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A guy shopping for an engagement ring got the surprise of his life from the NBS star.

Many of us like to daydream about what we'd do if we had more money than we know what to do with. And many of us like to picture ourselves being generous with our wealth, helping out random folks who could use some help.

Shaquille O'Neal, the 7' 1'' basketball legend known colloquially as "Shaq," seems to be someone who belongs to this category. Back in 2021, while at a shopping mall Zales, O'Neal gave an unsuspecting guy trying to pay off part of his engagement ring the surprise of his life.

As the young man talked with the clerk at the jewelry store counter about how much he still owed for his ring and when he'd be able to pay it off, an extraordinarily large hand handed the clerk a credit card. Shaq overheard their conversation and decided to take care of the bill himself. No big announcement. No fanfare. He just handed over his credit card, shook the stunned customer's hand and patted him on the back, and that was that.

Someone caught the moment on video and shared it, which prompted Shaq's co-hosts on NBA on TNT to ask him about it the next day.

shaquille oneal, basketball, charity, good news, positive news, charity, engagement ring, kindness, celebrity He didn't skip a beat. media0.giphy.com

One of the first questions was, "You went to the mall, and went to Zales?!?" Not exactly where one would expect a person with a $400 million net worth to be hanging out on a Monday, but Shaq pointed out that he has a jewelry line at Zales. He went in to get some hoop earrings. Alrighty.

The young man at the checkout counter was so shy, Shaq said, and when he heard him talking about paying for his engagement ring, Shaq asked him how much it was and offered to pay for it.

At first, the guy refused, but Shaq insisted. And apparently, he does these random acts of generosity all the time.

He said he was recently in a furniture store (seriously, do multi-millionaires not shop online?) and saw a mom with an autistic daughter buying furniture. He just took care of their bill, just because.

"I'm into making people happy," he said. "I didn't mean for that to get out because I don't do it for that...I'm just trying to make people smile, that's all."

Shaq's generosity is well-documented, despite his preference to keep much of it under wraps. In a 2015 interview with Graham Bessinger, he explained how his father's charity—despite their family not having a lot of money—influenced him.

After giving the family's bag of hamburgers to a homeless veteran, his father got into the family car and told him, "If you ever make it big time, make sure you help those in need."

Shaq remembered those words and engages in charity in a range of ways, "because of what a man who made $30,000 a year taught me," he said. "And a woman who was a secretary who probably made $20,000 a year—they taught me that."

His giving comes "from the heart," he said. He's not looking for attention or accolades—he just wants to make people happy.

"I'm doing this because this is what I was taught," he said. "I'm doing it because to walk in there and see a family, put a smile on their face for a day, that's just awesome to me."

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"That's my thing. I just want to make you smile," he said.

Shaq once asked a restaurant server how much of a tip she wanted, and when she quipped "$4,000," he gave it to her. When a 12-year-old was paralyzed by a stray bullet in a shooting, Shaq donated a whole house to his family. A fan who saw Shaq in a Best Buy offered condolences to the star for the untimely death of Shaq's friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant, as well as Shaq's sister Ayesha, who had recently passed away from cancer. He was treated to a new laptop—the best one in the store.

shaquille oneal, basketball, charity, good news, positive news, charity, engagement ring, kindness, celebrity Giving really is receiving. Photo credit: Canva

Charitable giving looks like a lot of different things, from funding organizations to distributing money through a foundation to handing over a bag of burgers to someone who's hungry. It's just delightful to see wealthy people who not only support official charitable organizations with money and time (Shaq serves as a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and is a member of the national Board of Directors for Communities in Schools in addition to raising and donating millions of dollars to various causes) but who also just help out random people everywhere they go.

Kudos to Shaq's parents for teaching him so well, and kudos to him for taking their lessons to heart.

This article originally appeared four years ago.

Pop Culture

'She's a hero.' 4-year-old's quick thinking saves her teacher's life after she collapsed

"It was a shock to me to see that she knew exactly what to do in a situation like that," her mom shared.

Kids have better instincts than we give them credit for.

