond special he's Mozart level is coming from somewhere Beyond bill is a piano tuner he saw a local news story about Jude heard him play learned how his parents immigrated from Ghana how they're raising four children and sending money back to Ghana what resources are left over to help this special little [Music] soul yours yeah using an inheritance from his father Bill bought the the piano spent $115,000 he has promised to tune it once a month for the rest of his life very nice and he's even paying for Jude to get professional lessons we're family now somebody to just love your son like that by making sure that his future is secured we are super thankful yeah press the pedal caring for other children as your own the defining note of humanity Steve Hartman on the road in aora Colorado there are few things in this world more powerful than a child with a dream and in this week's on the road cbs's Steve Hartman shows us how a group of Minnesota school kids used their dream to help their fellow classmates at Glen Lake Elementary in Hopkins Minnesota recess is a mixed blessing on the one hand there's so much to do but on the other hand not everyone can do it it just didn't seem fair that some kids were just left out and it's really sad to see other kids go through that they didn't look happy in recess is about having fun Glenn Lake has a lot of students with physical disabilities but no wheelchair marry ground swings or any adaptive playground equipment whatsoever come on in which really bothered the kids in Betsy Julian's fifth grade class to the point where one day they asked her why can't we just buy the equipment ourselves I said do you know how much that cost yeah cost a lot of money $ 300,000 $300,000 by her estimation but the kids were undeterred they started collecting spare change then held a bake sale printed fires and went door too then they began cold calling businesses and even got restaurants to donate a portion of their profits this went on for months until last week when they hit their goal we were all very happy on the inside and on the outside the smile on my face I could say was an earto ear smile I was just really happy that we made it reys Riley says they worked so hard it was overwhelming to finally know a more inclusive playground would be coming you're a good kid thanks and as for the kids who will benefit they seem to appreciate the effort almost more than the result first time I set foot on this playground I'm probably going to start crying from seeing the effort that all the school has made Mrs Julian couldn't agree more my future as an adult is bright knowing that this generation of students of change makers see something that needs fixing and they go for it head first the whole thing head first and dive deep what's our next step after raising the 300,000 Mrs Julian's class set a new goal to the ceiling and Beyond they now hope to buy adaptive playground equipment for other schools in the district turning loneliness and isolation in the Child's Play There we go Steve Hartman on the road in Hopkins Minnesota finally tonight a lesson in never giving up even when it seems the odds are stacked against you need proof cbs's Steve Hartman found it on the road technically 13-year-old Josiah Johnson of Louisville Kentucky has a disability but almost no one sees it because josia doesn't see it although born without legs the kid has yet to find his Kryptonite always did everything the other kids did but that invincibility was put to the test last fall when Josiah decided to try out for the one sport where altitude is everything the more Middle School basketball team at this point you may be wondering why didn't he just join a wheelchair basketball team it would certainly be a lot easier well Josiah says exactly it was easy it was too easy you wanted more of a challenge yeah the gumption it takes to be able to say I'm going to go out and do that who has that kind of confidence me but his mother Whitney says it's not just confidence it's stubbornness Josiah is very competitive and if he feels like something is too easy he's not going to do it still Josiah knew making the team was a long shot fortunately though Josiah turned out to be pretty good well long shots he made the team on his merits and over the last few months has become a real contributor getting offensive rebounds assists and because of his unique position on the floor he has caused more than a few turnovers he started taking the ball from people he took the ball from me I was mad you would have thought Steph Curry was in the gym but his teammates say his best play was a couple weeks ago it was just moment that I'm going to remember for like ever it was the end of the game seconds remaining Josiah shoots from three and again his disability [Applause] disappeared what do you want people to take away from this to do something that they thought they couldn't do Josiah Johnson inspiration and proof that all you need to stand above is confidence Steve Hartman on the road in Louisville [Applause] Kentucky finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to revisit a touching story of true love that blossomed in sickness and in health oh my gosh let's find the picture Peter and Lisa Marshall of Andover Connecticut are paging through the most memorable day of their lives it was Unforgettable but he's forgotten it he has forgot gotten it who's this it's the saddest part yeah because you want to reminisce and you're alone in the memory Redwing Blackbird as we first reported a couple years ago Peter was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's eventually he not only forgot his wedding day he's pretty isn't he he forgot his wife Lisa became just another nameless caretaker and yet a whisper of their love must have remained because Lisa says all of a sudden he began courting her as if they just started dating until one day a wedding scene came on TV Peter pointed to the screen and said let's do it and I said do what and he pointed at the he pointed again I said you want to get married and he got this grin on his face and he said yeah so he fell in love with me again Lisa accepted his proposal and stayed a wedding for her already husband I can't even describe to you how magical it was he was so present and it was very touching Peter you may kiss your bride Lisa says Peter hadn't been this locid in weeks but it was a Cinderella Moment The Clock Struck 12 and by the next morning this wedding too was lost to the fog yes but Lisa says she fully expected that I'm the one who's going to remember that and that's going to help me heal later unfortunately later came Peter died about a year ago Lisa is now advocating for other Alzheimer's patients in their families she has also written a book called oh hello Alzheimer's I wanted people to understand the devastation of the disease but mostly I want people to continue to find joy and really focus on on being present with their loved ones do that and Lisa says Alzheimer's will never defeat you it'll just make your love all the more Invincible Steve artman on the road in Andover Connecticut finally tonight with all the anger and hate we see in the world today it is nice to remember that there are still some people out there with a good heart here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road if you need your Fai faith in humanity restored the pharmacy in Geraldine Alabama has just the medicine a story of kindness that began 10 years ago when a man walked in and asked to speak with pharmacist Brooke Walker so I assumed that he needed counseled on a medication and that's when he said you know do you ever have anybody that can't pay for their medicine Brook said all the time and he said next time that happens I want you to use this he handed her a $100 Bill the first of many $100 bills he would donate anonymously to help those in Geraldine who can't afford their prescriptions people like bri slogger to be honest I was desperate I was like what am I going to do I Was Defeated she said it's taking care of and I said how no one in Geraldine knew how no one knew who until a few weeks ago when the donor died and the story came out his name hodi childis an Air Force veteran and farmer these are his children Doug and Tanya so when you heard of The Secret were you surprised no he was not a wealthy man but he was probably the richest man on earth with his heart yes he would say he's building up his riches for eternity not for here in fact they say hodi was near broke after spending more than 10,000 ,000 on other people's prescriptions the high cost of prescription drugs is a problem that extends well beyond rural Alabama and a humble farmer can only do so much to fix it but as is often the case with kindness sometimes a small deed can start a Monumental movement are you aware of what's going on oh we're aware it's Global has just blown our mind that one small act makes a difference proof of that now shows up every day in the pharmacy mailbox folks either donating to keep the fund going in Geraldine or pledging to start a fund at their Pharmacy Doug and Tanya say that generosity doesn't take away their pain sure don't miss you Dad but it does give it purpose you made a big impression on people Steve Hartman on the road in Geraldine Alabama finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman brings us a story about how forgiveness can lead to Redemption on the road the man in the green hoodie is Harrisburg Pennsylvania city councilman Ralph Rodriguez trying to scare away a wouldbe burglar on ground he was at this window literally at the window I saw him prying into here the guy was trying to break into the office of a nonprofit Rodriguez runs he just kind of took off just kept running just kept going yep all the perpetrator Left Behind was this grainy image on a doorbell camera so he could have gotten away with it if only he hadn't reached out to Rodriguez on social media offering his name and his confession I have to be willing to face the consequences and that is what I'm ready to do for most crime victims that would be case closed but for Ralph Rodriguez it was opportunity opened he didn't want to add another young man to the prison roles especially one with no prior criminal record so instead of pressing charges he pressed for answers so you decide to meet this guy absolutely and I actually took the time to hear a story see the environment in which he lives in and I get it poverty has a way of pushing you to do things that you would have never imagined you were even capable of doing 22-year-old ran Turner agreed to talk with us on condition we not show his face I made a severe lapse in my judgment that night my father was struggling with basic needs and I was like I can't sit here and just wait for What Little we still have to be taken away I have to do something and when Ralph Rodriguez heard that he did something making sure he's financially good and has just some clothes on his back so you started sending him money absolutely the guy who just tried to rob you absolutely yep cuz what he doesn't need anymore is any more disappointments I'm pretty sure people have told him things in his life and dropped the ball 10 out of 10 times it's just not what I'm prepared to do and that's what you're bringing so Rodriguez turned the other cheek see how close we got to that gave him part-time