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Photo credit: Canva, Doug Lussenhop

A man braves alligator-filled waters to save some turtles.

Not all heroes wear capes, but some of them wear Crocs. When comedian Doug Lussenhop started his day on the thick, humid Gulf Coast of Florida, he had no idea he'd become the hero to two unsuspecting Florida Cooter turtles.

Lussenhop, who professionally goes by the name DJ Douggpound, is a self-described "joke-DJ" and has been part of the Los Angeles comedy scene for years. He's also a highly esteemed film and TV editor, musician, and podcaster—most known for his work on Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker.(He and Heidecker have worked together on many projects, including Adult Swim's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!)

Heidecker brought Lussenhop along as one of the opening acts on his latest Slipping Away tour. As a highly seasoned touring comedian (Lussenhop has also opened for Tenacious D and, more recently, Eric Andre), he loves to seize each day of travel and truly get down in the dirt in whatever town he's in.

But he especially likes ponds—and all the critters that come with them. So, he found one in St. Petersburg on a rainy day before a show. He exclusively told Upworthy, "We usually have time during the day before sound check. So I got a Lime scooter and was cruising around. I found a pond and there were some crocodiles in there. And then I went to this storm drain, and I saw there was a turtle swimming down there, like in a concrete waterfall. And I thought that thing is never getting out of there."

He looked around for a solution. "I scoured the neighborhood for a 2x6 piece of wood. There was construction nearby and I was gonna just sneak in there and steal a piece of wood to make a ramp so the turtle could just climb out. But there was always someone looking at me and I didn't have the balls to do it. And then I think we had sound check."

turtle, reptile, wildlife, ponds, nature A close up of a turtle on a log. Photo by Theo Aartsma on Unsplash

Lussenhop returned to the venue but simply couldn't stop thinking about those turtles. "It was eating away at me. I knew I could get those turtles out of there." He told Josh, the band's drummer, and showed him a video of the turtle in the storm drain. "It got stuck in my craw."

Being a man of action, he decided he had to do something about it. "After sound check, I put on my Crocs and went back to the turtles. It was really scary because it had started raining, and water was gushing into that storm drain. I couldn't see where the turtles were!"

In the video, Lussenhop recounts how earlier in the day, he had been "looking at the wildlife." He ominously flashes back to his gator sighting and adds, "I saw a turtle or two that went down this storm drain. So I'm gonna go try to get that turtle out of there."

Some language in this video may not be suitable for a younger audience.


Back to Mirror Lake he goes, and this is when the exciting action music begins. He finds the spot. "The water is raging now," he says. "This is f----d." His legs dangle over the drain where the white, foamy water is rising by the second. "Where is he? I think he swam away." And then he sees the turtle. Now climbing even further into the waterfall, knowing those gators might be lurking, he says, "I've made it this far." He jumps all the way in. "Where is he? I'm here to help, dude."

He reaches his arm in and…"I've got one of 'em!" He pulls out a large turtle and gently puts him back into the pond. But wait! Lussenhop thinks there's another turtle down there. He tries blocking the cascading water to get a better view. "C'mon bro," he beckons. And as the music swells alongside the water, a huge turtle pops up for air and Lussenhop is able to grab him. "Oh my God, he's f-----g huge!" He gently gives the turtle a little push back into the pond to join his reptile friend.

But now Lussenhop has to get himself out of the sewer. As he tries to scale back up, his GoPro camera falls off and into the water. He's able to fish it out and propel himself back on land, only to find a couple of fishermen nearby who don't even seem to notice the whole ordeal.

Lussenhop admits, "Well, I hope that dumbass turtle doesn't go back down in that sewer." He then displays a beautiful picture of a turtle swimming with the voiceover, "Turtles are special. But they are stupid. We must protect them." This is followed by an illustration of a tiny fence at the top of the storm drain, which would prevent them from falling in. "Would this be so hard?" the VO proposes.

Doug excitedly shares the news with the band.

