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Cop pulls over a man for speeding, finds out he's going to a funeral, and helps him tie his tie

"𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙍: compassion still exists, even on the side of the road."

Good things are still happening in the world. Here's proof.

Louisiana-based Deputy Dustin Byers was just doing his job when he stopped a man for speeding on the highway. But when he found out the man was actually on his way to a funeral, it became anything but a routine work day.

As the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post titled “A Traffic Stop Comes With a Side of Compassion,” which has been shared more than 2,000 times, “The man explained he was on his way to a funeral and was having a tough day. To top it off, he couldn’t get his tie right.”

Without skipping a beat, Byers, who did know how to properly tie a tie, offered his assistance. In the shared photo, we see the man’s bright blue tie getting fixed.

“REMINDER: compassion still exists, even on the side of the road,” the sheriff’s office added.

Though PEOPLE confirmed that Byers did, in fact, still issue a citation, countless people commended him for showing empathy even while fulfilling his duty.

“This right here is a powerful reminder that kindness knows no uniform, no badge, and no boundaries,” one person said. “In a moment that could have simply been about a traffic stop, Deputy Byers chose compassion — turning frustration into dignity and stress into support.”

They continued, “It’s the small gestures that leave the biggest impact…May we all strive to lead with empathy, no matter the circumstance.”

Here’s a sampling of more lovely comments:

“This is what is listening to each other turns out to be like. Both walked away a better man ❤️❤️

“That little bit of kindness will stay with him for a lifetime and I am sure it made his day a little easier to deal with. 💙

“This is what it means to serve and protect. Great job officer.”

“An easy act of kindness and compassion is always remembered. I’m sure this helped this young man with the struggles he was facing. Great job by this Officer.”

Indeed, there are moments like this that happen all the time. Acts of kindness from strangers, officers, elders, kids, animals, you name it. Yes, there are bad apples out there, but as often as possible, let’s remember—and celebrate—the ones doing good in the world. Now more than ever.

Louisiana painting had enslaved child camouflaged for 100 years.

There are parts of history that are overlooked or forgotten, but the truly astonishing thing is the lengths to which people will go to cover them up. The thing about hiding parts of history, though, is that they always find their way into the light, and that's exactly what happened with a child named Bélizaire.

In 1972, a painting of three white children was donated to the New Orleans Museum of Art by Audrey Grasser, who inherited the family portrait. When she dropped off the painting, she informed the museum that there was an enslaved Black child in the picture that had been painted over.

The painting was never displayed in the museum. It actually sat in the basement for more than 30 years, and when speaking to Audrey's son, Eugene, there's no family story on why the boy was painted over. The Grasser family didn't seem to have much information about the boy at all, but he was important enough to be painted with the enslaver's children.


"The family story was, it was a favorite slave they had that was painted in the picture," Eugene tells The New York Times. "And then for whatever reason, sometime later, he was painted out. No idea why."

It was the determination of Jeremy K. Simien, an art collector and historian, that helped bring the enslaved boy's face and name to light. After finding two different auctions of the same painting, one revealing all four children and an earlier one showing only the white children, Simien got curious. He brought the painting back to Louisiana and brought in someone who finds the records of enslaved people.

It's quite fascinating to see the entire thing unfold. The records of enslaved people aren't kept with birth certificates and such in Louisiana, they're kept with property records. It's a small but breathtaking fact that, even to this day, the records of enslaved people...people, are still stored with property records. It's a sobering reminder of how close we actually are to a history that feels so far away.

After a bit of digging, Louisiana Historian Katy Morlas Shannon found that the enslaved child in the photo was named Bélizaire. He was sold to the Frey family at the age of 6 with his mother and was believed to be a caregiver for the children in the photo with him. But there was some sort of bond between the enslaver and Bélizaire as he traveled with Mr. Frey on his merchant voyages.

The child's relationship with the man who enslaved him raises a few questions that may never fully be answered. If he was such an important member of the family, then why did he get covered up? Clearly, one of the children in the painting was Mr. Frey's son, so why didn't he bring his own child to learn the family trade?