work painting the very place he just tried to burglarize and set him up with job training see that I thought that there would be no one willing to help me but you never know you just have to ask but I wasn't willing to ask what are you going to do with this chance not waste it let me look up this permit test Ralph Rodriguez the best kind of ch Prime fighter you just need a shot Steve Hartman I'd be remissed if I didn't try my best to get you that shot man on the road in Harrisburg Pennsylvania finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with a high school football star who's using lessons from his painful past to give others a brighter future when Lincoln East High School football Phenom wide receiver Malachi Coleman announced he be playing for Nebraska next season it was the completion of the ultimate Hail Mary 12 years earlier Malachi's mother left him and his younger sister by the side of the road and never returned Malachi suffered abuse in the Foster system until eventually he and his sister were adopted by a loving family but so much damage had been done he was a broken kid parents Miranda and Craig colan like he lived for today and only today and nothing mattered a mean and selfish Jerk by his own admission who refused to do anything kind for anybody yeah cuz nobody had really helped me up to that point you know so why should you help them yeah so when the Nebraska School Activities Association ruled that high school athletes could now profit off their name and likeness it came as no surprise that Malachi was first in line the Shocker was how he planned to spend it never could have predicted no it was his idea they say Malachi walked into this local restaurant and offered to promote a burrito on condition a portion of the prophets go to one cause put it towards um advocating for the foster care system Nick Maus is the owner how would you not want to be on board with that this kid's remarkable trans transformation actually began a few years earlier after an hour-long argument in which Miranda insisted he do something selfless uh yeah I threw out at least a 100 ideas of things he could do and exasperated I finally said what about holding a door can you hold one door for one person and he finally just like I can hold a door the next day at school he held a door then another and another at church he held the door for the entire congregation till now he says kindness is his passion I'm Miss so you saying all this charity stemmed from you holding a door for someone yes because once I realize how good it makes me feel to help of other people it's just something that I knew that I want to continue in my life hopefully opening many more of the most important doors the ones leading to a forever family Steve Hartman on the road in Lincoln Nebraska finally tonight an army Widow makes good on a long-kept promise cbs's Steve Hartman has her inspiring story on the road it's karaoke night inside the sigma cppa sorority house at Bowling Green State University in Ohio and here amongst all the dancing queens and their teens we found one stationary sister in her 40s Tiffany eert America's most unlikely sorority sister in so many more ways then one I still miss you every day Tiffany's husband Andy eert died in the Iraq War this is his wedding ring years later I did a story on their son miles the little boy who found a $20 bill in a Cracker Barrel parking lot and then gave it away to an Airman he saw in the restaurant because he was a soldier and soldiers remind me of my dad miles tribute to his father deeply touch the nation but there was another story here one that has gone Untold till now yeah just a few hours before my husband was killed he called home from Iraq and he said no matter how long it took I had to get an education and he made me promised that I would and then he told me I love you more than anything in this world I'll call you tomorrow it was the last promise she ever made to him and the only one she hadn't kept Tiffany says she barely made it through high school and now had little kids to raise on her own College was out of the question but those kids grew up so 3 years ago she decided to not only enroll but to immerse herself in the full college experience you are you can't focus on the negative because you'll always be in the pit it's easier to claw your way way up when you're reaching for the sunshine that's how you get out of the hole you know she's helped me so much and she's inspired me a lot and I know she's inspired a lot of the other girls in the chapter there's definitely not one person she hasn't made an impact on absolutely including Tiffany hopes the most important person I go back to that last phone call and uh I think he's really really proud of me she graduates next month love you promise kept Steve Hartman on the road in Bowling Green Ohio finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to revisit a story about finding Beauty even in the most difficult of circumstances so now what I have to do is use a ratio in proportion to hear him talk you'd think Detroit artist Richard Phillips was some kind of highly trained Master into an abstract but as we first reported in 2019 this was his first exhibit and his son I'm sorry can you believe we're even having this conversation no I can't believe it he is America's most unlikely art Phenom I'm just a young kid from the ghettos that's been through hell in high water and still here before becoming celebrated Richard was incarcerated in 1971 he was arrested for murder a murder we now know he didn't commit to pass the time and temper the Injustice he painted there was something to do occupy my mind better than putting x's on a calendar right I could get off into one of my paintings and just be in there for hours and hours and hours and that's how it was for 46 years until he was exonerated in 2018 unfortunately after all that the state just sent him on his way without so much as a bus ticket how are you going to survive I really didn't know I thought maybe that I was going to have to stand out somewhere with a cup and beg for nickel and dimes but then Richard thought of something he hadn't before maybe there was a way for him to make a living using his life's work wow hundreds and hundreds of watercolors I could take my artwork and still make it in this world and that he did me I just dreamed a lot it's been four years since we first told the story and thanks to his artwork sales Richard now has a new house new car and for the first time in his life a dog it's not done yet I'm still involved in social reform I'm still involved in criminal Injustice I'm still involved with uh the inoc network so I'm just trying to stay active stay active Ive and finally enjoy what was denied him all those 46 years the American dream if you own one of these you own a piece of History I have to get that in there because that's very important Steve Harman you found yourself a career on the road in Detroit being able to pitch being able to pitch exactly finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to catch up with the basketball referee and the player who made the great assist of his life not many people get to return to the scene of their death but as we first reported last summer John Scully of Rochester New York stepped back into the gym where his time expired that's the last thing I saw right there 246 did you recognize this at all John is a basketball referee they cut it right it's my jersey back in June John was officiating a semi-pro game between the Jamestown Jackal and Toledo Glass City that's him on the near side seconds before his heart attack the deadliest kind of heart attack called a Widowmaker doctors told John's fiance Donna almost no one survives it yeah 1% of the population and he's that 1% I was in the right place at the right time I mean that's why I'm here within seconds a Toledo player named Miles Copeland rushed to his side and started doing CPR I've never witnessed someone just collaps but uh I knew what had to be done turns out the Toledo forward is also a Toledo firefighter a brand new one at the time just a year out of the academy what does that feel like when all is said and done and you've saved a life it's honestly one of the best feelings in the world few moments will ever come close except maybe oh my God this one we invited miles to stop by the gym it was their first meeting I love you man you know I love you after quadruple bypass surgery John said he was feeling much better and hoped to get back on the court someday well it's been 8 months since we first told this story and number one0 is back in business he has refed almost 50 games so far this season and appears none the worse for where all thanks to Miles Copeland love you too man who made the ultimate Cinderella Story come trueful for you I'm Steve Hartman on the road in Jamestown New York now cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with a group of teens who got some unexpected friend requests after offering support to local seniors the residents at Brookdale Senior Living have a wealth of wisdom but many also have a gap in that knowledge most notably look at all these different things how do you work this telephone gizbo gosh even turn it on that was hard right my email was not coming in I don't know where things are it's just not easy help tell me how to run it enter our heroes a group of computer savvy genen zers who March in once a week to control s the day but why a couple years ago some students here at canabury school in Fort Meers Florida were joking about how bad their grandparents were at anything technical but when the laughter faded one of them was struck with a seriously good idea yeah it's called Cleo it stands for computer literacy education Outreach Aaron smolar along with friends Christian Lis and Derek Hunkin started the Cleo club and tried to partner with Brookdale yeah initially we tried emailing but I think maybe we got like put to use email yeah I don't know so we I mean it's right next door we literally it was before we could drive so we just walked over after school and they've been volunteering ever since okay then go to photos icon Jonathan Smith couldn't figure out how to text a picture do I poke it yeah you just click it and that's all there to it Nancy killpatrick wanted to clear out her inbox for the first time 122,000 emails yes fortunately Nancy learned you don't have to delete them one at a time look at that look at that what you look at that for the kids it's not always easy I'm getting it all right but they keep coming back week after week I've never had that before those young people are just amazing a great group they're blessing you you know and they have so much patience with us we're on a firstname basis now and those friendships may be the best part because eventually the devices go dark but the conversation continues proving that as a communication tool smartphones always work best powered off have a good one thank you so much Steve Harman on the road come by next week oh I am in Fort Meers Florida cbs's Steve Hartman heads to New England for a real life Queen's Gambit on the road the students at weatherbe Elementary in Hampton Maine seem peaceful enough but start a war on this Turf and these rookies with their Night Moves become a Royal Pawn in the chest to anyone who dares tried to Dethrone their