Post turtle rescue youtu.be, Doug Lussenhop

As a lifelong lover and advocate for turtles, Lussenhop was happy to help. "When I was a kid, I was kind of obsessed with turtles. Ever since my first pet turtle died, I go out of my way to help them." He was especially thrilled that a few people reached out after the rescue video was posted. One guy was part of a Florida ecological group, and though the pond wasn't in his jurisdiction, Lussenhop asked if he would pass along the request to "make the grates a little taller."

"If I ever get down to Florida again, I'll rig something up. At least some kind of ramp or maybe buy some chicken wire and just strap it along there."


It's not everyday that a video of a local school board meeting ends up with 2.2 million views. In fact, we're not sure it's ever happened before.

If you need proof standardized testing is setting students up for failure, just ask the students. Sydney Smoot had a bone to pick with the Hernando County School Board. The issue? The Florida Standards Assessment Test, or FSA for short. On March 17, 2015, Sydney bravely stood up at her local school board meeting to share how she felt about the test and why she believes it's failing students and teachers.

"This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not even see the grade until after the school year is already over. I do not feel that all this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn't take in account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage." — Sydney Smoot

Can we give this little girl a medal? She was speaking right to our souls with that speech!


- YouTube www.youtube.com


Here's the full transcript of her remarks:

“Fellow members of the school board, today I will express my concerns about the FSA testing. I consider myself a well-educated young lady. However, with FSA tests my five years of school… do not matter. This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not see the grade [for] until after the school year is already over.

I do not feel that all of this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn’t take into account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage. Here are my concerns. First of all, I do not feel good signing a form in the FSA ensuring that you can’t even discuss the test with your parents. I am not comfortable signing something like this I have the right to talk to my parents about any and everything related to school and my education. Second, why am I being forced to take a test that hasn’t even been testing on students here in Florida, so how can it be accurate and valid on what I know? Why are we taking most of the year stressing and prepping for one test at the end of the year when we should be taking tests throughout the year that really measure our abilities?

My opinion is that we should take a test at the beginning of the year, middle, and end of the school year to accurately measure what we know. The pressure this puts on me and I’m sure most students is not healthy. Why should we have so much stress about one test when we should be learning and having fun in school? With all of this testing in school, more fun things such as recess are being eliminated because of training for the test! So, ladies and gentlemen of the school board, I urge you to put a stop to high-stakes testing today. It’s not fair to the schools, teachers, and students. Parents and students, contact your governor to put a stop to all the standardized testing. Thank you so much for your time.”


standardized tests, school, education, K-12, Ron DeSantis, Florida A frustrated student sits at their deskImage via Canva


Since the FSA was first implemented, it came under intense criticism. Critics said it takes critical funds away from students and does not do as good of a job as national testing standards in helping to prepare young students for higher education or careers after their K-12 school is complete. In 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially did away with the FSA program. "Today we come, not to praise the FSA, but to bury it," DeSantis said at the time.

The FSA was replaced with a progress monitoring system that was meant to reduce testing times and give students more updated progress goals as their education continues throughout the academic year.

"Instead of having one major test at the end of the year which provided no feedback to students before the summer came, we would do progress monitoring that would monitor progress throughout the school year," DeSantis added. "It would be shorter, it would be more individualized, and it would provide good feedback for students, for teachers, and for parents."

That's the kind of statement a young Sydney Smoot could get behind. And it's why her words still so powerfully resonate nearly a decade later.

This article originally appeared 10 years ago. It has since been updated with new information.



A sanitation worker taking a garbage can to the truck.

There are many wonderful reasons why little kids are fascinated, and at the same time, perhaps a little scared of garbage trucks. They have bright colors, flashing lights, and have massive moving parts that shriek and moan as they lift the garbage bins and throw them in the back of the truck. They are also impressed by the operator who pulls the levers and makes the massive machine lift and dump.

Little kids have this fascination until they are around five or six, until one day when the garbage man comes by they no longer feel the need to run out and watch. However, a touching story out of Florida shows that nine-year-old Noah Carrigan never lost his love for the garbage man, and that’s because they forged a sweet relationship. But unfortunately, after the city changed its waste management contracts, the garbage collector will no longer stop by Noah’s house.

