19.05.12

If the stress of the holidays has you in need of some warm fuzzies, this next one's for you. A 30-something woman walked into a Michigan Kmart store and asked a clerk if she could pay off someone's layaway balance. After scanning the list of layaway accounts, she located several that had toys included on them. She picked three accounts and paid a total of $500 towards them, leaving just a $10 balance on each. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote a note to the recipients which said "Happy holidays, from a friend." One of the people who was helped out, was a mom who'd put away toys for her son. The mom said the woman's generosity had restored her faith in people. Her giving spirit has caught on, inspiring others across the country, to do the same -- all anonymously. One man even paid off 13 layaway bills to the tune of $2,000. We have to say, our holidays do feel happier just reading about such generous people.

Little Johnny's a truant, which makes mommy a jailbird. Parents in Florida's Palm Beach County can now face up to two months in jail if their child has too many unexcused absences. If a kid misses more than 15 days of school without permission in a three-month time period, his parents could be hauled off to the slammer. Palm Beach County isn't the first area to enact such strict punishments for the parents of truants . Several other counties across the country also threaten parents with jail time or stiff financial penalties if their kids miss too much school. Are these policies a good way to get parents more invested in their children's educations or are they over-the-top?

Source: msnbc.com