King which is how they became the new main State chess Champions it was so like exciting everybody was cheering just like feels like you could fly a special like one in a million in fact the only thing more unlikely than their success is where they found it here in the broom closet school custodian David Bishop used to play chess as a kid so when years later he found himself cleaning the hall outside the weatherbe chess club he says he felt drawn like he had to be part of it and at the time I I didn't really have any thought of how to teach I'd never done that before I didn't really think he had a good background like for doing it but he obviously does his name is Mr Bishop which is pretty cool he took over and and here we are 5 minute game where they are is a community of intensely focused little Minds who play like a real kingdom is at stake what happens is yes there's an attack here and although no one here is a master the king's coming out way too early Mr Bishop has convinced every last one of them that they have the potential what I tell them is if you love it you're going to be better than the top player we have they say no that can't be yes if you love it you'll never give up and you're going to get better and better as the months and years go by sometimes we make the mistake of thinking our job description are a box confining who we are and what we do but David Bishop sees it differently he says when they told him to make this school shine they never said how I found my purpose Steve Hartman on the road it's a lesson learned near Banger main sometimes life's greatest gifts can come from where we least expect them to here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road time to go for a walk when John ivanowski kidney started failing and he needed a transplant the most likely donor match was his daughter Delaney but John would have no part of her and I was like well why can't he just have my kidney I just take it now I said no way why so adamant that she not help she's the only thing I got 15 years earlier John's only other child Dawson died of cancer so the thought of Delaney going through this surgery no matter how small the risk was more than he could bear after losing Dawson I I I I don't know what I would do fortunately Doner stepped forward y an anonymous donor an anonymous living donor who also just so happened to be living in his basement unbeknownst to John Delaney had spent the last year working with the transplant center here at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St Louis getting tested going through protocols and all the while completely deceiving her father until this very moment oh my God are you kidding me John says he sat there for quite a while not knowing what to feel I started crying hard to process everything you know it's like because anger and gratitude have never been intertwined like they were at that moment I'm should I kill you now or kill you later as time has passed has gratitude overtaken the anger oh yeah oh yeah most parents would give anything for their children and when those tables turn it's not really a parents place to protest because the kids are just following the example you said I would do it over and over and over again if I meant to like save him his life and have him here with me how do you say thank you just uh take care of this gift the gift from her and the gift that is her Steve Hartman on the road in St Louis finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with a story about faith friendship and freedom seeing her there cuddled up with her crossword you would never guess 80-year-old retired school teacher Jenny shren had a pen pal in the penitentiary especially not one accused of that terrible six-letter word that starts with m he was in prison for murder so I got to ask what were you thinking I've been accused of being naive before and that's okay I wasn't worried he's not going to come and get me no we'll answer that door in a minute but first how did this sweet little lady cross paths with Lamar Johnson a man serving a life sentence in a Missouri prison 25 years ago a deacon at Jenny's church outside St Louis handed her a letter from this prisoner the guy had written the church hoping that someone anyone would just write back and so I did it what was it going to cost me a stamp over the next two decades they corresponded constantly and although Jenny says she could tell right from the start that there was no way that nice boy committed murder it would take the state of Missouri 28 years to confirm her intuition is granted a couple months ago after the Midwest Innocence Project got involved and the real killer confessed Lamar was exonerated at the age of 49 you did it Lamar Lamar spent the next few weeks doing all the things he couldn't do in prison Mr Johnson hugging a tree including traveling to see one of his best friends at her house for the very first time look at you Jenny welcome to men gave him a tour this was a new window a box of his favorite cereal he knows me and one last letter you deserve the best Lamar but Lamar says the greatest gift will always be the confidence she instilled in him especially when somebody is innocent you want someone to believe in you cuz when you have people that believe in you and they won't give up on you then it makes it harder for you to give up on yourself Lamar says that's what helped get him through 28 years of Injustice and now inspires him to survey life of French sh Steve Hartman on the road near St Louis what a God this week cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with the story of a nurse and the life-saving treatment of compassion at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis newborn intensive care nurse Katrina Mullen has a reputation for going above and beyond but as you'll soon see the length she went to for these triplets and their 14-year-old mother is beyond compare being that age and having all three babies premature and sick was going to be a hard Road for her Katrina was once a teenage mother herself and she knew that this young mom Shariah small didn't have a stable home life so even after the babies were discharged Katrina continued to visit them and shower them with gifts pacifiers or are bottles three matching outfits for them um what is driving you to do all this just love I mean I loved her I loved them and I just wanted to see her be a successful parent she was just there she was there emotionally she was there physically she was there mentally which was all new for Shariah yeah she was really the only person there but sharah still didn't have a proper home for the kids So eventually the Department of Child Services intervened they began looking for a foster family or more like multiple Foster families because finding one place for a teenage mother and her triplets would be nearly impossible and that's when Shariah got a text message that simply said I can't wait for you to come home never mind that Katrina already had five kids of her own what color is that she took on these other four po without giving it a second thought pop it's been exhausting it's been crazy and busy oh but I've never once sat and said I wish I hadn't done this but that seems illogical you just listed a bunch of reasons why this is a terrible idea and then you say I would absolutely do it again I would absolutely do it again in fact just a few months ago Katrina adopted Shariah who just finished high school and now plans to go to college all thanks to the nurse who went above and beyond and Beyond some more Steve Hartman on the road in Indianapolis finally tonight sometimes the smallest gestures can have the biggest impact on someone else's life CBS Steve Hartman found such a story on the road a few years ago Melody Maro of new New York City hurt her foot and needed Physical Therapy but she says what really made her feel better was paying the bills you asked for a receipt correct and it comes in the mail correct and what was special about it on the envelope on the front of the envelope it had these little music notes her name is Melody but this is a big Health System personal touches on billing statements aren't typically their thing and then it began every month thereafter her payment receipt arrived in the mail and every month a new drawing they started out simple like this treble cleff but as the months progressed the envelopes got more and more elaborate and this was original art created anonymously just for her it's hard to even describe it was incredible Melody did call her provider mjhs health syst system and asked if by chance there was anyone in the billing department who was artistic she says the phone got quiet and then she heard hey Emily it's for you I'm like uh oh what I do now what were you hoping was going to come from this I like to make people happy accounting clerk Emily margolus is hardly a Frontline caregiver but she says she can still make people better and her drawings are her way melody was so grateful Emily decided to ramp up her game even further she began taking Melody's mailings home at night and spent hours turning those plain white business envelopes into masterpieces then I started adding rhinestones I know I got involved with the gold leaf that was fun I had never done that before yeah where was this going to stop I I know how much he had left to pay this was the last mailing but not the end of the story hello Melody and Emily became friends and are now co-curators of an exhibit at this Manhattan coffee shop showcasing Emily's enveloping Creations although Melody says what's really on display here is the healing power of kindness this was a stranger and she was doing that just for me and that's the beauty of it a note of Harmony Steve Harman on the road in New York cbs's Steve Hartman finds that sometimes the best lessons happen on the bus ride home from school here's this week's on the road it was end of day for students at Carter Middle School in Warren Michigan but for those on bus 46 that April afternoon it was the beginning of an unforgettable ordeal and all of a sudden the brakes get slammed we all were just terrified and shocked and that's when I like looked up and saw him seventh grader Dylan Reeves had grabbed the steering wheel soon after police called the boy's father and stepmother Steve and Etta are you the parent of Dylan Reeves and I said yes and I go what do you do and he goes no this is a good phone call your son's a hero he stopped the bus stop the bus what what the officer went on to explain and security footage shows how Dylan noticed the driver was having a medical emergency and immediately sprang from his seat I just knew what to do in that moment the bus was swerving off the road so Dylan Took the Wheel hit the brake and gain control of the situation saving driver and students someone call [Music] 911 a true hero no doubt but we still had a question why didn't anyone else noticed what was happening Well turns out have my airpods in virtually every kid was looking at my phone was on a device I was on my phone playing a little game we hear a lot about the consequences of too much screen time but one thing I never considered until now is the loss of situational awareness what's happening around them and yet somehow at least one kid on that bus instantly recognized what was happening and he guesses as