3 . The photographs that Scilla took as a 16-year-old girl on the streets of London in 1955 stayed largely in her album over the years. Scilla is now 83, and her self-developed black-and-white photos have been brought back to life after they were discovered by a teenage photographer.

Over the past year, Philip Loveday, 16, has been revisiting his grandmother’s path across the capital to carefully rephotograph the pictures. His journey through time with a camera has been especially moving, because his grandmother, Scilla, has Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默症) and has lost many of her memories.

Philip took new photos that looked like the ones Scilla took long ago, and put them in a new album. Each page of Scilla’s old album was copied and put in the new one, with Philip’s new photos on the opposite pages. Philip’s mother, Catherine Loveday, said Scilla had been happy with the new album, which had “put her back in her shoes” as a teenager.

Philip said his mother showed him the album she had found at her mother’s house. Greatly absorbed in how modern London would compare to the city photographed by his grandmother, Philip and his mother began to make trips into central London. During the trips, they had the idea of retaking the photos.

Some of the places are similar, like Big Ben. Others show how the city has modernized. Unlike Scilla’s view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the Thames, Philip’s retake has the Millenium Bridge. When Scilla photographed the John Lewis store on Oxford Street, it was a one-storey building—now it has seven floors. Philip had to use his imagination to recreate other sights. Scilla has repeatedly returned to her new album since receiving it. Philip said: ”It’s nice for her to see someone taking an interest in those photos and going back over them, and also good for her to connect her past to where are now.“

4 .    Lots of kids like to talk about sports, but Joseph D’Avirro talks about sports like a professional host in a show called Sliders & Curveballs. The 9-year-old from Newington, Connecticut is a natural at sports talk and has been broadcasting the show—which is about baseball, basketball and other sports—with his dad, Mike D’Avirro, since September 2019.

   The D’Avirro started the broadcast after two former college roommates of Mike died, which made Mike want to spend more time with his son. Then the idea came to him. So far, they have done about 50 programs. Joseph’s favorite is when the father-and-son team interviewed Jim Calhoun, the coach leading the Connecticut Huskies to three national titles. They have also interviewed important sports authors.

   The father and son make about one 30- to 40-minute podcast each month. They prepare for the podcasts by deciding on the questions they want to ask the guest. Joseph asks half of the questions, and Mike handles the other half. Joseph reads his questions again and again to get them in his brain well. It is a lot of work, but Joseph says it is “a lot more fun than homework”. Joseph has also learned to speak up and speak clearly. He has to listen and to go with the flow of the conversation. For example, he said, “If the guest is talking about sports in the 1990s, you have to think about sports in the 1990s.”

When asked how long he and his dad will continue doing the show, he answered, “Until my dad starts growing gray hairs.” Joseph has other ambitions when he grows up—to be a sports player, a sports broadcaster or to own a basketball team. Those are big dreams, but Joseph is already living a dream: talking sports and spending time with his dad.

5 . When I was ten years old, Mum got paralyzed (瘫痪) . Before that, she was a lively and active woman who amazed many with her energy. I admired her for all the things she did.

However, everything changed when she turned thirty-one.

I still have vivid images of her before her paralysis. She would play popular music, creating a cheerful atmosphere for lively gatherings. She would joyfully rearrange the furniture to make room for friends to abandon themselves to dance. She often spent hours filling the house with flowers, which we picked fresh from the gardens.

After Mum’s paralysis, I began to take care of my 2-year-old sister, Mary Therese. In no time at all, I learned to bathe and feed her. For me it was a giant step beyond playing with dolls. One moment stands out even today: the time Mary Therese fell and skinned her knee, burst into tears and ran past my mother’s outstretched arms into mine. Too late, I noticed slight hurt on Mum’s face, but all she said was, “It’s natural that she should run to you, because you take such good care of her.”

When I was grown and entered the field of corrections, Mum became interested in working with prisoners. She taught writing to them. One day, she asked me to mail a letter to one prisoner, Waymon. I asked for my mother’s permission to read it first. It read: when you said that I couldn’t imagine what it is like to be in prison, I felt like I had to tell you that you are mistaken. When I awoke one day to find that I was completely paralyzed, I felt trapped, overwhelmed by a sense of being imprisoned in a body that would no longer allow me to dance or carry my child in my arms. But then, I made a choice about whether I would smile when I saw my daughters again or I would weep. I made a decision to live as fully as I could.

By the time I finished Mum’s letter, my vision was clouded by tears. For the first time, I saw my mother in a clearer light.