Bélizaire lived with the Frey family helping to care for their children until the wife of his enslaver sold him to another plantation after the death of Mr. Frey. Watch the entire discovery of Bélizaire play out below.

Dads on Duty are transforming a Louisiana high school that has been plagued by violence.

The incidents of students fighting at Southwood High School in September were overwhelming. CBS News reports that in just three days, 23 students were arrested for violence toward one another at the Shreveport, Louisiana high school. One student was even accused of battery after punching an assistant principal, according to KTBS News.

A group of dads decided enough was enough. They took matters into their own hands—by taking themselves into the school hallways.

Dads on Duty is a group of around 40 fathers who organize in shifts to have a daily presence at the school. They show up clad in matching t-shirts with their bad dad jokes and stern looks at the ready, engaging with the student body in a way that only dads can. With a mix of tough love and humor, they make sure students get to class on time and keep everyone in line.

Michael LaFitte founded Dads on Duty to bring a fatherly presence to the students who might not have good examples at home.


"We're dads. We decided the best people who can take care of our kids are who? Are us," LaFitte told CBS News.

That tough and tender care seems to be working. Since Dads on Duty started their shifts, there have been no more fights at the school.

"I immediately felt a form of safety," one student told CBS.

"We stopped fighting. People started going to class," said another.

"The school has just been happy—and you can feel it," said a third.

Dads help curb violence at Louisiana high schoolwww.youtube.com

Principal Kim Pendleton told KTBS that students love having these father figures at the school. Many of the kids know the dads from church or from their own neighborhoods, and Pendleton said she hopes more parents will join the effort.

"Because not everybody has a father figure at home—or a male, period, in their life," one of the dads told CBS. "So just to be here makes a big difference."

Dads on Duty told KTBS that they saw an opportunity to set an example and to show the community their love for the school. They hope to establish more chapters throughout Louisiana and perhaps around the country as well.

The CBS segment on the group has been well-received. People are loving what these dads are doing, from the universal understanding of "the look"…

Amazing how transformative a simple, strong, caring presence can be. Way to go, dads.

Mardi Gras usually draws 1.4 million people to the streets of New Orleans in February or March, as people party their hearts out for Fat Tuesday. The Carnival season actually begins in January, so in a normal year, Mardi Gras festivities would already be underway.

A big part of Mardi Gras celebrations are the parades, and a big part of the parades are the colorful floats made for the occasion.

Seriously:


Since we're still knee-deep in a pandemic, streets packed wall to wall with people would be a bad idea. So the people of New Orleans are having to get creative with their Mardi Gras celebrations, and boy are they delivering.

Instead of the traditional floats, thousands of New Orleans residents are transforming their homes into colorful "house floats."


According to the Associated Press, the idea took root the morning of November 17, after the city announced that parades wouldn't be happening. Megan Joy Boudreaux posted a joke on Twitter, saying: "We're doing this. Turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighbors walking by."

The idea genuinely grew on her, and she started a Facebook group called Krewe of House Floats, which quickly grew and spawned dozens of neighborhood groups to discuss local plans.

The house floats are every bit as bold and beautiful as the floats we usually see gliding down the streets during Mardi Gras and are an innovative solution to the pandemic parade problem. Perhaps people will tour the house floats the same way people go around to look at Christmas lights.

Check these out:







Megan Boudreaux explained to the AP that it's almost like a reverse parade, and that people can still throw things at one another. "That's actually a very socially distant activity," she laughed.

When a deadly pandemic alters life for more than a year and steals the fun out of normal traditions, we don't give up, we get creative. These house floats will surely bring a smile to people's faces and soften the blow of not being able to celebrate Mardi Gras in the usual way. And just think of the unique memories this year's "parade at home" will create.

Way to pull through under tough circumstances, New Orleans. Hopefully next year you'll be back to packed streets, parade floats, and partying all together again.

Thousands of houses decorated for Mardi Grasyoutu.be