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'So long, partner': Mom recreates iconic 'Toy Story' scene to send her son off to college

'So long, partner': Mom recreates iconic 'Toy Story' scene to send her son off to college
via Lever Du Ciné / YouTube and Josiah Robles / Twitter

One of the most touching moments in Disney's "Toy Story" series is in the third film when 17-year-old Andy goes off to college, leaving his beloved toys behind to a young girl named Bonnie. It's the moment when he's forced to put the things of childhood behind and make his way in the world as an adult.

Before driving off in his car, he gives Bonnie his favorite toy, Woody, and the two play together with his toys for one last time. While he's excited to move on to go to school, his heart is clearly heavy with the knowledge of everything he's leaving behind.


"Thanks, guys," Andy says as he starts the ignition on his car and drives away.

"So long, partner," Woody says.

Toy Story 3 - So Long Partnerwww.youtube.com

A mother and son in Somerset, Texas recreated the heartfelt moment in a Twitter photo that has gone viral. A family friend captured a photo of Josiah Robles walking away from his home with his toys, including Buzz Lightyear and Woody, wishing him a fond farewell.

Robles is heading off to Baylor University to study mechanical engineering, where he will go "to infinity and beyond."

"We thought it would be a good idea to do it with 'Toy Story' toys considering that I will be going off to college, like kind of what Andy did when he left the toys in the movie," Robles explained.

The photo is reminiscent of a shot that went viral in September when a father in Leicestershire, England commemorated his four-year-old's return to school after a sixth-month lockdown due to COVID-19.

In the photo, the young boy heads off to school while Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Slink, Jessie, and Woody wave goodbye to him in an homage to "Toy Story 3."

"We decided to recreate the moment in 'Toy Story 3' where Andy leaves his toys behind when we did the traditional back to school photo," the father, Sean Donnelly, told The Daily Mail.

"I think that story connected with the picture is one people can identify with too. If you have got kids you kind of know that feeling," he added.

"Lots of people found it emotional and that it made them cry. I tried to make it look dark inside where the toys were and light outside where he was," he said.

Both photos are a great way of marking a very specific moment in a child's life when they go through a major transition. However, their greatest importance may be as a reminder to parents.

One of the most powerful realizations of being a parent is just how quickly our children grow. One day they're playing with a pacifier, the next they're playing with dolls. A few years later they're knocking around a volleyball or basketball, and then, they're leaving home.

You can't put time in a bottle but you can do your best to be there, be in the moment, and appreciate the wonder of their childhoods, because it'll be over before you know it.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


Health

Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from the democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets.

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The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.

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Photo via iStock.

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Photo via iStock.

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