Police went undercover to catch criminals. Their failure was inspiring.

    
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He went looking for the worst in humanity. Instead, he found the best.

Police went undercover to catch criminals. Their failure was inspiring.

After two robberies of wheelchair-bound people that were carried out at knifepoint, a Vancouver police officer went undercover as a paralyzed man in a wheelchair.

Staff Sgt. Mark Horsley took on the role of a paralyzed person with a brain injury who was confined to a wheelchair.

Dubbed Operation Wheelchair by the police department, the goal was to find the person or people responsible for victimizing folks who were more vulnerable because of their disabilities.

The officer expected people to take advantage of him or maybe even rob him. But that's not what happened.

Not even close.

Instead, he got to know other members of the community who use wheelchairs.

A young man asked if he could pray for the undercover officer.

Another stopped to chat with the officer about his own mother who was in a wheelchair. During the encounter, the man reached out toward the officer's waist pouch, where some of his money was sticking out.

But get this: He wasn't trying to steal it. The man instead zipped it up and kindly warned the officer to be careful not to lose his money.

Much to his surprise, instead of being victimized, he saw repeated displays of human kindness. And it didn't end there.

The officer also told anyone he interacted with that he couldn't count.

That gave people who purchased things from him — or in one case where a woman asked him for change for a $5 bill — an opportunity to be dishonest.

But nobody was. Instead, at the end of the operation, the officer had $24.75 more than he started with.

People chose to give rather than steal.

We usually see news stories about people doing bad things, but those aren't the only stories.

The reality is that there are lot of kind people in the world who treat others with respect and consideration.

That may not be 5 o'clock newsworthy, but it's worth remembering and sharing.

As Horsley said:

"Not one person took advantage of my vulnerability... . The caring and compassion expressed to me in my undercover role was inspiring."

You can watch the Vancouver Police Department's video summary of their operation for a quick reminder that there are lots of decent people everywhere.

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Veterans across the country are struggling to find stable housing. This affordable housing community is ensuring Los Angeles vets have a place to call home.

Courtesy of Creative Commons

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After years of service as a military nurse in the naval Marine Corps, Los Angeles, California-resident Rhonda Jackson became one of the 37,000 retired veterans in the U.S. who are currently experiencing homelessness — roughly eight percent of the entire homeless population.

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One day in 2019, Jackson felt a sudden sense of hope for a better living arrangement when she caught wind of the ongoing construction of Veteran's Village in Carson, California — a 51-unit affordable housing development with one, two and three-bedroom apartments and supportive services to residents through a partnership with U.S.VETS.

Her feelings of hope quickly blossomed into a vision for her future when she learned that Veteran's Village was taking applications for residents to move in later that year after construction was complete.

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Don Bay has been in the citrus business for over 50 years now, and according to him, his most recent growing endeavor has been the most challenging. Alongside his son Darren and grandson Luke, Don cultivates Sumo Citrus®, one of the most difficult fruits to grow. The Bay family runs San Joaquin Growers Ranch in Porterville, California, one of the farms where the fruit is grown in the United States.

Sumo Citrus was originally developed in Japan, and is an extraordinary hybrid of mandarin, pomelo and navel oranges.

The fruit is temperamental, and it can take time to get a thriving crop. The trees require year-round care, and it takes five years from seed to fruit until they're ready for harvest. Thanks to expert citrus growers like the Bay family though, Sumo Citrus have flourished in California. Don and his son Darren worked together through trial and error to perfect their crop of Sumo Citrus. Darren is now an expert on cultivating this famously temperamental fruit, and his son Luke is learning from him every step of the way.

Don, Darren and Luke BayAll photos courtesy of Sumo Citrus

"Luke's been involved as early as he could come out," Darren said in a YouTube video.

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Just over a month after passing the grim milestone of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19, the United States has surpassed another one. As of today, more than half a million Americans have been lost to the virus that's held the world in a pandemic holding pattern for almost a year. It's a number that seemed unfathomable even six months ago, and yet here we are.

Despite increasing vaccine rollouts allowing us to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the loss we've experienced is immense. Having a president who not only understands loss on a personal level—having endured the tragic loss of his wife and baby daughter earlier in life and the death of his son just six years ago—but who conveys with compassion the grief of the nation as we mark this milestone is a comforting change.

Tonight, the White House honored the 500,000+ lives lost with a display of 500 candles lining the steps of the building, with each candle representing 1000 Americans. The president and first lady, along with the vice president and second gentleman, held a memorial moment of silence outside the South Portico as a military band played "Amazing Grace."

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