Read from BBC: "Your Good Samaritan stories". Let's see if I can illustrate, if only with a collateral symbolic reference, these 10 true stories.

Read the whole article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12122809

Let's see if I can illustrate, if only with a collateral symbolic reference, these 10 true stories.

1. THE PASSING DOCTOR

"Virginia is for lovers", and the PORTABLE DEFIBRILLATOR is for restarting a heart. And a life.

2. THE PASSPORT OFFICIAL

A migratory bird flies across country borders without any passport stamp/visa...but humans may need one. Desperately. Bureaucracy vs. Open-mindedness.

3. THE MYSTERY DRIVER

Some say "we are what we drive". Others might say "we are what good deeds we can do (including while driving)". Such as quickly jumping into a car out-of-control. Then it doesn't matter "what you drive". It could be a beat-up truck, for example.

4. THE BUS PASSENGER

Maybe "the show must go on", but a bus must not, if a life is endangered and an ambulance is needed.

A bus can take you somewhere, or can have you taken somewhere.

5. THE SILENT WITNESS

You can have a fancy [motor]bike, but when you ran out of "petrol", even a 1 gallon gift can be a lifesaver.

6. THE ISLAND ANGELS

In Canada, as in any other country, some beings jump to attack you (like a hungry cougar - I mean puma or mountain lion...). Other beings jump to help you, and possibly save you from trouble.

Don't jump to conclusions until you see WHY you're being jumped.

7. THE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

It's good when you can afford to pay for your food.

It's also good to get a little help until you are able again to pay for your food.

Starving is avoidable, in many cases.

8. THE POLICE OFFICER

Some people become great winners, great champions, like Muhammad Ali. He never was an alcoholic or a smoker, said Lonnie Ali, his wife. His sports regimen and his religion did not welcome alcohol.

But even ordinary people can be winners at something, when they get good advice and gather enough self-will to conquer a potentially deadly addiction, such as alcoholism.

I could have used here, for this BBC story, the American stamp "Alcoholism: You can beat it!", but I don't have it. :)

9. THE SELFLESS STUDENTS

You don't necessarily need a sports car to be happy. Sometimes, a simple taxi at the right time is all the transportation you need to have a good time with friends and be happy.

10. THE THIRD MOTORIST

Pigs are not the only animals who produce a lot of manure. 

Sheep do it, too.

"Pigs" have also their own "manure".

The question is with whose "manure" should we put up, and for how long, if you get my drift. :)

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/

Danube, Donau, Dunaj, Dunav, Duna, Дунав, Dunărea, Дунáй (Dunay), Tuna River - a heraldic journey

The most important river in Europe, and the second-longest after Volga, is the Danube.

"Since the Norman conquest of England, the English language has used the French word Danube. In the languages of the modern countries through which the river flows, it is:

• Croatian: Dunav
• Bulgarian: Дунав (transliterated: Dunav)
• German: Donau
• Hungarian: Duna
• Romanian: Dunărea
• Serbian: Дунав, Dunav
• Slovak: Dunaj
• Ukrainian: Дунай (transliterated: Dunai)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube

Let's take a quick (modern national heraldic) journey on the Danube, for some historical spots along the way.

I'll show you some very nice maximum cards from Romania, produced by Romfilatelia.

I don't have the souvenir sheet (with Germany) from the first stamp series of Danube's Coats of Arms, so I'll show it from the Romfilatelia's website (please visit http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=505&Year=2010 and http://www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=534&Year=2010)

):

Now a simple postcard from the Danube port of Regensburg, Germany:

Bratislava Castle, Slovakia:

Melk Abbey, Austria:

Parliament Palace, Budapest, Hungary:

Ilok [ILOK] Fortress, Croatia:

Ram Fortress, Serbia:

Dramatic Theater, Ruse, Bulgaria:

Navigation Palace, Galați ([ɡaˈlatsʲ]) , Romania:

"Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu" University, Cahul, Rep. of Moldova:

"Assumption of the Virgin" Church, Izmail, Ukraine:

Thank you again, my dear friend Teodor Ghiata-Melnic (Romania), for these great MCs, like hundreds of others that I got from you over the years! :)

Now, a quick info on the Danube Delta:

"The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării; Ukrainian:Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent ^[1]. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated inUkraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km²."

"Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major eco-regions of the world, including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian. There are over 320 species of birds found in the delta during summer,^[4] of which 166 are hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individuals (swans, wild ducks, bald coots, etc.) winter here."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Delta

The first 2 minutes of this -> "The Waves of Danube" song.

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Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/

Non - FIP maximum cards: Olympic champion Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, world champion

Xavi, Spanish football player - maximum card with my personalized stamp

A French philatelist just bought these personalized stamps, which I created after Spain's victory at EURO 2008 Football Championships