Possibly the best thing about Christmas is the day-after-Christmas glut of feel-good human interest stories. A down-on-her-luck Oklahoma woman was on the brink of having her utilities shut off due to unpaid bills (she'd already sold her kitchen table), so she decided to sell one of her most cherished possessions: an antique, handmade Raggedy Ann doll that she'd had since she was seven.
She got a huge response, but no one was interested in purchasing the doll. Instead, her Tulsa community insisted she keep it, and they paid off her utility bills to ensure that was possible. Heart, three sizes, etc.
Lewman tells us, "I got here when I was about 7 years old at a birthday, a friend of mine's grandmother made it for me.
She's had the doll for 40 years.
"It would have been heartbreaking for me to let her go," Lewman explained.
But it was something she was willing to do.
She posted the doll on the south Tulsa buy, sell, trade Facebook page.
Lewman tells us, "I got one response from one lady that said, 'Do not sell,' and then it just took off from there."
...One woman asked said she'd pay her not to tell, "I'll give you $5 not to sell her."
More $5 offers, then $20, and as Kelly explained that she needed the money for bills.
Someone went and paid half of her city of Sapulpa water bill.
Then, someone else paid the remaining half and the donations have kept on coming.
I know the world is still pretty much a shitty, messed-up hell house; and it's not really that impressive if people only get it together to do nice things ONE TIME PER YEAR; and it's a deep, deep bummer that people are willing to go out of their way for small, individual gestures but think of massive systemic changes that might actually help large groups of people longterm as "handouts"; but, that said, THE LADY GOT TO KEEP HER DOLL AND IT'S SO NICE. Approved.