Good News Americans #3
In a very unusual and surprising illegal drug stop and discovery, Mexican police found over 600-pounds of fentanyl stuffed inside a huge shipment of coconuts, all headed for the Arizona border! How agents were alerted to this shipment was undisclosed, but it was a major haul of likely hundreds of coconuts, when pictured on the pavement. Countless American lives saved by this very fortunate discovery.
Continuing on the subject of this deadly drug, U.S. Border Patrol agents, assisted by local law enforcement in Robstown, Texas, somehow discovered 25-pounds (three gallons) of liquid fentanyl concealed inside a special compartment added purposely within a vehicle’s gas tank! Again, like the story above, how the discovery was made was not revealed for obvious security reasons. It was determined, however, that this amount of fentanyl was enough to potentially kill over 5 ½-million people! It was considered to be the largest seizure of liquid fentanyl in U.S. history.
So, why liquid fentanyl? “Drug traffickers often convert the liquid fentanyl into powder which is then formed into tablets for easy sale and distribution across the United States.” Fentanyl chemicals are “largely sourced from China.” Mexican cartels are then the primary source of fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. Perhaps the worst part of this thankful seizure is that the City of Robstown is 150-miles north of the Mexico-U.S. border. Meaning that this traffic stop and fortunate discovery was made more than two-hour’s drive-time north of the Texas border! And Americans are certainly very fortunate that it was.
Despite this good news, there is some bad. We don’t know how much fentanyl is still making it across the border that isn’t being discovered in time, but sadly way too much is. And along with smuggled drugs, in November alone, Border Patrol reports that a record high 73,000 illegal migrants snuck across our southern border without being apprehended by our stressed and overworked patrol agents. Funding more CBP personnel would be a smart step toward stopping the “got-aways,” and the drugs that are literally killing American youth. Safe and shameful to predict that the administration will not react, because stopping migrants goes against their apparent policy and we rarely hear anything from D.C. about the continuing drug smuggling curse. We hear about many of the deaths but not a peep about stopping the flow. Solution: Close the Border !!
Back to the positive, and heroics of a different kind. At 1 AM one morning recently, a car was involved in an accident, which sent it into the “sludge pit” of a construction site. There were two adults and one child in the vehicle. And it was sinking into the watery sludge, in the dark of night. Motorist 911 calls alerted authorities and officers arrived within minutes. Kenner Police Department (Louisiana) Officer Clarence Carr went into the pit to assist, cutting the restraining seat belt off of one unresponsive person, while fellow officers arrived, and also went into the water to assist the occupants. All in the car were retrieved and transported to an area hospital. And all survived. There could easily have been one or more drownings in this incident. A great life-preserving rescue.
In Jacksonville, Florida, a female police officer reacted to a distress call regarding a baby in an apartment complex retention pond. Without hesitation, the officer went into the pond, found the submerged child, carried it back onto safe ground, and began performing CPR, using both chest compression and mouth-to-mouth, until paramedics arrived to take over. The baby survived, thanks solely to the bravery of the responding officer. Why bravery in a retention pond? That’s because the officer, herself, was unable to swim!! But she went in regardless of her own safety. A selfless, lifesaving, act.
Then, an off-duty White Plains, New York firefighter, driving home after his shift at about 3 AM, spotted a car that had wrecked in a one-vehicle accident. His timing on the scene was, by luck, perfect, because the car was just beginning to burn! Without any protective gear, fireman Nicholas Perri, Jr., somehow managed to pull the lone, incapacitated, female occupant out of, and away from, the badly wrecked and burning vehicle. By the time EMS personnel arrived at the scene, the car was fully engulfed in flames. Said the heroic Perri: “Instinct, training kicked in, and I ran in and did the best I could do to get her out.” The woman was taken to the hospital and one report indicated that she was in ICU, and though not reported, we must assume that she survived. Had that off-duty firefighter not happened along at just the right time, and taken immediate rescue action, no question, that woman would have burned to death. Yet another terrific lifesaving action.
On a far lighter note, prior to Thanksgiving, a group of female friends from Cullman, Alabama, went to the near-by Waffle House for breakfast. They had begun a “Friendsgiving” commitment just last year, and thus each brought $100 with them. That particular morning would be their second opportunity for a group-giving, unbeknownst to their fortunate young server. While their collective breakfast tab was $74.75, their surprise tip totaled $1,125.25!! The server was more than surprised by this group’s generosity, indicating that the extra money would be used to help with her children over the holidays. Said the lady’s group leader: “My hope is for it to reach other friend groups to do the same and normalize being kind.” A great gesture of sharing.
On the subject if sharing, this year’s national “Tunnels to Towers” memorial fundraising effort made it possible to pay off mortgages for 21 very surprised and extremely grateful military families!
And finally for this edition, many (or most) of you may be unaware that famous entertainer from years gone by, Martha Raye, is the only woman permitted to be buried in the Special Forces Cemetery at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. And that’s because Raye entertained U.S. troops during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. “For nine years, she made trips to Vietnam, sometimes staying up to six months at a time, and often using her training as a nurse to help with the wounded.” She was made an honorary Special Forces member by the units she often assisted there. She went on to receive her Green Beret and “the title of Lieutenant Colonel from President Lyndon Johnson.” She was awarded the Medal of Freedom, “the highest commendation for civilians,” in 1993. Martha Raye passed away in late 1994. She remains a very special person to past Special Forces troops, both as an entertainer and as a nursing aide, during wartime.
(Coconuts filled with fentanyl via nypost.com, Melissa Klein, 12-3-22; Fentanyl discovered inside a vehicle gas tank via breitbart.com, Randy Clark, 12-4-22; Got-Aways numbers via legalinsurrectionj.com, Mary Chastain, 12-2-22; Kenner, LA accident heroics via breitbart.com, Amy Furr, 12-4-22; Officer saves baby from drowning via dailywire.com, John Rigolizzo, 11-24-22; Firefighter rescue actions via dailymail.com, Hope Smith, 11-27-22; Lady’s group holiday sharing via foxnews.com, Cortney Moore, 12-1-22; Tunnels to Towers via foxnews.com, Staff, 11-18-22; Martha Raye via findagrave.com, Bio by Melanie).