We do our best to teach our kids everything they need to handle what life throws at them, but sometimes they are simply born with the right instincts.

When four-year-old Kyndal Bradley saw her daycare teacher collapse due to a seizure, leaving the entire classroom alone without an adult, she knew exactly what to do. Rather than freezing up or crying, she immediately went to get help.

Without this fast action, her teacher would have been in serious trouble—as in, a life or death situation. But luckily paramedics arrived in time to take the teacher to the hospital.

As reported by WSMV Nashville, Taylor Moore, Kyndal’s mom, had no idea of this brave feat until she went to pick her little girl up that afternoon.

“They were like, ‘She’s our hero for the day,’ and I’m kind of looking like, what happened?” Moore shared.

Understandably, this news was unexpected. Though Moore had been teaching Kyndal a few basics, like her phone number and home address, she “never thought to introduce what to do if an emergency arises, so it was a shock to me to see that she knew exactly what to do in a situation like that.”

At the same time, Moore told WSMV that Kyndal has a natural "nurturing spirit,” and is always taking care of her fellow classmates, so in some ways, it’s not that much of a surprise. Regardless, Moore is “very proud” of how Kyndal handled the situation.

And how’s this for heartwarming? When asked if there’s anything she’d like her recovering teacher to know, Kyndal simply said, “I love you.” What pure sweetness!

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Down in the comments, viewers also hailed Kyndal a hero.

“I have epilepsy, that little girl is so brave. I know adults who are petrified by the thought of a seizure occurring near them. She’s gonna be a caretaker of some sort when she grows up. Good job baby. Keep up the good work, keep helping people in need.”

“Great job mom. What an amazing little girl you have.”

“What a great example of great parenting! Teaching this precious little girl to be nurturing and caring to others! Her caring and concern for the needs of those around her and her mom teaching her emergency skills amazing! This little lady is a little hero !!! God bless her and her mom for teaching her to care and what to do in an emergency!!!”

“What a heartfelt story!! This is what the world needed to hear because of the chaotic times that we are in. Not only is she beautiful and quick on her feet, but she is very intelligent.”

Moore hopes that this moment acts as a reminder for parents to “not underestimate” how their own littles might fare in a crisis, and to start teaching them skills sooner rather than later.

“They’re little, but they may be our saviors, so they need to know how to react.”

Preparing kids for emergencies

nashville, nashville news, positive news, good news, daycare, emergency preparedness A child dialing 911Photo credit: Canva

In most emergency situations involving kids, a major skill to learn is how to successfully handle a 911 call, even when nerves are at play. That means making sure they know how to give their phone number and address correctly (just like Moore taught Kyndal), to state whether someone is ill or hurt, and to know if they need to leave the area before calling (in the case of a fire, for example). In this day and age, it’s also super important that they know how to unlock a mobile phone and dial on it.

It’s also vital for kids to understand how to recognize when a medical emergency might be happening, whether it be a person collapsing, like in Kyndal’s story, or simply gasping for air.

On the preventative maintenance side, families can do emergency planning together, including bringing the children in on creating emergency kits and doing practice runs.

And, as Moore said, it's equally crucial to trust that kids will know what to do with the lessons we try to bestow onto them.

A hero dog saves a toddler who had been lost for 16 hours.

Dogs are man’s best friend, and a toddler’s best hero.

In a truly anxiety-inducing story, a valiant ranch dog named Buford made headlines after finding a missing toddler who had wandered seven miles away from his home in the rural Arizona wilderness.

Seven. Miles. Can you imagine?

On the night of April 14, Yavapai County Sheriff's Office shared a report of a missing two-year-old named Boden Allen, who had walked away from his home in the small town of Seligman, Arizona—wearing only his pajamas.

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The thought of a toddler making his way alone through rocky desert terrain is already terrifying, but to make matters even more harrowing, the surrounding area had at least two mountain lion sightings that night.

Though a massive search party of nearly 40 search and rescue workers and officers had been initiated immediately, their efforts were to no avail, and by hour 16, things felt very dire.