to why I know why cuz my son does not have a cell phone and Steve says that's the lesson here what else you going to do when you don't have a phone you're going to look at people you're going to notice stuff you're going to look out the window it's a very powerful lesson maybe change World kind of lesson I don't know at least a save the bus kind of lesson and they say reason enough to hold off getting him a phone for another day how do you feel about that whatever my parents are old school but for good reason I guess sometimes even heroes have it hard Steve Hartman on the road near Detroit finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to America's Heartland where the people live up to the name if there was ever an election in this country for kindest americ the people of Galveston Indiana know who they' nominate because I think he's out there to help everybody that's what he's known for he just always has been it's the cloth he's cut from just a special guy very special guy so who is this great humanitarian who lifts up the people of Galveston the same man who puts them down meet 89-year-old Gravedigger Alan MOSI Allan has been at this job since since 1952 and refuses to retire because he says a new Gravedigger might not Square the corners as precisely might not care as deeply for all those loving Souls yeah people that have went to school with and worked with what was your hardest one my wife how'd you get through that I figured she'd want me to do it Allan and Barbara had three kids but his definition of family extends well beyond blood which may explain why a good chunk of the Town gathered recently for what Allan thought was someone else's birthday party but was really a celebration of him at the party he got an official Guinness world record for longest career as a Gravedigger 70 years and counting but more importantly he was recognized for the thousands of of odd jobs he's done for people it's his side Hustle but with a Twist we'd ask Alan for a bill and he wouldn't give us a bill never get a bill you know I'll send you a bill he said I'll just catch up with you later and then later never came you never hear you never hear anything more about it it was the running joke at his party anybody in here still waiting on him to send you a bill for work did he I did ask Allan about this they say they can't get a bill from you oh all I got was a hearty laugh Alan MOSI unassuming by profession and persona but also a bold Beacon for anyone in search of meaning Allan has figured out what life is about it's not the money that makes him happy I truly believe Allan has figured out where enough is at he's found enough and strange thing about finding enough you often end up with more than enough Steve Hartman on the road in Galveston Indiana finally tonight Harvard Law School is considered to be one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world cbs's Steve Hartman introduces us to one of its newest graduates on the road no one has ever attended Harvard Law School for its sparkling glass doors or smudge free countertops in fact support staff here say most students never even notice their efforts with one remarkable exception he say just want to give you a hug and you know say hi to you they say one day this one student started thanking all of them thank you for what you do and this is something very different I'm like what is this kids angle food service worker Brion Merchant was skeptical before that but once I heard his background that's when it just all made sense I'm like oh you see us cuz you're one of us for sure that student is rahan Staten before coming to Harvard Law he worked in sanitation my job was to refurbish the dumpsters I've heard people literally point to me and point to my coworker and say like don't be like them I think it just reminds me to stay humble and um just remember I wasn't always standing here today rahan has not only maintained his humility he has multiplied it earlier this year rahan started a nonprofit called the reciprocity effect its mission to guarantee that from now on and forever the support staff here at Harvard Law would not only be seen they would be celebrated this was the first support staff awards banquet honoring in Oscar likee fashion the custodian and cafeteria workers and everyone else who makes this place possible the feeling of knowing that you are appreciated will always go a long way especially for those who don't know that I think that's what makes what rahan did so special is because you didn't even realize how unseen you were until you were seen and then all of a sudden you're like oh this is kind of nice rahan Satan in the coming days a lot of graduates will stand high on a stage a great vantage point to finally see all the people who lifted them there did it Steve Hartman on the road in Cambridge Massachusetts finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road for a wedding and a bride you won't soon forget is the dress was white but according to residents at the Oban and Terrace retirement home outside Cincinnati everything else about this wedding was far from traditional the ceremony was very oh I'm looking for the right word crazy oh yeah but that's Dy is that you 76-year-old Daddy fidelli who had been divorced for decades was always the life of the party a costume wearing attention glaring but forever caring friend Daddy's a very loving person always in a great mood D always is doing something to make somebody laugh and happy but even though she seemed so vivacious and confident to others before she found the love of her life daddy saw a very different person in the mirror a little dummy I couldn't read and people have conversations and I had to stay out of them because I didn't understand so I started reading I didn't tell nobody started teaching yourself yes because practice makes perfect let's see it took almost 2 years of nightly practice but today she has conquered her illiteracy white water canal and daddy says it was reading that helped her find love again a love like she'd never known love of self and so last month daddy married daddy love is patient obviously it wasn't a real wedding love is time but daddy says it was meant as a serious reminder that before you can share love you first have to glean it from the only known source within and you'll find out it's all a bed of roses the message that she put across that day of how life should be really touched a lot of people's hearts and now opens the possibility for perhaps a real wedding is there a man out there that could top the the love you have right now that's not happening you're happy with who you married I'm I'm happy with who I am sounds like this On's taken yeah I'm going home Steve Hartman on the road near Cincinnati finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with a Memphis gy gym owner who found building muscle is nothing compared to building someone's character it's okay here at the godbody gym in Memphis owner rodri Duncan says real change never happens overnight but he says it always starts in an instant or in this case an instant cup of coffee a few months ago rodri says he noticed someone behind his gym saw this guy sitting in the vehicle he says the man was sleeping in one of his old cars homeless homeless guy had to be so camera rolling he opened the door and told him to get out come on get up by my car man and because the door doesn't lock the next day same problem look at you man and he kept coming back he kept coming back and so it went until Roderick tried a different approach before I could knock on the window I said you know what I came back in here I made him a cup of coffee and on those grounds rodri began to build a relationship with 24-year-old Brian Taylor he learned about his troubled childhood and his drinking problem and then got him some clothes took him to get an ID and drove him to job interviews he even gave him a spot on his couch Brian says he couldn't be more grateful but he doesn't always show it whether not following the rules or violating a trust rodri says there have been many times over the past few months where he's told Brian that's it that's the last straw and every time it's not some people need more than one chance you know some people it takes it takes a while for most kids to stop bumping their head you always have to work on you and that patience may be the greatest gift he's given this young man everything you did yesterday is what got you in a situation today so everything you do today is going to be preparing you for tomorrow and both men agree tomorrow is looking brighter I got a job I got more confidence I got a smile on my face good thing because rodri says if Brian messes up one more time he's done helping that's it why do I not believe that well I don't believe it either unconditional love it's crazy forgiveness to a fault Steve Hartman on the road in Memphis finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman visits an old friend who likes giving complete strangers the benefit of the doubt we find out why on the road from a desperate place across the Atlantic a suspicious message went out my name is Joel from Liberia West Africa I need some assistance from you business or financial assistance that will help Empower me and 6,000 M away a stranger answered I just wanted to go down this rabbit hole and see what were the tricks that they used to get people you were wrong about him so I took him for a scammer but he he showed me that there was a different side to him as we first reported in 2018 Ben Taylor of Ogden Utah befriended The Stranger and helped him help himself he worked with Joel to make a little booklet about his life and I sold it online to whoever was interested in the story or whoever was just interested in helping a guy out and from those sales Joel was able to earn hundreds of dollars this your home oh yeah it is my home Ben even visited to see the results of their partnership firsthand brand new roof that looks good man yeah yeah as you might expect after that story first aired lots of people tried to seize on Ben's kindness his spam folder blew up with supposedly desperate pleas like the woman in Cameroon who said she needed money for reconstructive plastic surgery the same letter had been circulating on the internet for years it was even posted on a scam reporting website but I read into her story it it felt like something that I couldn't ignore so you believe somebody again I did a lot of work to kind of get to the bottom of it turns out the story is true chica order had a botch surgery as a child that left her with intermittent but excruciating pain hi chica ory so a couple months ago it's me Mr Ben Ben did as he done before how are you flew to see the woman so many others had written off as a scammer and showed her the book this is the book that would pay for her operation that you wrote it's just a lot of fun to see people kind of be the hero of Their Own Story hi chy you look like someone who just got out of surgery thanks to you Mr B twice now Ben Taylor has gone Halfway Around the World to help a stranger and inspire you not to go answer your spam mail just open your mind to the possibility that some people may be better than you think how you doing yeah I'm fine Steve Hartman CBS news on the road finally tonight the journey through junior high school can be a long