From Paul Dail:
I’ve often told people I have a hard time following the news because as a horror writer, I don’t need to see reality confirm what my imagination already creates. Truth isn’t just stranger than fiction. Sometimes it’s downright worse. This is why I like writing human interest stories. Even though they don’t generate the traffic of the stories that “bleed and lead,” they represent the better and brighter side. We need more reminders of that.
You can read the following three excerpts (with links to full articles) or find Paul Dail’s complete portfolio at pauldail.contently.com.
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‘In her honor’: 5th annual ‘Lori’s Pink Christmas’ proceeds to benefit cancer patients, families
CEDAR CITY — What started in 2012 as two women wanting to help a friend has since grown to an annual event benefiting community members with cancer and their families. The 5th annual “Lori’s Pink Christmas” will take place Wednesday at the Cedar High School auditorium and feature a talent show, silent auction, Christmas tree auction, bake sale and visit from Santa.
Event organizer Rachel Torres told Cedar City News that she started the event with Joy Coates.
“We had a friend, Lori (Blackner Myers), who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer,” she said. “We started it for her. We didn’t intend for it to be a long-term thing. We just did it for her and had a huge success, so we continued it on in her name.” …
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Finding the light in the spectrum, raising a child with autism; reflections on autistic child drowning
ST. GEORGE — Raising a child is difficult under the best of circumstances. Being a single parent only compounds the challenges. And when you are the single parent of a child with autism, the job can often seem insurmountable – but Megan Thacker, who raised her infant autistic son for four years as a single mother, says the struggles and successes have given her a new outlook on life, and she feels lucky for the experience.
Thacker’s story first came to the attention of St. George News when she sent an email expressing her frustration with a story published in August about Aiden Nuzzo, a 7-year-old boy with autism who drowned in the pool of Sands Hotel in St. George.
“This article has troubled me from the moment I read it,” Thacker wrote. “I generally enjoy following St George news on Facebook because I can count on you to provide accurate and relevant news reports. This article, however, cut deep.” …
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Sometimes ‘thanks’ isn’t necessary
SOUTHERN UTAH — Whether it’s a free cup of coffee for the next person in line or baby pillow for a frazzled new mother at the end of her rope, when good people go out of their way – maybe even out of their professional or personal comfort zone – to help strangers, rarely are they seeking a return favor. And in many of these cases, “thank you” isn’t necessary.
At the end of October, St. George News ran an article about Timothy Gee, an Intermountain Life Flight and critical care nurse who received an injury that could possibly threaten his livelihood.
RoseAnn Lundin Thompson of St. George left a comment on the article, which started: “This man is my hero and he probably doesn’t even know it.”
Thompson told St. George News that Gee was the nurse on her daughter’s flight to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. The transport was a result of pneumonia complicated by Type 1 diabetes. …
Paul D. Dail 