Here
are some of the many second chance stories in progress . Some people
have just realized that they have received a second chance. Others are
in the middle of doing something productive with them. Some have had
success and are finding ways to give back. All are inspiring in their
own ways.
Tony Evers visiting Madison East High School
Cancer of the esophagus has
not stopped Tony Evers.
It spurred
him on to do "something great", as suggested by his oncologist.He has just been sworn in as Wisconsin's
superintendent of public education.
Now, Evers said, he would
tell people who went through what he went through, "If you do get a second
chance, make the most of it. I know I'm stronger than before," he
said, and that goes for mental and spiritual strength as well as physical
strength. "I think that people who are survivors understand that there's
something different about your emotional/physical makeup."
Keith Buckman training for wheelchair basketball in the Paralympics
Second Chance for veterans
The Paralympics seemed out of his reach when he woke up in the hospital last year, after the bombing that shattered both his legs and arms.. Wheelchair basketball has helped him to overcome and rebuild his life. Keith Buckman was one of 28 veterans who went to a training camp for the high level competition in the Paralympics. This high level competition, now involving over 145 countries, in fact, grew out of a need in World War II for injured veterans in Britain.
Read about 25 dogs, all
sizes and shapes, who became heroes.
Heroic
dogs saved humans from snakes, drowning, a snow storm, human attackers, burning
cars, carbon monoxide, alligators, and even pirates.They received awards for their valiant and successful
efforts.Some were trained and
some were not, but they all "pawed out" second chances. Read the rest of the heroic stories from www.dogguide.net.
Made in Bankok.From jobless to business owner, she
overcame her situation to get stability in her life, with a mop and a pail.
In Bankok, the economic
crisis made her jobless.With only
a high school education, Jirapar Pongsai, 40, saw cleaning as a second chance
to turn her life around. ''My life started below zero. I believe that a lesser
education is not a barrier. And I don't think a cleaning service is a low-end
job. Instead, it is a stable job that gives me a handsome income,'' she said in
the interview with the Bankok Post.Read
how she built up her business from nothing.
Once a troubled Sioux Falls teenager, Nate Anderson made the most of his second chance
Crime in Sioux Falls has been growing since the 1990's. Teens made up a huge growing population of law breakers. Nate Anderson was part of a pilot program involving home detention, when he was 15 years old. Anderson's temper, drugs, and alcohol all combined to keep him in trouble until he did something to manage himself.
Now thirty, he has been a father for the last 9 years, and has been a hard working electrician. He said recently for Keoland.com: "Working hard is pretty much my release that keeps me at bay and from doing stuff I shouldn't be doing."