one for some students cbs's Steve Hartman has a story of one teenager who truly went the distance on the road under St Louis's other Arch lies Harris Stow State University historically black University where last month School president latata Collins Smith awarded a full ride foure scholarship to a boy she just met and knew virtually nothing about that kid that day it was something that resonated with my spirit 14-year-old Xavier Jones had started the day on a mission his grandfather's car wasn't working and Xavier really wanted to be someplace so he started walking 6 mil 2 hours through tough neighborhoods busy traffic and blazing sun at one point he got so thirsty he begged someone for a dollar to buy something to drink thought about turning back but pressed on all just so he could walk another 30 ft and collect his eighth grade diploma if you like really want to get something then you have to work hard for it he wanted to be present speaks volum Steve half the battle is showing up so on the spot Colin Smith who just happened to be in the auditorium that day awarded Xavier a scholarship Xavier was thrilled albeit for the wrong reason he thought that full ride meant he would get a ride to college like that he wouldn't have to walk here again fortunately he got four years of high school to process what it all means with the whole engineering piece that you want to do until then he plans to keep up his grades which were already excellent and keep stoking that fire in his belly okay it basically comes from who I am and the kind of person that I want to be which is the same kind of person latata Colin Smith want in her school you know often times at colleges we spend a lot of time on standardized test School scores because that's who you are right it's not true sometimes who you are is better measured by how far you've come Steve Hartman on the road in St Louis finally tonight Steve Hartman goes on the road with a man using the power of music to honor his past and provide hope for the future what would compel a man a retired businessman to become a street performer playing for bills in a bucket at the age of 83 is it love loss purpose yes yes yes on her honeymoon Larry Kingsley says the love part is georganne his wife of 23 years did she always put her head right there usually I liked it there un fortunately she's also the Lost part four years ago georganne was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and the doctor says you know it's going to be difficult I said I know but I'm married to her so I'm going to be with her and with her he was when Larry got out the old trumpet he bought back in his Air Force days and started playing three times a week on a sidewalk in Carri North Carolina Larry says Georg loved it although she was confused in fact she used to yell at him why don't you get a real job she'd say assumed he was out here panhandling and Larry laughed it off knowing that in a way this had become his job his mission every donation goes toward finding a cure every dollar a fulfillment of Larry's new found purpose the day that she died I played that night wow but but in my mind this I just say the show goes on after georganne died last year Larry started playing six nights a week he has now raised more than $155,000 and has vowed to keep it up until Alzheimer's is just a [Music] memory Steve Hartman on the road in kry North Carolina finally tonight CBS is Steve goes on the road with a young fan who found her musical hero from another generation While most twin in America are fawning over Bieber Swift and styles 11-year-old Paisley Garder has a different Idol a singer she kept hearing on the radio sounds like an angel somehow sounds like an angel yeah what huh okay well that's kind of odd parents Tony and Jessica say they didn't know what to think when a few months ago their daughter became obsessed with that buttery smooth voice of That 70s soft rock legend Michael [Music] McDonald they say paisley was smitten without an image of who this person was so one day she Googled a picture of Michael McDonald and she came running up the stairs and flailed herself on the bed and was like no no her pop star turned out to be a grandp I just had to deal with it but it's okay so last month Tony got tickets to see McDonald here in De Moine Iowa got him at the last minute for $7 a piece eat your heart out swifties and then surprised Paisley with the concert of her lifetime you want to go see him yes let's go and I almost screamed you did scream yeah I did yeah Mr Michael McDonald McDonald is on tour with the doie brothers I love you Michael Haisley says she was the youngest fan in the audience by a generation and the only one who actually got to talk to McDonald Michael you're my fa sort of he said thank you to me that was it he said thank you and that was enough for her but he looked at me in the eye and said thank you after my visit I reached back out to Paisley and we talked about how cool it would be to have a real chat with him the odds of that happening would be very very slim or maybe not what's that wait a second what how are you darling it's okay sweetie eventually Paisley recovered for a nice conversation is your best friend Christopher Cross well he's one of my best friends and an even nicer invitation we have you see the show from backstage maybe how's that a sweet gift for the girl who learned there's so much more to music appreciation I love you than hair color Steve Hartman on the road in De Mo finally tonight one woman who proves age is just a number cbs's Steve Harman goes on the road with a 103-year-old lobster woman who shows no signs of stopping Max Oliver is an old salt but to his crewmate on this Lobster Boat Max is but a child her child as we first reported a couple years ago then 101-year-old Virginia Oliver was Maine's oldest Lobster fisherman 3 days a week May through November you could find Virginia out here on panop Scott Bay bite tackling one of the most hazardous jobs in the country have they ever gotten you oh Course once she got cut so badly she needed seven stitches and the doctor said to me what are you out there live stream for good question and I said because I want to I think he might have thought that was a little too dangerous for somebody of your age I don't care what he thought clearly yeah Virginia had been lobstering on and off since the age of seven she used to go out with her father it was man's work then not a another girl in sight but nine decades later she was the master of the sea after Max hauled in the traps Virginia measured the lobsters no go tossed out the small ones going to throw it away and then tamed the claws of the keepers who's the boss out there I am she don't give up what would she say if you said I'm ready to retire you better have something wrong with you you better have something wrong with you it's been 2 years since our visit and I'm happy to report that almost nothing has changed later this month at the age of 103 Virginia will begin her 95th lobstering season there's a children's book now and she's gained some celebrity but Virginia Remains the Same humble Lobster woman with the same retirement plan when I die when you die in other words no time soon Steve Hartman on the road in Rockland Maine finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road for an update on a story about perseverance and resilience a lot of dogs think they're human but Dexter takes it to a whole another level to the point where I can now safely say I have seen everything as we first reported about a year ago Dexter lives in uray Colorado where this byol bipedal Britney spaniel turns heads wherever he goes Dexter's owner kenty passic says this isn't a trick she taught it's an adaptation he made after a near-death experience hey come on when Dexter was a puppy he escaped his yard darted into traffic and got hit by a car he lost one front leg and the other was badly damaged so everyone assumed to get around he would need some kind of adaptive equipment and he did use a wheelchair for a while until one day when kenty set the pooch at the foot of her porch without the wheelchair and I ran in to go get my cup of coffee came out and he was right here where he is right now and I was like how is this going on how did you figure it out I put him back down there and I grabbed my phone to see what was going on here is the video she recorded and I was like oh we're into something totally different you never know where life's going to take you you never know since we first told this story Dexter who was already a minor celebrity in uray has become a major celebrity Across the Nation taking to the skies for appearances in TV shows and pet Expos he has pranced in the shadow of New York skyscrapers and Washington's cherry trees and along the way this dog has gathered more fans and followers than a lot of our most popular humans on Instagram oh good the whole thing takes absurdity to new heights but to many Dexter is no joke in this pile of mail he receives monthly Dr are hundreds of letters of heartfelt gratitude I'm recovering from intensive radiation treatments for breast cancer and you certainly bring joy to my day we're humans see obstacles I mean just often dogs beg to differ Dexter shows us why aren't you out there doing the things you want to do because he has off he goes and in doing so has proven that sometimes getting knocked down is the only way to see how tall you stand Steve Hartman on the road in uray Colorado finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman heads into the spin cycle on the road in the shadow of the Colorado Rockies we found a man with a mountainous dilemma it doesn't look too intimidating from here what to do with all the antique washing machines he has collected you've got a problem I do have a problem as we first reported a few years ago Lee Maxwell had to build a warehouse to store them all first automatic 1937 and what's more is there's more no way more no behind that one Warehouse there's a second Warehouse again filled with nothing but washing machines I told you it was insane it is one of the largest personal collections of anything in America and Lee says it All Began innocently enough with a farm auction he came home with so many washing machines his wife Barbara wanted to hang him out to dry yeah she was thinking bad things about me that I L my rocker and I think maybe I did squeezer scrubber combination today there are about 1,500 different machines in his collection goes up and down ones that you power and ones that use power so you put your sheep on here yeah he's even got a model of one that was never mass-produced that ran on child labor so this there would be one kid here and they would just go one here and then they Teeter Tau her isn't that inventive so what's your dilemma now trying to find a home for it so the thing can be preserved do you think about this often I do every day you need Steve Hartman or Bill Gates or something he'd like to find a benefactor preferably a Bill Gates someone who could build a proper Museum but in the four years since we first told this story I have zero takers in fact his problem has only gotten worse Lee has added dozens of new ones there's always a beautiful one just around the corner got a question for you and as for the machine around this corner bar says no progress there either