The Optimist: An Alabama farmer secretly paid strangers’ medical bills

town learns he secretly paid strangers' pharmacy bills ; TikTok manifests 'Lucky Girl Syndrome,' the latest positive-thinking boon; She found late father's bucket list, then spent 6 years completing it; Single-use coffee pods have surprising environmental benefits over other brewing methods; He was once ashamed of his stutter. Then he embraced it. ; Laughter really is contagious — and that's good; The mundane, radical, fun, painful ways we can help our kids find happiness; As she turns 103, 'nothing tastes better at a party than crab cakes and beer'; 10 Lunar New Year recipes, including dumplings, noodles and soup; Jacinda Ardern resignation spotlights burnout. Here's how to cope. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories that inspire.     (Courtesy of Tania Nix) Farmer dies; town learns he secretly paid strangers' pharmacy bills "He said, 'Don't tell a soul where the money came from,'" said Brooke Walker, who owns a pharmacy in Geraldine, Ala. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   TikTok manifests 'Lucky Girl Syndrome,' the latest positive-thinking boon Influencers with "Lucky Girl Syndrome" are adopting the belief that everything works out for them. But experts say it won't solve life's problems. By Teddy Amenabar ●  Read more »   She found late father's bucket list, then spent 6 years completing it Laura Carney's father was killed by a distracted driver. "I needed to finish it," she said about his bucket list. "This is what I'm supposed to do." By Sydney Page ●  Read more »   Single-use coffee pods have surprising environmental benefits over other brewing methods A new study of coffee consumption found that using pods can produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than brewing traditional filter coffee. By Allyson Chiu ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app   REVIEW He was once ashamed of his stutter. Then he embraced it. In "Life on Delay," John Hendrickson recalls how he overcame the resentment and fear that his disfluency caused. By Anna Leahy ●  Read more »   Laughter really is contagious — and that's good Scientists have yet to definitively find a funny bone, but they are revealing nuances about the laugh impulse. By Daryl Austin  ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   The mundane, radical, fun, painful ways we can help our kids find happiness The author of "The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness" explains how we can help our children to create a happy life. By Deborah Farmer Kris ●  Read more »   As she turns 103, 'nothing tastes better at a party than crab cakes and beer' Mary Barnes, who made history serving in World War II, celebrated her milestone at an assisted-living center in Virginia. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   10 Lunar New Year recipes, including dumplings, noodles and soup Kick off the Lunar New Year with one — or several — of these delicious dishes, including dumplings, noodles and soup. By Anna Luisa Rodriguez ●  Read more »   Jacinda Ardern resignation spotlights burnout. Here's how to cope. Jacinda Ardern's resignation as New Zealand's prime minister shows that burnout is real. Here's what to know about burnout and how to cope with it. By Kelyn Soong ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out The Tech Friend for straight talk and advice to make technology better serve you and our world every Tuesday and Friday. Sign up »

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