1 . We’re often told that there’s no age limit when it comes to pursuing our goals, but it’s truly inspiring to see someone achieve them later in life-especially if they are 95 years old. Angela Alvarez is a Cuban-born singer and songwriter who, after putting aside her dream of pursuing a career in entertainment for decades, finally released her first album in 2021.

Once Alvarez graduated from school, she told her father she wanted to become a professional singer. However, he prevented her from doing so. Eventually, she got married and found happiness in raising her four children, though life wasn’t easy.

With time, her grandson, Carlos Jos é Alvarez, grew up to be a music producer. When he found out his grandma had written over 50 songs throughout her life, he asked if she would like to record her songs. Her answer was “yes”. And that was the beginning.

Alvarez’s story even caught the attention of actor Andy García, who produced a documentary about this amazing woman and the recording process of her 15-song album. “She represents a generation, perhaps our greatest generation of Cubans,” said the actor.

The dream reached new heights as she became nominated for a Latin Grammy. Once she took to the stage to accept her award, she gave an inspiring speech, “I want to dedicate this award to my beloved homeland, Cuba; also to those who have not achieved their dream. Although life is difficult, there is always a way out, and with faith and love they can achieve it. I promise, it’s never too late.”

2 . On July 29, 10-year-old Mayah Zamora went home after being hospitalized for 66 days. Mayah was a survivor of the May 24 shooting rampage at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

The little girl had more than 20 surgeries and underwent weeks of physical therapy after being shot in her hands, chest and back during the school shooting. Mayah’s doctors have called her survival miraculous.

On August 24, she was honored as the Hero of the Month for August by MLB’s Houston Astros at a game against the Minnesota Twins, where she threw out the first pitch. While there, Mayah also met former Astros shortstop (游击手) Carlos Correa, who shared some incredible news with her family.

The Zamoras learned during the game that the Correa family Foundation and other donors are funding the construction of a new home for the family in a location they chose. The trauma (创伤) of living just blocks from the gunman’s house had been taking a toll on (给……造成重大损伤) the young survivor.

“I could never begin to imagine everything she has gone through, and we feel that this is one thing we could do to try to alleviate some of her pain,” Correa said. “I’m thankful to both teams for being a part of this effort.”

His foundation shared a statement and some great photos of Mayah’s special night at the ballpark on its Facebook page.

“We are so proud of you. Mayah, and we are honored to recognize you as our Hero of the Month,” wrote the Correa Family Foundation. “We hope this will be an opportunity for Mayah and her family to rebuild their lives, make new memories, and look towards a bright future.”

3 . Two Georgian twins, separated at birth when they were sold to different adoptive families, have been reunited and have TikTok to thank for bringing them back together.

The astonishing story began 10 years ago when one of the twins, Amy Khvitia, sat watching Georgia’s Got Talent in her godmother’s house near the Black Sea. A young girl, who looked exactly like her, climbed up on stage and began to dance in front of the reality show’s judges. Another seven years went by when Ano Sartania, the young girl that had danced on television, was sent a TikTok video of a young woman with blue hair getting her eyebrow pierced. Determined, Ano took to a WhatsApp university group with her plea. asking for help finding the woman with the blue hair. Against all odds, someone in the group knew Amy and the pair was connected through Facebook. Amy and Ano agreed to meet in-person at a local train station.

“It was awkward, it was awesome, it was everything,” Ano told The Sun of that first meeting, adding, “It was weird for me like I was looking in a mirror.” As they grew to know each other more, the two women began to list the similarities they shared and admit to being a bit unsettled by it all. Both were born in the same hospital, but their birth certificates said they were born a couple of weeks apart. Wanting answers, they turned to their families to ask some hard questions and soon had an explanation — both families admitted to adopting the girls as newborns.

It turns out both of their mothers had been unable to have children and were told they could pay to adopt unwanted babies at the hospital. DNA tests ‘eventually confirmed that that Amy and Ano were twins. However, they wanted to know why their biological parents have given them up and if they had been sold for profit. The twins have since been reunited with their birth mother, Aza, who claimed she fell into a coma after delivering her identical daughters and when she woke up hospital staff told her that her babies were dead.

“While Ano and Amy’s story contains a lot of coincidence on their path to reunion, their adoption circumstances aren’t that unique in Georgia — as many as 100,000 Georgian babies have been put up for illegal adoption since the 1950s on the black baby market,” says Georgian journalist Tamuna Museridze, who has been working to reunite families.