“It started out as something so simple—he was just fascinated by the garbage truck,” Noah’s mom, Catherine Carrigan, told SWNS. “For years, every Tuesday, he would run outside to wave, and the garbage man always waved back, honked the horn, and acknowledged him.” She filmed the garbage man’s last pickup at his house, and it marked the end of an era.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

On the garbage man’s final visit, Noah handed him a bottle of water, a handwritten note, and some gifts to express his gratitude and appreciation for the kindness and years of friendship. "He wanted to write him a thank you note with garbage truck toys he used to play with," the mother wrote on a social media post. “This farewell hit hard,” she admitted.



One of the unique aspects of being a parent is that there are many last moments you have with your child, although you never know it at the time. Whether it’s the last time you pick up your child, the final time that you read The Little Engine That Could, or the last time that you put a Band-Aid on their knee after a fall, these final moments go without fanfare, but if you knew at the time that you’d never have that moment again, you’d cherish every second.

garbage man, sanitation worker, thumbs up, trash, garbage truck, orange jacket A sanitation worker giving the big thumbs up.via Canva/Photos

That's why parents need to take a moment to realize that they are in the midst of something beautiful that is fleeting. So, when there are those nights when you're tired and don’t feel like reading them a book before bed, or getting off the couch to play catch, knowing you only have so many of these moments is a great way to enjoy them. Because one day, when they’re gone, you’ll wish you could have read one more book or spent that nice spring day on the lawn throwing a ball around.

That’s why the story about young Noah and the garbage man is wonderful. On one level, it's a touching story about the friendship between a man and a young boy, highlighting the importance of the people who work in our communities. On the other hand, it’s a reminder that some of these simple joys in life we share with children will one day end—and you can’t turn back the clock.

This article originally appeared in April.

Joy

Taylor Swift visits patients at a children's hospital, and their reactions are everything

The hospital staff called it a day they’ll "never shake off."

JDCHospital/X

Yet another reason to love T-Swizzle.

When kids are going through a difficult health crisis, seeing their hero show up just to brighten their day can make a whole world of difference. They get a much needed boost of inspiration, joy, and maybe even a little bit of magic to brighten their day.

That's exactly what the kids got over at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood, Florida after they were delightfully surprised by none other than T-Swizzle herself.

“You made this a day we’ll never shake off. Thank you, @taylorswift13 for bringing your support and kindness to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital,” the hospital’s official X account tweeted. “You turned hospital hallways into a place of joy, comfort, and connection.”

In a video posted online, we see a girl named Zoe drop her jaw in disbelief as Swift walks in and introduces herself (as if she needs any introduction).

“What the????” the young Swiftie says before promptly putting her head in her hands.

The “Blank Space” singer complimented Zoe on her cat eye nails, saying “Are you kidding me? That is beautiful!” before going in for a hug, taking a photo, and handing over a signed copy of her book. After that, Zoe literally swooned.

In a different video, a teen boy named Jamar exclaims “OH MY GOD!” and goes into a laughing fit upon his Swift sighting.

“This is the coolest room I’ve ever seen,” says Taylor, eying the hanging decorations.

“Can I scream?” Jamarr asks. Obviously, the answer was yes.

Swift even says hello to his twin sister over FaceTime, who is equally elated.

The visit, which certainly made the rounds online, was well-received, and Swift garnered a lot of praise and gratitude from viewers for her genuine kindness.

“Something like this can definitely speed up the healing faster. 1000% positive,” one person wrote.

Another added, “I'm not a swift fan but this made me tear up. Always use any power you have for good. This truly shined a light in these kids' lives. ”

Celebrity visits to children's hospitals have a long history—notable examples include baseball legends like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the 1920s and Clayton Moore, aka The Lone Ranger , in the 1950s and 60s—and became more organized and widespread in the 1980s, with the establishment of organizations like Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

It’s worth noting that it's not just individual patients who benefit from celebrity visits. Their influence often draws attention to the needs of the hospital they are visiting, which can encourage donations for vital research, treatments, and support services. It’s truly an amazing way to use fame for good.

If you'd like to donate to the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, click here.