When we were kids, birthdays always felt like a big deal. We thought about it for months, right? There would be a special meal, a delicious cake, and maybe even a party with a few friends and balloons. Of course, we also had that very special birthday wish, and when our loved ones made that come true, we felt like the most special person on earth. As the years go by and life changes, birthdays become less about material things and more about gratitude for living another year. Then it seems that if we live for a very long time, people want to celebrate our milestones again. Gertrude Williams knows all about that. At 111 years old, she had one wish, and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office helped make it come true. Gertrude Wanted to Meet Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd Grady Judd, the no-nonsense Polk County Sheriff in Florida, has a bit of a celebrity status. Fans who love him really love him. He’s not afraid to call criminals out on their bad deeds and does his very best to keep the community safe. Grady also has a tremendous sense of humor and love, which Gertrude adores. This year, she got to meet her man in uniform just in time to turn 111. “When you turn 111, birthday wishes matter. Gertrude Williams asked to meet the Sheriff and today, that wish came true,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared. “Happy Birthday!! #PCSO #PolkSheriff #GradyJudd Thank you @conciergehomecare.” Followers loved seeing Grady and Gertrude together. “What a really nice picture of everyone I’m sure her family was so happy that you were there to make her an amazing birthday even better,” someone wrote. “Oh my God,” another person agreed. “What A Blessing.” “Happy Birthday beautiful lady!” A follower wrote. This story’s featured image can be found here.

There’s nothing quite like falling in love and knowing you’ve found your person. It can take years for some of us to find the one. For others, they’ve been part of our lives forever. Zoe Kampf and her fiancé Sean Folloder met when they were just kids at Shlenker School in Houston, Texas. Years later, Sean became a high school geometry teacher, and Zoe began working for Shlenker. The pair fell in love and got engaged in December 2024. One year later, Sean wanted to surprise Zoe with a special bridal shower and decided to get her students in on the terrific surprise. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zoë (@zoekampf) Sean Planed the Bridal Shower at Shlenker School Zoe told the Jewish Herald-Voice she had no idea what Sean had up his sleeve. She went to school on December 12, expecting a typical day. But soon, she had a wonderful surprise bridal shower that included her 4-year-old students in bow ties and crowns. “When I walked in, I was really surprised,” Zoe said. “They had cookies and decorated the classroom. They gave me a sash and a veil and crown. It was really cute.” Sean added that being part of the celebration was a lot of fun for him. He knows how much the school means to Zoe, and this bridal shower helped reflect his love for her. “It was great surprising her at school,” Sean said. “She is such a great teacher and everyone, from her kids to her kids’ parents to the staff, loves her.” Even though the pair had technically known one another for years, they didn’t actually start dating until 2021. Sean’s grandmother, Barbie Freedman, has been teaching at the school for 41 years. She helped play matchmaker. “I remember Barbie said, ‘You guys should really date.’ We were like, ‘OK,’” Zoe said. “I guess we took her advice. After camp ended, he asked me to go for sushi.” And the rest, as they say, is history. We love this for Zoe and Sean and hope their students remember this special bridal shower for years to come. Who knows, they might even be sitting next to their future spouse. This story’s featured image can be found here.