5 . Emest Owusu was 13 in 1980 when he was given the opportunity to appear in the audience of a BBC show, and ask Thatcher how she felt about being called the Iron Lady. This encounter re-emerged in a BBC’s programme recently.

At the time of their meeting, Owusu was on free school meals, living on a public estate in Brixton, south London, where he and his sister were being raised by their mother Rose, a struggling hairdresser.

Now 57, Owusu looks remarkably similar even with a greying beard. But his life has been transformed. The father of three is a human resources director, and the first black captain of the Addington golf club in its 110-year history. As a black guy, it is about breaking the glass ceiling. Speaking in its clubhouse, Owusu describes his rise in social status (地位) as a “Thatcherite Journey”. And he says it began by asking the woman herself. “To this day it still has an impact. My confidence changed from that sliding-door moment. Something about her connected with me.”

Thatcher told Owusu she enjoyed being called the Iron Lady. “I think it’s rather a praise, don’t you?” she said, “Because so often people have said to me if you’re in your job you’ve got to be soft and warm and human, but you’ve got to have a touch of steel.” Owusu recalls the moment, “I just remember her eye contact. She was answering me, not the camera. She welcomed the question saying you’ve got to be firm in this world. And that stuck with me.”

After the show was broadcast, Owusu said he became “a little hero in Brixton for a good three months”. Owusu added, “It all gave me extra confidence. Doors might not have opened so quickly. It was one of those key moments to make you do things maybe you wouldn’t otherwise have done.”

6 . In August 2022, Don Powell from Orchard Lake Village, Michigan, found a wooden doll (玩具娃娃) couple, Mary and Shelley, inside his custom-designed mailbox. Initially assuming it was a mistake, he left them there out of curiosity. Over time, the dolls’ living space expanded with the addition of furniture like a bed, a painting and a stove. Don responded humorously, requesting a refrigerator. A year later, the dolls still reside there, amusing neighbors who follow updates on the local Nextdoor page.

The Powells had paid a local craftsman (工匠) $250 to create a mailbox that looked like their house, which included windows and solar-powered ceiling lights. This mailbox provided a large and bright space for the growing collection of doll furnishings.

Despite potential fines for non-postage items in mailboxes, Don didn’t consider removing the dolls, as the mail carrier found it amusing and it didn’t stop mail delivery. The Powells regularly discovered new items for the dolls, especially during holidays. For example, Halloween saw the dolls temporarily disappearing and replaced by skeletons (骨骼), and Christmas brought festive decorations.

The doll family grew, with the addition of a cousin, Shirley, and a service dog named Maggie. A note mentioned their gratitude for a one-story house compared to their previous multi-story dollhouse.

Don even contributed to the setup by adding a small letterbox to avoid confusion with their mail. He enjoys the mystery-and community enjoyment, resisting the idea of an outdoor camera to uncover the responsible party. The story continues to attract neighbors, who often stop by with questions and enjoy the lighthearted community spirit it brings.

8 . I joined the coast guard because I wanted to help people. Hovercraft (气垫船) are rare and special. They’ve been discontinued in most commercial operation, because they are so expensive to make, but when it comes to search and rescue, they’re priceless.

From far away, a hovercraft looks like a normal boat. But if you look under its skirt, the craft is not touching the water — it floats on a cushion of air. That cushion allows us to travel over everything from water to muddy land — and even break through ice. We do all of that as a 70-tonne machine, going a maximum of nearly 120 kilometers per hour. These features allow us to rescue a large number of people quickly get onto land, and get someone into an ambulance far easier than with any other device I can think of.

The advantages of hovercraft can also make them difficult to handle. We’ve got a massive vehicle moving fast, sometimes in a thick fog bank up a narrow river. During assignments on other coast guard ships, I had 20 minutes to make alterations to avoid a crash. In a hovercraft, I have 10 seconds. You have to have enough situational awareness to make the right decision every time.

People call us for all sorts of problems: missing divers, on-board fires, or even when they’ve run out of fuel or had a mechanical breakdown. A container ship could burst into flames. We have a strong network here at the base to help everyone through difficult situations like that. Thankfully, we have captains who train us in a safe environment, but you don’t ever get fully comfortable. Anything can throw the hovercraft off — maybe your lift settings are off a little, or the wind blows with a bit of extra weight. After several years operating a hovercraft, I’m still learning. Every one of the captains here agrees: you can drive this thing for 20 years and still be surprised.