do you know how to turn this on absolutely not I didn't think so washing machines have changed but men not so much will you tell me Steve Hartman on the road in Eaton Colorado finally tonight From the Ashes of Ruin comes a story of true love here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road bride and groom Elizabeth and Jake landed say their wedding was like a fairy tale you may kiss your bride everything we could have dreamed of until my dad was doing his Father of the Bride speech and just a minute in he was interrupted by some of our guests house unfair and that was the end of that what's going on as we first reported a couple years ago the cottage right next to their wedding venue on MAA Island Michigan caught fire and everyone had to evacuate the area this is a picture of the newly floods abandoning their reception I just figured we had to walk away from that so we just started heading towards the church the church where they'd just been married this time they prayed for everyone's safety and in the end no one was hurt and even the building was saved seemed like the only thing that couldn't be salvaged was their wedding day but unbeknownst to the bride and groom while they were in that church praying angels were swooping in from all over town we needed to step up and do the right thing first the chef at the venue took all 120 meals to a restaurant next door we just cooked it Sauced it not down the street it went down the street to a resort that had an event space available and we started just pulling everything that we had and what they didn't have yet another restaurant provided so we got it all on a card and pushed it down Main Street and because of everyone's efforts in less than an hour the bride was back to blushing and what did you charge for this help um nothing I didn't charge him anything nothing no to have them pick up a reception like out of ashes in a very literal sense made the wedding better than we ever could have imagined 2 years later they are now one person more last month Elizabeth Jake and baby Owen returned to maena Island to celebrate their anniversary this time without the dramatics but with some perspective dare I say you're glad it worked out the way it did I caught up with the family over Zoom I don't know if I if I quite use the word glad but that was one day one part of our life journey and now we have a much more important part now adorable evidence that even when life turns on you it often turns back Steve Hartman CBS news on the road finally tonight a reminder of some of the most important things in life old friends old cars and a chance to feel young again here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road if there's anything even remotely good about having ALS 56-year-old Craig Reagan of College Station Texas says it may be a heightened sense of of gratitude gratitude for caregivers like his wife Nancy friends like his dog taco and memories like his 73 Ford Mustang which even though it stopped running back in 1999 has taken up permanent residence at his house it's a big paper weight big paper weight why did you keep it I just tou an attachment to it he's had it since high school he was proud of it Craig had hoped that someday his boys might want to fix it up with him but they showed no interest in cars then he planned to do it himself but ALS had other plans so the car sat rotting until some old high school friends caught wind and everybody as soon as I called these guys they were like yeah let's do it it's in your heart you just got to help somebody like that so for the next year they went to work on it put in hundreds of hours while other classmates paid for parts and not long ago are you ready Craig that big immovable paper weight was ready to lift [Applause] off it was just almost like a piece of him they came back to life they came back to life they actually okay I'm ready with you all Craig was diagnosed with ALS in 2016 the disease is incurable but he has clearly found his treatment what's it like to be back in it I feel like I'm a teager and as for the people who made this moment possible they insist the bigger gift was the lesson they received he reminded us of something maybe we forgot yeah just do good stuff for people that's all that matters just do good stuff today do good stuff today no better medicine on Earth Steve Hartman on the road in College Station Texas finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road for a story about love loss and hope working at this vehicle inspection site in Katy Texas signals work was never part of jayen Gray's plan far from it he actually wanted to be a park ranger but quit college and gave up the dream it's not a really good feeling giving up at all but um sometimes it's not quitting it's just doing the right thing yeah I had to do what I had to do so go go go as we first reported last year jaylen's little brother Julian became his sole priority he's my reason go his reason and his responsibility their mother and only parent died 3 years ago I just miss her so much from that day on I swore you know at all cost I'm protecting them unfortunately their lives went from bad to unbearable nowhere to go after that big freeze hit Texas a couple years ago the pipes burst in their house the one their mother left them and ruined everything some strange times then the contractor Jaylen hired to fix it took their life savings tragic isn't it the boys were pretty much homeless living with their last surviving close relative when a nonprofit called Katie response caught wind the group fixes up houses after natural disasters over the years they've helped more than a hundred families but few more worthy than those boys yeah it breaks your heart had to help had to executive director Ron Peters they had no idea people would want to jump in and help them which may explain their speechless surprise I was overwhelmed thanks to an army of donors and volunteers the brothers are finally and forever back in their mother's house fully renovated better than ever there's just so many nice people in this room right now and it makes me so happy since we first told this story life for the boys has only gotten better viewers pitched in and are now paying for Jaylen to go back to college to become a park ranger all expenses paid all expenses paid what a turn of events for you yeah I know complete 180 this random acts of kindness helping me get there when their mother died Julian and Jaylen thought all they had was each other but they were off by one whole Nation Steve Hartman on the road in Katy Texas finally tonight Sometimes the best lessons in life are those we learn on the way to school here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road this may look like a normal family reunion but as you'll soon see Reed Moon of zelan opal Pennsylvania is no ordinary patriarch good to see you and this is no ordinary family this is an G far from It Bethany here's DJ handsome lad that's Lewis how many kids do you have I'll say 200 maybe even more no they're not biologically my kids but emotionally they surely are that's how attached he is to the students who rode his school bus a job he held for 27 years even though it wasn't exactly his first choice Reed sort of fell into the job well not sort of he he did fall into the job in 1990 he fell off a roof working as a handyman after that he wanted a job closer to the ground but ironically he says no job has ever lifted him higher it's his children and being in a position where you can love kids every single day is a lovely position to be in like he just made everybody feel safe and loved and cared for do anything he possibly could to help somebody I don't really have a teacher that I remember I remember my best driver so many kids feel the exact same way that more than 20 of them had Reed who was also a pastor officiate their weddings a bond so strong that even though Reed retired years ago former students gathered recently for one last ride and they're finding their assigned seat right here in the front that they had 20 years ago and now their child is sitting on on their lap and that kind of feeling is a wonderful thing and as for his secret to fostering all this so we only had two rules on the bus show everyone love and respect love and respect to everybody it's a lesson they carry with them love and respect and on them got a love and respect tattoo I'm convinced that when you love and respect people most of the time that's what you're going to get back get back have a good day Mr by the bus load thanks Rosie have a great day at school Honey Steve Hartman on the road in zel and opal Pennsylvania learn lots finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to find the often overlooked men and women who are the heartbeat of our nation we set out this week to find someone who exemplifies the spirit of the American worker and wound up here in Cleveland Tennessee at tonova Healthcare where 85-year-old Doris Caldwell holds one of the least glamorous most physically challenging jobs in the hospital hello my name is Doris I'm the housekeeping and can I come in and clean your floor she's been at this 50 years okay thank you but what makes her special isn't just her longevity her geniality or even her flexibility could you bend over touch your toes you won to see me instead what makes Doris remarkable is that cleaning rooms is and always has been her dream job back in the 60s Doris used to pass by this hospital and say to herself I'm going to work there someday she didn't care if it was as a doctor or a dishwasher all she wanted was to play some role in making people better dreaming of helping people be with people and my dream is still going on and her attitude still inspiring others from the CEO her Aura is something that you want to be around to the doctors I've never heard her have a single complaint to the maintenance Crews she just likes to work everyone is stumped by her stamina I asked her one time when she was going to retire and she said no just no no I think I would just Dy it f away her vow to stay on is reassuring to everyone it to Nova except maybe this one nurse cuz I don't think I can retire and her still working her daughter Sharon has been here 44 years she's stuck but feels blessed to be so she's just an amazing lady this Labor Day we celebrate all those dutiful inexhaustible American workers those who cheerfully keep this country running those who will enjoy Monday just not as much as Tuesday is there anything else I can do for you sir Steve Hartman on the road you have a great day in Cleveland Tennessee finally tonight the story of a man on a NeverEnding mission of kindness and how it's changing lives here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road at the bottom of a hole in Chesterfield County Virginia utility worker Calvin Gad is fixing a leaky water man but no gusher down here compares to the Fountain of Good Deeds he delivers up there whether it's buying coffee for the next car take care of the people that behind me or groceries for a random shoer I'm going pay for this Calvin gives away about half his income to total strangers I'm going feed the truck up for you in return he may get a thank you why that at best but he remains undaunted you don't know know you could do something for somebody or talk to someone and you can change their