+
Heroes

He served at the highest levels of the FBI. Now he serves his community as a school bus driver.

He served at the highest levels of the FBI. Now he serves his community as a school bus driver.

Mike Mason served was an FBI agent for 23 years. Now he's a school bus driver.

Mike Mason is the epitome of a service-minded American. The 63-year-old retiree spent more than two decades in the FBI, rising to the number four position before he left the bureau in 2007. "About half of the FBI fell under me," Mason told CBS affiliate WTVR. Before that, he was a captain in the Marines, and after that, he worked as an executive at a Fortune 500 company until his retirement.

But Mason told CBS Evening News that lounging around in retirement didn't sit well with him. "I still had a mind and I still had things I was capable of doing," he said. He wanted to do something that was worthy of his time and energy.

During the pandemic, Mason saw that there were so many people who were doing extra things and people going to jobs that they had to do. "I felt like I could be doing something to help in this post-pandemic recovery," he said. He found out that his local school district was desperately short of bus drivers, so he applied.


After seeing his impressive resume, someone up the ladder in the county called him—just to make sure his application was for real. He assured them he was serious. And since he was hired, he has taken the job seriously, ensuring first and foremost that the kids are kept safe.

He also takes a great deal of pride in his work. Mason keeps Turtle Wax on hand and waxes the bus he drives, which he said is the Marine training in him coming out. "I am what I am," he told WTVR, laughing.

He also believes his job as a bus driver is as important as the job he was doing with the FBI.

"I've done some important things," he told WTVR. "But this is important too."

"I think in our society we need to get next to the idea that there are no unimportant jobs," he told CBS Evening News. "I mean, what could be more important than the attention we pay to our education system?"

Retired FBI boss finds new career driving a school buswww.youtube.com

What a wonderful example of being dedicated enough to serve your community, even when you don't have to, and being humble enough to step down the hierarchy of careers to fill a need that needs filling. Some people might be too proud to go from the top levels of government and business to driving a school bus, but Mason doesn't look at it that way. He saw a job that needed to be done and he was able to do it, so he did.

He has even donated the equivalent of what he's making as a bus driver to charity, according to CBS.

"I believe if all of us gave a little something," he told WTVR, "Wow, how we could impact this world! How we could change this world!"

Indeed, how we could. Thank you for showing us how it's done, Mr. Mason. You are truly an inspiration for us all.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

Keep ReadingShow less

Jason K. Pargin shares his controversial theory on lobster.

Novelist Jason K. Pargin has inspired an online food fight after his video about lobster received over 500,000 views on Tiktok and nearly 6 million on Twitter. Pargin believes that we’ve all been tricked into liking lobster and that people only like it because it’s considered high class.

Pargin is the author of the “John Dies at the End” and “Zoey Ashe” series and the former editor of Cracked.com.

"I don't think anyone actually enjoys eating lobster. I think they've just been convinced that it's a high-class food for a really specific reason,” Pargin says in his controversial video. He then describes how just a few centuries ago lobster was once used as prisoners' food and ground into fertilizer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

This 1940s guide on 'how to be pretty' for teen girls has some surprisingly modern suggestions

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty."

1940s guide on "how to be pretty" is surprisingly modern.

Often, when we think of the 1940s and the messaging that was sent to women and girls back then, we tend to imagine lessons about how to get and keep a husband. But it turns out that all messaging wasn't the same and some girls were receiving a much more progressive message about their appearance.

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty." Surprisingly, the advice is rather timeless and not at all focused on becoming the best wife and mother you can be, but on learning to care for yourself. Stuyvesant refers to your physical appearance as icing on a cake and that good icing tastes nice but the cake is the most important part.

She goes on to explain to the girls that who they are as people is the cake and that's the part that needs the most attention.

Keep ReadingShow less

Weatherman rescues a chicken in a blizzard and now they're friends.

There's a little-known saying that every weatherman needs a chicken. OK, it's little known because I totally just made it up, but you have to admit, it's just random enough to make you wonder if you missed out on a weird colloquialism. But in this case, it may be a new saying because weatherman David Neal found a stray chicken while reporting on a blizzard, and they've somehow become best friends.

The chicken, now named Penelope, was running around in the snowstorm while Neal was filming, so he tried to catch her so he could make sure she was warm. Penelope had other plans and gave Neal a literal run for his money. Eventually, with the help of a bystander who was likely as confused as the chicken, Neal was able to get Penny in his arms.

Of course, he had some explaining to do once the cameras were rolling again, and he handled it like the pro he is, holding a live chicken.

Keep ReadingShow less
Today Info/Youtube

Taylor Swift "diving" below the stage of her Eras Tour concert

The highly anticipated, Ticketmaster-bustingTaylor Swift Eras Tour has officially begun. And it’s looking like the pop star is pulling out all the stops to deliver a heap of spectacle.

Case in point—a video from the “Anti-Hero” pop star's kick-off concert that’s making quite the splash online.

In a mesmerizing blend of live performance and hologram wizardry, audiences saw Swift, clad in a flowy red dress, dive into a pool built into the stage. She then swam across to emerge through waves in a shimmery jumpsuit, just before climbing a ladder and disappearing into a cloud.

Basically, it was like a romantic fairy tale brought to life.

Keep ReadingShow less