When my friend invited me to join her family for their once-a-month movie night, she asked which John Hughes movie she should show her 14-year-old twins. The answer was obvious. It had to be something fun, school-related, and iconic. Ferris Bueller's Day Off seemed like the perfect choice, since we Gen X-ers loved it when we were exactly their age in 1986.The fraternal twins (one boy, one girl) sat down on a rare early Saturday evening when neither had dance practice or a sleepover. We gathered in our comfy clothes, popped some popcorn, and hit "rent now."They were excited by the opening scene, where an adorable Matthew Broderick (doesn't matter what generation one is, he transcends them all) is pretending to be sick in bed with worrying parents. His sister Jeanie is suspicious and exhausted by his antics, but Ferris prevails. He then delivers a brilliant monologue about eating life up and living in the moment. His now-famous line, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” is still plastered in quote books and on Bumble profiles.The twins seemed inspired, and one of them actually teared up in the first five minutes. - YouTube www.youtube.com Spoilers ahead: the movie is pretty simple. Ferris is a super cool high school kid with a beautiful girlfriend, Sloane, played by Mia Sara. His best friend is a depressed hypochondriac named Cameron, who is played to perfection by Alan Ruck. Ferris skips school a lot (nine times!) and grabs each day by the neck. There are themes of hedonism, nihilism, and Taoism, but neither twin mentioned them.The first thing both kids did bring up was how privileged the characters were. Affluent Chicago suburbs, after all, was the setting John Hughes knew best. They also noted, as many have over the years, that Ferris seemed rather selfish and insensitive to what others in his life wanted and needed.Who is the true hero of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'?There have been many conversations over the years about Cameron being the true hero of the film. He has an unwavering story arc, unlike Ferris's. He's sad, but pushes through it and even gets the guts up to stand up to his father after accidentally totaling the old man's prized Ferrari.In fact, there was a theory that Ferris was a figment of Cameron's imagination—a Fight Club scenario, if you will. Robert Vaux writes on CBR, "The theory holds that the entire day is a fantasy taking place in Cameron's head while he lies sick in bed. His sickness actually supports the theory: once Ferris comes over, it vanishes, and Cameron plunges energetically, if reluctantly, into the events of the day. According to the theory, it's because there are no events of the day. He's still sick at home, and the whole thing is a daydream."I fully expected the twins to have similar thoughts. If not the Fight Club part, at least the idea that Cameron was the true protagonist. But what they (both of them) said instead was shocking. "No," the daughter told me. "I mean, I liked Ferris, and I loved Cameron. But it's Jeanie who's the hero here."Jeanie, the sister mentioned earlier, was played with pure rage by Jennifer Grey. She spends most of the movie attempting to narc on Ferris rather than enjoying her own beautiful day. She is angry and determined until…she meets a "bad boy" at the county jail, played complete with bloodshot eyes by Charlie Sheen. (Sheen stayed up super late the night before the shoot so that he looked weary. "I just figure if I show up looking tired, that's going to be an asset. I need to look tired, so I'm gonna be tired. There was no booze, no dope, there was nothing involved in that night preparing for this," he said.)Taken aback, their mom pushed back. "Jeanie, the sister? Why?"The son answers, "She just changes the most. She starts out, like, having it in for Ferris. Really, having it in for EVERYONE. And then she just like figures it out." The daughter adds, "Yeah, in the end she was rooting for Ferris. She came the farthest from where she started and she's the one who kinda saved him." - YouTube www.youtube.com Gobsmacked, I turned to Reddit for more answers. In the subreddit r/movies, someone recently posted, "Something I noticed about Ferris Bueller's Day Off." They then proceed to drive the Cameron theory forward. "At the start of the film, Cameron is in bed sickly and not really confident in himself, but as the movie progresses, he starts to get more confidence, and by the end, he gains the courage to stand up to his father."What is a flat or static character?A Redditor replies with this thoughtful answer: "I've heard it called a flat character arc when the protagonist doesn't change but is instead the catalyst for those around them to change. It's hard to pull off but is often the most satisfying kind of character. Ted Lasso (especially in season one) is a good example."Others echo that idea, offering up characters like Forrest Gump and The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Chauncey Gardiner in Being There is another great example; he remains the same while the world projects its own personality onto him. So is Mary Poppins; she blows into town, has a big effect on everyone around her, and then flies off.These characters stayed exactly the same while the world or others in their lives changed around them. It's described on a YouTube clip as "The moment you realize the main character is not actually the main character." - YouTube www.youtube.com This would give credence to the twins' opinion. But I'd never heard anyone choose Jeanie before (and they weren't swayed by Grey's performance in Dirty Dancing because they hadn't seen it yet). When pressed one more time, their answer didn't change. "No doubt, it's the sister. She should have a spinoff." Their mom was so proud, and we all totally agree.This article originally appeared last year. It has since been updated.

Teachers play a much larger role than simply being educators—in fact, teaching basic reading and writing pales in comparison to the nurturing, life lessons, and support they provide for kids. Elementary school teacher Alice Yates (@missaliceinteacherland) understands what it means to go above and beyond for her students, especially those in need.In a video posted to her Instagram in early 2025, Yates shared an emotional story about a student who recently lost a parent. After noticing she was coming to school with her hair unbrushed most days, she decided to step in with kindness by doing her hair everyday.At the start of the video, Yates shows herself brushing out a little girl's hair as she tells her story in the captions. "A few months ago one of my student's parent died pretty suddenly...she was coming to school with her hair not even brushed most days," she writes. "I just wanted to help where I could. So I bought a cheap comb and hair ties so that I could at least do a basic pony for her to get her hair out of her face." See on Instagram The small act of love did not go unnoticed. Her other students noticed Yates doing the student's hair, and wanted to get their hair done, too. "Then the other girls in the class started asking if I'd do their hair too. Now during breakfast, we have chitchats while we do hair! I wouldn't trade this time for anything. It has helped us all become so much closer.❤️"She goes on to explain that she wasn't sure if parents would be okay with it, but was put at ease after getting a thankful message from one. See on Instagram "I was a little nervous some parents might take it the wrong way that I'm doing their kids hair, but then I got this message: 'I just FaceTimed with [student's name] and saw her hair. It was adorable. Thank you for being extra sweet to my girl while I'm away. I don't even know what her hair looked like when she came in lol."Yates offered more details on why she treasures the personal interactions with her students: "I love being the teacher that I needed growing up...when I was a kid many of my teachers didn’t take the time to get to know us. They didn’t really show us love, tell us about their family, or even ask about ours," she writes. "They showed up, taught from a McGraw Hill Teacher Guide and went home. I think back on school and I hated it most years. I can count on one hand the teachers that I felt safe and happy with." See on Instagram Her experiences inspired her to be a different teacher. "School filled me with so much anxiety and I think it’s a huge reason why I pour my heart and soul into teaching now," she writes. "I find so much comfort in looking into a parents eyes and telling them that I will take care of their baby, and they look back and me and know I mean it. ❤️"Yates' emotional video got an incredibly supportive response from viewers. "And that’s a vocation right there & exactly the teacher our children need ?," one wrote.Another shared, "This is beautiful bc when I was in 3rd grade my dad almost died in a motorcycle accident. Needless to say with no family nearby, most days I was barely dressed much less brushed. My teacher would bring barrettes to put up my hair and ill never forget the difference it made in my life ♡."Another commented, "They will never forget you and the time you took for them ❤️."If you would like to contribute to Miss Alice's classroom, you can shop her Amazon Classroom Wishlist here.This article originally appeared last year.