whole situation he says it happened once you can come around thank you a few months ago Calvin was in this Burger King drive-thru when he happened to look in his rearview mirror and saw a woman who just seemed sad so Calvin did what Calvin does bought her meal only this time his random act of kindness would not soon be forgotten somebody to do something that nice for you on that very moment when I thought nothing could make me happy again it just touched my heart this is Andy Denise Walters had just lost her husband of 41 years I just wish he was still here and says Calvin's kindness was exactly what she needed at exactly the right time in fact it had such a profound effect She chased him down told his boss and got him recognized before the County Board of Supervisors he saw that I was upset and showed compassion to a complete stranger he know since then they have stayed in touch and grown their Circle nice to meet you I'm Chris nice to meet you Chris told you may have lost your husband but you g a family he's just an amazing man just an amazing man he's also her new role model I want you to have this Denise is now doing the same thing he has shown me the way so you feel like you're on a mission now oh absolutely if he can do this I can do this and maybe got to have a hug we can do this you go spread that Joy somewhere okay Steve Hartman thank you on the road in Chesterfield County Virginia finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with an important lesson about the past and the healing power of time never mind the Li limousine marching band and red carpet what amazes 75-year-old Marvin Jones the most is that he's back at his old high school period because when I left brunck High School in 1966 I said I would never return it was a different time schools across the South were desegregated including Brunswick High in Lawrenceville Virginia where it fell to Marvin and these 14 other kids to take that first painful step on the bus the students would bring KKK flyers and when I would come down the hall they Clos their nose said here comes a skunk okay I felt as if I had leprosy even decades later those memories haunted so to heal Marvin decided to put pen to paper writing letters to the very students who tormented him what did you say in the letters I would tell what each person had done to me Marvin wrote about 90 such letters to former classmates pouring out his pain whether people wanted to hear it or not and most didn't but one of the letters he mailed struck a different tone and that letter was very well received that is he the recipient was Paul fleshed Marvin says Paul was one of the few students who never bullied him or said an unkind word really touched me mar wrote there were many days that I wanted to scra up a conversation with you and that I perceived you as one of the students I could have been friends did you get a sense that he was trying to open a door absolutely and when you saw that what did you think I thought well I'm going to go through that door hey buddy Marvin and Paul became close friends good to see a year and that friendship eventually led to this we acknowledge their cyle fights we celebrate their legacy last week Paul and other leaders in the community hosted a ceremony honoring the Brunswick 15 those 15 Brave children who were once treated like Untouchables now embraced with open arms it means a lot it means that we have overcome a lot Marvin used to say he never had one good day at Brunswick high school but almost 60 years later looks like maybe he finally has Steve Hartman on the road in Lawrenceville Virginia mountain climbers call it the Seven Summits challenge reaching the highest peak on all seven continents cbs's Steve Hartman found a man with a similar goal a bit closer to the ground on the road not since early explorers came here to Florida in search of the Fountain of you you has there been a crazier Quest than that of 47-year-old Andrew Carr the amateur climber and professional French horn player admits he's obsessed we all have things that grab us you know and and and I just I found myself just Charmed by this Andrew is what they call a County High pointer these are people who try to climb to the highest point of every County in a given State typically Colorado Andrew spent some time there doing it by but now teaches at the University of South Florida and lives in Tampa which got him wondering good could he climb Florida's high points unfortunately Florida makes Kansas look like kilamanjaro it's arguably the flattest state in the nation doesn't have any high points really but if you want to get technical topographical and you are truly desperate for adventure it can be done and Andrew Carr is doing it using maps and apps and good oldfashioned sight lines I feel like we're going up Andrew pinpoints every Peak this is potentially the Mount Everest of Union County this one was in a well manicured public place but other County high points are deep in the woods Lord or on private property yeah I think that tree over there is it in this case the home of Debbie Mitchell do you think it's at all strange that somebody drove all the way from Tampa stand in your yard okay and this isn't even his most absurd Ascent pelis County Countryside Mall front door J C penni I think is a strong Contender you know so I bought a shirt at that one Sir Edmund Hillary he is not but Andrew says so what and has now hit the high points of almost every one of Florida's 67 counties on any adventure and also in life in general you have to make the most of Wherever You Are maybe there's a lot more Adventures out there waiting for people than they realize absolutely and every Peak is equal every Peak is equal he says because attitude trumps altitude whether you're conquering Colorado's Front Range or just Debbie's front yard can I go up here yeah absolutely Steve Hartman on the road high above Florida it's the age-old question of what came first the chicken or the egg well for one New Jersey man the egg always came first cbs's Steve Hartman explains on the road for John AAL fatano the past is ever present everywhere you look in his danella New Jersey home there are relics from a bygone era I don't know what it is with me I just have a have a connection with old stuff and he says no connection runs deeper than the curio in this cabinet that's the oddest thing of all it's a chicken egg bequeathed to John by a neighbor who found it in a carton of eggs in 1951 the neighbor saved it because of the note whoever gets this egg please write signed Miss Mary Foss Forest City Iowa John says his neighbor held on to the egg for 50 years and never looked for her then Jon held on to it for another 20 before finally posting pictures on the weird and wonderful secondhand find's Facebook page to its 3 million members he pondered wonder if she might still be alive so all those people who had egg on their Facebook hatched a plan scrambled fried hard to find this Mary Foss after 72 years they expected an exhausting search that would not be over easy but they cracked the case in less than a day and for those of you keeping track at home that was eight puns in 15 seconds do you remember writing on that egg oh my goodness yes and you were hoping to find someone to be a pen pal well who knows we all dream Mary is now 92 but as a teenager working in an egg packing plant like this one Mary says she used to dream of meeting someone in a far off place that fragile little Message in a Bottle her way of reaching out yes and now 72 years later she has finally made her connection and here it is how are you egg this week they came face to face for the first time and I hope we get to see you again would you want to meet John in person well I'd love to meet God wouldn't you John oh John not really I have no desire to meet the GU he's got his problem keep make that long yeah you're SA 70y eggs yeah you got a point there well when you get to be my age you meet a lot of cooks sorry John looks like the yol's on us there's my uplifting ending Steve Hartman on the road in Mason City Iowa how you like your egg finally tonight they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day cbs's Steve Hartman found one home where it's good for the body and the soul on the road they come together at the crack of dawn from all directions converging on this tiny house in St Louis Missouri for their weekly Wednesday visit with 66-year-old Peggy wincowski this raining grandma Peggy brings everyone together she's just like a built-in Grandma to all of us she cares for us a lot she really cares for us the students who visit Grandma Peggy attend Bishop deberg high school and are part of what they call the Wednesday Breakfast Club seeing the spread you can understand why kids might want to come here but what isn't so clear is how Peggy got roped into hosting the Wednesday Breakfast Club actually used to meet at this Diner until one day a kid named Sam Crow said you know my grandma could cook better than this so the next Wednesday they showed up at her doorstep I'm like okay and they came all school year every Wednesday day that was back in 2021 and it continued merrily until that day when all joy was lost about a year and a half ago Peggy's grandson Sam a South Mor Bishop deberg was killed in a hit and run the boy was beloved so of course breakfast was the last thing on anyone's mind and yet the very next Wednesday and virtually every Wednesday since during the school year the kids have returned to Grandma peggies in numbers far greater than before Sam would be so proud look at when he started everyone coming together for a heaping helping of healing it melts my heart it's really not about the food it's just about being together we benefit from her she benefits from us it's like we feed off each other and we're like keeping his memory alive see you good morning guys everyone Grieves differently but those who manage it best always seem to blanket themselves with Kindred Spirits sharing the burden teaching each other to laugh again and building tradition to make sure those memories are as snug and sustaining as a warm meal at Grandma's this is the best morning Steve Hartman on the road in St Louis makes Wednesday so much fun finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to a class getting straight A's in imagination you may walk toes at the Trinity Leadership School near Dallas Sonia White's first graders are still flying high come all the way back and walk still reliving their amazing one-day Field Trip South of the Border where are you going Mexico to Mexico I love your outfit it was my first time on a plane we went inside a cloud I saw the ocean is that your first time seeing the ocean mhm at this point you've got to be wondering how could a school afford this what kind of teacher does it take to fly a class of first graders to Mexico for a day a very clever one so just to be clear you did not go to Mexico we did not you did not get on a plane we did not you never left the class we did not what you're about to see is a testament to the power of imagination and the magic teachers have to harness it okay let's find out after Sonia's students told her their one wish was to fly on a plane she went Full Throttle on the preent um boarding pass and your passport please created travel documents for each child and then boarded them on their