Decade of Hope: Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Batkid’s Epic Make-A-Wish Journey as Leukemia Survivor Miles, Now 15 and Cancer-Free, Inspires Us All!
1. Two college kids in Oklahoma named Shaun Roberts and Chance Jackson have been living in a retirement home instead of the dorms. (???)
They’re both studying music. In exchange for doing regular performances, they get to stay rent-free, and residents love it. The University of Tulsa launched the program last year. It’s the second year they’ve done it.
2. A guy in Maryland named Kenneth Matthew hit the lottery, all because he hates go-go music. (???) The cashier at a gas station he goes to constantly has it on. It’s a sub-genre of funk.
Ken had been thinking about buying a $30 scratcher, but decided it was too pricey. So the cashier said when he finally did come in and buy one, he’d turn the go-go music off. Ken bought a ticket with that added incentive, and it hit for $100,000. He says he’ll use the money to pay off his daughter’s college tuition.
3. Remember Batkid? It was one of the most elaborate projects Make-A-Wish ever did. And it’s hard to believe, but this week was the 10-year anniversary.
Back in 2013, over 10,000 volunteers in San Francisco helped a five-year-old with leukemia named Miles Scott be Batman for a day. It was a big surprise. He had no idea.
The chief of police got on TV and said he needed Batkid’s help. Then the Batmobile picked him up . . . he saved a woman tied to a set of train tracks . . . defused a bomb . . . and battled The Riddler as people cheered him on. The “San Francisco Chronicle” even ran the headline, “Batkid Saves City.”
It was maybe the best Good News story of the decade. But here’s the best news: Miles is now 15 years old and cancer-free. (Here’s a photo.)