As reported by NPR, hope was all but lost until Buford, a “kid loving” Anatolian Pyrenees discovered the little boy, who had likely followed a power line down from his house and into a ranch owned by Buford’s human, Scotty Dunton. The poor little fella had been sleeping under a tree!

 buford dog rescue, dog rescues toddler, lost toddler, hero dog, dog stories, feel good stories, positive news, local news, arizona newsA photo of an Anatolian Pyreneesdogtime.com

Buford brought little Boden back to safety, and while he was understandably distraught, he was able to tell Dunton a bit of his plight after receiving some food and water. And aside from a few cuts and scrapes, he was in good health. He is now safe and sound with his very relieved family.

"I'd heard about the missing child before I was going to town, and when I was driving out the driveway I noticed my dog was sitting down by the entrance. And I look up, and the little kid's standing there with my dog,” Dunton said in an interview with the sheriff's office.

As for Buford, the gifts keep a’ comin’ for this goodest of good boys. He became an honorary member of the Yavapai County Search and Rescue Team—even got himself a nifty vest—and Dunton told NBC News that they’ve received “Toys, chew toys, snacks, you name it, just a little bit of everything” from folks around the world thanking Buford for his heroic feat.

Thank goodness this story had a happy ending, but it truly took a miraculous chain of events to turn out that way. So here’s a reminder to do a little preventive maintenance–childproofing doors and windows, adding alarms, having a little safety meeting with the kiddos, etc. On the bright side, this is also a lovely reminder about how our communities, both the human and furry members, can show up for us when we need it most.

As Corey Allen, Bodin's father, said, “It’s a story of faith."

Teen's quick thinking saves family stuck on roof during fire

We never expect to be put into a position to save someone's life, especially if we didn't sign up for that in any official capacity. Since it's something most people don't expect, there's no telling how a person would react when faced with the harrowing circumstances. We'd all like to believe we'd automatically jump up and do the right thing but until it happens in real time there's no way to tell.

Tyler Sowden found himself having to make the incredible split second decision to save the lives of his neighbors and he did so without hesitation. Though Tyler is only 16-years-old, it didn't matter when it came to helping a mom and her children trapped on their roof while their home beneath them burned.

Tyler tells WKRC that he could hear screaming from his house and when he hopped up to see why there was such a loud commotion going on outside, he was met with the unthinkable.

Reese Witherspoon Fire GIF by HULUGiphy

"I was in my house," he says to WKRC. "I heard screaming. I seen the kid on top of the roof. The house was on fire, so I took a ladder, ran over, put the ladder up," he further explains that he grabbed the kids and helped the mom down the ladder.

According to WPLG Local 10, there were originally four people in the home that made it to the roof, the mother, her 12-year-old, 7-year-old and 10-month-old. The oldest child had already jumped off of the roof to safety but the mother and two younger children were trapped with no way down without risking serious injury. But staying on the roof was also not an option as it may have caught fire with the mother and children still on the roof.

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Thanks to Tyler's quick thinking, he acting fast taking the exact type of ladder needed to reach the trapped family. In the incredible video caught by a nearby home survelliance system, you see the teen lay the ladder against the roof then quickly climb it as another bystander holds it steady. When he reaches the top of the ladder the mother hands him the baby first. He swiftly tucks the baby under his arm like a football and hands him off the the woman holding the bottom of the ladder before heading back up for the second child.

His actions were so impressive that they caught the attention of the local fire department, with Lieutenant Mike Norman of the Cleveland Fire Department telling WPLG Local 10, "I give him a lot of credit, just to react, to think ahead, to bring the ladder. He brought the right ladder to the scene and helped that woman and her children down, I mean, he saved three lives today."

The boy's stepfather who was not at home during the incident expressed how proud he is of Tyler to WKRC saying, "He just jumped into action no questions asked, risking his life to save the others," he said. "Just goes to show you, he valued other people's lives more than his own at the time just to do what he needed to do. He knew what needed to be done and he did it. I'm so proud of this boy."

Shortly after the family was saved from the roof, it caved in and the fire quickly spread to the home next door where an elderly man and his dog had to be evacuated. Thankfully everyone is safe and doing well all because of Tyler's quick action.