6 . Phillip, 27, from the UK, pulled at the heart strings of people across the world after giving his mother, Trish, a special New Year present — he surprised his mom with a voice recording of his late father, which he made with the help of AI.

The young man’s dad, John, passed away from cancer in 2022 — leaving his wife and children mourning. After seeing his mom struggling to get through the holidays, he turned to AI to give her a gift she would never forget.

In a video, which has so far had more than 6.2 million views, the 27-year-old showed viewers his mom’s reaction to hearing her late husband’s voice.

“My dad passed away from cancer 1.5 years ago so I decided to do something special for my mom this New Year,” he said as his mother unwrapped the present. “It’s been so long since we heard his voice, so I made her a video using AI software to match his exact voice. And the result was amazing.”

In addition to his father’s voice, Phillip made a video that featured photos of his dad. When Trish opened the photo book, tears immediately formed.

“Hi, honey. I love you. I want you to know you are the best mother to our kids and the strongest woman in the whole world,” the AI voice said. “I’m always with you. I hope you guys have a happy New Year.”

Phillip revealed that his wife, Kassandra, first gave him the idea to use AI to recreate his dad’s voice. Although he was skeptical at first, once he got to work using the text-to-speech software, he was shocked at the outcome. “When the program said it in his voice... I got chills(寒战) all over my body. That’s why I decided to do this no matter what,” Phillip said.

7 . I was looking through old photos with Mom. “Where on earth is that photo of Dad and Mumpsy?” I asked. It was my favorite one of Dad holding his dog.

“Maybe Jean has it,” said Mom. “We could ask her.” I looked at Mom as if she had the third eye. She could not be serious! Grandma had two sons, Dad and Uncle Ralph, who was married to Jean. Mom and Jean hadn’t got along since I was a little boy. Jean would say hurtful words to Mom, and Mom tried to let it go. After Grandma passed away, our connection with Uncle Ralph and Jean fell apart.

Yet here was Mom, intending to reach out to Jean after nearly 30 years. “We’re in our eighties,” Mom said. “Neither of us has many years left. Why not give it a try?”

Mom called Jean. Jean said the photos weren’t organized, and she invited Mom over to help look for the photo.

Sitting down at the table, Mom and Jean got through all the boxes from Grandma but didn’t find the photo. After a short talk, Jean said sorry for what she had done years before. She said that over the years, she had come to realize her mistakes but the fear of not being forgiven had stopped her saying sorry. Over the next few hours, they talked about what had happened in their lives.

“Jean received a college degree, and she’s become an artist. She has even sold a few of her paintings.” Mom later told me. “Then Jean pulled out a photo album (相册) of her family, just to share with me.”

“I suppose you didn’t find the Mumpsy photo,” I commented.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Guess what was stuck into the back cover of the album and fell out when she opened it?” Mom held up the photo of Dad and Mumpsy — lost until the recovery of Jean and Mom’s wounds.

9 . Johnny Agar had always dreamed of competing in triathlons (铁人三项赛) as an athlete. Unfortunately, he’d been diagnosed with cerebral palsy (大脑性瘫痪) shortly after he was born. This disorder makes it difficult for the now-28-year-old to get around. However, he and his father are proving that where there’s a will — and a lot of love — there’s a way!

Jeff Agar, 59, is helping Johnny experience life to the fullest by entering triathlons by his side. As a team, they’ve completed over 200 races, including a full ironman triathlon that required them to swim, bike and run 140 miles in just 17 hours.

“I’m not a fan of triathlon,” Jeff joked. “I’m doing it not because I love it. This is Johnny’s dream and I’m giving him the legs and the power to do it.” Although Jeff typically provides the majority of the manpower, it was important for Johnny to cross the finish line on his own legs. “Walking in races was my way of telling Dad, ‘Okay, I’m not just going to say thank-you anymore; I’m going to actually put words into action,’” Johnny said.

Johnny and his dad now form Team Agar, using their story and the power of motivational speaking to inspire others. “When we completed that 140-mile Ironman together, it had an amazing impact on many people who had seen our story. We began to see that competing isn’t just about us crossing the finish line; it’s about helping others leave uncertainty in the dust — even those facing greater obstacles than we did.”

Earlier this month, they received some incredible news. They were invited to compete in one of the toughest triathlons: the Ironman World Championship! What made the occasion even more special was a pre-recorded video message from Johnny’s idol, athlete Peyton Manning. “Rumor has it that you’re a big fan of mine,” Peyton said, “I’m a big fan of yours as well! You guys are incredible; you’re a true inspiration.”