inspirational

When the Internet uses its powers for good, the results are incredible.

It’s been an difficult year for Angela McElhiney, an understatement to say the least. Her 15 year-old son Nathan committed suicide in October. To remember him, she cherishes a video of Nathan singing “Wayfaring Stranger,” taken one month before his death.

via A Promise to Nathan

However, because the video was taken in a high school gymnasium, the audio quality is poor to say the least, muffled by the audience’s restless noise.

"It was such a bad recording and I just wanted to be able to hear him better," Angela told CNN. "Right now, I feel like it's very therapeutic because I feel like it's the journey he's taking.”

So Angela turned to Internet. After posting the video to Reddit, she asked if anyone could help fix the audio or, at the very least, begin the path to cleaning it up. An hour later, she started getting new mixes with cleaner audio.

via MrKain134

In total, she received about 20 versions of the clip.

"I never expected so much kindness and so many people taking time out of their day," she said. “We can't express our gratitude enough.”

However, as CNN reported:

The first Christmas without Nathan has been hard for McElhiney and her family and this has been a welcome distraction for her. She tried to thank everyone who responded to her post, but fell behind when the number of comments grew into the thousands.

After a year of people generally treating each other like garbage, it’s nice to have your small heart grow two sizes in an instant. That seemed to be the intention of these Best Buy employees.

via GIPHY

After weeks of seeing the same kid at the same Best Buy Wii station, the employees of the Valley Stream, NY decided to surprise him with a console of his own. They pooled their money together and bought him a Wii-U. 

As they published on YouTube:

"This video was taken in the Valley Stream Best Buy, this kid came in every single day to play the display WiiU, the employees in this store saw an opportunity to make a child smile and did just that. They chipped in and purchased a WiiU for him with their own money. This is amazing, why shop at Amazon when you have genuine people in this world that you can continue to help keep a job."

It’s true. Very rarely does a mailman deliver me a free thing from Amazon. But this video certainly delivered something: Good feelings.

Life comes at you fast, and for Kevin Diepenbrock, 41, maybe a little too fast.

After crashing his motorcycle on a treacherous stretch of the Tennessee highway known as "The Dragon," Diepenbrock found himself just inches from death. He had no food, no water, and no cell service. Laying motionless in a ditch just off the highway with two punctured lungs, a dozen broken ribs, and several spinal fractures, he took out his phone to make one, final statement. Recording his last words, Diepenbrock sent his love to his wife, parents, and his especially large pack of dogs.

Stopping to take a sip of water, a passing motorist found him nearly 30 hours later. At the hospital, Diepenbrock decided to delete the videos but later retrieved them from the cloud to share them with the world.

via The Knoxville News Sentinel

The Knoxville News Sentinel recounts the crash that left Diepenbrock stranded and fellow Philip Polito dead:

"On Oct. 15, Diepenbrock and Philip Polito, his riding companion and co-worker at a natural gas plant near Philadelphia, Pa., tumbled more than 100 feet down a rocky embankment after their motorcycles collided on a notorious stretch of Highway 129 near mile marker 4 called 'The Dragon.'"

"Polito, 29, of Perryville, Mo., was killed in the crash, and the 41-year-old Diepenbrock was flung out of sight from the motorists who get a thrill from the treacherous road's sharp curves and scenic views."

A harrowing experience for sure, but how many people get to watch their final words go viral?