+
Culture

French woman reunites with the American boyfriend she hasn't seen in the 75 years since they fell in love during WWII.

Truly beautiful. If only we could all be so loved.

French woman reunites with the American boyfriend she hasn't seen in the 75 years since they fell in love during WWII.


75 years later, D-Day veteran meets long-lost French lovewww.youtube.com


There are millions of love stories in the world, but occasionally one stands out—like this one.

Falling in love is a universal human phenomenon without a universal definition. It can be a slow-building fire or a flash in the pan. It can happen over years, or over a single cup of coffee. Sometimes it fizzles and fades, and sometimes it lingers for a lifetime.


We all love a good love story. With so much pain and sadness in the world, stories of the enduring power of love lift us up and remind us of the beauty of real human connection.

We also love stories of people living well into old age and having significant experiences in their later years. Such stories give us hope and remind us that anything is possible.

This story of an American man and a French woman who met during the WWII is both, and it will make you believe in the mystery of love and the enduring power it can have.

K.T. Robbins and Jeannine Ganaye fell in love when Robbins was stationed in France 75 years ago, but their relationship would be short-lived.

He was 24. She was 18. He was serving in the U.S. army, stationed in her village in northeastern France. They were both caught up in the trials of war and the triumphs of new-found love.

According to TODAY, when Robbins was transferred to the Eastern Front, he had to say a quick goodbye to Ganaye. They talked of the possibility of him coming back for her. He took a photograph of her with him.

They wouldn't see one another again after that.

Robbins was sent back to America after the war, where he eventually got married and started a hardware store. Ganaye moved on, too, marrying and having five kids of her own in France.

They'd both left WWII with thoughts of reunion. Ganaye had even started to learn English in the hopes that Robbins would return. But life happened, and those hopes had to be abandoned. "You know, when you get married, after that you can't do it anymore,'' Robbins said.

Neither forgot about the other, however. And neither could have predicted that they'd get another chance 75 years later.

Robbins and Ganeye—now Pierson—recently reunited for the first time since the war, and it's seriously the sweetest thing.

He is 97. She is 92. His wife of 70 years has passed way, and her husband has passed as well.

Robbins was interviewed by French a television station for a D-Day anniversary segment, and he shared the photo he still had of Pierson.

He thought maybe they could track down his former sweetheart's family, never imagining that she would still be alive herself—or that she would live within 40 miles of the village of Briey, where they had met more than seven decades before.

In a video shared by France 24, a reporter informs Robbins that Pierson is alive and well, and that she is waiting for him to meet with her. His surprise and joy is palpable as he laughs and kisses the reporter on the forehead.

The video then cuts to the former couple's reunion, and their chemistry is instantaneous. "Jeanine Ganaye," Robbins says, as he walks up to her. The two embrace, and she kisses his face over and over. There are smiles and tears as they sit side by side, holding onto one another's hands.

"I always loved you," Robbins tells her. "You never got out of my heart."

Pierson told the television station, "I always thought about him, thinking maybe he was out there, that maybe he'd come." The two spent several hours together before they had to part once again—but this time with plans for another meeting.

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
Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

Keep ReadingShow less

Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

Keep ReadingShow less