flight to Mexico okay guys we are now at 13,000 ft you may take out a snack we had a little turbance boy did not scare me but my friend Lorenzo had a rough Landing really what happened to him he was like the buyin really was remarkable one of my students saw somebody that night and they said what are you doing here I thought you were in Mexico and he said yeah we were we got back at 3: and that's when I was like they really think we went to Mexico I'm riding you from Mexico teachers everywhere could use more resources but the best always seemed to figure out a way to take kids places often without so much as a bus ride did this fuel your desire for More Travel yes do you know North Korea yeah sure probably I do not want to go there next I guess even pretend flights come with Travel warnings yes Steve Hartman on the road near Dallas as the nation prepares to honor the brave men and women of our Armed Forces this Veterans Day it's important to remember the sacrifice and the Legacy every service member leaves behind cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road to tell the story of one army Sergeant who will live on for Generations here at Arlington National Cemetery the final lines of 400,000 life stories are etched on marble each ending sad to someone but you can also find uplift in these final chapters as we learn from from the family of army Sergeant Jack Bryant Jr Jack who everyone called Jay was killed in a rock almost 20 years ago now it's important for me to let that Legacy live on through my kids Jennifer soua of Stafford Virginia is Jay's sister go ahead and her kids my name is Jada her niece Jayla they're all named after Jay my name is deer in one way or another my name is Paris Paris he visited it two days before before he passed I see none of the kids knew Jay but they have spent just about every Veteran Day of their lives overcoming that loss it's like a quiet moment we're all together and it's like it's nice it feels like we're right next to him but uh he's up TJ especially has surrounded himself with his uncle's memory he's got his old comforter a poster of his favorite musician and of course pictures and every year copies of those pictures get cut laminated and laughed over as the family prepares to decorate his grave one more time so you can get and Jennifer says it's rituals like this that move those memories across the generational divide there you go what do you feel when you see them embracing his memory it's a it's a sense of just Joy I I absolutely look forward to celebrating him on Veterans Day I've never heard of Joy associated with Veterans Day but you make me feel it spinning pain into Pride a Bryant family tradition Steve Hartman on the road in Arlington Virginia finally tonight there's nothing like the feeling of young love at any age here's cbs's Steve Hartman on the road the Cedar Lake Village Senior Living Center in OA Kansas isn't exactly known for its single scene saying I do like the way they make oatmeal here don't you think it's nice and creamy but widowers Doris Kirks and Carl Krauss both 96 Found Love nonetheless and just last month became America's oldest Newly Weds it's a relationship that started on Q Carl was one of the best billiard players in the building until she moved in and started beating the socks off him too bad Carl were you surprised that she could shoot as well as she did yes I was definitely surprised she's a hustler it's a good feeling to beet men eventually rivalry led to romance Doris and Carl started exploring their shared interests Carl thought they made beautiful music together and proposed to which Doris responded Absol absolutely not I wasn't looking for a man ouch Doris may have been a firm no but Carl was a stubborn bow so a couple months later he asked again only this time he tried a whole different approach showed her the larger apartment he had in mind so up we go to the second floor and went to this room oh this pretty nice and then he showed me the walk-in closet and Doris says that sealed the deal this could work told him yes right then and there what's it like to be loved for your walk-in closet it's okay this is it of course Doris says Carl also made more room in his heart he told me he was dedicated to making this a happy marriage warms my heart chalk one up for True Love Steve Hartman congratulations on the road in OA Kansas finally tonight cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road with a story about dreams resilience and never taking no for an answer although born without hands or feet 25-year-old Zack angland says the only limbs he ever longed for were Wings always wanted to be a pilot unfortunately no quad ampute had ever become a commercial pilot obviously nothing worth having comes easy from the time he was born he was a disciplined and determined child adoptive parents Harold and Patty say there was no talking him out of it so when Zach turned 18 he applied to a flight school that said no there's nothing we can really do for you we're sorry the second one said the same like here we go again as did the third the same response and so it went more than a dozen times over you're not hearing what they're saying I'm not selective hearing my wife will tell you I'm a little bit hard-headed which is why this hard-headed husband and soft-hearted father applied to one more school the Spartan College of Aeronautics in Tulsa Oklahoma they said yes although Zach's struggle was just getting started he still needed approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to take the lessons but the FAA repeatedly and in no uncertain terms denied his request and after the fifth rejection letter Zach finally gave up it's like this is not for me I this is impossible to do and so my mom was over my shoulder at this point right and then she's like you're not done yet I said you can never succeed until you've learned to fail and Patty says her son obviously hadn't failed enough so Zach kept at it until finally they cleared him for one takeoff and when Zach was given the opportunity to show his potential it became clear as blue sky that you don't need hands to have wings Zach graduated from Flight School a few years ago and now teaches the same so many told him he couldn't even take why do people need to hear this because my story isn't just for amputees we all go through trials and tribulations the word impossible is an illusion behind the word possible and failure just the turbulence on your journey Steve Hartman on the road in Tulsa with the season of giving Upon Us cbs's Steve Hartman goes on the road for a story about a man who lived a simple life but gave more than anyone could have imagined here at teachers Treasures a free store for educators who need school supplies executive director Margaret shien is still stunned at her good fortune it was an act of amazing kindness after someone called to offer her nonprofit more than a million dollar to which I responded I need to sit down and it wasn't just her for the past 2 years across the city of Indianapolis dozens of other nonprofits have gotten the same call the first thing he said is what would you do with a million dollars we hovered above our own bodies thinking like is this real the man making the calls was attorney Dwayne ISAC and he says just about everyone had that same reaction okay some wouldn't even hear him out probably three or four different different entities that lost out because they just didn't take my call lost out on a million dollars yeah it was that unbelievable mhm and you still haven't heard the most unbelievable part the money isn't his he's just the executive the money belonged to a guy named Terry Khan Terry worked 30 years for the veterans administration he had no immediate family and most importantly he just was unbelievably Frugal Terry lived in this modest House in South Indianapolis drove an old Honda and refused to carry a cell phone because he said they cost too much even when he died back in 2021 he wanted no announcement because who would spend good money on an obituary the man was Pennywise but pound generous everything was directed to charity but Terry didn't specify what charity so d Wayne called around to see who wanted it and in the end about a dozen nonprofits took his call and got a share of the $13 million estate so yeah it's crazy including wow 1.5 million for teachers Treasures roughly double their annual budget forever changed because of his choice how he lived he's smiling some place there's no doubt about it he would be getting a kick out of this yes if only because he just got the glowing obituary on CBS news and it didn't cost him a dime Steve Hartman on the road in Indianapolis holiday season is a time to count our blessings and spread joy to those around us cbs's Steve Hartman found a group of kids doing that and more on the road the red caps were the only clue the only hint that something Christmas was a foot here we go something that would soon strike straight to the heart are you guys serious seriously my God the kids responsible for these moments of overwhelming Joy are all students and former students of Derek Brown also lights please a phoenix elementary teacher who uses our on the road stories to teach kindness and character a perennial favorite Christmas secret Santa that wealthy businessman who every year gives out hundreds of hundred bills to random strangers this impossible this is impossible it is possible it's true watching secret Santa do his thing I see made a huge impression on the kids I was like shocked because well who does that I've never seen anyone like give just give money away like that could you imagine that someday it would be you no not ever and so with guidance from Mr Brown I sent everybody an itinerary the kids started a secret santa club and began fundraising calling friends family and businesses they raised $88,000 without any help from their school or District just so they could turn around and give it all away it's okay to people like Rosemarie Hernandez Rosemarie had been out of work for a week you will give me a lot of relief thank you thank you thank you you guys oh my God they also gave money to D Dre Taylor oh my God D Dre had just gotten diagnosed with cancer and was down to her last $20 you guys are amazinga the children spent the day changing dozens of lives and along the way they noticed something remarkable that the more they gave the more they got I'm so happy right now you get so many feelings in your body body that just makes you like want to do it again their Joy that's the gift to you their Joy that's the gift to you exactly the realization Mr Brown was hoping for I want this memory to be so strong that it now drives them every day in everything they do did today change you definitely I never felt this way in my life so this was really a life Cher for me whoever said money can't buy happiness obviously never gave it away Steve Hartman on the road in Phoenix God bless you too

Channel: CBS Evening News

Views: 2,671,218

Keywords: cbs evening news, evening news, cbs news, news, breaking news, top stories, full episode, steve hartman, on the road, steve hartman on the road, steve hartman on the road 2023, steve hartman kindness 101, steve hartman michael mcdonald

Id: m4RssE5Mskg

Length: 116min 34sec (6994 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 26 2023